My thoughts on Japan.
Mar. 15th, 2011 01:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Besides, "Holy fuck," and shock at the scale of the destruction, of course. Entire coastal towns are just gone.
But one thing I note is how safe nuclear power is. I mean, there are other options I like better; nuclear energy still has the problems of where to put the waste, and radioactives are not a renewable resource and all, but still -- this is among the most hideous things the Earth has thrown at us in recorded history, and the nuclear reactors we're worried about were right near the end of their operating life cycle and were built with a lot less safety stuff than the ones we're building now -- and the Japanese are STILL largely controlling the reactors. I mean, not perfectly, but still. They're holding. That's pretty incredible.
The main thing I don't like about nuclear reactors -- and fossil fuel plants also have this problem -- is that they're "point-source failures". If ONE nuclear reactor goes out, it takes out a MASSIVE chunk of the power grid. When people do things like put turbines and photo-voltaic panels on their houses, that gives a level of distributed power generation, which can help mitigate that. Oh, we're not going to be able to get rid of major power plants any time soon, but I like the idea of everybody being able to at least generate SOME of their own energy.
Another thing I note is how much of the country is still standing, due to their incredible earthquake-resistant building codes. This is an example of how government regulation saves lives.
There is vast, vast damage. But the fundamental infrastructure is still, largely, in place. And that's because of careful planning and regulation.
Earthquake, tsunami, potential nuclear plant meltdowns. And they're still functioning.
At this point, the main thing to worry about is that earthquakes, tsunamis, and nuclear explosions are what tend to wake Gojira up.
But one thing I note is how safe nuclear power is. I mean, there are other options I like better; nuclear energy still has the problems of where to put the waste, and radioactives are not a renewable resource and all, but still -- this is among the most hideous things the Earth has thrown at us in recorded history, and the nuclear reactors we're worried about were right near the end of their operating life cycle and were built with a lot less safety stuff than the ones we're building now -- and the Japanese are STILL largely controlling the reactors. I mean, not perfectly, but still. They're holding. That's pretty incredible.
The main thing I don't like about nuclear reactors -- and fossil fuel plants also have this problem -- is that they're "point-source failures". If ONE nuclear reactor goes out, it takes out a MASSIVE chunk of the power grid. When people do things like put turbines and photo-voltaic panels on their houses, that gives a level of distributed power generation, which can help mitigate that. Oh, we're not going to be able to get rid of major power plants any time soon, but I like the idea of everybody being able to at least generate SOME of their own energy.
Another thing I note is how much of the country is still standing, due to their incredible earthquake-resistant building codes. This is an example of how government regulation saves lives.
There is vast, vast damage. But the fundamental infrastructure is still, largely, in place. And that's because of careful planning and regulation.
Earthquake, tsunami, potential nuclear plant meltdowns. And they're still functioning.
At this point, the main thing to worry about is that earthquakes, tsunamis, and nuclear explosions are what tend to wake Gojira up.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-03-15 05:27 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-03-15 05:38 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-03-15 05:46 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-03-15 05:48 pm (UTC)[edited - not used to it being 2011 not 2010]
edit2: cs monitor timeline. And new to me -- the quake was upgraded to a 9. Wow.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-03-15 05:38 pm (UTC)Re the generators someone commenting on one of the npr articles figured that water covered and got into the fuel reserves, then sank to get between the fuel and the intake.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-03-15 06:39 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-03-15 09:21 pm (UTC)Um. Japan is the size of the entire state of California. Most of the country is still standing because even a 9.0 can only go so far.
There's an awful lot of rescue still to be done, and it's a race against the clock. Even the best infrastructure is hard pressed to deal with all the rot that comes with post-earthquake cleanup. Sanitation will start to become an issue soon, as crowded as Japan is.
All the major auto manufacturers in Japan (for just a sample) have shut down their plants to do inspections.
I absolutely agree with the nuclear issue. But please don't minimize too far.
(no subject)
But yes, pretty damn amazing.