Abstract
The product of Stephanie A. Malin’s fieldwork in the region since 2006, The Price of Nuclear Power tells the story of several communities in the Colorado Plateau through archival research, surveys, and interviews. In this book, Malin provides an interesting and timely examination of communities in the Plateau faced with renewed uranium production. Specifically, the book looks at the “paradox” that uranium communities find themselves in. Despite high cancer rates and other illnesses, a sizable number of residents in these communities are in favor of renewed uranium production. This paradox provides thought-provoking insights on issues such as community identity, environmental justice, ideology, and neoliberalism. In particular, she argues that environmental justice is a project heavily influenced by local and material conditions.
Following the introduction, the book offers readers a history of uranium in the United States. The story of uranium’s boom and bust cycles is similar to that of other communities that have fallen on hard times. Correspondingly, this book will be of great interest to those interested in the plight of struggling towns in rural America. One cannot help but think of similar issues, such as natural gas fracking, when reading this book. In fact,Malin remarks early in the book that Pennsylvania communities, like those in the Colorado Plateau, experience similar problems such as spatial isolation. This suggests the potential for very interesting comparative work in the future. At the same time, Malin does an excellent job reminding us that uranium is unique in its political, economic and military significance. The focus on uranium gives the story of its extraction in the American West the ability to stand out among similar work.
Most of the book’s chapters discuss specific communities in the Colorado Plateau. One chapter details the town of Monticello’s struggle with waste material and illness caused by contamination. This chapter details the work of an activist group, Victims of Mill Tailings Exposure, and their advocacy for cancer victims. However, Malin also discusses ambivalent support for the group: some members support renewed uranium production despite the health risks. This chapter is followed by the story of a corporation called Energy Fuels and their return to Piñon Ridge. Malin notes that many of the area’s residents see the company as “local,” rather than a transnational corporation coming from outside. In fact, the company, in the words of Malin, has “masterfully” established itself as a local institution that seeks to provide jobs and healthcare to the community. Hence, some see the proposed mill as a “symbol of renewal,” despite the work of activists opposing the mill.
The aforementioned examples support Malin’s point that environmental justice cannot be reduced simply to the prohibition of uranium mining. Rather, the fight for environmental justice is complex, with different actors pursuing different goals. This is further influenced by the special material conditions faced by these communities. There are several threads, according to Malin, that connect the different positions of community members. Issues of isolation, poverty, and social dislocation affect both communities and activists. For instance, opponents to the uranium industry that live in areas where alternatives to mining exist (for example, tourism or sustainable agriculture) fight a very different battle than those who do not. Those who do not have alternatives areforced to define environmental justice differently—such as by supporting industry regulation.
In order to make sense of this pro-mining paradox, Malin offers us several tools. Drawing on the work of Karl Polanyi, Malin uses the concept of a “triple movement” to discuss “sites of acceptance” within social movement organizations. The triple movement operates between markets, community resistance, and the status quo. This is a product of the material conditions in the region. For some communities, the movement includes accepting uranium as part of community history and the social fabric. That is not to say that industry supporters who live there have no sense of environmental justice. Rather, the triple movement produces a conceptualization of environmental justice that is befitting of neoliberalism’s hegemonic status in the United States.
Correspondingly, faith in regulation is a means of dealing with the potential fallout of renewed uranium mining. According to a survey Malin conducted, the belief in regulation is tied to uranium production as the status quo. In turn, regulation is seen as a form of environmental justice. There is the belief that regulations can and will protect the community. However, Malin does express concern over such “neoliberalized narratives of regulatory compliance.” For instance, opponents to the Piñon Ridge mill have expressed concern regarding the performance of regulatory bodies. Yet, devolved governance—a shift from federal to state-level regulatory agencies—makes the battleground a local one. Thus, activists have faced intimidation and have had limited space to engage in open debate. As such, Malin suggests that the mobilization of sites of acceptance allows for structural violence.
Malin concludes the book with a discussion of localized energy justice as a solution to the aforementioned problems. For instance, she suggests that solar and wind, although not without their own problems, can be an alternative to uranium in dislocated areas in the Plateau. In particular, Malin believes that such energy systems have the potential to be deployed at a regional or community level. This would allow for cooperative energy-based economic renewal, rather than projects controlled by corporations.
Throughout the book, Malin has done a good job dealing with these complex communities while raising serious concerns regarding neoliberalism, regulation, and economic renewal. Yet I do have some minor critiques. Indeed, both the employment of the “triple movement” and the discussion of spatial and social dislocation are valuable in helping readers understand these communities. However, the two concepts could be explicitly used much more throughout the book. In particular, the push and pull of the separate processes in the triple movement could be detailed more, rather than just using the term neoliberalism. Also, there were times in which I wanted to hear more of the “voices” from the communities (especially in the sites of acceptance and resistance) that Malin investigated.
In conclusion, Malin’s Price of Nuclear Power is a welcome addition to the work on environmental justice. The book is well written and well organized. It is not a long book, and it is written in a very accessible way. I believe it can be easily assigned in an undergraduate course in environmental sociology, and it contributes greatly to the literatures on community identity, environmental justice, ideology, and neoliberalism.