A not atypical Dave laugh, while training the next generation in non-violent environmental direct action. Photo courtesy Greenpeace Canada."He left behind a lot of people who loved him" are the concluding words of Elizabeth May, head of the Green Party of Canada and a Member of Parliament, in a Greenpeace tribute to the life of Dave Martin, one of Canada's top anti-nuclear activists of the past generation. Dave passed on this morning after a four year battle with prostate cancer. Greenpeace's memorial also pays tribute to the life and work of Irene Kock, Dave's partner in life as well as anti-nuclear activism, who tragically died in a car accident in 2001.
Bruce Cox, the Executive Director of Greenpeace Canada, where Dave has worked since 2004, said "Dave was our Climate and Energy Coordinator and later Energy Policy Analyst until he took his sick leave. He was an extraordinary individual that made our province, and indeed our country, a better place to live. More importantly his good nature, warm laugh and helping hand made many of us step a little lighter and shine a little brighter just for knowing him."
Gordon Edwards of the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility said "Dave was an indomitable campaigner of unquenchable passion, who taught himself how to speak the language of the economist, the politician and the bureaucrat to communicate more effectively his unwavering perception that nuclear energy is a huge mistake. And his effectiveness was second to none. He and Irene Kock did outstanding work at a time when the odds seemed truly impossible; they were an inspiration to all who knew them. Since Irene's passing Dave has been the fountainhead of nuclear activism within Greenpeace and in the heart of the nuclear beast -- Ontario -- along with his tremendous colleague Shawn-Patrick Stensil. He will be sorely missed but joyously remembered."
Beyond Nuclear's Kevin Kamps has many such joyous memories of Dave and Irene. They worked and played together, as friends and colleagues, in a common campaign for a Nuclear-Free Great Lakes since the mid-1990s. Dave and Irene's legacy will live on. As but one of countless examples, the "Great Lakes Nuclear Hot Spots" map they created in 1990 is still commonly used by anti-nuclear activists throughout the Great Lakes basin.
Update on September 12, 2011 by
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A website has been set up for friends and colleagues to share their memories and tributes to Dave at http://rememberingdavemartin.ca/
Update on September 17, 2011 by
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Women in Fukushima will be sitting in at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry from October 27th to 29th to demand the evacuation of Fukushima children and no resumption of nuclear power plant operation (43 of the 54 reactors are currently shuttered for scheduled maintenance.) They are asking women from all over Japan to join the sit-in on October 30th. The women point out that seven months of government refusal to evacuate Fukushima children is a crime against humanity, and it can no longer be tolerated. The women of Fukushima are calling on women around the world to act in solidarity with similar actions at the same time – whether in front of Japanese embassies or consulates or elsewhere. Shortly before the sit-in a new network – Women for a Nuclear-Free Future – will be launched in Sapporo and Osaka, Japan on October 24th and in Tokyo on November 23rd.
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