At 13:00 on August 24, the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan started discharging nuclear-contaminated water into the sea. According to the plan, this action will not only last for at least 30 years but also affect the entire Pacific Ocean and even global waters. This move is undoubtedly the largest-scale nuclear wastewater discharge plan in human history.

Since its inception, humanity has continuously taken various substances and energies from nature for its own needs, moving from the "wood age" to the "coal age," from the "oil age" to the "new energy age." Humanity acts like an insatiable giant infant, absorbing everything nature offers and expelling discarded waste.

Only when the giant infant truly matures does it realize that the cost of disregarding the giver is to suffer from nature's backlash. From the late 19th century to now, the global average temperature has increased by 1.2 degrees compared to pre-industrial levels, leading to frequent extreme weather. On December 12, 2015, the Paris Agreement was adopted, aiming to control the increase in global average temperatures to within 2°C above pre-industrial levels and strive to limit the increase to 1.5°C. This represents a significant collective action by humanity after recognizing the issue of global climate change.

Years later, some people are making efforts to control their emissions and strive towards carbon neutrality; others remain oblivious to the current situation, treating the sea as their personal garbage dump.

01

Old Debts

Human activities constantly impact the natural cycle system. The so-called "carbon neutrality" aims to balance the carbon emissions influenced by human activities with the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by the overall environment, preventing the natural system from being overwhelmed.

When we talk about the absorption of human emissions by the environment (land, atmosphere, ocean), we often think of the first two, as if the vast and mysterious oceans could endlessly contain all consequences of human actions. However, because of their vastness and depth, the oceans have quietly waited for a moment to come, having absorbed everything over these few centuries.

For example, compared to land and atmosphere, the ocean stores more carbon dioxide. Each year, about one-third of the carbon dioxide emitted by humans is absorbed by the ocean. Over time, this portion of carbon dioxide accumulates and is stored for a long period in the relatively stable marine ecosystem.

However, the process by which the ocean naturally absorbs carbon dioxide from the land surface and atmosphere is very slow. When the marine environment is polluted and human carbon emissions increase, no matter how inclusive the ocean is, it will eventually be unable to accommodate more.

Therefore, besides the well-known impacts of marine debris—such as damaging the aesthetic beauty of the ocean, endangering the safety of animals and even humans—marine debris are also a significant factor in global warming. Currently, solid plastic waste in the Pacific Ocean covers more than three million square kilometers, equivalent to ten times the land area of Japan.

In June 2018, National Geographic featured a cover image showing the tip of an iceberg on the sea surface, which turned out to be a massive white plastic bag submerged in the ocean. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report published in 2021, plastic accounts for 85% of marine debris. By 2040, the amount of plastic waste entering marine areas will nearly triple to between 23 and 37 million tons, equivalent to 50 kilograms of plastic per meter of coastline worldwide.

We all know that plastic is impermeable. If we put a plastic bag on our hands, moisture would quickly accumulate inside. Imagine what happens when large amounts of plastic cover the ocean—it essentially dresses the ocean in a plastic suit, preventing it from breathing or cooling down, ultimately leading to warmer seawater, warmer ocean currents, and more frequent extreme weather.

Moreover, if marine debris extensively covers the sea surface, it reduces sunlight penetration. Reduced sunlight leads to the death of marine plants, which cannot perform photosynthesis, affecting the overall marine ecosystem and accelerating global warming.

Thus, the ocean has already been under additional pressure from daily pollution. Japan's insistence on discharging contaminated water into the sea not only ignores marine life but also gambles with the fate of all humanity.

02

New Wounds

Experts point out that nuclear-contaminated water is not equal to nuclear wastewater; it actually contains 64 types of radioactive substances, including tritium.

Even in trace amounts, radioactive substances can harm the environment and living organisms, potentially altering marine environments and causing biological mutations, with extremely strong hazards. The ocean has been used freely to wash away the "ills" caused by human development, but it never occurred to us that the ocean would eventually have to reabsorb these pollutants, leaving marine life with nowhere to hide or escape. Furthermore, the radioactive substances in nuclear-contaminated water have extremely long half-lives, meaning the impact will last for decades or even centuries.

Moreover, while Japan appears to be discharging nuclear wastewater into the ocean near its shores, the coast of Fukushima has one of the strongest ocean currents in the world. Within 57 days of discharge, radioactive materials will spread to most of the Pacific Ocean; after three years, the United States and Canada will be affected by nuclear contamination; after ten years, the impact will spread globally.

A German marine research institute has also found that once the nuclear wastewater evaporates and enters the atmospheric cycle, it will condense into clouds and rain down over every corner of the Earth.

The latest report released by TEPCO shows that in May of this year, radioactive cesium levels were detected at 18,000 becquerels per kilogram in the body of a fish, Sebastes schlegelii, caught in the harbor of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. According to expert assessments, this alarming figure exceeds the standards set by Japan's Food Sanitation Law by 180 times. Not only will the global fishing industry suffer unprecedented damage, but consuming contaminated fish could also pose unknown health risks to humans.

It is evident that in the end, humans will not only ingest the microplastics they have discharged but also feel the effects of global warming they have caused, and even be drenched by rain polluted by others. Seventy percent of the Earth's surface, which is the source of life given by nature, may ultimately become a source of death.

03

Futility

Actually, besides discharging nuclear wastewater into the sea, there are options such as evaporation release, electrolysis discharge, and underground burial. However, to reduce costs, they chose the option with the lowest cost, highest risk, and greatest uncertainty.

While some companies are racking their brains to manage carbon emissions, reduce carbon output, protect the ecological environment, recycle plastic bottles from the sea as raw materials for products, develop recycling technologies, and reduce global marine pollution, Japan, claiming to be a technological powerhouse, is attempting to shift the source of pollution to the rest of the world using the cheapest and least thoughtful method, forcing everyone to share the risk. This turns the concept of "sharing happiness" into "sharing radiation," rendering the efforts of many people futile.

["Carbonstop" once collaborated with "BOTTLOOP" to launch a co-branded T-shirt made from RPET fabric produced by recycling discarded beverage bottles]

Environmental protection is not just the responsibility of one person or one generation. As the world remains concerned about "carbon emissions," even if you do not join in, please do not add new wounds.

After all, the Earth can continue to spin without any individual, but it cannot function without the oceans.