This is my personal nuclear-free zone, with all kinds of suggestions about how we can help save our beautiful planet - by getting rid of all things nuclear, and supporting energy technologies which are good for us and the planet, and do not have toxic side effects! Plus other good stuff we can do to make Earth a better home for ALL who live here!
I am thrilled every time I hear from a teacher about one of their students who found this page and has some new links for me to add! Please let me know if you have link suggestions, and please understand if I'm not able to get back to you right away. It means so much to me that people are using this page, especially young people!
I created this page as an adjunct to the August 2006 "Nature, Nukes and Nationalism" evening at Luna Star Literary Salon, which I co-produced with Salon Founder Laura McDermott. It was a very cool, meaningful and fun evening, here's a review and a few photos.
Just speaking for myself, I much prefer Flute Fusion to Nuclear Fusion! The problem with nukes is two-fold: nuclear weapons and nuclear power. My musician friend Grant Livingston, who has a degree in Physics, thinks nuclear technology could possibly be made safe enough to use, but as he puts it,"we're too stupid to have nuclear power." But hey, even some of the really smart people who invented nuclear bombs in the first place regretted it, and thought they had made a mistake by inventing this technology.
For example, Albert Einstein, who said: "I made one mistake in my life when I signed that letter to President Roosevelt advocating that the atomic bomb should be built." He also said: "I am not only a pacifist but a militant pacifist. . . . Every war merely enlarges the chain of vicious circles which impedes the progress of mankind. . . . We must begin to inoculate our children against militarism by educating them in the spirit of pacifism." After Truman dropped the bomb on Hiroshima, Einstein said: "If I had known they were going to do this, I would have become a shoemaker."
With nuclear weapons, we now have the ability to easily destroy all life on Earth (and some other places too!) That's just too easy for us fallible human beings! I think anyone who's ever watched the TV show "Cops" will understand why human beings just should not have nuclear weapons.
Nuclear plants are no better. There are plenty of other ways to produce electricity that do not involve possibly killing all of us and polluting the Earth for the next couple millenia! I'm oversimplifying these issues just a tad, but I think when it comes to nuclear stuff, the answer is really very simple: No Nukes is Good Nukes! If you're not sure about this, then please, do your own research and come to your own conclusions on this issue! There's plenty of information on the websites listed below, or find sources of information you trust.
A great précis I read recently from Finnish nuclear activists: "Nuclear power plants are bombs that temporarly produce electricity."
Did you know that at this very moment, power consortiums are trying to obtain construction and operating licenses to build new nuclear plants in Florida (and around the US)? In 2006, I happened, purely by chance, upon this stunning piece of news on a Nuclear Energy Institute web page entitled Industry Progress Toward Building New Nuclear Plants:
"Progress Energy plans to submit two COL applications in 2008, one for its Harris Nuclear Plant site in North Carolina and one for a site to be selected in Florida....
In 2005, the NuStart Energy LLC consortium (11 including Progress and FPL) chose TVA's Bellefonte nuclear plant site and Entergy's Grand Gulf site for COL applications, expected to be submitted in 2007."
Personally, I have a Zero Tolerance Policy when it comes to nuclear plants! So when I saw that information, I knew it was time to renew my activism on nuclear issues. And since then, we are hearing more and more about industry attempts to build new nuclear plants, as they try to sell the dangerously false idea that nuclear is "clean" energy.
I've started performing my song "No Nukes Swing" again recently, and unfortunately, it's just as topical now as it was when I wrote it in the 1970's. In the great folk tradition, I update the lyrics with current info from time to time, and as I was looking through some old copies of the lyrics the other day, I noticed that different versions of the song have referenced nuclear accidents and radiation leaks in Detroit, Chicago, Harrisburg and Chernobyl. So just in the short lifetime of this song, there have been a number of very serious problems at nuclear plants around the world. And these are just a few of the more well known incidents, but certainly not the only ones! So I remain convinced that we just cannot afford to use nuclear power as an energy source!
AND, this doesn't even address issues like how to keep nuclear materials in power plants from getting into the hands of people who want to build nuclear bombs (it's happened time and time again!) Or what to do with the products of nuclear plants which operate the way they're supposed to (without leaking, melting down or blowing up) - products like dangerously radioactive nuclear waste and decommissioned nuclear plants.
So here is Laura Sue’s Little Anti-Nuclear List - some great resources for learning and sharing. This list is in no way comprehensive, there are so many people doing wonderful work! Please let me know if you know of an organization doing good work in this area which should be listed here. I am especially interested in finding active anti-nuclear and environmental organizations working on Florida issues.
And do check back from time to time as I will be updating this page and adding new info and links! (and maybe some cartoons and other fun stuff!)
As always, please check out all non-profits and charities with a reputable charity checker like the ones on this page or using the methods on this page before donating your time and money to them!
January 2008 Update: Five years ago on my birthday, I founded 51 Nightingales. This year, I took the day off work and testified at the Public Service Commission Hearing on the proposed expansion of Turkey Point Nuclear by the addition of two new nuclear plants. Read more....
December 2008 Update - Nuclear Free Poetry! Last summer, around Hiroshima/Nagasaki Memorial Days, I wrote a poem entitled "Recycle Nuclear Plants!", and debuted it at the Traveling Literati evening of War and Peace themed music and literature, September 11, 2007 at Luna Star Cafe in Miami. Next, I recycled the poem into an art piece made entirely out of reused materials, which was shown in the November 2007 Trash to Art Exhibit at ArtServe in Fort Lauderdale. I was also privileged to perform "Recycle Nuclear Plants!" for Florida Safe and Sustainable Energy - an organization of statewide activists - at our Miami Summit Meeting in November 2008. Please check out my poem, I will be posting photos of the accompanying art piece sooner or later! I have also added my recent comments to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for their Environmental Review of the proposal to build two new nukes at Levy County in Florida to my PSC And Me page. (Hmmm, I may have to make that my PSC, NRC and Me page!)
