Japan earthquake/tsunami

[ChrisOH]

Not sure if we have any members here from Japan, (The Imperialist, I'm thinking?) but I'm hoping everyone here who would have been affected by today's earthquake and tsunami is OK, and will check in as soon as feasible. My thoughts are with those facing disaster or evacuation!

[i_like_1981]

Yes, I also heard about this in the news. Terrible stuff. This year is proving to be quite a hard one for a lot of people across the globe; I have also heard the shockwaves off this earthquake may well be spreading over towards other countries so I hope that they are getting ready to defend themselves against the possibility of an imminent disaster. It is a highly serious matter.

As for The Imperialist, he has stated several times that he goes to school here in Britain but he is Japanese himself. I'm sure that he has friends and relatives over in Japan who may well have been affected by this, so I hope they are okay. Shame that The Imperialist has stopped posting, really. As he said himself once, his posts added a bit more "spice" to this forum.

Best regards,
i_like_1981

[ChrisOH]

Yes, I also heard about this in the news. Terrible stuff. This year is proving to be quite a hard one for a lot of people across the globe; I have also heard the shockwaves off this earthquake may well be spreading over towards other countries so I hope that they are getting ready to defend themselves against the possibility of an imminent disaster. It is a highly serious matter.

As for The Imperialist, he has stated several times that he goes to school here in Britain but he is Japanese himself. I'm sure that he has friends and relatives over in Japan who may well have been affected by this, so I hope they are okay. Shame that The Imperialist has stopped posting, really. As he said himself once, his posts added a bit more "spice" to this forum.

Some of those photos of the Japan quake reminded me of the scenes from the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki -- everything just flattened! Now I understand cooling systems have failed at several damaged nuclear reactors in Japan, causing radiation to leak.

Some of the tsunami waves have hit the U.S. mainland, in California and Oregon. Last I heard, one person was dead and four missing in California.

[Fat Man]

Yesterday evening I was watching a live video of the Phil Hendrie show on his web site, and they were showing some scenes of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

The Phi Hendrie show is mostly satire, but sometimes he does some serious news, and he did back during 9/11.

I understand the San Francisco in California is bracing for a possible tsunami.

[Safety]

Poor, poor Japan. They've estimated that nearly 10,000 people may be dead, and that's just for the Miyagi prefecture. Now they're having difficulties preventing six nuclear power plants from melting down.

Also, a volcano just erupted.

http://www.timeslive.co.za/world/articl ... ano-erupts

[recovering_fan]

Now they're having difficulties preventing six nuclear power plants from melting down.

This is what worries me the most about the whole thing. Earthquakes come and go every year, and people die, but that new nuclear wrinkle is horrifying.

We've reached the point in history where man-made and man-aided disasters are SO much worse than what nature can dish out.

--RF

[ChrisOH]

This is what worries me the most about the whole thing. Earthquakes come and go every year, and people die, but that new nuclear wrinkle is horrifying.

We've reached the point in history where man-made and man-aided disasters are SO much worse than what nature can dish out.

Japan's not that large a country, either, and very densely populated, so if large amounts of radiation are released, it could lead to more loss of life than the original earthquake/tsunami itself over time, as there's not much room on the islands to escape it.

I think we might see a large influx of Japanese refugees fleeing into other nations, if they are able.

[recovering_fan]

That's an absolutely horrible thought !

I mean, sure, other countries would be thrilled to have Japanese immigrants, since they tend to be extremely well-educated. What's horrible is that I love Japan and would hate to see a country so rich in both tradition and cultural innovation disintegrate.

The nuclear meltdown really is so much worse than just a natural disaster, like a tsunami or earthquake for example, and I don't think it is necessarily the mere superior death-toll that makes it worse. In a rich country, after an earthquake has been over for a while, the deaths stop and the world can mentally move on. But the fallout from nuclear meltdowns is never really over. Even if the toxic, radioactive chemicals have dissipated and are no longer killing people, our fears linger that they COULD be killing people, or else could be causing cancer.

