Official Gubmint Policy: Don't Worry, Be Happy

We've been told that the stored, spent fuel rods' cooling pools are comprimised and the cooling water system for them is non-functional.  That alone will lead to increasing radiation as the water remaining in the pools boils off.

I think this might be to do with deliberate releases of pressure, but it's hard to say since FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) has kicked in.

Understanding a little about what has happened to the containments and the cooling systems, it's difficult to imagine how radiation levels could be dropping.

and by way of comparison, the radiation levels at Chernobyl:

According to (cough) Tepco, the radiation at Fukushima is at around 0.004 Sieverts per hour.

long, but staggering documentary about Chernobyl

As did many at Chernobyl, in full knowledge of what they were doing. That's true bravery.

As did many at Chernobyl, in full knowledge of what they were doing. That's true bravery.

Japanese nuclear worker on the news: "I am prepared to die to avoid meltdown."

This letter, touching as it is, is all over the internet. I don't know its original source, but if you google it, you will see it pop up in many sites. It may be real, but it's not from the source that Rose quoted.

This is outstanding. Truly wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing, it really puts a face on the tragedy.

Edit: I would like to post the letter to FB. I think everybody could learn something from this one simple letter. I won't post it without prior approval though. Thank you.

A letter from a friend in my town:

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A letter from a friend in my town:

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From my cousin in Sendai, Japan where she has lived for the past decade teaching English.

Hello My Lovely Family and Friends, 

First I want to thank you so very much for your concern for me. I am very touched. I also wish to apologize for a generic message to you all. But it seems the best way at the moment to get my message to you.

Things here in Sendai have been rather surreal. But I am very blessed to  have wonderful friends who are helping me a lot. Since my shack is even  more worthy of that name, I am now staying at a friend’s home. We share  supplies like water, food and a kerosene heater. We sleep lined up in one room, eat by candlelight, share stories. It is warm, friendly, and beautiful.

During the day we help each other clean up the mess in our homes. People sit in their cars, looking at news on their navigation screens, or line up to get drinking water when a source is open. If someone has water running in their home, they put out a sign so people can come to fill up their jugs  and buckets.

Utterly amazingly where I am there has been no looting, no pushing in  lines. People leave their front door open, as it is safer when an  earthquake strikes. People keep saying, “Oh, this is how it used to be in the old days when everyone helped one another.”

Quakes keep coming. Last night they struck about every 15 minutes. Sirens  are constant and helicopters pass overhead often.

We got water for a few hours in our homes last night, and now it is for  half a day. Electricity came on this afternoon. Gas has not yet come on. 

But all of this is by area. Some people have these things, others do not.  No one has washed for several days. We feel grubby, but there are so much  more important concerns than that for us now. I love this peeling away of  non-essentials. Living fully on the level of instinct, of intuition, of caring, of what is needed for survival, not just of me, but of the entire group.

There are strange parallel universes happening. Houses a mess in some  places, yet then a house with futons or laundry out drying in the sun.

People lining up for water and food, and yet a few people out walking their dogs. All happening at the same time.

Other unexpected touches of beauty are first, the silence at night. No cars. No one out on the streets. And the heavens at night are scatteredwith stars. I usually can see about two, but now the whole sky is filled.

The mountains of Sendai are solid and with the crisp air we can see them silhouetted against the sky magnificently.

And the Japanese themselves are so wonderful. I come back to my shack to check on it each day, now to send this e-mail since the electricity is on, and I find food and water left in my entranceway. I have no idea fromwhom, but it is there. Old men in green hats go from door to door checking to see if everyone is OK. People talk to complete strangers asking if they need help. I see no signs of fear. Resignation, yes, but fear or panic,  no.

They tell us we can expect aftershocks, and even other major quakes, for another month or more. And we are getting constant tremors, rolls, shaking, rumbling. I am blessed in that I live in a part of Sendai that is a bit elevated, a bit more solid than other parts. So, so far this area is better off than others.  Last night my friend’s husband came in from the  country, bringing food and water. Blessed again.

Somehow at this time I realize from direct experience that there is indeed an enormous Cosmic evolutionary step that is occurring all over the world  right at this moment. And somehow as I experience the events happening now in Japan, I can feel my heart opening very wide. My brother asked me if I  felt so small because of all that is happening. I don’t. Rather, I feel as part of something happening that much larger than myself. This wave of birthing (worldwide) is hard, and yet magnificent.

Thank you again for your care and Love of me,

With Love in return, to you all,

A letter from a friend in my town:

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