So here's the thought that's keeping me awake right now:
With all the new and proposed frac sand mines and processing plants planned in northwest Wisconsin, will the next step be a new nuclear power plant to feed this insatiable beast? This industry sucks a lot of energy to get oil out of the ground - will this be our next fight?
Nothing is planned, and I'll do whatever is in front of me when it's there, but this is an important piece of the continuing, desperate End of Empire.
2011/07/09
Cesium is not Iodine, and it's still not safe to eat
This is a decent informative article from NaturalNews.com about radioactive cesium vs. iodine. While the tone is a little alarmist, the information is accurate.
When you hear about "radiation levels" at Fukushima, you're mostly hearing only about radioactive iodine, which decays much, much faster (i.e., days rather than years) than all the other radioactive isotopes one could measure there today. Cesium takes 30 years to decay by half. A tiny bit of radioactive cesium eaten in the body of a contaminated fish caught from the Pacific Ocean - or seaweed grown there - is infinitely more dangerous to you than a particle floating around the atmosphere.
An illustrative example, from the link:
"A speck of radioactive dust that's one meter away from you, for example, is twice as dangerous as that same speck four meters away. But if you eat that radioactive speck (because it's part of a fishyou're consuming, for example), then suddenly it'sinside your body. So now it might only be a millimeter away from your internal tissues, meaning you've decreased the distance between you and the radiation source byone thousand times. Because if the law of the inverse square of the distance, you have now magnified the radiation intensity byone million times(because one million is the square of one thousand)."
This is the real danger of cesium and other radioactive isotopes - once you eat them, they emit radiation from inside your body, in your muscle tissue or bones or heart or wherever.
"[Y]ou quickly become a walking radioactive dirty bombfrom the inside."
2011/07/07
Rare Earth Minerals, Murder by Technology
The continuing tidal wave of ripping stuff out of the earth keeps on rolling. This time, under the Pacific Ocean. Rare earth minerals, tons of them, have been "discovered" by Japanese "explorers".
"Rare earth metals have emerged as one of the most sought after resources in [the] commodities boom. Minerals present in the mud include gadolinium, lutetium, terbium and dysprosium." Some of these are used in the manufacture of those eco-friendly hybrid cars. Here is a handy image with notes about which minerals are used in the Prius, created by Lee Allison, state geologist and Director of the Arizona Geological Survey. Gadolinium is used in x-ray systems, CDs, and nuclear medicine.
The "commodities boom." Does that include frac sand? The excitement and anticipation of profits by scooping tons of mud off the ocean floor makes me sick. To what lengths will we continue our pillaging of the very body that bears us and makes us human? We are all complicit, here in the privileged West. I am sick to death of new solutions and technologies that are really assassination attempts. While we consume the death of the oceans and the forests and the ecological systems that continue to get in the way of our lifestyles, we lose more and more of our humanity.
It all seems part of the end of Empire and it's a long way down yet.
2011/07/01
Love, Critically
Recently I was having a little vacation with old friends, some of whom had never met my partner and husband, C. When asked to describe him I was kind of dumbfounded; we've been together for almost twenty years, where the heck do I begin? I tried by saying he's kind of tall, a little geeky, interesting... and then it just all seemed inadequate. That conversation mercifully didn't go anywhere, but it left me feeling kind of dumb.
What I meant to say was this:
That C. has heart. That everything he does is important, and with his whole self. That he is funny and attentive and loving and tolerant and flexible when I need him to be, inflexible when it's important. That he is an amazing parent, and I love how he loves me. His heart is as big as our world needs right now, and I'm glad I share it with him. He's persuasive when he wants to be, and a great person to have around when you're trying to reframe something important. He lets you remember the things that are essential and sacred, including my own peace and spiritual connection. He's not intimidated or afraid of gay or anything else. Thank god. That he's a radical thinker, a devoted partner, and an inspiring lover. That I am a better person in his shadow, and that he casts no shadow under my Sun. We are, as someone said long ago, a matching pair. I'll never be bored.
That should cover it.
What I meant to say was this:
That C. has heart. That everything he does is important, and with his whole self. That he is funny and attentive and loving and tolerant and flexible when I need him to be, inflexible when it's important. That he is an amazing parent, and I love how he loves me. His heart is as big as our world needs right now, and I'm glad I share it with him. He's persuasive when he wants to be, and a great person to have around when you're trying to reframe something important. He lets you remember the things that are essential and sacred, including my own peace and spiritual connection. He's not intimidated or afraid of gay or anything else. Thank god. That he's a radical thinker, a devoted partner, and an inspiring lover. That I am a better person in his shadow, and that he casts no shadow under my Sun. We are, as someone said long ago, a matching pair. I'll never be bored.
That should cover it.
2011/06/30
1000 Acres
According to a reliable source, there are plans for 140 frac sand mines in northwest Wisconsin right now, with some as large as 1000 acres.
1,000 acres.
These are plans to strip the land of its hills full of sand, add chemicals and water, and leave the wreckage of our water and air to all of us who have to live here, with untold and unchecked profit for a few. I am astonished and very, very pissed. A banker wrote in an open letter recently: "Eventually the sand mine will return to farmland, and, 50 years from now, no one will remember that there had once been a hill where the flat, fertile farm now lies." It's all nostalgia to him; progress is the real value, and all of us emotional environmentalists are out to harm the community with our misplaced and unpatriotic outrage.
So what do we care about those unprofitable hills anyway? We're just a bunch of emotional wackos who don't want to buck up and provide the country with this valuable and necessary resource.
Unless of course, we are just people who have educated ourselves about frac sand, mining, and processing plants and the permanent divisions they create in community and safety, and sincerely want to protect our children and all our descendants from this latest end-of-empire devastation. Not any of us stand to make any money from frac sand and all it entails, and none of us think any profit should be made off of the suffering of others.
Duh.
This is a good time to remind you check the Hay River Frac Watch for updates.
1,000 acres.
These are plans to strip the land of its hills full of sand, add chemicals and water, and leave the wreckage of our water and air to all of us who have to live here, with untold and unchecked profit for a few. I am astonished and very, very pissed. A banker wrote in an open letter recently: "Eventually the sand mine will return to farmland, and, 50 years from now, no one will remember that there had once been a hill where the flat, fertile farm now lies." It's all nostalgia to him; progress is the real value, and all of us emotional environmentalists are out to harm the community with our misplaced and unpatriotic outrage.
So what do we care about those unprofitable hills anyway? We're just a bunch of emotional wackos who don't want to buck up and provide the country with this valuable and necessary resource.
Unless of course, we are just people who have educated ourselves about frac sand, mining, and processing plants and the permanent divisions they create in community and safety, and sincerely want to protect our children and all our descendants from this latest end-of-empire devastation. Not any of us stand to make any money from frac sand and all it entails, and none of us think any profit should be made off of the suffering of others.
Duh.
This is a good time to remind you check the Hay River Frac Watch for updates.
2011/06/29
Vaccines, another look
There are a lot of articles and opinion pieces out there questioning the safety of vaccinations. Most of them go right for the aborted fetus/genetically modified/population control conspiracy stuff right at the get go. But this article rocks my world by managing to avoid all conspiracy theories and focus on the science. The author doesn't provide alternatives to vaccination, but the thorough description and analogy of what vaccines do in the body to the immune system is really good. It's a bit long, but worth the read - especially if you've never considered the whole spectrum of vaccination's effects in the body.
Vaccines as "Cluster Bombs"
Vaccines as "Cluster Bombs"
2011/06/23
The Cost of Information
Tonight the owner of the sale and lease of land being negotiated with the mining corporation will be hosting an informational meeting to discuss local ramifications and who knows what else. Isn't it interesting that the owner - not the mining company - is being so helpful to the corporation? What a sweet gesture of compliance and sharing she has shown to the Company. What a helper! What a community member!
I may be pissed, but it's true; the mining companies don't need to do PR when the locals will take - and generate - all the heat for them.
In 5 years, when the landowner has been screwed by they mining company (a very common thing, evidently), I wonder what kind of regrets won't be discussed in an informational meeting. When the wells dry up, and the air is filled with carcinogenic particulate that gives my children and the children attending school in town asthma and increased risk for lung cancer, what kind of info meeting will she be hosting? When the trucks have wrecked the county roads and cracked the foundations of old farmhouses and killed dogs and cats and many other mammals haplessly crossing roads that used to be deserted, what kind of info meeting will we attend then? When the relatively toxic farming practices used to monocrop GM corn and soy are exchanged for hundreds of known carcinogens leaching into the groundwater after the sand processing plant is finished, and we are all drinking unknown and untested chemicals in our water, what kind of info meeting will be hosted then? And when all the farming families and folks I know don't move because we can't afford to, and we have to work outside in a toxic stew to grow our food, what kind of info meeting will I be attending?
The cost of civilization and colonization is not information. It is destruction and risk and suffering. Only human-scale community will endure because only we can ask the questions that remind everyone else of our shared humanity and the connections to our individual webs of life and living. I'm rooting for life, but in the mean time I'm fighting as best I can against destruction.
I may be pissed, but it's true; the mining companies don't need to do PR when the locals will take - and generate - all the heat for them.
In 5 years, when the landowner has been screwed by they mining company (a very common thing, evidently), I wonder what kind of regrets won't be discussed in an informational meeting. When the wells dry up, and the air is filled with carcinogenic particulate that gives my children and the children attending school in town asthma and increased risk for lung cancer, what kind of info meeting will she be hosting? When the trucks have wrecked the county roads and cracked the foundations of old farmhouses and killed dogs and cats and many other mammals haplessly crossing roads that used to be deserted, what kind of info meeting will we attend then? When the relatively toxic farming practices used to monocrop GM corn and soy are exchanged for hundreds of known carcinogens leaching into the groundwater after the sand processing plant is finished, and we are all drinking unknown and untested chemicals in our water, what kind of info meeting will be hosted then? And when all the farming families and folks I know don't move because we can't afford to, and we have to work outside in a toxic stew to grow our food, what kind of info meeting will I be attending?
