Earthquake in Tokyo

Quote :

"It’s so dark, the stars have never been so beautiful. Sendai, look up.” (in reference to the Sukiyaki song)

”Disneyland was giving out snacks from the shops. Some high school girls were taking a whole bunch, and I thought ‘wtf’, but then I saw them giving them out to kids at the shelters. Parents can’t move around right now, so I’m both thankful and worried.”

“One person quietly picked up scattered goods at a supermarket, lined up and paid for her groceries. Another old lady gave up her seat to a pregnant woman. A foreigner who watched this was speechless. Wow, Japan.”

UN comment: “Japan has been a large donor to the world. The UN will do all it can to help Japan.”

”It’s nothing new for a green light to only get one car through, but I was moved to see people giving way to each other. Traffic was paralyzed at one complicated intersection for 5 minutes, but the only honks I heard were ones signaling ‘thanks’. Amidst these scary but warming times, I’ve come to like Japan even more.”

“Last midnight, on the way home from college, the old lady at the bakery was still giving out bread for free — well past closing time. People are doing all they can even in amidst the chaos. Tokyo’s not so bad after all.”

“I got a text message from my Korean friend. ‘The world’s only atom bomb victim. The loser of the world war. Hit by typhoons every year. Earthquakes all the time. Tsunamis too. Yet Japan always stands back up. God speed Japan, god speed.’ I’m still crying.”

“I was tired waiting at the station, when some homeless people gave me a cardboard box to sit on to keep warm. This after we pretend they don’t even exist. It’s warm.”

“Suntory vending machines are free, Softbank WiFi spots are public. Everyone’s cooperating, and the other nations are helping too. Compared to back during the Hanshin earthquake when people refused foreign aid and obstructed the Self Defense Force deployment, Japan’s definitely become a stronger country.”

“I talked to the night shift metro driver. ‘Tough work, huh?’ He smiled and said, ‘well it’s tough times!’ He’s cool.”

“I walked 4 hours from the city center. The sidewalks were jammed with people, but it was orderly and silent. The shops were open, everyone working. The Internet infrastructure survived the shaking,

and people set up facilities to accommodate the stranded. The trains are running all night. Japan’s amazing. Who cares what place we are in GDP.”

“People of Japan, please don’t lose kindness. Protect the weak, help each other, and have forgiveness. When you’re worried, so too will those around you be. This is our wish. We here will do just the same.” — signed, Ultraman and staff

“My 2 year old son put on his shoes and just about wandered outside. ‘I’m going to arrest the earthquake!’, he says. Encouraging to see such courage and righteousness in such a small body. Be strong, everyone.”

“On my 4 hour walk home, there was a woman with a sketchbook note written ‘please feel free to use the washroom!’ — she was opening her washroom to the public. Japan must be the warmest country on earth. I was in tears.”

“When there’s a power outage, someone fixes it. When the water stops, someone fixes it. When there’s a problem at the nuclear plants, someone goes to fix it. These things don’t just fix themselves. While we’re sitting in our rooms going ‘hurry up dammit’, there are people out there in the freezing cold putting their lives on the line to set shit straight for us.”

It's at these moments that I renew my faith in mankind.

This video is one example that shows the Japanese people are resilient.

http://dotsub.com/view/665586de-c817-4026-b073-1b69a2c2665d
(You can select subtitles in different languages)

klarification wrote:

To somehow lighten things up, here's something I found on the net that i am sure would touch your hearts:

Quote :

original source: http://prayforjapan.jp/tweet_en.html

Quote :

"It’s so dark, the stars have never been so beautiful. Sendai, look up.” (in reference to the Sukiyaki song)



”Disneyland was giving out snacks from the shops. Some high school girls were taking a whole bunch, and I thought ‘wtf’, but then I saw them giving them out to kids at the shelters. Parents can’t move around right now, so I’m both thankful and worried.”



“One person quietly picked up scattered goods at a supermarket, lined up and paid for her groceries. Another old lady gave up her seat to a pregnant woman. A foreigner who watched this was speechless. Wow, Japan.”



