March 11, 2012, marks the first anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster and resultant meltdown. Given the gravity and extensiveness of its effects one might hypothesize that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) here in the United States might be out there flexing its muscle and ensuring the safety of all Americans from similarly tragic events as they never before have. Wrong.

Power Plant Safety, Security,Emergency Evacuation Plans, and Emissions

Status of Nuclear Reactors: According to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) (Earthwise, Spring 2012) some forty-seven reactors in the USA fail to comply with 1980 as ammended in 2004 fire regulations. As for voluntary plans, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), where plans are in place, most of the plants that have them are unprepared for their implementation. And then there is the question of whether or not the ten-mile radius evacuation plans would be adequate in both breadth and feasibility in the event of a reactor meltdown. My take on it: It wouldn't hurt if you were to call your Senator or Representative requesting the NRC institute needed reforms suggested by the above facts. Contact number for all Senators and Representative is Capitol Switchboard (202) 224-3121.

However safety and security are more than nuclear plant safety, security, and emergency response plans. So let us look at other concerns related clean air, global warming effects, and keeping healthy.

Emissions and Clean Air: It may have taken the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) twenty years to do it, however in December 2011 it finalized a set of national standards designed to limit the toxic emissions of power plants powered by coal and oil. My take on it: Bodes the promise of cleaner air and a push toward cost saving by increasing our reliance on renewable energy.

Effects of Global Warming

Electricity Use: During summer months in 2011 when forty-two states had above normal summer temperatures, instead of the increased demand lowering the cost of electricity, the providers increased the price of a megawatt-hour from $100 to $350. My take on it: Contrary the belief about the effect of lesser demand on supply and cost prices, greed ruled the day.

Crop Production:Coffee production in Costa Rica dropped 44% since 2000 in part due to an increase of 2 1/2 percent average increase in warm days in each of the last four decades. And on the flip side, for those crops requiring a certain number of winter "chill days," by the middle of this century, states such as Pennsylvania may achieve the required minimum in chill-hours for optimal bud formation for apples only one out of two winters. That scenario assumes the increase in warming emissions globally will continue without decrease. My take on it: At the rate we are going, start thinking tea and bananas rather than coffee and apples.

Farmers' Markets: Since 1970 the number of farmer's markets has increased a remarkable twenty-one times--from 340 to 7,175 in number.  My take on it: Where regular people can have some control they not only watch finances, they will strive to maintain a safe and healthy diet.

For more on the Union of Concerned Scientists go to www.ucsusa.org.

Roberta in Po-Town

When I decided to write Jolt: a rural noir, my intent (simply stated) was to change the world. The decision to attempt such a gargantuan feat followed a conversation with Colonel William Dickerson, instructor-oncologist. It took place at the close of a weeklong class in Bethesda, MD, which he taught and I attended on the Medical Effects of Ionizing Radiation (MEIR).

It is important in this discussion to consider the time. It was, if I recall accurately, early 2002, just shortly after the events of 9/11. New York, my home state, was still in shock. As for myself, I was determined to learn all that I could to save my friends and family and to share it with them in the event there was to be a follow-up to 9/11.

I had started my quest earlier with the MEIR course having been preceded by a prior week-long intensive course on Weapons of Mass Distruction (WMD) which more appropriately although somewhat euphemistically referred to as 'mass events.' After all, rather than weapons of intent, such happenings could as easly be the result of neglect, accident, or severe climatic or seismic events--recall Katrina, Fukushima, or more recently Irene. Not to mention the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant currently in litigation over whether it can or cannot be closed by the State of Vermont without the consent of the Federal Government. And so, as you may have noted, when such clarifying and innocent information is taken into consideration, the appropriateness of the use of the term weapon is negated in the search for a neutral, all-inclusive vocabulary choice.

At this time, however, my ten-year mission has evolved from a solitary enterprise into what has become a combination of getting to know all kinds of wonderful people--writers, publishers, artists, musicians, and booklovers from around the world--most of whom I would not have met had I not ventured first into the world of writing followed by self-publishing then blogging and finally the happy posting and publishing of others works--ALVA Visiting Writers' Page and the publication of Kristen Henderson's marvelously passionate book of poems in Drum Machine come January. Still there lurks beneath the surface of my various ventures and dalliances my sincere desire that you will not only read Jolt: a rural noir, but enjoy and benefit from having read it.

As for my interest in learning about effective response and survival while serving the greater good, come January 19-20, 2012, I shall again, as a member of the Dutchess County Volunteer Medical Reserve Corps participate in a sixteen hour course on Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). Why? Because learning about how to effectively respond in emergency situations, whether they be natural disasters or WMDs of a CBRNE (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosive) nature or MEIR (Medical Effects of Ionizing Radiation) not only gives me the sense I can be of greater service in the world, it calms me.