The cost of civilization and colonization is not information. It is destruction and risk and suffering. Only human-scale community will endure because only we can ask the questions that remind everyone else of our shared humanity and the connections to our individual webs of life and living. I'm rooting for life, but in the mean time I'm fighting as best I can against destruction.
2011/06/15
Hay River Frac Watch web site
There is now a very informative web site so you can follow the frac sand mining that is set to devastate the land base here in my neck of western Wisconsin: Hay River Frac Watch.
I understand that beside the developments planned 3 miles northeast of my home there are a total of 9 mining companies eager to make a profit off of our sand. Unfortunately all this is targeted to help fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, a toxic process used in the US to suck natural gas out of the earth a mile underground. Unfortunately, I suspect this is a relative flash in the pan: 5-10 years of ecological wrecking and human greed and then lots of people grieving for our past.
A group of thoughtful, smart community members are working to stop it here. We can beat the mining companies, but we have to be united and work fast. Stay connected, learn more, speak out!
I understand that beside the developments planned 3 miles northeast of my home there are a total of 9 mining companies eager to make a profit off of our sand. Unfortunately all this is targeted to help fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, a toxic process used in the US to suck natural gas out of the earth a mile underground. Unfortunately, I suspect this is a relative flash in the pan: 5-10 years of ecological wrecking and human greed and then lots of people grieving for our past.
A group of thoughtful, smart community members are working to stop it here. We can beat the mining companies, but we have to be united and work fast. Stay connected, learn more, speak out!
2011/06/10
Who Needs Leaders?
I firmly believe it's all going to get worse before it gets better. I believe that as the profiteers desperately move through our earth's body to make more and more money for fewer and fewer people, that those of us outside the cities will suffer. But I do believe radical change is possible; I don't believe that destruction is inevitable; I don't believe we have to lose our humanity in defense of our land base; I also don't believe the lack of humanity in the actions of a few mining or nuclear energy companies mean we are doomed to desperate living (no, not John Waters-style, you smart asses).
In a recent article in the Economist of all places (Who Needs Leaders?), I read this quote:
"THE earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident that struck Japan three months ago have revealed something important about the country: a seam of strength and composure in the bedrock of society that has surprised even the Japanese themselves. Not only has this resilience helped the hundreds of thousands suffering from the loss of families, homes and livelihoods to cope with their suffering, despite the self-absorbed dithering of their national politicians in Tokyo. By reminding Japan of the hidden depths of its local communities, especially compared with the shallowness of central government, it has also provided a sense of how Japan could emerge stronger from the crisis, ending years of economic drift."
Depth of local communities. Shallowness of central government.
Isn't it true?
In a recent article in the Economist of all places (Who Needs Leaders?), I read this quote:
"THE earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident that struck Japan three months ago have revealed something important about the country: a seam of strength and composure in the bedrock of society that has surprised even the Japanese themselves. Not only has this resilience helped the hundreds of thousands suffering from the loss of families, homes and livelihoods to cope with their suffering, despite the self-absorbed dithering of their national politicians in Tokyo. By reminding Japan of the hidden depths of its local communities, especially compared with the shallowness of central government, it has also provided a sense of how Japan could emerge stronger from the crisis, ending years of economic drift."
Depth of local communities. Shallowness of central government.
Isn't it true?
2011/06/03
Japanese elders offer to help clean up Fukushima
Even though it is little reported in the US news media, the meltdowns at Fukushima's nuclear power plants continue to deteriorate. There is much, much work to do; each unit must still be cooled and contained, and the kilometers around Fukushima will remain contaminated for a very long time. Work demands workers. Who will volunteer, under full consent, to help clean up this corporate and governmental disaster?
A group of elders has stepped forward to offer their services.
The complete negligence and greed of TEPCO and the disinformation of the IAEA and the Japanese government has doomed not only the land and environment of Japan and its people to dramatic increases in cancer and death and toxic food and economic devastation. It will now also lose cherished grandparents to nuclear power.
"Kazuko Sasaki, 69, the co-founder of the group, says she has a number of personal reasons why she wants to work at the plant. 'My generation, the old generation, promoted the nuclear plants. If we don't take responsibility, who will?'"
In the face of Ms. Sasaki's responsibility, I ask again: Where are the designers, builders, and owners of these nuclear power plants? Why are those who are truly responsible not volunteering their time to clean soil, dump water, and fix leaks? As always, the failure of a few to experience real connection with the land base and their communities cost the lives and well-being of many. What can we learn, here? Who is next?
A group of elders has stepped forward to offer their services.
The complete negligence and greed of TEPCO and the disinformation of the IAEA and the Japanese government has doomed not only the land and environment of Japan and its people to dramatic increases in cancer and death and toxic food and economic devastation. It will now also lose cherished grandparents to nuclear power.
"Kazuko Sasaki, 69, the co-founder of the group, says she has a number of personal reasons why she wants to work at the plant. 'My generation, the old generation, promoted the nuclear plants. If we don't take responsibility, who will?'"
In the face of Ms. Sasaki's responsibility, I ask again: Where are the designers, builders, and owners of these nuclear power plants? Why are those who are truly responsible not volunteering their time to clean soil, dump water, and fix leaks? As always, the failure of a few to experience real connection with the land base and their communities cost the lives and well-being of many. What can we learn, here? Who is next?
2011/05/29
Once you get a taste for power...
Surveillance - it's never been just a Republican thing. They just get the credit for starting it all. And Obama and his minions are right behind it.
Salon article summarizing recent troubling developments.
Salon article summarizing recent troubling developments.
2011/05/28
Can I Get a Witness?
I've been caught in the whirl of Spring this year, and my blog has suffered for it. The growing things call me - plants, dirt, weeds, children - all pressing me with their needs and love. All are givers, all take something in return. I give myself as freely as I can; in return I get the chance to understand the absolute "yes" of plants and the in- and inter-dependence of children.
In addition to growing things, there is still the possibility of this frac sand mine 3 miles from our house and right next door to our friends' house, and Fukushima now has officially-confirmed meltdowns in three of the four reactors and insane radiation levels in the ocean, and my children had chickenpox, and my partner is busy someplace else with his 20-year-old band, and there are the frogs and the robins and the aphids and all the rain. The world as we know it is forever changed, as far as I can tell. For me, it is a feeling of irrevocabilty, of the newest political trends toward control and fascism, of a radioactive planet, of contaminated food, soil, air, and breast milk, forever. That despite the actions of a few that affect the whole, including non-human life, there can still be poetry and delicious transgression and radical actions and humor that create real human relations without dogma - be it religion, pacifism, abuse, or science.
And to top it all off, I have an idea.
I want to publish a blog of local nature writing: mundane, beatific, transcendent, holy, joyful, scared, funny, thoughtful writing. Whatever people are thinking and feeling. Because right now all of us are fighting really hard for our ways of life - some of us more than others - and it seems like the right time to share a little reflection of what it is that we see when we look into the mirror of right outside the door. I believe that women's voices are especially important right now, that we have a relationship with and responsibility to wild life that is precious and maybe sacred. I want to help share this kind of writing here in my neck of Wisconsin, and hope people might want to read it. And there are tons of interesting people with interesting observations and thoughts about the world up in here. What do you think? Please share your comments. This is still in the brainstorm stage, and I am trying to gauge interest and possibilities.
In addition to growing things, there is still the possibility of this frac sand mine 3 miles from our house and right next door to our friends' house, and Fukushima now has officially-confirmed meltdowns in three of the four reactors and insane radiation levels in the ocean, and my children had chickenpox, and my partner is busy someplace else with his 20-year-old band, and there are the frogs and the robins and the aphids and all the rain. The world as we know it is forever changed, as far as I can tell. For me, it is a feeling of irrevocabilty, of the newest political trends toward control and fascism, of a radioactive planet, of contaminated food, soil, air, and breast milk, forever. That despite the actions of a few that affect the whole, including non-human life, there can still be poetry and delicious transgression and radical actions and humor that create real human relations without dogma - be it religion, pacifism, abuse, or science.
And to top it all off, I have an idea.
I want to publish a blog of local nature writing: mundane, beatific, transcendent, holy, joyful, scared, funny, thoughtful writing. Whatever people are thinking and feeling. Because right now all of us are fighting really hard for our ways of life - some of us more than others - and it seems like the right time to share a little reflection of what it is that we see when we look into the mirror of right outside the door. I believe that women's voices are especially important right now, that we have a relationship with and responsibility to wild life that is precious and maybe sacred. I want to help share this kind of writing here in my neck of Wisconsin, and hope people might want to read it. And there are tons of interesting people with interesting observations and thoughts about the world up in here. What do you think? Please share your comments. This is still in the brainstorm stage, and I am trying to gauge interest and possibilities.
 |
| Kodama/tree spirit in the film Princess Mononoke |
2011/05/13
Frac Sand Mining
There is a raging hot issue in my neck of the woods that is pissing me off and making me work hard to figure out what I can do to stop it: a frac sand mine is proposed a couple of miles from my house in western Wisconsin. I will post more about this in the future, but it's hard to find time with it being Spring and planting season and cooking our meals and cleaning up our meals and housework and parenting duties and all that. And I don't even farm! I have a relative life of luxury.
I will share here many of the questions and ideas that come to me that I may not have other opportunities to express, which will hopefully help me organize myself and kick some corporate ass. And as you might expect, it won't always be pretty, because I refuse to accept our community being treated as a place that most of the world considers a valuable resource for the rest of the population, so the US can continue our swift plummet into the deep abyss of the end of Empire - and all that entails.
