[Ratmagiclady]

Well, who or whatever you do or do not believe in, it's a fair small Spaceship Earth and a long way to anywhere else, so do let's not give up the ship, eh?

That means not giving up on each other, y'know.

[Mike Cash]

I didn't read this thread to find out everyone's reactions and thoughts and find links etc. My reason was soley to see if our own Mike Cash chimed in so I could rest assured that he and his were safe and well. Thanks for checking in Mr. Cash sir.

Thank you, Mel. I love you too.

[Mike Cash]

Don't they have psychiatrists in Japan?

Yes.

And do you have any genuine compassion for those that died--whether expressed online or not?

Absolutely. I think part of my failure to understand stems from the fact that I operate from the default position of just naturally assuming everybody does, unless they state otherwise. So to me it is sort of like a thread with "The sky is blue." followed up by a string of "I agree; the sky is blue" responses. As I said, I don't think this sort of thread does any harm and I have no objections. I suppose many people derive some sort of comfort from publicly expressing their compassion, and if they do then it is a good thing. I just don't understand it myself, as I have never felt an urge to do likewise. The world is under no obligation to conform to my understanding of it, and I have no expectations along those lines.

Whether a few kilometers away or halfway around the world, what's the difference?

None, I suppose. The more important distinction is that between expressions alone and expressions backed up by donations of some sort that serve to materially alleviate suffering, whether it be chartering a jet filled with relief supplies or just dropping some spare change in a Red Cross jar.

[rparmar]

Well, who or whatever you do or do not believe in, it's a fair small Spaceship Earth and a long way to anywhere else, so do let's not give up the ship, eh?

That means not giving up on each other, y'know.

Strange how many people cannot understand this fact and the consequent basic principle.

[magkelly]

This may sound a bit nutty but it's not uncommon for another big earthquake to happen elsewhere when one has happened recently and there have been several bad ones on the pacific rim lately culminating in what happened in Japan. I'm headed for SF next week and I will admit the thought of being there has me a bit more nervous about it than usual. Usually I don't even think about it much, but I definitely am now. (Knocking on wood for luck...)

Let me know your travel plans for the rest of the year, because I want to stay as far away from you as possible!

[uccemebug]

This may sound a bit nutty but it's not uncommon for another big earthquake to happen elsewhere when one has happened recently

Not at all nutty in my book. This jolt shifted the entire Earth by several centimeters.

In a more local (and perhaps practical) sense, the Japanese government is counting on ~7 magnitude aftershocks in the greater area with a 70% likelihood.

[Hambino]

(I dunno, there, Hambino, you seem to be rather attracted to active seismic areas, there. careful, you.

Let me know your travel plans for the rest of the year, because I want to stay as far away from you as possible!

Tell me about it! People have always told me that I like to rock the boat but this is pure ridiculousness

[RoxnDox]

This may sound a bit nutty but it's not uncommon for another big earthquake to happen elsewhere when one has happened recently and there have been several bad ones on the pacific rim lately culminating in what happened in Japan. I'm headed for SF next week and I will admit the thought of being there has me a bit more nervous about it than usual. Usually I don't even think about it much, but I definitely am now. (Knocking on wood for luck...)

Not at all nutty in my book. This jolt shifted the entire Earth by several centimeters.

In a more local (and perhaps practical) sense, the Japanese government is counting on ~7 magnitude aftershocks in the greater area with a 70% likelihood.

The stress fields around the faults near Japan are independent of those around the California fault zones. They're simply too far apart, and driven by different mechanisms. The vast majority of Japanese quakes are result of subduction of ocean floor under the Asian continent, while California quakes are a result of "sideways" slippage between North America and a sliver of land attached to the eastern Pacific oceanic crust. Land west of the San Andreas is moving northwards relative to the land on the east side of the fault. Quakes there are (for the most part) jolting in a side-to-side motion. Quakes around Japan can be sideways, but often have a more vertical component because of the nature of hte stress fields (pulling crust downwards, then when it releases it tends to snap back upwards - also the reason for more frequent tsunamis...). Changes in the stress fields can affect nearby faults ("nearby" meaning within a few hundred miles), but they're not going to have any effect on faults 5,000 miles away.

Travel to SF, but no need to add any additional worries from increased risk


Jim

[Ratmagiclady]

Well, I would say that it's reasonable to consider the risks magnified, (The Earth's being geologically fairly active right now, and as plastic as tectonic plates actually are, there's been a lot of jostling of them lately.)

