"The Little Black Bird" Acrylic 24" x 24"
by Mary Lou Dauray
This
is the fourth blog in my series of artwork about nuclear energy. My painting depicts only one of 30 million plastic
storage bags stuffed with radioactive waste in the Fukushima area in Japan. These bags are part of a seemingly futile
effort to clean up contaminated soil in the area. According to Arnie Gundersen of Fairewinds Energy Education Organization and who has more than 40 years of
nuclear power engineering experience these filled millions of plastic bags are
spread all around the area—in parking lots, in people’s back yards and in rice
paddies, among many other places. Each
bag holds 1 ton of radioactive waste. He
notes that despite these massive efforts remove the radioactive soil, every time it
rains or snows contamination reappears. Ultimately, the cost to Japan for the entire
radioactive clean up (if that is even possible) will reach one half a trillion
dollars.
In
the corner of my painting you can see a little black bird. It refers to what appears to be a diminishment
of the bird population as a direct result of the triple nuclear power plant
meltdown. There is now a dead zone in area. The disaster has had huge impacts
as there are dramatically fewer species, according to Dr. Timothy Mousseau,
Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina.
In
doing research for my artwork about nuclear energy, it is clear that there is
no solution for the disposal of tons of waste from shuttered as well as existing nuclear
power plants. To pretend otherwise is
appalling. I am shocked about the leaking of radioactivity into
groundwater. I strongly oppose the
construction of any new nuclear power plants and the closing of all existing
plants.
If
you want further information please check out:
My
website: www.maryloudauray.com
"Mother Earth is a source of life, not a resource".
Spoken by Sioux Chief Argol Lookinghorse
Nice job. The sad news is that part of the money allotted for clean energy in this years budget goes to nuclear power. Heard it this morning on C-span. It is only a grass roots effort like your own that needs to wake up the general population to say, " thus far and no more." David Greene
ReplyDeleteEven though I have been covering some pretty ugly topics since I started my national radio show over 8 years ago, this is, perhaps, one of the most upsetting and unsettling topics I have encountered. To say it saddens me is not adequate. To say I am baffled by the lack of any type of coverage in the national media is also an understatement. I very much look forward to our upcoming interview because I will at least know that thousands of people will be made aware of what your research has uncovered. I am left with many questions such as what are we going to do? We are all at risk. Thank you for your courage and inspiration.
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