GEF

Unit 3  |  Primary Sustainability Issues 61 power plants, meaning that governments, and ultimately the public, accept the high costs of nuclear power. Nuclear power generation also has a large ecological footprint in terms of pollution caused by uranium mining and the use of large quantities of fresh water that are required to operate and cool nuclear plants. The future of nuclear power remains uncertain as governments and the public weigh the benefits of this power source against its many costs. SUSTAINABILITY CONCEPTS On March 11, 2011, there was a nuclear accident at the Fukushima nuclear facility in Japan. The nuclear meltdown came after a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and then a 15-meter tsunami struck the region. More than 150,000 people were evacuated from their homes.