What’s Really What?
Separating Fukushima fact from fiction is becoming an extreme sport. Radionuclides are not the only things that are leaking out of Japan; lies and truths are, too. Below for your consideration and evaluation are three sobering looks at emerging information. Looks like the post-Fukushima world will never be quite the same. Time to follow the German example and nix nukes. [ Updated 5-17-11 ]

From the Climate Progress blog:
No nukes, No problem. Germany is proving a rapid transition to renewable energy is possible
Within four decades, one of the world’s leading economies will be powered almost entirely by wind, solar, biomass, hydro, and geothermal power.

From Fire Engineering:
Rep. Markey Cites New Report to Call For Nuclear Moratorium
The fallout of the continuing crisis at Japan’s Fukushima power plant has Rep. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., warning that the United States is not doing enough to ensure the safety of it own nuclear facilities.

Markey recently released a report, prepared by the Natural Resources Committee at his request, that blasts the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s track record of oversight and regulation of the nuclear industry. Read more.

America’s New Nuke Showdown Starts Now!
by Harvey Wasserman
As Fukushima continues to leak and smolder, what may be the definitive battle over new nukes in America has begun.
The critical first US House vote on a proposed $36 billion loan guarantee package for reactor construction may come as early as June 2. Green power advocates are already calling and writing the White House and Congress early and often, gearing up for a long, definitive showdown.
Germany and Japan have made their decision—the “Lethal Atom” has no future. Read more.

Chernobyl Catastrophe Made Visible
by Ace Hoffman:
Nearly 24 years later, Chernobyl is still a dirty place, a dirty word.
Chernobyl has almost surely killed hundreds of thousands of people, perhaps already it is more than a million. And over time, it will kill many more. In fact, many estimates are that the vast majority who will be killed or harmed by Chernobyl were not even born at the time of the accident.

This is the legacy denied by the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI, the public relations arm of the American nuclear industry) and other nuclear supporters — including the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the World Health Organization (WHO, which submits all its regulations to the IAEA for approval). Read more.

From NIRS, the Nuclear Information and Resource Service:
Triple Meltdown Likely
Updated 12:30 pm, Monday, May 16, 2011. Unit 1 meltdown likely caused by earthquake, began before tsunami; radiation levels of 2000 MilliSieverts/hour measured inside Unit 1; containments of Units 2 & 3 likely breached. Read more.

From Japan Today:
Meltdown occurred at Fukushima No. 1 reactor 16 hours after March 11 quake

From asahi.com:
Meltdowns also likely occurred at No. 2, No. 3 reactors of Fukushima plant

From NYT:
Japanese Officials Ignored or Concealed Dangers

The following National Geographic post, thanks to our long-time friend Roger Herried, editor of the Radiation Bulletin at Energy-Net.org:
Japan Reactor Crisis: Satellite Pictures Reveal Damage

From Before It’s News:
Secret Map Shows Massive Radiation Cloud Heading Toward U.S And Canada

From DutchSince:
5/12/2011 — URGENT !! NILU – Norsk Institute = ZARDOZ = radiation @ VERY HIGH levels

And another one from Roger at Energy-Net.org:

Here is the link to the Google Earth Community resource on Fukushima.

Its a linear blog which was setup to post Fukushima news and KMZ apps to the Google Earth program.

At least a dozen apps for Fukushima were uploaded to the site. I’m in the process of reviewing these to see what they do. Many are quite good.

But for anyone wanting what has to be one of the best blow by blow timelines of the disaster, here’s the best I’ve seen so far. By the way there is no way you will get through in anything short of many hours of reading. Its very large. A number of posters participated, however, one particular (pro-nuclear engineer – Spotter2) proceeded to do a detailed daily rundown of his top news picks (very good) and analysis of the unfolding disaster(increasingly scary). His technical skills and growing alarm in how the events unfolded are stunning and in extensive detail.

Links to key stories and images with his commentary are spread out over the first 45 days with a clear burnout coming in late April. I’d like to post his last comments as I found them especially valuable:

The below comment is from someone who started out defending the nuclear power.

Take a break. Catch your breath, but get ready for round two as the coverup goes into full gear and the reporting bodies spin like they’ve never spun before.

R

And Spotter2 says,
“In many ways, the incident at Fukushima is far WORSE than a nuclear detonation.

“A solitary nuclear warhead would have produced a single burst of fallout, affecting only a single area, directly downwind of the site.

“These damaged reactors have been sending out a continuous plume of radiation for the past month, and they will keep on emitting fallout for months into the future.

“Unlike a single nuclear blast, this radiation continues to be spread on the wind in all directions,
And unlike a surface explosion, there are also vast amounts of radiation being discharged into the Pacific ocean.

“There has been no actual nuclear detonation at Fukushima, but the spread of radioactive material from the meltdowns of the reactor cores, and the continuing plume of fallout from the explosions in the spent fuel ponds, is just as lethal as the fallout from a nuclear attack.

“All of the charts, estimates, projections, and reassuring statements about the fallout have been based on the assumption that the fallout comes in one single burst, with a solitary plume passing overhead and leaving behind only trace amounts of contamination on the ground. But the fallout from Fukushima is continuous, day after day, week after week, month after month. Every day we receive more and more fallout, each week the particle density of fallout on the ground, and in the ocean, steadily increases.

“It is true that a single burst of fallout poses minimal risk to North America, and the rest of the world.
But a continuous plume that goes on for months?

“There is no nuclear warhead or “dirty bomb” in the arsenals that can produce that effect.
It is as if there are daily detonations of several “dirty bombs” at Fukushima, releasing more airborne radiation,
producing a nonstop fallout plume to drift across the Pacific, adding more and more radioactive material to the trace amounts already on the ground.

“How many weeks or months does it take of accumulated “trace amounts” of fallout before it adds up to a significant amount?

“And since there is nothing to be done about it, will we ever be told the actual truth about the fallout, or will we be kept ignorant, in the name of “preventing panic,” and averting a backlash against nuclear power?

“Will we ever know the amount of radiation in the Pacific, or will that knowledge be suppressed,
to avoid harming the profits of the Pacific fishing industry?

“I think that knowledge will be suppressed.
I think that there will be a minimal cleanup at Fukushima, with most of the problem left for future generations to handle.
I think there will be nothing done about the obvious design flaws in the other Japanese reactors.
I think that all of the other Japanese reactors located directly on the ocean will continue to operate.

“And as a result, I think this is all going to happen again.”

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