6thstreetradio.org

I just don't get all the fear of nuclear power and paranoia about the crippled Japanese nuclear power plant. My basic conclusion is: if a power plant can endure such a powerful natural disaster and not immediately collapse and explode, then I consider it a pretty safe technology. We need more nuclear power, not less.

I came across this slashdot comment that sums it up rather well using known facts in comparison to the Deep Water Horizon explosion:

http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2037094&cid=35487630

Deepwater Horizon - caused by cost cutting and ignoring safeguards.
Fukushima Daichi - caused by a 8.9 magnitude earthquake, 20 foot tall tsunami, and numerous 6.0 magnitude aftershocks

Deepwater Horizon - Platform was new, modern
Fukushima Daichi - Plant was 40 years old, about to be shut down

Deepwater Horizon - 11 immediate deaths, many workers sickened during cleanup
Fukushima Daichi - 1 death, about a dozen showing signs of possibly getting sick, none terminally

Deepwater Horizon - Vast swaths of the Gulf floor coated in inches of oil, killing all life there.
Fukushima Daichi - Environmental impact yet to be determined, but if it's similar to Three Mile Island, it will be non-existent

Deepwater Horizon - People (rightfully) point out that we don't abandon airplanes just because they occasionally crash
Fukushima Daichi - People demand the end to all nuclear power