I am not saying that Fukushima was not a big and horrible disaster, but things must be seen in perspective.
There is no greater tragedy in human history as coal. Fukushima is a footnote in history of disasters compared to coal. And yet, people go making much more fuss about nuclear powerplants than they do about coal. Coal mining kills a lot of people. That is an issue even in developed countries. Coal mining killed 48 people in USA in 2010 ( http://www.msha.gov/stats/charts/coalbystates.pdf). In least developed countries, it's a horrific disaster. Many goods made with energy prompted by coal-based powerplants are in our houses. China is powered by coal-based powerplants. See details on this tragedy here : http://www.clb.org.hk/en/node/17013. And those figures do not consider what coal does to public health considering air pollution. Many more die everyday from lung diseases as air gets fulfilled with toxic gases expelled by coal-based plants. Coal mining also destroys landscapes and pollute water, not to mention greenhouse effects. As if it is not enough, coal ash is radioactive. As a matter of a fact, it pollutes the environment with much more radiation than nuclear plants waste does. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=coal-ash-is-more-radioactive-than-nuclear-waste Em 1 de abril de 2012 19:10, Michele Comitini <[email protected]>escreveu: > A terrible dam disaster: Vajont 1963. > > http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vajont_Dam&useformat=desktop > > mic > Il giorno 01/apr/2012 23:12, "Alan Fletcher" <[email protected]> ha scritto: > > > I believe dams are the safest and cheapest way to generate >> > electricity. (Safety is measured in accidents per kilowatt-hour.) >> > - Jed >> >> You might look at the Hydro Quebec James Bay project(s). >> >> Wiki is a start -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Bay_Project -- but >> it's largely from a Quebecoi point of view. >> >> An ecological disaster -- covers an area the size of NY state, induced >> earthquakes, completely disrupted (good? bad?) the native Cree/Inuit >> population, extensive mercury contamination (alleged forced abortions). >> 10,000 caribou drowned during one storm (or, alleged, a planned test >> release). >> >> > While highly motivated, the Cree's opposition to the Great Whale River >> Project was mainly ineffective until 1992 when the State of New York >> withdrew from a multi-billion dollar power purchasing agreement due to >> public outcry and a decrease in energy requirements. >> >> I was in Albany at the time, and peripherally involved with the "public >> outcry". >> >>
