The methane emergency

Greenland Sea hit by M5.3 Earthquake

An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.3 on the Richter scale hit the Greenland Sea near Svalbard on October 28, 2013.

[ Earthquake indicated by orange dot - click on image to enlarge ]

Arctic News,

30 October, 2013

For a long time, huge sea surface temperature anomalies have shown up in the area where the earthquake hit. The image below compares the situation before and after the earthquake hit.

[ click on image to enlarge ]

These huge sea surface temperature anomalies were discussed before, in the September 19, 2013, post Is the North Pole now ice-free?

This post mentions that sea surface temperatures in some spots close to Svalbard are far higher than even in the waters closer to the Atlantic Ocean. In some of these spots, sea surface temperatures are well over 10°C (50°F).

The post continues: Where does this heat come from? These hot spots could be caused by undersea volcanic activity; this is the more dangerous as this area has seen methane bubbling up from destabilized hydrates before; the dangers of this situation have been discussed repeatedly, e.g. in the April 2011 post Runaway Global Warming.

Indeed, the big danger is large abrupt release of methane from destabilized hydrates. At the moment, the amount of methane entering the atmosphere over the Arctic Ocean is already huge, as illustrated by the image below that shows high methane readings over the past few days.

We'll keep monitoring the situation.

The methane emergency

This article finishes up pretending there is still time to do something

Climate crisis unfolding: Methane coming from Arctic at an all time high

The Examiner,

30 October, 2013

While we go about our day, working, taking care of our family and doing life, a crisis that many are unaware of is unfolding in the Arctic that has been, and will affect, every living thing on Earth, including us. As recently as of Monday, October 28, 2013, consistently high levels of methane have been detected through the methane tracker that the Arctic News monitors.

Not only will the Arctic soon be ice-free, but something far worse and a symptom of climate change is happening in real-time: This methane, previously stored for millions of years in frozen clathrates deep below the ocean, is starting to be released at a staggering rate in October, alarming scientists and researchers worldwide.

Most people joke and think of methane as the thing that comes from cows and don't understand the seriousness of what unchecked methane entering the atmosphere will do. Besides accelerating climate change and making the planet warm even faster, a catastrophic release of methane has also been thought to be the reason behind past mass extinctions.

Throw in the fact that the oceans are dying, and it looks we are indeed watching the unfolding of a major climate change crisis.

A recently released short film "Last Hours", drives home the seriousness of climate change and methane, and why every person on the planet should be concerned about a catastrophic release of methane (you can watch the 10 minute video here in this article)

You may ask yourself, "If this is such an emergency, why I am not hearing about this in the mainstream media? Why isn't this on the nightly news?"

Good question. You will seldom hear about this in the mainstream media, because it's something that is so huge, so frightening and so mind boggling that if people were to wrap their minds around this there would be a mass uprising and mass panic. So we are left in the dark about the potential extinction of our species because certain special interest groups want to continue to profit from the use of fossil fuels, and certain governing agencies do not want to create mass panic.

A quote by Dennis Hayes, founder of Earth Day Network, sums it up:

"The fossil fuel industry has broken lots of human laws over the last century. Now the big laws - Nature's laws - are catching up to it. As Last Hours makes clear, humankind must choose to rein in its carbon emissions now, or Nature will rein them in for us."

So by not talking about it or being able to learn about it, our freedom to make our own decisions has been taken away. We can't address the problem if we don't know that we have a problem, right?

Thanks to climate activists like Sam Carana and other members of the Arctic Methane Emergency Group, we can follow in real time the staggering amount of methane that is now coming forth from the Arctic at the Arctic News Blog.

Released on 10/27/2013 by the USGS (photo above in the slideshow) are the latest readings of methane over the Arctic area. Methane that is being released above 1950 pbb (parts per billion) is in red.

To put those numbers into context, what is considered a "normal" release of methane? According to Dr. James Hansen, an American adjunct professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University, 1250 ppb is a livable level.

We are now well surpassing that level daily.

