ShowMeBlog

IAEA Update on Japan Earthquake

  If I had cable TV, I think, I would have news about the nuclear problems going non-stop.  I am very much interested in it.  I been trying to follow the news story but it seems there is a lack of information.
  One site I just found that seems to have good information and presents it in a clear manner is the International Atomic Energy Agency.

I do not know what the American people are thinking about nuclear power now.  I can see how it would be great to get away from oil as much as we can but just how safe is nuclear power?  It does not look safe to me at all.
 
  If we build brand new state of the art nuclear plants what if terrorist attack the plants by getting jobs inside or by some attack from the outside like flying an plane into one of the sites?
 
  We should have listened to President Jimmy Carter back in the late 70s.    
  We forget that Jimmy Carter attended the United States Naval Academy and graduated 59th out of 820 midshipmen. 

“…Carter was based in Schenectady, New York, and working on the nuclear propulsion system for the Seawolf submarine when he was ordered to Chalk River, joining other Canadian and American service personnel.

Once they arrived, Carter's team used a model of the reactor to practice the steps necessary to disassemble the reactor and seal it off. During execution of the actual disassembly each team member, including Carter, donned protective gear, was lowered individually into the reactor, stayed for only a few seconds at a time to minimize exposure to radiation, and used hand tools to loosen bolts, remove nuts and take the other steps necessary to complete the disassembly process.

During and after his presidency Carter indicated that his experience at Chalk River shaped his views on nuclear power and nuclear weapons, including his decision not to pursue completion of the neutron bomb.^[15]…”

Japanese Response To Disaster

    My God you have to admire the Japanese people’s calm and orderly response to this disaster.  Just think if this was happening in the United States.  
    We can learn from the Japanese people. 
    I am not sure how their political system works.  That is one problem we have. 

    Take a look at Hurricane Katrina.  President Bush made a total mess out of that. 
On top of that you had a large number of people blaming the mostly black people of New Orleans.  There is no question that Fox News and right wing Republicans would have felt different if it had been Dallas and not New Orleans.
    You also had Republicans blaming the state government of Louisiana and pointing out that it was Democrats in control of the state.  You had state leaders blaming the federal government.
    
   The looting and violence that took place in New Orleans shows the difference in American cities and states and Japan. 
   We need to study what took place with Hurricane Katrina and see what we can do to help change things and improve things.
   The people of the United States opened up their hearts and pocket books to the people effected by Hurricane Katrina.  Texas took in more than 300,000 refugees and made them welcome. 
   There is nothing wrong with the American people.  I think there is something very wrong with the way our system is working. 

    I fear things are getting much worst for us.  The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.  The rich people feel “I got mine” and fuck the rest of you.
   Our public infrastructure is getting older and older and is falling apart and there is no real desire by the American people to fix it.  
   We have never funded a real social safety net for Americans and the very limited one we have is about to be cut big time. 
   It is again politics that is the problem.  It is also our system.  Republicans also want zero regulations. Then our system of government makes it very hard.  You have states and cities that do not want anyone telling them what to do.  You have people like the Governor Rick Perry (R-TX) that wants to make Texas friendly to big corporations so he does not want any federal/national regulations on things like air and water.  He wants each state to control things like that. 

  One problem is money.  The Republicans have been very successful in making not only “Democrats” a bad word they have also made “taxes” a bad word.
  They even started a major war costing tons of money and refused to tax people to pay for the war. (I am talking about the Iraq war.) 

  I think we got some real hard times ahead for all of us.  I hope we are not tested like the people of Japan.  I hope when our time comes that we can act more like the people of Japan. 

  Japanese people are teaching us many lessons I hope we can learn from them.

Radioactivity on 17 U.S. Navy Crew Members in Japan

“(CNN) -- Tests detected low levels of radioactivity on 17 U.S. Navy helicopter crew members when they returned to the USS Ronald Reagan after conducting disaster relief missions in Japan, the military said Monday.

No further contamination was detected after the crew members washed with soap and water, the Navy said.

