Japan's Nuclear Emergency

Internationally recognized symbol.Image via Wikipedia
Japan, after the earthquake and the tsunami, is now facing the threat of nuclear devastation. It seems so unreal and unfair and tragic, particularly for a country like Japan that has suffered through Hiroshima and Nagasaki! As I write it is still too soon to tell how it will turn out and we all fervently hope that the several nuclear reactors can be put under control and tragedy averted.

So much has been written about Japan over the last four days since the earthquake that I have nothing new to add. As you know, I always post after events have finished unfolding so that it becomes possible to step back and take stock. For the Japanese nuclear nightmare, it is still too soon to do that.

But news are worrying, including the Japanese officially requesting American help. So I just thought I'd put together for you what in my (humble) opinion are a few of the better articles and analysis written about this tragedy.

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Comments

Anonymous said…
Thanks, Claude! As always, when you write on current events you are tops.

Furthermore, I like very much your giving us the direction to take to find articles in the midst of a flurry of news, such as in this horrific situation.

Sally de Mattia
March 15, 2011 at 5:27 PM
GiuseppeBonannodiLinguaglossa.info said…
E' molto triste quello che sta succedendo in Giappone ma è ancora più triste vedere che i politici ed il capitalismo sfrenato in quel Paese ha pensato di combattere contro i terremoti ma non contro le scelte ambientali sbagliate. In un Paese con una intensità di frequenza sismica si è andato a costruire delle centrali nucleari proprio sul mare. E pensare che Berlusconi ce le vuole rifilare pure a noi e cassa il "solare" al Consiglio dei Ministri! GB
March 15, 2011 at 10:52 PM
Claude Forthomme said…
Thanks, Sally, for the interest shown and your support! And thanks,Giuseppe, for your comment. Yes, it is very sad to see how jungle capitalism and the political class has led to the establishment of nuclear reactors right next to the sea where a tsunami was bound to follow an earthquake. Perhaps no one could foresee a 10 meter-high wave (actually the seawall was built for an 8 mt wave!!) but in a seismic country like Japan, such an outcome was never an impossibility. Japan is clearly NOT the sort of place where you should ever built nuclear plants...
March 16, 2011 at 6:07 PM
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