I will share here many of the questions and ideas that come to me that I may not have other opportunities to express, which will hopefully help me organize myself and kick some corporate ass. And as you might expect, it won't always be pretty, because I refuse to accept our community being treated as a place that most of the world considers a valuable resource for the rest of the population, so the US can continue our swift plummet into the deep abyss of the end of Empire - and all that entails.
Fukushima Updates
Finally, TEPCO can no longer deny the level of radioactive destruction in its Fukushima plants.
Unit #1 has a confirmed meltdown of its core, #4 is about to collapse, and #2 is leaking radioactive water like a sieve.
Arnie Gunderson has a great new video update you should watch.
Dr. Helen Caldicott posts truly wonderful and up-to-date information on her facebook page. She is not only very knowledgeable, but works tirelessly to educate whoever will listen about the many false claims to the relative safety of nuclear power from a physician's and activist's perspective. She is awesome, go find her page on facebook now. Just open up a new tab and go do it if you care to learn about nuclear power throughout the world.
Giant tents will cover the reactors! Presumably to reduce steam and atmospheric releases. And like Chris pointed out, it will also shield cameras quite well. The only good news in that article is that there will be no limit set on the liabilities Tepco will have to pay.
The risk of another explosion, in #1, is still possible. Since there is a confirmed meltdown there, an explosion would be bad, right?
Since radiation from Fukushima probably never really ended, the rain is not as safe as we might want to believe. Cesium is still high around the reactors; when will Japan's ground water and oceans be safe enough to support life without also causing cancers? Why will the US not learn from Japan?
Unit #1 has a confirmed meltdown of its core, #4 is about to collapse, and #2 is leaking radioactive water like a sieve.
Arnie Gunderson has a great new video update you should watch.
Dr. Helen Caldicott posts truly wonderful and up-to-date information on her facebook page. She is not only very knowledgeable, but works tirelessly to educate whoever will listen about the many false claims to the relative safety of nuclear power from a physician's and activist's perspective. She is awesome, go find her page on facebook now. Just open up a new tab and go do it if you care to learn about nuclear power throughout the world.
Giant tents will cover the reactors! Presumably to reduce steam and atmospheric releases. And like Chris pointed out, it will also shield cameras quite well. The only good news in that article is that there will be no limit set on the liabilities Tepco will have to pay.
The risk of another explosion, in #1, is still possible. Since there is a confirmed meltdown there, an explosion would be bad, right?
Since radiation from Fukushima probably never really ended, the rain is not as safe as we might want to believe. Cesium is still high around the reactors; when will Japan's ground water and oceans be safe enough to support life without also causing cancers? Why will the US not learn from Japan?
2011/05/05
Dust in the Wind
The latest update from Fairewinds Associates hosts an interview with scientist and researcher Marco Kaltofen explaining why radioactive particles, which were pushed into the atmosphere from the Fukushima explosion(s), will continue to affect the health of people in Japan and the United States for a long time.
Hint: it's not just because it's in your food or water.
Hint: it's not just because it's in your food or water.
2011/05/02
Commitment, Sacrifice, Justice, and Power
"Let us remember that we can do these things not just because of wealth or power, but because of who we are: one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
The United States has killed Osama bin Laden. President Obama, in his announcement last night, [the link is to the transcript] told us everything we should be feeling about this recent assassination: justice, safety, unity, and the blessings of God on our amazingly powerful country.
I couldn't care less about this kind of patriotism.
I want to to see justice served, but to all the species the industrialized United States (and other countries) has killed in its mission to expand without end.
I want to see justice served to all the descendants of freed slaves, the end of oppression, the end of discrimination.
I want to see the justice of traditional lands returned without question to the north american tribes from which they were stolen in bloodshed.
I want to see justice served to the residents of and workers in this country who have been fed pollution so toxic their babies die and their children develop leukemia, including genetic pollution controlled by corporations whose end goal is to control our food and water from seed to table.
I want to see the justice of actual persons living actual lives free from harm, with the right to organize their communities for the benefit and compassion of all, not just the elected or the wealthy.
I want to see the free reign of love, true pervy blinking teary meaty down-and-dirty swishy and boring love, waving its pink handkerchief at me as I tie up my boots and tickle the beard of my manly man.
I want justice for all the indigenous populations around the globe whose lands have been stolen and handed to the oil and mining corporations, leaving nothing but unsafe jobs, a depleted and toxic land base, and no legal voice with which to demand justice.
I want justice served for the water - all the rivers, lakes, streams, springs, ponds, bogs and oceans.
I could go on.
Obama's closing words made me check my calendar: was it 2011 or 2001? Who was sitting in the comfy White House chair, Bush or Obama? Really, when the president continues to claim that "we" are powerful and wealthy and somehow special enough to be blessed by an all-powerful sky god (at the exclusion of all other gods, or any god), and that somehow this relationship has anything to do with celebrating the death of a wealthy psychopath hunkering in Pakistan, and that our right is to continue hunting whomever "we" like however the president sees fit, I have to disagree.
"...America can do whatever we set our mind to. That is the story of our history, whether it’s the pursuit of prosperity for our people, or the struggle for equality for all our citizens; our commitment to stand up for our values abroad, and our sacrifices to make the world a safer place."
Perseverance does not mean we are all blessed by God; commitment does not mean we are somehow deserving of special dispensations from the holy of holies; rather, the words of a man in power ruling one of the poorest, most incarcerated, corrupt and unhealthiest industrialized nations in the world ring everywhere but true. That is the "story of our history."
As the United States continues to build and protect the pipeline in Afghanistan and bombs Libya, as Scott Walker sits in the governor's office in Madison, as electric companies rub their hands anticipating renewing nuclear power plants in many states around the country, as residents of Japan hope they will be able find safe food and water for their elders and families for the next 100 years, I would ask you: Do you feel safer?
My observations are not meant to be merely cynical, but rather an attempt to prompt the inspired to actions and thoughts full of light and water, the kind of things that grow sharp minds and clever actions. Sparkly words full of empty praise for the brave dead do not compel warm feelings toward my land base or my neighbor (I refuse to call it my "country").
Guess I'll have to take a walk and listen a little bit to the frogs for that.
Thank you. May God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America."
The United States has killed Osama bin Laden. President Obama, in his announcement last night, [the link is to the transcript] told us everything we should be feeling about this recent assassination: justice, safety, unity, and the blessings of God on our amazingly powerful country.
I couldn't care less about this kind of patriotism.
I want to to see justice served, but to all the species the industrialized United States (and other countries) has killed in its mission to expand without end.
I want to see justice served to all the descendants of freed slaves, the end of oppression, the end of discrimination.
I want to see the justice of traditional lands returned without question to the north american tribes from which they were stolen in bloodshed.
I want to see justice served to the residents of and workers in this country who have been fed pollution so toxic their babies die and their children develop leukemia, including genetic pollution controlled by corporations whose end goal is to control our food and water from seed to table.
I want to see the justice of actual persons living actual lives free from harm, with the right to organize their communities for the benefit and compassion of all, not just the elected or the wealthy.
I want to see the free reign of love, true pervy blinking teary meaty down-and-dirty swishy and boring love, waving its pink handkerchief at me as I tie up my boots and tickle the beard of my manly man.
I want justice for all the indigenous populations around the globe whose lands have been stolen and handed to the oil and mining corporations, leaving nothing but unsafe jobs, a depleted and toxic land base, and no legal voice with which to demand justice.
I want justice served for the water - all the rivers, lakes, streams, springs, ponds, bogs and oceans.
I could go on.
Obama's closing words made me check my calendar: was it 2011 or 2001? Who was sitting in the comfy White House chair, Bush or Obama? Really, when the president continues to claim that "we" are powerful and wealthy and somehow special enough to be blessed by an all-powerful sky god (at the exclusion of all other gods, or any god), and that somehow this relationship has anything to do with celebrating the death of a wealthy psychopath hunkering in Pakistan, and that our right is to continue hunting whomever "we" like however the president sees fit, I have to disagree.
"...America can do whatever we set our mind to. That is the story of our history, whether it’s the pursuit of prosperity for our people, or the struggle for equality for all our citizens; our commitment to stand up for our values abroad, and our sacrifices to make the world a safer place."
Perseverance does not mean we are all blessed by God; commitment does not mean we are somehow deserving of special dispensations from the holy of holies; rather, the words of a man in power ruling one of the poorest, most incarcerated, corrupt and unhealthiest industrialized nations in the world ring everywhere but true. That is the "story of our history."
As the United States continues to build and protect the pipeline in Afghanistan and bombs Libya, as Scott Walker sits in the governor's office in Madison, as electric companies rub their hands anticipating renewing nuclear power plants in many states around the country, as residents of Japan hope they will be able find safe food and water for their elders and families for the next 100 years, I would ask you: Do you feel safer?
My observations are not meant to be merely cynical, but rather an attempt to prompt the inspired to actions and thoughts full of light and water, the kind of things that grow sharp minds and clever actions. Sparkly words full of empty praise for the brave dead do not compel warm feelings toward my land base or my neighbor (I refuse to call it my "country").
Guess I'll have to take a walk and listen a little bit to the frogs for that.
 |
| Frogs-to-be |
2011/04/28
Iodine 131 found in AZ Milk
Apparently, recent tests of milk samples in Arizona have detected higher concentrations of radioactive Iodine 131. As usual, residents of Arizona are told not to worry, that these levels are far below the FDA's threshold of action. This test did not include information about any other radioactive isotopes.
The FDA's allowable level of all (total dose in a sample) radioactive isotopes in drinking water is higher than the EPA's; it allows for 1 theoretical cancer death in 4,400 people. Who will it be? Someone's 10 year old daughter? A beloved elder? A breastfeeding mother of 2 children? A man who grows food for his neighbors?
Officially, radioactive iodine is regularly dismissed as a threat because of its relatively short half-life outside of the body; it takes about 40 days to decay to almost nothing. But this is not necessarily how it acts inside the body. It takes much longer to be completely excreted, and it does its damage effectively before it can be excreted. Take the time to read all the answers on that link - it's very informative.
