The continuing nuclear catastrophe at Fukushima – theme for March 2014
Fukushima still out of control February-2014 The World is at a critical crossroads. The Fukushima disaster in Japan has brought to the forefront the dangers of Worldwide nuclear radiation.
The crisis in Japan has been described as “a nuclear war without a war”. In the words of renowned novelist Haruki Murakami:
“This time no one dropped a bomb on us … We set the stage, we committed the crime with our own hands, we are destroying our own lands, and we are destroying our own lives.”
Nuclear radiation –which threatens life on planet earth– is not front page news in comparison to the most insignificant issues of public concern. While the long-term repercussions of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster are yet to be fully assessed, they are far more serious than those pertaining to the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in the Ukraine…..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pz1j4IHcsP4
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1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 
As I see it, the major problem with countering the nuclear industry is the same as the problem with the fossil fuel industry and the tobacco industry. There are HUGE vested financial interests involved.
As shown by the asbestos story these vested interests don’t give in easily and go to great lengths to protect their interests. This suggests that a full frontal attack will take a long time to succeed. In the case of the nuclear and coal industries, campaigns have already been going for three or more decades. In the case of global warming, where it is difficult to relate cause and effect, it may be too late to change strategy and the struggle may go on for several more decades. So far the most successful campaigns have been indirect, along the lines of the Renewable Energy Target, which as I recall was the result of a deal between Meg Lees and John Howard. Howard got the GST and the PM’s job, Lees got the RET and the sack.
In the case of nuclear, the relation between ionising radiation and health is also statistical in nature but recent postings concerning research that shows that certain cancers are attributable to ionising radiation suggests that this may change. In the meantime it is the Fukushimas and the Chernobyls that are the biggest and most obvious arguments against the nuclear industry. The lengths to which the nuclear industry goes to play down these disasters is therefore not surprising. What is surprising is the gullibility of many supposedly intelligent and independent commentators. In many cases this can be explained by the fact that they are speaking on issues outside their area of expertise, but because of their public profile are able to get coverage incommensurate with their expertise. So-called experts on positive feedback ego-trips are just as much a threat as the problems on which they pontificate.
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