Lauren Sigel

I grew up as an expat. My dad worked for Nike for different positions ranging from sales to operations director, but all the positions involved my family living where Nike products were manufactured. So, at three months old, my parents packed us out of Portland, OR to Pusan, South Korea. From there it was Sao Paulo, Brazill; Jakarta, Indonesia; and Guangzhou, China. During those 13 years abroad my two younger sisters were born.

My kids and I relaxing in Bali after a day of snorkeling and swimming in the ocean. I hope they remember how beautiful coral reefs and turquoise waters are, so in the future they can work to preserve the environment for their children as well.

Like most kids, I really didn’t think much of my surroundings besides how they would fulfill my immediate needs (as a mother to two children now - ages 4 and 5- this drives me crazy!). As I got a little older, maybe around 8ish, I started noticing the high levels of pollution from Jakarta to China. Pollution in Guangzhou was (and still is) particularly bad, with toxic smog levels rising so high that officials warned people to stay inside on certain days. I specifically remember gauging how bad the pollution was if I could see the sun or I couldn’t see past the second or third story on skyscrapers due to smog. The Pearl River was so chocked with garbage and sludge it didn’t even look like water. Yet, I’d see children playing in it and old men fishing in it (for trash? I couldn’t imagine any fish that could survive living in that type of environment).

All this was put into perspective every summer when my mother would take my two younger sisters and I back to the States to visit family and friends in Oregon, California, and Washington. I remember stepping off the plane in Portland and telling my mom “It smells SO GOOD here!” Like trees!”. I enjoyed a any chance to spend time outside in the PNW and California; from going clamming in Bremerton, WA to swimming in the Rogue River in OR to riding horses and boogie boarding in Southern California. Going back “home” to China in the fall was like walking back into another planet, a dustier and smoke-filled one.

I really didn’t have any thoughts or opinions regarding nuclear power as an adult until my husband accepted a position as a Nuclear Engineer early in our marriage. I remember being slightly concerned for him regarding his exposure to radiation, but was assured his levels would never rise beyond what any person taking a hike at high-altitude would get. The longer he worked, the more I learned about how nuclear power worked and how safe it actually was. I also made the connection between nuclear power and how environmentally friendly it actually was, since there are no carbon-emissions and all waste can be contained.

Visiting the snow monkey park in Nagano, Japan. I never cherished being in the cold until realizing that there might not be much snow 50 years from now.

All that being said, I was not inspired to nuclear activism until the recent IPCC report came out last October 2019. The report warned that we have about 12 years to drastically change the way modern society is powered and run, or else a <2 degree increase in world temperatures will result in catastrophic natural disasters. I distinctly remember this moment: I was drinking my coffee at about 7 a.m. and casually scrolling through my news feed when I came across the article. My blood ran cold and my heart-rate accelerated as panic set in. Only 12 years?! It’s essentially impossible. My heart broke as I thought of my son Asher and daughter Elliott; what type of world would they be living in? Will anyone take this seriously? Will my children have any of the natural treasures I got to enjoy as a child during my summers in the States? All these thoughts raced through my mind over a matter of five minutes or so.

After my five minutes of panic, resolve set in. What could I do? It didn’t take me long to realize that nuclear power was the only way modern society could still operate at the levels it was used to and drastically cut carbon emissions at the same time. I literally googled “Mothers for nuclear” and came across this organization. My heart lept, there was hope! Other mothers had come to the same conclusion as me and were working to break the negative stigma of nuclear power.

I still feel helpless regarding climate change. Like most moms, I worry about what this world is going to look like for my kids and their kids and even their kids. I have many friends now who work in both government and private-run nuclear power plants, and now more than ever I can say with absolute confidence that nuclear power is safe, environmentally-friendly, and the only way to help us avoid a climate catastrophe. I support other forms of renewable energy as well, but believe that only in conjunction with nuclear power will they be enough to power society the way it is used to operating.