UN comment: “Japan has been a large donor to the world. The UN will do all it can to help Japan.”



”It’s nothing new for a green light to only get one car through, but I was moved to see people giving way to each other. Traffic was paralyzed at one complicated intersection for 5 minutes, but the only honks I heard were ones signaling ‘thanks’. Amidst these scary but warming times, I’ve come to like Japan even more.”



“Last midnight, on the way home from college, the old lady at the bakery was still giving out bread for free — well past closing time. People are doing all they can even in amidst the chaos. Tokyo’s not so bad after all.”



“I got a text message from my Korean friend. ‘The world’s only atom bomb victim. The loser of the world war. Hit by typhoons every year. Earthquakes all the time. Tsunamis too. Yet Japan always stands back up. God speed Japan, god speed.’ I’m still crying.”



“I was tired waiting at the station, when some homeless people gave me a cardboard box to sit on to keep warm. This after we pretend they don’t even exist. It’s warm.”



“Suntory vending machines are free, Softbank WiFi spots are public. Everyone’s cooperating, and the other nations are helping too. Compared to back during the Hanshin earthquake when people refused foreign aid and obstructed the Self Defense Force deployment, Japan’s definitely become a stronger country.”



“I talked to the night shift metro driver. ‘Tough work, huh?’ He smiled and said, ‘well it’s tough times!’ He’s cool.”



“I walked 4 hours from the city center. The sidewalks were jammed with people, but it was orderly and silent. The shops were open, everyone working. The Internet infrastructure survived the shaking,

and people set up facilities to accommodate the stranded. The trains are running all night. Japan’s amazing. Who cares what place we are in GDP.”



“People of Japan, please don’t lose kindness. Protect the weak, help each other, and have forgiveness. When you’re worried, so too will those around you be. This is our wish. We here will do just the same.” — signed, Ultraman and staff



“My 2 year old son put on his shoes and just about wandered outside. ‘I’m going to arrest the earthquake!’, he says. Encouraging to see such courage and righteousness in such a small body. Be strong, everyone.”



“On my 4 hour walk home, there was a woman with a sketchbook note written ‘please feel free to use the washroom!’ — she was opening her washroom to the public. Japan must be the warmest country on earth. I was in tears.”



“When there’s a power outage, someone fixes it. When the water stops, someone fixes it. When there’s a problem at the nuclear plants, someone goes to fix it. These things don’t just fix themselves. While we’re sitting in our rooms going ‘hurry up dammit’, there are people out there in the freezing cold putting their lives on the line to set shit straight for us.”

Thank you so much for posting this. I'm literally bawling.

klarification wrote:

To somehow lighten things up, here's something I found on the net that i am sure would touch your hearts:

Quote :

original source: http://prayforjapan.jp/tweet_en.html

Quote :

"It’s so dark, the stars have never been so beautiful. Sendai, look up.” (in reference to the Sukiyaki song)



”Disneyland was giving out snacks from the shops. Some high school girls were taking a whole bunch, and I thought ‘wtf’, but then I saw them giving them out to kids at the shelters. Parents can’t move around right now, so I’m both thankful and worried.”



“One person quietly picked up scattered goods at a supermarket, lined up and paid for her groceries. Another old lady gave up her seat to a pregnant woman. A foreigner who watched this was speechless. Wow, Japan.”



UN comment: “Japan has been a large donor to the world. The UN will do all it can to help Japan.”



”It’s nothing new for a green light to only get one car through, but I was moved to see people giving way to each other. Traffic was paralyzed at one complicated intersection for 5 minutes, but the only honks I heard were ones signaling ‘thanks’. Amidst these scary but warming times, I’ve come to like Japan even more.”



“Last midnight, on the way home from college, the old lady at the bakery was still giving out bread for free — well past closing time. People are doing all they can even in amidst the chaos. Tokyo’s not so bad after all.”



