Some Thoughts

It seems obvious now, after the earthquake in Japan, that nature cannot be controlled (we knew it anyway, but Japan's earthquake confirmed it once again). What is particularly terrifying in Japan's earthquake, apart from the force with which it hit, the volume of the tsunami that followed and the number of their direct victims, is the impact on the area from the explosion in the nuclear reactor that is in the area. The explosion and the consequent leak of radio-active material in the atmosphere once again raises questions about the use of nuclear energy. Is it safe? I guess we all know the answer to this: no. Why isn't it safe, despite the safety measures taken by governments, corporations and other institutions? Because nature is by nature unpredictable. Because it is impossible to produce nuclear energy in a void. There is always the danger of the accident. And it happened: the Japanese government is evacuating the area around the nuclear reactors in a radius of 20 kilometres. It all seems too familiar. One is reminded of Chernobyl or Three Mile Island. And other disasters before them; disasters we have heard of and disasters we only hear about in passing. And one has to wonder why do we still produce this extremely risky form of energy?

There are too ways to answer this question: the first is related to the profitability of nuclear energy. Nuclear reactors can produce huge amounts of energy. More people can be provided with energy, while the profits of those producing it rises. Therefore, what is presented as a way to provide better quality of life to more people is, according to one argument, a profit-driven strategy that simply chooses to ignore the nightmare of the nuclear holocaust. A question then rises: who is producing nuclear energy? And, more importantly, who controls those producing nuclear energy?

Which brings us to the second approach. The countries that produce nuclear energy are specific and it is them that decide who should be allowed to produce it. Therefore, some countries are to be trusted, while others are not. This pattern is nothing if not a pattern of power. The power-structures of the globalised world express themselves in the question of nuclear power. And they regulate the nuclear market according to their interests, while ensuring us that it is for our welfare. And we return to the initial question: given the unpredictability of the world around us, how can our welfare rely on such a precarious practice? And it is precarious not just for the human community, but for the entire planetary habitat.

The earthquake in Japan unearths these questions, once again in a painful way.