Fukushima and opportunity

If you read independent news sources, then you know that Fukushima is a major disaster. “What is Fukushima?” you query. It is a nuclear power plant in Japan that has destroyed a chunk of Japan and has been leaking radioactive waste into the Pacific Ocean since it was hit by a tsunami three years ago next month.

The news is so bad, it has some friends in a tailspin. I had to sit with it one night. Fish are contaminated, there are reports of no life in some parts of the Pacific Ocean, starfish are melting, sea animals have nasty sores, the cleanup has been horribly bungled, the energy company has not been truthful, and the plume of waste has reached the west coast of North America.

Will we be able to stay here?

My thoughts are calm and are ultimately hopeful. First response: pray. In whatever way you call out to the Source, this is a good time to pray for the oceans, for all the waters. It’s time for some new common agreements like: All life is sacred. I have faith in nature to recover. I have faith that we can unify around the common agreement that all life is sacred. From this new common agreement, new technology, a new mindset, a heart-intelligent perspective can grow.

Second, we can take steps to fix this, and it requires us to unite. There is a report from Chernobyl (site of a nuclear disaster in the ’80s in Ukraine) that a black slimy fungus is growing, covering everything, breaking down the radiation. Fungus to the rescue. Mycologists are part of the citizen response to Fukushima. Petitions are spiraling the Internet, education is happening. We have opportunity and inspiration to unite.

Can we unite for a lifestyle that honors all life? Can we live more simply, with love in our hearts, and transform the consumer culture into a permaculture food forest? Can we set a new vision for our cities, recycle the old into the new?

The Earth is alive, the water is alive, the universe is alive: All life is sacred. Let this be our creed and our call to deindustrialize and re-naturalize and work for the common good, for the benefit of all life.