Over the weekend, Japan’s last operating nuclear plant was shut down, leaving the country without atomic power for the first time since 1970. A move that for a large number of people means job done — at last.
No nukes, no more
Photographs from a small group of islands
Willy says
It most certainly has been a year of upheaval. I like to think that if any country can get this energy thing right, it would most probably be the Japanese… But contrary to what a mate said the other day and to what some people might think, it actually is rocket science.
There is a great pile of things that need to be figured out.
Good luck Japan.
Lee says
Yes, I couldn’t agree more.
Personally I’m not necessarily against nuclear power, although my feelings are quite the opposite when it comes to the company controlling some of them. It’s absolutely staggering that corners were cut when dealing with something so potentially dangerous.
Tepco aside, new forms of energy are clearly the way forward, but it’s going to be a good while yet before any form of that can be implemented — at least in any meaningful way. How Japan will survives ’til then, however, remains to to be seen…
Matt says
It will be quite the achievement if Japan can survive having idled 50 something power plants. It is staggering the “mistakes” that have been made at some of these plants. Mistakes it seems to me a touch of common sense could have avoided.
Lee says
Yes, time will tell. We can only hope at this point.
It is staggering. Simple, seemingly obvious errors like the positioning of the back up generators at Dai ichi could have potentially stopped the disaster from ever happening…
Lizzy says
Wow. Feels like the end of an era I didn’t even know existed. Were all of the employees just laid off?
Lee says
They are undergoing safety checks at the moment, plus there’s all the spent fuel to deal with, but if they aren’t restarted then yes, presumably that will have to happen.
Willy says
Presumably there will 40 odd years of plenty of employment pulling the damn things apart and dealing with all that radioactive stuff… (spent fuel, unspent fuel, contaminated building materials … )
Ken C says
It’s going to be a long, hot summer with no air con. Beer sales may boom.
Lee says
It is. Not a nice thought for sure, even with beer…
Hans ter Horst says
We could borrow a friend’s home around Kawagoe in June; it’ll be “fun” to visit Japan in a hot, boiling summer with no air-conditioning. Luckily the beer is tasty!
Lee says
June? It’ll still be positively chilly then!
That’s only 30 mins or so away from me. We should meet up for a few of those tasty beers when you are here.
Hans ter Horst says
Sounds like a great idea; I’ll get back to you when my schedule becomes more clear
Lee says
Ok, good stuff!