Guest column written for the Point Reyes Light by Bing & Megan – April 18, 2011
Nuclear Reactors on Earthquake Faults? Even Faust Would Know Better
by Bing Gong, with Megan Matson
Faust made a deal with the devil to exchange his soul for unlimited knowledge and power – from an old German legend.
On April 14, we traveled to Sacramento for a 4-hour hearing on nuclear power plant safety in California. In light of the ongoing Fukushima nuclear disaster, State Senator Alex Padilla, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities and Communications, convened the hearing to assess the safety of California’s coastal nuclear power plants and spent fuel rod storage facilities. The Fukushima nuclear plant was designed to withstand a 7.0 magnitude earthquake and a 20-foot tsunami. The 9.0 earthquake and 47-foot tsunami that hit Fukushima were well beyond these expectations. The two reactors at Diablo Canyon are designed to withstand a 7.5 earthquake, and San Onofre’s two reactors are designed to withstand a 7.0 earthquake. In particular, there is a fault called the Shoreline that was just discovered recently, within a few hundred yards of Diablo. No one yet knows how this new fault might interact with the other two faults.
We first heard a prepared statement from a representative of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), that seemed to focus entirely on the development of additional reports, the review of guidelines and checklists, and the ever ongoing postponement of any action until such time as additional information becomes available. The tenor of the exchanges was really captured when Senator Padilla asked “When a seismic incident occurs, what is the plan for containment of damages?”
The NRC representative replied “Well, after the event we would review all processes to see where–”
Padilla cut in, “After a seismic event? Wouldn’t that be too late?”
State Senator Sam Blakeslee, whose district includes the Diablo Canyon nuclear reactor, also challenged NRC’s oversight, and restated his demand that adequate peer-reviewed seismic studies be done before PG&E’s Diablo Canyon license renewal is considered. Senator Blakeslee is also working in DC with Senator Boxer on a review of the NRC’s adequacy. He commented in frustration to the NRC representative, that he “was hearing the same doublespeak from your boss in DC.”
We also heard from an expert geologist from UC Davis about the existing science and historic records on earthquakes faults and tsunamis. He concluded that Californians can expect a future earthquake/tsunami event as large as the recent Japan event, possibly in our lifetime, and closed with a quotation from Will Durant – “Civilization exists by geologic consent – subject to change without notice.”
It was heartening to hear one panel detail the process of decommissioning nuclear power plants and the replacement of that power. A representative from the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) described how Rancho Seco was shutdown after a public vote in 1989, and outlined a basic roadmap for “incremental decommissioning” that other plant closings could follow.
The California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) also presented at the hearing. The CPUC is the state agency that holds the purse strings where nuclear relicensing and decommissioning are concerned. The CPUC presentation included the interesting news that there is more than enough money in PG&Es Decommissioning Trust Fund to cover the estimated costs of decommissioning Diablo Canyon, with hundreds of millions remaining. Megan Matson asked in her comments that the nuclear reactors on earthquake faults be suspended, reviewed, and replaced with other, less lethal forms of electricity. She cited in her comments another PG&E document submitted to the CPUC showing an average annual surplus power capacity at PG&E of 12,000 megawatts through 2020. That’s enough power to replace the 2200 megawatts of Diablo’s reactors four times over, immediately.
[Graph courtesy of Womens Energy Matters. Scroll down for a chart of energy projections. ]
The hearing concluded with community concerns over nuclear safety. Rochelle Becker, Executive Director of the Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility, pointed out that there are already $23.6 billion in liability claims against Tokyo Electric Power Company, the owner of the Fukushima plant. In any U.S. nuclear disaster, claims over $12.6 billion would be paid by the federal government, so that the nuclear plant operator would be bailed out by us, the taxpayers.
