Protest will mark atomic bomb

August 5, 2006

By Gordon Dritschilo Herald Staff

Anti-nuclear activists will gather in Rutland on Sunday to mark the 61st anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The event, sponsored by Central Vermont Peace and Justice, begins at 8:15 a.m. with an interfaith ceremony in Main Street Park. The service coincides with others around the world marking the time of the dropping of the bomb on Hiroshima.

Other activities include an eight-mile walk and a presentation at 6 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Rutland on the dangers of nuclear power and nuclear weapons.

"There's a number of different resolutions being proposed in our Congress and the (United Nations) that look at true nonproliferation," organizer Carol Tashie said. "We have a wonderful treaty that the U.S. and many other nations have signed that is not being respected by our country and other countries."

Tashie said it was hard for the United States to have moral leadership on the issue when our government gets upset with Iran over peaceful development of nuclear power, which is supposed to be allowed under the treaty, while encouraging India to develop a nuclear weapons program.

Tashie said she was not a fan of the peaceful uses of nuclear technology, either.

"Recently, nuclear power has raised its ugly head again as a solution to our oil crisis, our global warming crisis," she said. "People like myself believe that is false. Nuclear energy produces greenhouse gasses. Nuclear energy requires uranium mining, which is dangerous to people and the environment. Uranium itself is not a renewable source of energy."

On top of that, Tashie said that mishaps at nuclear power plants can be catastrophic and that there is still no safe and reliable way of disposing of nuclear waste.

"The only solution to our energy problem has to be a belief in conservation, looking at the way we use power and making some hard decisions," she said. "Nuclear power is not going to get us out of our energy crisis."

Contact Gordon Dritschilo at gordon.dritschilo@rutlandherald.com.