Nature's terrifying power, however we may dread it, is only as great as the human-caused vulnerability of our civilization.
...high water wasn't the sole cause of the massive death toll. No, it's buildings that kill - to be specific, badly designed structures
...Other threats are built into the vulnerabilities of our critical infrastructure and power systems.
...Japan is just better than elsewhere in organizing official cover-ups. The recurrent tendency to deny systemic errors - "in order to avoid public panic" - is rooted in the determination of an entrenched bureaucracy to protect itself rather than in any stated purpose of serving the nation or its people.
...Back in 1996 amid a reactor accident in Ibaraki province, the government never admitted that radioactive fallout had drifted over the northeastern suburbs of Tokyo. Our reporters got confirmation from monitoring stations, but the press was under a blanket order not to run any alarming news, the facts be damned.