Harold Hensel, another member of AMEG, has this to say about the recent high level readings:

"This is epic! Keep watching the Laptev and East Siberian Sea. This is a very dangerous place for methane to come up. Huge amounts of methane hydrates are stored below. They have been frozen there safely for over 10,000 years. We are witnessing the thawing and large release of methane from this area for the first time in over 10,000 years. The fear is that at a critical point there may be a catastrophic sudden burst of methane from this area. This would more than likely trigger runaway global warming. We could be watching the beginnings of this. If the red on the 1750 ppb and the yellow on the 1950 ppb setting on the methanetracker.org keeps spreading and intensifies, we are watching it happen. I hope this is an anomaly and these areas return to little or no activity."

NASA and scientists around the world are also taking note of the alarming methane levels:

"A NASA science team has observed “amazing and potentially troubling” levels of methane and CO2 from the rapidly warming Arctic. Given the staggering amount of carbon trapped in the permafrost — and the fact that methane is a very potent heat-trapping gas — the space agency is now asking: “Is a Sleeping Climate Giant Stirring in the Arctic?”

For more information and news about methane and why we should be concerned, here is a list of FAQ'S from the Arctic News site: Frequently asked questions about the Arctic and methane.

So what can you do? According to The Last Hours website, there is plenty you can do:

1. Sign the global call to action and share on FaceBook and Twitter (and any other sites you frequent) Share The Last Hours video with friends and family.

2. Vote with your wallet

3. Lighten your own carbon load

4. Pressure your politicians

5. Fund the solutions

6. Join a climate campaign

Here is also a list of groups you can join and follow to find out more:

Citizens Concerned about Climate Change on FaceBook

The Arctic Methane Emergency Group (AMEG) on FaceBook

The Arctic News Blog

You can follow Dorsi Diaz on Twitter and also here at HubPages where she publishes articles about climate change and educating through art. Her website is www.DorsiDiaz.

The Jet Stream

Study: Arctic Sea Ice Loss Shifts Jet Stream, Driving Deluges In NW Europe, Drought In Mediterranean

Yet another study finds Arctic sea ice loss can shift the jet stream and alter the climate

Joe Romm

Arctic sea ice volume in 1000s of cubic kilometers (via Robinson). A new study links recent ice loss to changes in European precipitation.

Climate Progress,

30 October, 2013

Scientists predicted a decade ago that Arctic ice loss would shift storm tracks and bring on worse western droughts of the kind we are now seeing. Recent studies find that Arctic sea ice loss may well usher changes in the jet stream that lead to more U.S. extreme weather events (see here and here).

Several studies also suggest that in Arctic sea ice loss is driving more extreme weather in other parts of the world (see review here).

Now a new study in Environmental Research Letters, “Influence of Arctic sea ice on European summer precipitation” finds a “a causal link between observed sea ice anomalies, large-scale atmospheric circulation and increased summer rainfall over northern Europe.” The University of Exeter news release explains:

A new study offers an explanation for the extraordinary run of wet summers experienced by Britain and northwest Europe between 2007 and 2012. The study found that loss of Arctic sea ice shifts the jet stream further south than normal resulting in increased rain during the summer in northwest Europe.

Dr James Screen “used a computer model to investigate how the dramatic retreat of Arctic sea ice influences the European summer climate” and “found that the pattern of rainfall predicted by the model closely resembles the rainfall pattern of recent summers.”

Here is Dr. Screen explaining his findings:

Jet streams are currents of strong winds high in the atmosphere – around the height at which aeroplanes fly. These winds steer weather systems and their rain. Normally in summer the jet stream lies between Scotland and Iceland and weather systems pass north of Britain. When the jet stream shifts south in summer, it brings unseasonable wet weather to Britain and northwest Europe causing havoc for tourism and farming.

The model suggests that while summer rainfall increases in northwest Europe, Mediterranean regions will receive less rain.

That final point is significant. It’s increasingly clear the climate models that had been predicting the countries surrounding the Mediterranean would start to dry out were correct (see “NOAA: Human-Caused Climate Change Already a Major Factor in More Frequent Mediterranean Droughts”).