And that dear reader is the reason why I do hope you will order yourself a copy of Jolt: a rural noir in eBook, paperback, or hard cover form at http://alvapressinc.com. Jolt was more than five years in the writing and all who have read it to date say it proved both entertaining and informative. Hopefully it will for you, too.

All best wishes for a Safe, Fruitful, and Happy New Year!

Roberta in Po-Town

Healed but different. More enlightened yet lacking in answers. 9/11. Living near a power plant and not really understanding about nuclear plant construction, nuclear power, and emergency nuclear power plant shutdowns, post 9/11 I began my quest to quell my fears for myself and my loved ones. Frantic for knowledge on how we might protect ourselves in the event of a meltdown in the nearby power plant, I took one course after another to learn how to respond to mass events.

My studies culminated in the week long intensive CBERN course in Bethesda, MD, which addressed effective response measures to most likely potential chemical, biological, explosive, radiological, and nuclear mass events. If nothing else was to be learned from CBERN study, it was that being informed and following researched-based procedures and protocols was the best defense.

But my concern was nuclear meltdown. I wanted us safe if the plant near us were to go down. To do that, I needed us infomed and so, presumptuous individual that I am, I set out to write books on the subject of survival that any reader might care to read. I would write Jolt: a rural noir and Too Close. 

I thought writing them would be a challenge, but I could do it. And ten years later what I thought would be a short term commitment has become my life. Yes, I continue to strive to get my book Jolt: rural noir into the hands of the readers likely to be most in need of it--the least informed.

Jolt: a rural noir was written specifically for the enlightenment and entertainment of non-military and non-medical members of out society. It has been recognized with a 2011 Living Now Award in Inspirational Fiction. Well-researched and filled with entertaining characters and sub plots, the few hundred people who have read it have enjoyed it. Still, to date the generaly population has not been exactly knocking down the door to read it. Yet those who have read it report reading it not only once, but twice!--once for the story and following the Fukushima event, once for the information on nuclear response it contains.

That said, my regrets at this time are two. First is that to get the word out is so difficult because my time is limited by my full time employment as a speech language pathologist and the task demands the use of my every free second. My second is that unless the situation changes, I doubt I shall ever have the time to write Jolt's sequel, Too Close.

Jolt: a rural noir is the story of the survival of those who lived thirty miles or further from the Magdum Heights terrorism and meltdown. Too Close is to be the story of two people in Jolt who were nearer the plant when it went down. The first survives with moderate radiation sickness; the second survives blunt trauma and is forced to live with minimum traumatic brain injury or mTBI. mTBI is what so many returning military personnel are exhibiting as a result of IED explosions. 

Too Close was started a couple of years ago and with something of an outline and several chapters written, it just sits. Very sad--for it had been my intent to invite the reader to observe the work of a speech language pathologist with a mTBI patient and to learn as they did to also review in a parallel aspect of the book, the stages and essentials to radiation sickness survival. 

So unless something magic happens and money--which could equal time--falls from the skies, I am caught between my desire to write and my need to encourage people to read Jolt: a rural noir--the latter of which has turned into my desire to expand the size and reach of Alva Press, Inc.

So how can you help? Let me say straight: Open yourself to reading my book. Support the cause by buying a copy. Or if you are an emerging and tentative writer with a book in need of editing and wanting to publish and eBook, let Alva Press do that for you, list it on its website, and prepare it for further distribution.

ALVA is looking for well-researched and thought out books for publication. And as most writers could stand a boost, ALVA will publish the first three accepted for publication as an eBook free.

Meantime, please use the ALVA website at http://alvapressinc.com to order yourself a soft cover, hard cover, or eBook copy of Jolt: a rural noir. 

Roberta in Po-Town, Reachin'out

There's a calm to survival and a kind of tension that when its over one can still feel.

One moonlit night years back, my friend Malcolm Mooney and I bounced across the sands of the ocean side in Truro on Cape Cod. It was then I learned that the moon lights only the side of the dune that faces it. The results of this fact on that night were near disaster. 

Riding up the dark side of a dune, somehow we underestimated the steepness of its incline and instead of climbing it to churn down its other side, we tipped the buggy upwards first and then over backwards and I recall thinking as I flew through space, "Try not to hit Malcolm."

What must have occurred in the space of seconds seemed like an eternity. My system on full alert, my senses heightened, I recall carrying out my plan to stay in control and to avoid hurting Malcolm.

