Published: August 25th, 2011 at 11:17 pm ET
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UPDATE 1-U.S. energy sector braces for direct hit from Irene, Reuters, August 25, 2011:
Progress Energy (PGN.N) said it was taking safety precautions at its two-unit Brunswick nuclear plant in Southport, North Carolina, where the storm was expected to pass nearby on Saturday. The plant, 22 feet (6.7 meters) above sea level, is built to withstand winds of 128 miles per hour.
h/t Anonymous tip
Irene: New York City, Mid-Atlantic Put on High Alert, Accuweather’s Kristina Pydynowski Senior Meteorologist, August 25, 2011:
Irene could be “once-in-50-year” hurricane for the Northeast.
The AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center is confident that Irene will strike the Outer Banks of North Carolina Saturday evening as a strong Category 3 or Category 4 hurricane.
Brunswick Nuclear Plant, Southport, NC
Published: August 25th, 2011 at 11:17 pm ET
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sending...
Get wax for surf board !
: )
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I guess the threat is that they could lose power.
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I see that this plant is 6 miles from the ocean.
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Hopefully out of the way of any ‘storm surge’ , flooding …
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It’s only 22 feet above sea level. Storm surge with wave action on top of that could spell disaster. If the eye passes to the left it will be much worse.
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Hopefully loose stuff blowing around won’t crash into important external piping , things like that …
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Better bring in them deck chairs from the cool pools !
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Shut em down for gawd sake, all we need is another Fukushima!
The natural disasters are only getting bigger and more frequent, nuclear power is a danger to humanity, let’s try to at least save our human existence, well, until atleast sep-oct when this comet aligns with us and comes alot closer, let’s hope we don’t see these massive quakes as expected, something huge will erupt this year, most likely in America is seems for going to war and killing the innocent etc, let’s hope and pray for the lords forgiveness, instead let the corrupt leaders whizz away up to he’ll and burn like no tomorrow
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yeah shut them down, but why haven’t they already shut it down?…
is there a possibility that they can’t?
it seems like a matrix type of thing where nothing is real anyways… like i’m just watching with drop-jaw drooling for the next bad news.
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lol larry I know what you mean. I keep checking the walls for glitches (none so far, but the rest of it….!)
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We had our first squall come through around 6:30 this evening, Daytona Bch. Fl. Medium steady Rain came in sideways – 45% with about 30mph winds from the East, Northeast !
I was wet they yelled ! … I saw neighbor’s running and squealing !
: )
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Weird lightning, damaging winds and rain in west Texas this evening…power lines blown down Interstate 20.
Looks like the Four Corners states and Nebraska/South Dakota and the upper Eastern seaboard are all getting some rain…hopefully you will dodge the deadly particle, but we know that there is something even if our government won’t help us.
http://www.intellicast.com/National/Radar/Current.aspx
Very strange clouds the other day that many people in my city commented on….individual round pure white cirrus clouds zipping across the sky.
Of course as a fear mongerer (sic) I think about the hot spots coming down when it rains…
And with Irene coming here is once again our old mariner’s poem about hurricanes:
June too soon.
July stand by.
August look out you must.
September remember.
October all over.
The poem was published in “Weather Lore” by R. Inwards in 1898
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Looks like we’ll have to dodge another bullet..
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hurr-derp
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I’m impressed they planned so well for a 50-year event. By the time a 100-year event comes along, I’m sure the technology will be developed to handle it. Let’s build more now!!!
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remember, “if the technology is developed by then” as part of the ten year clean up “plan” for daiichi
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This is passing out of the theoretical into the hyperventilating, pants peeing possibility.
P.S. Please don’t forget that hurricanes tend to spawn tornadoes.
Monday is Katrina anniversary. I have joked that ‘Irene is on a mission’, but maybe a $10 billion joke is on us.
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fear is like faith. it’s strong.
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fear is faith.
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Just outside: Dark !
Winds wiping better then gently, east then west, very bomby, clouds moving rapidly to the west, white and gray ones, no rain.
At least the storm is to the east, if on west be more chance of tornadic activity !
My cat came in, Meow (first hurricane & knows somethings up)… he ain’t stupid !
: )
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Small squall just came through, second one, the next will give me info on storm’s approach, lite winds and rain, not as before, still very balmy weather !
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Been nice a balmy all morning, clouds mostly with scattered, see lots of blue sky’s between clouds, light mist of rain once !
Rained off an on last, early visual review of area show old ready to fall palm branches scattered about from winds tearing them lose ! (common in thunderstorms with winds also)
Cat decided it looked safe to venture outside, walked to edge of porch and winds knocked off rain from leaves on branches falling at his feet just as he reached the doorway, jumped back to the shelter of the porch !
: D
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http://4physics.com/phy_demo/slinky/song.htm
Who walks the stair without a care
It shoots so high in the sky.
Bounce up and down just like a clown.
Everyone knows its Slinky.
The best present yet to give or get
The kids will all want to try.
The hit of the day when you’re ready to play
Everyone knows it’s Slinky.
It’s Slinky, It’s Slinky
for fun it’s the best of the toys
It’s Slinky, It’s Slinky
the favorite of girls and boys.
