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Standing on the Threshold of Too Late
Nuclear: There will soon come a time when it is too late
In Dr. Martin Luther King’s Nobel Prize Lecture, October of 1964, he raises the alarm over nuclear weapons and the constant threat of annihilation by nuclear weapons, as an “imminent cosmic elegy“. Ignoring the nuclear threat “does not alter the nature and risks of such war“, he warns. [1] In his speech at the Riverside Church, one year before his death, he further warns that there is such a thing as “too late“. [2]
Today we stand on the threshold of too late, with regard to nuclear reactors, as well as nuclear weapons.
Nuclear reactors and the related mining, processing and waste legally leak lethal radionuclides into the environment, all of the time, even without a major accident. Many of the most dangerous, like plutonium and americium, continue to build up in the environment, as the nuclear industry, with the help of governments, perpetuates a deadly dilute and deceive scam. Diluting dangerous radionuclides in water and air can never be the solution, as they build up in the environment and in the bodies of plants and animals, including humans.
The nuclear industry from mining to processing to reactors to waste perpetuates an ongoing, little known, nuclear war everyday. Furthermore, nuclear power is intimately involved in the production of nuclear weapons. New plutonium and other radionuclides are required for “safe” upkeep of nuclear weapons. One does not have to read about the history of the nuclear industry for long to understand that nuclear power is a cloak of deception. It is largely about nuclear weapons.
Martin Luther King, in multiple speeches, pointed to Washington Irving’s story of Rip Van Winkle who slept through the American Revolution. He spoke of the dangers of not adapting to change. [3]
Rip Van Winkle, “awakes to discover shocking changes. His musket is rotting and rusty, his beard is a foot long,… He gets into trouble when he proclaims himself a loyal subject of King George III, not aware that the American Revolution has taken place. King George’s portrait in the inn has been replaced with one of George Washington.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rip_Van_Winkle
Similarly we can say that many people are sleeping through the Green Energy Revolution, and imperil the world by clinging to outdated, dangerous nuclear false promises.
This backwards mentality is particularly striking among some Sellafield, UK and Areva workers at Le Creusot, France, who appear unable to adapt to the idea of new jobs in a new green energy economy. Instead they call for more, lethal, nuclear new build.
The dual goal now of nuclear industry workers, needs to be solutions for safely securing nuclear waste for an eternity, and promoting safe renewable energy. They must look forward and not backwards, as must we all.
Nuclear is dependent upon mining and there is nothing green or renewable about it, and no amount of pro-nuclear propaganda can change this fact. Nuclear everything is the antithesis of green. Nuclear everything is the antithesis of life itself.
A student of Mahatma Gandhi, as well as a disciple of Jesus Christ, Dr. King spoke of the Civil Rights movement “following the people of India,” in his Nobel Acceptance Speech. It can be interpreted as either following them historically, or following their example, and must surely mean both. [4]
Boats of Fishermen near the Koodankulum Nuclear Reactor
Today, the world needs, once again, to learn from India’s peaceful protests against nuclear power stations. Farmers and Fishermen of India, living close to the land, understand that nuclear reactors must be stopped, before it is too late.
The People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) steering committee issued a press release subsequent to another failure by the clearly defective Koodankulum Nuclear Reactor, which they have for so long protested: “We, the struggling fisherfolk, farmers, merchants, housewives and children, are completely helpless in this high power and big money game that the rich and famous and powerful play. Our nonviolent democratic peaceful protest continues and will persist until the Truth about the project is brought out someday soon.” (Emphasis our own) Read the rest here: https://miningawareness.wordpress.com/2015/01/19/defective-russian-nuclear-reactor-in-india-tripped-after-18-days-of-commercial-ops/
The rich, famous, and powerful would do well to read Gray’s Elegy: “The Boast of Heraldry, the Pomp of Power and All that Beauty, All that Wealth E’er Gave, Awaits Alike the Inevitable Hour, the Paths of Glory Lead but to the Grave.”
Martin Luther King quoted, more than once, the first line of this William Cullen Bryant stanza:
“Truth, crushed to earth, shall rise again;
The eternal years of God are hers;
But Error, wounded, writhes with pain,
And dies among his worshippers.