Milk is tested by the EPA in samples from grocery stores. This milk is not necessarily milk from cows who live in the state tested - where do the cows that produced that milk in Arizona live and eat? Because those cows may not be eating grass, what is the source of their radioactive contamination? Their feed? Their water?
The assumption that our food is safe because we don't know or because the EPA and FDA say so is not enough for me. Do not assume you will be informed if there is actual risk and danger, especially if you have small growing children whose bodies rapidly grow bones and muscle. Actual risk from radiation, as determined by the EPA and FDA, is very tolerant. As members of a world saturated with radiation from accidents, disasters, medical waste, nuclear power waste, and other sources, it is horrible to me that any dose is considered acceptable when the evidence shows any exposure at any level is not safe. As I've said before, radiation accumulates in the body with every dose. We are all, at this point, exposed to everything at levels we'll never be informed about accurately.
Do the research, don't take my word for it.
Since I can't escape what's in the air, I continue to grow my food, forage locally, and buy my dairy and produce as locally as I can; avoid the worst and hope for the best. I will continue my deep love affair with the wild things and offer myself to the impartial love that is survival and community; I will continue to recklessly believe that the risks of being alive are as powerful as the risks of making life.
The FDA's allowable level of all (total dose in a sample) radioactive isotopes in drinking water is higher than the EPA's; it allows for 1 theoretical cancer death in 4,400 people. Who will it be? Someone's 10 year old daughter? A beloved elder? A breastfeeding mother of 2 children? A man who grows food for his neighbors?
Officially, radioactive iodine is regularly dismissed as a threat because of its relatively short half-life outside of the body; it takes about 40 days to decay to almost nothing. But this is not necessarily how it acts inside the body. It takes much longer to be completely excreted, and it does its damage effectively before it can be excreted. Take the time to read all the answers on that link - it's very informative.
Milk is tested by the EPA in samples from grocery stores. This milk is not necessarily milk from cows who live in the state tested - where do the cows that produced that milk in Arizona live and eat? Because those cows may not be eating grass, what is the source of their radioactive contamination? Their feed? Their water?
The assumption that our food is safe because we don't know or because the EPA and FDA say so is not enough for me. Do not assume you will be informed if there is actual risk and danger, especially if you have small growing children whose bodies rapidly grow bones and muscle. Actual risk from radiation, as determined by the EPA and FDA, is very tolerant. As members of a world saturated with radiation from accidents, disasters, medical waste, nuclear power waste, and other sources, it is horrible to me that any dose is considered acceptable when the evidence shows any exposure at any level is not safe. As I've said before, radiation accumulates in the body with every dose. We are all, at this point, exposed to everything at levels we'll never be informed about accurately.
Do the research, don't take my word for it.
Since I can't escape what's in the air, I continue to grow my food, forage locally, and buy my dairy and produce as locally as I can; avoid the worst and hope for the best. I will continue my deep love affair with the wild things and offer myself to the impartial love that is survival and community; I will continue to recklessly believe that the risks of being alive are as powerful as the risks of making life.
2011/04/22
Arnie Gunderson interviews epidemiologist Dr. Steven Wing
Arnie Gunderson and Steven Wing discuss cancer rates and suggest responses to the spreading dose of radiation from Fukushima in this video (11:29).
"But as the radiation clouds move away from Fukushima and move far away to other continents and around the world the doses are spread out. But it's important for people to know that spreading out a given amount of radiation dose among more people, although it reduces each person's individual risk, it doesn't reduce the number of cancers that result from that amount of radiation. So having millions and millions of people exposed to a very small dose could produce just as much cancer as a thousand or a few thousand people exposed to that same dose." - Dr. Steven Wing
He also warns that there is nothing we can do, really, in North America (or elsewhere) to avoid exposure to the radiation that has traveled from Fukushima at this point; whatever is out there is out there, and there is, in his opinion, nothing we can do to avoid our own risk. I believe that certain foods and plants help our bodies stay resilient in the face of toxic exposure - to radiation and other toxins - and agree that we still have to eat, just like the raccoons and bears and fish that live near me. I do not agree with Dr. Wing that there is nothing we can do, and I do not agree that public pressure will stop the the Obama administration's beloved nuclear power machine.
Dr. Wing also reminds us that focusing too much on the radiation coming from Fukushima can blind us to all the other sources of radiation exposure and exposure to other toxins that cause cancer, all of which we must work to eliminate and protect ourselves from as well. He argues that collective action is our best action at this time. I am less hopeful.
2011/04/17
Radioactive Isotopes and the Power of Food
In light of the world level of radiation increasing through Fukushima and my own interests in researching food and plant allies of our bodies' resilience, I thought it was time to present some sources on what I've read about how to mitigate radioactive isotope exposure through food.
First, though, know that I don't actually believe we here in the middle-west are at as much risk as those from Hawaii or Japan, obviously. But we do eat food grown in parts of the country that were exposed to Iodine 131, Cesium 137 and other isotopes, especially through precipitation. This precipitation carries radiation down to us from the atmosphere, blown over the US by the ever-moving jet stream. The half life of Iodine is 8 days; Cesium lasts years. Do you water your garden with rainwater? Do your cows drink from a pond that has rain or snow in it from mid-March and early April? Do you buy fresh, organic produce grown in California, Washington or Mexico? Or fish from the Pacific Ocean and Alaska? Then you would do well to know about how to improve your your own body's ability to prevent radiation damage to your bones and cells, however small.
Don't believe the hype about bananas and radioactivity, or comparisons of Fukushima radiation exposure to flying in a jet. Do a little research and see who disagrees with these claims, and why. Efforts to minimize the perceived risk are enormous by governments and corporate apologists whose job it is to maintain business as usual - at the risk of the vulnerable, especially children, pregnant and lactating women, and the elderly.
The U.S. EPA is monitoring some levels of radiation. Rainwater is not universally monitored; if you live under the jet stream, as I do, the precipitation we received approximately 7-10 days after each day of explosion and venting at Fukushima was contaminated. If you do not feel alarm and action are appropriate for you after the continuing Fukushima tragedy, then feel free to walk away from the blog. If you have your own information to share, please do.
Wild Mushrooms Concentrate Radioactive Isotopes
Yes, it's true: wild mushrooms help decontaminate the soil by absorbing radiation, especially Cesium 137. Unfortunately, this means that eating them makes you more contaminated, too. Fortunately some mushrooms absorb lower amounts than others. Morels make the "low" list, thankfully. Here is the full article.
Additionally, the type of soil the mushroom grown in appears to reduce or increase the amount of cesium found in the mushroom. From the link: "In addition to the structure of the mushroom determined by the species it belongs to, the type of soil in which the mushroom has grown affects how much cesium-137 it contains. Sandy pine needle covered soils appear to promote the uptake of cesium-137 and other radionuclides in mushrooms, while fungi grown in deciduous woods and meadows typically show lower levels of nuclear contamination."
After the Chernobyl disaster, other European wild foods were found to be contaminated as well, including berries, fish, and deer.
Foods and Supplements for Radiation Exposure
It is a good idea to maintain a nutrient-dense diet, of course. However making sure to include certain things on a regular basis may improve your body's ability to prevent uptake of radioactive isotopes. Many, many ideas on this page. Warning: this page is written by someone who is more worried about Iran and Osama bin Laden than I am. There is a little bit of the lunatic/patriot fringe in the style, but the information is generally sound. As the author says: they make no attempt to verify the information presented, and encourage you to research it yourself and come to your own conclusions. I agree.
Foods that you can probably find easily include mineral-rich vegetables, kelp (Atlantic), sea salt, vitamin C, fermented miso and other naturally-cultured foods, garlic and onions, and potassium-rich foods.
Strontium, Cesium, Plutonium and How They Affect the Body - and some treatments
Apple pectin for cesium
Seaweed for strontium
Note: the author promises a part III, but it is not to be found at this URL.
Sea Life Contamination and Fukushima
An Interview with Arnie Gunderson
Recommended, as is just about everything from this nuclear engineer and independent analyst. He warns that the big fish will be contaminated in about 2-3 months. These swim, right? They swim far from Japan, get caught, and then are sold to consumers. The small fish are already contaminated near Japan.
Now What?
There is a LOT out there about food and radioactive nuclides. Most of it is best used as a starting point, a good idea at the beginning of practical research. If you have a source or link you think I should see, share it.
I am sick and tired of the religion of science proving the safety of toxins, proving the benevolence of colonization, proving the superiority of a dying and horrifying culture, proving over and over how we just have to make a different choice and our lives will be right as rain again. Better reactors, not no reactors. Better power plants, not the end of centralized power grids. Better GMOs, not the end of GM crops. Better technology, not the end of toxic mining at the expense of the relatively powerless from whom it is stolen and sold at a profit. Better regulation, better voting, better judges, better schools, better cars, better bodies, better brains, better houses, etc. etc. It's not really about choices, is it? Was it ever?
This isn't going away any time soon. I am more inclined to believe that with all the old reactors in the US and Europe, and the propensity of the Earth to do things people in positions of authority won't believe, we could face future disasters of a scope unimaginable - again. As far as I'm concerned, it is way past time for a joyful disruption. Of Everything. And by any means at your disposal. Be careful, be joyful, support disruption. Grow food, share it with your neighbors. Stop supporting politicians and their death-policies. Support your neighbors, your community, buy and use local. Use less electricity. Buy less plastic. Do whatever you can, but start it now.
Me, I'm going to go eat some popcorn and think about dinner. May our lives always be so benign.
