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| No Nukes! NBA is a nuclear-free zone. |
Hold on, doesn't Canada sell nuclear reactors? And export Uranium? Hmm.
The official line of the Canadian government/nuclear industry is "nothing to worry about", or "no risk from Fukushima fallout" for Canadians. Their misinformation, withholding of data, and lies could put millions of citizens at risk.
Individuals that actually know about nuclear power paint a different, and very disturbing picture.
Scientists predict that if things get worse at the plant the radioactive plume that would travel across the Pacific would require the evacuation of the west coast of N. America. Uh, I live on the west coast of N. America, and I would like to know what an appropriate response would be to this unprecedented event.
Other experts go as far as to say that a worst case scenario would necessitate the evacuation of the entire Northern Hemisphere. As this horror continues to unfold, it is difficult to believe that there are vested interests that continue to push this destructive technology.
All this madness is more proof that we are being duped by powerful, moneyed, and influential forces. Governments in collusion with the war/nuclear industry tell us we can't continue without more nuclear power plants (while raising acceptable levels of radiation since 2011).
I don't see how we can continue with them.
If renewable can't power our busy lives, then perhaps what we need are less busy lives. If each of us committed to changes at home and practiced measures of conservation, the nuclear power plants that we have right now wouldn't be necessary.
We can choose simpler, less energy intensive lives. We can contact our elected officials and demand they act responsibly and implement a "Clean Energy: Choose Renewables First!" policy as recommended by the Union of Concerned Scientists.
We can say, "No Nuclear Power, No Nuclear Bombs - Anywhere".
"The splitting of the atom changed everything except Man's way of thinking, as we drift towards unparalleled catastrophe."
- Albert Einstein
The Shippingport Nuclear Power Station was the first plant in the US. It went online December of 1957. I was born January of 1958, just few miles from this plant (and have lived here almost my entire life.) The environmental impact and the health costs are innumerable.
ReplyDeleteThe Nuke plant and the adjacent coal fired plant has employed hundreds of people in this area and was considered a savior of the economy. No one wants to admit or take responsibility for the harm it has caused.
In fact we seem to be so desperate that we welcomed a toxic waste incinerator to our town, just across the street from an elementary school. The school has since been torn down because of the toxic air quality recorded in that neighborhood.
We as a people don't want to give up any conveniences in order to save ourselves or our planet. There seems to be a total disconnect from our actions and the direct impact that they have to our own species, not alone our fellow species.
It's sad knowing that we may destroy everything in order that we can live a life we think we deserve.
Miss Marla,
DeleteWow. That is really amazing. I must admit I did not know a lot about nuclear power plants prior to Fukushima. I have been getting a crash course since then, and I don't like what I am finding out.
First of all, it is difficult to get away from these things. I found out that when the Shippingport nuclear power station was decommissioned in 80s the reactor pressure vessel was trucked to Washington state, just across the border from where I have lived for the past 8 years.
The Hanford Site in Washington is currently the most contaminated nuclear site in the United States and is the focus of the largest environmental cleanup in the country. The site is where most of the plutonium was manufactured for America's 60,000 strong nuclear weapons, and it has leaked unknown amounts of radioactive materials into aquifers, the atmosphere, and to the Columbia River.
I am so sorry to hear about your towns woes. Shippingport had one thing going for it - it did not contribute to weapons proliferation (like Hanford) as it did not create plutonium.
We have mistaken our wants for needs, and now we can't see how it is possible to have a good life without the excess of the past few decades. As you point out, we believe we deserve to live however we want regardless of the social, psychological, spiritual, and environmental consequences.
But we don't deserve it. No one does. Even when we get what we think we want it still does not make us any happier than the simple lives we left behind.
At some point it will be as socially unacceptable to consume more than your fair share of resources as it is to light up a smoke while watching a movie in the theatre is now. Conspicuous consumers and corrupt corporations will be shamed.
The nuclear industry's shortcomings are being exposed, just as consumer capitalism is showing its true colours. The whole thing is as wobbly as the #4 spent fuel pool at Fukushima, and it won't take much for it all to crumble.
Our thoughts are with you and your entire community. Take care.