Japan.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
My heartfelt condolences to the Japanese.
A 9.0 magnitude earthquake, and the tsunamis and nuclear meltdown that followed - all these could easily destroy a community.
But the Japanese stood strong. Their preparedness in dealing with the earthquake and the tsunami, and their calmness in dealing with the aftermath have more than just awed the world. There has been virtually no looting despite the shortage of food; some newspapers even reported that some Japanese actually chose not to take everything that was available so that people at the back of the queue would not go home empty-handed.
I think the people who are more concerned with how the earthquake will affect bond prices, interest rates and all should be ashamed of themselves. We have a community who is struggling to survive, and yet some are not a little interested in how we can help them. Has society and capitalism in general turned us into selfish and insensitive people? Probably.
Just a little note on the nuclear meltdown that resulted from the earthquake.
I have never believed in finding the perfect alternative for energy. I think it is extremely naive to believe that we can one day find a main source of energy that has completely no impact on the environment. Everything has its risks and negative impacts. Burning of fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide, which causes global warming. Harnessing energy from water is never an easy task- never belittle the power of water. The safest may be solar energy, but till today it is nowhere near to replacing fossil fuels as the main source of energy. And nuclear energy, the best alternative thus far - look at what happened in Japan.
A 9.0 magnitude earthquake, and the tsunamis and nuclear meltdown that followed - all these could easily destroy a community.
But the Japanese stood strong. Their preparedness in dealing with the earthquake and the tsunami, and their calmness in dealing with the aftermath have more than just awed the world. There has been virtually no looting despite the shortage of food; some newspapers even reported that some Japanese actually chose not to take everything that was available so that people at the back of the queue would not go home empty-handed.
I think the people who are more concerned with how the earthquake will affect bond prices, interest rates and all should be ashamed of themselves. We have a community who is struggling to survive, and yet some are not a little interested in how we can help them. Has society and capitalism in general turned us into selfish and insensitive people? Probably.
Just a little note on the nuclear meltdown that resulted from the earthquake.
I have never believed in finding the perfect alternative for energy. I think it is extremely naive to believe that we can one day find a main source of energy that has completely no impact on the environment. Everything has its risks and negative impacts. Burning of fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide, which causes global warming. Harnessing energy from water is never an easy task- never belittle the power of water. The safest may be solar energy, but till today it is nowhere near to replacing fossil fuels as the main source of energy. And nuclear energy, the best alternative thus far - look at what happened in Japan.
But does that mean we should completely give up on nuclear energy? The reality is, fossil fuels are going to run out in 30-50 years time, even if we decide to completely ignore the impacts of using them to generate electricity. What will happen then, once the last drop of fossil fuel is burnt? Survive without electricity? Pray that another alternative which can supply the world with the same power will appear within this next 50 years? Don't be silly.
Reality is often cruel and harsh. But that does not give us reason to not face the problem, and run away from it. The truth is, fossil fuels are not going to last us forever. We need alternative sources of energy, and preferably cleaner forms, to replace fossil fuels. And nuclear energy is one that has the most potential. Despite the unfortunate incident in Japan, I think countries should not halt their nuclear pojects. Rather, what they could try to do, is to examine the risks of using nuclear energy and try to minimize the possible accidents and impacts of such usage.
Something so simple to understand, yet so difficult to achieve. Vested interests, politics, what else?
Sometimes I wonder, what has the world come to?
Reality is often cruel and harsh. But that does not give us reason to not face the problem, and run away from it. The truth is, fossil fuels are not going to last us forever. We need alternative sources of energy, and preferably cleaner forms, to replace fossil fuels. And nuclear energy is one that has the most potential. Despite the unfortunate incident in Japan, I think countries should not halt their nuclear pojects. Rather, what they could try to do, is to examine the risks of using nuclear energy and try to minimize the possible accidents and impacts of such usage.
Something so simple to understand, yet so difficult to achieve. Vested interests, politics, what else?
Sometimes I wonder, what has the world come to?