1. NO to Nuclear Power!
That anyone could still be a proponent of nuclear power in light of the out of control nuclear disaster in Japan is astounding to me. There were 130 tons of nuclear fuel at Chernobyl; there are 1,760 metric tons at Fukushima. Have you noticed the reporting has stopped? What is happening there now? There was a report the other day that radioactivity levels were a million times greater than normal and that was quickly changed to 10,000 times. We know that babies in Tokyo cannot drink the water or the milk and that minute traces of radioactive dust have already circled the globe; yes, even here. Scientists say there is no safe threshold, that any contamination poses a threat to your health. At least one nuclear reactor core has been breached and as of today, three weeks after the tsunami crippled the plant, highly radioactive water is pouring into the Pacific Ocean and it is almost certain the worst is yet to come.
Why do people think it could not happen here? The NRC called Indian Point the most dangerous plant in the US; the one most at risk of meltdown due to an earthquake (it sits on the intersection of two active seismic zones). The risk is 72% higher than previously thought. Entergy, the plant's owner, admits it could not handle a 7.0 quake, yet the NRC denied New York's demand that this issue be a part of the re-licensing review.
Additionally, there are 1,500 tons of radioactive waste on site. Tritium and Strontium 90 have been leaking from at least two spent fuel pools at Indian Point into the Hudson River and into groundwater. As we have seen at Fukushima the spent fuel pools have 2 to 10 times more radiation than the reactor core (the spent-fuel pools at New England's oldest nuclear plants now hold up to five times more radioactive material than they were initially designed to handle). To make matters even worse at Indian Point, the fact that 20 million live in a fifty mile radius of the plant makes evacuation impossible.
Not only do we have to close Indian Point, we must end nuclear power before it ends us. The radioactive waste issue alone is reason enough to ban nuclear power. It has to be contained for a half million years or more- a physical impossibility. As it leaks it will concentrate in the food chain causing epidemics of genetic diseases, leukemia and cancers in future generations.
Read the top 10 reasons to close Indian Point and then call Congress 1 202 224-3121 and President Obama 1 202 456-1414 and demand that we start shifting to a clean energy future and to begin by closing Indian Point! Sign the petition and join Mothers and Others to Close Indian Point May 8th!
" The splitting of the atom changed everything save man's mode of thinking. Thus we drift towards unparalleled catastrophe. Nuclear power is a hell of a way to boil water." Albert Einstein
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| Citizens Campaign for the Environment |
2. No Fracking Day of Action- April 11
Indian Point gets exemptions from safety regulations (according to the NY attorney general, the plant is currently in violation of established fire safety regulations and in seeking more than 100 exemptions from those regulations). Similarly, during the Bush administration, Cheney pushed for what is known as the Halliburton Loophole, exempting fracking fluids (the toxic mix that is the result of hydraulic fracturing) from the Clean Water Act. Water wells, groundwater and waterways are being severely polluted all across the nation as a result. As the New York Times recently reported in a three part series, "One well can produce over a million gallons of waste-water that is often laced with highly corrosive salts and carcinogens like benzene and radioactive elements."
Join the protest April 11 Show Albany the Cumulative Impact of People Who Want Clean Air, Land, and Water!
3. Stand for Workers' Rights!
April 4 is a National Day of Action to Support Workers' Rights!
From We Are One-
Join us in solidarity with working people in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana and dozens of other states where well-funded, right-wing corporate politicians are trying to take away the rights Dr. King gave his life for: the freedom to bargain, to vote, to afford a college education and justice for all workers, immigrant and native-born. It’s a day to show movement. Teach-ins. Vigils. Faith events. A day to be creative, but clear: We are one.
Please come out to support local workers' rights to collectively bargain for decent wages and safe working conditions- corner of Rt 17K and Union Ave, 4:30PM
Good News- Volunteers in Wisconsin were able to get enough signatures (in under half the time they had allotted to them) to trigger a recall election of state Senator Dan Kapanke (R)- One of eight Senate Republicans targeted after passing Walker's bill to end collective bargaining for public workers. One down- seven to go. Eight when you include Walker himself!
Keep Faith!
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