Political Quotes

“the National Ignition Facility is a multibillion-dollar giant laser designed to blast a radioactive fuel pellet in an attempt to create a nuclear fusion explosion. The Department of Energy considers the National Ignition Facility important to its Stockpile Stewardship program, but according to experts, the project is overbudget, may not be technically feasible, and is not necessary to maintain our nuclear arsenal. According to Dr. Robert Civiak, physicist and former OMB Program Examiner for Department of Energy nuclear weapons programs, the NIF will cost nearly $5 billion to build, $4 billion more than the Department of Energy's original estimate. Including operating costs, the NIF will consume more than $32 billion, six times the Department of Energy's original estimate. Dr. Civiak also reports that the Department of Energy has yet to solve numerous technical problems that prevent NIF from successfully creating the fusion explosion. Full operation of NIF is already 6 years behind its original schedule. In fact, according to former Los Alamos physicist Leo Mascheroni, The chance of the NIF reaching ignition is zero. Not 1 percent. Those who say 5 percent are just being . . . polite. What is all that money being spent for? Department of Energy says the NIF helps us maintain our nuclear weapons, but experts disagree.”