BE THE BRIDGE Gender and Radiation Impact Project

I know that dog! 

It is an icon for my work. This is a screen-shot from a viral video of a dog joining a high school relay race. The dog cannot "win" the race--but it changes it completely.

For 3 decades: I have been part of teams that are game changers in the nuclear debate.

Reference Girl is next up...

Prevention. Precaution. When it comes to radioactive contamination of our beautiful planet, there is no level of plutonium or cesium that is "ok" or "safe"--so, once it is out there, released, contaminating land, water, air, plants and animals, well... it is kind of too late. So, for three decades I was on the team to PREVENT more releases of radioactivity from the huge (and growing) pile of radioactive waste. 

The thing about prevention is that when we succeed, nothing happens. It is not as good, perhaps as winning a better path forward, and yet I am proud of the over 80 sites where radioactive waste would have been dumped or stored in containers that would not last very long compared to the hazards inside...that I helped to STOP during my 28 years at Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS).  

Then there are the projects that we LOST. We were intervenors in nuclear license decisions, or supporting others in a similar process--and we lost, over and over. AND over and over the nuclear corporations, or the federal regulators, after a long pause--long enough for us to official lose and the spotlight to shift, do pretty much exactly what we were pushing for. This includes canceling two nuclear new power reactor proposals in Levy County Florida...and one in Calvert County Maryland. When this happened, we would smile--and sometimes celebrate--but it is hard to take credit for winning the outcomes after a flat-out defeat. 

And then I see the video of the DOG JOINING THE RACE. 

The dog simply shows up on the field...and loves to run--probably thinks the relay baton is a stick... and is running to get it. In any case, when we see the dog enter the race, it changes everything. That is what our work in the nuclear arena has done.

And it is what Reference Girl will do too. 

Gender and Radiation and our partners do not have the authority to adopt a new Reference Individual for federal radiation safety regulations--however we do have the expertise to conduct a good process, informed by communities on the Frontline, and others who share our concerns--and those who have expertise to  make the draft better. And we will change the entire picture, just by getting out there.  

(For details about Reference Girl see: https://www.genderandradiation.org/reference-girl )

This project is "fundable" by institutional donors--maybe even federal research money... but that takes time.

Support for this project now will BUILD A BRIDGE to when we (hopefully) obtain foundation funding. It will make the difference between the dog staying on its leash on the lawn and watching from the sidelines--or the dog entering the race. 

THANK YOU for your consideration!

BE THE BRIDGE.

Mary Olson, Founder and Acting Director

NOTE: The Reference Girl Project is a joint effort by Gender and Radiation Impact Project and Beyond Nuclear.  Joint proposals are being submitted to Foundations. Gifts made here will result in general support exclusively for Gender and Radiation Impact Project.  

WILL YOU PLEDGE TO GIVE THIS YEAR + 2 MORE?

OR, WILL YOU MAKE A MONTHLY GIFT OF $10 OR MORE?

If so, YOU ARE THE BRIDGE! THANK YOU!