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Saturday, March 12, 2011

Fukushima Japan...Pictures of Chernobyl...and Nuclear Fallout

I have been opposed to nuclear power of any sort, at least as it currently has been designed and constructed, ever since the incident at Three Mile Island way back in 1979.  I was pregnant with my first daughter when it occurred, and was horrified listening to the events as they unfolded minute by minute over the radio.  Even though I was in California at the time, being an East Coast native, I was aghast at the grotesque hubris that incident made evident - and that was years before the meltdown at Chernobyl.  The TMI episode was one of the primary reasons I became an activist fighting against Reagan's insane Star Wars plan...and all the other right-wing plots to unrelentingly exploit the Earth heedless to consequences... And now JUST LOOK!
Following are some pictures from Chernobyl today, all credits can be found here.
These are photos of abandoned schools, hospitals, and an amusement park.
There are some very frightening accounts of the real toll in deaths from radiation, claiming the numbers have been grossly underestimated by official sources.
In any event, the shattered lives and lost homes are NOT WORTH IT.
Nobody can predict how much worse it will get in Japan.
And we may never know what role, if any, the melting ice from climate change is leading to more frequent and violent seismic events.
As ecosystems like coral reefs and forests collapse, and wild unpredictable weather strikes with epic power, it is impossible to prepare.
We have attacked and abused Mother Nature, and she is taking her revenge.
Left in mid-construction are the beginnings of two more reactors nearby.  How stupid can we be??

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11 comments:

  1. Morroco Bama raised the interesting question in the prior post as to what effect radiation has on trees, since trees after all the main topic of this blog - but I will answer just briefly here, where it is more on topic (keeping in mind that contaminated soil means any crops grown would also be toxic):

    from wiki (which also has an almost endless list of the human health effects, everything from thyroid cancers to a change in the sex ratio of European births):

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_disaster_effects

    "The so-called "Red Forest" of pine trees,[18][19] previously known as Worm Wood Forest and located immediately behind the reactor complex, lay within the 10 km zone and was killed off by heavy radioactive fallout. The forest is so named because in the days following the disaster the trees appeared to have a deep red hue as they died because of extremely heavy radioactive fallout. In the post-disaster cleanup operations, a majority of the 4 km² forest was bulldozed and buried. The site of the Red Forest remains one of the most contaminated areas in the world.

    ...There are reports of mutations in some plants in the area, leading to unsubstantiated tales of a "forest of wonders" containing many strangely mutated plants. Specifically, some trees have weirdly twisted branches that do not reach for the sky."

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  2. Let's face it, we live and operate in an insane system, and because of that very notion, we are also insane.

    Here's an interesting, and horrifying, interview with a knowledgeable individual about the unfolding Nuclear Power crisis.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qk6q4stRY8Q&feature=player_embedded

    You have to admit, this is NUTS. So much is NUTS......the squirrels are Happy Happy. NUTS abound.

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  3. I have been reading elsewhere that the Rads charting of fallout in rads is a hoax. Evidently 500-750 rads would be enough to kill you.

    I don't know why anyone would make up a false chart at a time like this. But evidently they did.

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  4. L-L...

    I don't know whether there is any on-going hoax.

    I DO know, there have been many such hoaxes in the past, and the reason is, there are huge profits at stake.

    Money. Very simple.

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  5. While I understand peoples concern over nuclear power generation I would like some reasonable options/alternatives for Japan to employ in place of nuclear.

    I am interested in peoples thoughts on this.

    Matt. :)

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  6. Rads charting is bogus here btw - no nasis in reality whatsoever. Most of the radiatiuon from the two japanese plants is extremely short lives, less than 10 seconds, with a very small amount having a longer, but still short lifetime. The idea any of the radiation in the steam from the feed and bleed procedure (which could continue for months) is going to travel across the Pacific to the US is fantasy. If there was an explosion of the reactor vessel it would be different. Bear in mind that the chance of an explosion, even with a total meltdown are significantly low. I'm actually going to go as far as recommending the removal of that fallout map Gail - it is made up.

    Matt.

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  7. Matt, I think its pretty obvious the map is a hypothetical conjecture, and is merely illustrative of a possible scenario in the event of a meltdown, for which it is clearly labeled.

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  8. Not to underestimate the gravity of the situation, but the fallout map is bogus. Check the website of the supposed authors to validate:
    http://www.australian-radiation-services.com.au/

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  9. Thank you I know the fallout map is bogus, in the sense that, it is not a scientifically accurate representation of a probably outcome.

    I think it is SO obvious that it is an illustration that I am fine with it as a graphic representation of the potential ramifications of disasters. We are all connected on this precious globe and that is the message I get from the map.

    This is not a scientific publication. This is my chronicle of our failing support systems, which has become so obvious to me that humans have destroyed, I no longer have the inclination to even try to convince anyone that the 6th great extinction is well underway, caused by humans, and irreversible.

    I woke up this morning with the thought that it is so, so funny, that calling people who are behaving badly "animals" is an insult. It should be clear by now that calling anything "human" should be the greatest critique of all. We are vile because we have despoiled our planet not only for ourselves but just about every other living thing with the possible exception of cockroaches, crows, and jellyfish.

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  10. Wonderfully put, Gail, and I share the very same sentiments, and have said the very same things on many occasion. As a result, I never get invited to parties anymore.

    The 29th scroll, 6th verse said all that needs to be said about the beast, man.

    This line from this movie had such a profound effect on me when I first watched the movie at age 9-10. It spoke to me in a way nothing prior did. It answered questions I was already developing, that my parents didn't have the capacity to answer, let alone even grasp.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUfs5E7IjvE

    Beware the beast, man, for he is the devil's pawn. Alone among God's primates, he kills for sport or lust or greed. Yea, he will murder his brother to possess his brother's land. Let him not breed in great numbers, for he will make a desert of his home and yours. Shun him; drive him back into his jungle lair, for he is the harbinger of death.

    I still can't believe they let this movie through censorship. I saw an interview with one of the script writers and he said they got it by the studio and the censors because the execs and bureaucrats didn't take it seriously because it was a bunch of apes in costumes. What harm could such wonderful, ridiculous entertainment render to fascists in training. Little did they know the effect it had on me, let alone the countless other minds capable of deciphering its message.

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  11. Well Morocco Bama, that is a fine way to begin the day! Thanks as always for your contributions;)

    Come to think of it, I have been uninvited to two traditional annual holiday parties the past couple of years...

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