Gov. Huntsman was asked why the state would bother conducting its own public hearings on Divine Strake, since Utah had no authority over the test.

"Because nothing stops the power of the people, my friend," Huntsman responded during the January hearing in Salt Lake City.

It turns out that not even a 700-ton bomb could stop the power of Utahns united against the proposed blast at the Nevada Test site. The Defense Threat Reduction Agency announced it was canceling Divine Strake and would look for a way to get the data without setting off a massive explosion on the irradiated test site.

The announcement followed two emotional state-sponsored public hearings conducted in Salt Lake City and St. George, where residents could express their concerns about the project and have them included in the state's formal objection to the test. More than 100 people gave oral comments at the hearings, and thousands of others submitted e-mail and written comments objecting to Divine Strake.

Divine Strake's purpose was to help the Defense Department develop bombs that can destroy hardened underground bunkers. The plan was to detonate 700 tons of ammonium nitrate-fuel oil over an underground tunnel and measure the effects the blast.

However, the experiment was being done on the Nevada Test Site, where the federal government has detonated hundreds of nuclear weapons in the past half-century. Utahns rightfully feared that the blast would send irradiated soil into the air, coming down on them.

The government's assurances that the test was safe were not comforting for those who remember all the government's promises that above-ground nuclear tests were safe and that fallout from the bombs was harmless.

Nobody mentioned that radioactive debris would be carried by air currents to virtually every corner of the nation. Today, the results can be measured. Across America, for example, dairy cows now feed on grass from irradiated soil. Radiactive iodine ends up in the milk. So now, if you drink milk at home but fail to get enough iodine from other sources -- say by using iodized salt -- radioactive iodine will be absorbed into your body. All milk-drinkers thus have an increased risk of developing thyroid cancer.

When the government refused to conduct a proper public hearing on Divine Strake (instead it hosted a so-called "open house" to present its case without having to listen to any objections), many Utahns did not sit still. Instead, they made sure their voices were heard loud and clear.

The most powerful of the comments at the state's hearing came ordinary Utahns, many of whom were downwinders.

"They would never think of putting us at risk again. Well, those of us who lived downwind, and upwind, and who have managed to survive a number of cancers, are here to tell you that we have been lied to by the experts," said Darlene Phillips, a Utah downwinder.

Others told of watching the nuclear fireballs in the desert as children, assured that they were perfectly safe, or being told it was all right to play in the "vitamin-laced" sand that came after the tests. They then told of losing loved ones to cancer, or having to go through painful cancer treatments themselves.

The message from these people was clear: Utahns would not be fooled again.

Faced with that overwhelming outcry, the government wisely chose to find another way. Computer models can be used to develop a bunker buster. By doing this, the government is taking a step toward rebuilding its credibility with Utahns who have paid too high a price for past lies.

This episode is also an important reminder of the power people have when they exercise their right to speak out.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A5.