an e-mail from Germany

It was nice to get an e-mail from a friend in Germany this morning.

It was nice to hear of two generations there protesting together against nuclear energy.  With global warming nuclear energy was about to be popular again.  As she said there are also political reasons, American companies and America trying to help it's trade balance (GE and Westinghouse make lots of the nuclear plants here).  And it is big money for construction and for politicians and probably for local governments too.

But now they see the price.  There will be a 30 or 50 Km dead zone for 200 years in Fukushima I think.  It is horrible but it is good timing to remind people that nuclear energy is very safe until it isn't safe.  Such powerful poisons are created, and so long lasting.

Poor people have to leave their homes.  Farmers loose their farms and their way of life.  I wonder how much of this radioactive cesium and iodine is going to appear in fish.  And fish can swim.  They so not stay in Fukushima.  They do not stay in Japan.

Japanese people are better about trusting the government, or anyway they are not so good about changing it.  Maybe these troubles will change Japan.  But I am not optimistic.

Tokyo water is safe, it comes from a different direction.  Probably food will be OK.  But I wonder how much they will start to screen for radiation in fruit, vegetable, milk and meat markets and Tsukiji.  America has wonderful radiation detectors from worry about Terror.  I do not know if Japan wants to use them.  It has always been a problem.  The top government protects itself and treats Japanese people like animals.