I'd count the risks magnified proportionally, actually. But as for 'worrying,' well, for any given travel plans, that 'magnified' might mean like you bought two Powerball tickets instead of just one. 'Doubling the chances' doesn't mean you need to rearrange your future around it.

It doesn't have to be directly-chartable causation to know Mama's a fair bit restless right now. It's when we translate it to human scales that we may worry more than we need to.

This isn't to say that a little extra preparation might not do you some good. A little bit of a 'go-bag' does wonders for your sense of, 'I can handle stuff.' Much more than does saying 'I probably don't need to handle stuff.' Even if you probably don't.

[boriscleto]

Looks like the Japanese government can't cover it up any longer.

Some Experts Cast Doubt On Official Version Of Radiation Leakage - And Safety | Crooks and Liars

The AP is reporting a third explosion and now they are having to admit that containment is broken.

Daily Kos: What the Fukushima? 2.0 - Big 2X Update w/photos (UPDATED 2X))

Daily Kos: Fukushima-2: It Just Got A Whole Lot Worse

These are the people who are supposed to be building 2 new Nuke plants on the Gulf of Mexico.

[Gashog]

Glad you're ok Hambino.

[jumoji]

Looks like the Japanese government can't cover it up any longer.

Some Experts Cast Doubt On Official Version Of Radiation Leakage - And Safety | Crooks and Liars

The AP is reporting a third explosion and now they are having to admit that containment is broken.

Daily Kos: What the Fukushima? 2.0 - Big 2X Update w/photos (UPDATED 2X))

Daily Kos: Fukushima-2: It Just Got A Whole Lot Worse

These are the people who are supposed to be building 2 new Nuke plants on the Gulf of Mexico.

When anything happen, the first thing they do is always cover-up..

[uccemebug]

When anything happen, the first thing they do is always cover-up..

Yup. I unwittingly participated in that by posting some propaganda from the nuclear power industry's lobby. It's interesting to see that the PM has thrown TEPCO to the wolves, angrily berating them.

The radiation levels at the site are 35,000 x what it takes to cause cancer?

[Ratmagiclady]

The radiation levels at the site are 35,000 x what it takes to cause cancer?

Yeah, though those numbers have varied a lot, and there are a lot of figures being thrown around. There's a lot of radioactive material and stuff variously being produced, built up (less so with containment buildings blowing) and vented/dispersed, but some of these figures are local to various plant buildings, other areas, and sometimes they're spikes in radiation levels, so it's all a bit confusing.


Fortunately, the winds have mostly continued to blow most of that stuff offshore. (This'll be why the Navy was getting some elevated readings and moved away from that area,) ... Tokyo got a bit of it for a while, though, and, it's probably going to be some time before the real environmental damage gets added up/health hazards are charted.

Those numbers are really going to vary as things progress: there's a lot of variables (including a pretty short half-life of some of the particles that can be released when certain things happen. Which means these things can give of a high reading for a relatively short time, (and thus over a relatively small area.) So, you can expect that. You sure wouldn't want to be standing where it's 'hot' at those times, though.

If I've managed to get anything like an accurate picture, only the workers dealing with the plants are having real big health risks right now and only a few would have been risking radiation sickness, (assuming they weren't protected, which they'll generally in fact be.)

The surrounding countryside may be getting some health risks own the line, as things stand, and it could get worse. (Outside the areas just evacuated, they've been having people stay indoors and seal up: this is probably to reduce the chance anyone inhales or ingests any of those shorter-lived particles or anything, particularly if the wind changes again. )

Tokyo's measured levels (I don't know of what type) went up to twenty times 'normal' for a brief time, but really not to 'unsafe' or anything. Hopefully, there won't be too much danger, there, if things go well.

If they can start getting these things cooled down, they're in better shape all around, things like that spent fuel pool fire are really dangerous.


Update: about 5:30: Whoof, I dunno, here. Still looking pretty dodgy for the region near the reactor, at least: one constant through this seems to be we're not getting very current or consistent information. Very touchy all around for that whole plant site, it seems. I keep wondering if they could use some more fire-boats for pumps.

[uccemebug]

I've got friends in Tokyo trading notes on Facebook about what stores currently have eggs and batteries etc.

Meanwhile, the list of quakes ongoing is astonishing. The map is just a haze of quake marks.