New Zealand’s kapako bird is happy to live nuclear-free!
Some countries (including the UK) say nuclear energy is the answer to climate change. It is not. Replacing one energy with another is not the solution.
We need to use less energy, through providing walkable communities, encouragement to live simple sustainable lives (and insulate every home in England, which would massively reduce energy and bills).
Why New Zealand is Nuclear-Free
We are always being told that some countries (like France) rely on nuclear energy. But New Zealand has no nuclear power or generators at all, mostly being powered by hydro-electric energy.
The government once considered nuclear energy, but decided against, due to cost and public opinion. Simply put, green-living kiwis didn’t want it.
It’s easy to see why. The awful nuclear testing in the Pacific happened quite near to them, so people here saw the tragic results. Even now, residents near the islands have a higher risk of cancer (almost 100 years later).
Nuclear Energy is Dangerous
Nuclear energy is very dangerous. As well as decades and billions of pounds needed to build nuclear plants, they always provide a meltdown risk (1.5% of all nuclear power plants have had one). Plus they are linked to weapon use (see below).
Uranium mining is known to cause lung cancer, and nuclear waste remains radioactive for hundreds of thousands of years. Already some nuclear countries are sending radioactive waste elsewhere, to ‘get rid of it’ on their own soil.
Nuclear power costs 5 times more than wind power (new bladeless turbines and painting the turbines and one blade black can greatly reduce bird strike). We can also use other types of clean energy in England, not just wind.
Concerns over Sellafield (Cumbria)
Sellafield in Cumbria is a huge employer locally, but also a controversial site, built during the 40s to make plutonium, in expectation of a cold war. Back in the 50s, a fire sent radioactive waste to mainland Europe, and local cows’ milk was found to be radioactive.
Today, the process to shut the plant down has begun, something that will take 100 years. But insects in artificial ponds have been found to be radioactive, due to being found in droppings from local swallows that have eaten them.
And of course, swallows migrate to Africa, so will take this pollution with them. Stray cats from around here, are screened for radioactivity, before being rehomed.
In Norway, locals are concerned over their own food and wildlife, due to south-westerly winds possibly carrying radioactive particles across the North Sea, in the event of an accident. Along with Ireland, the country managed to stop release of a radioactive metal into the sea.
Should We Scrap Nuclear Trident?
For many of us, that is a 100% yes. To replace Trident would cost over £100 billion (enough to build 180 brand new hospitals or fund 150,000 nurses, or 1.5 million affordable homes).
We currently have 225 bombs that are 8 times more powerful than the one that dropped on Hiroshima and killed 140,000 people and severely burned two-year old Sadako Sasaki. Who survived for 10 years, before finally dying of her injuries.
Any accident from lorries that carry up to 8kg of plutonium from Berkshire to Scotland could cause the same kind of explosion, poisoning the area for thousands of years. Read more on how to create world peace and how to help animals in war zones.
If somebody invaded us with nuclear weapons, we would not have time to react anyway. It’s just a huge white elephant deterrent that costs a fortune, and is also a risk of an accident that would wipe us all out anyway.
CND argues that when we have so many other issues facing us, this old-style ‘we are under threat’ mentality needs to end (Switzerland doesn’t need Trident, so why do we?) In fact, the more countries that deploy nuclear weapons, just encourages other countries to buy more.
Remember the Girl Burned by Napalm?
We’ve all seen the infamous photo of Phan Thị Kim Phúc (who ran from the scene in Vietnam after being burned from a napalm attack).
After spending 14 months in hospital, she now lives with her husband and mother in Canada, where she runs an organisation to help child victims of war. The other children in the photo were all relatives (the boy on the left was her brother, who lost an eye in the attack).
The photographer Nick Ut (pictured above 40 years later with Kim) remembers the day only too well. Before he took the iconic photo, he found a grandmother carrying a baby who ‘died in front of me’.
Then he saw the naked girl running, the clothes burned off her body screaming out ‘I’m dying, I’m dying!’ He put down his camera and took her to hospital. They remain friends. And until he died, her brother had a photo of Nick, on his noodle shop wall.