May 2010 - My comments on Sec. Chu's interview this week on NPR show On Point can now be found on my PSC and Me page.
August 2010 - My previous testimony and comments to the PSC, NRC and NPR now include my comments on the environmental implications of building two new nuclear plants at Turkey Point, just submitted to the NRC for their scoping review.
A Work in Progress - The Simpsons on Nukes! and a few other TV shows too.
April 2011 - As mentioned above, I started this webpage when I found out by chance in 2006 that companies were still trying to build nuclear plants. Well, here we are, post-Fukushima - or rather I should say in the midst of Fukushima, waiting to see if life on Earth will be able to continue - and they are still trying to build new nuclear plants. Here's a bite from the current NRC blog on their just-released report "New Reactor Program Annual Review": Did you know that by the end of 2010, the NRC had received 18 combined operating license applications to build and operate 28 new reactors? Or that the NRC has issued design certifications for four reactor designs that can be referenced in an application for a nuclear power plant – three from Westinghouse and one from General Electric-Hitachi?
Yes folks, that's the same GE that built Fukushima, and many many identical and similar plants now operating in the United States, and around the world. I'm adding new Fukushima-related links below on an ongoing basis. And check out the great organizations listed below for their excellent, and in many cases, daily updates!
Here's a blog on the April 30, 2011 Clean Energy rally I played at across the bay from Turkey Point, as well as some great photos and an article or two. And here's the Green League of Broward wrap-up, which includes more links to photos and audio from the event, plus vital info about what the NRC says actually happened at Turkey Point during and after Hurricane Andrew. It's a TAD different than what FPL says happened! and astonishingly similar to what happened at Fukushima....
April 26, 2011 - Today, on the 25th Anniversary of the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster, I am releasing a new flute and chime recording of beautiful traditional Japanese folk song "Sakura". I made this recording in support of all who are suffering from the use of nuclear weapons and energy in Japan, and all the people all around the world working, praying and meditating in support of the people of Japan now.
August 6, 2011 - I'm releasing "No Nukes Swing" today, in conjunction with the 66th Anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. "No Nukes Swing" is now available at CD Baby! Coming very soon to iTunes and other music outlets.... Please contact me for sheet music, CDs and more! Activists, please feel free to contact me for a free "No Nukes Swing" download card or code!
May 6, 2012 - In addition to CD Baby, iTunes and other music outlets, "No Nukes Swing" is now available on the great CD PeaceSongsCNY, a compilation CD produced by the venerable Syracuse Peace Council! Get yours now!
December 9, 2013 - My comments to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission today about the proposed Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the new Waste Confidence Rule, governing future storage of nuclear waste, can now be found on my PSC and Me page.
Folks, let us not jump out of the fire into the nuclear frying pan:
If you can't clean it up, don't use it. - Doug Rokke
The Invisible War: Depleted Uranium and the Politics of Radiation 2000
Indian Point: Imagining the Unimaginable - A wonderful documentary shown on HBO. One of the many reasons we cannot afford nuclear power is nuclear plants' vulnerability to terrorist attacks.
Dr. Strangelove - I think this movie may be the reason I became the nuclear-free activist I am today. I saw it as a young girl and it immediately became (and has remained) my favorite movie of all time. I have seen it countless times, and find it remains timely, powerful, brilliant, scary and hilarious! (scilarious?) I highly recommend you see this movie!
Chernobyl Heart - Another great and very moving movie showing the horrific health consequences of nuclear plant accidents for young children.
Chernobyl: A Million Casualties - This TV program is based on the recently published NY Academy of Sciences book, detailing a massive study of medical data which concluded that, as of 2004, 985,000 people have died as a result of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. It was taped a week before the earthquake and subsequent nuclear disaster in Japan. Now available for free on YouTube! Also available here. For info on the book, see the Delve Deeper section further down the page.
Chernobyl Childrens Project International - The non-profit organization whose work is chronicled in "Chernobyl Heart", these amazing health workers are dedicated to providing humanitarian and medical aid to the 3 - 4 million children the United Nations recognizes as suffering from the Chernobyl disaster of 1986.
Nine Mile Point - Ah, Nine Mile Point.... I believe this may have been the first nuclear plant outside which I protested, conveniently located right on beautiful Lake Ontario in upstate New York. This is one of many sites where the nuclear industry is now trying to build new nuclear plants. See below for a picture of me protesting this plant!
Three Mile Island - You remember Three Mile Island, right? I sure do.... I was on tour when the accident there happened, and I remember walking the very cold, gray deserted winter streets of Chicago, alone, waiting for news, wondering if I would ever see my immediate family, all of whom live in Pennsylvania, again.
Tentative Description of a Dinner to Promote the Impeachment of President Eisenhower - by Lawrence Ferlinghetti - Possibly the best anti-nuclear poem ever written, I've been performing it since the 1960's.
Blue Vinyl - A superb movie on the dangers of vinyl siding to those who use it, those who make it, and those who live downstream. It's available for rent or sale, and is also shown from time to time on the Sundance Channel and elsewhere. I just watched it again for the third or fourth time and it is still great!
The Whole Fracking Enchilada - Like many people, I am extremely concerned about Fracking and toxic chemicals in our environment in general. This is a great article by leading scientist and activist Sandra Steingraber published in Orion Magazine. There's a lot of info out there! Bill Moyers also did an excellent interview with Steinbraber on his show Moyers & Company. Also recommended: The film Gasland.
