How the Fukushima Disaster Crippled Japan's Climate Plans

Mother Jones ^ | April 28, 2015 | by Tim McDonnell

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Japan used to have a pretty good reputation on climate change. Thanks to its robust industrial economy, it has the fourth-largest carbon footprint in the G20 nations. But it gets a sizeable chunk of its power from zero-carbon sources like hydro dams and, at least until the 2011 disaster at Fukushima, nuclear plants.

In the aftermath of that disaster Japan decided to indefinitely shutter all of its nuclear power plants. The last one closed in September 2013, completely eliminating an energy source that had once provided nearly a third of the country's power. That hole has since been filled by coal, oil, and natural gas, which goes a long way toward explaining Japan's poor performance on emissions in recent years.

Overall, since Fukushima, political will to address climate change has evaporated, Yamagishi said. Even among the general public, what was once a popular issue now barely makes the news in Japan.

"After Fukushima, everyone's attention shifted away from climate change," he said. "That's why we're having a hard time pushing on this issue."

[Oldeconomybuyer]

The global warmists would rather see Japan de-industrialize.

[chris37]

The Japanese tsunami illustrated one thing quite clearly.

Mother Nature > all.

[who_would_fardels_bear]

What is this going to do to Japan's Manga industry?

Most of the plots seemed to center around some horrifying post-apocalyptic future of citizens fending off mutants disfigured and transformed by nuclear accidents.

[dsc]

Fools, damn fools, and idiots.

[RayChuang88]

That's why Japan is looking with great interest a new generation of much safer reactors--very likely the molten salt reactor, which uses thorium-232 dissolved in molten fluoride salts as nuclear fuel. Unlike uranium-fueled reactors, MSR's are extremely safe to run, and an emergency shutdown (SCRAM) on the reactor is just dumping the liquid nuclear fuel out of the reactor, very important in earthquake-prone Japan.

[technically right]

Well Mother Jones, this is what most of us in the normal world call “reality”. Developed, industrialized societies need reliable and competitively priced electricity. End of story.

[Myrddin]

Global warming is a hoax. Japan is right to ignore it. The crappy reactors at Fukushima were shattered by the earthquake. The cooling pipes were severed. The tsunami just poured insult onto an already hopeless failure by inundating the backup diesel generators. They weren't going to help anyway with the shattered pipes. The cores melted down through the containment vessels. The natural flow of fresh water off the nearby mountains has washed radioactive material into the Pacific ocean constantly since Mar 11, 2011. The problem is beyond current technical capability to solve.

[CharlesWayneCT]

Isn’t Japan dead already? I was pretty sure that’s what some people said would happen by now, with the Fukishima disaster. Also, I think California was supposed to be uninhabitable.

Which is pretty much is, but not because of radiation.

[GraceG]

[ Isn’t Japan dead already? I was pretty sure that’s what some people said would happen by now, with the Fukishima disaster. Also, I think California was supposed to be uninhabitable.

Which is pretty much is, but not because of radiation. ]

Dillution of the elements caused by rain, and it rains a LOT in Japan.

all that radiation containing material that made it outside the plant will slowlyu get washed to sea or already has.

[GraceG]

[ That’s why Japan is looking with great interest a new generation of much safer reactors—very likely the molten salt reactor, which uses thorium-232 dissolved in molten fluoride salts as nuclear fuel. ]

Hopefully Japan does this before China, I would rather we buy our Thorium reactors from Japan than China.