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Mine got tangled and bent in a few minutes !
: (
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Yes..slinky just bopped back up to 375 sieverts…
http://atmc.jp/plant/rad/?n=1
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NRC NEWS
No. 02-070 June 6, 2002
NRC APPROVES POWER UPRATE FOR BRUNSWICK NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved a request by Carolina Power & Light Co. to
increase the generating capacity of the Brunswick nuclear power plant, Units 1 and 2, by 15 percent
each.
The power uprate at the plant, near Southport, North Carolina, will increase the generating
capacity of Unit 1 from 841 megawatts electric to 958; and for Unit 2 from 835 megawatts electric to
951. The licensee intends to implement the power uprates immediately for Unit 1 and next year for
Unit 2.
The NRC’s safety evaluation of the requested power uprate for the plant focused on several
areas, including nuclear steam supply systems, instrumentation and control systems, electrical systems,
accident evaluations, radiological consequences, operations, and other technical specification changes.
The NRC staff determined that the licensee could safely increase the power output of the reactor
primarily by using new fuel in the core and making certain specified plant modifications.
http://pbadupws.nrc.gov/docs/ML0219/ML021960277.pdf
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“new fuel” – not mox surely?
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Brunswick Nuclear Plant
The two-unit, 1,875-MW Brunswick Nuclear Plant is located near Southport, N.C. It was the first nuclear power plant built in North Carolina, beginning operation in 1975. An additional 244 megawatts of electrical generation were added to the plant’s output from 2002 to 2005 as part of an extended power uprate.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXjhXmYQVp8
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Assuming Irene spares it…
Progress Energy Receives Extended Federal Licenses to Operate Brunswick Nuclear Plant for Additional 20 Years
SOUTHPORT, N.C., June 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Progress Energy
(NYSE: PGN) today received new, extended operating licenses from the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for its two Brunswick Plant nuclear
reactors. These renewed licenses will allow both Brunswick Plant units to
operate an additional 20 years beyond their original licenses. The NRC has
also issued a press release on their renewal of the Brunswick Plant
operating licenses:
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/news/2006/06-085.html.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020923/CHM008LOGO-c )
“This is a significant accomplishment that required several years of
engineering analysis and environmental studies by the company and then
nearly two years of examination and inspections by the NRC,” said Brunswick
Plant Vice President Jim Scarola. “The successful renewal of the Brunswick
Plant operating licenses is also an excellent tribute to the many
hardworking employees who have operated the plant safely and at high levels
of performance over the past three decades.
……
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/progress-energy-receives-extended-federal-licenses-to-operate-brunswick-nuclear-plant-for-additional-20-years-56959692.html
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BREAKING NEWS
BREAKING!!!! JAPAN PM RESIGNS
http://www.japantoday.com/category/politics/view/kan-expected-to-announce-resignation-shortly
Kan resigns; says he did all he could, given difficulties he faced
TOKYO —
Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Friday announced his resignation as president of the Democratic Party of Japan, effectively ending his tenure. “I resign as the (party) president effective today,” Kan told senior party officials.
Later, in a nationally televised speech, Kan said he did all he could, given the difficulties he faced, including the disasters and a major election defeat in upper house elections last summer that left the parliament in gridlock.
“Under the severe circumstances, I feel I’ve done everything that I had to do,” he said. “Now I would like to see you choose someone respectable as a new prime minister.”
Kan’s resignation paves the way for the nation’s sixth premier in five years to steer a recovery from the March disasters.
Kan’s resignation comes 5 1/2 months since the devastating March 11 quake, tsunami and ensuing nuclear disaster sorely tested his leadership, and prompted accusations he mishandled the crisis.
After surviving a no-confidence vote in June, Kan said he would quit on the condition that three key bills were passed—a second budget, a budget financing bill and legislation promoting the use of renewable energy.
The final two bills were passed on Friday.
Kan is expected to officially step down from his party and government posts when the DPJ elects a new party president, which Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said would take place Monday.
The Diet would then vote the leader in as prime minister on Tuesday next week.
Up to nine candidates could end up jockeying to succeed Kan, including the favorite, former Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara. Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda may also file for candidacy when campaigning begins on Saturday.
Whoever wins faces the unenviable tasks of overseeing Japan’s biggest post-war reconstruction, the resolution of the world’s worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl 25 years ago and shielding the economy from a soaring yen.
They must also unite a divided Diet and win market confidence that Japan can overcome a legislative quagmire to address the world’s biggest debt.
Ratings agency Moody’s this week downgraded Japan, citing its revolving-door political leadership as a major obstacle to much needed reform.
“The latest power change will yet again give the world the impression that Japan’s leadership is fickle,” said Shinichi Nishikawa, professor of politics at Meiji University in Tokyo, adding that Kan’s replacement must hold power for longer.
Maehara, 49, who stepped down as Foreign Minister in March over a donation row, could become Japan’s youngest postwar prime minister. He has advocated the pursuit of growth instead of raising taxes to ease Japan’s fiscal woes.
Noda—who recently gave statements supporting war criminals—has softened his earlier stance on hiking taxes.