The Battlefield (1839), st. 9. http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Cullen_Bryant
Video about some of the protests against Koodankulum: http://youtu.be/hcIeOstaT-M
As reported by “the Nuclear Resister ‘A Chronicle of Hope”, No. 176, Dec. 9, 2014: “KOODANKULAM: More than one year after the Supreme Court of India ordered authorities in Tamil Nada state to ‘withdraw all the criminal cases filed against the agitators so that peace and normalcy be restored at Kudankulam and nearby,’ thousands of sedition charges remain pending against hundreds of individuals who took part in protests against the nuclear power plant. In September, protest convener S. P. Udayakumar was prohibited from leaving India to attend the No Nukes Asia Forum in Taiwan and a U.N. human rights consultation in Nepal due to 380 outstanding police complaints. Mean-while, the controversial Russian-built reactor, which went critical in July, 2013, has experienced repeated unplanned shut-downs and had still not entered commercial produc- tion when it was shut down in September for major repair or likely replacement of a defective turbine generator…” http://www.nukeresister.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/NR-176web.pdf
Their Peaceful Protests Have Been Met with State Violence
From Dianuke.org:
“SEP 13 2012, Support for Koodankulam From London: Statement by CND, South Asia Solidarity Group, STOP STATE VIOLENCE AGAINST THE PEOPLE OF KOODANKULAM!
Stop the Fuelling of the Nuclear Power Plant!
DEFEND THE DEMOCRATIC RIGHT TO
PROTEST AGAINST NUCLEAR POWER!
We condemn the repression and violence unleashed by the government against the people of Koodankulam in Tamil Nadu, India who are peacefully protesting against the commissioning and fuelling of a nuclear power plant in the midst of their community which violates international safety standards. This large-scale nuclear power plant which the Indian government has been constructing in collaboration with Russian company Atomsroyexport, will have serious consequences for the life and ecology of the whole of peninsular India.
On September 10 2012, thousands of local people marched towards the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant, as all their attempts to engage in a dialogue with the government over the last year had failed. The government responded to this peaceful protest with police violence, using teargas and baton charges against the protestors, particularly targeting women, who have been at the forefront of the movement,and forcing people including the children into the sea. A 44-year old fisherman has been killed in police firing in another protest in Tuticorn, a young girl was trampled to death, and many were injured. Meanwhile police also attacked the village of Idinthakkarai which has been the centre of the movement, and in the absence of the residents broke into homes and their place of worship and ransacked and vandalised them. Since then mass arrests and police raids on villages have continued.
The events of the last few days are a culmination of repression and militarisation of the area, (which has also been a feature of other nuclear power projects in India in Jaitapur and Fatehabad), in which non-violent protesters are being intimidated, harassed, imprisoned, and falsely charged. From one police station alone, charges have been brought against more than 55,000 people including 8,000 for sedition and ‘war against the state’.
The people are currently appealing to the Indian Supreme Court against the Chennai High Court decision to authorise the loading of uranium fuel rods for operationalising the plant. Any attempt to go ahead with fuelling the plant at this point is therefore a violation of basic democratic rights.
NO Nuclear power plant in Koodankulam!
The protesters at Koodankulam are urging that the construction be halted because:
It is in violation of the mandatory requirement for construction of fresh water reservoirs which are essential in case of a nuclear accident. This is significant, because fresh water is the only remedy in the event of a nuclear emergency. A main factor in all major accidents – such as at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima – was the lack of fresh water.
Mandatory reports on the safety of the construction are being withheld from the public and the media.
We demand:
The violence and repression by police and paramilitaries against the people of Koodankulam must end
The fuelling of the plant must be halted immediately
Sedition and ‘war against the state’ cases against members of Koodankulam People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy must be dropped and Section 144 lifted.
International safety regulations for the nuclear plant must be followed.
All reports, reviews and information related to the nuclear plant must be transparent and accessible to the public.” http://www.dianuke.org/support-for-koodankulam-from-london-statement-by-cnd-south-asia-solidarity-group/ CC-NC-BY-4.0 (Emphasis our own)
Note that Atomsroyexport is majority owned by Rosatom, and minority owned by Gazprombank Group. All are Russian State owned.