In addition, the Navy said the U.S. 7th Fleet has temporarily repositioned its ships and planes away from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant after detecting low level contamination in the air and on its planes in the area, the Navy said.

One ship was operating about 100 miles northeast of the power plant when "airborne radioactivity" was detected, the Navy said…” 

 

  I said in my blog post “Blast and radiation leak in Japan” that we would be hearing a lot more about the subject of radiation soon.  But since then there has been a second blast and more details are coming out.
  I did not think about fall out on our navy ships or on aircraft responding to help.  I did think about fall out on people going in to help.  This is a big disaster.  The addition of the nuclear problem makes it so much bigger and harder to deal with for Japan and the world.
 

  I was in Civil Defense when I was in high school.  I missed as much high school as I could and did not do my home work but I did attend CD meetings, at the city hall, and was studying CD stuff.  (I should have paid more attention to my school work. )

  I also took a radiological monitoring course for the CD at the UMKC.  I am sure I have forgot most of the information now.
  The military will be right on top of this danger and have the equipment and training to deal with it.  It will also be good training for our people.  We need to learn and test out our people, their training and their equipment.
  This also again reminds of how hard the job that our military has to do for us and how important they are to us all.
  It is also a warning and a wake up call to all of us just how much danger there is in anything having to do with nuclear.  (My father helped to build an h-bomb plant in GA.  He was a boilermaker/welder.) 

  I got a feeling this is going to be a lot worst than we think right now.  Soap and water will get rid of the fall out but some people are going to get it in their lungs.  
  
  Republicans were screaming that we should privatize Social Security and have people put their money into Wall Street, banks and insurance corporations.  Well thanks to the Republicans all those went to hell. So the Republicans shut up, for now, about taking your Social Security money and giving it to the big money corporations.
  Then the Republicans were jumping up and down and screaming “DRILL BABY DRILL.” Yes, then there was BP Oil spill.
  Well the Republicans been calling for the building of nuclear power plants in the United States and now look what has taken place.
  God seems to hate the Republicans.  The Republican always seem to be on the wrong side of issues.  How can they be so wrong all of the time?

Blast and radiation leak in Japan

  It is like those old movies made in Japan…  news of an explosion and the leaking of radiation.  Right now they are saying radioactive cesium is detected in the air near one nuclear power plant.  On top of an earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan has nuclear power plant problems.

 
  “…Since the 1990s, the largest application of the element has been as caesium formate for drilling fluids. It has a range of applications in the production of electricity, in electronics, and in chemistry. The radioactive isotope caesium-137 has a half-life of about 30 years and is used in medical applications, industrial gauges, and hydrology. Although the element is only mildly toxic, it is a hazardous material as a metal and its radioisotopes present a high health risk in case of radiation leaks…”

 

  It has a half life of 30 years!  That means that what ever the radiation level of it is that in 30 years it will “only” be half as strong.  
  Notice the mention of used in drilling fluids!  I think we are going to be hearing more about this subject.  Right now there is debate here in the United States about all the drilling for gas and oil and the drilling fluid being pumped down into the ground.  The drilling corporations say it is safe and refuse to tell us what they are pumping into the ground.  Like here in Texas the drilling is all over the place … right down the street from where you live and right next to schools and playgrounds.  Republicans say it is nothing and that the federal government has no right to control it or even get information.  Rick Perry, the Republican Governor of Texas, is telling the federal government to go to hell that it is a Texas matter and he tells corporations that Texas loves you and there will be no regulation.
  Also Republicans just started pushing for nuclear power building again.
  Right now we are all jus worrying about the people of Japan but I think this is going to bring up issues here at home.

   CNN on their website has a a polling question.  “Do you have confidence in U.S. disaster preparedness?”  Right now the vote is 78% “NO” and 22$ “YES” in the poll.  
   I wonder what the vote would have been if it had not been for President Bush, and the Republicans, and Hurricane Katrina? 
   Also you got to wonder how well are we going to be prepared when cities and states are cutting first responders?  Because of the Republican financial crisis we are going to be cutting police officers, firefighters and EMS public employees.  Not only that, right now, with the budget problems in Washington DC the Republicans are saying they are cutting money for FEMA and other federal spending.
  You got a large group of Republicans that say that we should do away with all agencies because they are not mentioned in the Constitution of the United States.  If they are not done away with then they want to take any power away from the agencies.  They do not want them to have the power to regulate and make rules. 

