Further to my previous post which encouraged people to donate to more desperate causes than the devastating Japanese earthquake (although, if you really must, see here for a summary of the NGO that are doing good work in Japan), I write today to remind people to keep Japan's nuclear 'crisis' in context.
One of my nerd based guilty-pleasures, xkcd, published an excellent diagram showing the level of radiation around Fukushima - only slightly more than doses received during a mammogram.
It saddens me to see the Japanese nuclear situation taken up as an argument again the safety of nuclear power - with protests, articles and discussions around Europe.
I see Japan's excellent response to this crisis as an affirmation of the safety standards in modern reactors. In the advent of a catastrophic event, the correct emergency procedures and safety measures were followed, the result was that there was no significant and dangerous radiation leak. It worked!
Speaking about the Fukushima reactor, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency stated that he had "no doubt that this crisis will be effectively overcome." I am perfectly open to having a rational fact-based discussion about Nuclear power, but this is not the way to start it.
One of my nerd based guilty-pleasures, xkcd, published an excellent diagram showing the level of radiation around Fukushima - only slightly more than doses received during a mammogram.
It saddens me to see the Japanese nuclear situation taken up as an argument again the safety of nuclear power - with protests, articles and discussions around Europe.
I see Japan's excellent response to this crisis as an affirmation of the safety standards in modern reactors. In the advent of a catastrophic event, the correct emergency procedures and safety measures were followed, the result was that there was no significant and dangerous radiation leak. It worked!
Speaking about the Fukushima reactor, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency stated that he had "no doubt that this crisis will be effectively overcome." I am perfectly open to having a rational fact-based discussion about Nuclear power, but this is not the way to start it.
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