The Nightmare Continues: Japan and Beyond

I have been rendered speechless. For weeks. I have been "tharn" on the railroad tracks of life while this runaway freight train barrels down on all of us. The strange thing, however, is that I am among very few who seem fettered by this catastrophe. I am not speaking of those who live near the site of the quake, tsunami, and crippled nuclear plant. THEY are plenty shackled, and I pray for them all, every day. I want to scoop up every one of them and move them to a place of safety. My heart breaks for the lives already lost, and for those who lost loved ones. My heart breaks again for the workers enduring horrible conditions and all manner of radiation and toxic exposure to attempt to avert further crisis.

I have been astonished into inertia. I am trying to sort out the thoughts clamoring in my mind, and to rouse any kind of rational thought from those around me. I am amazed that there is no real discourse going on in my community about the catastrophe still unfurling in Japan, or about the real risks and dangers of continuing to use nuclear power anywhere on the planet. I am dumbfounded that most people with whom I speak STILL SUPPORT THE USE OF NUCLEAR POWER.

Really?

We don't need nuclear power. In the U.S. right now, only 20% of our power use is derived from nuclear power. Yet we have 104 power plants! In my opinion, it is about the furthest from "green" power we can get because there is no safe place to store the waste. I love this quote: "radioactive waste shipped off‑site to an appropriate disposal site" ...for long-term storage. And the radioactive waste just lasts, and lasts, and lasts, so much longer than the Duracell bunny (he doesn't last for thousands of years). I hear it said that "a nuclear disaster can't happen in the U.S." Really? They must mean "again." Or perhaps they forgot about Three Mile Island?

I have seen THREE nuclear disasters in my lifetime. That is THREE too many. Wild boar in Germany cannot be eaten because they still carry high levels of caesium-137 from the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. Twenty-five years after the last nuclear disaster, food, animals, and people are still suffering consequences. Many people have died and many have health issues and various cancers. For what? For electricity. For money? For greed? What other reasons would there be to continue to use such a power source? A power source that kills not just one person when an accident occurs, but potentially thousands, hundreds of thousands, maybe millions? It may take years, but does that lessen the impact of cause and effect? I don't think so.

The ground water and food in the direct vicinity of the Fukushima plant is unfit for human consumption, and is getting worse. Beef there has tested positive for radiation contamination. There is fallout from Japan drifting across the Northern Hemisphere. It has been detected in milk in Washington, the air in California, Oregon and other states, and in rain in Maryland and other states.

Don't worry, however, because the levels aren't "out of the ordinary." Really? I think it IS out of the ordinary when it shouldn't be there at all. It is a senseless accident resulting from our egotistical and senseless use of a power source that can easily get out of our control and wreak havoc on innocent lives. Lives, like mine, who did not ask for nuclear means to be used to generate power.

Last time I checked, there were things like water, wind, and sun to convert to our power uses. I was asked if I would be willing to live in a mud hut and give up most power use since not using nuclear power would mean less power availability (because apparently the person with whom I was speaking hadn't heard of water, wind, and solar power). My answer is a resounding yes (though as mentioned, there are other power sources, so I don't think it would be necessary).

If you had to choose to eat, drink, and absorb nuclear fallout to keep your gadgets, or to live simply, BUT WITH HEALTH AND A CLEAN ENVIRONMENT free of fallout and nuclear waste, which would you choose?

Are there no people of reason left in the world? I call for a complete shut-down of all nuclear power NOW. Nevermind that radioactive material in your food, milk, and water. It isn't enough to hurt you.

What Are We Reading?

* Are You Ready to Play Outside?
* Can I Play Too?
* Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late
* I Am Going
* Junie B., First Grader: Toothless Wonder
* Knuffle Bunny
* Knuffle Bunny Too
*Runaway Ralph
*Stories from Shakespeare (Illustrated)
*The Mouse and the Motorcycle
* There's a Bird on Your Head
* There's a Wocket in My Pocket
* We Are In a Book

Chicken Digs

The baby chicks moved to their new "Digs" in the greenhouse yesterday. They got all cozy in their new crate with some straw and a nest box for all five of them to share. They slept there all nice and cozy under the heat lamp, and were just fine this morning.

Then, we spent most of today with no power due to storms, and it wasn't restored until 9:30 pm. What does this mean? This means that the bread we had rising did not make it into the oven until after 9:30 tonight, and that the girls had to come inside again tonight. Since there was no electricity, they had to go back into their small box in the house near the woodstove. So, we just thought they were out of the house for good! Maybe tomorrow...

Chicken Little

The chicks have outgrown their cardboard box in the laundry room and will be moving to the greenhouse this weekend. Just a little over a week ago (or has it been closer to two already?), they were so much smaller. This photo is from one night when they were all scuffling and somehow managed to get Bernice all wet. Amilia had a wonderful time warming her and getting her dry by the fire. She cheeped very loudly, but when we would put the towel over her head like a "wing," she would doze off in just a few seconds. I will miss their cute little cheep cheep noises and fuzzy bodies. They are only super cute for a few weeks, and then they start to look and smell like chickens.

This batch is also much more aggressive than our older girls were as chicks. This group pecks at our hands when we reach into the box to feed or water them, or to pick them up. They are extra skittish, and despite the daily hands in their box, they don't seem to be getting used to us. I chose ones that looked feisty in the feed store so I could be sure they were hearty enough to survive. I think that particular bit of feisty translates to something much less admirable when it leads them to peck the feeding hand!

There is a Bird on Your Head

More reading...

There Is A Bird On Your Head is one of our favorite Elephant and Piggie books, but really, they are all so fun and whimsical. A new book called I Broke My Trunk came out last month. We have yet to read that one, but it is on our list!

We also really like Knuffle Bunny, and we have begun to mimic the book by having the argument over whether it is pronounced Kuh-nuffle or Nuffle. You don't know Knuffle Bunny? Knuffle Bunny is Trixie's toy bunny. They have some great adventures!

So, I have decided that I am going to rearrange my sidebars a bit and create a reading list for the year so you can follow along with what we are reading. In case you are interested.

Happy reading!

(these are not sponsored posts, in case you were wondering)

What have we been doing?

Among other things, we have been reading. Last year, we heard Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed at library story time. It was cute, but I hadn't really paid attention to the name of the author or thought much more about it until now. Now, when we stumbled across "We Are in a Book" and "I am Going" at the library. We checked these out because Amilia likes animals, and these looked fun.

Fun is an understatement. I LOVE these books. And now I love many more books by this author, and I know the name Mo Willems. We checked out five more books the other day, and will check out more next week when they arrive back in from other readers.

What are you reading?