Government must take over Fukushima nuclear cleanup

Recent weeks have seen increasingly concerned calls, from within and without Japan, for the Japanese government to take a direct role in managing the multifaceted crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. The most recent opinion poll shows 91 percent of the Japanese public wants the government to intervene.

The Economist calls Fukushima a “nightmare,” and the editors of Bloomberg deem it “ground zero” for the Abe government. Tepco’s handling of the stricken plant continues to be a litany of negligence and error, raising grave doubts over whether the company is up to the incredibly difficult and important task of decommissioning the plant. While it may be politically inconvenient for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to accept, it is time to intervene and take over the plant before it is too late.

Government must take over Fukushima nuclear cleanup | The Japan Times

2013 North India floods

In June 2013, North India experienced heavy rainfall which triggered devastating floods and landslides in the states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. Other states affected include Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. The floods caused widespread loss of property and life and left many people trapped. As of 19 June 2013 at least 130 people were killed, hundreds missing and thousands homeless. Damage to bridges and roads left almost 73,000 people trapped in various places. Many people are missing.

Of all the states, the state of Uttarakhand, often called the "Land of the Gods," suffered most. As of 18 June 2013, the death toll in the state was reported to be 58 and more than 60,000 tourists and pilgrims stranded.

[SOURCE] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_North_India_floods

The Unorthodox Engineers: Australian Fire Maps released!

The Unorthodox Engineers: Australian Fire Maps released!: It's fire season in Australia. My state in particular, Queensland, tends to catch fire quite a lot. I know this because I recently worked fo...

Japan whaling fleet leaves port for Antarctica

Japan's whaling research ship 'Nisshin Maru' is seen leaving from Innoshima island port in Hiroshima prefecture, western Japan, on December 28, 2012. Japanese whaling vessels left port bound for the Southern Ocean on their annual hunt for the huge marine mammals, according to a media report and Greenpeace. Japanese whaling vessels left port Friday bound for the Southern Ocean on their annual hunt for the huge marine mammals, a media report and Greenpeace said.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-12-japan-whaling-fleet-port-antarctica.html#jCp

Ocean still suffering from Fukushima fallout

Radioactivity is persisting in the ocean waters close to Japan's ruined nuclear power plant at Fukushima Daiichi.

New data presented at a conference held on 12–13 November at the University of Tokyo show that levels of radioactivity in the sea around the plant remain stable, rather than falling as expected. Researchers believe that run-off from rivers, as well as continued leaks from the plant, may be partially to blame. But contaminated sediment and marine organisms also seem to be involved.

The level of contamination is not likely to pose a significant health risk to humans. But it could have long-term economic consequences for fishermen along Japan's east coast.

Read more: http://www.nature.com/news/ocean-still-suffering-from-fukushima-fallout-1.11823

More land at sinkhole falls in

A 1,500-square-foot section of earth caved in from the edge of a slurry-filled sinkhole near Bayou Corne in Assumption Parish on Tuesday night, pulling down with it several trees and part of an access road, officials said Wednesday.

The road was built as a place for parking excavators that will be used in the pending cleanup of the sinkhole, which emerged Aug. 3 in swamps between the Bayou Corne and Grand Bayou areas on property owned by Texas Brine Co., parish officials said in a blog post.

The sinkhole — filled with a liquid mixture of brine, mud, vegetative matter and other substances — has forced the evacuation of residents in 150 households in the two communities.

Read more: http://theadvocate.com/home/3994480-125/more-land-at-sinkhole-falls

Volcano Sakurajima #20120909 052200 UTC

Live view: http://webcam-svo2.pr.kyoto-u.ac.jp/local/camera.html

Experts warn Mount Fuji is dangerously close to erupting

Japanese scientists are warning that the country's famed Mount Fuji could be on the verge of a catastrophic eruption. Volcanologists have discovered that the pressure in the volcano's magma chamber is higher than it was the last time Fuji erupted in 1707. The pressure is measured in megapascals, and researchers say recent readings show the chamber hitting a level of 1.6; pressure readings of 0.1 megapascals are enough to trigger an eruption. Scientists say the March 2011 earthquake that caused a massive tsunami has been one factor in putting increased pressure on the chamber. Government estimates say an eruption could result in more than 300,000 deaths as well as cause up to $30 billion in damage.

Source: http://now.msn.com/mount-fuji-close-to-erupting-experts-say

HAZMAT in Nigeria, 400 children have died after releasing lead gas

An estimated 400 children have died from the inhalation of lead poison in six communities in Zamfara State due to improper mining practices. Hamzat Bala Lawal, the National Coordinator, African Youth Initiative on Climate Change (AYICC), Nigeria chapter, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja. Lawal, who is also the Advisor, Nigerian Youth Climate Action Network (NYCAN), said that the root cause of the lead poisoning crisis was unsafe mining and ore processing. He stressed the need to provide access to facilities and programmes to people engaged in mining and ore processing, to enable to safely mine and process ore without exposing themselves or others to toxic lead. He quoted Medecins sans Frontieres, an international NGO, as saying that the environment had to be properly sanitised for the affected children to receive adequate treatment. Lawal said that his organisation had been advocating for the federal government to release $5.4 million for environmental remediation, to eliminate the contaminant. According to him, the process of eliminating the poison from the communities would take a period of three to six months. "Over 1,000 people have died from this poison in these six communities due to mining activities," he said. "Overtime, we will adopt the best practice of mining in order not to re-pollute the environment." The coordinator also advocated for a functional National Climate Change Commission which would provide leadership, coordination, resources and information to fully respond to climate change.

Source: http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/site/?pageid=event_desc&edis_id=HZ-20120906-36470-NGA

EARTH'S SHRINKING ATMOSPHERE BAFFLES SCIENTISTS

Scientists are mulling over why part of the Earth's atmosphere recently suffered its biggest collapse since records began, and is only now starting to rebound.

The collapse occurred in a region known as the thermosphere, a rarefied layer of the planet's upper atmosphere between 90 and 600 kilometers (56 to 373 miles) above the surface, which shields us from the sun's far and extreme ultra violet (EUV) radiation.

A report in Geophysical Research Letters by a team led by John Emmert from the United States Naval Research Laboratory has found that the thermosphere went through its biggest contraction in 43 years.

Read more: http://news.discovery.com/earth/earth-atmosphere-shrinking.html

Flash Floods Swamp Chinese Capital, Killing 10

A severe rainstorm pounded Beijing Saturday, flooding roads and low-lying buildings, knocking out power in several neighborhoods and killing 10 people, according to state media reports. More than 500 flights were cancelled or delayed at the Beijing airport, stranding tens of thousands after the heaviest rain in 61 years fell on the Chinese capital. By Sunday the waters had largely subsided, the rainfall having scoured the city streets and temporarily clearing out Beijing’s notorious air pollution. But the storm-induced paralysis was a reminder that for all its development, the Chinese capital still suffers from potentially debilitating infrastructure weaknesses.

Read more: http://world.time.com/2012/07/22/flash-floods-swamp-chinese-capital-killing-10/#ixzz21MFeklPj

Fur loss, lesions reported in Beaufort Sea polar bears

Read more details on ADN: http://www.adn.com/2012/04/06/2410648/barrow-bears-losing-their-hair.html#storylink=cpy