stephanie brail

I’ve been concerned since the Japan quake that things would get pretty bad with the nuclear disaster at Fukushima. My worst fears have been that Japan would be rendered into a nuclear wasteland. Back in March, I thought I might have been overreacting or blowing things out of proportion, but my fears were not unfounded.

Months later, Japan has finally admitted that three reactors went into full meltdown right after the earthquake. Now, there’s talk about a “melt through,” which is a politically correct way of saying “China Syndrome.” Where is this in the mainstream news? Instead of covering Fukushima, some news outlets requested volunteers to go through Sarah Palin’s emails, only to find out – golly, gee whiz! – she really was just doing her job. (Anthony Weiner, on the other hand, appears to be more interested in taking pictures of himself than working.)

Here’s the missed opportunity in all this. (If you can call the worst nuclear disaster ever in history an “opportunity.”) The United States of America has not one, not two, but 23 nuclear power plants that are the same design as the Fukushima plant currently spewing radiation into the environment. These plants, designed by General Electric, were known to be flawed back in the 70s, although modifications have been made since. What are we doing about these aging power plants? Last I heard, one was given a 20 year extension past it’s originally-planned lifespan.

By the way, that article I just linked to was from MSNBC, which until recently, was majority-owned by GE…and GE still has a large stake (49%) in MSNBC’s parent company NBC Universal. GE was also a major donor to Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. Which kind of goes to show you, if you think Fox News is the only corporate-run major news network, or the Republican party is the only corporate-run political party, you may need to follow the money more.

My point is? All of this might explain – just a little – why none of our elected leaders in America are stepping up to the plate and responding to Fukushima crisis in any measurable way. Not one. We’re not being told about radiation coming our way (the EPA stopped monitoring it). We’re not being told about our own nuclear power plants that are aging and need to be replaced. Never mind the nuclear power plants that are in harm’s way, with some in major earthquake zones and others at risk due to inland flooding.

We’re also not being given clear leadership about what America’s energy future is going to be. What are we going to do about our aging nuclear power plants? What we are going to do about creating energy if we do deem that nuclear power just isn’t worth the risk?

Neither political party has any sort of real solution to our energy problems. The Republicans just chant “drill, baby, drill,” without acknowledging the possible oil crunch coming our way due to peak oil (not that anyone in politics would admit to peak oil). And the Democrats only pay lip service to alternative energy. All of this talk in the 2008 election about green jobs – where are they? We’d be happy to have jobs, much less green ones.

We probably need an “all of the above” solution – involving more drilling (unfortunately) and alternative energy – if we are going to continue to fund our costly energy-sucking lifestyles. But our leaders aren’t willing to come together to solve the problem. They just want to bicker and name-call. (Or waste time taking half-naked pictures of themselves in the Congressional gym.)

The Tragedy in Japan…and Beyond

But our energy problems pale in comparison to the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Japan right now. Millions of people are potentially at risk of radiation poisoning. Their government is lying to them. There’s the potential for all of Japan to become a wasteland thanks to Fukushima. Radiation may be contaminating the groundwater there:

Meanwhile, here in America, radiation is hitting the West Coast. Maybe not enough to panic, but enough to be concerned. According to nuclear expert Arnie Gunderson, people in Seattle inhaled approximately 5 “hot particles” per day in April:

What can you do? Well, if you are in Japan, I feel for you. I would suggest that if you had the money and resources to move away now, even temporarily, that you might consider that. In the least, you’ll need to take extra care of your health by eating right, taking lots of vitamins and anti-oxidants to fight radiation damage, and possibly using safety measures such as masks outside depending on where you live.

In America, good health measures can help. But beyond that, let’s look at finding ways to respond proactively rather than sitting around waiting for our own aging nuclear infrastructure to decay and end up becoming problematic in the coming years.

Stay informed, demand more from your politicians and media, support alternative energy (yes, even you conservatives – there are alternative energy businesses you know!)…and otherwise…??

PRAY.

I arrived in Austin late October 3, weary from a long, hellish drive from Los Angeles in an overheating Jeep. (Note to anyone who is driving over the Rockies in any car, but especially one loaded down with stuff: Turn off the a/c when driving up those long slopes!) Despite being overwhelmed and exhausted, I was still happy to be here.

I had rented an apartment sight unseen (originally I was going to sublet another unit in the same building, and when the renter decided to stay, I took a similar unit on the second floor). I was mostly pleased with my new home, with one glitch. When I arrived, the apartment had a puddle in the carpet by the air conditioner. The place stunk to high heaven due to the festering puddle! But the maintenance guys did a really great job in cleaning it up and fixing the central air (a must for central Texas). But I had plenty of other perks to be happy about – an actual dishwasher for one. In Los Angeles, most affordable apartment buildings are fairly old (from the 50s, 60s, and 70s), so you have to pay premium for a dishwasher. Oh, to have a dishwasher again! Heaven!

