Nuclear Earthquake

It has been 12 days since the 9.0 scale earthquake and the tsunami that took place in Japan; and the aftermath of this natural disaster is getting more devastating each and every day with death and missing persons toll now being expressed in tens of thousands. There seems to be nothing that can be done on an individual basis but send our help and prayers to the people of Japan…

The country is at a serious loss despite having the world’s third largest economy and most developed technologies; as well as all the disposition and the calmness of her people against possible earthquakes.

The current concern for the world, however, seems to be the uncontrollable explosions at the Fukushima nuclear plant and the leakage that threatens the existence of all living species.

Experts have stated that this is the most ruinous disaster that has happened since the Chernobil accident of 1986, yet it would be misleading to say that these type of disasters happen every 25 years. Statistics clearly indicate an average of one accident per year in nuclear energy generating plants for the last ten years, it is just that the public is unaware of these, most probably as they are held off the agenda by those who define world politics.

It is hard to say that nuclear power plants are high-tech operations, as the main principle for these plants are controlled, non-explosive reactions where atoms split into smaller parts creating the energy to heat water, which in turn produces steam used to generate electricity.

Nuclear waste disposal is a serious problem for the world, however, as storage area for this type of waste is becoming less adequate every day, and it takes millions of years for nuclear waste to completely disappear. Furthermore, the maintenance and security costs of these plants highly surpass the preliminary set up costs!!

We should therefore be discussing how much of the energy created by nuclear power plants is used in transportation, housing, industry and agriculture; and how effectively the surplus is utilized. Should we aim to use less and cleaner energy, or blindly accept policies defined by oil companies, nuclear technology experts and natural gas manufacturers?

Carbon dioxide is generated by burning oil, coal and fossil fuels; tremendously increasing global warming levels by creating the greenhouse effect and shortening the life span of most species by releasing toxic gases into the atmosphere. Needless to say, fossil fuels that exist in today’s world will eventually become depleted.

The active and efficient use of renewable energy would eventually diminish the need for fossil fuels or nuclear power plants.

It is now the time to gravitate towards energy resources that are harmless to human health and that do not destroy the already limited natural resources.

The Sun is the basic resource that creates the appropriate conditions for all living species to exist in the atmosphere. It should now be the time to accept and defend the fact that natural resources such as the sun, wind and thermal springs should be used to create most of the energy required for electricity and heating, especially in our country where there is an abundance of these resources.

I personally believe that most of the undesirable or distasteful events happening in our country and the world are due to the indifference of individuals, and we are not really conscious of policies that are based onecological principlesand nature’s right to remain sustainable.

||||| 0 ! |||||

Leave a Reply
