Recently, the Japanese government announced that they will be shutting down the remaining 7 nuclear reactors at the Daiichi plant that was hit by a major earthquake and tsunami in 2011. This will bring the total number of nuclear reactors down to 33 (compared to 54 in 2011), only 7 of which are in active operation at any given time. Contrary to popular belief, this is not a good thing.
I can see how the DS has used fear of nuclear to make industrialized nations give up some of their energy self-sufficiency. Still, the potential for accidents and the waste generated by nuclear power seems problematic. The real travesty here is that there are numerous technologies that have been hidden from us that can produce virtually endless amounts of clean and cheap electricity. I believe the day is coming when we may see some of this come to fruition - and nuclear as we know it will go the way of the dinosaur.
brilliant article, TQ. it's not so much the use of nuclear energy that most of us feel uncomfortable with, it's more that government agencies lie to the public, especially about risks and risk-taking (gaslighting). on the other hand we need to be clear about how to address issues like environmental damage, industrial pollution and, indeed, nuclear waste. whatever happened to the idea of 'small is beautiful', sigh....
I can see how the DS has used fear of nuclear to make industrialized nations give up some of their energy self-sufficiency. Still, the potential for accidents and the waste generated by nuclear power seems problematic. The real travesty here is that there are numerous technologies that have been hidden from us that can produce virtually endless amounts of clean and cheap electricity. I believe the day is coming when we may see some of this come to fruition - and nuclear as we know it will go the way of the dinosaur.
brilliant article, TQ. it's not so much the use of nuclear energy that most of us feel uncomfortable with, it's more that government agencies lie to the public, especially about risks and risk-taking (gaslighting). on the other hand we need to be clear about how to address issues like environmental damage, industrial pollution and, indeed, nuclear waste. whatever happened to the idea of 'small is beautiful', sigh....