Who Killed the Electric Car? - Another incredibly entertaining and super-educational movie containing essential information for all of us who are interested in energy issues. Like Blue Vinyl, it can be rented or bought, and pops up now and then on cable. We hear time and time again that the reason we can't go 100% into safe, green energy technology is because cost-effective green energy technology has not been invented yet. The truth is, many extremely practical and clean energy technologies have been invented, implemented, and then bought out and destroyed. The electric car is a perfect example of this. Research the history of passenger trains in this country if you want to be completely flabbergasted, and find out just how long this kind of subterfuge has been going on!
Friends Committee on National Legislation - Nuclear Issues
Also available on this website: Still in the Shadow of Nuclear Weapons - great booklet available for free download or order
And the
Nuclear Calendar
The Why Files - What, Me Worry?
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists - The Gold Standard, home of the almost 60-year-old Doomsday Clock.
The Federation of American Scientists - Weapons of Mass Destruction - The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) was formed in 1945 by atomic scientists from the Manhattan Project who felt that scientists, engineers and other innovators had an ethical obligation to bring their knowledge and experience to bear on critical national decisions, especially pertaining to the technology they unleashed - the Atomic Bomb.
Also on this site, Nuclear Weapons in the 21st Century - I especially like their Bomb-a-City Calculator!
and Nuclear Fool - sorry - Fuel Cycle
Photo by David Grossman at Union Square, April 2, 2011
The Health Costs of Low-Level Ionizing Radiation - This website offers a wealth of information right on their site, as well as links to a wide range of other important sources of information on all aspects of nuclear weapons, power plants, health effects of radiation and much more. I found it when looking for information about Michael Stanco, a veteran who had been exposed to radiation during "cleanup" from our 1946 Operation Crossroads atomic tests in the Pacific, and died decades years later after 20 years of having his health claims rejected by the VA. On this site, I found the entire text of Killing Our Own - The Disaster of America's Experience with Atomic Radiation, a 1982 book which in itself presents a very comprehensive history of the effects of atomic techology from 1945 - 1982. This is just one of many valuable resources on this site. When I started looking around I was truly amazed at how much information they have made available!
Nuclear Radiation - There is no safe dose - by Dr. Romeo F. Quijano, M.D.
No Safe Levels of Radiation in Japan - Experts warn that any detectable level of radiation is "too much" - by Dahr Jamail
The Golden Rule - If all people practiced The Golden Rule, there could be no nuclear weapons, waste, or plants. Well, maybe some day we will get there.... The Golden Rule also plays an important role in the history of nuclear-free activism. In 1958, the ship The Golden Rule and its brave crews sailed in to the Marshall Islands to protest and try to prevent the atomic bomb tests that were being conducted in the atmosphere, and spreading radiation throughout the planet. Their activism helped spark worldwide protest, leading to the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1963. The Golden Rule inspired future generations as well, and in recent years, Veterans For Peace has taken on operation of the ship, continuing its work to end use of nuclear weapons, and all war. Read more about The Golden Rule's fascinating history and current voyages here. I was delighted to learn of this history recently, and realized that the iconic Ferlinghetti poem, "Tentative Description of a Dinner to Promote the Impeachment of President Eisenhower," which I've been reading at No Nukes and poetry events for years, contains a reference to The Golden Rule which I never really understood because I didn't know about this ship!
Spent Fuel Pools - One of the major issues at the Fukushima plants - and the U.S. has more radioactive waste sitting in spent fuel pools than anywhere else on earth! The single nuclear plant at Vermont Yankee, which is nearly identical to the Fukushima plants, has more spent fuel sitting in its pool than all four damaged Fukushima reactors combined. Great report by Robert Alvarez of Institute for Policy Studies on just how much radioactivity we have in SFP here, and what we should do about it.
Joanna Macy | Nuclear Guardianship - Joanna Macy has put together a very powerful yet simple and practical set of resources for approaching the existence of nuclear technology in our world. What else would we expect from such an evolved, engaged Buddhist activist and teacher?! I find her piece "On Being With Our World" (click on her link titled: "What it does to the human mind") to be extremely interesting, as I seek to reconcile my own spiritual beliefs with my calling to work for a nuclear-free world. Joanna covers a lot of ground on this page, which focuses especially on how to deal with the current reality that our world does contain nuclear materials, and what to do about it.
A Nuke-Free World - Excellent website that covers a lot of ground, created by Peter G. Cohen, a peace activist with deep roots stretching back to his time as a soldier on a troopship headed to Japan in 1945, when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. On this website, Cohen and his webmaster son Daniel amplify their big picture vision and grassroots, common sense approach to creating a nuclear free world.
Rachel Maddow - A great segment from March 30, 2011 on U.S. nuclear failures.
This American Life - See No Evil - There's a great segment in this show about Chernobyl, nuclear denial, and what radiation does to a person. Listen free online!
Timeline of Nuclear Accidents - From BBC News, a timeline of some of the most serious nuclear accidents of all time.
Deconstructing Nuclear Experts - by Chris Busby - A great article refuting the so-called experts currently perpetuating all manner of lies and distortions about Fukushima, radiation and nukes in general. From Chris' concluding thoughts: I challenge each of them to debate this issue with me in public on television face to face, so that the people can figure out who is right. For the late Professor John Gofman, a senior figure in the US Atomic Energy Commission until he saw what was happening and resigned, famously said: “the nuclear industry is waging a war against humanity.” This war has now entered an endgame which will decide the survival of the human race.