“I got a text message from my Korean friend. ‘The world’s only atom bomb victim. The loser of the world war. Hit by typhoons every year. Earthquakes all the time. Tsunamis too. Yet Japan always stands back up. God speed Japan, god speed.’ I’m still crying.”



“I was tired waiting at the station, when some homeless people gave me a cardboard box to sit on to keep warm. This after we pretend they don’t even exist. It’s warm.”



“Suntory vending machines are free, Softbank WiFi spots are public. Everyone’s cooperating, and the other nations are helping too. Compared to back during the Hanshin earthquake when people refused foreign aid and obstructed the Self Defense Force deployment, Japan’s definitely become a stronger country.”



“I talked to the night shift metro driver. ‘Tough work, huh?’ He smiled and said, ‘well it’s tough times!’ He’s cool.”



“I walked 4 hours from the city center. The sidewalks were jammed with people, but it was orderly and silent. The shops were open, everyone working. The Internet infrastructure survived the shaking,

and people set up facilities to accommodate the stranded. The trains are running all night. Japan’s amazing. Who cares what place we are in GDP.”



“People of Japan, please don’t lose kindness. Protect the weak, help each other, and have forgiveness. When you’re worried, so too will those around you be. This is our wish. We here will do just the same.” — signed, Ultraman and staff



“My 2 year old son put on his shoes and just about wandered outside. ‘I’m going to arrest the earthquake!’, he says. Encouraging to see such courage and righteousness in such a small body. Be strong, everyone.”



“On my 4 hour walk home, there was a woman with a sketchbook note written ‘please feel free to use the washroom!’ — she was opening her washroom to the public. Japan must be the warmest country on earth. I was in tears.”



“When there’s a power outage, someone fixes it. When the water stops, someone fixes it. When there’s a problem at the nuclear plants, someone goes to fix it. These things don’t just fix themselves. While we’re sitting in our rooms going ‘hurry up dammit’, there are people out there in the freezing cold putting their lives on the line to set shit straight for us.”

THis is so touching!
Unbelievable how this country puts together everything!

But still im worried ne!
The 3rd reactor house explode? And the wind might turn in Tokyos direction??

I have so much respect for the Japanese people after witnessing their courage and resilience at a time like this.

Stay strong, Japan! Our hearts are with you!

To our Japanese friends here - please stay safe!

It's about 10:35pm in Tokyo now and we just had another quake. This one was a level 4 according to the weather station which does the observations, and the largest one we've had in the last 2 days I think. It continued for at least a minute I think so it was pretty long too.

This time the center seems to be located somewhere around the Shizuoka prefecture which is in the east from Aichi prefecture where Mao is. It's been reported that Aichi had a level 3 quake, too. I hope Mao is okay...but I'm sure she is because level 3 quakes happen quite often in Japan even without any major earthquake happening, so we're all used to it and any serious damage is highly unlikely at such a level.

Still, most of the after shakes we've been having the past 2 days are centered in some prefectures right above Tokyo and Saitama prefecture which is attached to the north of Tokyo. Note they are not coming from the Miyagi areas anymore. The quakes seem to be coming down south. Shizuoka is in the west from Tokyo, about 160km away. I think this is the first time we had a quake centered in the west from Tokyo since the major one on Friday. I do think it happened due to influence from the major quake in Miyagi, but it seems as if the earthquake is on some pilgrimage throughout Japan!

I hope every one in Shizuoka is okay because the eastern parts of the prefecture had a level 6+ shake which is pretty big. I guess it was certainly correct to postpone Worlds, and if things go on like this with the earthquake sort of moving around changing locations, sooner or later the western parts of Japan will have to stand alert, so they really should relocate the competition to another country if they don't want to have it cancelled.

More than anything, let's hope no more nuclear stations start having trouble!

http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2011/03/radiation_leak?fsrc=scn/fb/wl/bl/threatmadereal

Can anyone confirm this news?
The econ seems reliable enough -_
Oh shit

My friend in Japan posted around an hour ago that they experienced another earthquake and he lives in Nagoya. Is Mao is training there now?