The line heard so many times from pro-nuclear speakers is “Lessons learned, lessons learned,” like Fukushima is just a hands-on learning opportunity and blessing that will make us even better and smarter at this. But Faust wouldn’t even bargain the devil for nuclear power, because it’s such a dumb deal. Taxpayers are left holding the bag for the spent fuel waste, insurance liability, and financing subsidies because no bank will touch it, and as you can see in Japan already, for the bailout of the utility. Meanwhile, Dr. Helen Caldicott says that it’s not until their 18th year in operation that a nuclear power plant generates a carbon-free electron, such is the heavy carbon lifecycles of those plants.
Germany will drop nuclear power as soon as possible, Chancellor Angela Merkel said last week. California should suspend, review & replace Diablo Canyon and San Onofre immediately too, developing nuclear-free renewable projects and efficiency here at home.
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Listen to KWMR Post Carbon Radio on Monday, April 25 at 1 pm for a discussion of the Sacramento hearing on nuclear safety with Megan Matson, Bing Gong, Bernie Stephan, and Rochelle Becker.
Beyond Manufactured Doubt and Denial – Facing Wireless Facts
As video journalists and public educators who have been researching and reporting on electro-magnetic pollution and human health issues for over a decade, we continue to be dismayed at the ignorance, confusion, disinformation and active denial that surrounds this topic.
This is in part because of ‘paradigm lag’ – scientific paradigms are notoriously resistant to change, as Thomas Kuhn famously showed in his The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.
But it is also largely the result of well-funded corporate attacks on independent science. As epidemiologist David Michaels shows in his recent book Doubt is Their Product: How Industry’s Assault on Science Threatens Your Health, the generation of corporate-funded PR disinformation campaigns and junk science has grown into an industry itself – the so-called ‘product defense industry.’
Standard Playbook
Here’s the game, rigged from the get-go: Proponents of a given technology don’t have to prove its safe (which they can’t); Opponents have to prove its harmful (which is an uphill battle, given industry PR budgets and paradigm lag). So, if you’re a professional doubt producer, for every study that indicates evidence of harm, create a study that debunks it, then get it in the New York Times or the Washington Post as an ‘opinion’ piece. Once the impression is created that “Oh, well, there’s science on both sides. Guess its just a matter of personal belief,” the Doubt Mongers have won.
That gambit worked with pesticides. It worked with asbestos. It worked with cigarettes. It worked with climate change. It seems to be working with new nukes (despite TMI, Chernobyl and Fukushima. And it seems poised to succeed with wireless and electro-magnetic pollution. It works, that is, until the karma runs over the dogma and the evidence – in the form of irrefutable epidemiological disease and ‘excess deaths’ data – begins to pile up.
Together with the ‘revolving door’ corporate capture of regulatory agencies and control of the dominant communication media, the result is to deny the public the right to know, and to make informed, democratic decisions about the deployment of technologies virtually impossible…until its too late. That’s the state of play with wireless pollution today.
EMF Health Protection is a Social Movement
The Dogs of Doubt and Confusion have been unloosed on the independent researchers and journalists who are laboring to break through the fog of official and industry denial – just as they were against the pioneer truth-tellers on the issues mentioned above. And again, just as in the case of those issues, a grassroots social movement is on the rise to support those on the front lines with political action. It’s goal: democratic, not corporate, control of technological deployments. It is a campaign playing out in various forms in communities around this country and indeed, around the world.
The Real Bottom Line
There is a daunting list of serious human health effects associated with electro-magnetic radiation. But for many, the bottom line is this: wireless radio-frequency pollution – just like radioactive pollution – has been shown in replicated studies to be capable of causing irreparable damage to DNA.
DNA, Democracy and the ‘Wireless Revolution’
Beginning in 2000 with the release of our award-winning broadcast documentary Public Exposure: DNA, Democracy and the “Wireless Revolution,’ we have stayed current with emerging research and have had the honor to know personally and to interview some of the leading independent researchers in the field from around the world, as well as cover numerous legislative hearings and professional presentations on the subject.
Living Proof
We also know personally many cell phone brain cancer survivors and folks suffering from the medical condition known as electro-hyper sensitivity (EHS) and are in the process of documenting their heart-breaking stories. We know the health risks are real and its part of our mission to help spread the word.