  We need to fix the financial crisis caused by the Republicans.  We need to create jobs and we need to regulate and control banks, Wall Street and big business.  Then we need to work on the budget.  As soon as we can get out of this Republican caused budget mess we need to look at our nation’s disaster preparedness. 

  The following video was made before we knew of a leak of radiation.

Massive 8.9 quake, tsunamis hit Japan

  I just woke up at 0246 time here in Texas and checked the CNN web site and saw the headline:  “Massive 8.9 quake, tsunamis hit Japan.”  That is a big earthquake.  
  Our hopes and prayers are with everyone in Japan and any other areas effected by the quake.

 

“Tokyo (CNN) -- An 8.9-magnitude earthquake hit northern Japan on Friday, triggering tsunamis and sending a massive body of water filled with debris that included boats and houses inching toward highways.

The epicenter was 373 kilometers (231 miles) away from the capital, Tokyo, the United States Geological Survey said. But residents there felt the tremors.

The quake rattled buildings and toppled cars off bridges and into waters underneath. Waves of debris flowed like lava across farmland, pushing boats, houses and trailers toward highways.

Hawaii, Russia and Taiwan threatened by tsunami

In Tokyo, crowds gathered in the streets and tried to reach relatives via cell phone…”

NASA’s Glory Mission has failed to launch

“NASA's Glory mission offers the potential to dazzle us with discoveries of our home planet's climate. With specialized sensors and orbiting on a path that covers all of Earth, the Glory satellite is to tell researchers how much of the sun's energy the planet absorbs or uses and how much gets reflected back out into space.
About the size of a refrigerator, the Glory spacecraft will look for those answers in the form of aerosols in the Earth's atmosphere. Particles of solids and liquids that float high in the air, some reaching the stratosphere, are what Glory will detect and map. The sensors also are expected to reveal how long the particles stay in the atmosphere.”  NASA

 

  NASA is reporting that the launch failed this morning.  They will hold a press conference later today with details.

Rotating outages at an end for now

  It looks like the rotating outages have come to an end for now.  A lot of people in Texas are upset.  They think that the electric corporations should have know that extra power would be needed during a winter storm and be ready for it.
  They are also upset with The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).  They think the ERCOT should have sent out orders to the power plants to increase their output before the storm.  People are also upset that ERCOT did not send out any notice to the public before they ordered the grid to start rotating outages. 
  Many people in the Dallas/Fort Worth area are very upset that when the utility corporations cut power to areas they did not cut it to the Super Bowl.

  Something that I have not heard anyone comment on is the fact that ERCOT is traded on the stock market!  The hourly prices of ERCOT usually trades at $1950.00 per megawatt hour?  When ERCOT ordered rotating outages their price went up to $2000.00 per megawatt hour.
  Don’t ask me what it all means.  I just smell something rotten in the state of Texas. 
  I also object to stock market trading on things like this… And I do not even know what in the hell you call a thing like this… except .. You call it greed and you call it a crime in my book.

Nude Beach for Delray Beach FL?

“DELRAY BEACH, Fla. -- David Armstrong, a member of the Delray Nudists, has lived in Delray Beach for 22 years. Their group has been lobbying for a clothing-optional beach for six years.   “I’m a naturist and I like to hang out at the beach naked. I like to go swimming in the ocean naked. I do everything in the nude,” said Armstrong.   Armstrong is just one of thousands of self-proclaimed naturists in the county who like to participate in recreational activities in the nude.   “We’re public citizens. We pay taxes. They should set aside a section of land for nude recreation,” said Armstrong.   To get the project approved, the city would have to change the ordinance, which is something Vice Mayor Adam Frankel says they don’t have any intentions on doing.   “A nudist beach really would not fit with the child-friendly and family-friendly principles we have here,” said Frankel.   “It’s what they keep saying ‘because it’s a family beach,’ but naturists have families as well so I don’t understand his point,” said Armstrong.   Armstrong estimates the venture could bring the city more than $100 million. He cited a study that was done by a nonprofit naturist group in Miami, BEACHES Foundation Institute. The group looked at how much revenue the nude beach in Miami, Haulover Park, brings in…”