Between candidates such as Maehara and the premiership stands party kingmaker Ichiro Ozawa, who controls the DPJ’s biggest political faction.
Ozawa, a divisive figure who faces criminal trial over a donations scandal, leads a group of roughly 140 lawmakers out of the 398 who can vote on Kan’s replacement.
After taking office in June last year, the 64-year-old Kan struggled amid low support ratings, a power struggle within the DPJ and a divided parliament in which the Liberal Democratic Party opposition blocked various bills.
The deadlock characterized Kan’s tenure and helped erode high early expectations of him as the first leader in years not born into a political dynasty, as the DPJ failed to meet its election pledges.
Japan’s triple disaster—which left 20,000 dead or missing, wiped out towns and sparked the Fukushima nuclear accident—arguably gave Kan another lease of life.
But to the dismay of voters, a short-lived political truce gave way to renewed bickering and infighting within about a month.
Charges that Kan had bungled the response to the calamity, as authorities delayed admitting that the nuclear crisis was worse than initially thought, quickly grew louder.
The lame-duck leader advocated a nuclear-free future for Japan in defiance of the power companies, bureaucrats and politicians who make up Japan’s so-called “nuclear village,” making more enemies along the way.
The message tapped into popular sentiment, with some polls saying 70% of Japanese want to phase out atomic power, but was not enough to revive his own tumbling ratings.
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WoW!
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That lying sack-o-crap “Yukky-o” Edano should resign, too…..GRrrrrr
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Want to see the radiation level???
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JriF6wIPVJU&feature=player_embedded#!
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Hi Tacoma, that’s a video of a baseball cap-wearing “prophetic seer” who points to a strange cloud?
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it has nothing to do with fukushima, but tacoma being the genius here just KNOWS it has to be related to the nuclear crisis, because everything that happens now just HAS to be related to it. a guy can’t even die naturally anymore because it just HAS to be from the radiation coming from japan. that is a huge logical fallacy.
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Please explain to the viewers why this effect is “not related to fukushima fallout”.
Im simply suggesting that its a possibility that the effect is made by radiation grouping into an aerosol layer, which is accumulating above the cloud layer… (creating a shadow effect) this is caused by the suns rays reflecting off the earth; Making the clouds layer’s silhouettes shadows appear on the now stable, post-fukushima, radioactive sulfur layer).
Please explain:
A. Why my speculation is such a far stretch?
B. Why it is not possible?
C. Why It is not relevant to suggest in this community?
D. Why you immediately insult the idea? (Implying its not worth taking note of) – When there are certainly very clear points made, with the best intentions of the authors ability to approach the phenomenon; that were only posed as conversation points to other respect scientific minded individuals in this community…
E. Another suggestion that suites the phenomenon.
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go here, and look at the double cloud shadow portion from october of 2004
http://www.spacew.com/gallery/image005013-1.html
…now was that caused by fukushima also? oh wait…
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i think i’ve solved this mystery:
“Umbral and Penumbral Shadows in atmospheric haze from a cloud”
http://www.cloudbait.com/gallery/gallery_sky.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umbra
but you won’t believe me, go on thinking it is from fukushima, i know to some of you it just HAS to be.
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Yes, in the website you provided it clearly states that Smoke is responsible for the double clouding effects…
That does not explain why it is happening in the footage, That I have just provided…
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Once again…
Your source…
Umbral and Penumbral Shadows inatmospheric hazefrom a cloud. Digital image with Nikon Coolpix 990.Report Comment
You keep referring to sources that list ATMOSPHERIC HAZE as the reason responsible for the effect…
What you fail to provide… Is any given reason that the effect (the atmospheric haze), is in no way related to the fukushima fallout…
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please explain why this haze can’t be naturally caused? you know when the sun shines through thin clouds it makes a rainbow, you want to know why, because the light is reflecting off of the little ice crystals that are in the clouds, but i bet you will say something about that sort of thing being caused by fukushima, just because to you (and your followers here) it doesn’t make sense any other way. your assumption (it really isn’t a theory) is gospel to these people, so keep on spreading it. i can’t argue with you here, no point, there really is no point. just go on thinking the world is going to end, what a sad life to live…
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Sun shining to make a rainbow is another process unrelated to this phenomena. Also I do admit that the incident is naturally caused. As we had came to the conclusion of in our earlier conversation…
However it seems to be naturally caused only when under the conditions, of an “Atmospheric haze”.
Aerosol / vapor could potentially be reflecting the light.(providing the condition for the effect to take place).
I feel it is a relevant suggestion.
In my opinion and many other viewers here, The cloud cover has been strange since march 11th…. Hazy… Metalic taste… And well. Note the massive global presence of contamination… Reported by various sources…
Now to the best of my knowledge… There are googles of radioactive isotopes being distributed from fukushima, atmospherically / daily…
These isotopes have literally circled the globe hundreds of times, Accumulating for a 150 day period…
Meanwhile Every nation on the planet is concealing radiation data from their public realms, as to limit the information from creating financial losses.
