March 1, 2013

Toon: Scalia and Fox News

March 1, 2013

Inside the abandoned radioactive towns of Japan

By Christian Storm



You might remember that way back in March 2011, a major tsunami struck the northeast shores of Japan, devastating the country and causing the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant's cooling systems to break down, which resulted in the worst nuclear meltdown since Chernobyl. Even if you don't recall that disaster, photographer Toshiya Watanabe does. His family home, Namie, where his mother and cousins still lived, was directly in the path of both the rising waters and the waves of radiation that came after. Nowadays, the town and all the others like it in the disaster zone sit abandoned, unchanged in the past two years, like a ghost town where the ghosts are nuclear-charged stray dogs and cattle. Toshiya has traveled back to his hometown many times, documenting the changes he saw, or lack thereof. We chatted with him about visiting the "no-go zone" that is now his hometown.

VICE: Hey, Toshiya. I know you weren't there, but what did your family tell you about what the day of the tsunami was like?
Toshiya Watanabe: After the earthquake and the tsunami that followed, my family, together with other people in town, spent the night at the local gym. The trouble hadn't started at the nuclear power plant then, so at dawn, everyone started helping those whose houses had been hit by the tsunami. Although the damages from the tsunami were great, no one could imagine the worst that was still to come. On March 12, the day after the tsunami hit, the government announced that residents within six and a half miles of the nuclear power plant needed to evacuate immediately. There was no time to pick up their belongings; people just left in cars and buses. The first explosion at the plant happened at three in the afternoon that day.



What motivated you to go back and photograph your hometown? Were you allowed to be there?
Two months after the meltdown at the nuclear power plant, no one could go within 12 miles of the power plant without permission. When I first got permission to go back on June 12, I thought it could be the last time I'd ever visit there, so I thought I had to record as much as I could of my hometown. Since then, I was given permission to go back in November 2011, as well as April, June, and September of 2012. I went back with my mother to get things she needed, and while tidying up, I made more pictures. I just wanted to document how my hometown was changing, or not changing, nothing more.

What was it like to see the place where you used to live completely empty of humans? It looks like something out of a zombie movie.
When I first went there, time had stopped and everything was just the way it was when the tsunami hit. A town I was so familiar with felt like a science-fiction movie set all of a sudden. I remember feeling dizzy a few times.There were no people there, only the sound of the wind and birds, and when I closed my eyes, it felt like I was standing in the middle of a forest.

more
http://www.vice.com/read/inside-the-abandoned-radioactive-towns-of-japan

March 1, 2013

Wow- Another photo of Chinese Air pollution- The republican model for our future

At left, a view of downtown Beijing on a clear day. At right, the same view on Wednesday night, U.S. east coast time. Click to enlarge. (Photos by Bill Bishop)

China’s air pollution has been bad lately. Really, really bad. We’ve posted photos of it before, but the above shot really drives home how severe this has gotten.

Both photos were taken in Beijing by Bill Bishop, who runs an excellent all-things-China e-mail newsletter called Sinocism (go subscribe). The photo on the left shows his view on a clear day. That tall building is the mammoth China World Trade Center Tower III.

On the right is a photo of the same view, taken late on Wednesday, U.S. East Coast time, or about 8 a.m. Beijing time. The 81-story skyscraper is all but invisible, shrouded by a layer of pollution so dense that even close-up objects are a blur.
Air pollution is gauged by a measurement called particles per cubic meter of air, sometimes abbreviated PM2.5 because it measures particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers wide. The higher the PM2.5 rating, the more dangerous particles are in the high, the worse the air is for your health.

To give you a sense of scale, there’s a big controversy in Utah right now because the PM2.5 air pollution in Salt Lake City has sometimes hit as high as 69. That number is considered unhealthy. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, even adults should avoid all outdoor activities if the count hits 300. In Beijing and other Chinese cities, the air pollution rating can spend days hovering around 500.

more
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/02/28/the-most-shocking-photo-of-beijing-air-pollution-ive-ever-seen/