brad brace contemporary culture scrapbook

December 28, 2016

More Accidents Than Whales

Filed under: climate change,colonialism,conservation,culture,japan,usa,wildlife — admin @ 8:08 pm

ww

— Drove to the coast early this morning to see the whales at Depoe Bay*. No snow/ice in-sight just cold fog and dark but saw four white vans that had driven off the road and a white pick-up upside-down in the middle of the road: maybe one of the Washington-yahoos, who roared by me earlier. A nice drive: I like seeing fog/clouds lift off the hills and the early morning light come through the trees. The Toyota’s odometer turned 180K at Depoe Bay. Eventually a glorious sunny day at the coast: couldn’t stay that long as I didn’t want any more dark driving in the fog while returning home. The ocean was very alive today and too rough for the whale-watching boat to go out (probably for all of this week too). People were getting drenched from the crashing waves/spouts just walking down the sidewalk by the water. I didn’t realize how very far out the whales were: nearly to the horizon sometimes, and all you really see is a faint, brief spout maybe 10 ft high and a couple of miles out. But I appreciate how you’d follow the whale migrations (and the much closer summer feeding), if you lived there: I saw a few people sitting out in their lawnchairs, perched on a cliff, binoculars and thermos at hand; there were also Whale Watching Volunteers explaining the migration/whales for a few hours midday at various spots along the road. Unfortunately there were not the 12-hr photos I’d prepared-for: the sky was too bright for one thing… I guess the whales migrate 12K miles from Alaska to Baja in about two months, continuously without eating, down to their Mexican spawning grounds — they still won’t feed until back up in Alaskan waters. That’s about all I remember from my visit to Whale Watching Center: it got quite busy (some from Japan but more locals I think): it’s difficult to discern a whale-spouting from a distant seagull or white-cap. While a cloudy day would have made a better series of 12hr-photos, today’s sun (and calm wind) made it easier to see the spouts from shore. On the way back, another vechile off the road and upside-down, and then… a crashed motorcycle with its rider writhing on his back waiting for the paramedics. What a day and a long story. And then to find that a squirrel has discovered a way to reach my new yellow birdfeeder and had dislodged and broken it, but I’ll be able to glue the plastic back together… not so sure we can say the same about the Arctic/Alaska or even the motorcyclist. There’s a brief off-chance that we can still all function/grow as a cohesive, caring human species. The whales will know…**

*- Depoe Bay is a city in Lincoln County, Oregon, United States, located on U.S. Route 101 next to the Pacific Ocean. The population was 1,398 at the 2010 census. The bay of the same name is a 6-acre (2.4 ha) harbor that the city promotes as the world’s smallest navigable harbor. [On March 11, 2011, Depoe Bay’s port was damaged by a tsunami caused by the Tohoku earthquake off the coast of Japan. If you can somehow accept the coming Tsunami — this coastal area would still be appealing if there wasn’t so much car traffic now — from Portland-surrounds and then even when you get to the coast, mid-week off-hours.] Depoe Bay was named for Siletz Indian Charles “Charley” Depot who was originally allotted the land in 1894 as part of the Dawes Act of 1887. There are conflicting accounts of the origin of his name. One says he was given the name “Depot Charley” for working at the military depot near Toledo, Oregon. The family was later known as “DePoe”. His original tribal affiliation was Tututni.

** –

August 2, 2014

Typhoon Neoguri

Filed under: japan,weather — admin @ 5:03 am

typhoon neoguri

August 1, 2014

Typhoon Neoguri Will Likely Stop the Tanabate in Okinawa

Filed under: culture,japan,weather — admin @ 4:49 am

Tanabata, also called the `star festival,’ is a romantic holiday based on an ancient legend from China that falls on the seventh day of the seventh month. According to the legend, Hikoboshi (`Starboy’; Altair) and Orihime (`Weaver Girl’; Vega) fell in love and spent all their time together, losing interest in their work. Enraged by their negligence, the king of heaven banished them to opposite sides of the Milky Way. Since Tanabata then, the two lovers have been allowed to cross the Milky Way only once a year to meet each other on Tanabata. This is why people pray for a clear night on July 7th, so that the heavenly lovers will be able to meet. The history of Tanabata in Japan is very old. Manyoshu, the oldest existing book of poetry, contains many poems featuring this legend. Around the Tanabata festival, bamboo trees decorated with colorful strips of paper are a common sight. Each strip of paper bears a wish written on it. Many towns and cities in Japan host a Tanabata festival around July 7th, and the streets are festive with decorative bamboo displays.

It is said that if the weather is cloudy and the stars can not be seen then the two lovers can not make the journey across the Milky Way to see each other in their once a year rendezvous.

With Typhoon Neoguri already ushering in cloudy conditions in the southern Japanese islands and the rainy season front over mainland Japan this year I think there will be little hope for the couple this July.

If anything we can take some advice from them though. Dont travel during this Typhoon.