I feel it is us the peoples duty to expose these injustices by reviewing all information on a peer to peer, scientific panel. Thus providing accurate information to the weary public that is endangered by the crisis…
Therefore, I assume it is my responsibility to post these theories, and documents to the enenews community, as their very presence empowers us in a wealth, of conflicting ideas, and ideologies, that eventually may explain the situation in its integrity, and entirety.
Something, I feel we’ve all been denied… All too long. So I apologize: irradiated californian… I will continue to bring things, as well as opinions to the group that I feel are relevant, to the situation at hand…
I hope you can appreciate that for what it is, or agree to disagree and not rant / flame anymore.
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Here’s another link to the effect causing the multiple-shadows in TG’s youtube link.
http://www.atoptics.co.uk/atoptics/rayim13.htm
I’m not saying that Fukushima didn’t have any influence, I’m just saying that Fukushima isn’t necessarily the cause of this effect.
I do think Fukushima is to blame for seeding the clouds to give us a craptastic spring & summer (until a few weeks ago) here on the Wet Coast of Canada (Vancouver, BC). Nuclear fission has byproducts including silver and iodine– hence not such a crazy stretch to say that Fuku is affecting cloud formation.
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IC: explanation from first link given by you:
“This unique cloud shadow was photographed at Sandon, a ghost town in the Kootenay region of British Columbia at about 12 noon. The shadow is likely being projected onto a thin area of smoke from nearby forest fires.”
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This link was a video about a cloud with a shadow behind it.
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Ya…
I just felt that ‘Normally’, you cant see anything separating the stratosphere, from the ionosphere…
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So naturally, a Heavy amount of aerosol could account for the effect. I couldn’t imagine the environment Is in any state “Stable”. So,
In my opinion this effect is probably a very real attribute to the fukushima / fallout.
But I am sure any one of you could offer a better explanation…
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wow….just…wow. why people give you any sort of credibility is BEYOND me. why do you automatically jump to the assumption that what you see in the vid has ANYTHING to do with the radiation coming from japan? are clouds like that in japan? anyone?…
anyone?…because according to tacoma’s logic, these kinds of things should be appearing almost daily in japan, since the radiation levels are much much MUCH higher there.
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Hey IC, Tacoma’s post SUGGESTS a theory – and she asked for feedback. No need for attacking here…
Are you a father yet (curious, I know)?
*peace
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read t.g.’s post again, it clearly is showing as if he/she is CONVINCED this is radiation:
“want to see the radiation level??”
i’m sorry it seems i’m attacking, but it’s hard to get good info when you have people like that who don’t actually post theories, but rather make assumptions that something is related when it more than likely is not. i’m not going to act like i know what the hell that vid is about, but why make the assumption it has to do with radiation? that’s all i want to know. because fukushima is ongoing? well, we would see that sort of continuous effect in japan, rather than here in the states. if you think that sort of thing would happen here in the states before japan, that makes no logical sense…at all.
and no baby yet, passed the halfway mark though with the pregnancy, just a few more months to go and our baby will be here
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wow. your response just leads to restate what i had said earlier, why people give you any sort of credibility here is beyond me. maybe it’s because you use big words and make yourself sound sophisticated. i have no idea, but you go on fear mongering and telling people what is being show in that video is being caused by fukushima. i guess that one place where the guy recorded is the only place that is being affected (according to your theory, where logic need not apply).
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Why you care that people give me any sort of credibility is beyond both of us friend.
I also didn’t tell anyone to think anything, other than outside the box. After all we are certainly arriving in an unimaginable post fukushima nuclear frontier…
Cheers.
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IC, all the best for you and your little family – beyond all radiation threats, may them be for real, imagination or whatever.
*peace all
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Actually according to the theory I had…
There is going to be a great deal of contamination dispersed globally… The bio accumulation of cesium, polonium, lead, plutonium, sulfur, iodine, plutonium, uranium, ect Will eventually effect everything on the planet…
Do you read the news…?
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In my opinion…
I offered a very detailed explanation as to why I though it was what I thought it was…
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yes, i come here often (at work, home etc.) and mostly ‘lurk’ to read the news, but i run across posts like yours and it becomes really, REALLY hard to ignore responding. unlike some of you who are shortening your lives constantly posting here and worrying about something you have no control over, i have a lot more priorities here in my life, as well as A LOT of everyday things going on that are affecting me. there is no guarantee that this will affect us, and there is no guarantee that it won’t. i’m not going to worry about this stuff unless i have too. a lot of this stuff i’ve been bracing for and expecting since the explosions, and it’s funny how surprised some people are at certain moments. but you go on leading these people in the wrong direction.
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Then offer counter opinions, on the criteria that you choose to post on…
instead of being unsupportive…
Why was my post invalid…
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Video withdrawn by YouTube as violation of terms of service?
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It was probably embedded. Here is a working link:
Is the Sky a Hologram?? Check out this Bizarre Shadow found ABOVE a Cloud in the sky!!
http://riggedreality.com/is-the-sky-a-hologram-check-out-this-bizarre-shadow-found-above-a-cloud-in-the-sky/
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Quick! Take the red pill.
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Flap,
LOL!
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Please explain to the viewers why this effect is “not related to fukushima fallout”.