Not from sudden nuclear war. But from the on-going and incremental nuclear war which began with the releases to the biosphere in the 60s of all the atmospheric test fallout, and which has continued inexorably since then through Windscale, Kyshtym, 3-Mile Island, Chernobyl, Hanford, Sellafield, La Hague, Iraq and now Fukushima, accompanied by parallel increases in cancer rates and fertility loss to the human race. There is a gap between them and us. Between the phoney scientists and the public who don’t believe what they say. Between those who are employed and paid to protect us from radioactive pollution and those who die from its consequences. Between those who talk down what is arguably the greatest public health scandal in human history, and the facts that they ignore.
Nuclear Power: Still Not Viable Without Subsidies - By Doug Koplow - To me, one of the most damning pieces of evidence against the commercial nuclear industry is that it is still coming to taxpayers for massive finanicial support, after over 50 years in existence! This is not a viable industry! Even Wall Street won't invest in nuclear plants, and they'll invest in just about anything, no matter how risky. And after taxpayers and ratepayers pay all those huge costs up front, plant owners can reap huge profits, while we take all the financial risk. Nuclear industry booster William Tucker cited this figure in 2009: "Existing reactors... are already making a million dollars a day." These profits are a direct result of the huge subsidies this industry has always received and continues to receive. From the abstract: As the report shows, subsidies to the nuclear fuel cycle have often exceeded the value of the power produced. This means that buying power on the open market and giving it away for free would have been less costly than subsidizing the construction and operation of nuclear power plants. Subsidies to new reactors are on a similar path. Energy subsidies should be going to fund development of truly clean, renewable and sustainable energy technologies, like solar, wind and geo-thermal, not providing life support to the greedy, dying, murderous nuclear industry. This study is also available for download at Earth Track.
Dial 'M' for Meltdown - A moving and high energy history of nuclear power and its impact on the world by filmmaker Brian Rich.
Chernobyl on the Hudson - By Ken Gale - A great and detailed look at all aspects of the harmful effects of nuclear power in general, and Indian Point in particular, including excellent explanations, graphics and cartoons. The opening sentences: "There is justified fear of a Chernobyl-like accident in the United States. Yet it is also important to keep in mind that even the routine functioning of nuclear reactors constantly damages our health."
"Until we know how to safely dispose of the radioactive materials generated by nuclear plants, we should postpone these activities
so as not to cause further harm to future generations. To do otherwise is simply an immoral act, and that is my belief,
both as a scientist and as a survivor of the Hiroshima atomic bombing."
- Dr Shoji Sawada
Nuclear Information and Resource Service - 1998 marked the 20th anniversary of the Nuclear Information and Resource Service. We were founded to be the national information and networking center for citizens and environmental activists concerned about nuclear power, radioactive waste, radiation and sustainable energy issues.
We still fulfill that core function, but have moved on both programatically and geographically. For example, we initiate large-scale organizing and public education campaigns on specific issues. Our Eastern Europe/Commonwealth of Independent States Project is a massive effort to bring our technical expertise and strategic sense to grassroots environmental groups facing the most dangerous nuclear programs of all. For a brief description of our varied programs, click here.
Increasingly, we find ourselves working to build a truly international anti-nuclear/safe energy movement, while striving to meet an ever-increasing demand for our services in the United States.
NIRS relies on contributions from citizens across the world to support our efforts for a nuclear-free planet. Our 1999 base budget is about $500,000--to fully meet the needs of citizens groups across the globe will cost about $750,000. That's just about 5% of what the U.S. nuclear power industry alone will spend to promote new nuclear reactors, unsafe radioactive waste dumps, and an energy policy that threatens us all.
Fund for a Nuclear Free World
Council for a Livable World - Council for a Livable World has advocated for the elimination of weapons of mass destruction since 1962. Today, the Council continues in its original mandate to inform, educate and lobby for nuclear disarmament.
Physicans for Social Responsibility - A leading public policy organization, Physicans for Social Responsibility has launched a major campaign to educate the public about the risks of nuclear policies, and to promote genuine security through nuclear disarmament.
Union of Concerned Scientists - An independent nonprofit alliance working to bring about a safer world by eliminating the risks posed by nuclear arsenals, nuclear terrorism, and enhancing international dialogue on security issues.
Bob Kinsey speaks against the construction of a nuclear power plant in eastern Pueblo County, Colorado during a rally April 1, 2011on the steps of the Pueblo County Courthouse.
(Pueblo Chieftain Photo by Chris McLean)
Women's Action for New Directions (WAND) - A nonprofit organization that is dedicated to redirecting federal budget priorities away from the military and toward human needs.
An Inconvenient Truth - great film! It only touches briefly on nuclear issues but it’s all connected! Visit the website for 10 Things You Can Do To Stop Global Warming.
The Alliance for Climate Protection - Al Gore is chairing this new non-profit, and profits from DVD and book sales of "An Inconvenient Truth" are supporting this organization. Lots of good action steps on this website!
51 Nightingales - My personal peace program
Move On - Very well organized political activists, working on lots of great issues!
Bonnie Raitt - Bonnie Raitt has been active in No Nukes and Safe Energy issues for decades! She always has information on her website about important environmental and other initiatives. From August 2007: A WARMING WORLD: No to Nukes (L.A. Times) - Read the Editorial in the L.A. Times that prompted Bonnie, Jackson Browne and Graham Nash to write this Letter to the Editor regarding the threat of building new nuclear power plants.
