INVINCIBLE

Another genius who has all but disappeared from these pages is Barry Commoner. Opponents who have tried to debate him have found it impossible to defeat him. Reason: Barry does it all by himself before any adversary gets the chance.

The British seem to have a similar experience at their inquiries (hearings) on licensing nuclear plants. Sir Walter Marshall, chairman of the Central Electric Generation Board, the British national power authority, is quoted in Forbes (10 Oct 83) as stating "So far every American intervenor that has appeared at our inquiry has made a fool of himself and has been shown in cross examination to be as close to an idiot as one could find." Barry Commoner, he says, crumpled under cross-examination, conceded himself that his testimony was contradictory and against common sense, and declined to appear the third day.

Commoner's latest conquests are not what makes the Forbes article ("How to handle Barry Commoner" by James Cook) worth reading; but it gives some good insights on why Britain's socialized power net often works, better than the privately owned, but regulated-to-death US utilities.

There is also the following striking thought by Sir Walter: "Our notion has always been that because the present consumers of electricity have benefited by investments made by their ancestors, they should also accept a similar responsibility for the future. This is reflected in our practice of charging interest during construction against revenues..."

Do you wonder that the antinukes opposing CWIP (construction costs while in progress) are also the ones opposing defense? They are squandering away the material wealth their ancestors left them; so why not also squander the liberty they inherited?