Im simply suggesting that its a possibility that the effect is made by radiation grouping into an aerosol layer, which is accumulating above the cloud layer… (creating a shadow effect) this is caused by the suns rays reflecting off the earth; Making the clouds layer’s silhouettes shadows appear on the now stable, post-fukushima, radioactive sulfur layer).
Please explain:
A. Why my speculation is such a far stretch?
B. Why it is not possible?
C. Why It is not relevant to suggest in this community?
D. Why you immediately insult the idea? (Implying its not worth taking note of) – When there are certainly very clear points made, with the best intentions of the authors ability to approach the phenomenon; that were only posed as conversation points to other respect scientific minded individuals in this community…
E. Another suggestion that suites the phenomenon.
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Weeks ago there was a post talking about how airborne isotopes could affect the ionization of the atmosphere. As I recall the percentage rise over water could be as high as 15% – certainly enough to affect aspects of the weather. I wish we could find out more about that effect and how it affects atmospheric components.
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+1 radegan
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Krypton-85 could be responsible for creating mid-ocean perturbations, triggering much bigger storms and hurricanes such as Katrina that devastated the coastline of America’s Gulf shore, New Orleans included, in August 2005
Dr David Lowry wrote:
Last weekend I attended an international conference in Stockholm, Sweden, where arguments for and against the Swedish nuclear strategy were presented by radiation protection and nuclear waste managment officials, and countered by various environmental and technical groups such as FMKK and MKG.
One of the surprising points raised came in a presentation by Gunnar Lindgren of Milkas (Milj?r?relsens k?rnavfallssekretariat)- the Swedish environment movement’s nuclear waste secretariat – when he argued that the emission of one radioactive gas from nuclear operations, is a possible contributor to acceleration of climate change.
The gas in question is Krypton-85, the release of which has risen some 200,000 times since 1945, whilst carbon dioxide releases over the same time period has increased a substantial, but much smaller, 30 times globally.
He asserted that Krypton-85 could be responsible for creating mid-ocean perturbations, triggering much bigger storms and hurricanes such as Katrina that devastated the coastline of America’s Gulf shore, New Orleans included, in August 2005.
I am no atmospheric scientist, but have heard this argument over the impact of increasing krypton-85 releases, put forward by Dr Peter Taylor at a Conference on the Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant (Thorp) at Sellafield, held at Liverpool University in 1988.
Thorp’s operators, BNFL ( now managing the reprocessing plant under contract for the atomic quango, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority) were told to build into Thorp during construction in the 1980s a krypton-85 filtration plant, but they declined to do so due to excessive costs. Could that decision be proved very short sighted?
It may be counter-intuitive, but just maybe going nuclear might exascerbate climate change, not mitigate it, as the IPPC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change)scientific panel has argued today (4 May) in Bangkok in Thailand.
I suggest that anyone wanting to follow-up this issue further contact MILKAS directly – they have several very good English speakers – at informilkas@gmail.com, or telephone : +46 31 42 46 64, or visit their web site at http://www.milkas.se
Dr David Lowry
environmental policy and research consultant
Stoneleigh
Surrey
http://www.powerswitch.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4169&sid=1e0e3e86d87ed468a6de232716b9a79b
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Nuclear plant emissions may be affecting climate
http://www.rivm.nl/bibliotheek/rapporten/500116003.pdf
Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency
MNP Report 500116003/2007
The effect of a nuclear energy expansion strategy in Europe on
health damages from air pollution
J.C. Bollen and H.C. Eerens
Quote:
Textbox 1: Krypton-85 accumulation in the atmosphere
Krypton-85 is a long-lived radioactive isotope which is naturally released into the atmosphere in small quantities (Harrison and Apsimon, 1994), approximately 5.2 1013 Bq/yr and, in larger quantities artificially (1017-1018 Bq/yr). It has steadily accumulated in the atmosphere since 1945 (from <0.2 Bg/m3), when anthropogenic nuclear activities started, and reaches 1.3 Bq/m3 nowadays.
Ion production
The principal concern with krypton-85 release is not a radiological/medical one, as population doses are small (Boeck, 1976), but the possible disturbance of the global electrical system (Legasov et al, 1984, Tertyshnik et al., 1977). It is known from nuclear weapon testing (Huzita, 1966) that atmospheric radioactivity increases air’s natural conductivity.
The conductivity of air is proportional to the (small) ion concentration. These ions are formed naturally in atmospheric air at a rate (near the surface) of about 10 ion-pairs cm-3 s-1 (Chalmers, 1967). There are three major sources of these ions: airborne alpha radiation, cosmic rays and terrestrial gamma radiation. Near the Earth’s surface, gamma radiation from the soil is the chief source of ionization, due to the nuclear decay in the Earth’s crust. This accounts for about 80% of the ionization near the surface. The remaining ionization is caused by cosmic rays, whose intensity increases greatly with height. Ionization over the oceans is considerably lower, since there is no gamma contribution and a greatly reduced amount of airborne alpha radiation.
