The unfolding crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors has begun to prompt a re-examination of Japan’s failure to respond to decades of concern about the design of the Mark 1 reactors used at the Fukushima Daichii plant and a wholesale refusal by that country’s Government and Courts to address citizen-led concerns about the inadequacy of reactor designs for earthquake-prone locations. Wikileaks Central writer kgosztola has reviewed Japan’s history of downplaying accidents and lax regulation. The Citizens Nuclear Information Centre in Tokyo has documented links between one top politician and a land deal that was instrumental in siting the KK reactor in a seismically sensitive location. That reactor was damaged during an earthquake in 2007.
The authoritative Union of Concerned Scientists is posting a regular update on the crisis, including a regularly updated Frequently Asked Questions section and a recent briefing to the US Senate, which reminds legislators that problems with General Electric-designed boiling water reactors raise a number of searching questions for the industry in the US.
I am a lecturer in sustainable development and governance at the School of Law, Queens University Belfast. I also conduct work at United Nations negotiations on the environment for the International Institute for Sustainable Development.
My book on the attention economy and mindfulness as commons was published by Routlege in June 2017. See A Political Economy of Attention, Mindfulness and Consumerism: Reclaiming the Mindful Commons (Routledge Studies in Sustainability)
My research interests include consumerism, green politics and the economy. I locate myself firmly to the left of the political spectrum. I write in a personal capacity.
Born in Donegal, I was raised in Derry and now reside in Belfast with my family.
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