What /is/ nuclear power?

To start off my series of posts I got a general sense of how nuclear power functions by browsing around on the internet. I actually found a nice and concise explanation and illustration here. Essentially uranium atoms are split to produce heat, the heat creates steam that turns a turbine to create electricity. The steam is then condensed and can go back through the process again. To get a very general sense of other types of power I found a relatively comprehensive (and probably skewed) website here that is in favor of nuclear energy.
They do however note the merits and drawbacks of each type of power and potential solutions to the drawbacks that each method brings to the table.

Rather than summarizing these websites I want to reflect on why I chose my topic and how I plan to move forward from here. While I can definitely get into the science side of the nuclear power more, I feel that that side is the least important. While I am sure the scientific data is sound, comparing different energy methods based on their inputs and outputs kind of feels like statistics and as we all know “there are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics” (attributed to Benjamin Disraeli). Much like statistics these numbers can be quoted and cited to support stances on both sides of the fence. Instead, I am more concerned with how people view these different types of power sources. Are wind turbines just “that hippie crap” to people living in Kansas (as I’ve heard them described), or is nuclear power terrifying and more “destructive” than the scientists claim that it is? How do people talk about and conceptualize nuclear power? How are they negotiating its uses in their daily lives and on the national and global scales? What does nuclear power mean to them?

I chose Japan as one of my countries of focus because it is my main focus in life at the moment. I am going to graduate school in linguistic anthropology with a focus in some soon to be discovered aspect of Japanese language in daily life. I just have to get out there and find what’s interesting or needs investigation. My interest specifically in nuclear power was sparked by a conversation I had with some friends that I met in Japan. Two of them (Americans) are actually some form of chemical engineering majors so when the topic came up they had a lot to say about it. Other than citing that it is one of the best energy options for its energy output vs. carbon emissions, they emphasized how difficult it is to properly keep nuclear power plants maintained so that meltdowns and disasters don’t happen. Three of my Japanese friends on the other hand expressed surprise, citing the recent incidents at Fukushima as to why nuclear power is dangerous. However, the conversation went along the lines of (according to the Americans) Japan didn’t take care of the plants well enough or plan them with enough foresight for the given location. Due to the high frequency of earthquakes and tsunamis, they said that the plant could have been better constructed to deal with these natural disasters. However, they also acknowledged how difficult and nearly impossible it can be to plan for every eventuality. Three of our Japanese friends were glad that they got this point of the view of the story and that maybe nuclear power wasn’t so bad. Through this informal exchange on a group communication app (LINE), I was introduced just a smidge to some of the discourses that are going on. My Japanese friends due to their experiences viewed nuclear power in a very negative light. The nuclear meltdowns caused a lot of damage and hurt thousands of people. On the news every day there was a litany of the damages, nuclear power gaining its awful reputation. Even looking at popular media, movies like Godzilla do not help the image. So why were my American friends in such full support of nuclear power? Possibly it’s because they were looking at it from a strictly scientific perspective.

Going forward from here I want to research more in depth how nuclear power and nuclear meltdowns are being dealt with on the local, political, and global level. For example, how did international organizations respond to the incident? How did Japan respond? Are there any parallels or differences in other places? For example, in French class I learned that a majority of France’s power is from nuclear power plants, are their experiences with it any different than those in Japan? What are similarities/differences in how it is being conceptualized?