I even have hookups for a washer and dryer (once again, a total luxury in LA), but decided against the investment for now, seeing as there’s a huge laundry room around the corner with shiny new machines and an easy-to-use debit card system for payment. It’s funny, how things that I’m sure many others take for granted, can become a source of excitement for those used to cramped urban living quarters. I was speaking to a friend in LA, who is also planning a Texas move, and she was also thrilled at the thought of having a dishwasher and washer and dryer. “I can finally live like an adult!” she said. And heck, it’s about time…I’ve been living like an adolescent for 10 years too long.

Austin: Beyond the Stereotypes

When I first told my family I was planning on moving to Texas, they reacted somewhat strongly. A lot of people have pre-conceived notions about what Texas is about, thinking it’s full of scary rednecks and worse. I suppose there are scary rednecks here, but there’s a lot more too. Austin, in particular, is a “liberal” town, but I don’t like to use that word as it has too many political connotations. “Eclectic” is perhaps a better term.

There are the guys who are stereotypically Texan. In fact, I did not realize until I moved to Texas that the character Boomhauer on King of the Hill is actually fairly close to reality. There are Texas guys who have thick accents and tend to mumble to the point where you can barely understand what they are saying. (I had to ask the guy helping me at Jiffy Lube to repeat himself.) Most are friendly; and otherwise most people I’ve met here don’t seem to have much of an accent at all.

I do notice that people in Austin overall seem more relaxed and friendly than in Los Angeles, except for some of the college students, who are busy trying to revive the angry goth trends of 1990. (Hey guys, just a suggestion…we did that already…come up with something new for a change!)

My apartment complex seems to be fairly diverse; families, older people, college students, and quite a few folks who are blind. (There’s a school for the blind in Austin, and we’re right on a bus line.) I haven’t really met my neighbors; they seem similar to apartment dwellers in LA in that they keep to themselves (which is fine by me).

I’ve met other Austinites by going to a few events, including a meeting of the newly formed Austin chapter of the Holistic Chamber of Commerce. This was a bit trippy – I had not only gone to a few meetings of the newly formed original Holistic Chamber in West Los Angeles, but I had actually taken money at the door. I knew the original founders. I had no clue ther was an Austin chapter…and for good reason. The meeting I went to was its very first. I just “happened” (through some sort of synchronicity) to find out about the meeting a few days before it happened, because I was searching for places to go and things to do in Austin. I’ve never been to a Unity Church, so I’m not sure what compelled me to Google the name, but I found one online in North Austin (Unity Church of the Hills), and there in the listings was the Holistic Chamber meeting.

And here’s what’s great about being in a smaller city than Los Angeles. People actually go to stuff. It can be so hard to get people to events in LA unless they are headlined by someone super famous. The Holistic Chamber meetings I went to in LA were moderate in size. The one in Austin was bigger! Now, it was the first meeting, so maybe attendance will shrink in future sessions, but it was amazing how many enthusiastic people showed up for the kick-off. One note though: In LA the Holistic Chamber always had these great food spreads…in Austin, there was a “bring your own bag lunch” note that was unfortunately omitted from the Unity website listing. I brought nothing to eat! Lucky for me, my neighbor shared with me half of her shrimp “po boy” sandwich. In California, it would have been something vegan or made out of raw foods, but I was happy to have the breaded shrimp for a change…it was delicious!

What was even more amazing was how many people were tapped into the spiritual things going on in Los Angeles, like Agape (with Reverend Michael Beckwith). With that, I really didn’t feel far from home. There are a lot of mindful, conscious, spiritual people in Austin. So if you think that in Austin people are only stereotypical, angry Bible thumpers, or conversely only grungy musician types, you are sorely mistaken. (Though, there are the grungy musician types here too, for sure!)

Granted, I did see some Bible-thumping abortion clinic protesters on my drive back from a workshop today, something you’d be hard-pressed to find in Los Angeles, but they were peaceful and held up signs asking for people to “pray.” Hey – they are taking an action on a cause they believe in, so as long as they aren’t hurting people, more power to them.

Now, one thing that puzzles me about Austin is the number of smokers. While there are definitely people who smoke in LA (especially the younger crowd), it still surprises me that anyone chooses to smoke in this day and age. My mom (who has been living in Florida for many years now) tells me that smoking is a Southern thing. While you won’t find the smoking so much at the new age events, you will find it in apartment complexes, which gets particularly annoying when people think the rest of us won’t care if they are outside on their balcony, smoking, talking and COUGHING until 2 am on weeknights! (I think I’m going to have to have a talk with the management about those guys.)

