Posted on 03/12/2011 12:02:10 AM PST by rawhide
Just in:
Explosion at Tepco's Fukushima Daiichi plant heard around 0630 GMT
NHK footage shows steam-like smoke coming from Tepco's Fukushima plant
(Excerpt) Read more at live.reuters.com ...
Amen on that.
Yeah they mentioned something about 36 hours. You can keep up with it on live TV in Japan. A lot of footage and video: http://bit.ly/idutY6
Charlie Sheen...sheeesh!
Just heard on FOX there’s a major problem with a second reactor- it was a breaking news alert.
Drudge reporting a third reactor with problems.
Press releases from the power plant operator are here (in English):
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/
The press releases are several hours behind, perhaps in part because it takes time to get them translated.
They are worth reading,in part as a defense against the hysteria the mainstream media brings to any news with the word “nuclear” in it.
It’s amazing how you can be wrong so many times in a single thread.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2687620/posts?page=690#690
Thank you for the nice post and update. I was away from FR, media for a few hours and was stunned to see the new Drudge headlines (the huge evacuation count; the third reactor with colling issues). It is great to hear, first hand, that life is going on as normal as possible in Tokyo. Nornal routines (as much as we all complain about Mondays, or wanting a vacation) are what keep us going. That, and socializing with friends in a Pub :)
Please keep checking in when you can to FR (ping me!) so that we know you are still safe and well. G-d Bless!
What do you plan to use to power your world?
Me neither, but it can't be helped!
-----
"Inside that superheated steel vessel, water being poured over the fuel rods to cool them formed hydrogen. When officials released some of the hydrogen gas to relieve pressure inside the reactor, the hydrogen apparently reacted with oxygen, either in the air or the cooling water, and caused the explosion."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/as_japan_earthquake
"The Japanese reactor accident at the Fukushima Daiichi I plant is already the second worst nuclear power plant accident, second only to Chernobyl."
-- Michio Kaku, theoretical physicist at C.U.N.Y.
[http://bigthink.com/ideas/31595]
I've gotta say that I'm mighty disappointed in him for making that statement. As a trained physicist of international repute, I'd expect him to be one of those who would inform the public of the differences between the Fukushima reactors, and those of Chernobyl, but no. He chose to fan the flames of hysteria.
Very sad.
Not at all surprising. Being a lib is much more important to him than being a physicist. Just like our alleged energy secretary.
You better look here before you say too much.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2687620/posts?page=694#694
Breaks my heart. He's someone I really trusted to always stand true to scientific principles and reality. Damn shame.
I'm disappointed too, but not the least bit surprised. The only reason he's of "international repute" is because he flings himself in front of any camera he can find anywhere in the world in order to pontificate and bask in the fawning attention of sexy but dimwitted news-babes who think he's smart just because he's a "theoretical" physicist.
He is a long-standing anti-nuclear axe-grinder, and his shameless lies and exaggerations about the Cassini probe's RTG leading up to its launch in 1997 mark the beginning of my loathing for him. Fanning the flames of hysteria is his standard M.O. - it's what he's been doing for over a decade, whenever he can find a camera to leap in front of.
And it may be true that it's the "second worst since Chernobyl," but that's not saying much. How's it compare to the sustained nuclear bombing campaign waged against Nevada or the Marshall Islands, for instance?
You must have missed his performance in the mid 90's as the Cassini probe was preparing for launch. Look it up, it's a real doozy. He's consistent at least - consistently standing (in front of cameras) for the principles of exaggeration and hysteria.
I'll have to do that, even though I hate like hell to cross yet another person off my 'highly respected' list. Darn list gets shorter and shorter every year...
Oh darn. CNN was interviewing Bill Nye, the science guy, and while he was trying to tell us about cesium being involved in a u-235 reactor, get ready for it... they cut to a picture of a helicopter in Sendai. It’s the best way to get around! That’s why there’s so many choppers, because they can get around. CNN says so.
I wasted years in engineering school, obviously. There’s only so many people you can fit in a helicopter, they tell me. They sure didn’t tell me that in college.
I have family in Tokyo. I can come up with better stories than this. Heck, I even know about cesium. Maybe I missed my calling. I could have been a lib idiot on TV!
No, but it would still be a flawed conclusion. We need energy to have our civilization. That energy has to come from somewhere. Ideally, energy production should be as efficient as possible, with byproducts that negate as little as possible of the energy created. It's not an easy problem to solve.
Fossil fuel energy is effective for many purposes but is politically entangled with our schizophrenic foreign policy, is finite, and has byproduct issues. In some arbitrary George Jetson future, we will all be able to go to the local hardware store and buy a home fuel cell or a Tesla generator and not even need a power grid. Hydrogen power plants are another possibility but there are too many unsolved problems for this to be practical in the near term.
Nuclear energy has its warts, but if you're looking at the ratio of cost, including side effects, to efficiency in meeting our energy production needs, to availability of technology and fuel, nuclear is still probably the best buy on the market, especially when you consider how modern reactor design is so much more effective at doing safe shutdowns than 40+ year old reactors like the unit in Japan. The risk in modern designs is much lower than archaic 70's BWR designs.
So, no, you don't have to be a leftist to be uncomfortable with nukes, but once you've got some solid information under your belt, nukes do start to look pretty good. IMHO.
Give me a break. CNN is practicing irresponsible journalism trying to get attention...
[A hint, CNN: C-137 is a by-product of Uranium (and Plutonium) fission...]
Thanks for your comment - and I haven’t responded to another very good one you made in response to one of mine several days ago. I hope to get to that one soon, just been very busy and somewhat unwell.
I have a very different view than you about civilization’s needs, and I have read up on nuclear power, and think it is the wrong way to go. I would like to discuss with you but must retire early. Not trying to avoid the discussion, just need to conserve energy.
Thank you - good night!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.