We appear to have started a phase change in our weather.

Antarctica

Pine Island Glacier: Plugging Up the West Antarctic Slide

Nicholas St. Fleur

Huffington Post,

30 October, 2013

Have you ever spent a relaxing afternoon at a local park watching as kid after kid joyfully files down a playground slide? And every now and then there's that one wise aleck who refuses to get off the end of the slide and causes a congestion of children to pile up behind him. Well, imagine that scene but replace the kids on the slide with gigantic ice sheets on top of a warm river current and you get an idea of what's happening at the farthest reaches of Antarctica, in a region called the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.

This titanic ice shelf is slowly melting into the Amundsen Sea, which is an arm of the Southern Ocean and connected to the global ocean system, similar to the chain of children going down the slide. Right now the West Antarctic Ice Sheet contributes only a few centimeters per year to global sea levels. But the shelf has enough freshwater to raise global sea levels by several feet. That additional fresh water, though minute, would spread across the world in a matter of days.

The problem with increasing sea level rise is that most of humanity is crusted around the coastlines, particularly in low-lying areas. Even a small fraction of the added water coming from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet can threaten people along the coasts because it could make storm surges more severe.

But barricading the West Antarctic Ice Sheet from sliding into the ocean is a large glacier called Pine Island Glacier. The 31-mile-long stretch of ice is akin to the child sitting at the base of the slide in our playground analogy. But unlike the kid who won't budge, the Pine Island Glacier is succumbing to the warming waters beneath it and the heavy pressure of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet behind it. It's melting, but scientists just don't know how fast.

Now, after a two-month trip to the remote region, some 810 miles away from the nearest research station in Antarctica, an international team of scientists has found just how fast the glacier is liquefying and slipping into the Amundsen Sea.

Their research, which was published Sept. 12 in the journal Science, revealed that Pine Island Glacier is melting at a ferocious rate of 2.4 inches per day.

The findings surprised Tim Stanton, the expedition's team leader and a researcher from the Naval Postgraduate School. He said that not only was the rate much faster than he thought it would be, but that it was also hundreds of times faster than the ice melting in the Artic.

His team drilled through 1,640 feet of ice -- about five and a half football fields' worth -- into the glacier to uncover the melting rate. At those depths the team used its instruments to decode features of the current flowing beneath the ice, such as its temperature, salinity, and how quickly it was eating away the ice.

The scientists analyzed the physics behind how the underground river as it whisked away parts of Pine Island Glacier into the Amundsen Sea, adding to sea level rise.

Now that they've uncovered how fast Pine Glacier Island is melting, the team plans to make predictive models to simulate what would happen if it continues to melt at this rate, or if it were to melt at increased rates. Stanton said that his measurements are a small part of the puzzle of understanding the physics behind how glaciers melt globally.

"We have one planet and we can't run the experiment as a physical experiment," he said. "It would be more satisfying to use our big brains and our big computers to give us predictability." He said that in the long run the goal is to have models skillful enough to predict changes in the ocean depending on current glacier melt rates.

The intensive melting under the Pine Island ice shelf could cause the glacier to break off from the rest of the ice shelf, according to a statement by David Holland, mathematics professor at the Center for Atmosphere Ocean Science at New York University who contributed to analyzing the data from the trip in order to create predictive models.

"That's important, as this ice shelf is currently holding back inland ice, and without that restraining force, the Pine Island catchment basin could further contribute to global sea-level rise," he said in the statement.

If that were to happen, it would be like the kid unplugging himself from the slide and releasing an avalanche of children into the ground below. But instead of ending up with bruises and scrapped knees, we get increased sea levels.

Fukushima radiation affecting Americans

Breaking News: Fukushima Radiation Affecting Americans And There’s No Way To Stop It

Elite Daily,

9 August, 2013

If hundreds of tons of radioactive waste were being pumped into our oceans daily — so much so that it began to affect our food sources and increase our rates of mortality — then they would tell us, right? Apparently not. Who “they” is I cannot say, but they obviously have a reason for not telling the people that the food that they are eating could kill them.

Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant was hit by the earthquake and tsunami of March 2011. Since then, it is estimated that 330 tons of radiation-contaminated water has been leaking into the Pacific Ocean daily. That’s correct, over 300 tons of radiation-contaminated water has been seeping into our oceans every single day for over 2 years. That’s over 250,000 tons of contaminated water that has now entered the Pacific Ocean. The water itself was used to cool the nuclear plant.

I’m no expert on radioactivity, but from what I do know, it spreads quickly and easily. Putting such a large amount of radioactive water into our oceans will surely contaminate the rest of the ocean. I am not one to freak out or look for cause to panic, but it seems that the time to panic may be upon us.

You see, it would be one thing if I were telling you that 330 tons of radiation-contaminated water a day was once upon a time being dumped into the Pacific Ocean. What I am telling you is that this is ongoing — that it is happening right now. And that no one has a solution to stop it. Harvey Wasserman, a journalist and advocate for renewable energy, told RT:

“The Japanese authorities have been covering up the true depth of the disaster because they don’t want to embarrass themselves and the global nuclear industry and they are trying to open up another nuclear plant in Japan. When the Japanese people now find out that the accident is worse than we thought and they have been leaking many tons of radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean for almost two and a half years, this is a catastrophe. Tokyo Electric has no idea how to control this accident. This is absolutely terrifying after two and a half years. To find out that these reactors have been out of control, now that they can’t control this they don’t know what’s going on. This is not a primitive backward country; this is Japan with advanced technology. It has very serious implications for nuclear power all over the world…they don’t know what to do. This has never happened before. You have three explosions; you have four nuclear reactors that are severely compromised. No one ever planned for this. This is an apocalyptic event. This is something that could contaminate the entire Pacific Ocean. It is extremely serious. The reality is that Tokyo Electric does not know what is happening and does not know how to control what is going on. Our entire planet is at risk here. This is two and a half years after these explosions and they are still in the dark. It’s terrifying.”

This should scare you. It sure as hell scares the sh*t out of me. But let me give you some numbers on how exactly it is already affecting the American population. Radiation levels have begun to increase in our food and water supply. Babies are being born with thyroid issues that are directly linked to radiation. The U.S. and Canada are now raising the legally acceptable levels of certain toxic substances that are being imported from Japan.

According to World Truth TV, samples of milk taken across the United States are showing radiation levels 2000 percent higher than EPA maximums.

Natural News explain that, “Cows consume grass and are exposed to the same elements as food crops and water supplies. In other words, when cows’ milk starts testing positive for high levels of radioactive elements, this is indicative of radioactive contamination of the entire food supply.” The FDA has responded by raising the “acceptable levels” of radioactive material in foods.

Here is a list of foods that it is now recommended that you stay clear of:

“1.) SEAFOOD: Question the origin of ALL seafood. Fish and crustaceans from the Pacific Ocean should all be considered to be poisoned with radiation.

2.) WATER: The rainfall and snowfall are all radiated. Do not drink any water that has not been filtered. The tap water that flows from your faucet has NOT been treated to rid it of radioactive particles. A recent report from the NY Times stated, “A rooftop water monitoring program managed by UC Berkeley’s Department of Nuclear Engineering detected substantial spikes in rain-borne iodine-131 during torrential downpours …

3.) DAIRY PRODUCTS: Milk and milk products from the West Coast states currently have the highest levels of radiation in North America.

4.) PRODUCE: Leafy Vegetables, Wines, Tomatoes, Strawberries….all produced from California or any other West Coast State are also likely to be tainted.

5.) MEAT: If an animal eats any leafy vegetable all along the West Coast, that animal has consumed radiation, and is poisoned. This is any animal from cows, pigs, goats, sheep to wild deer and other game.”