Miki just wrote that on facebook also!!

roma wrote:

My friend in Japan posted around an hour ago that they experienced another earthquake and he lives in Nagoya. Is Mao is training there now?

Yep I think Mao is in Nagoya right now, but don't worry cause the shakings in the Aichi prefecture where Nagoya is was reported to be a level 3. Level 3 isn't such a big deal, cause we experience them from time to time always. But the Shizuoka prefecture which is attached to Aichi's east side was struck by a level 6+ shake this time. 6+ is quite big and I'm hoping there weren't any serious damages or casualties, but at least the depth of this quake was fairly shallow, and there are no alerts for tsunamis. Tokyo only had a level 4 shake. But it was shaking for a pretty long time. The recent after quakes we've been having are not centered in Miyagi or any of the other heavily damaged areas. They are mostly centered some where around Ibaraki or Chiba mostly, which is located to the northeast of Tokyo. Those areas are quite close to Tokyo but the ones centering there are mostly weak so there's no need to worry so far.

The Shizuoka 6+ levelled one was the largest we've had since the one centering in Niigata influencing the Nagano prefecture with the same level 6+ shake about 2 days ago. Although these are not coming from the center of the first major earthquake, they are probabaly happening because of it's influence.

Btw, it seems all the Japanese skaters who were supposed to enter Worlds have given statements sending their deepest condolences to the damaged area and mentioning that the postponing and maybe even the cancelling of Worlds under these circumstances are unavoidable. Mao has also said that the chain of disasters has made her acknowledge how precious life is, and as for Worlds she will continue practicing whether it be postponed or may even be cancelled.

Quote :

I do think it happened due to influence from the major quake in Miyagi, but it seems as if the earthquake is on some pilgrimage throughout Japan!

This was the same my dad said on saturday after the 2nd quake hit the other side of the country after the big one! Its like its wandering around the country!
So maybe the ppl who was hiding to the south are not really save~~

Quote :

Although these are not coming from the center of the first major earthquake, they are probabaly happening because of it's influence.

Maybe from the big quake the other earth plates were slide away too, so everything have to re-arrange again until its calming down!

Haidogirl wrote:

Quote :

I do think it happened due to influence from the major quake in Miyagi, but it seems as if the earthquake is on some pilgrimage throughout Japan!

This was the same my dad said on saturday after the 2nd quake hit the other side of the country after the big one! Its like its wandering around the country!
So maybe the ppl who was hiding to the south are not really save~~

Quote :

Although these are not coming from the center of the first major earthquake, they are probabaly happening because of it's influence.

Maybe from the big quake the other earth plates were slide away too, so everything have to re-arrange again until its calming down!

Thanks for the info Haidogirl. So if things happened similarly in your country, I guess all these after quakes striking various areas must be a pretty natural way for things to turn out after a major earthquake. I'm a bit relieved about that. And like you mentioned I suppose we'll just have to wait until the plates underground settle down, and then things will be okay. The most serious issue we are facing now is the Fukushima nuclear station. There's a high possibility that all the reactors there will have thier container boxes exploding like the first one, or in the worst case they might even have meltdowns. Our troops and station workers are doing the best they can to cool the reactors with sea water in order to avoid the worst, but unfortunately the temperature inside the containers are still going up at this very minute. Some amounts of radiation has already been observed within Tokyo...but although it may sound frightening, it was only an extremely low amount in numbers which should not influence the health of the people in Tokyo at all. But I'm going to stay in the house as much as possible with no windows opened for the next few days just in case. And I will surely not go out when it rains for at least a month. Many people was exposed to high amounts of radiation due to rain after the a-bomb was dropped in Hiroshima. The rain clouds were full of nuclear bits from the bomb but nobody knew it at that time. I truely home someone would come up with some other source of energy besides nuclear power soon...

