If it's not love then it's the bomb that will bring us together

Utah Says, “NO” to Divine Strake

By Tracy Medley, 2-07-07

Utah lawmakers took a largely united stand Wednesday against the controversial Divine Strake test slated to take place in the adjacent Nevada desert. According to both The Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret Morning News, legislators passed a joint measure opposing Divine Strake with a vote of 26-3.

In addition to this resolution Gov. John Huntsman, who has been an outspoken critic of the test urged Utahns, with the help of ABC Channel 4 News to enact an unprecedented letter-writing campaign, which ultimately yielded over 3000 letters expressing resistance to the blast.

Utah’s hostile opposition to the planned blast should come as no surprise. Citizens along with politicians joined forces in opposition to the detonation beginning as early as last summer, in perhaps the most bipartisan effort in recent state history. Rep. Jim Matheson, whose own father suffered the effects of living downwind of test sites in the 1950’s was staunchly against the test from the beginning and spoke out against it early last year; but concerns about the test gained more mainstream legitimacy once some of Utah’s iconic Republicans got on board. Sen. Orrin Hatch for example began expressing his own resistance to the test after meeting with concerned citizens in southern Utah last fall.

When the Department of Energy failed to make good on claim to hold open “information” summits with Utahns last month, Gov. Huntsman himself stepped in, holding meetings, which allowed citizens to voice their anxieties openly. The meeting was emotional, but also informed as citizens took to the microphone to tell stories of loss and illness in their families that resulted from military tests performed in the same area during the 1950’s.

Department of Energy officials claim the detonation of the 700-ton, non-nuclear bomb will not pose any health risks, Utahns aren’t buying it; and while it’s unusual to hear Utahns express distrust in their government, it’s understandable given past promises of safety that proved to be untrue.

In the end, Utah has spoken, now all that’s left to do is sit and wait and maybe start preparing for a statewide campout in the Nevada desert.

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