Thoughts on Japan

My first thoughts were "another natural disaster". Haiti, Floods in Pakistan, Fires in Russia, Floods in Australia, an earthquake in Christchurch NZ, and now an earthquake and tsunami in N.E. Japan. Is it so ridiculous to link these events together ? Of course any human being would feel huge sympathy for those who have lost friends and relations, their homes etc. The scale of the devastation and in particular the sight of the huge waves enveloping houses and all else showed the true power of nature.

Of course within hours of the tsunami the by product of Japan's heavy reliance on nuclear power became only too obvious. For those of us who have opposed nuclear power for many years, the disaster is a tragedy yet also the sad realisation that what we have been saying is true. Nuclear Power comes at a high price , to me too high a price.

I spent the weekend reading the Government report on the possibility of tsunami in the Uk. It was written post 2004 and contains evidence from British geologists, a fascinating study that provided a huge amount of background information about earthquakes over time across Europe.

There is now a debate about the future of nuclear power in Britain, there are some who think that nuclear power can be part of the solution to cutting carbon. Now while cutting carbon emissions is integral to tackling climate change , new nuclear power stations cannot produce the quick fix. The time it would take to build them, are years that the country can ill afford to postpone tackling climate change.

The future of energy depends on reducing demand, best accomplished by cutting heat loss. 40% plus of heating is lost through inadequate insulation. Nuclear is inherently unsafe and the question of disposing of nuclear waste remains unsolved.