Nuke Free - Great group working to end the use of nuclear technology - plants and weapons - in our world and promote the use of clean, safe energy sources. Current campaign as of October 2007: Remove the massive nuclear industry bailout from the Energy Bill currently in Congress. Want to stay informed about current nuclear issues? Visit their great and very up-to-date news and facts pages! From their website: "The Senate version of the Energy Bill now pending in Congress could authorize virtually unlimited loan guarantees for backers of new nuclear reactors – effectively, a blank check, at taxpayer expense. Besides the fact that reactors are vulnerable to terrorist attacks, human error in operation, and earthquakes, there is also no solution to the problem of safely storing or transporting nuclear waste. Why would we want more nuclear power facilities built if the safety of those already in operation is in question? Tell Congress that nuclear power is not a “clean alternative” and has no place in an Energy Bill that seeks to expand the role of truly safe and reliable renewable energy from wind, solar, bio-fuels, geothermal and other green technologies."
Sign the petition! Watch the video of their new version of "Something's Happening Here" with Bonnie Raitt, Graham Nash, Keb Mo, Ben Harper and Jackson Browne!
Beyond Nuclear - Excellent group whose website covers a host of nuclear issues including waste, weapons, reactors, costs and much, much more! Their mission: "Beyond Nuclear aims to educate and activate the public about the connections between nuclear power and nuclear weapons and the need to abandon both to safeguard our future. Beyond Nuclear advocates for an energy future that is sustainable, benign and democratic. The Beyond Nuclear team works with diverse partners and allies to provide the public, government officials, and the media with the critical information necessary to move humanity toward a world beyond nuclear."
Anti-nuclear performance in Istanbul's Tünel Square (Photo by Greenpeace Akdeniz)
Nuclear Watch South - Georgia-based group with lots of great info, links, video, cool stickers, contests and more! Keep tabs on Atom Girl and all her Atomic Activities!
Southern Alliance for Clean Energy - Great non-partisan organization working on clean, responsible energy choices all over the Southeast - lots of great resources on this site, organized both by state and by energy issue! They also sponsor Southern Energy Network, which builds and facilitates an inclusive student and youth-led movement in the Southeast to empower communities, develops leaders, and promote a clean, just, safe, and sustainable energy future. Check their blog for excellent, frequent, comprehensive updates on the Fukushima crisis, plus important energy news from all over!
Nuclear Energy Information Service (NEIS) - Looking for something a little further north? How about Illinois' nuclear power watchdog group, NEIS? They might be based in Illinois, but they take a global perspective, grounded in real science and dedicated to spreading the truth about all aspects of nuclear power. New essay "It's the Water, Stupid!" is just one of a wealth of excellent resources available on this site. Don't confuse these folks with the NEI, which is a nuclear industry lobbying group!
Colbert Report - Over-Reactor - Excellent segment, in which Colbert explains why now is not the time to take action!
Peace Pilgrimage for a Nuclear Free World - A beautiful, peaceful project led by Jun Yasuda and the Grafton Peace Pagoda.
The Green Party calls for a moratorium on nuclear plants - From their Earth Day 2011 statement calling on the White House and Congress to provide strong leadership on fighting global climate change and converting the US to safe and clean energy:
No nuclear power: The tsunami that devastated parts of Japan in March exposed the dangers of nuclear energy, which no private company will invest in without billions in publicly funded subsidies and loan guarantees. President Obama's plans to build new nuclear plants on the taxpayers' dime are a concession to powerful corporate lobbies that want to reap high profits while forcing the public to assume the high cost and extreme liabilities of nuclear energy. Existing nuclear plants must be phased out and the 20-year license extension granted for aging reactors must be rescinded.
The rest of this statement addresses other energy technologies, and is excellent on every point.
Friends of the Earth - From their welcome letter: What makes us different?: At Friends of the Earth, we’re progressives who believe that the movement to protect the planet and the fight for social justice are part of the same struggle. We know that solving deep-rooted environmental problems requires confronting their sources, and we specialize in going after economic forces that fuel ecological destruction and injustice, like taxpayer subsidies to corporate polluters. We don’t settle for what’s easy or popular -- we speak truth to power and push for policy solutions that will protect all communities and creatures on our planet over the long term.
San Onofre and Davis Besse Back in the Crosshairs - Great article by Michael Leonardi about a variety of dangerous nuclear plants and where the campaigns against them stand, post the announced closing of San Onofre.
Public Citizen - This group is doing such great work on a wide variety of important issues, here's their section on The Nuclear Relapse, including info on new reactor proposals, the fatal flaws of nuclear power, and what Public Citizen and its allies are doing to challenge and derail new reactor development and how you can get involved.
Sending a message to the Senate and Nuclear Regulatory Commission on June 16, 2011 (Photo by Greenpeace)
Cover Up: What You are Not Supposed to Know About Nuclear Power - by Karl Grossman, currently available as a free download here!
Carbon-Free and Nuclear-Free: A Roadmap for U.S. Energy Policy - commissioned by Dr. Helen Caldicott, and written by Dr.Arjun Makhijani, this book explains exactly how the transformation to renewables would work. Currently available as a free download here! Lots and LOTS more great information resources available here as well.
Chernobyl: Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and the Environment - Don't believe the industry spokespeople who say only a few hundred or a few thousand people were hurt by the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. The real number, as of 2004, is that at least 985,000 have died so far as a result of Chernobyl - nearly a million casualties. This conclusion comes from the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, a 2009 compilation of years of articles based on years of painstaking scientific research on medical data, and available here. From the book: "[This] catastrophe demonstrates that the nuclear industry's willingness to risk the health of humanity and our environment with nuclear power plants will result, not only theoretically but practically, in the same level of hazard as nuclear weapons."
