Yucca Mountain Johnny is a

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...

miner A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face; cutting, blasting, ...

created by the

United States Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United Stat ...

(DOE) to present information to children on nuclear waste disposal and the Yucca Mountain Project. Serving as the virtual guide for the DOE's Youth Zone web site and appearing " live-action" in

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

schools, Yucca Mountain Johnny has drawn harsh criticism as a

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

tool. Former

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

Shelley Berkley Rochelle "Shelley" Berkley (née Levine; born January 20, 1951) is an American businesswoman, politician and attorney who served as U.S. Representative for from 1999 to 2013. In 2012, she was an unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. Senate. She is ...

( D-NV) called Yucca Mountain Johnny "the Department of Energy's

Joe Camel Joe Camel (also called Old Joe) was an advertising mascot used by the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJR) for their cigarette brand Camel. The character was created in 1974 for a French advertising campaign, and was redesigned for the American ...

", a reference to a cartoon

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...

for the tobacco industry which drew criticism for targeting children. Former Representative

Jon Porter Jonathan Christopher "Jon" Porter (born May 16, 1955) is an American politician who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, the first representative elected from the 3rd Congressional District of Nevada. He ...

( R-NV) stated that "to sell the Yucca Mountain Project to our children through the use of a cartoon character is an irresponsible and desperate act." DOE spokesperson Craig Stevens, however, defended Yucca Mountain Johnny, arguing that it "teaches hydrology, geology, and earth science", and that it is "part of our duty to explain to the public what we're doing." Support for Yucca Mountain Johnny was present in the House of Representatives, with Representative Joe Barton (R- TX) stating that "nobody questions the accuracy or truth of what's on the Web site", and Representative David Hobson (R- OH) stating that it "may have a place in teaching kids." Berkley, who is a vocal opponent of a Yucca Mountain waste repository, attempted to add an amendment to an energy spending bill that would have prevented the funds from being used for the DOE Youth Zone web site. The amendment was defeated, 271–147. The Youth Zone now appears to have been removed from the DOE's website, although copies of the site can be found via the

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and see ...

Notes

External links

Last archived version (via archive.org) of the Yucca Mountain Youth Zone
United States Department of Energy Radioactive waste Public service announcement characters Male characters in advertising American mascots Cartoon mascots Fictional characters from Nevada {{mascot-stub

See also

Notes

External links