No More 'Nofre, Now What?

Last week, Southern California Edison surprised everyone when they announced that the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), offline for more than a year, would be shut down permanently. Anti-nuke activist hailed it as their victory; pro-nukes folks claimed the region's electricity rates will soon skyrocket. And then there's the whole issue of how exactly will the decommissioning of SONGS occur, a process estimated to take decades and cost billions. Who wins, who loses — and what's next?