Were Nobel physicist Enrico Fermi alive, he would be appalled by the nuclear tail risk we are manufacturing for ourselves and bequeathing to our loved ones. Fermi, who played a major role in the Manhattan Project, would have no hesitation in telling the world to shut its reactors. Fermi developed the first nuclear reactor and had grave doubts about their net benefit, wondering when mankind will “grow sufficiently adult to make good use of the powers that he acquires over nature.” Fermi wrote these words two years before he died at age 53 of stomach cancer caused by radiation exposure to his reactor.
Laurence Kotlikoff and Eugene Stanley - Nuclear Power Runs Amok, Bloomberg News, 3/21/11
Nuclear Information and Resource Service - A great compendium of up-to-date articles and studies on the situation in Fukushima, Japan and the world two years after the beginning of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
Fukushima is already harming our children - Two years after the beginning of the ongoing nuclear catastrophe at Fukushima, Harvey Wasserman documents the ever-increasing health impacts on the children of Japan and the World.
Southern Alliance for Clean Energy has an overview of where things are at in Fukushima two years on in their always excellent blog.
From Nuclear Hotseat: The great Dr. Helen Caldicott on the consequences of Fukushima:
http://www.nuclearhotseat.com/91-dr-caldicotts-global-symposium-on-medical-and-ecological-consequences-of-fukushima/
and here is video of the symposium.
Eloquent Statement from Ryuichi Sakamoto - World famous Japanese musician and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto speaks out about Fukushima and the ongoing danger, eloquently evoking Japanese atomic history. More from Ryuichi on Fukushima here.
The Waters of Fukushima - Experts Explain the Effects of Radioactive Water at Fukushima - This is and will affect everyone on the planet! This means YOU!
Fukushima - Ongoing Lessons for California - Great press conference with Naoto Kan (Prime Minister of Japan at the beginning of Fukushima) , Gregory Jaczko (fomer Chair of the NRC), nuclear engineer Arnie Gunderson, and Peter Bradford (Law Professor and former NRC Commissioner). Here's the full video series.
The Fukushima Nightmare Gets Even Worse - An important piece by Harvey Wasserman chock full of information. He has written many other excellent pieces on Fukushima since this one, check his website!
Southern Alliance for Clean Energy - What is Happening with Japan's Fukushima Nuclear Disaster - Great update by Mandy Hancock, who also has written many other excellent articles on Fukushima and other energy topics. Explore the website!
PBS Takes Us on a Terrifying Post-Apocalyptic Tour of Fukushima - Don't believe the hype, read the review here and then watch this. Things are not getting better in Fukushima!
Miles O'Brien Takes PBS Fishing for Radiation in Fukushima - The radiation is not contained! Read the review here and then watch this.
"Nothing is more costly than nuclear power." ~
Junichiro Koizumi, Former Prime Minister of Japan - Nagoya, Japan, October 1, 2013
National Wildlife Federation - Special sections on Whooping Cranes (a personal favorite of mine!), Bald Eagles, Florida Panthers, Backyard Gardening, Global Warming Action, and a whole lot more!
Flight School - Incredible Documentary on how scientists are bringing Whooping Cranes back from the brink of extinction by teaching laboratory-born cranes how to migrate! Watch for it on PBS’ Nature series, or better yet, check out and support the Operation Migration project.
Ducks Unlimited - Wetland and Waterfowl Conservation
Sierra Club - working for the environment and against nukes: Fantasy Nuclear article - Smart Energy - Nuclear Waste Task Force
Audubon Society - It's for the birds!
Mobilization for Survival - An organization I played for in the 1970's and 80's at Diablo Canyon and NYC, not sure if they are still around as a national group but the Boston group looks active.
E/The Environmental Magazine - Comprehensive, searchable on a wide range of environmental news
Native Forest Council - Their mission is to fully protect and preserve every acre of publicly owned land in the United States
Farms not Arms - All farmers of the world share the unique privilege and the daunting responsibility of making sure everyone is fed and the land is protected to feed the future generations. War, and the enormous waste of resources spent in preparing for it, threaten our work. As farmers, farm-workers and those in the agricultural industry who support them, we come together to oppose the war in Iraq and the dangerous cycle of war and terror that threatens our world.
Think Global, Act Local - Learn about the background of this concept, plus lots of links!
Recycle! - Check your local listings, recycling is starting to be pretty common these days!
Conserve! - Did you know that since 1970, population in the Los Angeles area has increased 35%, but due to water conservation practices, water consumption has only increased by 7%? Here in Florida, where we lead the nation in per-capita water consumption, and especially in South Florida, it's a very different story.
Water Conservation - A great How To guide for kids! And lots for adults elsewhere on this site too, including info on sustainable water use, and water in Africa and developing nations. Big Thanks to Mrs. Regina Fowler's Fourth Grade class for this and the next three links!
Extinct and Endangered Animals - Does it feel like someone's missing lately? There are a lot of someone's missing, as more and more animal species become extinct! Will humans be next?
Green Guide for Kids - All kinds of useful info and resources on a wide range of environmental subjects.
Green Kids Rock - A cool environmentally-oriented blog for kids, with a wealth of opportunities for kids to participate including guest blogging and videography.
As you may know, I am particularly interested in birds and preserving bird habitat.
Space for Peace - Global Network against weapons and nuclear power in space
"The one thing I've convinced myself of after all these years of exposure to the use of nuclear weapons is that they were useless." ~
Colin Powell, Four-Star General, Secretary of State, and Republican, quoted in this great segment on nuclear weapons,
including some terrible nuclear accidents throughout history that you probably never heard of,
from Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Episode 12
The Everglades Foundation - Save our Everglades! Their new website is going to be Here.
Check out the two-day benefit for the Everglades Foundation at the Bamboo Room - September 29 & 30, 2006
Friends of the Everglades - Founded by the legendary Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Friends works to protect and restore the Greater Kissimmee-Okeechobee-Everglades Ecosystem, one of the most unique and important ecosystems on the planet.
