Video image taken from NHK shows the airport of Sendai hit by tsunami caused by the earthquake in Sendai, Japan, March 11, 2011. [Photo: Xinhua]
Japan's massive earthquake and tsunami caused enormous losses. Although the total number of casualties is still not known, it shows how helpless we truly are in the face of nature, since Japan is the country with the most developed earthquake- and tsunami-resistant technologies.
This serious disaster has increased our awe of nature. We need to more calmly observe our living environment and its various needs. We can neither totally discard today's way of life nor stubbornly refuse to face reality. We need to find a balance between security and development.
The tsunami exposed the potential risks of coastal living. About 70 percent of the world's total population lives in coastal areas and coastlines usually intricately link economy and tourism.
China fortunately has a long chain of islands around the Chinese mainland, which "locks" China in militarily but prevents powerful tsunamis from hitting the mainland.
After Japan's current disaster, it is necessary for the world's coastal cities to carry out risk assessments and form a certain balance with the craze to "consume the ocean."
Three Japanese nuclear power plants suffered accidents, and even exploded, causing serious nuclear leakage and causing a severe headache to Asia's nuclear plant boom. However, it is too rash to conclude that it is wrong to develop nuclear power. The safety of nuclear power has been questioned for a long time.
Japan's lesson should provide a driving force for the construction of more secure nuclear power, rather than its termination.
The most advanced economic capacity as well as science and technology are also creating new risks while providing us with new tools to overcome risks. For example, tall buildings are far riskier than one-storey ones. However, urban explosion has made it impossible to reject high-rise buildings. People's demands are intertwined, conflicted and compromised.
The more modern life is, the more hidden insecurity factors appear. High-speed rail has many potential risks, but we cannot reject it. Despite air crashes every year, more people take to the skies. We can only handle these issues one at a time,
Japan's disaster tells us that nature is impossible to overcome. However developed the technology is, it cannot be the "security cover" for human life. Sometimes we have to depend on luck.
However, suffering brings wisdom. If a disaster of this magnitude strikes Japan again, casualties will be lower. Thanks to Japan's developed earthquake-resistant technology, the losses are less serious than they could have been.
Therefore, our conclusion is that economic development has in general enhanced our self-protection ability. To increase this further, we can only move forward.