For the convenience of our subscribers and viewers we have assembled those interviews and reports here in one place. Scroll down to scan the full playlist. We hope you will find it useful and that you will share the links with others and help spread the word on this vital public health and safety issue. These, and additional posts are also available on our YouTube Channel in the Electro-Magnetic Health Protection playlist. James Heddle and Mary Beth Brangan
PUBLIC EXPOSURE: DNA, Democracy and the ‘Wireless Revolution’
Public Exposure: DNA, Democracy and the ‘Wireless Revolution’ Can microwaves alter our brains and DNA? Released in 2000, Public Exposure is the first – and still definitive – independently produced investigative report on this key issue, the human health dangers of Radio Frequency Radiation (RFR) from cell phones & cell towers… and what we can do to protect ourselves. Broadcast on LinkTV and in constant use by community groups and concerned citizens around the world, with thousands of DVD copies sold, we now make the authorized one-hour version of Public Exposure available on-line for the first time. DVD copies are available for purchase here: https://www.eon3.net/emr_protection/docs/public_exposure.html First Place award, EarthVision Film Festival. Co-Produced by EON’s Mary Beth Brangan and Libby Kelley of the Council on Wireless Technology Impacts – www.energyfields.org Directed and edited by EON’s James Heddle.
Suppressing the Science on Cellphones
Leading Austrian medical researcher Prof. Franz Adlkofer coordinated the REFLEX study of EMR bioeffects funded by the European Commission. The study’s conclusion: High frequency electro-magnetic fields damage genes and gene function. He tells how telecom interests attempted (unsuccessfully) to discredit the study and destroy the careers of its authors and publishers.
Proven Harmful Effects of EMF Exposure
Dr. Henry Lai, the first researcher to show double-strand breaks in DNA caused by exposure to electro-magnetic radiation (EMR), talks about the many peer-reviewed studies showing harmful health effects from long-term exposure to low levels of EMR.
Mapping Health Risks in a Wireless World
Dr. Om Gandhi, a pioneer researcher in the bioeffects of EMF exposure, explains why the recent explosion of wireless devices has made existing US EMF exposure ‘guidelines’ dangerously outdated.
Bio-Effects of Electro-Smog
Dr. David O. Carpenter, Director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at SUNY Albany, lays out the evidence for the serious human biological effects of electro-magnetic field exposure from electric power lines, cell phones and wi-fi technology summarized in the BioInitiative Report ( https://www.bioinitiative.org/ ), which he helped produce. This is a companion piece with our popular interview with the Report’s editor, Cindy Sage, which has chalked up over 20,000 views. Interviewer Mary Beth Brangan. Camera and edit James Heddle.
Cell Phones, DNA & Kids
Dr. Martin Blank, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Physiology and Cellular Biophysics, Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, talks about the inadequacy of current standards for electromagnetic exposure from cell phones and other electronic and electrical devices. He explains the significance of breaks in DNA that cell phones are proven to cause, emphasizes the dangers to children, and compares giving kids cell phones to giving them power saws. Interviewed by EON’s Mary Beth Brangan and James Heddle https://www.eon3.net/ Please check the EON store for DVD’s on this topic. For more information: EnvironmentalHealthtTrust.org ElectroMagneticHealth.org BioInitiative.org WeepInitiative.org
WOUNDED by WIRELESS
EMF Exposure Sufferers Tell Their Stories In this press conference, Josh Hart, Director of Stop Smart Meters, introduces three people from various walks of life who have become electro-sensitive by being exposed to radiation from wireless technology. Their moving stories indicate the dangers to public health and safety of the unregulated, untested deployment of electro-magnetic technologies like PG&E’s so-called ‘smart’ meters. For more info: EMFSafetyNetwork.org StopSmartMeters.wordpress.com EON3EMFblog.net BioInitiative.org
CELL PHONE CASUALTIES – Short Version
This is an abbreviated re-post – This press conference followed a program on cellphone health risks at the San Francisco Commonwealth Club. Cellphone cancer victims tell their personal stories and those of their lost loved ones. Speakers include: Dr. Devra Davis – Epidemiologist, Founder – EnvironmentalHealthTrust.org; Bret Bocook – Attorney, cellphone cancer survivor – California; Cristin Prischman, cellphone cancer widow – Illinois; Craig Farver, father of cellphone cancer victim; Stuart Cobb, cellphone cancer survivor – Maine; Mindy Brown, widow of cancer victim Coach Dan Brown; Ellen Marks, wife of cellphone cancer survivor Alan Marks. For more info: EnvironmentalHealthTrust.org; BioInitiative.org; EMFSafetyNetwork.org; EON3EMFblog.net.