Arthur R. Marshall Foundation - Everglades Restoration and lots of wonderful environmental projects!
Everglades Restoration Movement
Urban Development Boundary - Hold the line in Miami-Dade!
SPCA Wildlife Care Center - Saving Florida's wildlife since 1969, located right here in Fort Lauderdale! From their website: "Our mission is to rescue, rehabilitate, and release native wildlife that has been harmed or displaced; to treat and place certain needy domestic, exotic and farm animals; and to educate the public toward the co-existence with all animals."
South Florida Audubon Society - This lovely group, formerly known as Broward County Audubon, has been kind enough to partner with me in support of my hospice music programs, and we are cooking up some cool collaborative environmental programs too!
Tropical Audubon Society - Headed by a great leader named Laura (who could be better?!) Reynolds, this Audubon chapter looks after the birds of Miami-Dade and thereabouts.
South Florida East Coast Corridor Study - Mass transit in South Florida? Wouldn't that be wonderful?! The scope of this study is to develop and analyze alternatives that potentially integrate passenger and freight transport along the SFECC, which is centered along the existing FEC Railway. The study will consider various alignments and transit technologies. Right-of-way on streets and areas parallel to the SFECC, as well as stretches of waterways, will be evaluated for the alternative transit routes. The different technologies that will be considered include bus, waterway transit, light-rail, commuter-rail, and heavy-rail.
Caloosahatchee River Watch - Citizens working to protect one of America's 10 most endangered rivers.
Food Not Bombs in South Florida - improvisedaction@riseup.net or 954-592-6330.
International Food Not Bombs website
Trash to Treasure - The mantra is "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle". Since I discovered it in 2007, this fantastic new Creative Re-Use Center has really turned me on to how great Reuse is! Recycling is good, but Reuse is awesome! Trash to Treasure is part of a national movement for Creative Re-Use and Upcycling, so if you live somewhere other than South Florida, please check your area for Creative Re-Use Centers!
South Florida Peace and Justice
No New Nukes - A forum to comment on FPL's plans to double the number of nuclear plants at Turkey Point in Miami, and on nuclear power in general.
Green League of Broward - Michael O'Brien operates a free Green League Listserve, calendar announcements etc. - lots of great, green info and a good place to post your own green announcements.
Save the Manatee Club - You can adopt a manatee and follow its life online - very cool!
South Florida Wildlands Association - Important info about the status of, and actions to preserve our precious and unique South Florida wetlands and wildlands.
Baby Owen Pierse of Accord naps during a Mother's Day 2011 protest in New Paltz against the Indian Point nuclear plant. (photo by Jeff Goulding/Times Herald-Record)
There is no level of radiation exposure that is demonstrably safe. - Dr. Alan Lockwood
Professor of Neurology and Nuclear medicine at University of Buffalo, Past President of Physicians for Social Responsibility
Well, the first thing we all need to do to protect ourselves and our planet is to end the use of all nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the world, and safeguard the vast amount of nuclear waste already created - as per all the above links!
The next thing is protecting yourself from the ever-increasing radiation already in the environment. Here's how some survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki did it:
Macrobiotic Diet Prevents Radiation Sickness Among A-Bomb Survivors in Japan - In August, 1945, at the time of the atomic bombing of Japan, Tatsuichiro Akizuki, M.D., was director of the Department of Internal Medicine at St. Francis's Hospital in Nagasaki. Most patients in the hospital, located one mile from the center of the blast, survived the initial effects of the bomb, but soon after came down with symptoms of radiation sickness from the fallout that had been released. Dr. Akizuki fed his staff and patients a strict macrobiotic diet of brown rice, miso soup, wakame and other sea vegetables, Hokkaido pumpkin, and sea salt and prohibited the consumption of sugar and sweets. As a result, he saved everyone in his hospital, while many other survivors in the city perished from radiation sickness.
"I gave the cooks and staff strict orders that they should make unpolished whole-grain rice balls, adding some salt to them, prepare strong miso soup for each meal, and never use sugar. When they didn't follow my orders, I scolded them without mercy, 'Never take sugar. Sugar will destroy your blood!'. . .
"This dietary method made it possible for me to remain alive and go on working vigorously as a doctor. The radioactivity may not have been a fatal dose, but thanks to this method, Brother Iwanaga, Reverend Noguchi, Chief Nurse Miss Murai, other staff members and in-patients, as well as myself, all kept on living on the lethal ashes of the bombed ruins. It was thanks to this food that all of us could work for people day after day, overcoming fatigue or symptoms of atomic disease and survive the disaster, free from severe symptoms of radioactivity."
Sources: Tatsuichiro Akizuki, M.D., Nagasaki 1945 (London: Quartet Books, 1981);
Tatsuichiro Akizuki, "How We Survived Nagasaki," East West Journal, December 1980.
More resources on radiation protection can be found here:
Feel Like a Radiated Sitting Duck? - Things you can do to mitigate the problem by Barbara H. Peterson - Lots of information here about a variety of foods and natural substances which can be used to mitigate our exposure to radiation.
What You Can Do to Protect Yourself from Radiation - by Beth DiLuglio and Julie Brown in the Green Labor Journal, a great publication with a wide range of information.
Radioactive Fallout: Can Nutritional Supplements Help? - from Orthomolecular Medicine News, by Damien Downing, M.D.
Dr. Mark Hyman on Radiation Protection
Protect Against Radiation with Purple Dulse
Dr. Isaac Eliaz on Radiation Protection
Rosemary Found to Offer Best Protection Against Radiation Poisoning
From Livestrong.com - Foods that naturally eliminate isotopes and free radicals from the body:
Pectin-rich foods such as apples, plums and oranges. Organic is best.
