: About Me

Today I am a freelance writer. Prior to arriving at this point I spent forty years in a succession of careers: naval officer, government executive and engineering consultant. Following my final retirement from the world of industry and management I turned exclusively to writing, which has been a lifelong avocation.

I was born in the Los Angeles area in 1940, graduated from Stanford University in 1962 with a degree in mathematics, returned to school at the University of Washington after my navy service to earn graduate degrees in mathematics and nuclear engineering, and, further down the road, picked an MBA, also through the University of Washington. I am also a Registered Professional engineer for the State of Washington.

I am married with children who are grown and also married. We live in Eastern Washington in a place called Richland on the bank of the Columbia River. This is a land of desert and coulees carved by ice age floods from the basalts which spewed from Mount Rainier and Mount Adams eons ago. Today the Columbia Valley is a thriving agricultural area and a prodigious producer of excellent varietal wines. From here we travel often to visit our grand children and to experience other cultures. My wife, Ellen, especially loves the warm climate of Mexico.

Currently, I regularly write book reviews for a local newspaper (a paid gig). I have written several short stories and am working on others as well as two novels. I also write essays and op-ed pieces on topics of concern to me. Current examples of my work appear on my web site, http://www.hunterfiles.com. I look forward to publishing a collection of short stories later this year.

My passion is ...

Writing

I know too much about ...

Energy production and distribution

My parents always told me ...

You can do what you set your mind to.

My childhood ambition ...

science

My favorite memory ...

Meeting my future wife on a sailboat on Cape Cod Bay

Why I write ...

To capture thoughts and scenes clearly and imaginatively.

What I am reading/watching/listening to ...

Faulkner and others/mostly news/classical music

My first job ...

Janitorial work for my dad

My best moment ...

Seeing my children graduate from college

My inspiration ...

Always the surprising beauties of nature

Politics, News & Issues > Energy Issues Should the federal government support a program to import nuclear waste into the US for reprocessing?

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The short answer to the question is yes. However, as a preliminary to this question another should be considered. During his presidential term (1976-1980) Jimmy Carter banned the reprocessing of nuclear fuel as a policy matter, based on concerns regarding nuclear proliferation. Consequently there is no capability for processing commercial spent fuel in the U.S. today. Prior to considering whether the U.S. should accept foreign spent nuclear fuel for reprocessing the federal government needs to reverse this decision and promote the re-establishment of a processing capability through incenti...

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