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"The region lies on the "Ring of Fire" — an arc of earthquake and volcanic zones that stretches around the Pacific Rim. About 90 percent of the world's quakes o
by speeq 13y ago
"The region lies on the "Ring of Fire" — an arc of earthquake and volcanic zones that stretches around the Pacific Rim. About 90 percent of the world's quakes occur in the region." --
Who had the brilliant idea to build a nuclear power plant there... :\
- jofer 13y agoTo be fair, it's not like Japan has much of a choice. Nuclear really is their best option. Japan has only a couple of coal mines, and they've deliberately tried to avoid being entirely dependent on China for coal imports. This limits the use of coal power plants (not to mention environmental consequences). They have limited area, which limits hydropower options (though the steep topography partly makes up for that). Wind and solar are limited in their utility for "baseline" power. The US has nuclear power plants on the "ring of fire" as well, for whatever it's worth (e.g. Diablo Canyon in CA, and I think there's one in Washington, as well).
- toomuchtodo 13y ago"Diablo Canyon 1, why can't you be more like Diablo Canyon 2?"
- volokoumphetico 13y agoIT's like the entire Japan island is a nuclear bomb ready to go off when natural disaster strikes.
- grey-area 13y agoWave power would be a good alternative to explore.
- jofer 13y agoGood point! It has many of the same problems as wind and solar, though. They're great as a significant part of the energy input, but you still need something else for times when there's no wind/waves/sun.
- bitwize 13y agoThe entirety of Japan is pretty much on the Ring of Fire.