Oct./Nov. 1982 RAIN Page 31 Nukes Nuclear Califomia; An Investigative Report, edited by David E. Kaplan, 1982,144 pp., $6.95 ppd, from: Greenpeace/Center for Investigative Reporting Building E. Fort Mason San Francisco, CA 94123 We have been convinced that the government is hying to regulate the unregulatable, limit the unlimitable. The simple truth is: nuclear technology is out ofcontrol. Any sane government policy must be founded on that central fact. More than 30 years after the advent of nuclear technology, the time to inventory the nuclear materials around us has come. Nuclear Califomia is the first work to trace the flows of all known nuclear materials into and out of Califomia. Discussions of the mining, transportation and dumping of radioactive materials vividly iUustrate how these substances permeate the California economy. But the book has relevance outside of Califomia, too. It challenges each of us to consider the stmcture and future that nuclear technology presents for our society as a whole. Tlie many authors seriously question whether a safe and healthy environment, a stable economy and social freedoms can be preserved given the increasing presence of nuclear technology in our communities. Nuclear Califomia describes important events that have gone virtually unreported: a commercial reactor meltdown in Los Angeles in 1959, several suspected nuclear terrorist alerts, and instances of potentially dangerous siting, transporting and handling of nuclear materials. The authors emphasize that we know less about the safety of our communities than we should, while tmsting those who deal with these materials to behave responsibly. Whether or not we have radioactive wastes or nuclear arms in our communities does not depend solely upon our elected officials. It depends also on how much responsibility each of us is willing to accept in creating a healthy, living community. Nuclear Califomia reinforces the idea that we must reject an economy increasingly based on national defense exp>enditures, an environment subjected to irreparable deterioration due to radioactive wastes, and community health and democratic freedoms eroded and sacrificed for nuclear development. It is our choice. — Jim Riker TOUCH AND GO ERA and the Atomic Bomb Phyllis Schlafly, fresh from her triumph over the Equal Rights Amendment, has other comforts too. "The atomic bomb," she says, "is a marvelous gift that was given to our country by a wise God." — The Progressive Long Terni Investments According to University of Minnesota economist Joel B. Slemrod, the public's fear of nuclear war may be responsible for our sagging economy. In response to this, Marc Ringel has suggested we may need to create new invesment possibilities such as bonds that mature in 100,000 years — long enough to outlast the radiation. — Mother Jones Paperwork Reduction Act Notice The paperwork reduction act of 1980 says we must tell you why we are collecting this information, how we will use it, and whether you have to give it to us. We ask for the information to carry out the Internal Revenue laws of the United States. We need it to ensure that taxpayers are complying with these laws and to allow us to figure and collect the right amount of tax. You are required to give us this information. — U.S. Dept, of Treasury Memo, 11/81 Japanese Bureaucracy The entire Japanese government has but 506,000 employees. Thus, a nation with a population half the size of ours manages to make do with a bureaucracy that is less than one-fifth the size of our own. — Washington Monthly Cactus Shot/Man Killed David M. Grundman was reported to have shot at a cactus, hitting one of its large branches. He was killed when the branch struck him. — New Age Pigeons in the Electronic Communication Era Lockheed uses carrier pigeons for inter-office mail between its Sunnyside and Santa Cruz offices. — East-West Journal What Animal repulses You? Least favorite animals according to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service survey are: rats, cockroaches, mosquitos, wasps, rattlesnakes and bats. Ifyou know ofitems which xvould be appropriatefor this column, please send (together with citation) to: Touch & Go, RAIN, 2270 NW Irving, Portland, OR 97210.
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