Photo by Nichole Hofer

Pull Your Head Out Of The Sand

By Cindy Gomez
Editor

All the experts are saying that the U.S. will not suffer noticeable negative effects from the radioactive fallout in Japan. What does that even mean? I heard one expert say that there would be no “measurable” increase in deaths from this disaster. But, how can anyone know what the measurable effects will be? The reactors are still in danger of meltdown or explosion, yet already we are being told to be complacent, unafraid. Everyone remain calm.

It’s simple to understand why. No one wants to cause panic. If people start to panic, and they already have, there could be other panic-related disasters. Imagine all the related problems caused by mass migrations of people, shortages of everything from food and water to fuel, medicine and other products.

What about food contamination? Levels of radiation too high for human consumption are being found and in the drinking water. Radiation in the ocean will kill and contaminate the fish. The damage to our ecosystem may be devastating. Most of our oxygen comes from the phytoplankton in the ocean. Radioactive contamination of the ocean could result in the dissemination of the phytoplankton; the building block for our oxygen and the food chain.

And then there are all the unintended political and economic consequences that don’t immediately jump to mind. For example, prices of electronics like the iPad are quickly rising because many of the components for that device are made in Japan.

The Japanese, usually known for their efficient government practices, are overwhelmed by the effects of the disaster in their country, and they are being criticized by the public for withholding information. The ripple effects of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in Japan have not all been identified yet. People in Japan are angry at their government for being slow to inform them of their real level of danger. Despite the obvious mistrust, people are still being told to remain calm.

Here at home, our own president keeps telling us that we are completely safe. President Obama announced that U.S. nuclear facilities are being overhauled and watched closely. Somehow that assurance doesn’t erase the fear of nuclear disaster. We have Three Mile Island and Chernobyl to compare to the disaster in Japan. Both of those disasters put together don’t make a dent in the proportions of Fukushima.

Yet, we are acting as if we just now realized the incredible permanent damage to the earth, the loss of life associated with a nuclear disaster. I’ve been listening to all these so-called “experts” on nuclear energy. I’m not impressed. I’m not an expert, nor do I need to be one, to know that it would be a really bad idea to build a nuclear reactor in a country that has massive earthquakes all the time. For that matter, who thought it was a good idea to build nuclear facilities anywhere near humans?

It doesn’t matter how many times President Obama says that we are safe. The people in California who bought out all the iodine pills know better than to blindly believe what they are told. There’s also a run on Geiger counters and radiation detectors. People are arming themselves with knowledge and technology to decide for themselves what is safe. When survival is at stake, people have to begin questioning the talking heads telling us what to do and think.

It is in times like these we begin to realize that when it came to nuclear energy, someone took a big gamble with all our lives. The powers that be decided the chances of nuclear meltdown as a result of massive earthquakes, tsunami’s, hurricanes, tornado’s, floods and fires was an acceptable level of risk for all of us.

We can’t keep sticking our heads in the sand; we need to respond now before we become the next Japan. As of October 2010, there were 422 reactor units in operation worldwide. We have 104 reactors, almost ¼ of all the reactors in use, right here on American soil. As of January of 2011, 65 new reactors were under construction worldwide. Over 100 of the reactors in use are over 20 years old. Fears that a malfunction could occur at any one of the aging nuclear facilities is just the tip of the iceberg. What if a massive earthquake hit California? We know earthquakes happen there, massive ones even. Right now, we should all be trying to figure out how to safely shut these ticking time bombs. Mother nature will not systematically avoid nuclear facilities because we wish for it. We can’t just hope that our facilities are safe and can withstand the force of nature. Deep down, as we watch the devastation from Fukushima, we know that we are not safe.

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