And nothing bad ever happens! Anyone who says otherwise just doesn’t understand the science! Nuclear power is the future! People who argue against it are just ignorant!
Oh, I’m sorry, I had my nuclear apologist hat on.
Here’s the reality:
FUKUSHIMA, Japan (Reuters)Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano confirmed on Saturday there has been an explosion and radiation leakage at Tokyo Electric Power Co’s (TEPCO) (9501.T) Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.“We are looking into the cause and the situation and we’ll make that public when we have further information,” Edano said.
“At present, we think 10 km evacuation is appropriate.”
Japan earlier in the day warned of a meltdown at a reactor at the plant, damaged when a massive earthquake and tsunami struck the northeast coast, but said the risk of radiation contamination was small.
Edano also said that Japan has expanded the evacuation area around the Fukushima Daini nuclear plant. (Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Joseph Radford)
We don’t currently have the technology to deal with this problem in much the same way the oil companies can’t deal with a blowout at the bottom of the Arctic. So if Fukushima goes into full meltdown, that’s it. Goodbye North East Japan for a few centuries. The consequences for the West Coast of the United States are just as unthinkable.
But hey! If you understand the science, nuclear power is totally safe! Unless a natural disaster strikes. Or the construction is botched. Or the power company ignores safety regulations. Or terrorists attack.
But that’s just me, being an anti-science alarmist. I’m sure the people who will explain to me why I’m wrong about nuclear power will be happy to fly to Japan and oversee the clean-up. It’s totally safe, right? Right?
Is this new? Or is it from the tsunami of last year? (you should date your references.)
Yes, it’s from last year because I often post year old information as brand new.
(Ask a silly question, get a silly answer)
You really should date your references though. Any casual observer is going to pin this as last years news.
Well, don’t. I subscribe to your blog in search of new, factual information and opinions. Year old stuff is not new.
Please don’t fall into the same pattern that rightwing bloggers routinely follow: “Now! Proof that Obama was born in Kenya!” and cite a well known, incorrect statement by his paternal grandmother that was thoroughly debunked years ago.
Not all nuclear power is created equal. What we need to do is move away from our current reactor designs and move to something safe like Thorium MSR reactors. The upside is they can burn the left overs from the dirty reactors we use today and are much, much safer. The downside? You can’t make fuel for bombs from them. Or is that an upside?