When Japan recently announced it will be starting from scratch - building no new nuclear reactors and replacing existing ones with renewable sources - it joined Germany and Denmark in leading the way to a healthy sustainable future. It is unfortunate that it took a catastrophic, preventable nuclear accident to result in this policy change, rather than reasoned forethought.
Wind power could and most likely will replace the nukes in Japan as it could in the U.S., where wind potential alone between the Mississippi and the Rockies could provide 300 percent of the nation's electricity.
Although individual countries can establish laws that bring an end to the use of nuclear power, the damage from accidents does not stop at national boundaries.
As the result of the ongoing accident at Fukushima (Unit Four appears to be now on the verge of physical collapse), radioactive fallout has been detected in vegetables, milk, and rainwater throughout the U.S. This radiation threatens the health of millions of citizens, especially young children and embryos in utero.
Highly radioactive fallout has been found miles from the site, and millions of gallons of highly contaminated radioactive water have been discharged into the ocean.
The explosions, spent-fuel fires, and partial meltdowns at Fukushima have released massive amounts of heat into the global ecosystem, worsening global warming significantly.
It would be a good idea for the U.S. to cut the $36 billion in loan guarantees in the federal budget slated to build new nuclear reactors, and use it to put people back to work building a safe and healthy energy grid for the future.