Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition to Commemorate Fukushima: Year One

From the Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition: 

 The Day Unfolds – Reflections and Actions

March 11, 2012 marks one year since an earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster struck the coast ofJapan and began what is still an on-going disaster. The consequences of this triple tragedy are stillunfolding and it will take the country decades to recover.

Four of the reactors at Fukushima are nowclosed and there is now a 12 mile exclusion zone surrounding them. As a result 160,000 people have beenrelocated, perhaps never to go home again.
We take this time to listen to the voices of the Japanese people and stand in solidarity with them in theirsorrow and loss. We look at the reactors at Indian Point which are surrounded by 20 million people within a 50 mile radius and ask- Is this the way we need to generate our electricity? Is it necessary to jeopardizethe lives and property of so many when there are so many alternatives? What about renewable andsustainable ways to generate the electricity we need? What about conservation and efficiency in a timewhen electricity usage is down? What about the studies and hearings that show closing Indian Point ispossible with little impact on ratepayers.

These are all questions that need to be answered with public dialog and discussion, not 30 secondcommercials produced by the company which profits so heavily from continued operation.

While we are not in danger of a tsunami and 9.0 earthquake is unlikely, Indian Point is on the convergenceof two fault lines and has on site more high level radioactive waste than was in the all of the spent fuelpools at Fukushima. There is no way to make anything 100% safe from human error. We are passing on alegacy that is deadly for over a million years to untold generations. What if we were to conserve more andto become more efficient? Japan is a country about the size of California. It had 54 nuclear reactors inplace prior to the earthquake. Of that total the 4 at Fukushima can no longer operate and another 48 acrossthe country are now closed. Only 2 of the Japanese fleet of reactors are still operating.

Japanese society continues to function with this dramatic decrease in generation. Conservation has beenthe key to this dramatic reduction in the use of electricity. Life continues in Japan as people struggle withtheir losses, with measuring radiation levels in schools, homes and on their children, as they worry aboutpurchasing contaminated food in the market place, and the knowledge that many will never be able to gohome again.
Those from Japan tell us that one of the most effective things we can do to protect our families and ourcommunities is to close Indian Point. As Fukushima clearly demonstrates, continued operation in such adensely populated area is simply not worth the risk.

Join us at the press conference 1:00 pm at the ShopRite parking lot on South Riverside Drive in Crotonand walk all or part of the way with the No More Fukushima’s Peace Walkers. There is a van which willtake you back to your car when you have walked enough.

Join us at the gates of Indian Point, 3:30 pm at the intersection of Bleakley and Broadway, Buchanan,New York for a program that begins with Redwing Blackbird Theater performing their dramaticpiece Humanities in English, Japanese and other languages using their 10 foot puppets on stilts. Listento Kitajima San, contract Laborer and Union Organizer from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plantwho will talk about conditions inside the failed nuclear plant in Japan. Other speakers include HarveyWasserman of Solartopia fame, Gary Null, health expert, radio personality, and producer of many filmsincluding Knocking on the Devils Door, Connie Hogarth of the Connie Hogarth Center for Social Action,Manna Jo Greene, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Phillip Musegaass of Riverkeeper, Gary Shaw andMarilyn Elie of the Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition.

Join us for the vigil at 4:00 pm, which will be conducted in the Japanese Buddhist tradition using prayerdrums and chanting. Bring an origami paper crane, the Japanese symbol of good fortune and goodhealth, if you can.
Join us for a potluck dinner at the Old School House, at 5 pm, 210 Sixth Street, Verplanck after thevigil. Drop off your covered dish there before you go to the program.

Join us for the commemorative concert with music and the spoken word at 6 pm after dinner.Performers include Dar Williams, Dan Einbender and the Rivertown Kids, James Durst, Hope Machine,Lydia Adams Davis, Sarah Underhill, Roland Moussa, Taeko Fukao, The Raging Grannies and others.
All are welcome. For more information call IPSEC, 1-888-474-8848 or Clearwater, 845-265-8080, orRiverkeeper, 914-941-2505 or visit www.shutdownindianpointnow.org or http://www.facebook.com/
ShutDownIndianPointNow?sk=notes

Fukushima Commemoration: Year One, Sunday, March 11, 2012,
Schedule:

• 1:00 pm Press Conference with the Peace Walkers at the at the Shoprite parking lot,South Riverside Drive, in Croton on Hudson, NY
• 3:30 pm Program at the gates of Indian Point, intersection of Bleakley and Broadway
• 4:00 pm Vigil at the intersection of Bleakley and Broadway, Buchanan, NY5:00pm Potluck Old School House, 210 Sixth Street, Verplanck6:00pm Concert at the Old School House, 210 Sixth Street, Verplanck.
• Who: Leo Wiegman, Mayor of Croton will present the Walkers with a Proclamation of Support prior to their departure for Indian Point. The No More Fukushima’s PeaceWalkers are led by Jun-san Yasuda a Buddhist nun from the Grafton Peace Pavilion who has done walks for peace around the world. People will gather at the gates of Indian Point prior to the arrival of the Peace Walkers. Mark Jacobs will moderate the program.
• Redwing Blackbird Theater will begin with their dramatic piece Humanities which is performed in English, Japanese and other languages using their 10 foot puppets onstilts. 
• Kitajima San, contract Laborer and Union Organizer from the Fukushima Dia-chinuclear power plant will talk about conditions inside the failed nuclear plant in Japan.
• Other speakers include Harvey Wasserman of Solartopia fame, Gary Null, healthexpert, radio personality, and producer of many films including Knocking on the Devils Door, will speak as will Connie Hogarth of the Connie Hogarth Center for Social Justice, Manna Jo Greene, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Phillip Musegaas of Riverkeeper, Gary Shaw and Marilyn Elie of the Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition.

Performers at the concert include: Dar Williams, Dan Einbender and the RivertownKids, James Durst, Hope Machine, Lydia Adams Davis, Sarah Underhill, RolandMoussa, Taeko Fukao, Raging Grannies and others.