Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan was recently quoted as seeing the country as a nuclear-free nation. But unlike similar pronouncements from Germany, which pledges to be nuclear-free by 2022, Japan may become nuclear-free literally within a year. That would be quite a feat for a country that only five months ago relied on nuclear plants for about 30% of its electrical … [Read more...]
Japan crisis
After the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, now the shaken nation is facing nuclear emergency. Read all of our coverage on the situation in Japan with analysis of the lessons that this tragedy may hold for a world desperately in need of clean, safe energy in the face of climate change and peak oil.
When disaster strikes: looting or love?
"A powerful riposte to those who argue that in difficult times people become more selfish and turn on each other. Beautiful," says Rob Hopkins about a video from a New Zealand town recently leveled by an earthquake with a plucky community spirit. It makes dramatic TV to see angry mobs brandishing Glocks, busting store windows and pushing shopping carts full of bottled … [Read more...]
Nukes are forever
For all the tragic and mind-boggling downsides to the recent Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, one silver lining emerges from that dark cloud: At least we're talking with some degree of seriousness about the substantial dangers in so-called "clean" nuclear energy. Waste not, want not A recent film out of Finland, Into Eternity by Danish director Michael Madsen (not to be … [Read more...]
Earthquake: A Reflection
Earthquakes are not unusual in Yokohama, Japan or in Tokyo. If fact, a big one has been predicted for years and people in the area have been living with the knowledge that a very big one could hit the area anytime. All Japanese are aware of that, including myself, but who would have thought that we’d experience it? Rocking my world It happened when I was visiting my mother in … [Read more...]
Like Japan, let’s junk new nukes
Japan will build no new nuclear reactors. Their decision delivers a huge body blow to the global nuclear industry, and could mark a major turning point in the future of energy. As Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said about his country, We need to start from scratch… and do more to promote renewables. Wind power alone could---and now probably will---replace 40 nukes in … [Read more...]