earthquake in japan

shit.....saw it on the news this morning, it was the only thing on there.....my mom looked like she was almost crying, this is going to take a very very long time to clear up to normal....i love Japan and this was like one hell of a slap in the face, still shocked by this

Japanese liked Queen the very first time they came to their country in 1975 and they were amazed of Queen at every concert. Their big screams can be heard at every recording of every Japanese gig.

And so I want to say that Japan is a very good country and I like it. It's bad that such thing has happened to their country.

Man oh man! I can't believe this when I saw it on channel 3 news! It's a bad time to be in japan for those people.

My prayers go out to them and their country. I admire the japanese for their anime like Tenchi Muyo and their video games like Street Fighter.

Looks like we just got something to remember 2011 and this is it.

So horrible.  My step-brother is in Japan, havent heard from him yet, just hoping he's ok.

I hope he's OK.   Keep thinking good thoughts.  I guess parts of the country could be without phone service for a while.  It is hard to imagine the magnitude of this earthquake.

catqueen wrote: So horrible.  My step-brother is in Japan, havent heard from him yet, just hoping he's ok.

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im so sorry to hear that hun :( but im sure he's ok! he has a wonderful step-sister like you :)

As if this wasn't bad enough, it now looks like the Japanese also have a full-scale nuclear meltdown on their hands: http://the-diplomat.com/tokyo-notes/2011/03/12/nuclear-plant-explosion-in-japan/

I'm watching that reactor situation as closely as I can; just caught the video of the thing blowing its roof.  Pretty fucking awful.

The latest I've heard is that the core is still contained. However, since no one dares go near the plant and the cooling system is still not functioning at all, that is a small mercy indeed. The security perimeter that is being evacuated has now been expanded from a 10 kilometer radius to a 20 kilometer one. The building housing two of the reactors at Fukushima No. 1 plant has been virtually destroyed in an explosion this morning (video on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KzABEkkc10 ), and radioactive steam *has* escaped, with radiation levels reported to be at 20x the acceptable level in the surrounding area, and 1000x the acceptable level within the facility, meaning it is exceedingly dangerous to fly over it and completely impossible to enter it. I don't really see what can be done now other than sending in all available bomber aircraft to bury the thing in as much sand as possible.

I was just pointed to this video, which was filmed at Sendai airport. It shows the tsunami as it rolls over the airport. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=p_6iDBoOvb0

The sheer horror of parts of the country lying in ruins after the tsunami and the raging fires and now they are facing a nuclear catastrophe. It could not get any worse. So much for the safe nuclear technology: it's again the people suffering for the irresponsible policy supporting nuclear technology. We cannot be angry about earth quakes and tsunamis but we can be angry about still running these reactors and I can really feel how the resistance against the old and unsafe reactors is rising in my country this very moment.

Well it's one thing to have a 'safe' nuclear reactor in a place like the one I live in - far from fault lines and less susceptible to tsunamis.  It's quite another thing to build one in a place like Japan; a country that has a geographical "KICK ME" sign stuck to it's forehead.  These reactors can be built to be safe, within what one considers acceptable parameters.  Quite frankly though, if you're dealing with a 9.0 earthquake, then all bets are off as to what those parameters might be.  Who the hell is going to be able to build a reactor that can be reasonably expected to cope with such a knocking?

With the research into solar power that's coming along these days (such as the issue of supplying power when the sun isn't out, by using accumulated warmth or some such) I really think it's time for people to move on from nuclear.  People have this funny idea that it's practically unlimited, but A) it isn't, and B) it's only safe until something goes wrong.

Can you picture this headline?  "Massive earthquake in Japan sends solar power plant into dangerous meltdown."    Didn't think so.  Get over nuclear, folks.

The reason Japan has so many nuclear power stations is because it imports all of its oil.  They learned their lesson during WWII when their oil supplies were cut off.  Nuclear power is therefore the only way for them to go.  Wind farms are environmentally friendly, but it's not an option for greater Tokyo with a population of 30 million.  We're just not there yet..

The problem with nuclear power apart from the danger of accidents is the nuclear waste - where to put nuclear waste that will be dangerous for millions of years, it's just irresponsible to run all those reactors with no answer to this huge problem. In the news they say that the owners of the plant in Japan have a history of lying and have already covered up an actual meltdown in the 1970s. Profit and nuclear energy are a very dangerous mixture for any society. There should be a bigger effort to increase solar energy and wind energy, no matter if oil must be imported or not. It is really hard to understand why a country which is so densely populated and so deeply traumatized by Hiroshima and Nagasaki must have all these nuclear reactors.

I can totally understand why Japan uses nuclear in the here and now; realistically, it's something that a lot of countries might have to consider if they want to be "greener", but it is not a permanent solution.  People shy away from solar, wind, etc. because it's an expensive start-up that isn't immediately viable for huge populations, as Bob points out with the 30 million figure there.  All the same, we really need to make a start on this.