OUR VIEW: Why Initiative 1 should have passed

Don’t we all want a safer, better Utah?

Initiative 1 would have provided such a place to live. Radioactive and other types of waste are already being stored in Utah. Initiative 1 provided a way for the state to make more money from other states who want to store their waste on our land.

Gov. Michael Leavitt recently said he wants to put more money into education so the future of Utah will be taught properly. This initiative provided a way for additional revenue, besides that provided by resident taxpayers, to be brought into education to help students all across the state. It only makes sense for us who are students at a state university. We complain of high fees and the need for more faculty. Initiative 1 would have alleviated these concerns.

Some may argue that the radioactive waste would have caused health problems. Initiative 1 would have banned all hot and higher-level radioactive waste from being dumped in Utah. The only type of radiation Utah residents would receive would be similar to an X-ray at the doctor’s office. The harm done would have been minimal if not non-existent.

Others argued that the high taxes would have made the waste producers turn away from Utah as a disposal site, which would have caused the facilities to shut down and people to lose their jobs. If the initiative worked as planned, it would have allowed for an increase in jobs for educators. Also, the likelihood of the facilities shutting down was slim because there aren’t many other places to dispose of nuclear waste. The Utah desert is one of driest and most remote places in the United States.

Initiative 1 would have kept Utah safe and provided a better lifestyle for its residents.