People ask TheBigHenry

“TheBigHenry, what's up with the nuclear disaster in Japan?”

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Like you, I have heard about and read about the nuclear disaster that Japan is dealing with, in the wake of the 9.0 magnitude earthquake that triggered a tsunami on March 11, 2011. No doubt, the combined-calamity rises to the level of "perfect storm" proportions for this island nation. As bad as it is, however, I suspect that it is not as bad as the alarmist media would have you believe.

Nevertheless, the situation is dire in this geographically small, albeit densely populated nation. And my heart goes out to the many thousands of people directly impacted, who are struggling mightily to put a lid on the situation, so to speak.

I have been reluctant to prognosticate openly about the situation, thereby adding to the overbearing din from the mass media, which is largely fanning the flames of speculation based on minimal trustworthy information from the scene of the calamity. My guess is that the first responders are working at a feverish pace in this time-critical (but NOT nuclear critical) situation, and feeding the media's insatiable appetite for updates is not a priority.

Having said that, however, I admit to forming highly speculative opinions, which I am willing to share with people who have asked me what I think. I ask that you, in turn, keep in mind that I am not privy to any information about what is actually ongoing, which is not available to anyone else with access to the internet.

My sense is that this calamity (not counting the direct damage due to the earthquake/tsunami) is (or will turn out to be) worse than the Three Mile Island event, but not as bad a Chernobyl. Chernobyl had to be worse because there was no containment vessel around the melted reactor core. On the other hand, the current nuclear incident occurs in the midst of a higher-density population than Three Mile Island.

This calamity is ongoing and subject to worsening conditions. The full accounting may take years to assess. There will ultimately be many major lessons to be learned from the horrible experience. The cost in lives lost and/or broken emotionally, economically, sociologically, and politically will be great. Unfortunately, most of the damage will be borne by the little people, as usual.

The Obama will not even miss a single tee time. And by all accounts to date, He is on track to be reelected in 2012. This is presumably the only lesson in the world that simply will not be learned.

Post 1,587 People ask TheBigHenry

Related articles

• "Comparing Nuclear Events at Fukushima, Chernobyl, Three Mile Island-Fullermoney" and related posts (proactiveinvestors.co.uk)