                                                              
 It does not sound like it is going to happen.  But the guy is right about a couple of things.  It is nice to be nude at a beach.  The other thing is how popular Haulover beach is for Miami (FL).  People come from all over the world for that beach. 
   It brings in lots of money.  I have been to Haulover beach.  But if the city is not behind the project I do not think it would work for Delray Beach.  You need the support of the city. 

All roads lead to Russia

  Is this story for real?

“An airport in Tampa, Florida, has had to temporarily close its runways to keep up with Earth's magnetic north pole, which is drifting toward Russia at a rate of 40 miles per year.

Fox News reports that the international airport was forced to adjust the signs on its busiest runway Thursday because pilots depend on the magnetic fields to navigate. The runway will be closed until Jan. 13, and will re-open with new taxiway signs that indicate its new location on aviation charts, the Tampa Bay Tribune reports.

Paul Takemoto, a spokesman for the FAA, says the Earth's magnetic fields are constantly in flux -- but rarely so much so that runway signage needs to be changed. "You want to be absolutely precise in your compass heading," he told Fox. "To make sure the precision is there that we need, you have to make these changes."

[Rewind: Scary gaffe adds to week of airline mishaps]

"The Earth's poles are changing constantly, and when they change more than three degrees, that can affect runway numbering," FAA spokesperson Kathleen Bergen told Fox News. It's unclear whether any other airports will have to adjust their runways. ..”  

Yahoo News

 

  I knew there was a shift but 40 miles a year?  Wow, if I were a Republican I would want to go war with Russia for stealing the North Pole or something.  But then Republicans do not believe in science.  They think the earth is only 5000 years old and they do not believe in other facts of science.
  Fox News is the source for the story which makes me wonder if the story is even true.

Radioactive water wells in Texas

  Now we have news reports of radioactive water wells in Texas.  We are in two wars to stop terrorism.  We are spending billions and billions of dollars to stop terrorism.  The entire power and might of the governments is aimed at preventing terrorism.  We have been worried about dirty nuclear bombs. We worry that terrorist might get their hands on some nuclear waste and spread it around by a bomb in one of our cities.
  
  The Republicans in Texas object to any federal agencies.  They object to food inspections.  They object to water inspections.  They object to air inspections.  They want Texas to work with business, corporations and the rich to get regulations and controls off the back of the people with money.

  And now we find out that the city of Houston (Texas) has been supplying water to the people of Texas from two radioactive water wells.

“HOUSTON -- A radioactive water well that is controlled by the City of Houston, and that serves residents of Jersey Village, is no longer being used, according to the communications director for Houston Mayor Annise Parker.   
On Monday, a KHOU-TV investigation revealed Jersey Village water well #3 was one of 10 water wells identified by recent federal tests as having tested high for a particularly damaging form of radiation called alpha radiation.   
As recently as two weeks ago, city officials had said that same well, and nine others across the city, remained online and “available for use,” even after being identified in a draft report by the United States Geological Survey as testing high for radioactive contaminants that are known to immediately increase risks for cancer…”

  Texas does want to control text books that children read in school.  They want to make sure that no mention is made of the spotted owl, Darwinism, global warming, Martin Luther King or other left wing Communist ideas.
  But Texas does not want to protect the children and citizens of Texas from radioactive water, hydraulic fracturing contamination, chromium-6 and other problems.
  Texas wants to protect the citizens of Texas from federal regulation and inspections.
 
  I see very little danger from terrorists … But I see a big deadly danger from Republicans in control of Texas.
Now if I lived in New York or Washington DC I might worry more about terrorist.  But right now the danger to my life and safety is from the Republican control of Texas.