Every Friday in Japan, the lawn of the Prime Minister's office fills with hundreds of Japanese citizens protesting out of concern for the country's ongoing nuclear program despite the Fukushima meltdown - Daichi Power Plant. 170 miles north of Tokyo, the meltdown occurred in 2011 after a consecutive earthquake and tsunami devastated cooling capabilities within the plant, subsequently leading to the meltdown of one of the reactors. This forced tens of thousands of people to abandon their homes. (Junko and Mullen Jethro) While no deaths have yet been attributed to the explosion or subsequent nuclear fallout, the full repercussions of the event have yet to be fully experienced. A plan for how to remedy the situation is still being developed as nuclear-contaminated water continues to seep into the Pacific Ocean. The Fukushima disaster is certainly the worst nuclear event since Chernobyl in 1986 and will perhaps become the worst environmental disaster of our lifetime. The study of atoms began with Greek philosophers who came up with the concept that matter is made up of invisible atoms. Centuries later, the implications of this theory were explored by many famous scientists, including Albert Einstein and his theory of relativity. Einstein's correspondent in theoretical physics, Ernest Rutherford, theorized: "If it were possible to control at will the rate of disintegration of radio elements, an enormous amount of energy could be obtained from a small amount of matter." (“History of Nuclear Energy”) They spent the next 40 years trying to do just that, and in 1942, Enrico Fermi and a team of noted physicists created the first sustainable nuclear reaction. Since that time, the history of nuclear energy... middle of paper... national headquarters of scientists. Network. December 9, 2013. United States. Department of Energy. Strategy for the management and disposal of used nuclear fuel and highly radioactive waste. Washington DC: , 2013. Print."Position Paper: Nuclear Energy and Global Warming." UCSUSA.org. Union of Concerned Scientists. Network. 10 Dec 2013. Erin, Ailworth. “Japan's former leader warns against nuclear power.” Boston Globe October 10, 2013, Business. Network. December 16, 2013. United States. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Background: Accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Washington DC: USNRC Office of Public Affairs, 2013. Print.United States. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Background: Accident at Three Mile Island. Washington DC: USNRC Office of Public Affairs, 2013. Print.Lovley, Erika. "Chu promises to promote nuclear energy." Politico 01 JANUARY 2009, 2010 Congress. Network. December 16. 2013.