Submitted by: Donald Hank
At least Japan has an excuse for the short term (though they were profligate long before this): The tsunami and earthquake caused such devastation that the government had to build temporary housing for people who lost their homes due to the tsunami and also to the radiation. They also had to do major cleanup operations in the zone just outside the no-go zone (due to radiation -- a permanent problem). Meanwhile, even in Tokyo, far south of the devastated zone, people are being asked to cut their electricity usage way back and no new power source is available to replace the lost power from the Fukushima plant. It is not coming back.
The Noda government may approve a whopping 20% surcharge on electricity in order to raise enough cash for new power facilities to be built.
Now all the US needs is a disaster of this scale to drive in the last nail.
Don Hank
