No news about Fukushima is not good news

[mommytimes2]

The US news has been really silent on the Fukushima situation for weeks now. But the situation there is still very serious. I have been doing my own looking into things since the press has stopped its reporting.

For anyone interested, Dr. Helen Caldicott (see her Facebook page) and Arnie Gundersen (nuclear engineer--has a site called "Fairewinds") are both good sources of information about this ongoing crisis. Also, RT Moscow news is still reporting on things and has some good interviews on YouTube.

UC Berkeley in CA has a great website with monitoring info (air, water, milk, some foods). They also host an informative forum discussion. Really great resource for those on the West Coast! http://www.nuc.berkeley.edu/UCBAirSampling

I personally have been signing a lot of online petitions to eliminate nuclear power. It is outdated, very expensive to build, dangerous, and hardly clean or green. We mothers need to put an end to this by voicing our dissent, for the health and safety of our children. I just wrote my first letter (email) to a public official--Pres. Obama. If we are complicit and not talking about this issue as a society, then we are just setting ourselves up for this to happen again.

Like Einstein said, "Nuclear power is one hell of a way to boil water!"

If anyone else has links to information, please feel free to share.

Edited by mommytimes2 - 5/18/11 at 12:33am

[hakeber]

Good point!  The Financial Times has some good and recent articles on the subject.

http://www.ft.com/cms/aff50ade-4bc6-11e0-9705-00144feab49a.html?segid=20001&ftcamp=traffic/sem/LATAM/google_p4p/indepth_japanearthquake/auddev 

I totally agree with you!  Good for you!

[tayndrewsmama]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-12/japan-suffers-setback-at-fukushima-after-no-1-reactor-s-fuel-rods-exposed.html

[fumoshima]

fukushima no longer exsists.Huge glowing pulsating mass.To big to vapourize with atomic weapon.Hence news ban.Dont go out in rain.Nothing else you can do.There are 2 more plants possibly in the same condition and an evev more dangerous reprocessing plant.I personaly am frightened to death.Best of luck everybody i love you all

[mommytimes2]

I am so sad that we are facing this situation. It can be really stressful to deal with, especially for the Japanese people. My heart goes out to them. Fumoshima--are you ok? Where are you located? Please know you are not alone. In the end, I think we can and will make things better, although we are certainly learning some hard lessons right now. Please feel free to PM me if you want to talk. (((HUG)))
 

Originally Posted by fumoshima 

fukushima no longer exsists.Huge glowing pulsating mass.To big to vapourize with atomic weapon.Hence news ban.Dont go out in rain.Nothing else you can do.There are 2 more plants possibly in the same condition and an evev more dangerous reprocessing plant.I personaly am frightened to death.Best of luck everybody i love you all

[dancingflower]

Mommytimes  you are so right!

It is really shocking how a search for Fukushima's news yields almost nothing from after april or so. There are barely no news and we don't find discussions on how irresponsibly we have been pursuing nuclear power, which to me, would be the natural lead after such accident. 

It is very sad that we cannot even articulate the meaning of the Fukushima's nuclear disaster. We are sooooooo anesthetized. I confess I find it difficult to think about Fukushima. As it was difficult (for me) to think about the BP oil spill, for example. And let's not talk about wars! We just keep going and living our lives, as if nothing happened? 

You are right that we must share information, stir inquiry ... its the least we can do.

From my searches:

NYtimes article that invites a discussion about nuclear plants safety beyond Fukushima. 
"American officials had said early on that reactors in the United States would be safe from such disasters because they were equipped with new, stronger venting systems. But Tokyo Electric Power Company, which runs the plant, now says that Fukushima Daiichi had installed the same vents years ago"
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/18/world/asia/18japan.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha2

Greenpeace findings on Marine Life:
http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/Blog/greenpeace-japanese-government-must-immediate/blog/34729

There is a Fukushima update log at the International Atomic Energy Agency (I must say I know nothing about nuclear power or this agency, which is affiliated with the UN)
http://www.iaea.org/

You mentioned something about on line petitions. Links please!

[mommytimes2]

Hi Dancingflower! Almost all of the petitions I have signed I found on Dr. Helen Caldicott's facebook page. She is a medical doctor and also anti-nuclear activist, who was nominated for a nobel peace prize for her work. The petitions themselves came from various organizations, like greenpeace and others. But her facebook page has links to many petitions and other great information about Fukushima and more.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dr-Helen-Caldicott/102772801940

I am thinking we need a nationwide march against nuclear power! Obama is about to subsidize the nuclear power industry with $36 billion to build new power plants, which we should be using for renewables like wind and solar!

Maybe I ought to move over to the "Activism" forum...

Edited by mommytimes2 - 6/6/11 at 8:13pm

[Kansai Mama]

No news is not good news. Three nuclear power plants melted down, a forth is critical and no one knows how to contain them. At first they said they would be contained by Jan. Now they have no idea when they will be contained. Unfortunately, I made plans to go to Japan. My in laws say it's okay for the kids to visit. My DH thinks I am being over emotional about this and not thinking logically. He tells me that you need 100 microseverts of radiation to die from this and that the kids are not going to get this level of radiation simply by visiting Japan. I don't buy into this logic!!!!! My concern is that they are kids. Radiation has a much greater effect on children. Also, radiation is cumulative and builds up in the body over time. He says you can pee it out. I don't believe this!! I have told the kids that we are not going. They are furious with me. They really want to go. I really wish we could go. But all I can think of is what if we go and one of my kids gets cancer 11 years from now. I could never forgive myself. I just cannot put my children in this type of danger. I am so tired of hearing about microseverts and how this is safe and it is okay. The human race is very quickly poisoning our planet. It is not okay.

I am also very saddened by the lack of leadership in this country and in Japan. 

[mommytimes2]

Kansai Mama--I couldn't agree more. I was a big supporter of Pres. Obama's, but I will not be voting for him if he continues to support building new reactors. The lack of leadership is despicable.

I completely understand your decision regarding travel and your children. I am on the West Coast and very concerned about what mine are breathing/eating... I can hardly imagine what mothers in Japan are dealing with.

[ghannit]

I just read this article the other day, and although the news is terrible (I'd so love to hear/believe that it's really all over), I am glad that it's being reported on somewhere. http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/06/201161664828302638.html

[journeymom]

There's a No Nukes concert in the works:  http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/jackson-browne-csn-to-perform-at-no-nukes-show-20110620

I haven't even thought about the term 'no nukes' in 25 years. 

[ghannit]

Wow, it's been a looong time since that last concert... I guess one can hope that this one might get more media exposure, and perhaps a bit more good will come of it. I also hope they get more artists on board, and that this is just the beginning of on ongoing effort. I must say, Grahm Nash is still speaking his mind. :-)