In the next few days, I must choose whether I am willing to go to Tokyo to do a series of workshops. Apart from the Fukishima reactors, I wonder whether this is not too sad a time in Japan’s history for such a venture, but my organizers assure me everything will be back to normal within a few weeks.
However, the nuclear situation is real – this morning they are talking about increased reactivity in spinach – no oshitashi for me!
I am reminded of Bucky Fuller, when asked about the then-current, pre-Chernobyl enthusiasm for nuclear power, said (and I paraphrase, not quote), “God, in His infinite wisdom, loved power from nuclear fission so much that it happens all over the known universe. But also in his infinite wisdom, he placed the nearest such heating plant 93 million miles (that would be about 150,000,000 km, or 9 light minutes) away from Earth, and I think we should respect that distance.”
I love Japan’s organization, and it’s efficient and caring response to this disaster. But placing nuclear power plants over a subtending tectonic plate is of questionable judgment. Maybe placing nuclear power plants anywhere near this planet is of questionable judgment. When there is so much power in the wind and sea motion, do we need to use such dangerous (and absolutely unrenewable – indeed, hard to get rid of) fuel?
Ruminants 
March 23, 2011 at 7:41 pm |
“No” I’d say.
And the horrors of nuclear waste have lurked in my mind since the early 90’s when a plant in MN sought to put spent fuel rods on an island in the Mississippi River. I fought, as a citizen is “supposed to” by writing letters and such, but they eventually won the permissions to do so.
You have a chance to make a political statement, I suppose.
March 26, 2011 at 9:52 am |
“God, in His infinite wisdom, loved power from nuclear fission so much that it happens all over the known universe. But also in his infinite wisdom, he placed the nearest such heating plant 93 million miles (that would be about 150,000,000 km, or 9 light minutes) away from Earth, and I think we should respect that distance.”indeed, we should respect that distance and God’s wisdom.