Japanese cheer unplugging of last nuclear plant

[bananas]

Source: Associated Press

Thousands of Japanese marched to celebrate the switching off of the last of their nation's 50 nuclear reactors Saturday, waving banners shaped as giant fish that have become a potent anti-nuclear symbol.

Japan will be without electricity from nuclear power for the first time in four decades when the reactor at Tomari nuclear plant on the northern island of Hokkaido goes offline for routine maintenance.

After last year's March 11 quake and tsunami set off meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, no reactor halted for checkups has been restarted amid public worries about the safety of nuclear technology.

"Today is a historical day," Masashi Ishikawa shouted to a crowd gathered at a Tokyo park, some holding traditional "koinobori" carp-shaped banners for Children's Day that have become a symbol of the anti-nuclear movement.

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Read more: http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Latest-News-Wires/2012/0505/Japanese-cheer-unplugging-of-last-nuclear-plant

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By Kazuhiro Nogi, AFP/Getty Images
People gather at an anti-nuclear demonstration Saturday at a park in Tokyo

[CanonRay]

1. Watch the price of oil skyrocket now

as the Japanese import more and more. Not that getting rid of nukes is a bad thing, they just do not have alternatives in place, so will be forced to buy more oil.

[Psephos]

3. Actually, their short-term alternatives are coal and natural gas.

Which will be a net benefit to the US, if you want to take that perspective.

[may3rd]

4. China mines a lot of coal. They could hold them over a barrel in a pinch

China is fighting with Viet Nam about a huge off shore gas field. In time, they will corner that source.

[Psephos]

5. True, that...but the US has even larger coal reserves.

Japan would rather buy it from the US for geopolitical reasons, too.

[canuckledragger]

6. There are other, cleaner alternative possibilities

Considering they are essentially an island on the edge of the Pacific ocean

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave_power

[Baitball Blogger]

2. Let's hope they can overcome the nuclear problem they now have.

We're rooting for them.

[RobertEarl]

7. Indeed

They have at least taken on the proper mindset and the first steps to saving their lands.

Might be that since we bombed them their immune systems have evolved to be able to survive the radiation? That is the real question in the near term.

[Baitball Blogger]

8. Some will, but most won't.

Unless there's something about radiation we don't know about. We'll know more as time goes by.

But this isn't their first exposure to radiation, wouldn't that be something if genetically, some of them are immune to the negative effects?

[freshwest]

9. +1

[DeSwiss]

10. K&R