Published: August 21st, 2012 at 6:42 pm ET
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Title: Forest near Fukushima nuclear plant turning into high-radiation jungle
Source: Mainichi
Date: Aug 17, 2012
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“If degrading of the mountain progresses, a natural disaster will certainly occur,” [Kimio Akimoto, head of the Futaba regional forestry cooperative] says.
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about 80 percent of Fukushima Prefecture’s Futaba district is covered in forest
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If trees wither, then the ground becomes unstable, making landslides and flash floods more likely. Akimoto, who has spent time in forests for over 40 years as a worker for the Fukushima Prefecture village of Kawauchi, has many times witnessed disastrous scenes when people have abandoned forests. Now, radiation is also a problem.
“Contaminated materials from the mountains reach inhabited areas, rivers and the sea, so decontamination of the mountains is necessary. But we know better than anyone that it’s hard to get far into the mountains where there are no paths, and there’s no way you can wash down every tree and dig up the soil,” he says.
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Published: August 21st, 2012 at 6:42 pm ET
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sending...
Akimoto is worried about the withering trees!!!
"Contaminated materials from the mountains reach inhabited areas,rivers and the sea,so decontamination of the mountains is necessary"
Your government has contaminated the entire planet and you are worried about you're withering trees!
I must be dreaming. Please someone wake me up….
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It could have happened in any country that uses nuclear power, it just happened to be Japan that it happened in. I wonder how many nuclear plants will be affected in the USA when the New Madrid fault begins to rumble.
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Yeah but, things usually evolve according the combined dynamics of the circumstances and logic , human brain is supposed to be able to mimic logic so it can see ahead in time and make plans, don't know what went wrong here . But according to the visible for everybody curcimstances , its a miracle it didden't happen sooner. In fact , in fact , nuke industry ways combined with Japan geological dynamics is like pointing a full clipped machinegun to your head and insisting its called russian roullette , saying, its ok , the people are alway's so negative about this game , but they don't understand the benefits can outweight the risks, we should ignore them, right before pulling the trigger. Too bad the machinegun is aimed at everybody at once.
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quote " Rusty M
It could have happened in any country that uses nuclear power, it just happened to be Japan that it happened in." unquote
Please allow me to agree that it could have been every where Rusty M,
I'm working on an excuse and a explanation for what i said that pointed at Japan as only bad. That is not my intention , at all.
But i don't know when i will be satisfied with to post , my bad.
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My bad like in to many variables , don't hold your breath or stay awake .
I want to be understood, Earth needs to be understood , and so does our position.
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Trees have religious significance to many Japanese. Do some research on Shinto, the native religion of Japan practiced by the Japanese before Buddhism and Christianity invaded the island, and still a part of the culture.
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Trees are revered in many cultures..the Native Americans..the Celtic ..etc..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_tree_worship
O Tannenbaum
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_Tannenbaum
"The lyrics do not actually refer to Christmas, or describe a decorated Christmas tree. Instead, they refer to the fir's evergreen qualities as a symbol of constancy and faithfulness."
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It's not the trees per se, but rather what happens when the trees die off in mass.
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Hi dosdos, the falling leaves and decomposing already do a lot of damage. See this scientific article discussing the effects:
"However, we should note that the litter component is being continuously decomposed and that the decomposed litter is continuously transferred into the soil component. The average decomposition (…) indicates that 30–40% of the litter on the soil surface will be decomposed each year. Thus, most of the trapped cesium in the litter component will move into the soil in a few years, and therefore, the litter component should be removed promptly11. Furthermore, the decomposition of the litter increases exponentially with increasing temperature. (…)
The leaves on the trees still retain approximately 40% of the total cesium in the forests5. The average longevity of the leaves of the dominant species in evergreen needleleaf forests in Japan (Japanese cedar, Cryptomeria japonica) is approximately 5 years. Hence, contaminated leaves will continue to fall on the soil surface during and after the next 5 years. In addition, the cesium trapped on the leaves would serve as a source of cesium transfer from the biomass to the forest floor via water flow. To effectively decontaminate the forests by removing litter, prompt but continuous effort is needed."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3360326/?tool=pubmed
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Yes, many misplaced priorities and false assumptions. I can scarcely believe what the Japanese were taught in school. Certainly nothing about nuclear energy and radiation other than two big booms happened in 1945 and people died leaving the survivors to be shunned by the unaffected Japanese.