Reducing Cell Phone Risks
Reducing Cell Phone Risks: The Porto Alegre Declaration & the Precautionary Principle. Professor Alvaro Augusto de Salles. Ph.D. is an electrical engineer with the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul-UFRGS in Porto Alegre, Brazil, where he researches ways of reducing the dangers of electromagnetic exposure from cell phones and wireless devises. Porto Alegre is not only the birthplace of the World Social Forum. It is also a pioneer in the enactment of local laws protecting the public from the serious health effects of cell phones and electro-smog. Dr. de Salles talks about the technical and legal measures which are currently available to reduce EMR health risks, but which are being suppressed and opposed by telecom corporations. He outlines the measures already taken by Porto Alegre and the recommendations contained in The Porto Alegre Declaration, a document signed by international scientists advocating the Precautionary Principle. Download a PDF at: www.icems.eu/docs/resolutions/Porto_Alegre_Resolution.pdf Interviewed by EON’s Mary Beth Brangan and James Heddle https://www.eon3.net/ Please check the EON store for DVD’s on this topic: https://www.eon3.net/store/store_main.html
Dr. deSalles Pt.1 – Antennas and Health Risks
Reducing Cell Phone Risks with Dr. Alvaro Augusto de Salles Part 1 of 6 Antennas and Health Risks Alvaro Augusto A. de Salles, PhD, Professor at Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul-UFRGS in Brazil talks about the documented health risks of EMR exposure from cell phones, base stations and wireless devices and how they can be reduced through wise engineering practices and science-based regulation.
Cell Phones and Brain Tumors
Lloyd Morgan is an electronic engineer by training, a member of the Bioelectromagnetics Society (see www.bioelectromagnetics.org) and a volunteer with the National Brain Tumour Foundation (see www.braintumor.org). Since 1995, when he recovered from a brain tumor, he has devoted himself to the study of electromagnetic fields and health problems. He has attended, and sometimes presented at, multiple science meetings each year including, among others, those of the Bioelectromagnetics Society, the Neuro-Oncology Society, the American Academy of Environmental Medicine and the Brain Tumor Epidemiology Consortium. Lloyd Morgan’s Cellphone Research Column is available here.
The BioInitiative Report – Biological Standards for Wireless
Cindy Sage, environmental consultant, talks about The BioInitiative Report: A Rationale for a Biologically-based Public Exposure Standard for Electromagnetic Fields (ELF and RF), which she editied with a team of international scientists. They document serious scientific concerns about current limits regulating how much EMF is allowable from power lines, cell phones, and many other sources of EMF exposure in daily life. The report concludes the existing standards for public safety are inadequate to protect public health. Find out more at: www.bioinitiative.org
Pt. 1 – Health Risks of Cell Phone Use
Dirksen Senate Office Building Capital Hill, Washington, D.C. Sept. 14, 2009 Appropriations Subcommittee. on Health & Human Services Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa – Chair Sen. Arlen Specter D-Pennssylvania Sen. Mark Pryor D-Arkansas Pt. 1 of 3 – John Ducher, Assoc. Dir. National Institutes of Health Nat’l Toxicology Program
Pt. 2 – Health Risks of Cell Phone Use
Testimony from an international panel of scientists: Prof. Dariusz Leszczynski STUK Radiation & Nuclear Safety Authority – Finland Dr. Siegal Sadetzki – Cancer & Radiation Epidemiology Dir. Chaim Sheba Medical Center – Israel Linda Erdreich – Senior Managing Scientist Exponent Engeneering & Scientific Consulting Dr. Devra Lee Davis Author, ‘The Secret History of the War on Cancer” Olga Naidenko – Senior Scientist Environmental Working Group
