A view of the Solar Techno Park's HyperHelios near Yokohama.
About a year ago, Japan was struck by a giant earthquake and subsequent tsunami. One of the ‘fall-outs’ of this natural event was the shut down of several nuclear reactors. Eventually, the Japanese government shut down around 50 of its reactor plants, which I think was close to all of them. Some of these were shut down for maintenance and may come back online at some point; others are being retired permanently. The consequence, at least from an energy perspective, is that a major source of domestically produced energy has evaporated as Japan generated about one-third of its power from nuclear.
I recall a history course I once took which outlined how one of the greatest periods of innovation and invention in history was during World War Two. A period of turmoil, war and strife generated massive innovation as governments were forced to come up with quick solutions to production, automation and energy supply. I’m not saying that every innovation was a step forward but that out of the crucible of difficult times came a remarkable period of human ingenuity and invention.
It appears as though the same is happening in Japan. With much of their nuclear power offline (and more reactors ready for shutdown), the Japanese have accelerated their development of alternate energy, particularly geothermal and solar. One of the largest pioneers in their solar industry is a steel company! With massive amounts of energy required for the production of steel, this company recognizes that they can dramatically improve their bottom line and thereby shareholder returns by investing in large-scale solar power generation.
It’ll be interesting to see how things pan out in Japan over the next few years. Similarly, I wonder if we will examine our own energy usage domestically, from both a consumption and source perspective, and see what direction we’ll follow.
Plan B…
Lester Brown
We’re all busy but please take the time to read this post and watch the video.
I’m sure a few of you know of Lester Brown. I’ve read many of his books and think much of his critical thinking is of great value to society as a whole. Eco-Economy, Plan B, Who Will Feed China – all are books which tackle tough subjects with surprisingly encouraging results. Recently, Plan B was the focus of a PBS special, hosted by Matt Damon. In short, Plan B is the alternate to Plan A which is ‘business as usual’ – over-population, over-spending, over-use of the Earth’s resources.
I managed to find a link which allowed for viewers outside the USA to watch the film; it is about 90 minutes long so grab a bowl of popcorn and sit back. While you may feel depressed during the first hour or so of the show, you will feel inspired and energized during the last bit as Lester presents the Plan B options. Enjoy and please feel free to post your comments.
Please click here to launch the video.
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