First, though, know that I don't actually believe we here in the middle-west are at as much risk as those from Hawaii or Japan, obviously. But we do eat food grown in parts of the country that were exposed to Iodine 131, Cesium 137 and other isotopes, especially through precipitation. This precipitation carries radiation down to us from the atmosphere, blown over the US by the ever-moving jet stream. The half life of Iodine is 8 days; Cesium lasts years. Do you water your garden with rainwater? Do your cows drink from a pond that has rain or snow in it from mid-March and early April? Do you buy fresh, organic produce grown in California, Washington or Mexico? Or fish from the Pacific Ocean and Alaska? Then you would do well to know about how to improve your your own body's ability to prevent radiation damage to your bones and cells, however small.
Don't believe the hype about bananas and radioactivity, or comparisons of Fukushima radiation exposure to flying in a jet. Do a little research and see who disagrees with these claims, and why. Efforts to minimize the perceived risk are enormous by governments and corporate apologists whose job it is to maintain business as usual - at the risk of the vulnerable, especially children, pregnant and lactating women, and the elderly.
The U.S. EPA is monitoring some levels of radiation. Rainwater is not universally monitored; if you live under the jet stream, as I do, the precipitation we received approximately 7-10 days after each day of explosion and venting at Fukushima was contaminated. If you do not feel alarm and action are appropriate for you after the continuing Fukushima tragedy, then feel free to walk away from the blog. If you have your own information to share, please do.
Wild Mushrooms Concentrate Radioactive Isotopes
Yes, it's true: wild mushrooms help decontaminate the soil by absorbing radiation, especially Cesium 137. Unfortunately, this means that eating them makes you more contaminated, too. Fortunately some mushrooms absorb lower amounts than others. Morels make the "low" list, thankfully. Here is the full article.
Additionally, the type of soil the mushroom grown in appears to reduce or increase the amount of cesium found in the mushroom. From the link: "In addition to the structure of the mushroom determined by the species it belongs to, the type of soil in which the mushroom has grown affects how much cesium-137 it contains. Sandy pine needle covered soils appear to promote the uptake of cesium-137 and other radionuclides in mushrooms, while fungi grown in deciduous woods and meadows typically show lower levels of nuclear contamination."
After the Chernobyl disaster, other European wild foods were found to be contaminated as well, including berries, fish, and deer.
Foods and Supplements for Radiation Exposure
 |
| Kelp |
Foods that you can probably find easily include mineral-rich vegetables, kelp (Atlantic), sea salt, vitamin C, fermented miso and other naturally-cultured foods, garlic and onions, and potassium-rich foods.
Strontium, Cesium, Plutonium and How They Affect the Body - and some treatments
Apple pectin for cesium
Seaweed for strontium
Note: the author promises a part III, but it is not to be found at this URL.
Sea Life Contamination and Fukushima
An Interview with Arnie Gunderson
Recommended, as is just about everything from this nuclear engineer and independent analyst. He warns that the big fish will be contaminated in about 2-3 months. These swim, right? They swim far from Japan, get caught, and then are sold to consumers. The small fish are already contaminated near Japan.
Now What?
There is a LOT out there about food and radioactive nuclides. Most of it is best used as a starting point, a good idea at the beginning of practical research. If you have a source or link you think I should see, share it.
I am sick and tired of the religion of science proving the safety of toxins, proving the benevolence of colonization, proving the superiority of a dying and horrifying culture, proving over and over how we just have to make a different choice and our lives will be right as rain again. Better reactors, not no reactors. Better power plants, not the end of centralized power grids. Better GMOs, not the end of GM crops. Better technology, not the end of toxic mining at the expense of the relatively powerless from whom it is stolen and sold at a profit. Better regulation, better voting, better judges, better schools, better cars, better bodies, better brains, better houses, etc. etc. It's not really about choices, is it? Was it ever?
This isn't going away any time soon. I am more inclined to believe that with all the old reactors in the US and Europe, and the propensity of the Earth to do things people in positions of authority won't believe, we could face future disasters of a scope unimaginable - again. As far as I'm concerned, it is way past time for a joyful disruption. Of Everything. And by any means at your disposal. Be careful, be joyful, support disruption. Grow food, share it with your neighbors. Stop supporting politicians and their death-policies. Support your neighbors, your community, buy and use local. Use less electricity. Buy less plastic. Do whatever you can, but start it now.
Me, I'm going to go eat some popcorn and think about dinner. May our lives always be so benign.
2011/04/15
Subrealism - the blog
Today I discovered and have spent the last hour reading Subrealism, a terrifically informative blog about "liminal perspectives on consensus reality.;" not only pertinent political analysis, but also information about consciousness, health, Fukushima, nuclear power, myth, and history. Very good reading, dense and satisfying. Go check it out.
2011/04/14
RadNet - A Good First Source for EPA-monitored Radioactive Isotopes
I found some exciting, geeky numbers to get your fill of information about radiation exposure. The US EPA is monitoring milk, rainwater, and air for certain radioactive isotopes and the data collected are posted on the RadNet site.
You will notice that on the RadNet page you only get numbers; deciding what those numbers mean to you is a burden you have to take upon yourself. I will note that in my opinion, and the opinion of many who know more about radiation poisoning than I, no dose of radiation is safe. That is, the effects of radioactive isotopes are cumulative in the body. Children and pregnant and lactating women carry a higher burden of disease from radiation exposure. The EPA and FDA have different levels of "safe" doses for things like Cesium and Iodine 131; this adds another little layer of complexity to understanding the data.
Also, the data are a little old - in some cases a sample was taken two weeks before it is published on their web site. And remember, Iodine 131 has a half-life of 8 days, which according to the EPA, means it will decay away completely in months. How many weeks of rainfall is that?
I found a pretty good page that helps analyze the EPA's data on RadNet. They explain the differences in the FDA and EPA's exposure limits, and why the EPA's efforts are only a start when trying to understand exposure risk. From the link: "The other problem with the EPA’s empty reassurances that radiation levels are too low to have a negative impact on humans is the fact that the agency does not even have an accurate grasp on the actual aggregate exposure to radiation from all sources (water, food, air, rain, etc.). When you combine perpetual exposure from multiple sources with just the figures that have already been released, there is a very real threat of serious harm as a result of exposure."
What's in Your Milk?
Something to keep in mind about the milk data: the EPA does not measure (or report it, anyway) the actual levels of radioactive isotopes found in cows. Their process is to take a sample of milk from a grocery store in a city and test that. A store selling milk in Illinois may be from a dairy processing plant that gets its milk from several states, not just Illinois. The dairy processing plant is not required to share the source of their milk on their packaging, so you can't know where your milk comes from unless a)you buy it directly from the farmer, or b)buy milk at the store that clearly states it is from one dairy. This testing practice creates confusion about how much is really contaminated, and where.
Limit Your Exposure
For us, we continue to keep the kids inside during rain and snow. They aren't allowed to drink rainwater or eat snow and ice; I am hopeful my local weeds will be safe to eat in the next few weeks. And maybe Wisconsin will test something other than Madison's drinking water and I'll be able to make better-informed decisions about food and dairy. Right now, we're only drinking milk and eating cheese from local dairies; eating greens grown in local greenhouses; and avoiding all fresh produce from the west coast. We don't buy food from China, or Japan, or Hawaii. We are also avoiding all new ocean-caught fish, which is hard for me since I started eating seafood again last year and I do love it.
The world ahead is potentially much more contaminated than Chernobyl - and it's closer to home this time. As I munch on my Atlantic kelp and drink my homemade wine, I share every hope that you will be able to use this information to act in a way that mitigates future exposure and contamination. I sincerely hope that this is the worst of what's to come.
You will notice that on the RadNet page you only get numbers; deciding what those numbers mean to you is a burden you have to take upon yourself. I will note that in my opinion, and the opinion of many who know more about radiation poisoning than I, no dose of radiation is safe. That is, the effects of radioactive isotopes are cumulative in the body. Children and pregnant and lactating women carry a higher burden of disease from radiation exposure. The EPA and FDA have different levels of "safe" doses for things like Cesium and Iodine 131; this adds another little layer of complexity to understanding the data.
Also, the data are a little old - in some cases a sample was taken two weeks before it is published on their web site. And remember, Iodine 131 has a half-life of 8 days, which according to the EPA, means it will decay away completely in months. How many weeks of rainfall is that?
I found a pretty good page that helps analyze the EPA's data on RadNet. They explain the differences in the FDA and EPA's exposure limits, and why the EPA's efforts are only a start when trying to understand exposure risk. From the link: "The other problem with the EPA’s empty reassurances that radiation levels are too low to have a negative impact on humans is the fact that the agency does not even have an accurate grasp on the actual aggregate exposure to radiation from all sources (water, food, air, rain, etc.). When you combine perpetual exposure from multiple sources with just the figures that have already been released, there is a very real threat of serious harm as a result of exposure."
What's in Your Milk?
Something to keep in mind about the milk data: the EPA does not measure (or report it, anyway) the actual levels of radioactive isotopes found in cows. Their process is to take a sample of milk from a grocery store in a city and test that. A store selling milk in Illinois may be from a dairy processing plant that gets its milk from several states, not just Illinois. The dairy processing plant is not required to share the source of their milk on their packaging, so you can't know where your milk comes from unless a)you buy it directly from the farmer, or b)buy milk at the store that clearly states it is from one dairy. This testing practice creates confusion about how much is really contaminated, and where.
Limit Your Exposure
For us, we continue to keep the kids inside during rain and snow. They aren't allowed to drink rainwater or eat snow and ice; I am hopeful my local weeds will be safe to eat in the next few weeks. And maybe Wisconsin will test something other than Madison's drinking water and I'll be able to make better-informed decisions about food and dairy. Right now, we're only drinking milk and eating cheese from local dairies; eating greens grown in local greenhouses; and avoiding all fresh produce from the west coast. We don't buy food from China, or Japan, or Hawaii. We are also avoiding all new ocean-caught fish, which is hard for me since I started eating seafood again last year and I do love it.
