Gaia, and Nuclear Waste

There is deep complacency in the claim that radioactive waste on a massive scale can be stored safely and ad infinitum anywhere, let alone in a centre of tourism and where people live and work. Indeed, nowhere on the planet would be a safe repository: an earthquake or tsunami, for example, or even an asteroid, could expose the nuclear toxins with deadly effect, and our planetary history shows how periodically an intense occurrence of nature has devastated large parts of the world - and without the added danger of radioactivity that we have now. While the people of Cumbria have expressed outrage at the proposal that their home land should be used as a nuclear waste dump, and every other part of the UK has refused to consider the idea, I have heard no-one talk about the impact of drilling a huge underground radioactive lake on Gaia herself. It is so often forgotten that the earth beneath our feet is a living organism, as alive and sentient as you and I: every time a hole is made, a well sunk or a probe inserted beneath the ground, she feels it and it can hurt if, as happens so often, it is done carelessly and with dishonour. Imagine the pain, the hurt of being invaded, carved up and used as a dump for the worst waste possible. How would you feel if you were similarly treated? The irony is that dumping nuclear waste anywhere on Earth is indeed dumping it in you, for you are as much a part of Gaia as your hair is a part of your head. If each of us realised how interconnected we are with every thing and everyone, we would know the importance of honouring them as we honour and care for ourselves. There would be no question about developing risky nuclear power, for compassionate and viable alternatives would be found, in the interests of us all. Despite our human unawareness of our planetary links and responsibilities, it is not too late to do better in our relationship with our Earth Mother.]]>