Friday, 18 March 2011
JAPAN AND THE NUCLEAR DEBATE
Today is exactly a week since the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster happened in the beautiful country of Japan. I have been very impressed by the way the Japanese people have conducted themselves in the face of such a holocaust with orderly lines to get what they need and already the teachers are giving classes to children from tents and doctors are working hard to assist their patients. Japan, has always been a country I have admired for their discipline and exquisite manners. They recovered from the bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, when the world thought they would never be able to lift their heads up again, to become over the years the third economic power in the world. It says a lot about the character of these exemplary people who live in a small island, and if anyone is going to overcome and triumph in the face of disaster it is going to be the Japanese nation. Of course, it is bad enough to overcome a tsunami and an earthquake together, events which occurs in nature with an unimaginable devastation and quite another one, to such a man-made disaster as a nuclear plant which the so called experts say is "cheap" energy, I think not; this is not a cheap technology once it fails, and hundreds of lives as well as land will be lost once its deamed unliveable. Our land masses are limited and we cannot afford to have vast areas of land empty for millions of years because of this type of "accidents": what the so called "experts" were saying only a scant few days ago that 'Chernoble cannot happen here' is very quickly turning into the worst nuclear disaster in history, even surpassing Chernoble. General Electric designed these Japanese plants that are now failing, so therefore they have a duty as well as a responsibilty to try and remedy the damage as they have a case to answer in this other hollocaust that they have now created. The excuse of: 'it was just designed for a 6 on the richter scale doesn't wash, this is a technology that cannot be controlled like a pandora's box where no one can predict the horrible devastation where other innocent people will have to live and suffer the consequences. I now hope that the bright bulbs in government will finally wake up to the fact that there are other means to produce greener and safer energy like for example: the hydroelectric technology, which can be harnessed from the rivers or the sea, they should be doing that, since Britain, and Japan are island nations surrounded by water, this technology is more viable and safer to obtain for all our energy needs, not to mention solar energy and to a smaller degree windmills too. Perhaps something good will come out of this disaster and goverments will finally shelve the nuclear nightmare technologies for ever, in favour of other natural fountains of natural energy.
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35 comments:
Hi Maria
I believe there are areas of the Arctic which are totally contaminated as a result of the Russians dumping nuclear waste and having nuclear accidents. It is a frightening situation.
I think that small countries like Britain and Japan should hold referendums on whether they want to have nuclear energy, because everyone shares the risk. With big countries, it's possible to have a nuclear reactor at one end of the country and the people at the other end are quite happy with that, because if anythjing goes wrong it won't affect them. But with small countries, it's different.
Necessity is the mother of invention and if nuclear energy is finally written off, I'm sure something else will be developed. E.g. because oil is such a problem, they are now working on electric cars.
Well, the radiation from Japan has already reached the state of California and that is a long way away.
Here in Wales, we still have fields in North Wales where the sheep cannot graze because the radiation is too high from the Chernovel explosion in Russia 24 years ago. At this rate, everywhere in the planet is going to be a no go area and unsuitable for human habitation.
It was definitely a mistake to build a reactor on a fault line. Even if it hadn't happened now, it was going to happen some time in the future. The best chance is to try and develop new technologies. Coal and gas are bad for the environment. Maybe solar is a possibility.
No place is "safe" for nuclear power Robert,
since the plates inside the earth are always shifting and volcanoes are active even if they have slept for centuries they can re-ignite and create earthquakes, even here in Britain we have a lot of volcanoes. Not very many people know that. Besides, there are already existing technologies like hydroelectric technologies like water damns where the energy is harnessed from rivers and the sea, nothing will happen if the water spills! There is solar energy which by the way, I was not allowed to put in my 'new' house because it is a listed historical house but I don't understand why I could not have it in the stable conversion and wind-mills which we have a lot of them in Wales. Just behind the hills from my house, there are 12 windmills. We also have the Institute For Alternative Technologies not far away from where I live.
Hi Maria
Well, hydro-electric sounds very good but I believe that there are environmental problems with those too - I can't remember what they are, but I do remember an item about the Colorado river, and how there are so many dams that it's been reduced to a trickle.
I think the main problem with nuclear power here is the risk of terrorist attack.
I don't see why you can't have solar in your house. After all, you have radiators and they were obviously never part of the building when it was first constructed.
Here in the U.K. we have problems with Sellafield which used to be called Windscale although it was re-branded and now is called Sellafield in order to misled the public but the serious health problems continue although it doesn't make the national news, it only appears in the regional news or local newspapers.
