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In case you missed it the first time around... In the wake of today's 5.8 ( or 5.9, or 6.0- depending on who you listen to) earthquake in Virginia which rattled americans as far away as Vermont it seemed pertinent to republish this article detailing the upgraded US nuclear plant earthquake risk list.

After the evacuation today of the Pentagon, and elsewhere in Washington, perhaps elected officials will take the possibility of earthquakes a bit more seriously than they have in the past.

MSNBC l Bill Dedman 17 March, 2011

What are the odds that a nuclear emergency like the one at Fukushima Dai-ichi could happen in the central or eastern United States? They'd have to be astronomical, right? As a pro-nuclear commenter on msnbc.com put it this weekend, "There's a power plant just like these in Omaha. If it gets hit by a tsunami...."

It turns out that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has calculated the odds of an earthquake causing catastrophic failure to a nuclear plant here. Each year, at the typical nuclear reactor in the U.S., there's a 1 in 74,176 chance of an earthquake strong enough to cause damage to the reactor's core, which could expose the public to radiation. No tsunami required. That's 10 times more likely than you winning $10,000 by buying a single ticket in the Powerball multistate lottery, where the chance is 1 in 723,145.

And it turns out that the nuclear reactor in the United States with the highest risk of an earthquake causing core damage is not the Diablo Canyon Power Plant, with its twin reactors tucked between the California coastline and the San Andreas Fault.

Top ten plants at risk of an earthquake that could damge the reactor core:

1. Indian Point 3, Buchanan, N.Y.: 1 in 10,000 chance each year. Old estimate: 1 in 17,241. Increase in risk: 72 percent.

2. Pilgrim 1, Plymouth, Mass.: 1 in 14,493. Old estimate: 1 in 125,000. Increase in risk: 763 percent.

3. Limerick 1 and 2, Limerick, Pa.: 1 in 18,868. Old estimate: 1 in 45,455. Increase in risk: 141 percent.

4. Sequoyah 1 and 2, Soddy-Daisy, Tenn.: 1 in 19,608. Old estimate: 1 in 102,041. Increase in risk: 420 percent.

5. Beaver Valley 1, Shippingport, Pa.: 1 in 20,833. Old estimate: 1 in 76,923. Increase in risk: 269 percent.

6. Saint Lucie 1 and 2, Jensen Beach, Fla.: 1 in 21,739. Old estimate: N/A.

7. North Anna 1 and 2, Louisa, Va.: 1 in 22,727. Old estimate: 1 in 31,250. Increase in risk: 38 percent.

8. Oconee 1, 2 and 3, Seneca, S.C.: 1 in 23,256. Old estimate: 1 in 100,000. Increase in risk: 330 percent.

9. Diablo Canyon 1 and 2, Avila Beach, Calif.: 1 in 23,810. Old estimate: N/A.

10. Three Mile Island, Middletown, Pa.: 1 in 25,000. Old estimate: 1 in 45,455. Increase in risk: 82 percent.

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Nuclear Free Planet

Video 7min 43sec. An introduction to permaculture design principles featuring a stunning, abundant food forest.

Permaculture is a design science based on three simple ethics: care for the earth, care for people, and share the surplus.

Permaculture also has core principles that guide us in creating sustainable abundance. Nature is our model in Permaculture. The meander of a river teaches us how to design a path.

Permaculture is always looking for connections and flows, designing relationships, looking at where things are in relationship to one another - like putting the plants and the herbs that we need most often closest to the house, catching water and storing it up high in the landscape so we can gravity feed down.

Permaculture favors biological resources over fossil fuels or heavy chemicals.

Permaculture is an approach to designing human settlements and agricultural systems that are modeled on the relationships found in natural ecologies.

Permaculture is sustainable land use design. This is based on ecological and biological principles, often using patterns that occur in nature to maximise effect while minimizing wasted energy.

Permaculture aims to create stable, productive systems that provide for human needs, harmoniously integrating the land with its inhabitants.

Video 3min 9sec. Germany pledges nuclear shutdown by 2022.

Angela Merkel's government agrees to shut down all nuclear reactors and seek alternative energy source.

The coalition has come to an agreement on energy policies regarding the closing of nuclear power plants.

Our agreement entails that the nuclear power plants that were affected by the moratorium will not be connected to the power grid.

A second group of 6 nuclear plants will be taken off the grid by 2021 at the latest and the 3 most modern plants will be taken off the grid ultimately by 2022.

The government's aim is to move toward complete reliance on renewable energy.

Hemp is one of Earth's most sustainable, versatile and profitable crops. It is among the oldest industries on the planet, going back more than 10,000 years to the beginnings of pottery. The Columbia History of the World states that the oldest relic of human industry is a bit of hemp fabric dating back to approximately 8,000 BC.

Did You Know?

Industrial hemp has been grown in the U.S. since our founding fathers first sailed to our eastern shores. From the 1600s until about the 1850s, hemp was a staple crop, and at times farmers were even required to grow hemp. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Henry Ford and many other notable Americans were actively engaged in, and openly advocated for, the commercial hemp industry.

Throughout the centuries, hemp was handled by the government the same as any other farm crop, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published numerous articles and worked to help American farmers understand the best ways to grow industrial hemp. Despite this history, hemp has been defined by the U.S. government as a narcotic drug since the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act was passed.

Even after hemp was effectively banned in this country, the USDA briefly brought it back during WWII, and American farmers grew over 150,000 acres in just two years. American history is intertwined with hemp farming, and the evidence is ample.

There are towns called "Hempfield" and "Hempstead" and a state called "New Hampshire." There are abandoned hemp processing mills from WWII. There are newspaper articles from 150 years ago which talk about hemp.

Hemp History Week