But then most civilized societies have little knowledge of radiation except for the Europeans who experienced it firsthand.
Note to forest ranger: Your services are no longer needed. No decontamination is possible. Nobody will be returning for a thousand years.
As for yourself… remember what a small girl once said: Run Forrest! Run!
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How can they decontaminate the forests Sickputer? They can't even decontaminate there populated areas…
Ladies and gentlemen,
Smokey the bear has left the building…..
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Father Time is the great healer for Mother Earth. Our time on the planet is but a short sentence in a Russian novel. Winds will blow, soil will regain new layers and over time the land will restore itself with no help from mankind. Perhaps a thousand years, maybe five hundred thousand, but the forest will rebound and carbon forms will live again in that setting. Hopefully a kinder, more generous superior life form.
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"“A natural disaster will certainly occur” if situation continues."
A NATURAL DISASTER?
I don't think any part of this DISASTER could be called NATURAL. We did this, us Humans, the dumbest members of the family pongidae.
Nope this is not our fault, Um… nature did it. We cover our eyes with our hands, and pretend no one can see us, yet here we are… it sucks to be us.
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That was my thought too.
A better description might be…
"a cascading man-made catastrophe"
"a snowballing radioactive nightmare"
The 'cleanup' question baffles me too. Cleanup what? As long as Fuku is still spewing daily then 'cleanup' makes no sense. This is not a spill on isle 5 at the grocery store, it's an ongoing global event.
Maybe unstoppable? I don't know.
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And worst, they are burning whatever has radiation in it and the radionluides, radiactive particles like cesium or plutonium, are send to fly and fall direclty over and in the houses of the cities and other highly populated areas. If decontamination means to force people to burn these trees in their garden (or cities to burn them in their center), government officials need to respect the Japanese population and stop taking them for total idiots.
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Or he could have said landslide…
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"This is not a spill on isle 5 at the grocery store."
No it is not, but, it seems that's all our pea sized brains can handle.
BOYD
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from the article
“…Radiation readings near the saplings struggling to get sunlight were a little over 40 microsieverts per hour. After just one day in the area, a person would be exposed to more than the government’s designated yearly limit of 1 millisievert.
Facing the mountain, Akimoto lowered his head as he spoke to the saplings.
“I’m sorry that the readings are so high. I’m sorry that I can’t do anything.”…”
heartbreaking..
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I actually share this man's grief. Not only are the trees going to go untended, but so much of the forest will be contaminated likely for good. And you can forget about people moving back in, if thats any consolation – word is spreading quickly about the true dangers of radiation…
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So much is ruined (forever) because of a reactor gone awry. And doesn't matter which country ..meltdowns happen anywhere: America, Russia, Japan ..then the wind blows radiation thousands of miles. And that radiation stays intact. And is doing much damage. Happening right now.
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These meltdowns just can't be stopped. How big will the uninhabitable area be???
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My guess is immediately a 1/4 to 1/3 of the northern hemisphere based on the information gathered here from ENEnews, nuclear experts, comments, and posted links gathered here and elsewhere on nuclear blogs.. Eventually 100% within the next 10 years in both northern and southern hemispheres will be contaminated by Russian Chernobyl disaster contamination standards.
With the little radioactive contamination information of fallout released by the authorities, and gathered information of the well informed who is contributed to the best of there knowledge, This is my best guess. Majia, Agizeer, ChasAha, arclight, anne, etc. would be better at answering your question.
The radioactive fallout is in the food chain, it's accumulative and were still one page 1. Meltdowns are forever, multiple China syndrome, and multiple nuclear disasters from various nuclear sites. Continuous riddles from the authorities makes mockery of scientists renowned for authoritative influence on decision making. Bullying, lies, and deception are rampant in the nuclear industry..
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It can certainly be said at this point that Japan is toast.
Other chapters will be written later.
For now, it is enough to know that Japan is entirely lost.
The best and brightest have already fled Japan.
Transport and incineration of radioactive waste is spreading contamination throughout Japan.
"Support By Eating" helps spread contamination from Fuku throughout the population.
Internal and external doses are causing declining health.
Women now have more abortions, causing declining population.
No one will buy Japanese exports, causing declining economy.
It goes on and on. Japan is toast. So sad.
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Stunning.
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For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled."
Richard P. Feynman
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“I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power!
I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that.”
Thomas Edison, 1931
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