The earthquake and tsunami last Friday which devastated the northeastern coast of Japan is a terrible natural disaster and my thoughts go out to the people of that great nation. It's not the most devastating natural disaster by far, due in no small part to Japan being a more technologically advanced society with better building codes, but it will still have far-reaching consequences for Japan and the rest of the world.
One of those consequences will result from the ongoing crisis at Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plants. At the Fukushima-daiichi plant, two reactor buildings have already exploded due to the build-up of hydrogen which resulted from attempts to cool the reactors with seawater. As far as we currently know, the reactor containment vessels are still intact, though at least one of the reactors has undergone partial melting of the nuclear fuel. The reactors were shutdown ("scrammed") when the earthquake hit but the fuel will continue to emit residual heat for several days. Cooling systems were damaged or rendered inoperable so the reactors are still very hot. They should cool in time but for now the goal is to prevent total meltdown.
Nuclear power is currently the most "green" energy source we have that is economically and technologically feasible. Other "green" sources are still being researched and none of them currently are capable of being implemented in a way that will provide a reasonable supply of electricity, let alone be cost-effective. Until something better comes along (such as the development of nuclear fusion as an energy source instead of a weapon), nuclear fission is the only significant energy source that does not involve burning something or, as in the case of hydro-electric dams, other large environmental impacts.
In the United States, no new nuclear power plants have been constructed since the Three Mile Island incident over 30 years ago. That incident was worse than the current situation in Japan and there was little to no effect on public health. Recently there have been a few additional licenses granted for new reactors in a limited effort to expand the use of nuclear power in the United States. The Obama Administration has publicly voiced support for nuclear power in the past, and continues to do so even with the situation as it is in Japan.
However, I'm not sure I buy it. My prediction is that the future of nuclear fission as an energy source in this country is effectively dead. Environmentalists will make every effort to prevent any new plants and reactors from being built, and to shut down any existing reactors. It's already happening as a quick search on your favorite search engine will tell you. I predict that the administration will ultimately and "regretfully" decide that we really can't afford the risk and will cancel all of the new licenses that have been issued, will advocate shutting down any existing reactors if possible, and will refocus its efforts on promoting other, less feasible technologies like wind and solar. I personally don't think Obama supports nuclear power at all but is only putting on the show of doing so to appease its supporters. I think this crisis will be yet another that they won't let "go to waste" in order to further their agenda.
I hope I'm wrong, I really do. We'll just have to wait and see whether or not I am.
