One of the very worrying issues concerning the meltdowns of 2011 at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Plant is that clean-up is extremely difficult. A human cannot safely get near the melted fuel in a reactor due to the high radiation.

Thus, robots have been used in attempts to explore the reactors and their melted fuel. It’s been very difficult for these robot probes–they have to be small, able to swim, withstand high radiation, get around obstacles. Until this past week, the robot probes have been unsuccessful.

Here is an article from two years ago about a failed attempt:

http://fortune.com/2016/03/12/fukushima-robot-ground-zero/

Fortunately, this week a robot probe has finally reached the melted fuel in one of the three reactors.

Here’s an article:

http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Tepco-makes-contact-with-melted-fuel-in-unit-2

And another article:

https://phys.org/news/2019-02-robot-bits-fuel-japan-fukushima.html

And also this week:

Across Europe, students are skipping school to participate in protests about climate change. The students worry–rightfully so, in my opinion–that adults are ruining their planet. The kids don’t want to inherit an uninhabitable planet.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-47250424

Ah.

And this is where it gets difficult.

Fossil fuels (like coal) contribute to global warming.

Nuclear power plants can decrease the world’s dependence on fossil fuels.

But then, we have the problem of: What if there is a meltdown? Like what almost happened in Three Mile Island? Like what did happen at Chernobyl’s power plant? Like what also did happen at Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power plant?

This is why I’m encouraging the kids who are reading this blog to study science. Obviously, developments must be made–whether that be with renewable energy sources or with making our electrical products more efficient, or something else that I haven’t thought of.  And science knowledge is necessary (IMO) to become an effective activist helping the environment.

I support these kids. My own son is a kid….and I want him to inherit a healthy planet!