Word: nader
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...Then Nader joined with an environmentalist group, the Friends of the Earth, in a lawsuit that, if successful, could force the Atomic Energy Commission to shut down most of the nuclear power plants in the country and halt any further construction until a dispute over the safety of such plants can be resolved. The suit demands that nuclear plants be shut until the AEC can give verified assurances that back-up systems, designed to cool off an overheating reactor core if the primary system breaks down, will work reliably...
...suit was typical of Nader's activities in recent years. He sees his role as "not just disclosure any more, but follow-up with lawsuits and other actions." To do that, he has assembled a pack of consumerist organizations that nip at the heels of top dogs in both business and government. His Public Citizen, Inc., for example, supports four young lawyers who have peppered the government with lawsuits. In one they are attempting to force the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration -ironically, an agency created in response to Nader's prodding-to release used-car safety standards...
...Nader's cohorts are also trying to put some new laws on the books. The Corporate Accountability Research Group is drafting legislation to require federal chartering of corporations, a move that Nader thinks would make companies legally accountable to consumers. Nader also has in the works a new outfit called Congress Watch, which he says would be "the largest public interest lobby in the U.S." Starting with a staff of three that will eventually grow to ten, Watch will not only push for legislation on such matters as consumer protection and tax reform but also monitor the performance...
...Nader has shown a rare ability to attract supporters from both sides of the generation gap. Last year he set up the Retired Professionals Action Group, which will shortly issue a searing report on the hearing-aid industry. College students are said to be apathetic and inward-turning these days, but Nader's representatives have no trouble recruiting the most able students for low-paying "Raider" jobs in the summertime. Even more important, some 41 student PIRGS-for Public Interest Research Groups-are now under way in 16 states. PIRG students make small contributions to support full-time consumer...
...headlines and publicity have had no discernible effect on Nader's ascetic lifestyle; he still lives in a modest boardinghouse, wears baggy suits and scuffed shoes and has no known romantic entanglements. But even some of his supporters fear that as his operation becomes institutionalized he may be spreading himself too thin. The Congress Project's relative unsuccess, in fact, may have stemmed directly from Nader's inability to personally supervise the work of the young researchers who put it together, and signs of less than meticulous research have crept into other studies that bear the Nader...