You need to know this. As the death toll soars from last Friday’s 9.0 earthquake and tsunami – 50 Japanese nuclear plant workers are putting their lives on the line to prevent another catastrophe in Japan – nuclear meltdown. All 6 GE Mark I reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant are dangerously close to melting down – but that’s not even the worst of it. Sitting on top of each reactors are pools of nuclear waste that contain larger amounts of harmful radiation than the reactors themselves.

And there are reports that those pools of waste are overheating – catching fire – and spewing that highly toxic radioactive waste into the atmosphere. It’s like a massive dirty bomb being constantly detonated over the plant. Late last night – the remaining workers at the plant were evacuated due to extreme levels of radiation detected when pressure was relieved from one of the reactors. Those workers returned shorty after the radiation subsided.

While their heroics should be recognized – it’s starting to look like they’re playing a losing game of whack-a-mole. As they desperately try to cool one reactor with seawater – the other reactors start to overheat – and so on. We should be taking note here in the United States. We have 104 operational nuclear power plants dotting the country – and many of them use the very same Mark 1 reactor design that is now under criticism in Japan.

A reactor that was designed by General Electric - that prompted 3 GE workers to resign 35 years ago in protest because they argued the design was flawed and the reactor would be unable to contain nuclear material should a cooling system malfunction occur. And it turns out today - these guys were right. Japan is not some third world nation – their power grid is just as advanced as ours – if not more so – so to believe that what’s happening there couldn’t happen here is naïve.

But...wait! There's more....

While the rest of the world reconsiders nuclear power – Americans could get screwed by elected representatives who are snugly in the pocket of the nuclear energy lobby. Switzerland, Germany, and even Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela have all put a hold on nuclear power pending a full review. But in America – where money and politics are fused together – it’s unlikely the same sort of precautions will be taken here.

Politico notes that last year – the nuclear power lobby spent tens of millions of dollars in campaign contributions and lobbying efforts to ensure a future spot in America’s energy portfolio. And like the big oil lobby – these guys don’t even blink at the future risks posed by their industry.

Let’s hope it doesn’t take a catastrophe like what’s happening in Japan – to happen here – before our elected representatives wake up to the dangers of nuclear power.

-Thom

(Do you think America will move away from nuclear power now? Tell us here.)

Community Square

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The Daily Stack

Quote: "If any man tells you he loves America, yet hates labor, he is a liar. If any man tells you he trusts America, yet fears labor, he is a fool." -- Abraham Lincoln.

Hour One: Rally on...other states follow Wisconsin's lead with John Nichols of The Nation Magazine...

Article: "Thousands of union members march on Annapolis" by Julie Bykowicz.

Article: "Republicans plan big fundraiser in D.C." by Daniel Bice.

Article: "Wisconsin GOP Senators Head to Washington to Collect Their Payoffs, er, Campaign Contributions " by John Nichols.

Article: "Groups to protest GOP fundraiser in D.C." by Daniel Bice.

Article: "Wisconsin recall: 3 GOP state senators trail Generic Dem, more at risk" by David Nir for Daily Kos.

Article: "Pa. sued after it allowed health care plan to end" by AP.

Article: Chapter One: The Deciding Moment? from "Unequal Protection"

Article: "Nuclear industry lobbyists' clout felt on Hill" by Darren Samuelsohn.

Site: "Carl in the morning" with Carl Wolfson.

Book: "We Almost Lost Detroit" by John G. Fuller.

Site: "theyrule.net".

Speech: "State of the Union 1888 by President Grover Cleveland, 3 December 1888".

Article: "Chernobyl clean-up expert slams Japan, IAEA" by Michael Shields.

Hour Two: Reporting from Tokyo on manufacturing and radiation Eamonn Fingleton, Economics writer; Author of numerous books, most recent "In the Jaws of the Dragon".

Book: "In the Jaws of the Dragon: America's Fate in the Coming Era of Chinese Hegemony" by Eamonn Fingleton.

Article: "Broken Links: How much will the Japan quake hurt the global economy?" by Eamonn Fingleton.

Article: "Tokyo, Briefly Terrified by Quake, Recovers Quickly" by Eamonn Fingleton.

Article: "Foreign bankers flee Tokyo as nuclear crisis deepens" by Nachum Kaplan and Denny Thomas.

Article: "Japan quake triggers nuclear power reappraisal".

Article: "Rep. Steve King Not In Favor Of Restoring Tsunami Funding, Warns Against ‘Over-Reacting’" by George Zornick.

Crazy alert: "Alexander A. Welch, Boise Fake Cop, Uses Smart-Phone App to Pull Over Vehicle" by Curtis Cartier.

Article: "Four New York Times Journalists Are Missing in Libya" by Jeremy W. Peters.

Article: "Radiation Found On Lester Holt, NBC News Crew In Japan (VIDEO)".

Hour Three: Have working families taken over the Michigan State Capitol today? with Mark Gaffney, President of AFL-CIO of Michigan.

Article: "Emergency managers bill waits for governor's signature" by Matt Franklin.

Article: "Scott Walker Pitted Himself Against Protesters In 1988 Marquette Student Body Election " by Sam Stein.

Book: "The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism" by Naomi Klein.

Should there be a tax on millionaires and billionaires? Thom asks Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, U.S. Congresswoman (D-IL, 9th District).

Article: "Jan Schakowsky Introduces Bill To Raise Taxes For Wealthiest Americans" by Lucia Graves.

Article: "Why We Should Raise Taxes on the Super-Rich and Lower Them on the Middle Class" by Robert Reich.

Article: "Americans Overwhelmingly Support Millionaires Surtax To Tackle Deficit, Reject Cuts To Social Programs " by George Zornick.

The good: "Pro-Labor Group Working America Recruits 20,000 New Wisconsin Members In Wake Of Budget Protests" by Amanda Terkel.

The bad: "Jim DeMint’s Theory Of Relativity: ‘The Bigger Government Gets, The Smaller God Gets’ " by Scott Keyes.

The very, very ugly: "Gingrich: NAFTA Worked Because It Created Jobs In Mexico" by Alex Seitz-Wald.

Article: "Thom Hartmann: You’re Getting Screwed!" by Hustler.

Article: "Thom Hartmann in Hustler Magazine on GOP Double Speak".

Site: "Conversations With Great Minds ... with Thom Hartmann".

Video: "Conversations with Great Minds - US Rep. Dennis Kucinich. Part 1".

Video: "Conversations with Great Minds - US Rep. Dennis Kucinich. Part 2".

Site: "RadiationNetwork.com".

Article: "On April 4, Stand in Solidarity with Working People" by James Parks.

Site: "opensecrets.org".

Full Monty alert: "Restaurants score sales with March Madness promos" by Allison Ross.

Site: "Daily Kos".

Book: "Web of Debt", Ellen Brown.

Article: "Chamber Hires Ex-AG To Lobby On FCPA" by Joe Palazzolo.

Article: "The Pro-Bullying Lobby: Conservative Leader Explains Why He Is Mobilizing Against Anti-Bullying Measures" by Lee Fang.

Article: "House Republicans to hold 'emergency' meeting on NPR funding after James O'Keefe sting video" by Aliyah Shahid.

Coming up Thursday on The Thom Hartmann Program

Hour Two: Geeky Science Rocks - Meet the Fockers?! How inlaws transformed early human society.

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