From what I understand, when a major earthquake occurs, shifting the tectonic plates of the earth's crust, it puts additional stress on any other plate boundaries in the area. The friction between the plates holds them in place for a little awhile, until they eventually shift as well. This is why earthquakes often come in clusters like this.

I don't know if this is true or not, but I heard someone say on the news last night that the entire island of Honshu shifted over 2 meters during the quake.

The nuclear situation is what's worrying me the most, though.

illani wrote:

I don't know if this is true or not, but I heard someone say on the news last night that the entire island of Honshu shifted over 2 meters during the quake.

I heard that too! And one german scientist said that there will be a lot of climate changes in the next months/years because of a movement of the axis of the Earth. I can't explain this well in english but for example there could be temperatures among -20°C and 50°C in Germany... I never thought that "just" an earthquake could have so many consequences...! It's really shocking
And let's hope that all these hard-working engineers in Fukushima won't be contaminated!

Quote :

I truely home someone would come up with some other source of energy besides nuclear power soon...

In germany they already discussing about it, what i think its really disrespectful of them to start political stuff of the desaster! But they said, Japan is the perfect country for making the energy out of the wind and water! So maybe your counry will change this after they solved this nuclear accident!

Quote :

I don't know if this is true or not, but I heard someone say on the news last night that the entire island of Honshu shifted over 2 meters during the quake.

Yeah thats what i heard too! They said, Japan is now 2,40 m closer to China!


Any updates of the cooling process of Fokushima?
Is it still on this 4 of 7?


Guess what? I was just forced to cancel my vacation to Tokyo!
My parents forced me!

My thoughts are with Japan!!

(Sorry it took so long for me to post here...)

I hope everyone in Japan is okay.....Malaysia had tsunamis before but not like Japan ...Even though I worry for Japan, it is quite hurtful that Japan decline help from my country...

Anyway, I pray that the earthquake and tsunami will end soon...

Be Strong!!

Quote :

Guess what? I was just forced to cancel my vacation to Tokyo!
My parents forced me!

I have a trip to Tokyo next month!
I wonder how things are going to move on...
Maybe you can try convince your parents when things calm down!
I am sincerely hoping that things calm down soon!

Anyway!
I found a link this morning which made my day!
http://www.america.gov/st/washfile-english/2005/September/20050915165123ajesrom9.768313e-02.html
I find it heartwarming that so many people are helping Japan!
Its just an amazing country - always here to help when other countries were in situation of crisis!
We are alongside Japan!

This is encouraging news.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1366155/Japan-earthquake-tsunami-4-month-old-baby-girl-father-reunited-Ishinomaki.html

And more -- two people, a 70 years old woman and a 20 years old man, were rescued after 92 hours yesterday.

Haidogirl wrote:

In germany they already discussing about it, what i think its really disrespectful of them to start political stuff of the desaster! But they said, Japan is the perfect country for making the energy out of the wind and water! So maybe your counry will change this after they solved this nuclear accident!

There are many things Japan should learn from Germany about getting rid of nuclear dependency. The lesson we are learning now is awful and dreadful. It’s been reported that more than 800 Japanese workers and engineers plus American soldiers are fighting to cool down the nuke plants at Fukushima. I’m very, very sorry for American soldiers who are putting their lives at risk for a country they are not from. I myself didn’t care about nuclear power plants so much. They’ve been around many years. I took safety for granted. I took power supply for granted. But, I was wrong. No matter how well it is designed and engineered, nuclear energy is inherently too risky and dangerous. As pochi says, we need alternative energy sources and I’m thinking about installing photovoltaic panels on our roof.

Sorry to hear that you had to cancel your trip to Tokyo Hidogirl. I hope things turn around quickly so that it will be much safer by the time when MaoChan756 visits Tokyo.

MaoChan756 wrote:

Quote :

Guess what? I was just forced to cancel my vacation to Tokyo!
My parents forced me!

I have a trip to Tokyo next month!
I wonder how things are going to move on...
Maybe you can try convince your parents when things calm down!
I am sincerely hoping that things calm down soon!

