Eating Fried Clams in the Shadow of a Nuclear Power Plant

Tuesday we took a trip to the beach. I had never been to Salisbury State Beach in Mass, so we thought it would be fun to try something different. Hurricane Bill came by offshore on Sunday so the surf was still exciting. The beach is very impressive. It’s like Cape Cod, only closer. There is a long boardwalk over the sand dunes, but that just added to the atmosphere.

Later we went to Markey’s Lobster Pool in Seabrook Beach, just up the road. What a delightful place. We sat at a picnic table on the deck right at the water’s edge of the tide pool, watched the sun set over the silhouette of Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant, and indulged in all sorts of fried food. When our food was ready, a girl announced through the loud speaker to pick up our food and said, “ Number 88, your fried food is ready!” We topped it off with ice cream cones and then drove home.

I got thinking, do we have the will to get to a zero carbon footprint? Think of all the wicked things in life we get simple pleasure from- like fried food. Not everyday, but like that special trip to the beach, fried food goes with it. I hope we can keep the simple, fun things in life when we get to a zero carbon footprint. I'd miss fried clams!