July 31, 2014

Typhoon Neoguri Slams Into Okinawa, Generating 46-Foot Waves

Filed under: japan,weather — admin @ 4:38 pm

A powerful storm slammed through the southwestern Japanese island of Okinawa, leaving at least 28 people injured and 63,000 homes without power before swerving toward the bigger island of Kyushu on Wednesday.

The Okinawan government raised the injury toll to 28 from 17 the day before, two of them seriously. Separately, a man has already been reported missing from a fishing boat in rough seas off Kyushu to the north.

Typhoon Neoguri, one of the biggest storms to hit during Japan’s summer, appeared to be headed toward Kyushu, where it could land Thursday. Then it could travel across the main island of Honshu.

Neoguri, which means “raccoon dog” in Korean, was moving northward at 25 kilometers an hour (15 miles an hour) packing sustained winds of 126 kilometers an hour (78 miles an hours) by midday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

Kyushu’s Fukuoka Prefecture issued warnings for strong winds, high tides and heavy rains, and advised people to stay indoors as much as possible.

On Okinawa, evacuation orders were issued to 125,000 households, or nearly 300,000 people, according to the prefectural government.

The main airport on Okinawa, Naha, was closed Tuesday but reopened Wednesday, although some morning flights were canceled.

“Rain has finally stopped, but there is still some wind, and we are checking into any damages at the airport,” said spokesman Takumi Higa, while adding that there were no reports of any damage so far.

Airports in Kyushu were still open, but late flights were canceled, and additional cancellations may be in the works.

Japan Airlines, the nation’s flagship carrier, cancelled 11 flights for Wednesday mostly flights leaving Tokyo for Kyushu, said spokesman Kentaro Nakamura.

Authorities in China and Taiwan have also warned ships to stay clear of the storm.

The torrents of rainfall set off by Neoguri could trigger landslides and floods. Heavy rainfall was expected to hit much of eastern Japan, setting off risks of lightning and tornadoes.

Neoguri left toppled trees, flooded cars and bent railings in its path, according to the Okinawan government, in what it said was the heaviest rainfall experienced there in a half century.

The first super typhoon of the season, Neoguri, continues to threaten lives and property in southern Japan. Neoguri’s center of circulation is now southwest of Kyushu, and it has weakened from “Very Strong” to a “Strong” typhoon (JMA).

Neoguri intensified into a super typhoon early on July 7, 2014 with winds peaking at 250 km/h (155 mph) before the typhoon began to weaken. Neoguri slammed parts of the Ryukyu Islands with wind gusting over 195 km/h (120 mph) on July 8, 2014. At least 10 people have been injured by the storm across Okinawa, where nearly 600 000 were advised to evacuate prior to the cyclone’s arrival. At this time, two deaths are reported. 105 000 homes have lost power across Okinawa across the prefecture.

Maximum sustained winds of 190 km/h (118.6 mph) were recorded at Tokashiki Island, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. Peak winds at Kadena AB in Okinawa reached 162 km/h (101 mph). Waves reached heights of up to 14 m (46 feet).

Typhoon Neoguri captured by astronaut Reid Wiseman aboard International Space Station late on July 8, 2014. (Credit: Astro_Reid/ISS)

Neoguri continues to pass through an area of warm sea surface temperature (30 – 31?C) and low vertical wind shear, however, dry air wrapped into the cyclone continues to weaken the system. Visible satellite imagery shows that Neoguri lost it’s eye. According to JMA, the system is moving at speed of 25 km/h (15,5 mph) in northwestward direction. The central minimum pressure is 965 hPa. Maximum sustained winds are 120 km/h (75 mph) with gust up to 175 km/h (109 mph).

June 27, 2014

Fukushima’s Children are Dying

Filed under: disaster,disease/health,japan,nuclear/radiation — admin @ 2:43 pm

More than 48 percent of some 375,000 young people–nearly 200,000 kids–tested by the Fukushima Medical University near the smoldering reactors now suffer from pre-cancerous thyroid abnormalities, primarily nodules and cysts.Some 39 months after the multiple explosions at Fukushima, thyroid cancer rates among nearby children have skyrocketed to more than forty times (40x) normal.

More than 48 percent of some 375,000 young people–nearly 200,000 kids–tested by the Fukushima Medical University near the smoldering reactors now suffer from pre-cancerous thyroid abnormalities, primarily nodules and cysts. The rate is accelerating.

More than 120 childhood cancers have been indicated where just three would be expected, says Joseph Mangano, executive director of the Radiation and Public Health Project.

The nuclear industry and its apologists continue to deny this public health tragedy. Some have actually asserted that “not one person” has been affected by Fukushima’s massive radiation releases, which for some isotopes exceed Hiroshima by a factor of nearly 30.

But the deadly epidemic at Fukima is consistent with impacts suffered among children near the 1979 accident at Three Mile Island and the 1986 explosion at Chernobyl, as well as findings at other commercial reactors.

