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State of emergency declared at Japan Nuclear Plant

James Acton, a physicist who examined the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant after a 2007 earthquake, told CNN that Japanese authorities are in a race to cool down the Fukushima reactor.

"If they can't restore power to the plant (and cool the reactor), then there's the possibility of some sort of core meltdown," he said.


Report: 2 Japanese plants struggling to cool radioactive material - CNN.com
 
I'll admit it, my concern is becoming a giant rock in the pit of my stomach. The potential for tragedy here is beyond comprehension.
 
I'll admit it, my concern is becoming a giant rock in the pit of my stomach. The potential for tragedy here is beyond comprehension.

I think it's already a tragedy. This will just make it a bigger tragedy.

 
This is a jaw-dropping disaster. Of all the bad things my imagination could have come up with for catastrophes of 2011 this surpasses all of them. As if it's not already bad enough with the ecological catastrophes that the Japanese people will have to endure, the world will probably take yet another 30 years to come around to accepting nuclear power as safe, and our dependence on oil will continue unabated.
 
Re: 3 nuclear reactors in trouble after Japan quake

****, we'll just build them all on the East Coast where there are no earthquakes. None of the alternative energy sources can generate the amount of unit power needed to support the grid. At most I have seen estimates of 5% of total power. Only nuclear can support our power needs while being an alternative to fossil fuels. Furthermore, there are a lot of promising reactor designs that won't meltdown, and support easy waste storage. Nuclear is not dead.
 
Re: 3 nuclear reactors in trouble after Japan quake

As I understand it, the second most active fault line in America after the San Andreas, runs down the middle of New England. Indeed the first earth quake I ever experienced was in Brunswick, Maine, a measly 4.0: A million Mainers as one had a single thought, “Oh, God, the boiler just blew up!”
 
Re: 3 nuclear reactors in trouble after Japan quake

****, we'll just build them all on the East Coast where there are no earthquakes. None of the alternative energy sources can generate the amount of unit power needed to support the grid. At most I have seen estimates of 5% of total power. Only nuclear can support our power needs while being an alternative to fossil fuels. Furthermore, there are a lot of promising reactor designs that won't meltdown, and support easy waste storage. Nuclear is not dead.

Nuclear has plenty of upside but the downside is it takes thousands of years to become stable. If you bury it, you’re kicking the can down the road to our ancestor, hoping that no 8.9 earthquake occurs where you bury the s***.

Then there is a little thing called ground water; we bury this in mostly rural areas, where the locals get their water from wells. Now to this ole trucker, who managed to preserve a couple of his limited brain cells, that raise one big question.

WHAT THE HELL ARE WE GOING TO PUT THIS S*** IN THAT WE KNOW WILL LAST AT LEAST A FEW THOUSAND YEARS. This s*** is going to leak sometime and water, at least potable water,water that you can drink and not keel over is, or will be, one of our scarcest resources before this century is over. At least from what I have read it will be.To me, thats one big a** downside we have to overcome.:(
 
Re: 3 nuclear reactors in trouble after Japan quake

… never let a huge human tragedy go to waste when you can score political points!

And yet you missed a chance to offer an opinion on 3 nuclear reactors in trouble. Q.E.D. I'm just pointing out that you don't seem to have much to say about that “huge human tragedy” you seem so concerned about; you'd rather attack me. Got it.
 
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Re: 3 nuclear reactors in trouble after Japan quake

And yet you missed a chance to offer an opinion on 3 nuclear reaction in trouble. Q.E.D. I'm just pointing out that you don't seem to have much to say about that “huge human tragedy” you seem so concerned about; you'd rather attack me. Got it.

I'll offer the same opinion I did when we had the horrific oil spill.

mankind needs energy. without it, millions will die from starvation, lack of drinking water, and other calamities we can't even imagine.

so keep drilling, keep building power plants, and keep burning coal.
 
Re: 3 nuclear reactors in trouble after Japan quake

Nuclear has plenty of upside but the downside is it takes thousands of years to become stable. If you bury it, you’re kicking the can down the road to our ancestor, hoping that no 8.9 earthquake occurs where you bury the s***.

Then there is a little thing called ground water; we bury this in mostly rural areas, where the locals get their water from wells. Now to this ole trucker, who managed to preserve a couple of his limited brain cells, that raise one big question.

WHAT THE HELL ARE WE GOING TO PUT THIS S*** IN THAT WE KNOW WILL LAST AT LEAST A FEW THOUSAND YEARS. This s*** is going to leak sometime and water, at least potable water,water that you can drink and not keel over is, or will be, one of our scarcest resources before this century is over. At least from what I have read it will be.To me, thats one big a** downside we have to overcome.:(

If it's true that plastic milk cartons take 450 years to decompose, then surely we can build something "on purpose" out of the same material that will last 2,000. ;)

Edit: Anybody else shocked to learn that they have 55 nuclear reactors in Japan??
 
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Re: 3 nuclear reactors in trouble after Japan quake

If it's true that plastic milk cartons take 450 years to decompose, then surely we can build something "on purpose" out of the same material that will last 2,000. ;)

Better get on the job Maggie, if you don,t want this crap in your back yard,Yucca Mountains filling up fast.:2wave:
 
Re: 3 nuclear reactors in trouble after Japan quake

Better get on the job Maggie, if you don,t want this crap in your back yard,Yucca Mountains filling up fast.:2wave:

Think it's fillin' up fast enough to get ta' me here in Chicago anytime soon? ;)
 
Re: 3 nuclear reactors in trouble after Japan quake

Think it's fillin' up fast enough to get ta' me here in Chicago anytime soon? ;)

I know a motel over by midway that this s*** would be an upgrade.:mrgreen:
 
Re: 3 nuclear reactors in trouble after Japan quake

Nuclear has plenty of upside but the downside is it takes thousands of years to become stable. If you bury it, you’re kicking the can down the road to our ancestor, hoping that no 8.9 earthquake occurs where you bury the s***.

Then there is a little thing called ground water; we bury this in mostly rural areas, where the locals get their water from wells. Now to this ole trucker, who managed to preserve a couple of his limited brain cells, that raise one big question.

WHAT THE HELL ARE WE GOING TO PUT THIS S*** IN THAT WE KNOW WILL LAST AT LEAST A FEW THOUSAND YEARS. This s*** is going to leak sometime and water, at least potable water,water that you can drink and not keel over is, or will be, one of our scarcest resources before this century is over. At least from what I have read it will be.To me, thats one big a** downside we have to overcome.:(

Easy, launch the **** into orbit around Jupiter. Or pick your appropriate location in the Solar System.
 
We sure are going to have to re-think the notion that nuclear power is the answer to our energy problems. Of course the right would have a fit if a moratorium was put into effect.

The vast majority of the United States is not at risk for such a powerful earthquake. On the other hand, this should cause us to rethink nuclear power in Taiwan which is just as seismically active as Japan...
 
We sure are going to have to re-think the notion that nuclear power is the answer to our energy problems. Of course the right would have a fit if a moratorium was put into effect.

No nukes and no fossil fuels? The Left is going to drag us, kicking and screaming if they have to, into the Dark Ages.

Awesome! Can't wait!
 
We sure are going to have to re-think the notion that nuclear power is the answer to our energy problems. Of course the right would have a fit if a moratorium was put into effect.

Yup, here's more lefty concern for the Japanese people.
 
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