I used to be like you, living on the East coast and thinking of the rest of the country as "those Western states". I've heard that even people in the federal government talk about getting rid of nuclear waste "out west". But once you actually live in one of those western states, the idea of being a nuclear fuel dump for the rest of the country doesn't look so attractive.
did you ever notice that most of the 'endangered' critters that trigger 'no growth' lawsuits by the moonbat greenies are always in the West?
Apparently there aren't any spiders, minnows or bugs that need protection in the Eastern part of the country?