Loose Nuke Talk
by digby
I stayed up way too late last night reading and watching news reports about nuclear meltdown in Japan. Not a good way to relax before going to sleep.
I gathered from reading around the web that this Wikipedia entry is a pretty good discussion of the science involved. One thing seems clear. The nuclear proponents are very, very sure that it’s completely impossible for any kind of nuclear disaster to happen — even in the case of an 8.9 earthquake with frequent huge aftershocks and a catastrophic tsunami. Other scientists seem a bit more skeptical.
I would certainly be cautious about believing some of the happy talk from the reporters who are parroting government assurances. Last night, in their zeal to be fair and balanced there was a long discussion of how important nuclear power is for all of us — with the footage of the plant blowing up on the screen. There may be reasons to underplay the potential fallout (no pun intended) but if you’re looking for truth, I’d keep an open mind and get information from a number of sources on this one. I am getting that “BP” feeling where we were told for days that it was under control — and it wasn’t.
Last night as the thing was unfolding, Kyodo News had frequent updates that I wasn’t seeing anywhere else.
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