Pt. 3 – Health Risks of Cell Phone Use
Pt. 3 of 3 Q & A between the Senators Harkin and Specter and the international panel of scientists: Prof. Dariusz Leszczynski STUK Radiation & Nuclear Safety Authority – Finland Dr. Siegal Sadetzki – Cancer & Radiation Epidemiology Dir. Chaim Sheba Medical Center – Israel Linda Erdreich – Senior Managing Scientist Exponent Engeneering & Scientific Consulting Dr. Devra Lee Davis Author, ‘The Secret History of the War on Cancer” Olga Naidenko – Senior Scientist Environmental Working Group
CANCER CALLING – Pt. 1 – Devra Davis
The Truth About Cell Phone Radiation An Environmental Health Trust educational panel presented October 11, 2010 in Berkeley, CA. at the Jewish Community Center East Bay, with Senior Research Fellow Lloyd Morgan, Director of Government and Public Affairs Ellie Marks, and Founder and world renowned expert Dr. Devra Davis, author of ‘Disconnect.’ In this segment Dr. Davis reviews the evidence of serious health effects from chronic exposure to cell phone radiation. Support the Environmental Health Trust’s efforts to protect children’s brains. Donate your time to the Campaign for Safer Cell Phones • Sign up at environmentalhealthtrust@gmail.com • Educate and motivate parents, children, teachers, government, and business leaders about protecting themselves and their families Donate financial support at EnvironmentalHealthTrust.org • Develop model tool kits for state and local officials • Provide training on safer cell phone use • Conduct cutting edge research
CANCER CALLING – Pt. 2 – Lloyd Morgan
The Truth About Cell Phone Radiation An Environmental Health Trust educational panel presented October 11, 2010 in Berkeley, CA. at the Jewish Community Center East Bay, with Senior Research Fellow Lloyd Morgan, Director of Government and Public Affairs Ellie Marks, and Founder and world renowned expert Dr. Devra Davis, author of ‘Disconnect.’ In this segment, electrical engineer, researcher and brain cancer survivor Lloyd Morgan looks at ‘Cellphones: What Does the Epidemiology Tell Us?’
CANCER CALLING – Pt. 3 – Ellen Marks
The Truth About Cell Phone Radiation An Environmental Health Trust educational panel presented October 11, 2010 in Berkeley, CA. at the Jewish Community Center East Bay, with Senior Research Fellow Lloyd Morgan, Director of Government and Public Affairs Ellie Marks, and Founder and world renowned expert Dr. Devra Davis, author of ‘Disconnect.’ In this segment radiation health activist and wife of a cell phone brain cancer survivor Ellen Marks tells of her work and that of the Environmental Health Trust to protect public health in the face of industry denial and government irresponsibility.
Evidence of Electrosensitivity
Dr. Magda Havas shows the strong evidence for electrosensitivity and the health risks of electromagnetic exposure caused by electrical appliances and the spread of wireless technologies. For more info: MagdaHavas.com ElectroMagneticHealth.org
The Microwave Syndrome [Download PDF] Analysis of all the world scientific studies on effects of hyper frequencies on humans :
A – Contrary to the messages commonly conveyed by some people, no one study in the world has been able to prove the harmlessness of electromagnetic radiation from microwaves on human beings.
B – Most scientific studies to date that are not entirely or partially financed by telecoms (including the wireless industry and mobile phone operators) not only show biologic effects, but also the so called health effects on living beings, and therefore on humans.
