Fukushima's gone off the rails and they're saying its as big and as bad as what happened in Chernobyl. I find that terrifying. But I don't think other Malaysians seem alarmed enough. Maybe its like how when I told my friend who lives in Kuantan that the world's largest rare-earth refinery was gonna be built there, she hadn't a clue. I watched a documentary on Chernobyl when I was around 15. It was the journey of one born-deformed little kid (due to Chernobyl radiation) to the UK to get surgery, a prosthetic limb that sort of thing. There were many other horrifying images of babies born sick. Its made me frightened forever now of nuclear energy. How would I feel if I was that baby's mum? It has such potential to cause so much hurt and pain in this world I don't think we should use it at all.
I know Malaysia's about 5,000 km from Japan, and they're saying wind from Japan blows to the direction of the US, but its still scary as. That radioactive material could come get us in lots of ways. Through the wind, our ocean currents, in our food..
NZ is a nuclear-free country. Found this on Wikipedia: *A nuclear-free zone is an area where nuclear weapons and/or nuclear power is banned. In reality, nuclear weapons have freely traversed through, nearby, or above "nuclear-free" zones via military transport without the knowledge or attention of local authorities. Many local authorities worldwide have declared themselves "nuclear-free". However, this label is largely symbolic, since most local authorities would be powerless to stop the construction of a nuclear plant if one was planned for the area. New Zealand's status as a nuclear-free zone is not symbolic but enshrined in the nation's legislation. New Zealand was the first Western-allied nation to legislate towards a nuclear free zone, effectively renouncing the nuclear deterrent.*
A friend I made here shared with me the 1985 David Lange (say 'Long-ngeee') Oxford Union Debate that 'nuclear weapons are morally indefensible'. He won. David Lange served as the 32nd Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1984 to 1989. I think what he says here can be used to argue for not using nuclear power either. Like if a country chooses to use it, they can't guarantee it will stay within that country's borders. Video snippets of the debate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeHTziiFVx0. Audio recording of the debate: http://publicaddress.net/great-new-zealand-argument/nuclear-weapons-are-morally-indefensible-1/. David Lange's speech notes March 1 1985: http://publicaddress.net/david-langes-speech-notes-march-1-1985/. His notes are 2,000 words but the transcript is 4,000 or so. The transcript is available here: http://publicaddress.net/great-new-zealand-argument/nuclear-weapons-are-morally-indefensible/?page=0.