Fortunately, Austin, like Los Angeles, has a ban on smoking in bars and restaurants. This was met with huge opposition as the death of the live music scene in Austin – but things still seem to be hopping. It’s kind of ridiculous to complain in a city where it’s fairly warm (if not steamy throughout the year). Patios and outside decks work just fine for smoking…and they’ve worked fine in LA for years.

Austin has a strong libertarian bent…which may be cause to rebel against such a ban…but can a libertarian case be made that people don’t have a right to engage in behavior (such as indoor smoking) that is proven harmful to others? Hmm…what would Ron Paul say? (BTW…I’ve seen more Ron Paul bumper stickers here than Obama ones.) But with the headquarters of Whole Foods here, Austin also has a strong (and possibly growing) health nut crowd. In addition to Whole Foods, there’s also Sprouts, the HEB’s health food offerings, and Sun Harvest (which is conveniently located across the street from my apartment complex). Sadly, however…Austin lacks one big thing: Trader Joe’s!

The nice thing about Austin’s healthy side is that you have it balanced out by the Texas “we eat red meat” contingent. There are tons of places to get BBQ and brisket here. I am all for eating healthy and holistically, but I am not a vegan (for a variety of reasons) and sometimes the holier-than-thou rigid food religion surrounding vegetarianism got to be a bit much in LA. Yes, I am a holistic healer who eats red meat. I am not ashamed of it either. (For a very thoughtful site on vegetarianism and why it may not be enough, check out Beyond Vegetarianism.)

Overall, life is pretty good in Austin…I still don’t have my apartment fully setup yet (no living room furniture, though my office is mostly functioning). I haven’t figured out my routine yet, I haven’t made my friends yet, and I don’t even know where to get a haircut. But despite a few things like living room puddles and late-night chatty neighbors, and the worst, no Trader Joe’s (sniff), I am finding Austin to be a really great place so far.

I was riding the Los Angeles airport shuttle that connects long-term parking and the bus terminal to the airport. A young woman was sitting next to me and conveying the story of her ride to the airport to a man standing nearby:

“I’m late. I was coming down the 405 and there was a 3-car pile-up. I sat in what became a parking lot for 25 minutes!!”

The 25 minutes seemed to be a big deal to her, and I figured she must not be an L.A. “native.” A 25-minute delay? That’s not much by Los Angeles terms.

The man responded to to her by joking, “3-car pile-up? They get those once a day around here.”

But it wasn’t until I heard her repeat her story to a cellphone caller that I was struck by the lack of sensitivity. Whe she retold the story to the cellphone caller, she laughed as she said “3-car pile-up.”

Wow. Someone might have been killed or seriously and permanently disfigured in that “typical” accident, and yet all we see it as is an inconvenience.

This same person may have a pet cause. Perhaps they are passionate about an issue such as “health care for all!” And yet, she expressed complete callousness and uncaring to at least three people (if not more) who could have been hurt or killed.

Perhaps this was one of those accidents that you drive by and see that everyone is okay, and I am making the wrong assumptions about her. However, from what I heard, neither the man on the shuttle nor her cellphone friend bothered to ask “was anyone hurt?”

Indeed, it took me hearing the story twice before it hit me that there were real people possibly hurt in that accident.

What’s going on here? Why can we get so riled about about “big issues” (health care, abortion, the environment) but forget to pay attention to the problems and pains right in front of us?

I have to wonder if part of it is that we’ve abdicated our personal resonsibility to help or even care on a personal level. It’s a lot easier to demand that someone outside of ourselves changes their ways or fixes the problem than to do the hard work ourselves. In this way, we can get the ego gratification of feeling like we “care,” without the expansion of soul and effort required to get our own hands dirty.

We’ll blame the government, the banks, corporations, people who vote the opposing party, but not look at ourselves. We’ll condemn BP for doing hazardous drilling but keep driving our cars because buses are beneath us.

It takes effort to make real changes. When I got rid of my car in Los Angeles, I had to readjust and be “inconvenienced” by the bus schedules. But it showed me that taking personal action, rather than railing against others for their gas consumption, was much more empowering. And it made me realize how much more personal responsibility we need to take about everything.

The first order of business is awareness. Only from being aware can we make truly impactful changes. So the next time you get annoyed by a 3-car pile-up taking precious time out of your day, think about it a little more deeply. First, have some compassion for the victims. Second, be thankful you weren’t one of them. Third, think about what you can do to help prevent such tragedies in the future.

Could you take the bus instead of drive? Stop speeding and driving so recklessly? Be more mindful and aware while driving?

These are the opportunities we miss when we mindlessly pass the accident without awareness.