Good luck to Japanese members!

[Mr. Bean]

I am just amazed by the Japanese. Such organized, precise, effective people. Serbia prays for Japan.

[TheXRacer]

^^ As does Great Britan.

[GTAMADDOG]

Some of the things I've been reading people say on websites such as Twitter are absolutely disgusting. Whether they originally planned their comments to be for the 'luls' or not some have been in extremely bad taste and the people should be ashamed.

 

The situation just seems to keep getting even more bleak for Japan, some of the pictures are shocking, whole towns/cities just.. gone. Constant problems with the power stations and I think I read somewhere that there's a volcano that might erupt there now too.

 

The power is also going to be on and off over the next couple of days apparently. It's called a "Rolling" power-cut where different places are left without power for a while, then it comes back on and then another place is left without power for a while and so on. Apparently Tokyo is without power at the moment. This could be part of the reason why some of the members here haven't been online although I highly doubt it, being on the computer would be the last thing I'd do if I was there now.

 

Good luck and stay strong.

[Leadfoot[YT]]

Anyone else been following the nuclear disasters? I have a strong interest in the field of nuclear energy and solutions, and the situation at the four reactors is a humbling on many levels; the two that partial melted down (at the moment, though no firm solution is in place and it could easily get worse) were rated almost equal to the US's Three Mile Island disaster (the third worst nuclear incident recorded, I believe), and the reasons for it are similar. Unfortunately, the Japanese reactors were faced with a power outage, an earthquake, and a tsunami simultaneously - a combination that will very quickly ruin your day. As a result, they cooled it the only way they could - with seawater. Not only did this not stop the meltdown (though it slowed it), this means somewhere there are now several million gallons of highly radioactive seawater sloshing around.

 

The second issue is that if radiation had been leaked even a small bit, even if it affected just neighboring resident or plant employee, it would make world news headlines. But in combination with the earthquake, tsunami, volcano (yeah...), relief efforts, floods, and manufacturing losses, these nuclear disasters are just now becoming big news. And leaking radiation isn't the only problem; these are power plants, something people need to rebuild the country. Nuclear power plants in particular are hugely important. Powering large areas of land, losing a nuclear plant is like losing the amount of power required to sustain a small US state.

 

But like all disasters, as far away as they may be, there is always the part that hits close to home. For people all over the world who support nuclear power, this was probably a crippling blow, and a turning point in nuclear power. 99% of the time, it's the safest, cleanest, and most reliable source of energy, but it's the 1% that sets people off. Not without good reason, of course (see point two), but it wipes out all debate. The situation in Japan is deep within the worst case scenario for nuclear power, and, unfortunately, it could spell the end for nuclear hopes the world over (and particularly in the US). :(

 

Some of the things I've been reading people say on websites such as Twitter are absolutely disgusting. Whether they originally planned their comments to be for the 'luls' or not some have been in extremely bad taste and the people should be ashamed.

 

The situation just seems to keep getting even more bleak for Japan, some of the pictures are shocking, whole towns/cities just.. gone. Constant problems with the power stations and I think I read somewhere that there's a volcano that might erupt there now too.

 

The power is also going to be on and off over the next couple of days apparently. It's called a "Rolling" power-cut where different places are left without power for a while, then it comes back on and then another place is left without power for a while and so on. Apparently Tokyo is without power at the moment. This could be part of the reason why some of the members here haven't been online although I highly doubt it, being on the computer would be the last thing I'd do if I was there now.

 

Good luck and stay strong.

 

+Rep for that. Also, the volcano (which was considered dormant) just erupted today. It's the Shinmoedake volcano, in case anyone wants to look it up. Here's one video:

 

 

^Please note: I watched this without sound, so if there's foul fitting language, I apologize.

 

-Leadfoot

[Rai06]

This could be part of the reason why some of the members here haven't been online although I highly doubt it, being on the computer would be the last thing I'd do if I was there now.

 

Good luck and stay strong.

 

 

Why not? If people can take amateur videos when the quake is rolling, why not on the computer after two days? :P

 

Seriously, the whole country will take years to reach where it was in all aspects. Though it's really warming to know Russia did what it could, and acted in time, saving loads of lives. Sendai looks devastated, as if a roller went over it.

 

Take care people.

[Ryzza5]

People can barely make telephone calls and Australians are being urged to call mobile-to-mobile if there are friends in Japan. Internet access might be unavailble to a lot.

[GTAMADDOG]

I think I might donate some money tomorrow to a charity who is over there helping at the moment, someone like the Red Cross probably. I can't donate much obviously but something's better than nothing.

 

It just seems to keep getting worse and worse.