Report on CAN Nuclear Summit Meeting 9/21/12 in DC Don Eichelberger At the congressional briefing scheduled on 9/19 by Rep. Kucinich, S. David Freeman said that he had been in meetings with "some of the best people in the world", but had still seen frustratingly little movement in efforts to stop nukes. He said even the highly touted vote to shut down Rancho Seco was actually just a vote for SMUD to stop operating the nuke, and Duke, Entergy and others were lining up to run it. If not for his strategic position as head of SMUD, they would likely have had their way. So, it was with some trepidation that I stepped into the room full of some of the best people in the world I had been in a room with at the 9/21 summit meeting. About 40 people sat in the room, representing most regions of the US, many with over 30 years working on the issue. As the meeting progressed, stresses were apparent. Frustrations were expressed at the intransigents of regulators and decision-makers and the low turn-out for anti-nuclear events, including this one, with thousands protesting in Japan, Italy, and Germany. We had to remind ourselves that America is a vast, diverse, relatively conservative country, and the three countries mentioned are all about the size of California. We spent a lot of time brainstorming strategies and tactics, and there was general agreement that a vast educational campaign is needed to let people know about the dangers the mainstream media is not telling about. It was also agreed that more focus is needed on social justice aspects. Dine from New Mexico spoke of how much of the uranium came from indigenous land, and most of the wastes are likely to go there unless they can get help, which means more than white people coming in and telling them what needs to be done. They know what to do; they just need access to the resources we can provide, and to not be an afterthought of the movement. There were a great number of tactics brainstormed, but not much headway was made in prioritizing them in to a coherent strategy of actions.I have listed a few of the ideas for action below, in no particular order of priority, in the hope that folks might be enticed to follow up on them until something more coherent can be developed. Harvey Wasserman said he is interested in doing economic studies of what it would take for each of our nukes to be replaced by renewables and conservation. I have offered to help with that effort. Karl (with a K) Grossman said we need to make best use of social media to get our word out, and major environmental groups, except Greenpeace, PSR, FoE, and (maybe) Sierra Club, are not good on the issue and need work. Social justice, as mentioned above, was deemed a very important concern.As part of the mining, milling and waste issues, we also need to craft a message that speaks to the power dynamics of energy industries, and their oppressive tactics used in their siting, including decolonization of tribal lands. As well, amending the national Mine Workers' Compensation Act was an effort being made in New Mexico.Miners impacted by uranium mining after 1971 are given no benefits, and that needs to be addressed. Also, national gatherings such as this one should offer travel stipends to allow less affluent constituencies to take part.And our taking out our frustrations at each other through flaming was seen as not good for strengthening our community.Meetings of native people always begin and end with a prayer, and it was suggested that it would be good for our meetings to incorporate prayers or centering meditations and a kinder tone. There was much self-criticism at not having more people of color in attendance, and we need to focus on building minority constituencies in to our ranks.As we do so, we also need to recognize that a great many minorities come from lower economic means, and have other obstacles to participation, especially in direct action-type activities. A large number of minorities have had close shaves with police and societal racism, and do not trust the criminal justice system to look out for their free speech rights. Additionally, we must try to bridge concerns about nuclear with the realities faced in poor communities, who might be inclined to favor "clean" nuclear power as a replacement for the soot of coal and natural gas fired plants, which add to the scourge of asthma and other respiratory illnesses in these communities. Much thought needs to be given on how to sensitively bridge those gaps to involvement. Along this line, we are saddened that our first elected black president gets so much backing from the nuclear industry and is outspokenly pro-nuke.One answer to this was posed to me by a member of the National Black Political Caucus I met, who were in DC this week for a national gathering.He suggested that Michelle Obama, with her focus on childhood health and nutrition might be reachable on food safety issues, and should be approached. A lot of ideas were presented to try and break the media blockade against the issue.Mainstream media is seen largely as useless and in industry pockets, and there was a general feeling expressed that we need to tell our own stories through independent media and find innovative ways to use social media. But there was also a fear that, unless mainstream media could be mobilized, we hold slim chances of reaching a mass audience.Such ideas were suggested as setting up editorial board meetings to discuss the issue, calling media outlets and journalists who do bad, misleading or inaccurate reporting on the issue, and reaching out to media celebrities, like Tom Brokaw, and try to get their support (some feel, for instance, that Walter Cronkite's news reports had a lot of influence in stopping the Viet Nam War). Along this line, we also need to produce good visuals and research and buy magazine ads, etc. to get our word out. In the absence of mainstream media, we need to concentrate on the grassroots, and hold street actions that can involve more people, again utilizing Internet and social networks to build numbers.CAN will be discussing nationally coordinated actions the end of October in the lead-up to the election to try and get attention to the cause. Another suggestion was to form speaker bureaus to go speak at Rotary Clubs, Business Associations, Kiwanis, Elks, 4-H Clubs, student clubs, etc. Also to target constituencies who would be adversely affected by nuclear releases, such as farmers, fishermen, real estate agents, and the tourism industry. The idea was also suggested of needing to mobilize internationally on the issue, perhaps through a UN Resolution, as well as building solidarity with people of Fukushima Diichi, Chernobyl, and indigenous communities around the world impacted with contamination. We also need to focus on conservation and renewables, and make clear we do not support fracked natural gas,mountain top removal coal (or any other, for that matter) or shale oil pipelines to replace nuclear. These suggestions are what I gleaned from this gathering.A lot of information was shared, and I am sure this is not an exhaustive list of things people might do.But it is a start toward ordering thoughts that might evolve in to a PLAN. Finally, CAN invited local efforts to be shared on their web site in the "Take Action" section to help build the community and sense of something being done. http://coalitionagainstnukes.org/ -- Don Eichelberger Abalone Alliance Safe Energy Clearinghouse/ Nuclear Free California Shut down nuclear power www.nuclearfreecal.org/nfcnet/ www.energy-net.org Occupy the Oligarchy at Bohemian Grove 2012 www.occupybohemiangrove.com more info at http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2012/03/01/18708527.php More about me at www.Facebook.com/Don Eichelberger Check my original music at www.MySpace.com/donnyfix "The government of an exclusive company of merchants is, perhaps, the worst of all governments for any country whatever." Adam Smith, "Wealth of Nations" Ch.7 "When there's a huge solar energy spill, it's just called a 'nice day'." -author unknown-