Ani DiFranco - The Atom (03.11.2008) Tampa

Lest you think that my last post was too flippant or too creepy, or that I don't take nuclear power seriously, here is one of my favorite songs EVER. As if nuclear weapons aren't bad enough, we use the same technology to create electricity, and politicians want to create more nuclear power plants. Seriously?



These are my favorite lines:

human beings are a cross
between monkeys and ants
you can see us from your spaceship
melting the polar ice caps
with our arrogance
summon a congress of angels
dressed in riot gear
we've got ourselves a serious situation
down here

i have this great great uncle
who worked on the atomic bomb
he got a nobel prize in physics
and a place in this song
and i bet there were no windows
and no women in the room
when they applied themselves
to the pure science of
boom

Here's a nice, clean, audio recording.


Nuclear power is stupid. I have heard, and really considered, the arguments in favor of it. It produces so little waste. It's "cleaner". It's cheap. (Or not). We can generate nuclear power without depending on other countries. I get it.  But unless you can find a solution--a real solution--to that minor toxic waste problem, how can we possibly consider MORE plants. And even if that was worked out, what about the risks associated with "minor" accidents? It's not even something that we should be discussing.

Rather than fucking around with nature in order to run all of our electric shit, why don't we USE LESS energy and focus on alternatives, rather than burning shit or splitting atoms? We can create a mushroom cloud, but green energy isn't really feasible? Pfft.