CULTIVATING COMPASSION
Resist Internal Paralysis: Dare To Be HOPE
BY MARY OLSON; EDITED BY CAM MACQUEEN
6LQFH PRUH WKDQ QXFOHDU ZHDSRQV KDYH EHHQ WHVWHG worldwide. About one quarter were detonated above ground and pro- duced fallout, a radioactive pollution that fell back to earth or came GRZQHYHQPRUHTXLFNO\DQGKLJKO\FRQFHQWUDWHGLQUDLQ0RVWDERYH JURXQGWHVWVWRRNSODFHEHWZHHQ DQG DQGFRQWLQXHGEHORZ JURXQGDIWHU7KHUHZDVDOVRIDOORXWIURPWKH &KHUQRE\OQXFOHDU power reactor explosion in Ukraine; from three nuclear power reactor PHOWGRZQV DQG H[SORVLRQV LQ DW WKH )XNXVKLPD 'DLLFKL VLWH LQ Japan; and at a lower level, from every nuclear industrial site, i.e., nu- clear power plants and nuclear weapons factories, day in and day out. Invisible, orderless, and without tactile sensation (except at ex- WUHPHO\KLJKOHYHOV WKLVUDGLRDFWLYLW\LVLQDOOVWDWHVDOOQDWLRQV and impacts all ecosystems to this day. The levels are subsiding due to radioactive decay, but are still not safe, and will not be in our lifetimes, or that of our grandchildren. 0\ZRUNLVWRKHOSUDLVHDZDUHQHVVWRSUHYHQWXQQHFHVVDU\DQGXQ - GLVFORVHGH[SRVXUHVRIRXUERGLHVIDPLOLHVDQGFRPPXQLWLHVWRLRQL] - ing radiation, as well as to protect the living web that is Nature strug- JOLQJWRVXUYLYHXV7KHTXHVWLRQLV +RZGRZHUHVLVWZKDWZHFDQ¶WVHH KHDUVPHOOIHHODQGZKDWZHGRQ¶WXQGHUVWDQGDQGEDUHO\NQRZ is there? The short answer is we don’t. It lingers and causes cancers across our whole population. Radiation can also end a pregnancy in early, middle, or late term. In some instances, the pregnancy can end so early it was not even detected; so, radiation is also a cause of infer- tility. Radiation is cumulative. We now know that radiation contributes to heart disease and heart attacks, and vascular disease including stroke. Furthermore, we now also know from a PDMRUUHVHDUFKUHSRUW WKDW,FRDXWKRUHGZLWK'U$PDQGD1LFKROVSXEOLVKHGE\WKH81,Q - VWLWXWH IRU 'LVDUPDPHQW 5HVHDUFK WKDW UDGLDWLRQ FDXVHV GLVSURSRU - tionately greater harm to children, and to females of all ages compared to males of all ages. After the end of the Cold War and the end of the nuclear arms race between the USA and the USSR, we had a brief time of cooperation with the former Soviet Union. People born during this time are often deeply confused and left wondering, “Were all the nuclear weapons GHVWUR\HGZKHQWKH%HUOLQ:DOOFDPHGRZQ"´7REHEOXQW 1R6RPH nuclear weapons in Russia and the USA have been dismantled under forward-looking agreements, but thousands are still here, still ready to go. There are hundreds pointed at Russia from the U.S., and in Rus- sia pointed at us. The rest are circulating above and below, on planes and submarines, all still there. 7KHSRWHQWLDOIRUFRPSOHWHGHVWUXFWLRQRILQGXVWULDOL]HGOLIHHYHU\ - thing, in an afternoon or in a matter of months to a couple of years is an all-too-real possibility. On a bad day, I can feel the threat of our ex- tinction, like the dinosaurs, almost like prickly heat on my skin. Check out the major-impact basis for all Earth’s major extinctions. We are potentially that next big impact, with all our radioactive bombs mak- ing so much smoke it blocks the sun. After all, dinosaurs who were not LQLWLDOO\YDSRUL]HGHLWKHUVWDUYHGRUIUR]HWRGHDWKIURPDQXFOHDUOLNH winter. If you don’t know about Nuclear Winter, I urge you to look it up. Re- nowned astronomer and planetary scientist Carl Sagan wrote exten- VLYHO\DERXWWKHGHYDVWDWLQJH̆ HFWVRIDQXFOHDUZDURQHDUWKLQFOXG - LQJDVFRDXWKRURQWKH SDSHUWKDWSURYHVDQXFOHDUZDUQHYHUKDV a winner. It is a planetary death pact. 7KHODVWQXFOHDUWHVW EHORZJURXQG E\RXUJRYHUQPHQWZDVLQ and marked the beginning of a span of time that was leading us away
IURPWRWDODQQLKLODWLRQ%XWRQ2FWREHUWKWKH3UHVLGHQWRI the United States announced on social media that he wants to resume testing nuclear weapons. Let that sink in. Then I will invite you to un- GHUVWDQGWKDWWKH%,**(67WKLQJZHKDYHWRUHVLVWLVWKHGHVLUHWRORRN DZD\«WRIDOOLQWRGHSUHVVLRQ«WREHSDUDO\]HG$JDLQ 1RRQHZLQVLQ a nuclear war - prevention is the cure. Just posting that short message FRXOGEHHQRXJKWREUHDNWKURXJKWKHGL̇ FXOW\RIUHVLVWLQJVRPHWKLQJ you don’t even know is there. To Resist, BE HOPE 0\UHFHQWO\GHSDUWHGIULHQGDQGPHQWRU'U-RDQQD0DF\ZURWHD book called 'HVSDLUDQG3HUVRQDO3RZHULQWKH1XFOHDU$JH continued on page 28
PATHWAYS—Winter 25-26—27
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