And there are the nuclear plant explosions.
Broadcasters say things like, "Japan is the best-prepared country for handling a crisis like this," and "Of course Japan has extensive experience in rebuilding." I wonder how many Americans remember where that need for rebuilding came from, and how exactly we all know so much about the effects of radiation on the human body.
Further, I wonder how many Canadians know their own country's contribution to the development of nuclear weapons.
In 1998, Gordon Edwards wrote an anti-nuclear policy piece for the Montreal Gazette. It includes a brief summary of the work performed by Canadian scientists in Montreal during World War II. A link to it is here.
It's an excellent synopsis. Here are two relevant paragraphs:
In 1942, the British moved their own plutonium-production research team to Montreal -- away from the Luftwaffe, closer to the Americans. Canada paid all expenses, and Canadian scientists joined the team.
The Montreal Lab focussed on the best ways to produce plutonium for Bombs. The French group was there too, with their heavy water. It was known that reactors moderated with heavy water would produce more plutonium.
My mother was one of those Canadian scientists. A mathematician with a Ph.D. from Radcliffe (the part of Harvard open to women at the time), she worked directly with researchers who went on to lead computing and theoretical groups at Los Alamos National Laboratory after the war.
Los Alamos--where both Fat Man and Little Boy grew up.
And, by the way, where you'll find Otowi Station Bookstore and Science Museum Shop, an excellent store with an extensive collection of books about history and science, as well as nice people and fun science toys. You should go there.
I am of course proud of my mother and her work. And it makes no sense to blame anyone now for the fact that we know so much about the effect of radiation on the human body.
At this point, we can apply what we have learned to fix the current situation. As the immediate crisis passes, we can also make sure we apply what we've learned so we can prevent nuclear accidents in the future.
And finally, we can dig through the butterflies-and-puppies, mushy elements of phrases like "we're all connected" to remember that in vital and direct ways, we really are all connected, in all our human frailty.
