Glued to the TV, on despite a decision to turn off service totally and sell the equipment, I watch the horrors in Japan unfold along with the rest of the world. This triple catastrophe is so beyond words and comprehension that really I can not write without sounding trite and redundant. Of course my heart goes out to those directly affected in their loss, shock and suffering.
One of my teachers from my teens, Paulo Knill, intent on helping us to ground, would instill our confidence in Mother Earth by claiming She would always be there for us, support us, hold us. How wrong he was. I suspect as a civilization now a days we have greatly underestimated the power of nature. How else to explain the building of nuclear power plants along fault lines, be they in Japan, California or elsewhere? It does not make sense, never has, yet still our President insists that nuclear power will be part of the United States future. Sure, President Obama must be beholden to the nuclear industry, we know he received a lot of campaign monies from it. At least the Swiss and Germans put an immediate moratorium on further expansion, even plans already approved for the nuclear industry. If there is one good to come out of this let it be a radical rethink of energy demand and supply. Despite voices to the contrary, we do have the means now to go ahead with alternative, renewable energy. Nobody says that we have to continue to support a life style that wastes enormous amounts of energy. Locally we were able to shift in to a radically lower level of water consumption within only a few years. We can become more mindful in regard to electric necessities as well.
The political right calls for deregulation, but look at the horror of those 6 nuclear power plants in the control of one private company that does not communicate openly and honesty with the public. Can it get much worse? This is what my and maybe my generation's nightmares are made of. A destructive power on the prowl that we can not detect with our normal senses - horror of horrors.
Astrologer Erin Sullivan likens the harvesting of nuclear power to the stealing of fire by Prometheus, something terribly offensive to the gods. Do we consider a 9.0 earthquake normal, or an other effect of global warming or as some would have it punishment of the gods or Gaia or others would want to see it as the coming of Christ in the last days of earth? The flood and destruction does appear biblical for those that grew up in the Christian tradition. Who knew that tidal waves would come in such a low, relentless force rather then those humongous super waves we imagined? Global warming has my vote. It gives us an opportunity to make amends and correct our errors and live more in harmony with nature as we strive towards a more sustainable life style individually and as a people.
Finally please, I heard that if you text in your support for Japan, the banks will take longer to deliver your donations, so it seems best to go with the traditional organizations like the Red Cross, but please do not forget all those pets that no doubt are in dire need of our help as well.
