Environmental Decisions for Now through the Long-long Term

The recent quest for primary votes in the state of Nevada led to renewed headlines about radioactive waste disposal at Yucca Mountain. The image of intense debate among the candidates over this issue—in the context of an ongoing war and the threat of terrorism, of a housing collapse, of a potentially declining economy, and of a looming crisis in funding medical care—prompted me to ruminate yet again on the question of how potential risks and rewards in the long and the long-long terms relate to social decisions about matters now. Where and how does timing of risks and rewards enter the picture? And, why is this issue so divisive?