Occupy Forum: Seabrook 1977 (Nuclear Power Plant in New Hampshire) and Diablo

Information, discussion & community! Monday Night Forum!!Occupy Forum is an opportunity for open and respectful dialogueon all sides of these critically important issues!OccupyForum presentsSEABROOK 1977

In anticipation of the accelerating campaign to shut California’s last nukes — the two reactors at Diablo Canyon, near San Luis Obispo — we will view Seabrook 77, the story the of attempt to block construction of a nuclear power plant.

In April 1977, the small coastal town of Seabrook, New Hampshire became an international symbol in the battle over atomic energy. Concerned about the dangers of potential radioactive accidents, 2,500 members of the Clamshell Alliance, a coalition of environmental groups, attempted to block construction of a nuclear power plant in Seabrook. 1,414 people were arrested in that civil disobedience protest and jailed en masse in National Guard armories for two weeks.Seabrook 77 chronicles the events which made world headlines and sparked the creation of a grassroots antinuclear power movement across the United States. Scenes of the nonviolent demonstration and subsequent internment are interwoven with interviews with participants on all sides of the event, including local Seabrook residents, antinuclear activists, New Hampshire’s pro-nuclear Governor Meldrim Thomson, police and utilities officials. The film documents the erection of a tent city and negotiations with the governor and police. It follows the arrest and incarceration of the largest group (after the Vietnam war protests) of U.S. citizens incarcerated. Seabrook 77 tells the story of this seminal event of the 1970s environmental activism and shows people making history from the grassroots.

Citizen activism has closed the reactors at Humboldt, Rancho Seco and San Onofre, and stopped proposed projects at Bakersfield, Bodega and elsewhere. PG&E’s Diablo is two 1200+ megawatt monsters surrounded by earthquake faults, in a tsunami zone, out of compliance with clean water and fire safety regulations, lacking a credible evacuation plan and now completely priced out of the market by clean, cheap, safe and job-producing renewable energy. The experiences of the 1970s anti nuclear activists is relevant today, and an inspiration for what lies ahead.

Discussion and Announcements to follow.

Read background on Diablo Canyon