Have you been following the news lately?
I know, silly question.
Japan... wow... just when you thought it couldn't get any worse. The sky opened and radiation poured out...
Nuclear power... the Pandora's Box of our century...
The real problem with nuclear plants is... just about everything. There is no 100% safe method for creation of nuclear energy, or for storage of spent fuel rods.
So, really, it's simply a matter of... look for safer methods of energy creation. Very simple!... just say no!
I know there are many (especially in the current congress) who believe nuclear power is as safe as... Mom's apple pie. They probably don't live downwind from a plant, and they've been reassured by the nuclear industry that it's really safe. Even as those reassurances are forthcoming, Japan is melting down.
Literally...
And, if there's truth to the rumor that nuclear power is safe... then someone... please explain Chernobyl and Three Mile Island.
Let's talk briefly about the disaster of Chernobyl because it seems a similar situation is occurring in Japan as officials attempt to downplay problems rather than acknowledge to their and world communities that this impending meltdown is an issue of grave concern.
In 1986 when the Chernobyl reactor blew up/melted down, nearly 120,000 people living in close proximity were evacuated and dozens of small townships vanished from Soviet Union maps. Even as residents in areas closest to the explosion were told that health threats were "minimal," authorities knew this was far from true... those residents were being exposed to levels of over 500 roentgens, which is ultimately fatal. And residents who rushed out to watch the explosion are no longer counted among the living...
Today, the #4 reactor at Chernobyl rests in a giant sarcophagus, perhaps forever.
In 1978 America experienced a near meltdown... ok, a partial meltdown at Three Mile Island. Officials at that time couldn't decide what, if any information to release to the media, and communities closest to the plant.
The true impact of the situation became clear only after an investigation by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and a presidential commission was convened. Whether or not the incident has had long term effects on cancer rates is up for debate. The bottom line is, does anyone really feel safe living next to, or near a nuclear plant? I would have to emphatically say NO.
I happen to live in Los Angeles, fairly close to the nuclear plant at San Onofre... just up the coast we have a nuclear plant at Diablo Canyon. Both plants reside very close to the major fault lines that crisscross the state and Pacific Ocean. In the event of a similar situation occurring here as just occurred in Japan, the loss of life would be staggeringly high, and the impact on food sources would be devastating.
As Congress continues to grapple with whether or not to build more nuclear plants, I think more Americans should weigh in and decide whether they want to expose themselves, and their children to the possibility of a nuclear wasteland in this country. Perhaps we should look back to the level of destruction at Nagasaki and Hiroshima near the end of WWII.
Then we should ask... Is this what we want for our country, and our people?
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