Waste Not, Want Not

Last week the Russian Duma voted 243 to 125 to allow the import and storage of spent nuclear fuel in Russia. It was a triumph for the powerful nuclear lobby over public opinion. According to a poll carried out by ROMIR, an independent Russian public research center, 78% of Russians are opposed to such imports. "The people object to turning Russia into a latrine for foreign nuclear excrement," fumed liberal Duma member Sergei Mitrokhin before the vote.

Once approved by the Federation Council and signed by President Vladimir Putin, the measure will become law and would pave the...