RF

[i_like_1981]

Yes, this threat of a nuclear meltdown in Japan needs to be taken care of urgently, and if preventing a meltdown seems too hard to achieve, those people need to be evacuated. I'm not sure if anyone here remembers the Chernobyl incident (I would have been about 5 at the time) but when disasters like that occur, that area cannot be inhabited by people for a very, very long time. I read on the internet somewhere that it's going to be about 20,000 AD before that area becomes radiation-free again - a length of time I find hard to fathom. I'll try and find the source of information sometime if you wish. That area has basically become a ghost town, and people affected by the explosion have gone on to develop all sorts of horrible diseases as a result of the radiation. I've also been hearing news of protests against atomic energy in Germany recently. When it comes to non-fossil-fuel based energy sources, we need to start thinking towards cleaner and less dangerous sources like wind and solar instead of creating these nuclear plants which will only exacerbate a natural disaster as we have seen here.

Best regards,
i_like_1981

[Safety]

Oh gee, I haven't heard from Imperialist in a while. Where could he be?

[i_like_1981]

Oh gee, I haven't heard from Imperialist in a while. Where could he be?

I don't know either. He used to post all the time on here, then started posting less frequently, then just vanished. I hope he returns to the forum. His posts had a kick to them. In fact, you and him signed up to this forum on exactly the same day. Just a pity that he had so much shit thrown at him because of his political views...

Oh and Safety, your avatar seems to have vanished. Try uploading a new one.

Best regards,
i_like_1981

[Safety]

Oh and Safety, your avatar seems to have vanished. Try uploading a new one.

I know, that made me sad. I just haven't cared enough to upload a new one. I think I'll do that right now.

[Indurrago]

I saw a bunch of NBC vids after the Tsunami hit, and boy were they disheartening there were a few miracle stories here and there though. Before watching those I watched a video during the earthquake about a boy and his mother try to get to safety. Alittle off topic but I hate how before Japan's tragedy, the whole american news media was obsessed with Charlie Sheen's antics, hell I even heard about him on the radio. Its truly sad when this level of a tragedy has to occur for our media(in the USA) to finally start reporting on something that actually matters. I wish the people of Japan the best during this crisis.

@1981, yeah I agree the radiation from those nuclear factories have the potential to do more harm, the big difference between that and a natural disaster like an earthquake and a tsunami is its preventable.

[i_like_1981]

@1981, yeah I agree the radiation from those nuclear factories have the potential to do more harm, the big difference between that and a natural disaster like an earthquake and a tsunami is its preventable.

Sad to say, Indurrago, it's really not easy to prevent at all. People have to put their lives on the line to help lessen the risk of a nuclear explosion by trying to cool down the reactors - if something goes wrong, the costs will be immense. The best way to prevent nuclear meltdown in such a situation would just be to not build any reactors at all in an area that's susceptible to earthquakes and use less risky, cleaner engery sources. I keep hearing that Germany is closing down a lot of old nuclear plants because of all that's going on in Japan now and it's not hard to see why. An oil source exploding is bad enough for people and the environment, but a nuclear reactor exploding and sending its contents into the atmosphere is cause for worldwide panic.

Best regards,
i_like_1981

[The Imperialist]

Luckily, most of my releatives live south/west-ish. But still, I pray for the recovery of Japan, those affected, the resolving of the Fukushima Nuclear Plant crisis, and peace for those who are deceased.

But, I believe that in any crisis, there is always a silver lining. First, reconstruction would mean money have to be expended, therefore, the economy would surely get better. Secondly, this will solve the crisis regarding jobs. Thirdly, the crisis has shown that the Yamato spirit is still present in Japanese people (shown very well with the technicians at the nuclear plant) and so I salute them, and this will prove to be an inspiration to people of Japan.

Oh if fusion reactors were a possibility...but I believe that nuclear reactors are only dangerous in areas like Japan, and I cannot understand why places like Germany are shutting them down; it is not as if they have a fualt line beneath them (and Japan needs to make them due to a huge electricity demand, and it is kind of unavoidable as the Japanese isles is on a fault line)- fingers crossed nothing worse will happen.