Mindful Musings #23

Recent events in the world have been troubling, to say the least. The power of Mother Nature unleashed herself on Japan in the form of a 9.0 earthquake and a destructive 30 ft. tsunami. The tsunami was so powerful it destroyed thousands of homes, killed numerous people and forced hundreds of thousands into shelters where they are today. What is worse are the nuclear plants that have spewed radioactivity into the atmosphere and may compromise the food supply in Japan. These nuclear plants were not a result of Mother Nature, but mankind. When the Japanese government decided on nuclear it was to lessen their dependence on oil. 30% of Japanese power come from nuclear energy. They decided that nuclear would be the cleanest and most productive of fuels.

I hate to say, "I told you so..." but the facts remain. Nuclear energy, while clean leaves behind an enormous amount of spent rods. Translated, "spent rods" mean, nuclear waste. This waste doesn't bio-degrade but remains such for hundreds, maybe thousands of years. One has to wonder why did Japan make such a choice.

Critics of nuclear power have constantly warned the world of the consequences. What has happened to the Japanese in the case of nuclear power is a tremendous price to pay for their choices. One has to consider, too, what nuclear power means to the U.S. We, too, have over one hundred of them, some on earthquake faults such as in the case of California and New York. The lessons are real and striking. If we do not learn from the events of March 11th, we are fools. Nuclear power plants should not be built in the U.S. and instead, solar and wind energy should be used. It is a shame our president has caved into the pro-nuke faction. Surely, the lesson of the Fukishima plant is that no matter how well-prepared a people are, and the Japanese were, that nothing can put the nuclear genie back in its bottle.