The likelihood that atomic power could cause such epidemics has been confirmed by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, which says that “an increase in the risk of childhood thyroid cancer” would accompany a reactor disaster.

In evaluating the prospects of new reactor construction in Canada, the Commission says the rate “would rise by 0.3 percent at a distance of 12 kilometers” from the accident. But that assumes the distribution of protective potassium iodide pills and a successful emergency evacuation, neither of which happened at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl or Fukushima.

The numbers have been analyzed by Mangano. He has studied the impacts of reactor-created radiation on human health since the 1980s, beginning his work with the legendary radiologist Dr. Ernest Sternglass and statistician Jay Gould.

Speaking on the Green Power & Wellness Show, Mangano also confirms that the general health among downwind human populations improves when atomic reactors are shut down, and goes into decline when they open or re-open.

Nearby children are not the only casualties at Fukushima. Plant operator Masao Yoshida has died at age 58 of esophogeal cancer. Masao heroically refused to abandon Fukushima at the worst of the crisis, probably saving millions of lives. Workers at the site who are employed by independent contractors–many dominated by organized crime–are often not being monitored for radiation exposure at all. Public anger is rising over government plans to force families–many with small children–back into the heavily contaminated region around the plant.

Following its 1979 accident, Three Mile Island’s owners denied the reactor had melted. But a robotic camera later confirmed otherwise.

The state of Pennsylvania mysteriously killed its tumor registry, then said there was “no evidence” that anyone had been killed.

But a wide range of independent studies confirm heightened infant death rates and excessive cancers among the general population. Excessive death, mutation and disease rates among local animals were confirmed by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and local journalists.

In the 1980s federal Judge Sylvia Rambo blocked a class action suit by some 2,400 central Pennsylvania downwinders, claiming not enough radiation had escaped to harm anyone. But after 35 years, no one knows how much radiation escaped or where it went. Three Mile Island’s owners have quietly paid millions to downwind victims in exchange for gag orders.

At Chernobyl, a compendium of more than 5,000 studies has yielded an estimated death toll of more than 1,000,000 people.

The radiation effects on youngsters in downwind Belarus and Ukraine have been horrific. According to Mangano, some 80 percent of the “Children of Chernobyl” born downwind since the accident have been harmed by a wide range of impacts ranging from birth defects and thyroid cancer to long-term heart, respiratory and mental illnesses. The findings mean that just one in five young downwinders can be termed healthy.

Physicians for Social Responsibility and the German chapter of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War have warned of parallel problems near Fukushima.

The United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) has recently issued reports downplaying the disaster’s human impacts. UNSCEAR is interlocked with the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency, whose mandate is to promote atomic power. The IAEA has a long-term controlling gag order on UN findings about reactor health impacts. For decades UNSCEAR and the World Health Organization have run protective cover for the nuclear industry’s widespread health impacts. Fukushima has proven no exception.

In response, Physicians for Social Responsibility and the German International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War have issued a ten-point rebuttal, warning the public of the UN’s compromised credibility. The disaster is “ongoing” say the groups, and must be monitored for decades. “Things could have turned for the worse” if winds had been blowing toward Tokyo rather than out to sea (and towards America).

There is on-going risk from irradiated produce, and among site workers whose doses and health impacts are not being monitored. Current dose estimates among workers as well as downwinders are unreliable, and special notice must be taken of radiation’s severe impacts on the human embryo.

UNSCEAR’s studies on background radiation are also “misleading,” say the groups, and there must be further study of genetic radiation effects as well as “non-cancer diseases.” The UN assertion that “no discernible radiation-related health effects are expected among exposed members” is “cynical,” say the groups. They add that things were made worse by the official refusal to distribute potassium iodide, which might have protected the public from thyroid impacts from massive releases of radioactive I-131.

Overall, the horrific news from Fukushima can only get worse. Radiation from three lost cores is still being carried into the Pacific. Management of spent fuel rods in pools suspended in the air and scattered around the site remains fraught with danger.

The pro-nuclear Shinzo Abe regime wants to reopen Japan’s remaining 48 reactors. It has pushed hard for families who fled the disaster to re-occupy irradiated homes and villages.

But Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and the plague of death and disease now surfacing near Fukushima make it all too clear that the human cost of such decisions continues to escalate–with our children suffering first and worst.

July 14, 2013

Hateruma

Filed under: japan,weather — admin @ 4:46 am

July 8, 2013

Filed under: china,guam,japan,weather — admin @ 4:21 am

June 20, 2013

Filed under: brazil,capitalism,japan,mexico,philippines,police,turkey,usa,weather — admin @ 4:06 am

February 23, 2013

Filed under: culture,japan,weather — admin @ 5:53 am

July 11, 2011

Filed under: art,brazil,General,intra-national,japan — admin @ 5:40 pm

intriguing japanese-brazilian artist

 

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