"Messing with the Atom is the Highest Form of Blasphemy"

Whenever I hear an “environmentalist” say that the solution to global warming is nuclear power, I shake my head. And then I get (wearily) on my soapbox. Yeah, maybe fission itself doesn’t create CO2, but what about:

-mining plutonium (CO2 generating, destroys landscapes, rips open the Earth)
-transporting raw materials for fission to plants (CO2-producing)
-heated waste water (water is needed to cool nuclear reactors, which is often dumped into local water supplies, killing fish and destroying the local ecosystem)
-disposal of nuclear waste (transportation, which is CO2 generating and also poisonous to ALL life for Tens of Thousands of years!)

Coal, Oil, and natural gas also have many of these same problems AND generate CO2. You know what doesn’t? Solar, wind, and small hydro. Yes, they all have some toxic burden and use energy to create the original units, but after they are installed? Free, carbon-free energy. This is where we should be investing our money.

Lyrics to “The Atom”
by Ani DiFranco

the glory of the atom
begs a reverent word
the primary design of the whole universe
let us sing its praises
let us bow our heads in prayer
at the magnificent consciousness
incarnate there

the smallest unit of matter
with its orbiting electrons
echoing off the solar system
like a hawk in the hills at dawn
the smallest unit of matter
uniting bird and rock and tree
and you and me

oh holy is the atom
the truly intelligent design
to which all of evolution
is graciously aligned
the one single structure
to which everything distills
the air, the wood smoke there, and the hills

oh leave me here surrounded
by everything that’s real
far outside the boundaries
of the digitized ordeal
leave me here awake
leave me here to heal

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 had a 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 doom

messing with the atom
is the highest form of blasphemy
whether you are making weapons
or simply electricity
someone fashion me a pulpit
i have been called to engage
with the maniacal heretics
of the nuclear age

let the religious get religion
let consumers get a clue
let scientists get perspective
let activists get their due
let industry get a conscience
let the earth inherit the meek
let the divinity of nature speak

the glory of the atom
begs a reverent word
the primary design
of the whole universe
oh let us sing its praises
let us bow our heads in prayer
at the magnificent consciousness
incarnate there