Infant mortality has increased by over 35% following the nuclear disaster at Fukushima — according to a court statement by Dr. Sherman with independent scientist Lauren Moret, MA, PhD. A recent study published in The International Journal of Medicine claims that about 20,000 deaths in the United States can be directly linked to the radiation pouring out for the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant.

This past Wednesday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ordered increased efforts to stop the leak. Tepco (Tokyo Electric Power) has admitted that they do not have a handle on things and are in need of dire help. “Rather than relying on (plant operator) Tokyo Electric, the government will take measures. This is an urgent matter that needs to be addressed.”

That’s correct. This is an urgent matter. This was an urgent matter two and a half years ago when the leaking first started. Now…now it’s too late. The world and the entire human race will be greatly affected — and no one is saying anything! This is being kept hush-hush by all parties. Tepco kept things quiet for over two years. Our government hasn’t addressed the topic whatsoever.

But who can blame it? What’s the point of sparking a huge unrest in our country and the rest of the world if there is nothing that can be done about it? How can the government allow the world to boycott Californian produce when our economy is in such a bad state? Obviously, money and keeping face are more important than the lives and wellbeing of millions.

“They can’t face the reality of this situation. When have very serious quantities of radiation going into the Pacific Ocean. There is no medical or epidemiological or scientific basis for estimating how much damage this will cost. We are on entirely new ground here and this cannot go by without a serious impact on the entire human race. This is a terrible tragedy,” says Harvey Wasserman.” “The problem is that the company does not want to admit how serious this is and the government of Japan doesn’t want to admit how serious this is. And even if the government of Japan steps in, they don’t know what to do. This particular administration in Japan wants to open the other nuclear plants. 50 nuclear plants have been shut in Japan since the accident and they want to reopen them. This is very political, because if they admit to how bad the things are in Fukushima the public is not going to stand for them re opening other nuclear plants, including some that are owned by Tokyo Electric Power. How do you have a huge utility company on one hand saying that we can’t control all these 300 tons of radioactive liquid going into the Pacific Ocean every day, and on the other hand we want you to let us open these other nuclear reactors? This is a catastrophe for them and that’s why they have been lying about it because they want to open other nuclear plants but they don’t want the public to know how serious the damage is in Fukushima… it will never be cleaned up. We have materials there that are radioactive, that are harmful, and that are dangerous for hundreds of thousands of years. They can talk about cleaning it up in 40 years but it will never be cleaned up. You will never be able to go back on that site. The radioactivity will be in the waters forever… There are serious health impacts. People will be harmed. We are seeing 40% rate of thyroid damage among children in the area and this is a huge impact and it will go up, not down. More and more radiation is escaping from the water and tritium into the atmosphere. And radiation to the thyroid is very serious, especially among small children and we are already seeing a 40% rate. People will be suffering for hundreds of years. I interviewed people in central Pennsylvania a year after the accident and discovered tremendous health impacts among the people there. We know that Chernobyl did tremendous damage to people in Belarus and Ukraine and now we are going to see it again in Fukushima.”

Fukushima update - 10/30/2013

Japan Professor: Pregnant women get free new houses if they move back to Fukushima —

Physician/Mayor: Children being severely harmed, must be evacuated; World has never come across situation like this

ENENews,

30 October, 2013

Physician Akira Sugenoya, mayor of the city of Matsumoto interviewed by VoR, Oct. 30, 2013: “Immediately following the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, I started saying that children should not be allowed to live on the contaminated territory [it] weakens children’s immune system and severely harms their health [...] Children are a lot more vulnerable to radiation than adults. [...] I want to repeat once again that children should be relocated to clean, radiation-free areas at least temporarily. [...] is it feasible to quickly and effectively do away with radioactive pollution? I am absolutely certain that it is unfeasible. [...] Compared to Chernobyl, the situation in Japan is further aggravated by radioactive water leakages. The world has never ever come across this kind of situation. [...] We should admit that radioactive water is a grave problem. The threat that children may have been contaminated with radioactive materials still looms large. We shouldn’t remain indifferent to the challenges we are facing.”