Anyway!
I found a link this morning which made my day!
http://www.america.gov/st/washfile-english/2005/September/20050915165123ajesrom9.768313e-02.html
I find it heartwarming that so many people are helping Japan!
Its just an amazing country - always here to help when other countries were in situation of crisis!
We are alongside Japan!

You too? *hugs you tight*
This is so sad ne! But next month then i can understand it, but my vacation is in august!
Thats half a year to go still, but they keep saying i may not go there this year! They say i can go there next year!
Now i really regret didnt go last summer!

Quote :

I’m very, very sorry for American soldiers who are putting their lives at risk for a country they are not from.

Yeah i think so too, but i heard the last 50 ppl in the plant will be like celebraties if they manage to solve the problem! What i still keep believing and praying for!

Today a friend of my dad, who also worked many years in a power plant in germany, just told me, it usually needs at least 10 days until you can see a cooling effect! So i think the fight is not lose yet!

linglang wrote:

Haidogirl wrote:

In germany they already discussing about it, what i think its really disrespectful of them to start political stuff of the desaster! But they said, Japan is the perfect country for making the energy out of the wind and water! So maybe your counry will change this after they solved this nuclear accident!

There are many things Japan should learn from Germany about getting rid of nuclear dependency. The lesson we are learning now is awful and dreadful. It’s been reported that more than 800 Japanese workers and engineers plus American soldiers are fighting to cool down the nuke plants at Fukushima. I’m very, very sorry for American soldiers who are putting their lives at risk for a country they are not from. I myself didn’t care about nuclear power plants so much. They’ve been around many years. I took safety for granted. I took power supply for granted. But, I was wrong. No matter how well it is designed and engineered, nuclear energy is inherently too risky and dangerous. As pochi says, we need alternative energy sources and I’m thinking about installing photovoltaic panels on our roof.

I've been thinking a lot about this issue too. I used to think of nuclear power as something mankind had harnessed, something which was no longer 'dangerous', though the issue of what to do with the waste was always troubling. But this has reminded us all how dangerous it can be. Is it worth the risk? I'm not sure I believe so anymore. The engineers tell us how this wouldn't have happened with a newer plant, but they also told us other things about this crisis that have been proven wrong over the last few days. I'm sorry, but I just don't believe we have this power as harnessed as we thought. Accidents are rare, but when they happen, they're really bad.

Obviously, fossil fuels can be dangerous as well—there's the carbon issue of course, and big disasters like what happened in the Gulf of Mexico. They're still not sure what the full environmental and economic impact of that spill is. The spill in Prince William Sound is still impacting the environment, over twenty years later—they say the oil is still there if you dig into the sand.

But Japan actually has a wealth of opportunities for alternative energy. Besides wind and solar, I think the potential for tidal power is huge there, given the large amount of coastline per land mass. And geothermal as well. Look at Iceland—they have really made a success of utilizing this power source. Here in Alaska, there's a guy who owns a hot springs, and he built a small geothermal plant to run his resort there—he used to run it using gas generators, because the electric grid doesn't reach out there, but now his electricity needs are taken care of by the resource under the ground. I'm no expert on any of this, but I would think Japan would have lots of potential for this type of energy, given where it's situated. Their population is much larger than Iceland's, but I think it could still account for a part of their power needs. It would certainly be worth investigating.

Sorry for going on about this issue, but I just hope some good can come out of all of this. I know energy companies can be difficult when it comes to change, but maybe the Japanese people will be more demanding of it, after this. I can't stand to think of what the next days might bring—the situation with the nuclear plant is really scaring me.

But otherwise, if we wouldnt have the power plants, engery would be very very expensive

Haidogirl wrote:

But otherwise, if we wouldnt have the power plants, engery would be very very expensive

In the short term, there will be a lot of expense. But I think what we all have to ask ourselves about the true costs of some of our energy sources. Those costs are not always measured in dollars or yen, but in lives lost, populations displaced, and environmental destruction.

