LYONS – In the weeks after the tsunami, it became clear that the nuclear power plants at Fukushima were going to become a long-term problem.

Harumi Noguchi of Kamakura wrote about the effect on Tokyo. She described the change in light and sound, noting that the bright neon glitter was gone. Restaurants would dim the lights, even serving by candlelight. She noticed that this was not only tolerable, but actually really pleasant. Her conclusion is that so much of our electric use is far beyond what we really need, and that this event gives us the opportunity to change our use of resources. Of course, this goes for the world as a whole, and even as the lights come back on, the debate grows.

LYONS – It begins with one step. And it will take many more, for a very long time. The front page of the newspaper has now left Japan behind here in the U.S. But many people who have connections to Japan want to know how things are going after the devastating triple calamity of earthquake, tsunami, and Fukushima nuclear plant disaster on March 11, 2011. Friends in Japan were very happy to share their news and thoughts.

COLORADO – After much debate Colorado House Bill 1284, regulating medical marijuana dispensaries, went to Governor Bill Ritter and is awaiting his signature.

The House agreed to the changes made in the Senate on May 11 and readopted the bill by a 46-to-19 vote. It is expected that Governor Ritter will sign the bill (but not clear when) since it includes provisions that he requested.

LONGMONT – The movement to clean up the spreading oil slick of money in political campaigns is not taking a wait-and-see approach with the tide. An already tested solution awaits Colorado’s collective signature: citizen-funded campaigns. Clean Campaigns Colorado, a non-partisan group of concerned citizens, has been researching since 2007 and synthesizing a ballot measure which, if placed on the November ballot and approved by Coloradans, would provide public funding to state candidates who voluntarily agree to use those funds and leave the need to chase the money behind.

CATRICO, Chile – We are all fine, although it has been pretty wild. I have been staying with my sister Illani Atwater in a small farmhouse in Catrico, a tiny farming village near Villarica in southern Chile.

Medical marijuana seems to be the talk all over the county and everyone has an agenda. People want to sell it, buy it, avoid it, grow it, make it go away, tax it, make money on it, stop it, try it, regulate it, eat it, inhale it, organize opposition to it and just about everything else. It’s not easy being green.