I heartily agree with the main premise that Fukushima should be held up as a success story of the nuclear energy sector. However I found the whole local production vs grid section is a bit weak, certainly there are merits to both and each solution alone is not the answer.
It's not that simple, because you have to factor in all the negative externalities. That's what got us into this mess in the first place, people aren't paying the full cost of the planetary resources they are using.
Those are all legitimate questions, but I think they all have extremely legitimate parallels in BP's gulf fiasco.
For instance, who pays Japanese for the loss of contaminated property? I don't know, but the loss of livelihood for thousands of gulf fishermen, lost revenues for vacation spots, and ongoing destruction of habitat for things I like to eat is basically a write-off.
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I heartily agree with the main premise that Fukushima should be held up as a success story of the nuclear energy sector. However I found the whole local production vs grid section is a bit weak, certainly there are merits to both and each solution alone is not the answer.
There's a relatively simple way to settle the right mix of local or centralised generation. Let people pay for whichever they prefer.
It's not that simple, because you have to factor in all the negative externalities. That's what got us into this mess in the first place, people aren't paying the full cost of the planetary resources they are using.
I actually considered mentioning a carbon tax, but figured it would derail the discussion.
Hmm, a large multi-billion dollar wreck is a success story?
that's a nuclear powered reality distortion field.
At this stage it seems that it will cost more to clean up BP's Gulf of Mexico spill than the aftermath Fukushima.
And?
How do you clean up the area around the reactors? How far? What would it cost?
When will the evacuated people return to their homes?
What will it cost to clean up the reactors?
What will it cost to replace them? How long will it take to build new nuclear reactors and where?
Who will pay the japanese people the loss of property due to radioactive contanimation?
Those are all legitimate questions, but I think they all have extremely legitimate parallels in BP's gulf fiasco.
For instance, who pays Japanese for the loss of contaminated property? I don't know, but the loss of livelihood for thousands of gulf fishermen, lost revenues for vacation spots, and ongoing destruction of habitat for things I like to eat is basically a write-off.