Edit: I just wanted to add that I'm well aware that there are many nuclear plants in use and that this sort of disaster is super-rare. But it only takes once to remind us of the potential destructive power we are dealing with. Wind farms may be unsightly, for example, but if a wave hits them we don't have these sorts of problems.

Here in Brazil we use water-based energy and although it functions perfectly, our government built two (useless) nuclear stations, and they have plans to create more. I hope this tragedy in Japan makes them reconsider it. The two we have in Rio provide us with only 2% of all our energy, so they're unnecessary. It's only a way to look modern and prosperous to other more developed countries, but I think it should be the other way around. I'm sure others would be more impressed if we could live without them (well, actually we do).

illani wrote:

Haidogirl wrote:

But otherwise, if we wouldnt have the power plants, engery would be very very expensive

In the short term, there will be a lot of expense. But I think what we all have to ask ourselves about the true costs of some of our energy sources. Those costs are not always measured in dollars or yen, but in lives lost, populations displaced, and environmental destruction.

Edit: I just wanted to add that I'm well aware that there are many nuclear plants in use and that this sort of disaster is super-rare. But it only takes once to remind us of the potential destructive power we are dealing with. Wind farms may be unsightly, for example, but if a wave hits them we don't have these sorts of problems.

You're so right. Disasters are rare, but when they come, it's devastating and the effects last for ages.

I had hopes this could pass so that we could have Worlds in Japan, but I've lost them all. It looks impossible now. It's really dangerous to bring more people while there are still risks of other earthquakes and radiation leak.

Haidogirl wrote:

　Today a friend of my dad, who also worked many years in a power plant in germany, just told me, it usually needs at least 10 days until you can see a cooling effect! So i think the fight is not lose yet!

Oh, it’s a relief to know that.

illani wrote:

I've been thinking a lot about this issue too. I used to think of nuclear power as something mankind had harnessed, something which was no longer 'dangerous', though the issue of what to do with the waste was always troubling. But this has reminded us all how dangerous it can be. Is it worth the risk? I'm not sure I believe so anymore. The engineers tell us how this wouldn't have happened with a newer plant, but they also told us other things about this crisis that have been proven wrong over the last few days. I'm sorry, but I just don't believe we have this power as harnessed as we thought. Accidents are rare, but when they happen, they're really bad.

Exactly! A male refugee in Fukushima said on TV last night that his community had never conducted evacuation drills (although they were educated about nuclear risks and treatments) because they had been told and had believed that the nuke plants were absolutely safe. It was wrong and stupid for us to blindly believe what power companies said.

Regarding alternative energy sources, as far as I know, wind and water/tidal energy are not so efficient and reliable because of large fluctuations and losses, and geothermal is more promising in terms of conversion efficiency. But, it’s current situation and if we invest more efforts and money, those technologies will dramatically improve for sure.

I now think Japan should enforce a law that all households and buildings, especially new constructions located in the southern part of Japan, must be equipped with solar panels. Sun rays here in the southern areas are so intense and we should make the most of it. I know giving no freedom of choice sounds like socialism. I think drastic measures are needed to make a real change happen.

illani wrote:

In the short term, there will be a lot of expense. But I think what we all have to ask ourselves about the true costs of some of our energy sources. Those costs are not always measured in dollars or yen, but in lives lost, populations displaced, and environmental destruction.

Exactly! We must think it in a long term, much much longer than we may think now.

linglang wrote:

Regarding alternative energy sources, as far as I know, wind and water/tidal energy are not so efficient and reliable because of large fluctuations and losses, and geothermal is more promising in terms of conversion efficiency. But, it’s current situation and if we invest more efforts and money, those technologies will dramatically improve for sure.

Yes, they will improve with more investment and research. What we really need is a better way to store power, because most alternative energy sources are not constant (sun and wind being the obvious examples). With better batteries, the alternative energy sources might become more attractive. What's cool about geothermal is that it is a more constant source of power.