Removal
The removal of ions can take place through two mechanisms: ion-ion recombination and ion-aerosol attachment. In the last case the particles become electrically charged (Fuchs, 1963). In the steady state, the bipolar ion production rate q per unit volume and the ion loss rates are balanced, given by (Harrison and Apsimon, 1994): q-αn2-βnZ=0
(1) Where α is defined as the ion-ion recombination coefficient (1.6,10-6 cm3.s-1, e.g. Gringel et al, 1978) and β is the
attachment coefficient between an ion and aerosol particle. β depends on the aerosol particle radius and charge (Gunn, 1954). Z is aerosol particle number concentration per unit volume, and n is the average ion number concentration. At higher aerosol concentration (i.e. 10 μg/m3 with 0.2 μm radius particles) n is dominated by aerosol-ion attachments. From the formula it becomes clear that a change in conductivity can occur due to an increase in the production rate q (by, for
example the additional ionization caused by krypton-85) or a change in aerosol concentration (increase will decrease conductivity).
Change in conductivity by krypton-85
The amount of extra ionization caused by the beta radiation can be found by using the average beta energy (0.249 MeV) for krypton-85. For a krypton-85 concentration of Ckr Bq/m3 the ionization rate is:
qkr=(2.49.105/35).Ckr.
(2) Assuming a surface ionization rate qo of 10 ion-pairs cm-3.s-1 the change in ion production is:
dq/q0 = 7.11.10-4 Ckr.
(3) Over the oceans, where q0 is about one-fifth of its continental value, the fractional change will be corresponding larger. The concentration of krypton falls with density (height) of air:
Ckr(z)= c(0)e-z/8561, where c(0) is the surface concentration.
(4) Combining ion production from the crust and cosmic ray, a maximum share of krypton-85 ion production can be expected at a height of 500-1500m, about twice the value at the surface and at a surface concentration of 1.3 Bq/m3 , a change of 2‰ in ion concentration at 1000 m can be expected . Locally, near a nuclear waste processing plant, the share can increase to approximately 20% (Clarke, 1979). Note that the conductivity above mountainous (remote) areas (Antarctic, Himalaya, determines the Earths resistance and interaction with the ionsphere.
Consequence for the atmospheric system
• It is generally assumed, although surrounded with some uncertainty and controversial (Illingworth and Latham, 1975), that thunderstorms provide the earth with a small negative charge. The slight conductivity of the atmosphere (see above) creates a small, opposite “fair weather current” (E= + 100 V.m-1, J ~2 pA.m-2 at the surface). Considering the earth as a spherical capacitor (with Ct ~2.8 Farads) it would lose it’s charge (τ ~667 s) in about an hour. The earth needs therefore continuously be charged by approximately 2000 thunderstorms
(Schonland, 1953). A change of 0.1% could therefore be compared with the equivalent of two continually active thunderstorms. The interaction between an increasing conductivity and thunderstorms remains unclear although there are suggestions (Spangler and Rosenkilde, 1979) that it would weaken thunderstorm lighting.
• Recently there have been some suggestions that charged ions can, even at small concentrations, can have a (substantial?) effect on the formation of certain type’s of clouds (Marsh and Svensmark; 2000, Harrison, 2000; Carslaw et al., 2002) . If confirmed this would imply that a changing concentration of krypton-85 could affect to some extent the earth’s climate.
http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=169683
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Here are three photos I took in June, IIRC.
https://picasaweb.google.com/107442207705940975209/DropBox?authkey=Gv1sRgCIPUupOFy_PTBg
These were not skies I was used to seeing at that time of year here and I hinted in a blog post that I thought it might be indicative of “something” — for which I was immediately taken to task by a troll for alarmism concerning a “normal event.” But the link provided led me to look around on weather sites and I found many people were taking similar photos and wondering at them. They were all shot in Northern California, Oregon, Washington, and BC. This sort of thing does increase one’s paranoia about aerosols, so I don’t see TG’s speculations as inappropriate. I was very glad when the phenomenon faded, which was about the time the jet stream moved away. I wish I had documented it better.
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The blue one’s are much better for this type of episode !
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Idaho fire prompts evacuation of nuclear facility
Friday, 26 August 2011 07:11 | Written by Reuters: Environment | | |
By Laura Zuckerman
SALMON, Idaho | Fri Aug 26, 2011 1:57am EDT
SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) – Firefighters struggled on Thursday to control a fast-growing 28,000-acre wildfire raging within several miles of spent nuclear fuel stored at a U.S. Energy Department lab in the high desert of eastern Idaho.
The growth and intensity of the blaze, the nation’s largest active wildfire, prompted the Idaho National Laboratory to order a key facility on the 890-square-mile site evacuated of all nonessential personnel, lab officials said.
The Materials and Fuels Complex, about 38 miles from Idaho Falls, consists of facilities for handling, processing and examining spent nuclear fuel, irradiated materials and radioactive wastes, according to the lab’s website.
Technicians perform this work with remotely operated tools and equipment placed inside shielded chambers to contain contamination and radiation.
Fire crews were taking preventive measures to safeguard the facility’s buildings, which are also surrounded by buffer zones of gravel or sand, lab spokesman Ethan Huffman said.
