that is what the nrdc family is all about. i could stand here tonight and name one staffer after another who embodies this epic for us all. yet, in this last year, in these difficult times, there is one person whose work who's worked truly represents the best of all we do. work that inspired me to the creation of this book. and so i would like to say for that, a very special thank you to john locke. [applause] [applause] >> these are challenging times for our country. times of great opportunity, yes, times as many obstacles as well. over the past year, we have struggled with historic debt and the enduring fallout from the worst recession since world war ii. u.s. troops are fighting their 11th, grinding year in afghanistan, and u.s. forces have just returned after eight years of war in iraq. many of our closest european allies are facing economic ruin. the middle east has been remade by democratic street revolutions that have stretched to the gates of the kremlin. and occupy wall street has turned into a global movement. from t

nrdc testified before the blue ribbon administration that nrdc believes it makes sense to provide for consolidated dry storage of spent fuel from permanently shut down reactors not at sites with reactors still operational. in addition, we note the support of such organizations as the new england governors conference, the mit center for advanced nuclear energy systems, the nuclear energy institute, the new england council, the national conference of state legislators, the nuclear waste strategy coalition, the government accounting office perks keystone center, the national commission on energy policy and the american physical society. we are also grateful forever the endearing support for priority movement of our material to consolidated interim storage of the many members of congress who represent districts and states where our sites are located. thank you very much for the opportunity to testify today. and i'm glad to answer any questions you may have. >> thank you, mr. howes. we'll get to the questions in a bit. dr. metlay, i'd like to call on you, please. >> thank you very much. ch

here nor there, but i had to -- we're especially happy to welcome you for -- given the great work the nrdc did on that. david wright, president of the national association of regulatory utility commissioners. vice chairman, public service commission of south carolina. nice to see you. welcome. mr. eric howes? director of government and public affairs maine yankee. and daniel s. metlay, senior professional staff, u.s. nuclear waste tactical review board. dr. metlay, good to see you. is it mr. or doctor? which do you like to be called? all right. mr. it is. mr. andrew -- and is it orrell? with the emphasis on the first or second syllable? orrell. like oral surgery? all right. we'll alternate that. dr. andrew orrell, director of nuclear energy and fuel cycle programs, sandia national laboratories. we'll ask you to hold your statements to about five minutes. if you go way beyond that we'll have to rein you in. we're glad you're here. appreciate your participation and preparation. mr. fettus. [ inaudible ] >> there you go. might want to turn that mike on so we can hear you. >> i thank the chair

have beenn 0 fromrdc -- we have people from nrdc.nks of great regulation -- regulation gets a bad name these days, but when implemented correctly, it can be a phenomenal force for good, and the state of california has led the way. local governments -- this is a phenomenal city to do business in a, a city which has attracted and under the mayor's leadership accelerated the attraction of other tech companies and built an ecosystem. when you want to start a business, you want to open an office, you need to go to where the talent is, and there is not a city in the world that has more talented people than the city of san francisco. we are thrilled to be here and to have your leadership. i do not know if we will be at 3000 employees, but if the warriors win the championship, we will be there to celebrate and to help in any way we can. we look forward to being a long- term partner of yours and the city's for years to come. of course, the third group to thank here it is it is great to have a beautiful office, but what's most important it are

some good, some not so good according to this nrdc report. when they added up all the days last year that there were advisories, there were over 23,000 days. we get the details coming up in an hour, but in terms of the violations, the most egregious violations until the midwest and great lakes region, the least right here in the mid-atlantic region. those beaches last year that got 12 star ratings for having low violations and good notification systems to the public include california's newport beach and huntington state beach all down in orange county. there were some repeat offenders in california as well. these are beaches that were on the list for five years or more for having violations. more than a quarter of the time avalon beach in l.a. and tahame beach in orange county made that list. we'll get the new one in an hour or so. in the meantime the nrdc says a couple of things to keep in mind is to heed those advisories when they're out, and not to swim at the beach 72 hours after a rainstorm. a lot easier for the bacteria and other thing

bob dean with us from the nrdc action fund.e's also author of "reckless, the political assault on the american environment." . my first question, bob, is who is the donor financing jim imhoff out of california who is trying to intervene a pentagon-led effort to have more security in the world and nation stability. the number one contributor and oil and gas companies. i can think of no more sinister and disgusting and put rid -- if i had martin bashir i would have him say odious and contemptuous keeping our military from doing what they want to do because they've been the ones in the field of battle who know that energy sustainability is central to our security. how do we humiliate senator imhoff for his audacity to intervene in this awful process? >> i'm going to leave that one to more creative minds than mine, dylan, but i will say this. the pentagon uses $19 billion of energy every year. they're trying to invest in renewable sources and they're doing it for three reasons. they want to make our forces stronger, they want to he