Japan rocked with 8.9 earthquake.

[RICHARD]

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2...R_HP_LO_MST_FB


Before and after pics.

Drag the bar across the photos to see how the landscape has changed.

[carole]

yes it is just terrible what these poor people are having to deal with,i think to say the japanese are resilient people is true, but i also think we all are when it really comes down to it, i have been truly proud of the way the kiwis have handled our earthquake, minus a few morons,which i am ashamed to even mention.

Yes the aftershocks just keep coming down here too, and that is the worst of it,already damaged buildings are at so much risk with further aftershocks,but to have a tsunami and eruption and nuclear blasts on top of everything else, it just unimaginable how bad that can really be.,this is one time i am glad my country is nuclear free.

Prayers and good thoughts to all over in Japan.

[Kirsten]

Wow, just read that reactor 4 is burning again, and that two workers are missing. And obviously experts fear explosions in reactor 5 and 6, the last two intact reactors.

One does not dare to go to sleep these days. The last 4 days, the first thing I did in the morning was turning on the tv to see what happened during the night, and every time, the situation in Fukushima had taken a turn to the worse.

[sana]

Man! All this stuff creeps me out!!! I hope the country recovers soon and fast! Prayers for all hurt and all the people in Japan..

[wombat2u2004]

It would be nice if we could all have access to solar/wind energy systems. One would think our governments would want to make it soooooooooo cheap for us that we couldn't resist.

We get big subsidies here for installing solar units, and for a while they insulated homes for free.

[Karen]

We get big subsidies here for installing solar units, and for a while they insulated homes for free.

We do get some money back for solar installation, Wom. It's just that at our house, we do not get enough sun to make it remotely useful. I grow moss better than anything else, because of the position of the house, the hill behind, and the trees across the street, etc. etc.

Sas, the problem is that solar cells are still currently pretty expensive to make, but they are getting better, more efficient and less expensive as time goes on. I keep hoping they'll get to the point that they are more affordable. My church, for instance, has a huge slate roof that could probably power the whole building if we could get solar cell up there, but it would have to be the side not facing the street because of being in a "historic district."


Back to the original topics, the news coming from Japan is increasingly scary, especially if you listen to enough news sources to get a more complete picture. It is truly tragic for Japan, and I hope anyone anywhere near the plant evacuated when they were told to do so.

[Karen]

The situation in Japan with the nuclear plant seems to be spiraling out of control. There are "spent" rods sitting open to the sky, leaks from reactor #2 - we can see smoke pouring out a hole in the building, and the radiation is so high they have had to pull the workers away, they sent them back afterwards, but they are not able to do many things because of the radiation.

Most telling? American officials have told all Americans within 50 miles to evacuate, and said if this were happening here, they'd evacuate everyone to that point. Japanese officials have just evacuated to 12 miles away, but the US obviously feels that is not safe.

Sad, sad, sad and scary for the people and animals of Japan.

[Cincy'sMom]

This is an update my friend just posted on facebook. Please keep her and her teaching team in your thoughts and prayers (and everyone in Japan)

"my friends: i can't leave. trains aren't operating. highways are closed. we are planning to leave tomorrow morning by vans and taking back roads. i'm asking everyone to remain calm and pray. help me remain peaceful."

[RICHARD]

http://www.mercurynews.com/californi...nclick_check=1

The Los Angeles County Fire Department, on the move again.

[Grace]

http://www.mercurynews.com/californi...nclick_check=1

The Los Angeles County Fire Department, on the move again.

Richard, I saw something on the news about that earlier in the week. I think they were coordinating everything in your city, before shipping out.

[pomtzu]

And they are doing water drops by helicopter???? To me, that seems like fighting a forest fire with a garden hose. How the heck is that going to cover any exposed rods???

And those poor workers that have stayed behind to "try" to fight this monster. For them, it's pretty much a death sentence. I heard that the Japanese government was looking for older workers to volunteer to stay, since they probably would die from old age rather than the effects of the radiation, which can take many years to show up. It was reported that one man that stayed was only 6 months from retirement. And in interviews with their family members, they just accept it and move on. I can't imagine, but that's just how they live their lives - so much different than ours, for sure.

What makes me angry, is that the Japanese government downplayed the whole situation from day one, and felt that they could keep things under control. Yes - they are a proud people - but this was just reckless - simply lies to try to hide the truth from the world, and not look vulnerable, as they truly are. If they had brought in the "big guns" and fought fire with fire from the start, then they probably wouldn't have such a hideous, dangerous monster on their hands right now.

I pray for ALL of Japan, not just the stricken areas. Their way of life, and their faith in their leaders has been compromised. How can they believe anything that they are told now???

[Karen]

They cannot get close enough to cover the rods with water any other way, the radiation is too high. And even this seems to be a hit-or-miss situation. Remember, Pom, the information we have been getting is mostly from the company that runs the power plant, not the Japanese government. This is a company that has lied to the world in the past, sadly. They are also trying to use water cannons from ground level. I hope somehow they can get things under control without too much more damage and sacrifice.

[pomtzu]

They cannot get close enough to cover the rods with water any other way, the radiation is too high. And even this seems to be a hit-or-miss situation. Remember, Pom, the information we have been getting is mostly from the company that runs the power plant, not the Japanese government. This is a company that has lied to the world in the past, sadly. I hope somehow they can get things under control without too much more damage and sacrifice.

And in press conferences, Japanese leaders were echoing what power plant big wigs were saying. So IMO - they are even more guilty.

[Kirsten]

And those poor workers that have stayed behind to "try" to fight this monster. For them, it's pretty much a death sentence. I heard that the Japanese government was looking for older workers to volunteer to stay, since they probably would die from old age rather than the effects of the radiation, which can take many years to show up. It was reported that one man that stayed was only 6 months from retirement. And in interviews with their family members, they just accept it and move on. I can't imagine, but that's just how they live their lives - so much different than ours, for sure.

The other day, I heard on tv that 1986 in Chernobyl, the Russians sent an entire army to stop the fire, and they all died. I saw a discussion on tv whether something like that would be possible in Germany, in case of a nuclear disaster. Our mentality is obviously different, more individual, and it would probably be hard to find someone who'd be willing to sacrifice his own life.

[pomtzu]

The other day, I heard on tv that 1986 in Chernobyl, the Russians sent an entire army to stop the fire, and they all died. I saw a discussion on tv whether something like that would be possible in Germany, in case of a nuclear disaster. Our mentality is obviously different, more individual, and it would probably be hard to find someone who'd be willing to sacrifice his own life.

Yes - I heard that most were dead in about 3 months. Chernobly had no containment vessels, so the radiation that was released in the explosion and fire, was mega times what it is in Japan, where they are having leaks in the containment vessels, but at a much slower and lower rate. I also heard that the biggest danger is from the spent fuel rods that are stored in these reactor buildings, and they are not in any kind of containment. That however, doesn't diminish the seriousness of the whole mess. That area is now useless and will be for hundreds of years, slow/low leaks or not.