The world ahead is potentially much more contaminated than Chernobyl - and it's closer to home this time. As I munch on my Atlantic kelp and drink my homemade wine, I share every hope that you will be able to use this information to act in a way that mitigates future exposure and contamination. I sincerely hope that this is the worst of what's to come.
When does it end?
Here is latest video update from Arnie Gunderson of Fairewinds Associates (April 13). Information about radiation contamination is being withheld and modified by official sources - here and in Japan - to downplay the seriousness and threat of the nuclear disaster in Fukushima. Not that you're probably surprised by that, but it's great to have someone else say it as well.
"Everybody knows the moment that Three Mile Island and the moment that Cherobyl happened. But who knows when they end?" - Arnie Gunderson
"Everybody knows the moment that Three Mile Island and the moment that Cherobyl happened. But who knows when they end?" - Arnie Gunderson
2011/04/11
Right to Life
It seems the indigenous Andean population in Bolivia has helped craft a new law (which is about to pass, apparently) that gives Mother Earth equal rights with humans. As reported by the Guardian UK, there are 11 rights explicitly given in this draft, including:
the right to life and exist
the right to continue vital cycles and processes free from human alteration;
the right to pure water and clean air;
the right to balance;
the right not to be polluted;
the right to not have cellular structure modified or genetically altered
and the right "to not be affected by mega-infrastructure and development projects that affect the balance of ecosystems and the local inhabitant communities"
It also gives local municipalities more control over regulating industry. What is there not to love about this? I am not actually a law-loving kind of person, but in a world where corporations can and do have personhood, where the owners of industry take what they want no matter the cost, this kind of movement is one way to start real change for people's health, both spiritual and physical. It in some ways seems limiting to declare the personhood of Mother Earth; but without it, legal systems don't and perhaps can't act against destruction.
This nicely backs what other writers and environmental activists have long asserted: that there can be no human rights without protection of the earth and other non-human species. If humans destroy our land base, the very stuff of life itself for us, how can we have clean water to drink? Uncontaminated and adequate food? Adequate shelter? What then supports our connection with others?
And for those of us who are disturbed by the principle of religious or spiritual views controlling the government and justice systems, I ask you this: what part of this law actually harms any person who is not harming the earth, a "resource" shared by everyone? Really, as things go now, industry and globalization harm many. If you live by the belief of living freely and responsibly, harming none, enforcing protections on our environment that give nature actual legal rights gives people harmed by industry and corporations power to help themselves. No one is enforcing religious beliefs on non-believers, but rather environmental protections of the most fundamental kind.
I would support a move in the US that gave the environment equal rights with people. Not rights which exclude people - since people are part of ecosystems, too. There would be lots of legal wrangling about what "nature" really means, of course. And no industry would ever support it, but isn't that the point? There could be no nuclear power, no fracking, no strip mining, no uranium mining, no clear cuts, no genetically altered seeds, no Monsanto thugs. Toxic dumps could no longer be placed in poor communities, and indigenous populations and rural communities would have recourse to stop activities that pollute their lands and water. In fact, it's possible that companies may actually have to prove their practices cause no harm. Not a bad start.
the right to life and exist
the right to continue vital cycles and processes free from human alteration;
the right to pure water and clean air;
the right to balance;
the right not to be polluted;
the right to not have cellular structure modified or genetically altered
and the right "to not be affected by mega-infrastructure and development projects that affect the balance of ecosystems and the local inhabitant communities"
It also gives local municipalities more control over regulating industry. What is there not to love about this? I am not actually a law-loving kind of person, but in a world where corporations can and do have personhood, where the owners of industry take what they want no matter the cost, this kind of movement is one way to start real change for people's health, both spiritual and physical. It in some ways seems limiting to declare the personhood of Mother Earth; but without it, legal systems don't and perhaps can't act against destruction.
This nicely backs what other writers and environmental activists have long asserted: that there can be no human rights without protection of the earth and other non-human species. If humans destroy our land base, the very stuff of life itself for us, how can we have clean water to drink? Uncontaminated and adequate food? Adequate shelter? What then supports our connection with others?
And for those of us who are disturbed by the principle of religious or spiritual views controlling the government and justice systems, I ask you this: what part of this law actually harms any person who is not harming the earth, a "resource" shared by everyone? Really, as things go now, industry and globalization harm many. If you live by the belief of living freely and responsibly, harming none, enforcing protections on our environment that give nature actual legal rights gives people harmed by industry and corporations power to help themselves. No one is enforcing religious beliefs on non-believers, but rather environmental protections of the most fundamental kind.
I would support a move in the US that gave the environment equal rights with people. Not rights which exclude people - since people are part of ecosystems, too. There would be lots of legal wrangling about what "nature" really means, of course. And no industry would ever support it, but isn't that the point? There could be no nuclear power, no fracking, no strip mining, no uranium mining, no clear cuts, no genetically altered seeds, no Monsanto thugs. Toxic dumps could no longer be placed in poor communities, and indigenous populations and rural communities would have recourse to stop activities that pollute their lands and water. In fact, it's possible that companies may actually have to prove their practices cause no harm. Not a bad start.
2011/04/04
mercury is retrograde
I'm exhausted today after much staying up late but I have to say that this Mercury retrograde thing is really wearing me out. Classic examples of this today - funny and annoying. Luckily no harm done, just another layer of chaos on the pile.
Back to my regularly scheduled blog.
Back to my regularly scheduled blog.
2011/04/03
Still fission
I've been busy hosting a friend from out of town this weekend, but wanted to be sure to take a minute to share Arnie Gunerson's recent posts about the kind of radiation being released from Fukushima. He provides evidence that there is still fission occurring in reactor #1, and it is not being measured or detected.
2011/03/31
The Messenger of Water
Another video update posted by Arnie Gunderson today. This one is a real bummer, I'm afraid. The radioactive contamination is worse than Chernobyl in some places around the Fukushima reactors. Worse. And it's in the ocean, too.
I have been so sad for the ocean; now I am simply humbled. There is a guy from Japan who has done research about how water reacts when confronted with various emotions from people. Seriously. This guy, Dr. Masaru Emoto, seems radically bent on convincing us that our feelings (affect) matter. The short summary is that water reacts negatively when we express mean or angry feelings, and it chills out when we are happy or thankful. He suggests that there is indeed connection between living beings (us) and our environment. And then he has the nerve to suggest we should apologize to the water around Fukushima nuclear reactors for causing it to suffer, because this kind of thing has power when enough people do it. Can you believe the conviction of some people?
I do. Even if you think he is a complete nut, and all the people praying to the waters of Japan for forgiveness for causing such suffering to the water, and that measuring water's reaction to emotional changes is not the same as showing causation when changes happen, I challenge you to deny that we are mostly water. Are we not living beings of ocean and salt? In admitting connection, can we not heal, as well? Besides, if you don't believe in god, and you don't believe in or pray to spirits or other deities, it is still important to allow and support the living connections between ourselves and everything around us. This connection underscores real efforts to keep our bodies, and the bodies of all living things around us, resilient in the face of contamination and pollution. It may also help prevent further contamination by our reckless industrialization and encourage connections in other ways.
Despite the superficial kookiness of this idea, I find it a better challenge to believe he is on to something important. Because if thoughts and feelings affect water, how different are the effects of actual pollution? I encourage you to look up some of his work and share your comments here.
I have been so sad for the ocean; now I am simply humbled. There is a guy from Japan who has done research about how water reacts when confronted with various emotions from people. Seriously. This guy, Dr. Masaru Emoto, seems radically bent on convincing us that our feelings (affect) matter. The short summary is that water reacts negatively when we express mean or angry feelings, and it chills out when we are happy or thankful. He suggests that there is indeed connection between living beings (us) and our environment. And then he has the nerve to suggest we should apologize to the water around Fukushima nuclear reactors for causing it to suffer, because this kind of thing has power when enough people do it. Can you believe the conviction of some people?
I do. Even if you think he is a complete nut, and all the people praying to the waters of Japan for forgiveness for causing such suffering to the water, and that measuring water's reaction to emotional changes is not the same as showing causation when changes happen, I challenge you to deny that we are mostly water. Are we not living beings of ocean and salt? In admitting connection, can we not heal, as well? Besides, if you don't believe in god, and you don't believe in or pray to spirits or other deities, it is still important to allow and support the living connections between ourselves and everything around us. This connection underscores real efforts to keep our bodies, and the bodies of all living things around us, resilient in the face of contamination and pollution. It may also help prevent further contamination by our reckless industrialization and encourage connections in other ways.
Despite the superficial kookiness of this idea, I find it a better challenge to believe he is on to something important. Because if thoughts and feelings affect water, how different are the effects of actual pollution? I encourage you to look up some of his work and share your comments here.
2011/03/29
Updates on Fukushima, March 29
It appears that nuclear disaster is not really very popular reading. For years it has been the awful fear lurking, a tiny despair fit only to bring out occasionally in full regalia and splendor. Most people I know hate that there are nuclear power reactors, that officials in positions of power deny their risk and harm, and that there is very little we can do on a national scale to shut them down. And even when they are shut down, we have all that radioactive waste that nobody wants stored in their backyard. But not many people want to dwell on the negative over which we have little control. Who can blame us? It's the invisible thing that poisons us, our food, our water, our air.
The recent disaster in Fukushima power plant has sharpened my interest in radioactivity and health, and I have been following the events closely. Today's news confirms what I (and others) have suspected: a meltdown is indeed possible and the results would be disaster for the people of Japan and the life in the ocean(s). The effects will be global.
