In recent news it is reported that Japan seals off no-go zone around nuclear plants. I have tried to follow what is happening as closely as I can but news can be spotty at best. And then when there is news available it can be quite conflicted. As an example here is a quote from an Associated Press article today by Eric Talmadge.
"It feels like some outsider who doesn't know anything about our geography sat at a desk and drew these circles," Sakurai said. "The zones have zero scientific basis. Radiation doesn't travel in neat circles. Just putting up circles around the plant is unreasonable."
Katsunobu Sakurai is the mayor of Minami Soma, where about half the 71,000 residents lived in areas that are now off-limit.
The Japanese people are concerned and frustrated. Many left their homes, all their belongings - even animals were left behind in the rush to evacuate the areas that were subject to high levels of radiation. What I find so amazing is that whether you are BP in the gulf oil spill or TEPCO at the Fukushima nuclear plant - the American government or the Japanese government - when something really terrible goes wrong everyone high up in the organizations or government tries to cover their assess, while the people at ground zero scramble to put their lives back together.
I saw an article today about how Japan plans to fine or imprison those who return to their homes within the 12-mile exclusion zone. They're going to let one person go back for two hours to get things, and that's it. This will be a very hard thing for people to stomach. And yes, the news is far too scarce. You'd think things like this happened all the time, instead of this being a singular event in the history of the world.
ReplyDeleteTwo photos in the paper caught my eye about this. The first was an eerie photo of the radiation zone...it was an area untouched by the tsunami or earthquake, but emptied of people.
ReplyDeleteSecond and fascinating was of an ancient stone--one of hundreds, apparently, in that part of Japan--saying, don't build your village below this stone, a tsunami will get you. Here's the link on that:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/21/world/asia/21stones.html?scp=1&sq=tsunami%20stone&st=cse
Anyway, we seem quick to forget what other people have learned the hard way.
Thanks for that link, that was an interesting story. Many cultures take great care in passing down the wisdom of the elders. I wonder if our blogs will become the tribal/village meetings of times past?
ReplyDeleteHope you're fine this morning, Annie. A tornado ripped through St Louis's airport last night.
ReplyDeleteWe are fine here but just a few miles away is a disaster zone. It was crazy last night.
ReplyDeletewhen something really terrible goes wrong everyone high up in the organizations or government tries to cover their assess, while the people at ground zero scramble to put their lives back together.
ReplyDeleteSO SO TRUE.
WE'RE GLAD YOUR OK.
GRANNY
Thanks everyone for your inquires - here is fine, there is not. It is something to see things so familiar to you on national TV. Truly amazing that the injuries were so few and minor.
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