Natural Disasters

There have been a lot of natural disasters recently. Haiti, Indonesia, and now Japan spring instantly to mind. Earthquakes, Tsunamis and volcanoes are terrible reminders of how vulnerable we are. We can prepare for them. We can try to minimize the damage through construction, detection and early warnings, but we cannot stop them. No country was better prepared than Japan. Believe me, far more people would have died if it were not for Japan’s preparation and planning. But the one thing we had better learn to expect is the unexpected. No one prepared for the enormous magnitude of the earthquake or the Tsunami that followed that quake. The horrible wild cards are the nuclear power plants that now pose a very serious threat to far more people. There are some idiots, mostly Republicans, who smugly say it cannot happen here. They want to decrease what we are spending on early warning devices, and they want to ignore the safety regulations that would decertify many of the older plants we have. They also want to build more of those plants before we absorb the lessons we must learn from what is happening in Japan. Greed is their motive, and they are willing to unnecessarily place your life in peril for the profits of the companies who own or build those power plants. Doing this is insane. The Japanese are very meticulous and intelligent. If this tragedy can happen there, it can happen anywhere. This is a wake up call!

My heart goes out to the people of Japan. Even great nations can use some help when the devastation and the threat is this enormous. What must provide whatever aid we are able to provide. We must let them know they do not stand along. We must let them know we care and want to help. We must also learn from them and from what has happened there!