Back at high school, my classmates all guessed that I would become a Greenpeace PR consultant. I am a PR consultant, but alas, I haven't worked my way to Greenpeace. Yet.
Yesterday I was reading SMH. They had a story about radiation - in particular Japan's precarious nuclear reactors.
Now while I am now nuclear physicist (thank goodness for that), don't we want to explore something that's less volatile?!
While a whole country waits - and in fact - the whole world, waits breathlessly, hoping, praying that Japan isn't further inflicted with pain via their nuclear plants - respondents to SMH's poll were having their say.
I think the results are pretty flipping scary. It might be a 'green' option - but what about safety? What about the three-eyed fish in the Simpsons? Didn't we learn anything from Chernobyl?
I'm happy to be educated if you think I'm misinformed. Educate me.
But hear me. What about renewable energy? Why can't we harness that - it's safer, it's greener (isn't it?!), and we're not mining Australia to fund it.
Each one of us are teetering on the edge of our chairs, hoping these damn nuclear plants don't blow. People in Japan are terrified - evacuating Tokyo en masse. We're terrified - for what does this mean? What happens? No one knows enough.
What do you think?
6 comments:
I'd like to know too m'love. There are so many questions that need to be answered. I'm utterly gob smacked by all of this. It's just so tragic :(
I do not know alot about nuclear power ,my husband is an electrician and is hiring in at one in Ks.,So I have been hearing things about how it works..not alot sorry.But I am with you! we need windmills,Ethanol,and Bio Diesel,just about anything that we can use from our own country, and farmers could use them selves.but some people are too stubborn to try or they make excuses like...corn prices will go up..rather corn, then oil prices..just my 2 cents.I am praying for Japan and their people.
Gee Lex it's a hard one to answer.
There are many positives for nuclear energy - it is actually quite green. They don't emit gases and they only require a small area to operate. It is also emissions free because it doesn't have to burn anything to make electricity.
You can also safely live next to a plant for 2000 years and only have as much radiation as one xray.
We all live with radiation in our bodies. It's in the air, water, our microwave.
Renewable energy is wonderful but requires a great deal of land - clearing leaving a huge dent in the balance of nature. Even something as non threatening as a dam gives off high levels of carbon dioxide....and then you have flooding like Queensland.
In Japan the plant sat on two shifting plates which damaged the tubes to and from the reactor and now they have this terrible accident to deal with. I feel for them and I hope the countries that have reactors learn from this.
As humans who rely strongly on our poor planet it's up to us to find the best means to live our life by saving our energy, growing our own veggies, walking as much as we can and recycling.
I think we all need to go back to Little House on The Prairie days.
Hi Lexi, I think you should read this article http://bit.ly/fY9dTH
The Western media is playing up this nuclear thing ridiculously, sensationalising the issue for ratings. Things are not as bad as they make it sound!
I guess if I only got my news from the mainstream ‘if-it-doesn’t-scare-we-don’t-care’ media and ‘The Simpsons’ ;-), I’d be teetering on the edge of my chair too. The level of hysteria being whipped up is simply breathtaking, to the point where people on the other side of the world, in California, are stocking up on iodine tablets. What complete and utter madness!
Whilst I’m prepared to admit that anything could happen at Fukoshima, I’ve heard enough interviews with well respected nuclear physicists (and other experts) to convince me that the chances of a catastrophic meltdown and radiation poisoning are extremely remote. Assuming that the worst doesn’t happen and the death toll from this reactor remains at zero, I wonder ... will the media apologise for the senseless panic they’ve engendered? Will agenda-driven environmental activists and groups like Greenpeace admit that nuclear power is indeed a safe and viable option? I’d like to think that the answer to both these questions will be a resounding YES, but I won’t be holding my breath.
As for renewable energy sources, like wind and solar, the simple fact is that they do not produce enough power to supply base load energy needs, and they never will.
Simone
Something else to ponder:
In the past ten years there have been more fatalities caused by wind farms than by the nuclear energy industry.
-Simone
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