Contrary Brin: The Japan Tragedy, nukes, maturity, uplift and more…
David Brin points out the part that has me angriest about the whole nuclear problem in Japan right now: What were they thinking putting both the generators and the electrical contacts that control the cooling pumps below flood level?
Point two — the news from Japan is clearly a setback for those of us pushing for a gradual, prudent resumption of US endeavors in nuclear power. (This movement includes many of the “tech-liberals like Stewart Brand, helping turn it into a bipartisan movement.) In fact, the negligence of the operating company — Tokyo Power, which has been cited for violations frequently in the past — is appalling!
“The central problem arises from a series of failures that began after the tsunami. It easily overcame the sea walls surrounding the Fukushima plant. It swamped the diesel generators, which were placed in a low-lying area, apparently because of misplaced confidence that the sea walls would protect them.” (From the NY Times.)
This was supremely bad management and the whole world will suffer, because of new suspicion of nuclear power. This was so avoidable. Such a blatantly stupid failure mode would never happen here, where there are backups to backups to backups… and we have other stupidities, all our own.