Radioactive particles are amazingly sinister; there is no safe dose. There is no way to put it otherwise: every dose has consequences in the body - it is cumulative. It is especially damaging in children and pregnant women. This includes ultra low doses from x-rays and electronics. Even tiny amounts from the Japan fallout that fall in the rain that waters the produce grown in California and Mexico are not safe, despite what the US's claims of allowable limits might be. Radioactive iodine has a half-life of 8 days; that means that in 8 days it is reduced by half; in another 8 days it is reduced to a quarter; in another 8 days it is reduced to an eighth, and in another 8 days it is zero. 40 days from initial exposure, never mind spikes of radioactive steam blowing over the Pacific or over Tokyo in fits and spurts over two weeks. The dangers of radioactivity can NOT be overstated.
Today's news from Japan is sobering. Again, Arnie Gunderson speaks about what is happening now (video is approximately 7 minutes, look for the March 29th update). And the Guardian UK reports that there is a fuel melt in the core that has breached the containment vessel. Molten fuel is oozing or flowing slowly into the drywell, which is currently filled with seawater. The seawater might prevent a total meltdown into the ground (and ocean), by cooling the fuel, but it may not. I am so sad for the residents of Japan and the fish in the ocean.
This near-total disaster has only the goodwill of strangers going for it - the relief efforts and money flowing into Japan from the rest of Japan the world. The rest of it is enough to make all of us wonder what the hell we were thinking to allow a toxin that lasts thousands of years to heat our homes and power our industrial civilization. At least, that's what I'm thinking.
The recent disaster in Fukushima power plant has sharpened my interest in radioactivity and health, and I have been following the events closely. Today's news confirms what I (and others) have suspected: a meltdown is indeed possible and the results would be disaster for the people of Japan and the life in the ocean(s). The effects will be global.
Radioactive particles are amazingly sinister; there is no safe dose. There is no way to put it otherwise: every dose has consequences in the body - it is cumulative. It is especially damaging in children and pregnant women. This includes ultra low doses from x-rays and electronics. Even tiny amounts from the Japan fallout that fall in the rain that waters the produce grown in California and Mexico are not safe, despite what the US's claims of allowable limits might be. Radioactive iodine has a half-life of 8 days; that means that in 8 days it is reduced by half; in another 8 days it is reduced to a quarter; in another 8 days it is reduced to an eighth, and in another 8 days it is zero. 40 days from initial exposure, never mind spikes of radioactive steam blowing over the Pacific or over Tokyo in fits and spurts over two weeks. The dangers of radioactivity can NOT be overstated.
Today's news from Japan is sobering. Again, Arnie Gunderson speaks about what is happening now (video is approximately 7 minutes, look for the March 29th update). And the Guardian UK reports that there is a fuel melt in the core that has breached the containment vessel. Molten fuel is oozing or flowing slowly into the drywell, which is currently filled with seawater. The seawater might prevent a total meltdown into the ground (and ocean), by cooling the fuel, but it may not. I am so sad for the residents of Japan and the fish in the ocean.
This near-total disaster has only the goodwill of strangers going for it - the relief efforts and money flowing into Japan from the rest of Japan the world. The rest of it is enough to make all of us wonder what the hell we were thinking to allow a toxin that lasts thousands of years to heat our homes and power our industrial civilization. At least, that's what I'm thinking.
2011/03/26
Soul Power
This great article by former nuclear engineer and anti-nuclear essayist Keith Harmon Snow is very long, and full of reliable information, analysis and conjecture. Not a happy piece, but not worth missing, either.
"Good" news, or positive news, is soul-filling and gives us strength to pursue purpose. Information about catastrophe sharpens the edge on our actions and shows us how to connect the dots, how we are connected to the earth, our land bases, and the suffering of others. Both are critical to our humanity, and can open our hearts. I feel an essay coming on. Keep watching.
"Good" news, or positive news, is soul-filling and gives us strength to pursue purpose. Information about catastrophe sharpens the edge on our actions and shows us how to connect the dots, how we are connected to the earth, our land bases, and the suffering of others. Both are critical to our humanity, and can open our hearts. I feel an essay coming on. Keep watching.
The Footbath Squad
I am deeply moved by the compassionate action of a Japanese group of young people calling themselves the Footbath Squad. Inspired by the actions of another group of people providing comfort to survivors of a previous disaster, this group goes to the emergency shelter of earthquake/tsunami/nuclear disaster refugees and gives them 15 minutes of massage and footbaths - acts made to comfort people who have lost all security. Young people comforting the old, children, the bereaved, the suffering, the bored, the displaced. A volunteer says, "We want to share their pain."
This story has completely made my day; this story is the answer to my daughter's question, "Mom, why are you crying?". I am reminded of our ability to act like humans in the midst of so many other people's inhuman acts and oppressive decisions. Somehow their actions have comforted me, too, thousands of miles away.
This story has completely made my day; this story is the answer to my daughter's question, "Mom, why are you crying?". I am reminded of our ability to act like humans in the midst of so many other people's inhuman acts and oppressive decisions. Somehow their actions have comforted me, too, thousands of miles away.
2011/03/25
Just fission
Hey kids, I've wondered why it's so hard to find good updates on Fukushima reactor meltdown, and it appears that it's because there is actually fission occurring. You know, like in a meltdown.
Neutron beam detected
Disaster impact level raised from 5 to 6 - This is a very informative article, with the title "Radiation from Fukushima exceeds Three Mile Island"
Just because it's not in the news, doesn't mean it isn't happening.
More updates can be found in the comments of this article from Green Mountain Daily.
Here is a great primer/summary of the forms of radiation and measurement by Arnie Gunderson. (Video runs 8:26)
Another update from Environment News Service
Neutron beam detected
Disaster impact level raised from 5 to 6 - This is a very informative article, with the title "Radiation from Fukushima exceeds Three Mile Island"
Just because it's not in the news, doesn't mean it isn't happening.
More updates can be found in the comments of this article from Green Mountain Daily.
Here is a great primer/summary of the forms of radiation and measurement by Arnie Gunderson. (Video runs 8:26)
Another update from Environment News Service
2011/03/24
Into the ocean
Arnie Gunderson, of Fairewinds Associates - a really good place for analysis of the nuclear disaster in Japan if you want facts and reliable, non-inflammatory conjecture - has posted a recent analysis of the elevated radiation readings around the Fukushima plant. In this 7 minute video, he points out that the surface contamination recently measured in the ocean 30 - 40 km from the power plant is higher than the beta radiation level which defined a "hot spot" after the Chernobyl disaster.
And on the Green Action Japan web site, a member tweeted last night that TEPCO found trace amounts of neutron radiation at the border of the nuclear power plant. Neutron - you know, the kind of radiation that makes other particles radioactive when it comes in contact with those particles. I'm looking for verification of this, and will post it if I find it.
The radiation from the buildings is sinking, not going into the atmosphere. Bad bad bad for people and non-human animals in Japan. But also, the ocean. The ocean! Plankton, fish, mammals that eat the radioactive fish.... What will become of the Pacific at the end of all this? Did we really have to be smacked over the head so violently by our own damned toxins (gulf oil spills, radioactive contamination, tsunamis destroying fishing villages) to get the hint that people overfish, overuse, and overstress the oceans? I guess so. Will we stop? Probably not until the oceans are near death.
Unless we can, like the earthquake, tear things apart with the force of our grief.
And on the Green Action Japan web site, a member tweeted last night that TEPCO found trace amounts of neutron radiation at the border of the nuclear power plant. Neutron - you know, the kind of radiation that makes other particles radioactive when it comes in contact with those particles. I'm looking for verification of this, and will post it if I find it.
The radiation from the buildings is sinking, not going into the atmosphere. Bad bad bad for people and non-human animals in Japan. But also, the ocean. The ocean! Plankton, fish, mammals that eat the radioactive fish.... What will become of the Pacific at the end of all this? Did we really have to be smacked over the head so violently by our own damned toxins (gulf oil spills, radioactive contamination, tsunamis destroying fishing villages) to get the hint that people overfish, overuse, and overstress the oceans? I guess so. Will we stop? Probably not until the oceans are near death.
Unless we can, like the earthquake, tear things apart with the force of our grief.
Got something to say?
I've been tweaking the settings, so if you're trying to post a comment it should work now. Please email me if you can't comment.
Ah, the joys of a new blog.
Ah, the joys of a new blog.
2011/03/22
What is your "it"?
It appears to me that this is the perfect time to really amplify everyone's strategies for real social change - you know, the things we think are the right actions to make this earth a better, more sustainable place for living things and our descendants. And I'm not just talking protests, Honey. I'm talking everything: the whole ugly package of loving action, however you define it. I'm talking massive or tiny nonviolent protests; national and international boycotts and embargoes; disruptions of all kinds; passionate writing and speaking truth to power; unpopular opinions; nurturing each other; working with your neighbors to grow food for your communities; producing as much as we can by ourselves and/or cooperatively; consensus decision-making; driving less, biking more; loving the earth, body of our mother; sharing your rapture and the ecstasies of joy; music, poetry, manifestos; radical actions; secret radical actions; things I don't want to know about but that are necessary anyway. Really.
Now is the time people. We need to do it, whatever your "it" is.
The pressure of movement is upon us. In the destruction, who are we to argue?
Now is the time people. We need to do it, whatever your "it" is.
The pressure of movement is upon us. In the destruction, who are we to argue?
2011/03/21
No news...
I am cautiously hopeful that no news (of a multiple-reactor complete meltdown) is good news. No new fires, no new explosions, no full-out meltdowns. I continue to hope that the people in Japan can get the food, shelter, and health care they need. And maybe, down the road, some compensation from the electric company that wouldn't heed warnings over the years that these reactors would NEVER be safe. At least, that was the warning given from people who wouldn't make any money off the plants.
I also thought I'd share some of the sites I'm checking for updates. Feel free to add yours as a comment.
Fairewinds Associates, Arnie Gunderson's page
Beyond Nuclear
Green Mountain Daily
The Guardian
Japan Industrial Atomic Forum (industry page)
More links, as of 3/22/11:
Green Action Japan's Fukushima Update
Union of Concerned Scientists blog, "All Things Nuclear," about the disaster (Very good for the geeky technical lovers among us.)
