The Big Event

30bananasadaysucks, "Fukushima Ratiation", 5/21/2013, CC0 Public Domain

The argument I have decided to report on is the debate over nuclear power. Although this topic is vague, I am focusing on the time period of the debate that was instigated by the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear reactor meltdown in 2011. The day was March 11th, 2011, and the time was 2:46 PM JST (Japan Standard Time). An earthquake hit Japan and its neighboring islands with low frequency reverberations that were detected from space. This was followed up with a 40.5 meter Tsunami. The earthquake and tsunami caused Japan's Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear reactors to meltdown. The earthquake crippled the reactors and the tsunami flooded the backup generators which proceeded to initiate a meltdown of three of the six reactors. The buildings that housed four of the reactors then blew up. The storage pools in those three reactors were so hot that the pools themselves were boiling and sea water had to be flown into the buildings' gaping roofs. With the roofs gone and the water boiling, radioactive molecules were released into the environment which affected Japan's food production out of the Fukushima area. Some of the radiation even reached the west coast of North America but was not very strong. Livestock and fisheries in the area became unable to sell goods to international businesses because of the possibility of radioactive materials in them. So, It probably wasn't the best tasting. This disaster, which has been the costliest disaster in history, renewed the spark of whether nuclear power should be allowed or banned.