Two simple lessons: What India can learn from Japan's ongoing natural and nuclear disaster.
Nuclear poison: our toxic's page
Background: Jude Sessions on the situation in India, here and here
Background: Kafila on the situation in India
Stop: CNDP and NAAM demand moratorium on nuclear construction
Petition: Greenpeace against Jaitapur nuclear plant
Petition: Avaaz against Jaitapur nuclear plant
Last week's controversy over India's 1998 nuclear test has generated a lot of heat. Here at the Dhaba, we said that the whole issue was being distorted by a misunderstanding of some fundamental truths regarding nuclear war. At the Guardian, Randeep Ramesh argued that the resumption of our nuclear testing program would lead to diplomatic isolation for India and a dangerous escalation in the arms race. Unfortunately, the mainstream argument was between those calling for a new round of testing, regardless of the consequences, and those saying we could build plenty of great bombs without any new tests, thank you very much! You can see a sampling of the press (including us!) here.
So it's refreshing to see two groups going against the grain on this issue, especially given the fact that Friday is Mahatma Gandhi's birthday. Please do join join these actions--and by all means spread the word. One is a real event, the other is-line, so anyone in the world can help.
Also, if you know of other things happening around this issue, please post them in the comments section so we can all get to know about them.
11:00 AM : “Delhi Rally” starts at Rajghat
2:00 PM : “Delhi Rally” ends at Jantar Mantar
3:00 PM : Discussion at Teen Murti Auditorium
4:30 PM : Pledge-taking to make India Nuclear-Free
5:00 PM : Theater Y performance on Peace
6:00 PM : Plenary - Youth Vision for Peace
For more information, see the Facebook Event Page here or the IYCN website.
Worldwide: Ongoing
Say No to Uranium Mining in Meghalaya, India!
I'm not going to go into the whole nuclear power issue here. Remember, this is a virtual dhaba, not a Five Star News Organization, with reporters who are paid very little to stay up until all hours. Here we pay our reporters nothing to stay up until all hours, and for that, you sometimes have to sacrifice a hyperlink or two!
But let's just say that nuclear power is and always has been a very dirty business. Though many people argue nuclear reactors can help reduce climate change, we must not forget that CO2 is not the only form of pollution on the planet; and the poison that results from nuclear mining and waste lasts for tens of thousands of years. Before we expand our nuclear program--which will never meet all our needs anyway, we need to do much, much more with renewable sources of energy. The sun, after all, is the largest nuclear reactor in the solar system--and it is located a very safe distance from all of our homes.
- If you do Facebook, join the Say NO to Uranium Mining in Meghalaya, India! group, and repost it to help it go viral.
- Sign the online petition against Uranium Mining in Meghalaya.
- Get more information at activist Bremley W.B. Lyngdoh's blog post on the issue. There you will find videos and a lot of background information.