In March of 2011, a massive earthquake hit Japan, leading to the meltdown of the Fukushima nuclear power plant, admittedly the worst nuclear disaster in 28 years. In October 2013, though, David Suzuki warned that according to a scientific paper, another similar earthquake in the area could mean "bye-bye Japan" and that the entire west coast of North America might have to be evacuated. To steal a joke from Family Guy, "Are you sure it was a paper, David? Are you sure it wasn't… nothing?"
Dan Fumano, writing in The Province this week on five Fukushima fears, takes the air out of Canada's premier windbag. The paper alluded to did in fact issue a warning that was serious enough: In a worst-case scenario catastrophe, up to 10 million people in a 250-km radius, including parts of Tokyo, might need to be relocated. The west coast of North America, however, is just a little bit out of that range.
Suzuki, when contacted by the newspaper, said that his statement had been "off-the-cuff" and that he hadn't realized it would end up on the Internet, although he knew it was being recorded. He apparently expressed regret, but emphasized that his "sense of potential widespread disaster remains." The lead author of the scientific report, also contacted by The Province to comment on Suzuki's statement, referred to this and other fears of people on the west coast as "utterly disconnected from reality" and "totally insane."
Suzuki, when contacted by the newspaper, said that his statement had been "off-the-cuff" and that he hadn't realized it would end up on the Internet, although he knew it was being recorded. He apparently expressed regret, but emphasized that his "sense of potential widespread disaster remains." The lead author of the scientific report, also contacted by The Province to comment on Suzuki's statement, referred to this and other fears of people on the west coast as "utterly disconnected from reality" and "totally insane."
