The solutions are not technical, they come from raising a ruckus!

I understand that civilzation has its risks. I am OK with getting in my car and driving to work. I'm aware of the odds of getting in an accident. I choose not to use microwave ovens, as I am in doubt about the safety of their everyday use and feel there is potential for an increased risk of cancer. Hey, look, I'm willing to wait a little longer for my frozen burrito in a toaster oven. I simply defrost it the day before I intend to eat it. No big deal. But the clear difference between those more mundane choices and the risks of having nuclear power to give us electricity is something never mentioned in the media when this issue gets debated by the parade of government officials and the "experts." The difference is that no one ever asked me if I'm OK with the risk-to-benefit ratio of nuclear power. I'm guessing not a single citizen was ever asked for their permission to endure the risks of contamination of an area of land equivalent to Pennsylvania should there be a nuclear meltdown. Had anyone ever bothered to ask me, I would have asked, "what are my other options and what do they cost?" Not just the dollar cost, but the cost to the next hundred generations. If you factor in the costs of the entire nuclear cycle and the devastation to the planet it represents...and if people were aware of these other environmental costs, the cost of a kilowatt of electricity from a nuclear power plant would make even the strongest stomach churn.

I grow weary of the discussions that are coming out in the media about this debate. They're almost exclusively about how to tweak the technology to improve the safety to the public. I can't tell you how many times I hear about how the most modern designs of nuclear power plants are so far superior to the old designs. But I think the fundamental question we, as a society, should be asking--right up front--has more to do with the democracy of the technologies of our era. Why aren't we being asked for permission before a new (often unproved) technology is released or before a chemical is manufactured and used in new products for consumer use? Where is our government in all this process? They are supposed to represent our interests and I have to say, they're failing pretty miserably to represent the common good. If you include the massive federal subsidies for oil, gas, coal and nuclear energy, the government has been doing a stellar job representing the narrow interests of business.

This is all to say that we can't really expect our elected leaders to wake up some day and realize, "oh, I feel so bad...we haven't really been thinking of Joe and Josephine Citizen." I'm not holding my breath for that. Nope, it's up to us to raise a ruckus and make it so that the way "business as usual" happens in our civilization is, frankly, unacceptable. We have to be willing to sacrifice and step out of our comfort zone. Marching in the streets and embracing the tenets of civil disobedience is looking mighty good these days. And I think I'm not alone when I say I'm feeling inspired, like more and more Americans, by the developments in the Middle East. It just might be our turn to be entirely fed up with the status quo.

We want clean, green energy for our future!

As the news from Japan about the extent of damage and death and misery unfolds, I'm also following closely the threat of nuclear emergency and the possibility of some degree of nuclear meltdown at one of the many nuclear power plants on the northern island.

In particular, this from a UK Guardian report jumped out at me:

"According to the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Authority, 20% of the world's 442 working commercial nuclear power stations are in areas of "significant" seismic activity."

Full news report:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/mar/13/nuclear-power-station-plans-criticised

These developments, whether they turn into a radioactive disaster for Japan or not, has very ominous implications for the United States. It also may provide important lessons for U.S. energy policy. Lessons that we should take directly to our elected leaders, both locally and nationally, to assert our rejection of nuclear power as an option to throw in the mix.

To those who say, "Wait! We need transition power options before the green energy options..." I say: baloney! It is the same arguments I heard in the late 1970s when I advocated for a clean, renewable energy transition for this country (and, indeed, the world!). The real holdup? The oil, gas, nuclear and coal industries that wine and dine their way into the hearts and minds of our elected leaders-- at the expense of the public interest. Now it is time to take our cue from the courageous protesters from the Middle East and insist on absolutely no compromise on what a vast majority of Americans want: a robust, more egalitarian economy powered by clean, renewable energy.

We have to hold our elected leaders' feet to the fire, figuratively speaking, of course! No more excuses. We have a magnificent nation of honest, caring, intelligent citizens and there is nothing we can't accomplish when we put our minds (and hearts) to it! Of that I have no doubt.

The possibilities are endless because my heart knows no bounds

New, new, new! Every day, and for that matter, every moment is new! Filled with new possibilities for growth, love, grace and renewal.

And let's not forget forgiveness...forgiveness of ourselves is the hardest, but every moment is a new chance to forgive ourselves and not be bound by what happened in the past. We always have an opportunity to say, 'I decide who I am today!'

You can decide not to be controlled or molded by the past. Not to forget the past, but decide who you want to be today. We have infinity inside of us, so anything you decide to be is right there where you can access it: inside yourself. Our most horrible nightmares are borne from believing the lie that we are chained to our past.