See also: Mobile Phone Safety – The real truth about the hazards, told by independent scientists in a language everybody can understand. Presented by: Physicians and Scientists for Responsible Application of Science and Technology (PSRAST)
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Denial and Deception from the Nuclear Establishment
“Chernobyl was one reactor releasing radioactive materials for two weeks in a relatively rural setting with low population. Fukushima is at least four reactors, plus their spent fuel pools, venting radionuclides for four weeks in a populated area. Fukushima is not just ‘as bad as’ Chernobyl. Its eight times worse already, with no end in sight.” That’s the professional assessment of engineer, sociologist. former elected official and world renowned anti-nuclear organizer Dr. Natalia Miranova (left) speaking in San Francisco on a tour of the U.S. organized by the Center for Safe Energy and Beyond Nuclear..
We’ll be bringing you presentations and interviews with Dr. Miranova and her colleagues, Natasha Manzurova, a surviving Chernobyl ‘liquidator,’ and psychologist and translator Tatiana Mukhamedyarova in upcoming posts. Meanwhile, as ‘what-us-worry?’ Japanese and international officials continue to claim that radioactive vegies and seafood are good for you, here is an update of what’s really going on.
Mary Beth Brangan, Rachel Johnson and Helen Kozoriz contributed to this post, which is edited by me, James Heddle.
Nuclear Catastrophe in Japan “Not Equal to Chernobyl, But Way Worse”
“Like hanging by your fingernails and the nails are cracking.” – Michio Kaku
Why Antinuclear Belongs in All of Our Movements
by Betsy Hartmann
…So the question becomes: How do we build an antinuclear politics in the absence of a full-fledged antinuclear movement?
The answer lies in finding points of convergence. After all, nuclear power, waste and weaponry threaten us all, as well as generations to come.
Radiation risks from Fukushima ‘no longer negligible’
…In response to thousands of inquiries from citizens concerned about fallout from the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Europe, CRIIRAD, a French research body on radioactivity, has compiled an information package on the risks of radioactive iodine-131 contamination in Europe.
The document, published on 7 April, advises against consuming rainwater and says vulnerable groups such as children and pregnant or breastfeeding women should avoid consuming vegetables with large leaves, fresh milk and creamy cheese.
The risks related to prolonged contamination among vulnerable groups of the population can no longer be considered “negligible” and it is now necessary to avoid “risky behaviour,” CRIIRAD claimed. Read more
Chernobyl Cleanup Survivor’s Message for Japan: ‘Run Away as Quickly as Possible’
https://www.aolnews.com/2011/03/22/chernobyl-cleanup-survivors-message-for-japan-run-away-as-qui/
Natalia Manzurova (left) in 1988 in the “dead zone” of the Pripyat, is one of the relatively few survivors among those directly involved in the cleanup of Chernobyl.
What message do you have for Japan?
Run away as quickly as possible. Don’t wait. Save yourself and don’t rely on the government because the government lies. They don’t want you to know the truth because the nuclear industry is so powerful.
Natalia Manzurova (right) in 2011 at a program at San Francisco State Univeristy – ‘From Chernobyl to Fukushima – Lessons to be Learned.’ (Watch this space for our video of that program coming soon.)
Checking a nuclear fault line
PG&E should be required to permit a 3-D scan of faults near the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant before it applies to renew its operating license.
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(Left) 120,000 people attended an anti-nuclear protest in Bonn, Germany, on October 14, 1979, following the Three Mile Island accident. (Below right) Anti nuclear demonstrators march in Cologne, western Germany Saturday March 26, 2011 to protest against nuclear power. Poster in front reads: Fukushima warns: Pull the Plug on all Nuclear Power Plants. White banner behind reads : ‘Solidarity with the people in Japan’. Some 200,000 people turned out in Germany’s largest cities on Saturday to protest against the use of nuclear power in the wake of Japan’s Fukushima reactor disaster, police and organizers said.
(Below left) Protesters hold placards against nuclear power plant as they took to the streets in a rally against nuclear power and its development, in Tokyo, on Sunday, April 10, 2011, after a devastative earthquake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex in northeastern Japan last month. (Itsuo Inouye)
The Push for a Nuclear Free World Jumps a Generation
Just when the nuke mongers thought it was safe to wade back into the public trough disguised as a ‘green, clean alternative,’ Nukushima hit the fan. Now there are growing signs that the much-heralded ‘nuclear renaissance’ may turn into a rebirth of the movement for a nuclear free world. That movement, which peaked in the 1980’s and seemed to die out in the blissninny ‘nineties, could now become a kind of anti-nuclear umbrella for a full spectrum of single issues with a common planetarian focus.
