Japanese Science Monthly May 2013 | Page 5

Next, they slide a pipe into the hole. They connect this pipe to a multi-valved device called a Christmas tree, which controls the flow of oil. After that, the crew places a pump in the pipe. An electric motor sucks the oil up the pipe, and when it reaches the top, the oil is quickly stored into a tank. Natural gas is extracted from the earth in a process very similar to oil drilling. The most popular way to extract coal is by using a continuous miner machine. This machine has a rotating, spiked wheel which scrapes out rock containing coal in it. This coal is sent to a processing plant, where it is separated from the rock. Without these ways to extract fossil fuels, we would not be able to even use the fuels.

The lack of fossil fuels may cause many problems in the nation of Japan. A huge rise in the price of fossil fuels is forcing the government to increase energy costs. Recently, these rising energy costs have been causing unease in Japan’s industrial economy.

If the price of power rises much more, many companies would consider relocating, which would ruin the Japanese economy. Also, because of the need to import large amounts fossil fuels, the Japanese currency, the yen, is rapidly losing value. As prices for simple utilities such as energy increase, the people of Japan must think to themselves, “How can something as simple as rocks put our nation through all this trouble?”

The island of Japan may not have an abundance of fossil fuels, but, last year, a huge deposit of rare earth minerals was discovered in the ocean near Japan.4 These minerals are extracted from the ground using a complex mining system, which extracts the minerals from the ground and purifies them.4 It is estimated that Japan found about 6.8 million metric tons of minerals in this undersea “goldmine”.4 From televisions to airplanes, rare earth elements are required for most modern electronics.4 Almost every first world country finds themselves in need of rare earth minerals. Not only does this significant find finally give Japan a natural export, it also allows Japan’s economy to strengthen.

The Japan Iron and Steel Federation, along with seven other manufacturing industry groups, asked the Japanese government to allow the restart of idle nuclear reactors as soon as possible, or higher electricity bills would "cause unthinkable damage to the economy and society."

http://www.citypictures1.com/upload/files/actual/tokyo%20night-778.jpg

Japanese Fukushima reactor

http://thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/japonia-fukushima.jpg

http://thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/japonia-fukushima.jpg

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