Despite the black, the image of my hands was clear in my mind. Five fingers spread, I placed a hand here and then there on the inner side of the roof before we landed with a jolt. With no recollection of an exit to tie my cartwheels to my no longer being in the buggy, invisible in the dark of the shadow of the sandhill, Malcolm beside me, blind in the darkness, the two of us laughing and crying at once and patting one another here and there and hugging and asking again and again, "Are you all right? Are you all right?"

And then it was over. Somehow, I don't remember how, we righted and boarded the buggy and drove homeward as if nothing had occurred out of the ordinary. 

Neither of us ever mentioned it again. An totally encapsulated event, it was too simple on the one hand and too complex on the other to ever share. It comes to me now only because of Hurricane Irene.

For two days now we have been battening down, filling our gas tanks, readying cash, checking our water supply, reading the papers, checking the television, calling each other, planning for just in case . . . just in case the lights go out . . . just in case the winds reach 60 miles per hour . . . just in case it floods . . . just in case the answering machines won't work . . . just in case the cell phone goes dead . . . just in case . . . all the time hoping that nothing happens and all are safe.

Awake in the night to the sounds of the winds and the rains. Tired in the day for reasons inexplicable. Grumpier than usual. And more gregarious. And laughing more than usual. And making sure to account for where everyone of import in ones life will be . . . and whether or not they are ready.

My son takes his boat from the water and primes the gas-run generator for his home. Divorced these long years, his father and I function as a pair of responsible parents and the three of us take down the awning from my son's store. Just in case.

Already the wind has broken a window. My son covers it with black foam core. Not the time to cut and install a window in its usual way.

The weather forecast changes constantly: The winds will arrive at 2:00 a.m. The winds will arrive by 9:00 p.m. There will be no winds. There will be winds. You have it wrong.

The weather becomes something over which people argue. Then finally, agreement: For our area Irene has been downgraded from Hurricane to Tropical Storm status. Winds will gust to between 30 and 60 miles an hour. It will be done here in Po-Town by 2:00 in the afternoon after which the rain will stop while winds persist until 9:00 in the evening.

Shelters are opening all over the place to house the homeless, most of whom will come from low-lying floodzones, but some because of power outages and the damage of fallen trees.

However where we are, the electicity stays. The winds are kind. The rain does not puddle. The ground is absorbent. For us it is over. 

Strange feeling.

Instead of elation, a kind of a sense of let down. It's over. Is it over? Let's eat together. Let's visit. Let's check out that everyone dear is okay. We know there is severe flooding and probably millions without power. But we are here. And we are all okay. Tired. Not really hungry.

Let's eat.

Roberta in Po-Town, Safe

My website links have all be down so long and now that they have been repaired I have so much to do to catch up that I'll be brief:

1. Tuesday's Earthquake with its epicenter in Military, VA, shook the whole East Coast of the United States. According to the WSJ twelve nuclear power plants reported unusual activity. 

2. Many of the nuclear power plants in the USA are old and have problems. Vermont Yankee is seeping nuclear materials into the waters and land around it. Indian Point sits on a fault line. Although not all power plants are of the same design, both of these are built on the model similar to one used at Fukushima.

3. Also according to the WSJ, states are being urged to offer KI pills to ward off thyroid cancer in the event of a meltdown.

So what else is new? Not much. And who wants to discuss this subject? Like nobody.

Let me ask you? Do you understand and could you use the concept of Time Distance Shielding to save your own life and the lives of the family in the event of the presence of ionizing radiation? Do you know that when a nuclear plant goes down that unlike the Chernoble plant, it shuts down rather that blowing up and creating what in effect is a plume? If you lived thirty miles from a nuclear power plant and it went down, are you informed as to how it might or might not affect you?

My bet is that even if you are informed on these matters, your loved ones are not and its the last thing you want to talk to them about. Too scarey.

Well, such an attitude is a disservice to them all. That's why I wrote Jolt: a rural noir. Nobody wanted to talk about survival in the event of a mass emergency. And certainly no one wanted to talk about nuclear survival. One woman told me that if the plant went down she'd get a lawn chair, put on her bathing suit, and go out and get a nice burn. Some burn!

So let me ask you. If you and you loved ones cannot fully answer the questions I have posed above, why have you not then purchased a copy of my book, Jolt: a rural noir? It's a fun read. Full of interesting characters caught up in varied relationships. With their own problems. Then there is some terrorism, dirty bombs, and a meltdown. Watch them balance relationship maintenance with efforts to provide for mass numbers of forced emigrants seeking food, shelter, and medical attention. Learn what they learn. Observe how having a few people informed on the issue of nuclear survival and general survival really can help in times of mass emergencies. 

Do yourself and your loved ones a favor. Order your copy of Jolt: a rural noir today at prices less than the cost of a dinner out.

Roberta in Po-Town, Author, publisher, and survival advocate