So the advantage of living in a place that has relatively frequent earthquakes, like California, is that people KNOW they have to build for earthquakes.

The current nuclear disaster in Japan has everyone considering the risks of nuclear power right here at home. Our current energy dependence on coal, oil and nuclear power basically is focused on some of the most toxic, nasty energy sources around. The nuclear industry is arguing that even in the worst case scenario, nuclear power is still overall not as bad as coal and oil when you take into account all risks. I am pretty sure they are ignoring the whole mining and transport of the fuel, but they have a point that oil and coal are pretty damned bad too. So to me the solution is avoiding BOTH and focus on cleaner, safer energy sources like wind, solar, methane from waste, etc.

But be that as it may, America has 104 nuclear power plants, mostly from the 1960's and 1970's. These plants are built pretty well. But as was shown in Japan, even when you know the risks it is hard to plan for the worst case scenario. The combination of a 9.0 earthquake and massive tsunami were too much for even fairly well built plants in Japan.  read more »

[NOTE: Videos seem to have disappeared in the Daily Gotham version...not sure why but it sure detracts from the impact if the diary]

The opening scenes of the Japanese Anime movie, Whisper of the Heart (Mimi o Sumaseba) shows the distant skyline of Tokyo, as seen from the suburb of West Tokyo, emerging from the evening mist. The first images give you a feeling of an almost endless city, overwhelming yet beautiful in the morning mist, then normal street scenes of life in West Tokyo...all accompanied, seemingly incongruously, with a version of John Denver's "Country Roads."

(From the English dubbed version's opening scenes)

To me those opening scenes of Whisper of the Heart always brings a nostalgic tear to my eye because it captures perfectly what life in Japan is like. As I see the scenes from Japan now, after such devastation, I can't get these scenes out of my head.  read more »

Haiti is one of the poorest nations on earth. Yet it has a noble history and could have been part of America. It as founded by a successful slave revolt and was even able to stand up to Napoleon's armies when he tried to retake the nation. Early in its history there was talk of absorbing it as a state in the United States, yet of course the divide over slavery within the United States made it impossible to accept a nation that had been formed by a successful slave revolt. We did not even afford them diplomatic relations for a long time.  read more »

(Note: Cross-posted from my website.)

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.”
– Matthew, 5:3

An enormous earthquake, followed by a long string of very powerful aftershocks, hit Haiti yesterday. Reports are still just beginning to come out of that bleak country, but it appears that the number of dead will be in the tens, or possibly hundreds, of thousands. In addition, as many as three million people are left without homes, without belongings, and possibly without hope.

Despite the enormous suffering and the hideous, horrifying situation the Haitians are facing, Pat Robertson – televangelist, hypocrite and pathetic excuse for a human being – said that this was the result of a “pact with the devil” made by Haitian slaves who overthrew their French overlords over 200 years ago. I’m not a physically violent person, and I have never truly wished to see someone die slowly and agonizingly, but for Pat Robertson I may be willing to make an exception.

Haiti is the poorest nation in the western hemisphere, and has been for two centuries. Even before the earthquake, the country had little hope of ever advancing beyond its pitiable condition. It didn’t have to be – when Christopher Columbus landed on the island now known as Hispaniola, it was a lush, beautiful place. How, then, did the eastern two-thirds, now called the Dominican Republic, become merely poor, while the western third, called Haiti, become so impoverished?  read more »