Four months after an earthquake and tsunami hit Japan triggering the worst nuclear energy crisis since Chernobyl, the country’s Prime Minister has finally addressed Japan’s energy future. In a statement released yesterday, Naoto Kan said that his country should learn from the disaster and phase out its use of nuclear power. “We should seek a society that does not rely on nuclear energy,” Kan said. “We should gradually and systematically reduce reliance on nuclear power and eventually aim at a society where people can live without nuclear power plants.” For a country that receives 30 percent of its energy from 54 reactors, reducing its use of nuclear energy will be a huge change.

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Post tags: Fukushima, fukushima nuclear power plant, Fukushima plant, Japan, japan nuclear crisis, japan nuclear energy, japan nuclear policy, japan nuclear power, japan to phase out nuclear power, naoto kan, naoto kan nuclear power, nuclear, nuclear energy, nuclear energy policy, renewable energy, worldwide nuclear energy policy

The nuclear crisis in Japan has already had a worldwide effect on nuclear policy. Germany is accelerating plans to close nuclear power plants, Italy has halted plans to build more, and many U.S. politicians have called for a moratorium on nuclear power in the States. Now China, the world’s largest consumer of energy, just announced that the country is cutting its 2020 plans for more nuclear power, and instead putting the money toward building more solar farms. China’s National Development and Reform Commission said that this decision is a direct result of the disaster at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant in Japan.

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Post tags: china clean energy plans, china nuclear power, china nuclear power plans, china nuclear power plants, china renewable energy plans, china solar power, fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant, japan earthquake, japan nuclear crisis, japan nuclear disaster, japan nuclear power, japan tsunami, nuclear power, nuclear power policy, Solar Power

Yesterday, we reported that four reactors at the troubled Fukushima Nuclear Plant in Japan are being shutdown, but the crisis is far from over. The Japanese government has tried everything from flushing the reactors with seawater to dropping tons of water from helicopters. They’ve also enlisted outside help, some of which is coming in the form of video game controllers. QinetiQ North America, a Virginia-based technology company, has deployed robots controlled by Xbox 360 pads to assist relief efforts at the plant.

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Post tags: fukushima nulcear plant, japan earthquake, japan nuclear crisis, qinetiq bobcat loader robotic kits, qinetiq dragon runner robots, qinetiq north america, qinetiq north america robots, qinetiq north america robots in japan, qinetiq robots, qinetiq talon robots, robots, robots for nuclear crisis

Tokyo Electric Power Co. — or TEPCO as it is commonly known — has said that it is likely to completely shut down the four unstable nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant that were damaged after the March 11th earthquake and ensuing tsunamis. The reactors have caused a nation-wide nuclear crisis after they were unable to be stabilized and now officials are saying that in addition to shutting down the reactors, their containment will be a very long process.

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Post tags: Fukushima, fukushima daiichi, fukushima reactor stability, fukushima reactors, Japan, japan nuclear crisis, japan nuclear emergency, japan shut down reactors, nuclear power, nuclear power plant, shut down power plant, shut down reactors

In a futile attempt to save Japan’s Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant from meltdown, workers have been feverishly pumping water into the reactors, but one radioactive core has overheated and melted.  The reactor may not be saved, but US radiation expert Richard Lahey assures there is no immediate large-scale meltdown danger. Still, the radiation level in a pool of water in one room of reactor two was recently gauged at 1,000 millisieverts per hour, a level so high that under current exposure guideline, workers could only remain in the area for 15 minutes.


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Post tags: drywell, Fukushima, Japan, japan nuclear crisis, japan nuclear power plant, nuclear catastrophe, Richard Lahey, Robert Peter Gale

A road construction job that would have taken months in America has been finished in less than a week in Japan. The 9.0 magnitude March 11th earthquake demolished a stretch of the Great Kanto Highway in Naka, leaving a 150 meter crater-like crack. Construction workers and engineers arrived at the damaged highway on March 17th, and by March 23rd, it looked like the road never even had a pothole.

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Post tags: earthquake damage, earthquake damage road, earthquake demolished road repair, engineering, great kanto highway, great kanto highway repair, green transportation, japan crisis, japan disaster, japan earthquake, japan earthquake damaga, japan earthquake damaged road, japan earthquake devestation, japan nuclear crisis, japan road repaired in six days, japan tsunami, japanese earthquake, japanese highway repair, japanese tsunami, nuclear reactor

Over night, four lead lined military helicopters dumped 30 tons of water on the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The seawater was meant to cool the reactors, and the fill the water in the pools of spent fuel rods, which have reportedly boiled dry at reactor No. 4. Eleven water cannon trucks joined the effort. However, ABC is now reporting that officials have suspended more water flights by helicopters due to high levels of radiation.

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While nuclear energy experts disagree on just how bad the situation is at Japan’s stricken nuclear plants, there is one thing that they are all certain of: things could get worse. Over the last few days, various media reports about the nuclear crisis have shown that the only certainty is uncertainty. Yesterday’s explosion and fire at Fukushima Dai-ichi heightened concerns and precautions, but the long term effects are still hard to pin down.

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Continuing complications at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan have escalated the fear of widespread radiation contamination. Yesterday, another fire was discovered at the plant following the hydrogen explosion that occurred on Tuesday at the plant’s No. 2 reactor and similar explosions at the No. 1 and No. 3 reactors. “There is still a very high risk of further radioactive material coming out,” warned Prime Minister Naoto Kan in an address to the Japanese people. For now, about 200,000 people living within a 12.4-mile radius of the plant have been evacuated and flights over the area have been banned.

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This morning, a second explosion occurred at a stricken nuclear power plant in Japan, blowing the roof off of a containment building, but not damaging the reactor. The blast is the latest development in Japan’s escalating nuclear crisis due to problems caused by the earthquake and tsunami. Friday morning, a first plant was reported to have a failed cooling system, and over the weekend, three more nuclear power plants experienced continuing problems.

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Since Friday’s massive earthquake and tsunami, nuclear power plants in Northern Japan have faced a series of problems, including explosions and failed cooling systems. Nearly 180,000 people have been evacuated, and levels of radioactive particles in the air around troubled power plants are higher than twice what Japan considers to be safe. The precarious situation has revived fears about nuclear power, which has regained support as an alternative fuel source to fossil fuels. The crisis could likely influence the nuclear policies of the United States, European countries, India, and China.

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Post tags: failed cooling systems, japan earthquake, japan nuclear crisis, japan nuclear power, japan tsunami, nuclear crisis, nuclear crisis japan, nuclear disaster, nuclear disaster japan, nuclear disaster situation, nuclear energy, nuclear power, nuclear power plant, nuclear reactors