Monday Morning News Update - Japan Report III

1. The situation in Japan continues to worsen. Three nuclear plants have been severely compromised. When you read of salt water being pumped in to cool these plants, you are reading about a facility that will never be used again. The salt water corrodes and renders the plant unusable. The nuclear rods within the three reactors appear to be melting down as a result of 2000 degree temps. More than 200,000 people have been evacuated from around these plants.

It may surprise the reader to learn that 20% of the energy used by the US comes from
nuclear supply. It takes 30 years to complete a nuclear plant including the permit
process. If I remember correctly, we have 4 plants currently under construction.
How will the Japan disaster effect this country's push for nuclear clean energy?

11 reactors have reportedly been shut down for precautionary reasons. There is a total of 56 reactors in Japan accounting for more than 30% of the nations energy supply.

2. Hundreds of thousands of farmland acreage have been contaminated. Reports have this land unusable for 5 to 10 years. Food prices will skyrocket and remain high for years into the future.

3. The Japanese stock market saw a 6% sell off on its first day of business following the quake and resulting tidal wave. Virtually all Japanese stocks took some sort of hit. Hitachi announced the closure of all 6 plants (in Japan) for an indefinite period. Toyoda and Honda stocks are down, as well.

4 I personally believe the death toll could be terribly high, well over 10,000. In fact, as I watched city after city swept away, I could not imagine why the death toll will not exceed 40,000. It is not clear as to the amount of warning given to the residents of the coast towns in this island nation.
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