Having skipped a generation whose ken nuclear weapons and nuclear power and nuclear waste were beyond, Japan’s tragic, apocalyptic nuclear disaster seems to re-sharpening the public mind into recognizing the ecocidal Janus-faced threat posed by nuclear power and weapons.
We have been documenting the push for a nuclear free future since 1982. Much of our work remains relevant today, both for historical perspective and for present empowerment. Following is a sampling of some of our productions we think you’ll find of interest.
FUKUSHIMA FALLOUT – Lessons from Chernobyl
Dr. Dave DeSante is the founder of the Institute for Bird Population in Point Reyes, California. After the radioactive cloud from Chernobyl passed over the U.S. West Coast in the spring of 1986 his research uncovered a severe die-off of young birds. Later, researchers Gould and Goldman duplicated his results with human mortality data from both the U..S. and Germany.
FREE ZONE; Democracy Meets the Nuclear Threat
(1989) 58 min. An overview of the international and national Nuclear Free Zone movement. Broadcast on PBS, cable stations and internationally, including Kazachstan and Russia. Produced by David L. Brown, Mary Beth Brangan & James Heddle.
STRATEGIC TRUST; The Making of Nuclear Free Palau
From 1982 to 1996 award-winning filmmakers Mary Beth Brangan & James Heddle documented on film and video unfolding events in the fledgling island nation of Palau. When Palau’s voters made it the first nation in history to adopt a nuclear free, green constitution, Washington’s war planners saw it as ‘the threat of a good example.’ Palau became the poster child for the growing Nuclear Free Pacific movement and a cause celebre for the global nuclear free zone movement.
ISLANDS on the EDGE of TIME
From 1982 to 1996 award-winning filmmakers Mary Beth Brangan & James Heddle documented on film and video unfolding events in the fledgling island nation of Palau. When Palau’s voters made it the first nation in history to adopt a nuclear free, green constitution, Washington’s war planners saw it as ‘the threat of a good example.’
CHOICEPOINT: California’s Water and Radioactive Waste
This is the story of an eventually successful grassroots fight to block installation of a radioactive waste dump on Native American sacred land inhabited by the endangered desert tortoise above an aquifer connected to the Colorado River, source of drinking and farming water for much of the Southwest. Once again, resistance proved fertile. Produced by James Heddle and Mary Beth Brangan.
PELIGRO: Nuclear Showdown on the Rio Grande
This is the story of an eventually successful fight by citizens and activists to stop placement of a nuclear waste dump in Sierra Blanca, Texas near the Rio Grande river. Once again, resistance proved fertile. Produced by James Heddle and Mary Beth Brangan.