A statement issued late Thursday by the lab, which employs roughly 6,000 people, including contractors, added: “There is no known radiological hazard to the public at this time.”
Earlier in the day, nearly 50 firefighters from the lab and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management focused their efforts on protecting a separate facility where spent nuclear rods are stored, according to the lab.
Additional radioactive rods are kept cooled in storage ponds farther to the south at a site called the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center.
The center’s workers “have taken shelter at the facility as a precaution,” the lab said in a late update without further explanation.
“They’re fighting (the fire) from all directions at the moment; winds are changing every minute,” lab spokeswoman Sara Prentice said Thursday afternoon.
The exact distance between the leading edge of the rapidly spreading blaze and various facilities on the laboratory grounds, which also includes three working reactors, was not precisely known Thursday night, lab officials said.
But flames did reach to within several miles of sites where spent nuclear fuel is kept, including the Materials and Fuels Complex and the so-called Naval Reactors Facility.
CAUSE UNDER INVESTIGATION
Thursday’s blaze at the lab came three days after crews extinguished an earlier fire that burned through sagebrush and grasslands on the northwest edge of property.
Government officials said that blaze was sparked by a vehicle with a blown tire dragging its metal rim along the pavement of a state highway near the laboratory.
The cause of the new blaze was under investigation. It is one of five wildfires that erupted in eastern Idaho on Thursday amid lightning strikes, high temperatures and strong winds.
Fires have charred tens of thousands of acres across Idaho and the Northern Rockies in recent days, including parts of Montana, Yellowstone National Park and northwestern Wyoming.
The National Weather Service on Thursday heightened fire warnings for the region because of soaring temperatures, dwindling humidity and predicted lightning storms with wind gusts of up to 35 miles per hour.
Hot, dry, windy conditions also posed difficulties on Thursday for the 170 firefighters assigned to a separate fire blazing out of control in forested high country of east-central Idaho and western Montana.
The Saddle Complex blaze, which has scorched 21,100 acres in Idaho’s Salmon-Challis National Forest and the Bitterroot National Forest of Montana, was burning with such intensity and in such rugged terrain that fire bosses deemed it unsafe to launch an attack except by air.
“These aren’t the kind of conditions you put people in,” U.S. Forest Service spokesman Bob MacGregor said.
Ground crews on Thursday worked to protect 30 outlying homes and establish perimeters in advance of oncoming flames.
Authorities in Montana told residents of 50 houses west of Darby to prepare for evacuation, and smoke in the Bitterroot Valley prompted health officials to advise small children and people with respiratory or heart problems to stay indoors.
(Editing by Steve Gorman, Jerry Norton and Cynthia Johnston)
Read more http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/BIhdtGnxsO4/us-wildfires-idaho-idUSTRE77O8ES20110826
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Idaho National Laboratory
Home of the SL-1 reactor “accident”.
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5 hours ago
Windy conditions accelerated the T-17 fire, which has now burned approximately 18,000 acres. Sustained winds of 17 to 20 miles per hour with gusts of up to 25 miles per hour have been reported.
Now…
The fire has now burned 28,000 acres.
[link to http://www.kpvi.com
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(Reuters) – Firefighters struggled on Thursday to control a 1,000-acre wildfire burning within several miles of a storage area for spent nuclear fuel at a U.S. Energy Department lab in the high desert of eastern Idaho.
Thursday’s blaze at the Idaho National Laboratory comes three days after crews extinguished an earlier fire that burned through sagebrush and grasslands on the northwest edge of the 890-square-mile complex, which contains three active reactors.
Lab officials said on Thursday that neither fire posed any risk of radiation releases.
Dozens of firefighters from the lab and from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management were battling the new wildfire, which flared several miles from a facility where spent nuclear rods are stored, according to the lab. Additional radioactive rods are kept cooled in storage ponds further to the south.
“They’re fighting it from all directions at the moment; winds are changing every minute,” lab spokeswoman Sara Prentice told Reuters.
In addition to conducting nuclear energy research and development, the lab accepts spent radioactive fuel rods from power plants and other sources across the nation.
The nuclear materials are to remain stockpiled at the complex until the federal government develops a permanent storage site for high-level nuclear waste, according to the lab and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Officials said the cause of the blaze is under investigation.
It is one of five wildfires that erupted in eastern Idaho on Thursday amid lightning strikes, high temperatures and strong winds.
Wildfires have charred tens of thousands of acres across Idaho and the Northern Rockies in recent days, including parts of Montana, Yellowstone National Park and northwestern Wyoming.
The National Weather Service on Thursday heightened fire warnings for the region because of soaring temperatures, dwindling humidity and predicted lightning storms with wind gusts of up to 35 miles per hour.
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Hi Tacoma, thanks! Very irritating, I didn’t know there was also a nuke lab in Idaho!
Very disturbing.
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Tacoma, while you’re here: this might be just for you
http://www.adbusters.org/blogs/adbusters-blog/occupywallstreet.html
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ty.
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Fukushima caesium leaks ‘equal 168 Hiroshimas’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDPAFRQMbCk
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RADIATION: China Tests Pacific Waters At 29x Limit Strontium
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV2CdLaGd3A
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The Geigers and graphs are now showing
The country is practically glowing.
