Suzuki apologizes (sort of) for Fukushima fear-mongering

[logicalview]

The ego on this guy is just nuts. But it's mostly due to the fact that he never gets called on his BS in Canada, out of some falsely earned "reverence" that no one can ever say anything to contradict him, no matter how crazy the utterance. Here at least he is somewhat backtracking, though of course, with Suzuki's ego, he'd never full blown apologize for saying something stupid. Ever.


David Suzuki ‘regrets’ claim that another Fukushima disaster would require mass evacuations in North America

Tristin Hopper | January 20, 2014 | Last Updated: Jan 21 9:04 AM ET

Three months after making the wildly overblown claim that a second nuclear emergency at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant would require the evacuation of the North American West Coast, environmentalist David Suzuki said he “regrets” the comments.

Nevertheless, the Nature of Things host did not seem to go so far as to renege the claim, which has baffled nuclear scientists.

“I regret having said it, although my sense of potential widespread disaster remains and the need for an urgent international response to dealing with the spent rods at Fukushima remains,” wrote Mr. Suzuki in an email to The Province, which was compiling a feature on myths surrounding the 2011 Japanese tsunami.

He also said that it was “an off-the-cuff response.”

The comment first arose when Mr. Suzuki was speaking at an October 30 event on public water policy at the University of Alberta. At one point, Mr. Suzuki began discussing the tsunami-damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, in particular the spent fuel rods housed at the plant’s explosion-damaged Reactor Number 4.

“I have seen a paper saying that if, in fact, the fourth plant goes in an earthquake … it’s ‘bye-bye Japan’ and everybody on the West Coast of North America should evacuate,” Mr. Suzuki is seen to say in a video of the event captured by Alberta artist Aaron Paquette.

“If that isn’t terrifying then I don’t know what is,” he added.

In Canada and the United States alone, there are roughly 50 million people living in relatively close proximity to the Pacific Ocean. By definition, any wholesale evacuation of North American West Coast settlements would rank among the largest mass-movements of humans in history.

And presumably, if there was a need to empty settlements that are more than 8,000 kilometers away from the Fukushima plant, this hypothethical evacuation order would also seem to apply to Eastern Russia, Northern Australia and most of South Asia.

In short, a significant chunk of the world’s humanity would need to suddenly begin a retreat from the radioactive plume.

Luckily, Mr. Suzuki’s near-apocalyptic claim does not appear to have much scientific bearing.

For starters, the “paper” Mr. Suzuki mentions is the 2013 World Nuclear Industry Status Report.

The paper makes no mention of any emptying of the North American coastline, but the 140-page document does mention evacuation in a brief passage citing the “worst case scenario” that would unfold in the event of the collapse of Unit 4.

Drawn up in the midst of the initial Fukishima disaster by the Japan Atomic Energy Commission, the scenario calls for the “evacuation of over 10 million residents in the wider Tokyo megalopolis within a 250-km radius of Fukushima Daiichi.”

No mention is made of any evacuation taking place outside Japanese borders.


Nevertheless, no legitimate model of such a disaster has ever projected damage on the hemispheric scale illustrated by Mr. Suzuki.

A week after Mr. Suzuki’s bone chilling comments, VICE magazine attempted a fact-check of his claims by calling up a trio of nuclear experts.

“I’m sorry, but that is ridiculous,” David Measday, a professor emeritus of nuclear physics at the University of British Columbia, told the magazine in regards to the evacuation claims.

He added, “it’s totally impossible! I can’t believe he would say that. When he’s in his own field, he’s usually reasonable.** But this is just crazy.”

Mycle Schneider, the lead author of the World Nuclear Industry Status Report — and a notable critic of nuclear energy—had a similar reaction.

“I’m really, really shocked about the way it’s being discussed in Canada. It’s just totally insane,” he was quoted as saying in Monday’s Province feature.

http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/01/20 ... h-america/

** What exactly is Suzuki's "own field" anyway? Genetics? It sure ain't man-made global warming, as he says insane things about that field too, and was called on it on live Australian TV. What is this guy's field such that he is "reasonable"?

[slootman]

While I greatly admire the work David Suzuki has done over the years, the Fukushima comment was way wrong. Hopefully all of the hard, valuable work he has done won't be tarnished by this isolated incident. There are few with such dedication and hands on involvement. I've been fortunate enough to hear him speak in person and he is a fascinating individual who really cares about the things he talks about.

[Lady tehMa]

I last admired him in the early '80s I think.

Now I think he's just a nutjob.

[logicalview]

I last admired him in the early '80s I think.

Now I think he's just a nutjob.

I don't know if I ever admired him but I did enjoy his show in the 1970's and 1980's when he was still interested in science and education, as opposed to now, where he's just concerned with lining his pocket with cash and playing politics, and doing this idiotic fear-mongering routine. This nonsense with the Fukushima reactor is a prime example of how this clown has completely abandoned "science" and just become a paid shill for big Green, to earn big green to support his extravagant lifestyle.

[Jo]

I think I irked him once by pointing out a grammatical error on his facebook page, lol. Ah well.

[Gone_Fishin]

I think I irked him once by pointing out a grammatical error on his facebook page, lol. Ah well.

Facebook should be capitalized. Geesh!

Suzuki's "people" once jumped down my throat when I tried to correct his erroneous classification of grizzly bears as "carnivores." Of course, we all know they are omnivores. And an old chap that I've spoken with online quite often told me that in his dealings with Suzuki (they worked at the same university for a while) he had never met a more vulgar, racist person in his life. F'n whitey this, f'n whitey that. That's hardly someone I'd put on a pedestal.

[Glacier]

I was absolutely shocked last night when I noticed the David Suzuki shared this article on Facebook... http://www.theprovince.com/news/safe+su ... story.html

[GordonH]

I don't know if I ever admired him but I did enjoy his show in the 1970's and 1980's when he was still interested in science and education, as opposed to now, where he's just concerned with lining his pocket with cash and playing politics, and doing this idiotic fear-mongering routine. This nonsense with the Fukushima reactor is a prime example of how this clown has completely abandoned "science" and just become a paid shill for big Green, to earn big green to support his extravagant lifestyle.

I too (what I place on bold text), now he's acting like chicken little.

[LoneWolf_53]

While on the one hand I think Suzuki is a nut case, on the other hand I do firmly believe that there's much about that Fukushima disaster that people are not told.

I don't recall where I'd read it because it's been a long while back, but just as an example, food products must meet certain critieria before it's considered safe for human consumption, as does water etc., whereas the article I'd stumbled across indicated that testing for radioactive material in milk in California, showed the results far higher than the limit set.

This was addressed by simply raising the limit. So in effect what science one day deemed harmful, was the next day deemed perfectly acceptable? Raises some red flags in my mind!

I find that scenario quite plausible though, given that the last thing any government wants to see is mass hysteria, and keeping the population dumb works in their favor.

In other words Suzuki may be dramatizing, but at the same time others are in denial, knowing what they endorse is false, but nonetheless doing it to protect their own selfish interests, and placate government.

That's my take on it.