Chlorophyll-rich foods such as leafy greens, celery, wheatgrass and alfalfa
Turmeric, garlic, green tea extract and ginger
Sea vegetables, such as kelp and arame
Please do your own research and decide for yourself what is credible info! I am not a doctor, I'm just sharing information here that I have found from various sources. There is all kinds of health info out there, and each of us must evaluate these things for ourselves, in consultation with sources we trust!
Rally at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza in New York City - August 11, 2011
No Nukes Swing - My song! Now available at CD Baby, iTunes and other music outlets! Please contact me for sheet music, CDs and more!
Recycle Nuclear Plants - My poem whimsically exploring the idea of what to do with all the nuclear plants after they're all shut down!
We Almost Lost Detroit - A great song, from the late, great Gil Scott Heron....
Radiation Blues - By Courtney Dowe and Frankojazz Studios
My Water's On Fire Tonight (The Fracking Song) - Think natural gas is the answer to our energy challenges? Watch this! Also on this issue, the documentary Gasland is highly recommended.
No Frack Maid - By the great Colleen Kattau! She hasn't recorded it yet, hopefully soon!
Ryuichi Sakamoto on using music to move beyond Fukushima.
The Princes of Serendipity - Plutonium Pops - I was interested to discover this song recently, because I wrote a comedy sketch about a radioactive cereal called "Pluto Pops" which I used to perform at demonstrations in the 1970's - 80's. Here's a photo of me with my Pluto Pops props from a Nine Mile Point/Niagara Mohawk demonstration in downtown Syracuse! Nine Mile Point was subsequently acquired by and is currently operated by Exelon and a couple other energy corporations.
Lawrence Ferlinghetti - Tentative Description of a Dinner to Promote the Impeachment of President Eisenhower - An amazing poem I have been reading at No Nukes and poetry events for decades!
Fred Small - Hot Frogs on the Loose
Mark Levy - Leakin' Like a Sieve, Livermore or Less, FEMA Side-Step
Tom Lehrer - So Long Mom, I'm Off to Drop the Bomb, We'll All Go Together When We Go, Who's Next?
Dave Lippman - I Make the Bombs
Sydney Carter - I Want to Have a Little Bomb Like You
Randy Newman - Political Science
Ray Korona - Paper
Tom Paxton - The Perfect Bomb, The Mail Will Go Through
More songs and other audio resources can be found in the NIRS Audio Library - love NIRS, the Nuclear Information and Resource Service!
The Simpsons on Nukes - My personal little project to compile all the nuclear references in The Simpsons!
Know of a great nuclear free song, play, poem or work of art? Let me know so I can add it here!
Surveys taken in March and April 2011 show that a large majority of U.S. citizens oppose the building of new nuclear plants!
Japan has scrapped all plans to build new nuclear plants. Demonstrations around the country are demanding the closing of all existing nuclear plants in Japan. Even Prime Minister Naota Kan has called for Japan to end all use of nuclear power and close all Japanese nuclear plants, and recent media polls show that over 70% of the Japanese people agree! In the summer of 2011, the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organization, made up of hibakusha from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, decided on a clear policy of moving away from nuclear energy through the gradual decommissioning of all nuclear reactors. That represents a major turning point for the organization, which since its establishment in 1956, has never called for a society that had zero nuclear plants. Hibakusha is the Japanese term for survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and means "explosion-affected people".
Germany will not only stop building new nuclear plants, Chancellor Angela Merkel announced on May 30, 2011 that Germany will also phase out all existing nuclear plants by 2022. Anti-nuclear demonstrations in Germany, which have been huge for years, got even bigger after Fukushima.
After major demonstrations in Switzerland, the Swiss Parliament voted on May 25, 2011 to shut down all of Switzerland's nuclear plants, beginning in 2019, and with the last plant closing in 2034. More info and photo here.
Italian people reject nuclear power - In a popular referendum on June 13, 2011, voters overwhelmingly voted against any further use of nuclear power in Italy. "We shall have to say goodbye to nuclear energy" said pro-nuclear Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who had been planning to restart nuclear plants closed in the 1980's. Instead, Berlusconi told a press conference in Rome that his government will now throw all its energy into developing renewable sources!
On May 25, 2011, 11 EU member states formed an alliance against nuclear power. The countries are: Austria, Latvia, Denmark, Malta, Liechtenstein, Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Estonia, Cyprus and Luxemburg. More information can be found here and here.
Jellyfish shut down nuclear plants! - Dateline June 29, 2011 - London - "An invasion of jellyfish into a cooling water pool at a Scottish nuclear power plant kept its nuclear reactors offline on Wednesday, a phenomenon which may grow more common in future, scientists said. Two reactors at EDF Energy's Torness nuclear power plant on the Scottish east coast remained shut a day after they were manually stopped due to masses of jellyfish obstructing cooling water filters."
This is no April Fool's joke, it's happening on opposite sides of the world, in Scotland and California and places in between - Go Jellyfish! If they can do it, surely we can do it too!
San Onofre at the No Nukes Brink - May 16, 2013 - Another terrific essay by Harvey Wasserman! Very encouraging!
San Onofre is Dead and So is Nuclear Power - June 7, 2013 - The two nuclear plants at San Onofre will be permanently closed! Today is a great day.
When engineers have to bring a fire truck in to cool a nuclear plant, that is not a good day.
Lake Barrett, nuclear engineer - Discovery documentary Nuclear Nightmare: Japan in Crisis, 4/28/11
If you find broken links on this page, please let me know so I can correct them! Thanks!