The Sendai Earthquake that hit Japan is already a humanitarian disaster. If the Nuclear Reactors at Fukushima slide into meltdown, which seems increasingly, an epic catastrophe could well be imminent. (Fukushima is not far from the Japanese industrial heartland.) It is to be hoped this can be avoided.
I suspect this may also be the end of the line for nuclear energy. Nobody can doubt Japanese technological quality--it also has a very deep nuclear infrastructure. Its science and engineering is second to none, and it has long experience with preparing for earthquakes. Thus, the limits of present-day safety-engineering have been revealed in this earthquake, which seems to have completely overwhelmed back up systems. Because Japan is otherwise entirely dependent on imported oil, one fallout (excuse my language) of this disaster may well be an accelerated drive into renewal and safer energy sources spearheaded by Japan.
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