Summer brings nuclear restarts closer to Japan
Jun 13, '12 10:06 AM for everyone
Yes, before such a serious accident occurs it has been often told that the nuclear power decrease the emission of carbon dyoxide. But some argue that the tepid waster water from reactors rises the temparature of sea water. I think nulear power has contributed to both prevention and promotion of global warming. Now it offers hot topics among people here, whichever it's hot.
>The full item by Gail Marcus is at Nuke Power Talk, but I'll hit the highlights: The recent news from Japan indicates that Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda is moving closer to restarting the first of Japan's nuclear reactors. His initiative is still in progress and continues to face opposition, but he has made an unusually urgent plea for restart of the reactors and painted a bleak picture of what might happen if no reactors are restarted. Not only are Japan's current living standards at risk, but he also lays out the concern about national security and the need to avoid relying too heavily on oil and natural gas from the politically unstable Middle East. To those who believe that Japan is getting along just fine without nuclear power, he points out that the summer months, when the demand for electricity will reach its peak, still lie ahead. Local leaders are beginning to come around.... A related blog by Yoshito Hori, one of my friends in Japan, points out some of the reasons that Japan appears to be surviving without nuclear power, and why the appearances are wrong. He points out that some companies are buying their own generators. This is a very expensive proposition, and the money for those purchases is draining wages, profits, and expansion plans. He also reiterates a concern we've heard elsewhere, that companies are trying to move more of their production capacity offshore, resulting in the hollowing out of industry. He also notes other measures being taken, such as adjusting factory schedules. I would add one important action to Hori-san's blog--that is the increase in the use of fossil fuel plants. The additional use of fossil fuels this past year has already had a measurable effect on air pollution, and will likely result in increased illness and deaths, especially among the elderly and those with chronic diseases. There's a good explanation for Eiko's observed phenomena: not radiation, but the emissions of the replacements for the lost nuclear generation.
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