Uranium Mining Impacts Pt. 1 of 3
The International Forum on Globalization’s Claire Greensfelder chairs a panel of indigenous and minority activists from around the world detailing the catastrophic impacts of uranium mining and the nuclear fuel cycle on their various cultures, people and ecosystems. From the American Southwest to Alaska; from Niger to Kazakhstan; from uranium mines in Australia and India to reprocessing plants in France, Japan and the State of Georgia, indigenous and minority communities testify to horrendous health and environmental devastation that shows the current industry push for a ‘nuclear renaissance’ to be nothing less than genocidal. For more info: www.dont-nuke-the-climate.org www.IFG.org www.DineCARE.org www.SortirDuNucleaire.fr
Experimental Animals – ( Why Atomic Vets Nix Nukes )
EON is proud to host-post another important documentary by the Academy Award-winning team Vivienne Verdon-Roe and Michael Porter. Their 1994 expose’ tells the currently relevant story of the U.S. soldiers and sailors who were used as EXPERIMENTAL ANIMALS in America’s quest for nuclear dominance…and were then denied health care. A major voice in the film – directed and edited by Porter, produced and narrated by Verdon-Roe – is former Navy seaman Anthony Guarisco, founder of the INTERNATIONAL ALLIANCE OF ATOMIC VETERANS, c/o Vincent L. Guarisco, 5312 Covina Rd., Bullhead, AZ. 86426
WOMEN FOR AMERICA…FOR THE WORLD
EON is pleased and honored to play on-line host to the Academy Award winning documentary WOMEN — FOR AMERICA, FOR THE WORLD. Leading American women speak out about the dangers posed by nuclear weapons and call for a new vision of security based on affirming life rather than destroying it. With the specter of nuclear weapons proliferation looming even larger today, and with the moribund nuclear power industry attempting to ‘re-brand’ itself as a ‘clean energy’ solution to global climate change, this clear-headed film is as relevant today as when it won the prestigious prize in 1986. Producer/Director: Vivienne Verdon-Roe. Editor: Michael Porter. You can purchase a DVD of this film by contacting info@EON3.net To reach the filmmakers: ViviVR@aol.com
NUCLEAR RENAISSANCE=NUCLEAR NONSENSE – Arjun Makhijani
Dr. Arjun Makhijani, Founder/Director of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IEER), and author of the new book Carbon-Free and Nuclear-Free: A Roadmap for U.S. Energy Policy, deconstructs the ‘nuclear renaissance’ scam and tells how the U.S. can make the transition to a solar economy. Download an advance PDF of his book free at https://www.ieer.org Only Kooks Push Nukes In EON’s on-going interview series NUCLEAR NONSENSE: Debunking the ‘Nuclear Renaissance’, energy researchers and veteran campaigners point out the cascade of fatal fallacies on which this global corporate, short-term profit-driven PR blitz is based.
DEBUNKING ‘NUCLEAR RENAISSANCE’
DIANE D’ARRIGO – Radioactive Waste Project Director for the Washington, D.C.-based Nuclear Information Resource Service (www.nirs.org) debunks false industry claims that nuclear energy is ‘clean and climate friendly.’She tells why and how citizens who care can get informed and get active on this vital issue.
NO BAILOUT FOR NEW NUKES
HARVEY WASSERMAN, Editor of www.NukeFree.org and author of SOLARTOPIA, tells how the failed, un-insurable, un-investable, carbon-intensive nuclear industry is rising from its grave with its hand out for a government bailout that could make the Wall Street bailout look like pocket change.
NUCLEAR WASTE: OUT OF CONTROL…ON PURPOSE – Diane D’Ariggo
Debunking the ‘Nuclear Renaissance’ – Interview # 3: Diane D’Riggo, Radioactive Waste Project Director for the Washington, D.C. based Nuclear Information Resource service ( https://www.nirs.org/ ), talks about the mounting risks from radioactive waste and the many reasons that the claim that a new generation of nuclear power plants is a necessary response to global climate change is a dangerous fallacy. She summarizes the findings in a NIRS report she recently co-authored with Mary Olson, OUT OF CONTROL…ON PURPOSE: DOE’s Dispersal of Radioactive Waste Into Landfills and Consumer Products.
THE CASE AGAINST NEW NUKES as a CURE FOR CLIMATE CHANGE
Debunking the ‘Nuclear Renaissance’ – Interview # 4: Michael Mariotte, Executive Director of the Washington, D.C. based Nuclear Information Resource service ( https://www.nirs.org/ ), talks about the many reasons that the claim – made by such pundits as James Lovelock and Stewart Brand – that a crash buildout of a new generation of nuclear power plants is a rational and necessary response to global climate change is a dangerous fallacy. He ticks off the list of counter-arguements – including waste storage, cost overruns, terrorism and nuclear weapons proliferation – and builds the cast for using our dwindling resources to develop renewable energy sources, rather than squander them on a ‘nuclear power renaissance’ which is doomed to fail.
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Please check out all the support options on our Donation Page or you can also send a check made out to EON to EON, POB 1047, Bolinas, CA
Or…just:
Guest column written for the Point Reyes Light by Bing & Megan – April 18, 2011