The nuclear lobby has more money therefore more clout than the other technologies that is why they have been able to market nuclear and sell it to many countries as "cheap" technology but it is not cheap unless you think human life is cheap and our environment is expendable too.
Hydroelectric plants harnessed from the rivers and the sea is safe because it is natural. For example: in Central America the seven countries harness their energy from the river Lempa it has done it for 50 years with no problems and continues to do it, whilst nuclear is obsolete after only 15 years and the nuclear waste is another headache because it remains radioactive for thousands of years. They are burying this nuclear waste. Is that a safe solution? No. Would you like to have it buried near your home? NO. So we are creating no go areas in our planet.
I don't think we have the sheer quality of rivers needed to provide all the energy Britain needs. In fact, once or twice in the last 20 years during hot summers, some of our rivers have actually dried up. It looks to me as though we are stuck with a choice between coal, gas and nuclear or some combination of them, until someone comes up with a new idea. They may already have, and been ignored. The Ukrainians had a method of attacking bacteria with viruses, but the drugs companies didn't want to know because they were making too much money from antibiotics.
Robert they have it already, the energy can be harnessed from the sea.
We are an island nation, we are surrounded by water. This reminds me a little bit of the potato famime in Ireland..the Irish died because they didn't go fishing! they could have gone hunting deer too not just die because the potato crop failed. The first rule of survival is to have lateral thinking..if one thing fails
you Must try another way.
Hi Maria
Well, that's why I want to see a mixture of lots of souces of power, rather than putting all my eggs in one basket.
Did you hear the latest? Chinese tourists have arrived in China with severe radiation sickness and in Spain, anyone coming from Japan is being checked with a geiger counter and those with high levels of radiation are being put in quarentine in a special unit where the nurses and doctors can reach them only with protective clothes and the relatives can see them through a CCTV camera. At the moment, Japan has four Chernobyls.
Yes, it's a terrible situation. it isn't unique - some of the toxins absorbed by workers in the early industrial revolution could cause genetic mutation. But it's no less appalling for that.
Near Sellafield the children are being born sometimes without legs or an eye missing. In Iraq, because the Americans threw bombs with depleted uranium now the new mothers don't ask whether their child is a boy or a girl, they ask: " Is it normal? "
because their crops and water were contaminated there are also high incidents of cancer amongst children and adults. Over here, in North Wales Treffinith nuclear plant will be decomissioned in 2016. The rods were taken away many years ago, so it has not been active for a long time.
A day or two ago I saw a Japanese nuclear reactor on the TV, which had been built right over a fault line. The fault line actually ran between the two halves of the reactor. I wouldn't want to live there!
Every country is either on a fault line or.. very near a fault line Robert,
On the 1st of November 1775 there was a terrible earthquake and tsunami in Lisbon, Portugal and three years later, there was another one in England as well. Find out about it.
The good news is that the series of nuclear plants we were going to have the plans have been shelved now. There was an interesting article written by Paddy Ashdown where he says that he was for building these nuclear plants in the U.K. but now he has changed his mind since he has seen the tremendous devastation in Japan. My humble opinion is that Fukushima should put cement on these nuclear plants just like the Russians did with Chernobyl and forget about trying to fix them.
Hi Maria
I think the Great Lisbon Earthquake was 1755. There doesn't seem to have been one in Britain for either 1758 or 1778. Here's a list :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_earthquakes_in_the_United_Kingdom
Yes, the great Lisbon earthquake and Tsunami was on the 1st of November 1775.
The Bristol Channel floods which occurred on the 30th of January 1607 Recent research has suggessted that the cause may have been a tsunami.
The latest with the Japanese nuclear radiaton is that it has now reached the East coast of the U.S. Washington and Pennsylvania.
They've got it in Glasgow and Oxford now, but at minuscule levels.
Miniscule plus miniscule adds to something important and I certainly wouldn't like to eat fish that is dangerous to my health. Robert, you can't never believe what they tell you. There isn't such a thing as "a little cancer"
The Japanese scientists are now saying they are going to decomission four of the nuclear stations, I say, they should have taken that decision two weeks ago, not after they have practically contaminated with radiation the whole planet, since we do not have another planet to go to. Better still, they shouldn't have built them. Do you know that atomic power only gives 14% of the world energy? Surely it is high time it is now substituted by a safer and more natural technology which already exists.
The trouble is, Maria, that whatever we use in place of nuclear will have supposed risks to the environment, unless we rely on wind and wave and I don't think that can provide enough power. I don't think there is a simple answer to all this. It looks to me as though nuclear power is on the way out, so doubtless some bright spark will invent something new. Someone always pops up when needed, but usually not until needed.
