Didn't know you lived there. BTW, these reactors have been in service since 1970 and built with technology from the 50's. NE is the future. Especially with innovations like this: http://www.hyperionpowergeneration.com/ John
I think you may be right, OHMS. This will make people think twice before allowing a nuclear plant in their area. On a serious note :eek:, I still think the radiation blowing over the Pacific is going to be a boon for the Japanese fishing industry. I've seen hundreds of Sci-Fi movies so I know how big fish and animals grow after being exposed to radiation. Thanks to the Japanese earth quake the world's food problems have just been solved! On the downside, we'll probably see the REAL Godzilla walk out of the sea in a few years!
There will never be another nuclear plant built in the United States. I expect Diablo Canyon and San Onofre will be decommissioned rapidly and and de-fueled ASAP. We had better start drilling for oil and digging coal. Frankly coal and natural gas is our future. Run the electric grid on coal and fuel all transportation with natty. God help those people in Japan. We all know Cali is next. The people in the grocery store last night seemed to know it too as they were buying up water and canned stuff. A 9.1 in California would kill hundreds of thousands perhaps millions though I suspect our buildings are more sturdy. The markets are going to take this badly Monday morning.
I doubt our buildings are better. Japan is the world leader in earthquake-proof construction. The absence of major damage in Tokyo is proof of this. The nuclear plant question is moot for now anyway. No way a radical leftist like Obama will go against the environmentalists and greenlight one.
I spent a coupla weeks in meetings with Mitsubishi in their complex of buildings across the street from the Palace compound in Tokyo. The office buildings were incredibly flimsy. Really crappy construction. It was quite a contrast from the quality we normally encounter in japanese products produced for export. Tokyo is the last place I would want to be in a large earthquake. The only other place I've been in Japan is Tanegashima Island so I can't really say anything about the rest of the country.
Scientists need to develop mini reactors, and put them in the basements or back yards of the pro nuke crowd. The reactor will supply energy for the neighborhood, and the radiation could be contained locally. The pro nuke folks who volunteer for the mini reactor in their basement/garage/back yard get free energy for life. Who cares if the pro nuke folks get radiation poisoning anyway, right? or.... We could just put solar panels on all government buildings, all business rooftops and warehouses, all homes including trailer parks (that would be an upgrade in appearance)...and not have to worry about the downside of nuclear plants.
A second japanese plant is going to blow. They pumped in seawater but evidently the fuel had already melted which threatens both inner and outer containment vessels. This one is going to blow radiation all over the place as they have literally no control over it now. Epic.