When I go down the beaten path of memory lane and revisit all the hurdles my family went through in our life-long participation with the anti-nuclear movement, my breath becomes fast and quick. But when I think about the future in terms of where we're headed today, I feel like I have no breath left in me. Big difference.
The proliferation of today's wide-open nuclear nuthatch is a godforsaken sore that never really healed for many of us who have fought the good battle. I'm not going to candy coat this, so listen up -- the multiple reactor meltdowns at Japan's Daiichi's Nuclear Power Plant are a global killer, but it may not be the worst disaster we have to face. I am the offspring of an Atomic Veteran who's been there and back again. I offer this essay as a sober testament of truth as an activist who will continue to fight the tyrannical nuclear industry tooth and nail, or until my last breath is drawn. But I might as well get the bad news out of the way first. I'm sorry to report that after all the hard effort, we may have only prolonged the inevitable...
Many years ago at the beginning of his journey, my father knew all too well how shrewd people can be. And rightfully so, he was used as a guinea pig in Uncle Sam's nuclear weapons testing program that for him, produced a lifetime of activism. For me, having an atomic veteran father has been a wellspring of lessons, because I too have born witness to the many ostensive lies told by those who do not give it a second thought to kill anybody with impunity -- to play God -- for the glory of power and profit.
Indeed, without the slightest care for the sanctity of human life, the uncaring nuclear industrial complex, along with their enablers disguised as our protectors -- the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), the Nuclear Regulatory Agency (NRA), The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), etc. has callously allowed millions of people to die with no remorse or guilt. Let's be clear -- it makes little or no difference if exposure comes from an "atomic warhead" or from a "nuclear reactor meltdown." The end result is the same -- people suffer horribly and die. And just like the world revolution that's currently being waged around the globe with hardly a whisper in mainstream media, it will not be televised or reported. In war, you must first recognize your enemy before you can fight. Well, we the people are on our own because the enemy is within, and powerful.
During the cold war era, people like my father thought the nuclear arms race and/or atomic bombs would be our ultimate demise. Remember the 2001 classic, "On the beach"? Check it out. I noticed the networks let that little jewel fall down the memory hole. And although that threat will always be a viable concern, it's woefully apparent that after we split the atom; then insanely decided to build nuclear power plants on coastlines and fault lines, was after all . . . not such a good idea for mankind. In fact, I'm guessing that Einstein's "theory of relativity" can now be applied to man's nuclear karma? Yes, "what goes up must come down." Just as surely as "what goes into the atmosphere is later ingested." And although we may be treated like "cockroaches" by our government, sorry folks -- we're not "radiation resilient" like they are.
Thus, from the birth of the Manhattan Project, to Mother's Nature's ability to (((shake the planet))), we made some really poor choices in how we power-up our cities and towns. Consider this -- did we create the radioactive embryo of our ionizing end-game? Hmmm...
I think we're all savvy enough to understand our planet is going through some major geological changes. And when we consider the many 2012 scenarios which include scientific proof of planetary alignments, a magnetic pole reversal, solar flares and coronal mass ejections, it's damn right scary what effect all this will have on our infrastructure and our well being! If a major earthquake (like the 9.0 that hit Japan) were to hit us, we have at least two nuclear plants sitting on the Pacific "Ring of Fire." Thus, here in the U.S., we could quickly find ourselves in a similar situation if mass amounts of radiation are released into our atmosphere. Like evil, invisible fairy-dust, it would quickly overwhelm us. The effects would be truly "radiating" to say the least.
In reality, radiation and human health are not friendly co-companions. Exposure attacks the human body at its most basic level -- cell structure. Cells carry out vital functions necessary to sustain and develop all living creatures. Over 10 trillion cells make up the human body. The cell takes in food, gets rid of waste, produces protein vital to life, and reproduces itself. Just as all living things are made up of cells, so every new cell is produced from another cell. Thus, the nature of the cell is determined by the genetic material in its nucleus. Genetic "coding" is extremely complex.
In brief, our DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is tightly coiled in the 46 chromosomes, which are stored in the cell nucleus. Surrounding the nucleus is the cytoplasm, the "factory" that carries out the directions of the DNA intelligence center. It is the whole of this cell mechanism -- cell wall, cytoplasm, and nucleus -- that forms the basis of human life.
When a radioactive particle or ray strikes a cell, a lot can happen. Worst of all: it can damage a cell in such a way that the damage is repeated when the cell divides. Think about that for a minute ... once DNA is damaged; distorted messages can be transmitted to cells and passed on through reproduction. Thus, thousands of mutated clone cells can reproduce themselves, forming the basis for tumors which in turn devastate the body system, multiplying millions of damaged cells that can later become cancerous. Radiation is also well known for destroying the body's immune system. In simple terms, we get screwed on two fronts: The body gets jacked and then disabled so it can't repair itself.
The most vulnerable are the human fetus, infants and young children -- whose cells are multiplying most frequently and are most sensitive to radiation damage, especially the bone marrow. Perhaps that is why independent scientist Lauren Moret gave expert testimony in a lawsuit brought against Japanese officials, to force them to do the right thing in evacuating more than 350,000 children from the Fukushima area, where they are forced to endure lethal doses of radiation.
Even though she got zero attention here in the U.S., Lauren Moret's important message was heard loud and clear around the world on the Internet:
"Fukushima's radiation affects thousands of miles across the ocean! The west coast of North America is thousands of miles across the vast Pacific Ocean, a long way from Fukushima Daiichi and the radioactive solids, liquids, and gases being released daily and recklessly to poison both near and far. Already we are seeing the effects in North America. Air filters from cars in Seattle have been analyzed for hot particles and indicate that Seattle residents are inhaling 5 hot particles a day, in Tokyo it is 10 hot particles a day, in Fukushima Prefecture it is 30-40 times higher -- 300-400 hot particles a day. Hot particles and alpha emitters such as Uranium and Plutonium have not even been mentioned by the government or TEPCO, nor has their contribution to total radiation released been considered. Alpha particles are biologically 20 times more damaging than beta particles.
"Iodine 131 in drinking water in San Francisco was reported by UC Berkeley to be 18,100% times higher than the EPA drinking water standard, yet the US government quit measuring it. Infant mortality in Berkeley and other west coast cities was reported by Dr. Janette Sherman to have increased 35% since March 11, after the Fukushima disaster. The babies are the first to die. Infant mortality in Philadelphia, PA. Where the highest Iodine 131 levels in drinking water measured in the US have been reported, has increased 45 percent since March 11. People on the west coast of the United States and even in Arizona are reporting a metallic taste in their mouths -- an indication of radioactive particles in the air as in Japan."
Moret went on to say...
"On the night of June 14, a nuclear incident occurred in the Reactor 3 building in the spent fuel pool when huge bursts of gamma ray fluorescence lit up the night sky and turned the reactor building as bright as the sun, indicating the spent fuel rods and melted uranium and plutonium were boiling off, vaporized along with the rest of the fission products.
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