Embrace the Nuclear

Embrace the Nuclear

Imagine waking up every day covered in sweat only to find that taking a shower does nothing to alleviate the discomfort. I spent some time living in Japan. It was during the summer months of May, June, July and August when I experienced this after the Fukushima meltdown. Having spent many days in summer temperatures here in the U.S., I thought it would be no different in Japan. Due to a lack of one of Japan’s main energy producers, nuclear power, many people were forced to live without any way to cool themselves.

Nuclear power provided Japan with 30% of its electricity according to World Nuclear Association before the meltdown in Fukushima. In comparison, nuclear power provides 19% of the energy needs within the U.S. A shutdown of all nuclear power plants across America would result in serious energy needs. No one can really understand this better than the Japanese.

According to the BBC, Tokyo alone was forced to cut its power usage by 15% after the shutdown of power plants across Japan. For the young, a heat wave may not be anything more than an inconvenience. The problem arises when the elderly or infants are exposed to this heat.

Oddly enough, the loss of a single power plant had enormous effects on the people of Japan. While many would believe that there wouldn’t be much of a difference with the loss of a single plant, various news reports show a different story. There were thirty-five deaths and 7,071 people hospitalized due to heatstroke in a one-week period as reported by Japan Today only months after the meltdown. As presented, nuclear power plays a bigger role in everyday life than people often imagine.

Many foreigners, like me, found doing daily tasks and activities difficult with such heat and nowhere to cool down. The economic impact of this is the same for the whole country as for the average Joe. Without a substantial piece of their power needs, many companies were forced to shut down during the middle of the...