I came across your site and liked it very much.
I was wondering if you'd like to do a link exchange.
here's my site:
http://rachelneil.blogspot.com/
thank you for your time
Rachel Neil
peru1@shaw.ca
Welcome Rachel it is very nice to meet you! A link exchange? I would be delighted, mind you, I'm a bit ignorant how to work this things out so I suppose if I go to your link above, I can learn how to do it.
Rachel can you please tell us where you are from?
Robert, as I mentioned before, nuclear power accounts for only 14% of the total energy in the planet. 14% is very little. So it stands to reason that the rest of the energy must come from somewhere other than nuclear power. I think nuclear power is overated.
Another thing that has come to my mind is that it is possible to save energy for instance, in the U.S. they use 110 watts whilst we use 200 for domestic use. Whilst in the U.S. you get an electric shock, in Britain you can get electrocuted! I don't really think its necessary to have so much voltage for domestic use Robert. This is why here in Britain it is illegal to place electric sockets in the bathroom, so you have to dry your hair somewhere else in the house.
Hi Rachel and welcome.
Maria, yes you can have electric light in the bathroom but you have to pull the cord, which prevents electrocution. Certainly I'm all in favour of saving energy. It's actually in everyone's interest to keep their fuel bills down.
I'd switch off all the lights in Parliament too. I'd put candles there instead....right next to the curtains....
Ha,ha,ha I have laughed and laughed my head silly with your last quip. I just pictured in my mind that painting of the fire of Parliament where people came to cheer: Hurray!!
You are an anarchist at heart Robert. Possibly the reencarnation of Guy Faulks! I would hate to see this beautiful building go up in flames. Inside it, is so wonderful, I was amazed to see the rich architecture and beautiful paintings. Vandal!
Have you heard the latest? The rain in the area is beginning to glow yellow and the temperature is increasing.
Hi Maria
Well, I don't mind keeping the building, as long as it's fumigated to remove the MPs.
I hadn't heard that about the yellow rain. Maybe we could send the MPs to Japan without umbrellas.
I fooled you! It was an April's Fool
little joke. There is no yellow rain
unless God is having a pipi.
I was not far off the truth. The latest news from Fukishima is that there is a crack in the reactor and highly contaminated water is leaking into the sea so they are going to close the crack with cement. Right now the contamination is worse than the Chernobyl disaster. My humble opinion is that they should have put cement to whole thing weeks ago.
India wants a moratorium on nuclear energy.
Well done with the yellow rain, you got me there. Actually I can easily imagine yellow rain falling on the Japanese, and them just shrugging their shoulders and bearing it stoically.
Nuclear power seems to be on the way out, but the price to be paid is more use of fossil fuels. For those who believe in climate change, that won't be very good news, but I don't see where else the energy is to come from.
Germany is leading in solar and wind-power technology. The Green Party is very strong in Germany and yesterday there was a big demostration there to phase out nuclear energy which is now a dinosaur technology. Even Putin in Russia tried a very pretty and fast electric car. The future is bright and cleaner Robert. The most progressive banks are investing in solar and wind technologies.
just testing chaps
oh well
I happened to be passing on my way to Tescos,or rather FROM tescos,and thought Id drop in and say a big hello .......so here it is HELLO!
Im presuming all is well with all of you and I thought Id wish you all a merry xmas.....now it might be a bit early in the year I admit,but doesnt time fly? "yes,indeed it does"I can hear you all saying in unison. And Ill second that emotion,oh yes indeedy! Why it was only yesterday that I said the very same thing myself....but thats a whole different story in itself.
Hows life on Casebook these days? I never liked it there to be honest....too many troublemakers!Of course my tongue is in my cheek,what did you exoect?,too late to change the habits of a lifetime Im afraid.
Hasnt the world gone downhill since I visited you last! earthquakes,tsunamis,plague and pestilence,wars and threat of wars,the moral decline we see all around us is such an everyday and common thing that it hardly seems mentioning -but I did. If I was a biblical man Id be looking intently at certain passages in the Book of Revelations and feeling distinctly uncomfortable methinks........but Im not so....however saying that,things seem to be getting a little too close for comfort..but care I? nO,NOT ONE JOT! Holding the position I do (head of the Mormon church in North WALES) I have to think first and foremost of my flock(my human flock that is)..cant get em thinking too much anbout things otherwise contributions might diminish somewhat eh?
Anyhow blessings on you all..Maria, Robert and my charming Victoria.hope to peak to you all later
dominicus vobiscum
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