A crazy new idea is taking shape in Washington in the wake of the slow death of the proposed Yucca Mountain nuke waste dump: Asking the people who live there if they actually want to host the waste:
To little notice, an advisory commission charged with figuring out a permanent solution for America’s nuclear waste has issued a new approach for siting a waste repository that just might work. It might succeed because it's based on a critical change in attitude. The commission respects that, at its white hot core, the siting of a nuclear waste repository is not a technical or scientific challenge nearly so much as it is an emotional issue. And because they accept that inescapable truth, these recommendations offer true promise not just for dealing with nuclear waste, but as a model for risk management policy making in general.