The recent earthquake(s) and resulting tsunami that has devastated parts of Japan, has now resulted in nuclear disaster, as nuclear power plants have overheated, exploded and begun to meltdown. The irony of all of this is that Japan suffered horrible nuclear devastation during World War II. All of this (also ironically,) comes less than a month after Minnesota decided to lift a 17-year moratorium on building new nuclear power plants.
Somehow this reminds me of when I was a kid, and my brother Jim, who is five years older than me, made those plastic, scale models of cars, airplanes and ships. These were delicate replicas of cool machines, and I, of course, being a younger brother wanted to touch these fascinating "toys." When I did, however, I would break them! It was soon made clear to me that I should not play with my brother's stuff! Are humans now playing with God's stuff?
Sure "we've" gotten "cocky" over the last few decades with our eight inches of stainless steel and several feet of concrete that is supposedly protecting us from nuclear disaster. So why didn't someone tell that to the earthquake and his buddy the tsunami? Nuclear power is great, because it produces electricity and is "fresh smellin'," because it doesn't burn fossil fuels. We don't however, have any good ways to dispose of the nuclear waste. Sealing it in drums and burying it on Indian reservations seems to be the preferred method. This waste has a half-life of between several thousand and several million years. Just how safe is it in those drums?
As we watch the horrific and unbelievably sad scenes on the daily news--beamed to us from Japan, should we begin to wonder if we should stop messing around with "God's stuff?" Outer space has lots of radiation and nuclear reactions. Maybe mere humans shouldn't be playing with this stuff down here on earth, anymore than a child should be in his room playing with matches. It's worth thinking about anyway.
-KJC
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