As next Saturday’s first anniversary of Japan’s Fukushima disaster approaches, the National Renewable Defense Council has built a graphic that maps weather patterns from March 11-12 of 2011 over the 104 nuclear reactors in the U.S. It asks the question, “What if the Fukushima nuclear fallout crisis had happened here?” I still think that nuclear power is the fastest short term solution to getting off of carbon emitting fuels and cutting GHGs, though nuclear carries some very high risks. It’s fair to say that it’s not a question of if, but when a nuclear accident will occur, and whether we’re all willing to accept that consequence. What’s more interesting now is that Japan, like Germany, is in the process of shutting down most of its 54 nuclear reactors, creating an enormous opportunity there for renewable energy, most recently exemplified by Hitachi’s investment in Silver Spring Networks. Smartgrid will be hot in Japan!