If you thought that the rain
Was a bit of a pain
Just wait til it’s hailing and snowing.
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OH, THANK YOU.
i loved that.
you are for real; a real live poet de-jour
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and Administrator, we don’t have a ‘report this post’ button any more. There are at least three here that need it.
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Why not put that in the tips submission? Here’s the headline.
BREAKING: post whatever you want! No moderation!
Or you could get all offended.. Either way, eh…
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Maybe the mass of reported comments brought the server down?
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Million dollar shot from space – the eye of Irene over Central Park.
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Tacoma, huggies, keep it comin’…
Irradiated Cali,
please assert a point of info for us,
I think it would benefit everybody
to consider your situation:
You have viewed the ongoing info about
fallout evidence such as the San Diego
isotopes recently, the milk, grass,
other agro reports. Drinking vs. rainwaterreports
and now, at mid-term preggy status,
a big question: Do you chance further
invasive radiation probes like the
CAT scan or ultrasound or PET scan
to check for baby health clues? OR,
or choose NOT to expose mom and child to
any more electronic anything bearing
any radiation risk?
whaddaya think? How about Airports?
You gonna let the Gangster TSA blast
you with their lowest-bidder deadly
electronics? You think THEY care about
your baby?
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It’s only a matter of time before nuclear power gets shut down forever in the United States, due to itself and those who run it. It’s a self-limiting thing, it would appear. Fukushima has destroyed the livability and useability of a large part of the Japanese mainland. Millions of Japanese are going to get cancer. The same thing is going to happen to the US at some point. Even if the industry had the integrity it should, the reactors are still easy targets for terrorists as well as geophysical attack. Natural forces or not, it would appear from this spot-on earthquake and zeroing-in hurricane that there is a too-high possibility our Congressional representatives may end up actually eating fallout from the industry they have mollycoddled and protected.
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americancommentr, nuke plants are money machines. They print dollars. The older they are, the more money they print (in Europe, a 30-yr-old plant puts 1 Mio. € a DAY in their pockets).
The greedy bastads will not allow this money to be taken away from them. They’d rather pay some more studies to prove radiation doesn’t cause cancer.
Do you really want to wait?
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Pretty sure people understand the concept that radiation causes cancer, regardless of any studies. More tricky is the concept of using more radiation to treat cancer.
I believe what these studies your referring to quote prove/say is that the radiation released in the miniscule amounts from these plants, albeit during normal operations , don’t correlate to significant increases in cancer, near the plant or farther away. Obviously the farther away you are the less of the risk. Now if their is catastrophic failure at the plant, the radiation will undoubtedly increase, along with the risk of exposure to the radiation.
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Radiation used for cancer kills cells period. The aftereffects of radiation therapy are a multiple of side effects, any of which can kill you. The cure rate is based on 5 years. They won’t tell you the 10 year statistic rate.
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So sounds like a lose lose in the medical department, as i was alluding too.
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“A 40-year old woman who has a coronary CT scan has a 1 in 270 chance of getting cancer from that single scan. This statistic doubles for a 20 year old Woman.” (most people don’t know this)
http://electricsense.com/1644/what-about-ct-scan-radiation/
or…
“The new study also found no association between intrauterine exposure to ultrasound scans and childhood cancer.” (…as compared to those of x-rays)
“A slight increase was reported in the risk of all cancers, mainly leukemia, following intrauterine exposure to x-ray, the study found.”
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/165038.html
I am not saying all CT or X-Ray scans are bad, I just feel people should be better informed as to the risk. People had their teeth pulled for centuries without getting an x-ray. You, as the patient, have the right to refuse.
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Last thing they just said on news channels is that it is only category 2…105 mph max winds.
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I like this article says something about 128+ mph winds, but the graphic shown from NOAA, says the hurricans max sustained winds are 100…this site is being more and more ridiculous by the hour.
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/storm_graphics/AT09/refresh/AL0911_PROB64_F120_sm2+gif/152238.gif
This graphic shows wind speed and is a more telling tale.
Once past the north carloina south carloina border( where the plant is), there is a 20% chance of the wind speeds being on a one minute average 74 mph…..
Nothing to see here move along.
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glad i can spell carolina LOL atleast i was consistent
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New York City forecast:
Saturday Night: Tropical storm conditions possible, with hurricane conditions also possible. Rain. The rain could be heavy at times. Low around 67. East wind 30 to 35 mph increasing to between 40 and 50 mph. Winds could gust as high as 60 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts in excess of 4 inches possible.
Sunday: Hurricane conditions possible. Rain, mainly before 4pm. The rain could be heavy at times. High near 77. North wind 55 to 75 mph decreasing to between 45 and 55 mph. Winds could gust as high as 90 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts in excess of 4 inches possible.
Looks like Indian Point will be rockin’.
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Fading a lit bit:
http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/tracking/at201109_5day.html
Due to moving over cooler water?
Fine by me.
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Mass transit to close Sat.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/27/nyregion/new-york-city-begins-evacuations-before-hurricane.html?_r=1&hp
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