Hiroko Goto, Professor at Chiba University School of Law & Vice President of Human Rights Now, Published June 29, 2013 (At 10:00 in): The second one is very problematic — New residential support plan for evacuees from outside Fukushima — this mainly focuses on the pregnant women and the children. If the pregnant women or children decide to go back to Fukushima, Fukushima Prefecture will offer a new, very good house without payment. And this kind of policy they introduce means that the local government wants the people back to their area. So this is a very not good situation for the women’s and children’s health.

Warning from Japan’s Top Nuclear Official: I am “much more worried” about fuel in Fukushima Unit 4

• Rods may break open and release highly radioactive material 
• Beware risks from debris, a disaster if damaged
• Removal may start Nov. 8

ENENews,

30 October, 2013

Associated Press, Oct.  30, 2013: Japanese regulators on Wednesday gave final approval for the removal of fuel rods [to] start in November [...] About 200 of the rods that are unused and safer are expected to be the first [...] Nuclear regulatory chairman Shunichi Tanaka, however, warned that removing the fuel rods from Unit 4 would be difficult because of the risk posed by debris that fell into the pool during the explosions. “It’s a totally different operation than removing normal fuel rods from a spent fuel pool,” Tanaka said at a regular news conference. “They need to be handled extremely carefully and closely monitored. You should never rush or force them out, or they may break.” He said it would be a disaster if fuel rods are pulled forcibly and are damaged or break open when dropped from the pool, located about 30 meters (100 feet) above ground, releasing highly radioactive material. “I’m much more worried about this than contaminated water,” Tanaka said. [...]

Channel 4 (UK), Oct. 15, 2013: The worst case scenario is if the fuel assemblies are dropped, which could ultimately lead to a partial meltdown [...]

VoA News, Oct. 15, 2013: That hydrogen explosion [...] left the inside of the pool littered with debris. [...] TEPCO’s first task is to remove the debris. [...]  The fuel rods must be kept submerged and must not touch each other or break. Nuclear experts warn any mishaps could cause an explosion many times worse than in March 2011.

NHK WORLD, Oct 30, 2013: [...] The firm hopes to begin the removal at the facility’s Number 4 reactor on November 8th. Tokyo Electric plans to check whether the rods are damaged by debris that fell into the pool in March 2011, and to ensure that they do not get caught in the debris during the removal process. [...]

Japan Gov’t:“Unprecedented situation of radioactive pollution” from Fukushima disaster

“Intensive Contamination Areas” designated near downtown Tokyo, and officials there say health assistance for kids and pregnant women is needed

ENENews,

30 October, 2013

Ministry of the Environment, Government of Japan: The “Act on Special Measures Concerning the Handling of Radioactive Pollution” was enacted in August 2011, in response to the unprecedented situation of radioactive pollution after the accident at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. [...] a new policy framework for the off-site decontamination has been arranged [...] There are two categories of contaminated areas under the Act. The first one is the “Special Decontamination Area”, where decontamination is implemented by the national government. It includes 11 municipalities in Fukushima Prefecture. The second one is the “Intensive Contamination Survey Area”, where decontamination is implemented by each municipality with financial and technical supports by the national government. [...]

Mainichi, Sept. 24, 2013: Municipalities criticize gov’t agency for limiting Fukushima disaster aid [...] At least 13 municipalities in Chiba, Ibaraki and Tochigi prefectures have sent critical comments to the Reconstruction Agency for its basic policy to limit the scope of assistance to only areas in Fukushima Prefecture [...] Those municipalities are: Noda, Kashiwa [~10 miles from downtown Tokyo], Kamagaya [~10 mi], Matsudo [~5 mi], Shiroi [~10 mi], Nagareyama [~5 mi], Sakura [~20 mi], Abiko [~10 mi] and Inzai [~20 mi] in Chiba Prefecture; Toride [~15 mi], Moriya [~15 mi], and Joso [~20 mi] in Ibaraki Prefecture; and Nasushiobara in Tochigi Prefecture. [...] The central government sets the maximum permissible amount of radiation exposure per year for the general public at 1 millisievert (0.23 microsieverts per hour). The government designated those areas (municipalities) that were exposed to radiation exceeding the permissible limit as “Intensive Contamination Survey Areas,” and has since been providing assistance to them. Currently, 100 municipalities in eight prefectures are designated as “Intensive Contamination Survey Areas,” and the 13 municipalities are among them. [...] all of the 13 municipal governments called for attaching importance to health assistance for children and pregnant women. They are critical of the government for applying “double standards” with the decontamination law and the nuclear disaster aid law. [...]

