A Christmas Peril
Today – Public Citizen, Beyond Nuclear, Friends of the Earth and the Nuclear Information Resource Service staged street theater based on Charles Dickens’s, A Christmas Carol.
The street theater was held as part of the international “Don’t Nuke the Climate” action day, with over 200 events being held in 10 countries, intended to block nuclear power multi-nationals from exploiting the Copenhagen, Denmark climate negotiations to resuscitate their moribund industry at public expense
The cast of characters — from atomic robber baron Montgomery Burns of The Simpsons to ghosts of nuclear power’s past, present, and future, as well as depictions of solar power, wind energy, and energy efficiency – assembled in front of the Department of Energy to deliver the message that nuclear power -costly, dirty and inherently dangerous –is not a viable solution to climate change.
The last time I participated in a Christmas play I was second solo in a piece called, “Up on the Rooftop”, a song that takes great pains to describe the roof–to-stocking process of delivering presents from the North Pole. And while Santa’s one night a year job deserves its due attention, today’s play focused on critical issues that are currently being debated in both the halls of Congress and on the international climate stage.
At the end of the play, Scrooge Burns realizes the error of his greedy ways and hands over all his federal handouts to the sun, wind and efficiency characters. Here’s hoping life imitates art. But just in case that Christmas miracle doesn’t happen, please call both your Senators and demand that they oppose any effort to add nuclear subsidies to the Senate
climate bill.
Allison Fisher is the Energy Organizer for Public Citizen