I also thought I'd share some of the sites I'm checking for updates. Feel free to add yours as a comment.
Fairewinds Associates, Arnie Gunderson's page
Beyond Nuclear
Green Mountain Daily
The Guardian
Japan Industrial Atomic Forum (industry page)
More links, as of 3/22/11:
Green Action Japan's Fukushima Update
Union of Concerned Scientists blog, "All Things Nuclear," about the disaster (Very good for the geeky technical lovers among us.)
2011/03/20
Spring
The first day of Spring, up here: thunderstorms, the threat of low-level radiation, snow on the ground, and song birds. It feels like a Big Spring; the kind that grabs you and sits you down on the snow-covered moss, shakes you up a bit and then jumps inside you, filling your body with love 'til you burst at the seams. A big love. A bad love. A love edged with death and sorrow, floods and moon. A kind of wary ecstasy, naked and frostbitten, blatant, what it is without apology.
I think I'm going to like this one.
I think I'm going to like this one.
2011/03/18
A corporate tragedy
Our corporate-sponsored president is nowhere to be seen in the fight against toxic nuclear power. Even as other nations are taking a short break from promoting and approving new plants, our lovely corporate nation continues its path of destruction through nuclear power. President Obama never looked very good to me, and I've yet to read anything that changes my mind about this issue. I have come to believe that no matter which president would be elected, the nuclear approval process and loan deals to companies to build new reactors would have just gone on and on.
And if the kind of tragedy that is happening right now in Japan can possibly happen anywhere there are plants (and it could - flooding, massive earthquakes near population centers, catastrophic power outages, etc.), every single person and official who signed the OK, approved the loan, built the plants, covered up leaks and violations of operational safety, and made a profit off of them is personally responsible. Every. Single. One. A bureaucracy is only as strong as its participants.
Because this tragedy is corporate, not natural. People decided to ignore safety warnings and approve the plants in Japan. The cost is homicide - of all the inhabitants and pets around the plant who will die and suffer from cancers, their children, the ocean life contaminated with radiation, and all the workers. The depth of my grief is vast; I have cried almost every day as the true damage continues to grow and be exposed. But while we mourn we must also nurture our righteous anger for those who continue to bargain their profits against the sacred. This anger is what will move us toward each other, which will ultimately be the only real weapon we have against the overwhelming power of american nuclear advocates. Until that time I will continue share my outrage, insights and information as I can. Because people, I am hella pissed.
And if the kind of tragedy that is happening right now in Japan can possibly happen anywhere there are plants (and it could - flooding, massive earthquakes near population centers, catastrophic power outages, etc.), every single person and official who signed the OK, approved the loan, built the plants, covered up leaks and violations of operational safety, and made a profit off of them is personally responsible. Every. Single. One. A bureaucracy is only as strong as its participants.
Because this tragedy is corporate, not natural. People decided to ignore safety warnings and approve the plants in Japan. The cost is homicide - of all the inhabitants and pets around the plant who will die and suffer from cancers, their children, the ocean life contaminated with radiation, and all the workers. The depth of my grief is vast; I have cried almost every day as the true damage continues to grow and be exposed. But while we mourn we must also nurture our righteous anger for those who continue to bargain their profits against the sacred. This anger is what will move us toward each other, which will ultimately be the only real weapon we have against the overwhelming power of american nuclear advocates. Until that time I will continue share my outrage, insights and information as I can. Because people, I am hella pissed.
2011/03/17
They Know Radiation
Finally, Japan has people going into the area where the reactors are melting down to determine which isotopes are being released, and the levels at which people are exposed: The Peace Culture Foundation, which manages the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in Japan. Fortunately, this group is also supplying housing and relief supplies to the victims of this corporate tragedy. Somehow I trust this group more than any word from any government body. Like the interviewee says, they know radiation.
Interview on Democracy Now.
Interview on Democracy Now.
2011/03/16
Things to Read, Things to Eat
It appears that the nuclear dream has become a raging catastrophe. On this link, on the Green Mountain Daily page, now a couple days old, you'll find dire warnings. In the comments, though, you'll find a brilliantly angry commenter advocating putting out the reactor fires with the bodies of all the officials and scientists who have advocated so hard for nuclear power and who also have relentlessly belittled the information from anti-nuclear activists. You really should take a minute and read it. I laughed hard enough to make me feel better for a little while.
And after you're done there, you should probably check out this NYT web page with a simple, level-of-radiation-free projection of the air currents and radioactive plume that could be coming out of Japan right now. The plume could hit produce-growing areas of California tomorrow afternoon, if accurate. But don't worry. Trustworthy Officials say we're in no danger. I sure am comforted, aren't you? Mr. NRC Director's words: “I don’t want to speculate on various scenarios,” he replied. “But based on the design and the distances involved, it is very unlikely that there would be any harmful impacts.”
Another article mentioned Cesium 137 as the most pressing danger from the meltdown of Number 4. A 30-year half-life.
I'm pretty sure the web of lies is huge from both Japan and the US. I trust no one in any position of power with this important information. I highly recommend following this story on the Green Mountain Daily web site, and the Beyond Nuclear web site.
Things we are doing to minimize our concern for our family's health and food safety in the light of this exponentially horrifying tragedy in Japan:
1. Weeping occasionally
2. Making sure we have potassium iodide on hand
3. Eating more fermented soy: miso, tempeh, tamari
4. Increasing our Omega fatty acid and green tea consumption
5. Not buying fresh produce or food from California or Washington for a long time; especially no dairy products.
6. Sharing important links with everyone we know
7. Thanking every god that we live far inland
8. Hoping for the best while continuing to make sure our nutritional needs are met and exceeded. Not always easy to do with little money, but we're trying.
9. Drinking only very good unpasteurized alcohol. Homemade when possible. This is better for the soul.
10. Limiting refined sugar.
I've about had it with this nuclear thing. I've never understood how ANYone can support it, given that in nature there are no situations you can fully control and predict. Maybe now the billions of people around the globe will agree with me.
And after you're done there, you should probably check out this NYT web page with a simple, level-of-radiation-free projection of the air currents and radioactive plume that could be coming out of Japan right now. The plume could hit produce-growing areas of California tomorrow afternoon, if accurate. But don't worry. Trustworthy Officials say we're in no danger. I sure am comforted, aren't you? Mr. NRC Director's words: “I don’t want to speculate on various scenarios,” he replied. “But based on the design and the distances involved, it is very unlikely that there would be any harmful impacts.”
Another article mentioned Cesium 137 as the most pressing danger from the meltdown of Number 4. A 30-year half-life.
I'm pretty sure the web of lies is huge from both Japan and the US. I trust no one in any position of power with this important information. I highly recommend following this story on the Green Mountain Daily web site, and the Beyond Nuclear web site.
Things we are doing to minimize our concern for our family's health and food safety in the light of this exponentially horrifying tragedy in Japan:
1. Weeping occasionally
2. Making sure we have potassium iodide on hand
3. Eating more fermented soy: miso, tempeh, tamari
4. Increasing our Omega fatty acid and green tea consumption
5. Not buying fresh produce or food from California or Washington for a long time; especially no dairy products.
6. Sharing important links with everyone we know
7. Thanking every god that we live far inland
8. Hoping for the best while continuing to make sure our nutritional needs are met and exceeded. Not always easy to do with little money, but we're trying.
9. Drinking only very good unpasteurized alcohol. Homemade when possible. This is better for the soul.
10. Limiting refined sugar.
I've about had it with this nuclear thing. I've never understood how ANYone can support it, given that in nature there are no situations you can fully control and predict. Maybe now the billions of people around the globe will agree with me.
2011/03/15
Selective Uptake
The nuclear power plants in Japan have started to vaporize plutonium and uranium (via the MOX fuel. Go ahead, look it up). Folks, I think we've gone way past "dubious" and headlong into "holy shit!" for nuclear power. Will the corporate-controlled U.S. government feel our pain?
And what person can even condone a power source that, given uncontrollable natural disasters, could completely fail and then produce toxins that float through the air across the globe, poisoning children in multiple countries for years to come, killing or poisoning residents near the disaster, and then using public monies to fund the relief efforts? If that is you, I hope you fucking get it now.
There is, and never has been, a safe dose of radiation. It seems stupid to promote a power source that can produce toxins, carried on the wind around the world when we could instead harness the wind without polluting our children's bodies. Ever.
And now I go back to http://www.beyondnuclear.org/ to see if there's a complete meltdown in Japan yet. If I were you, I'd start researching nutritional supplements that support our body's efforts to prevent radiation poisoning.
And what person can even condone a power source that, given uncontrollable natural disasters, could completely fail and then produce toxins that float through the air across the globe, poisoning children in multiple countries for years to come, killing or poisoning residents near the disaster, and then using public monies to fund the relief efforts? If that is you, I hope you fucking get it now.
There is, and never has been, a safe dose of radiation. It seems stupid to promote a power source that can produce toxins, carried on the wind around the world when we could instead harness the wind without polluting our children's bodies. Ever.
And now I go back to http://www.beyondnuclear.org/ to see if there's a complete meltdown in Japan yet. If I were you, I'd start researching nutritional supplements that support our body's efforts to prevent radiation poisoning.
Tough Love
I am officially re-entering the blog world with Critical Love, an excuse to write critically about anything I damn well please. Lately it's politics and nuclear madness; it may also include B movies and music. You just never know.
Stay tuned.
To view my old blog, Mama's Big Ol' Blog, go here: http://mamablueblog.blogspot.com/
This will not be updated, as I'm giving up that zine.
New post coming soon.
Stay tuned.
To view my old blog, Mama's Big Ol' Blog, go here: http://mamablueblog.blogspot.com/
This will not be updated, as I'm giving up that zine.
New post coming soon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)