World Nuclear News, Sept. 18, 2013 (Emphasis Added): [...] In the Intensive Contamination Areas, decontamination work is being implemented based on plans developed at the municipal level, with some municipalities setting targets of five years to complete the work and others choosing a timescale of two to three years. [...]

Tokyo Mother: “Total media blackout” in Japan of lots and lots of people developing symptoms related to Fukushima disaster —

“Many cases of sickness and death among young generations” not reported

ENENews,

30 October, 2013

World Network For Saving Children From Radiation, Oct. 26, 2013: [...] A case like this is just a tip of iceburg [...] IKKO is a Buddhist monk. His life is ending. He is only 34 years old and lives in Hiwada town [near Koriyama] in Fukushima. He had a heart attack two days ago, and his doctor announced brain death. He is now connected to life-support. My sister in Fukushima knows him through her student [...] She and IKKO got engaged and were planning to get married next year. She has just lost her father from cancer last April. He had worked at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant [...] My sister was present when IKKO had a heartattack and is in disbelief of what is taking place since he was fine before this [...] There have been many cases of sickness and death among young generations in Fukushima although it is not reported by media.

Mother from Tokyo, Japan during Q & A at Cinema Forum Fukushima, Published July 3, 2013 (at 2:20 in): In Japan, it’s really a total blackout of media, even though there are lots and lots of people who have been developing symptoms. That information itself cannot come out because of the control of the media and the doctors, like the Society of Medicine in Japan, are denying even now that there have been health damages [...] I just wanted to remind you that this is really a real thing. It’s not only the anxiety, it is happening. I think this is the most important thing. But there are very few people who talk about this […] I was outside on the 15th of March in Tokyo, and then about 1 month later, I had fever of like 103ºF for 8 days. And this [baby] boy, he was totally healthy, now he’s OK, but at the time he had 101ºF fever on and off for 13 times in the duration of 3 months. He had rash all over and he was really, really sick [...] he became real skinny and he stopped growing for 3 or 4 months. It is really happening. I have 2 nodules in my thyroid, and my boy has countless number of minor nodules. So what I wanted to stress most, the most important thing is the symptoms are happening. I want you to know, and I want you to spread this information.

Other headlines -

11:03 AM EST on October 30th, 2013 | 85 comments

Why are they ‘speeding up’ at Unit 4? — Expert in 2010: Megathrust quake to hit Fukushima ~Nov. 2013… Recurrence interval of 75 years with last rupture Nov. 1938 — Planet’s most powerful type of seismic event — WSJ: Top official concerned quake to destabilize fuel pool



06:57 PM EST on October 29th, 2013 | 10 comments


For first time, officials admit to ‘shortage of workers’ at Fukushima — Tepco promises ‘additional efforts’ to get more — BBC reveals homeless people cleaning reactors and “modern slavery” in Japan nuclear industry… exactly 14 years ago

Fukushima: Beyond Urgent ☢ (Platos Cave Mirror)

A great compilation of info for those who are new to Fukushima Nuclear Meltdown (and/or a quick synopsis) and the probable catastrophic outcome. More date to follow. However, this is a great intro for those who know nothing about the damage to the nuclear plant, the radioactive fallout coming across the pacific. I suppose you could call this "class" of information sharing: Getting to know you radioactive fallout (sorry I showed up tardy to class). Teacher then informs student: sit down and listen....