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Monday, December 12, 2011

Donate one present to Fukushima this holiday season to Create a Nuclear Power Free World

"A nuclear power free world- for my grand-grandchildren's generation" What is a nuclear free world to you? Post your photos and messages here.
An appeal from the organizers of the Global Conference for a Nuclear Power Free World to be held January 14-15, 2011 in Yokohama:
Ever since March 11, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster has been having a grave impact on the people of Fukushima. Radioactive material has been found in mothers' breast milk and children's urine in Fukushima--evidence that peoples' lives, including the lives of future generations, are being threatened.

Today in Fukushima, state and industry are being given priority over the health and safety of the people, as demonstrated by the Japanese government raising the “safe” level of radiation exposure to twenty times its previous level, including for infants. As a result, residents in some areas are effectively condemned to suffer continuous exposure to high levels of contamination that would have made them eligible for evacuation from Chernobyl, but in Fukushima they do not qualify for any such assistance.

Those who have the financial ability to flee the area still face the great psychological burden of not knowing when--if ever--they will feel safe returning to their homes, and live in an indefinite state of uproot. Those who cannot afford to abandon their homes, land, and jobs face the daily guilt and worry that they are condemning their children and themselves to cancer and other radiation exposure diseases.

It is often difficult to feel connected with disasters around the world that you don't have direct contact with in your everyday life. Even here in Japan, the media has begun to shift away from dealing with this tragic situation and most citizens have put Fukushima in the back of their minds.

In this season of giving and of thinking of the needs of others, however, we would like to invite you to remember the people of Fukushima by giving them a present.
"A nuclear power free world is world where we can enjoy life with our children"
- Company employee, 30, Tokyo

We are asking for donations for the Global Conference for a Nuclear Power Free World--a conference in Yokohama, Japan in January of 2012 that will allow their voices to be heard, and that will amplify on an international scale their call for wiser alternatives to nuclear power. This conference will create a venue for people from all around the world to gather in Japan and respond to the reality of Fukushima.

By combining the experiences of countries around the world, the conference also aims to demonstrate that it is realistically possible to create a society--a planet--that is not dependent on nuclear power. Whilst creating a road map for the safe removal of existing nuclear power plants, international experts, activists and concerned citizens will present alternative policies based on renewable energy and propose action plans that can be implemented by Japan and other countries around the world.

Building a brighter future for the people of Fukushima starts with creating a network across borders that can begin to envision and construct a nuclear power free future--and that can also combine forces to press the Japanese government to not leave the people of Fukushima unsupported in the midst of the world's worst nuclear power plant disaster.

You too can make a difference by asking one of your friends, family members, or co-workers to donate 2,000 yen ($25 USD) to the Global Conference for a Nuclear Power Free World instead of buying you a Christmas present. One less present from the heap we tend to receive every year will hardly dent our enjoyment of the season, but each donation can help to build critical momentum to support the people of Fukushima and the future of our shared Earth.
To give your present to Fukushima click here!

2 comments:

dorien roling said...

Great action I fully support. Our children safety have to go first - We should not use nuclear power what we can not clean up, let's go for GREEN energy !!! Dorien Roling Japan
http://www.facebook.com/ATATAKAIKOKORO

TenThousandThings said...

Thank you dorien rolling. If you are interested, you can share this message at the conference by going to this site: http://www.npfree.jp/english/msgboard/list.html#!prettyPhoto

Perhaps, we can do a story about your organization Atatakaikokoro? Can I interview you over email?

Best!
Jen