Tag Archives: japan

Kaz Makabe on Japan’s Nuclear Shutdown

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KazMakabeIn 2011, in the wake of the devastating nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi reactor, thousands of Japanese people relocated, the world held its breath, and the Japanese government began to re-evaluate the country’s reliance on nuclear power. This week’s guest on Sea Change Radio, Kaz Makabe, was out on the streets of Tokyo on the fateful day of March 11th when the Tohoku earthquake struck. The incident inspired Makabe to investigate what makes Japan’s electric grid tick. We discuss his new book, “Buying Time: Environmental Collapse and the Future of Energy,” explore the dismantling of Japan’s nuclear power facilities, and talk about the energy future in the land of the rising sun.

Origami Electronics

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ASUorigamiAdvertisers love to talk about the art of engineering. But this week’s guests on Sea Change Radio truly are fusing their high-tech research with art. By incorporating the principles of origami, the traditional Japanese art form of paper folding, with their work in the emerging field of paper battery technology, this Arizona State research team has come up with some exciting new ways to store energy.

These researchers believe that “origami electronics” may be an important new template for the production of things like stretchable electronics or even highly foldable and more efficient solar cells. Listen now as these three academics tell us how simple paper cranes may be the key to solving complex, real-world problems.

Aftershocks: A Nuclear Rebuttal

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Last week on Sea Change Radio, we heard from someone who, despite the recent nuclear disaster in Japan, defended the continued exploration of nuclear power as part of the new energy equation. This week, we’ll hear an alternative perspective. Our first guest is solar power executive Danny Kennedy, who thinks that nuclear power is more of a problem than a solution, and that investment in renewable energy is a more practical, safer and far more reasonable approach.

Then, Sea Change Radio host Alex Wise speaks with geophysicist Ben Brooks, a specialist in earthquake science who works with breakthrough technology in seismology and GPS. He explains what scientists now understand about the different types of earthquakes, and talks about the West Coast’s vulnerability to the type of quake that recently struck Northern Japan.

“The Cove” Revisited

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With this week’s announcement of the Oscar nominees for 2011, Sea Change Radio felt that this was a good occasion to re-visit our discussion with the Producer of last year’s Academy Award winner for best documentary film, Louie Psihoyos, whose movie “The Cove” has done so much to raise awareness of the global movement to protect dolphins.

Sea Change Radio’s Alex Wise speaks with Psihoyos about how the movie is raising awareness about the capture and slaughter of dolphins and dangerously high mercury levels in our oceans. Just recently, for example, rock star, Sting, expressed his public support in Japan for the strides that Psihoyos and dolphin expert Ric O’Barry have made through the project. The co-founder of the Oceanic Preservation Society, Psihoyos speaks candidly about the challenges making and distributing a film against the wishes of some Japanese officials and examines the even bigger sustainability issues that the film illuminates.

A Movie Worth A Thousand Speeches: Oscar-winning filmmaker of “The Cove”

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Sea Change Radio’s Alex Wise speaks with Louie Psihoyos, the Producer and Director of the Academy Award-winning documentary film, “The Cove.” They discuss how the movie is raising awareness about the capture and slaughter of dolphins and dangerously high mercury levels in our oceans. The co-founder of the Oceanic Preservation Society, Louie speaks candidly about the challenges making and distributing a film against the wishes of some Japanese officials and examines the even bigger sustainability issues that the film illuminates.