Anxious waiting for Fukushima. A Japan Earthquake roundup…

 

Japan: Design of reactors long questioned; seawalls didn’t help

from Boing Boing by Xeni Jardin


Screen capture from video of an explosion at the Fukushima Daichi plant in Japan (Reuters)

As Japan nuclear fears spread, so does crowdsourced radiation tracking

from Boing Boing by Xeni Jardin

Above, “Tokyo Geiger Counter,” built with this DIY kit. The location is Tokyo/Kotoku. (thanks, Francesco Fondi)

CNET: “The intensifying nuclear crisis in Japan is raising anxieties on both sides of the Pacific over the potential impacts of radiation exposure, and a relative dearth of official information on radiation levels is leading some to turn to crowdsourced options. (…) With official estimations of the threat from radiation across Japan changing rapidly and sometimes inconsistent, a number of real-time amateur radiation monitors have popped up online.

Japan?s nuclear morality tale

NEW DELHI — The troubles of the Fukushima nuclear-power plant — and other reactors — in northeast Japan have dealt a severe blow to the global nuclear industry, a powerful cartel of less than a dozen major state-owned or state-guided firms that have been trumpeting a nuclear-power renaissance

Radiation: Dose and Risk

from Boing Boing by Maggie Koerth-Baker

So, I’m in process on putting together a post that will, hopefully, add some context to the concept of radiation exposure and relative risk. It’s coming together slowly because (shocker) many of America’s nuclear energy and radiation scientists are kind of busy right now, and answering my questions isn’t the first thing on their to-do lists. But, in the meantime, I did want to share one really interesting tidbit that I picked up from an email exchange with Kathryn A. Higley, PhD, head of Oregon State University’s Dept. of Nuclear Engineering & Radiation Health Physics.

 

Japan: Third blast at Fukushima nuclear plant, fire at reactor 4, workers leave plant, crisis worsens (UPDATED)

from Boing Boing by Xeni Jardin

Japan: new problems at third reactor; meltdown and “catastrophic release of radiation” feared

from Boing Boing by Xeni Jardin

Japan’s nuclear crisis might not be the last

from washingtonpost.com – Op-Ed Columns by Eugene Robinson
Nuclear power was beginning to look like a panacea: a way to lessen our dependence on oil, make our energy supply more self-sufficient and mitigate global warming. But now we cannot ignore that it is toxic technology.

If the Japanese can’t build a safe reactor, who can?

from washingtonpost.com – Op-Ed Columns by Anne Applebaum

Who else could build a safe nuclear reactor?

Turkey: Still Considering Bid on Nuclear Plant from Japan?

from Global Voices Online by Solana Larsen

Japan: Earthquake, ?how to protect yourself? in 30 languages

from Global Voices Online by Scilla Alecci

Russia: Fukushima Plant Disaster Triggers Nuclear Power Debate

from Global Voices Online by Alexey Sidorenko

Japan: Tell the World to Help

from Global Voices Online by Chris Salzberg

Written by Chris Salzberg

This post is part of our special coverage Japan Earthquake 2011.

A simple search for pictures posted on Twitter can bring up amazing things.

Search the characters ???? (Miyagi) and a handful of different pictures come up from the prefecture, one of the hardest-hit in Japan by the recent tsunami. Scroll down, and one picture stands out, a blob of brown and blue until you click it?

Picture from KesennumaPicture from Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, one of the areas hardest hit by the tsunami. 

Visualising Global Earthquake Intensity

from Worldmapper
Worldmapper: We used earthquake data from over 4000 years to map the global earthquake intensity in relation to today’s world population distribution: http://bit.ly/eqintes

Social Media Plays Vital Role in Reconnecting Japan Quake Victims With Loved Ones

from Mashable! by Sarah Kessler

Tracking Japan’s disaster

from AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (IN DEPTH)
An interactive map shows the extent of the devastation after Friday’s 8.9 magnitude earthquake and tsunami.

 

Fraudsters break all records in Japan relief ripoffs

from Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow

Fraudster scumbags have beaten all records in setting up fake Japan relief pages, fielding more than 1.7 million malware pages, 419 scams trading on the Japanese disasters, 50+ fake domains with “Japan tsunami” or “Japan earthquake” in their URLs. MacWorld recommends donating via the Red Cross, or other established charities that you’re familiar with.

Japan: Frustrations from the Overlooked

from Global Voices Online by Hanako Tokita

Written by Hanako Tokita

This post is part of our special coverage Japan Earthquake 2011.

 

Ukraine: Comparing Fukushima to Chernobyl?

from Global Voices Online by Tetyana Bohdanova

Written by Tetyana Bohdanova

This post is part of our special coverage Japan Earthquake 2011.

The devastating earthquake and the resulting tsunami that hit Japan on Friday caused significant damage [ENG] to Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant, where shutoff of the cooling system has triggered an unfortunate chain of events resulting in several blasts, a fire and temperature rises [ENG] at the plant?s nuclear reactors.

 

Japan: Earthquakes Moving South? Anxiety Builds in Kansai

from Global Voices Online by Matt Holland

Written by Matt Holland

This post is part of our special coverage Japan Earthquake 2011.

Just days after the massive earthquake which struck northeastern Japan, further geological tremors are taking place elsewhere on the island of Honshu. As a brief glance at the Yomiuri Shimbun’s earthquake info log shows, a magnitude 6 earthquake hit Shizuoka Prefecture (located between Metropolitan Tokyo and the Kansai region) at just after 10:30PM local time on March 15. In addition, at roughly 3:30AM on the 16th, a magnitude 4 earthquake struck the Hida-Takayama area of Gifu Prefecture, a location northwest of Shizuoka. This series of quakes naturally has people living west of said areas feeling a bit nervous about what is to come.

USA: Science Bloggers Explain Earthquakes and Tsunamis

from Global Voices Online by David Wescott

Written by David Wescott

As Japan and the rest of the world struggle to make sense of the devastating earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear scare, science bloggers are sharing facts to help explain what happened. Where science bloggers excel is not only understanding what happens, but knowing how to explain it so anyone can understand.

Japan?s Prime Minister Launches English-Language Twitter Account for Quake Updates

from Mashable! by Meghan Peters

From Japan’s devastation, our Lisbon moment?

from washingtonpost.com – Op-Ed Columns by Post
Japan’s disaster – and the financial crisis – underscore the need for regulation.

Fear of the unknown grips post-quake Tokyo

from AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (IN DEPTH)
Al Jazeera reports from Japan’s capital on stress and potential nuclear fallout from the earthquake.

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