My reply to a question re: nuclear legislation for CA
...with regard to nuclear legislation in CA I can't offer anything that's not in the news. However, I do find it interesting (and alarming) that the earthquake has caused so much nuclear instability in Japan since the earth quake codes there are at least as strict as those here from what I have heard.
I hear a lot of outrage around the lack of legislation on nuclear plants that have a small toxic impact, but at the same time a few loud complaints against regulating conventional electricity plants that already produce toxics on a massive scale (article:http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/17/science/earth/17epa.html ).
Personally I think we're much better off investing in a culture of re-use and energy / waste consciousness as a "norm" and rewarding manufacturers who have good take back and other waste reduction policies than trying to supply our own swollen consumption with potentially disastrous energy sources.
While yes, we definitely need legislation and regulations, we also need people to wake up and realize that all the disgusting things being spewed into the air is partially a result of us buying new clothes every time we shop, new cars every 4 or 5 years, single-family homes that take up absurd amounts of space and energy and are run very inefficiently and eating red meat or dairy every day as though it's out God-given right. It's simply not.
If you want to go with the God argument, "He" told us to take care of the earth, not abuse it. Or go with the common sense argument not to defecate where you eat (excuse my French). Before we go whining to the legislators I think we need to clean up our own act a little bit to avoid coming off as extremely hypocritical.
To start setting a new "norm" for yourself, I recommend our CoolClimate Calculator from UC Berkeley (see link on top right). A bit lengthy but it gives a very detailed carbon footprint analysis and personalized recommendations to reduce it. You can sign up for a profile and compare to friends as well. I know a lot of people are taking action on this subject so I encourage readers to recommend other tools they've used or things they do to reduce their footprint.
Great Post! =]
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