“Anti-nuke convention at Idinthakarai saw many local leaders and activists, By IndiaWaterPortal.org, CC-BY-NC-SA-2.0 https://www.flickr.com/photos/indiawaterportal/11814214526/
“Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Idinthakarai
People have been gathering outside this church ever since the anti-nuke protests began. A group of women gather every day and remain there until evening as a show of solidarity for the anti-nuke movement“, By IndiaWaterPortal.org, CC-BY-NC-SA-2.0 https://www.flickr.com/photos/indiawaterportal/ 11814536356
All religious groups have participated in the anti-nuclear protests. However, nearby Idinthakarai is highly Christian. This gives lie to Putin being protector of the Christian faith. As a former KGB officer, he is so adept at propaganda and invests so heavily in it, that unfortunately many apparently intelligent people fall into the trap of his lies. Rosatom is a Russian State Corporation. It is “not obliged to submit to public authorities documents accounting for activities … and, as a rule, are subordinate not to the government, but to the Russian president,…” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government-owned_corporation#Russia
End Notes
[1]”Martin Luther King Jr. – Nobel Lecture: The Quest for Peace and Justice“. (1964) Nobelprize.org.
One year before he died, he spoke of a “pending cosmic elegy“, in Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence
Declaration of Independence from the War in Vietnam”
by Martin Luther King, Jr at the Riverside Church: http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0115-13.htm
[2]”Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence
Declaration of Independence from the War in Vietnam”
by Martin Luther King, Jr, Riverside Church: http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0115-13.htm
[3] See for instance “Springfield College Commencement Address“, Sun., June 14, 1964 http://www.springfieldcollege.edu/Assets/custom-styles/lutheraudio/king-1964-commencement-address-transcription-with-corrections.pdf
[4] “Martin Luther King Jr. – Acceptance Speech” (1964) Nobelprize.org.
Note that the Lecture and the Acceptance Speech are two different speeches and are on two different pages of the Nobel web site.
Update: 22 January 2014:
The Beyond Vietnam Speech was ghost written or co-written with Dr. Vincent Harding, who just passed away last year. See more here: https://miningawareness.wordpress.com/2015/01/22/ex-speechwriter-confidante-dr-vincent-harding-on-dr-martin-luther-kings-courageous-and-overlooked-antiwar-and-economic-justice-activism/
Also: “Exclusive: Newly Discovered 1964 MLK Speech on Civil Rights, Segregation & Apartheid South Africa“. MONDAY, JANUARY 19, 2015. Read and listen here: http://www.democracynow.org/2015/1/19/exclusive_newly_discovered_1964_mlk_speech
Small excerpt: “… in a day when Sputniks and explorers are dashing through outer space and guided ballistic missiles are carving highways of death through the stratosphere, no nation can win a war. It is no longer the choice between violence and nonviolence; it is either nonviolence or non-existence. And the alternative to disarmament, the alternative to a greater suspension of nuclear tests, the alternative to strengthening the United Nations and thereby disarming the whole world, may well be a civilization plunged into the abyss of annihilation.”
Photographs
“Mayor Wagner greets Dr. & Mrs. Martin Luther King, Jr. at City Hall / World Telegram & Sun photo by Phil Stanziola, 1964 (cropped by us). “NYWT&S staff photographs are in the public domain per the instrument of gift.”
Rip Van Winkle: “Actor Joseph Jefferson as Rip van Winkle, photographed by Napoleon Sarony in 1869.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rip_Van_Winkle
Photo of boats by IndiaWaterPortal.org: “The KKNPP is just a 30 minute walk away along the shore. Fishermen feel threatened by the power plant and the adverse effects it might have on the ocean and their livelihood in the long run.“(CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) https://www.flickr.com/photos/indiawaterportal/11813504325
Photo of kneeling woman on the beach/Koodankulum protest is via the dianuke.org web site: http://www.dianuke.org/support-for-koodankulam-from-london-statement-by-cnd-south-asia-solidarity-group/
Additional photos by IndiaWaterPortal:
“Anti-nuke convention at Idinthakarai saw many local leaders and activists, By IndiaWaterPortal.org, CC-BY-NC-SA-2.0 https://www.flickr.com/photos/indiawaterportal/11814214526/
“Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Idinthakarai
People have been gathering outside this church ever since the anti-nuke protests began. A group of women gather every day and remain there until evening as a show of solidarity for the anti-nuke movement“, By IndiaWaterPortal.org, CC-BY-NC-SA-2.0 https://www.flickr.com/photos/indiawaterportal/ 11814536356
This blog post is a slightly modified version of our January 2015 post. Unfortunately Koodankulam remains a problem; Russia remains a problem (though more people are aware of this fact now); nuclear reactors and waste the world over remain a problem; and the risk of nuclear war has increased. Do a search for Koodankulam and Kudankulam for more updated material.
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