Here we go again. The public relations experts step up to reassure
the public that all is well. Meanwhile, I get this message from a
whistle-blower, ” So much for installing brand new steam generators for
800 million. SCE is really down playing the seriousness of this.”

Someday we will hear the sirens go off, and it won’t be another
false alarm. In fact, I sit here wondering if this may actually
develop into the dreaded nuclear nightmare. Is this our Fukushima? If
not, it is only a matter of time.

We must understand that the protective measures that were once in
place no longer exist. It is up to you and me, the people standing in
harms way, to demand a shutdown of these unnecessary reactors that
threaten the livelihood and well being of more than 8 million people,
all for 7% of our energy.

Let’s make them prove they are safe to operate and that they have
addressed the lessons learned from Fukushima before we allow them to
continue on the reckless path they are on. How many more warnings will
we get? Do we really need a total meltdown in America in order to
accept the reality that nuclear power is extremely dangerous? Are we
the ones that are going to have to be sacrificed as the example that
Americans can no longer ignore?

Unfortunately, I am beginning to believe that we won’t take any
serious steps to avoid a Fukushima-like event until it happens in our
country. With all the warning signs, no one will be surprised when it
does take place here. It is only a matter of time. San Onofre, with a
safety record ten times worse than the industry norm, sitting next to a
fault line exceeding the design basis for this nuclear power plant
that is reaching its intended 40 year lifespan in 2013, is a very
likely candidate for failure.

That is why we are planning an
event to remember Fukushima on the upcoming anniversary. People need
to remember the lessons that the Japanese are still enduring. The
no-go zone in Japan is a 12.5 mile radius and it is estimated that it
will take 40 years before it might be safe to return (if ever). Clean up costs already exceed $120 Billion. Can
you imagine that happening here? No use of the main freeway between LA
and San Diego, a major military base rendered useless, thousands of
homes and businesses that can’t be insured against such a disaster,
all the people left homeless and with very few possessions, for who
knows how long. The financial disaster alone would be staggering, let
alone the deaths and disease and environmental degradation that are
more difficult to substantiate or quantify.

Just today, I participated in a webinar with the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission who wanted some public feedback on the proposition that we
store highly radioactive waste on site for another two or three hundred
years. What are these people charged with the public’s safety thinking
about other than what is best for the industry?

Let’s move away from this outdated dangerous technology and replace
it with safe and sustainable options that will lead us to a brighter
future. We can live without it as seen in this very moment when no
power is coming from San Onofre. It won’t be nearly as bad as they make
it out to be.

Please join the people’s movement to shut down our nuclear power
plant before it is too late. Go to http://sanonofresafety.org/, or
send an email to gary@sanclementegreen.org to get involved, to do your
part, because those that you think you can count on are not on your
side. Stand with us. Go with the precautionary principle. There is too
much at stake for too little in return. No Fukushimas here. We know
better and so do you.