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17 Mar 2011 10:34

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World: Tokyo’s dealing with their energy drama fairly well so far

  • yes the trains are running slower and less frequently in Tokyo, in an effort to save energy
  • no authorities don’t expect Tokyo’s power to go out despite higher usage in the wake of cold weather
  • yes people in Tokyo have gotten stuck in elevators as the result of rolling blackouts source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Mar 2011 10:21

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World: Japan, out of options, tries crop-dusting Fukushima

Know how bad things have gotten at Fukushima? Well, now the Japanese military is dumping seawater out of a helicopter onto the nuclear plant. This seems unfortunate. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Mar 2011 22:08

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World: Losing track of Japan’s nuclear situation? Here’s a video recap.

  • Courtesy of The Daily, this is an excellent two-minute video summarizing the events at Fukushima’s nuclear reactor in Japan, complete with icons, a timeline, and fancy zooming maps. It’s current up to this morning, and to the good folks at The Daily, bravo. It’s really helpful to have such a complex series of events distilled down into such an easily digestible nugget. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Mar 2011 10:41

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Biz, World: The single most cringe-worthy quote on Japan you’ll see today

  • Japan has some of its industry curtailed, like auto and steel — but that’s not going to last too long. People are starting to realize that there [sic] economy is not going to be shut down for long — and they’re going to have to start to look for alternative fuel sources.
  • INFA Energy Brokers CEO Brad Schaeffer • Suggesting that Japan will have to switch its energy sources to an alternative source. But Schaeffer means “alternative” in the way one might call a band like Nickelback “alternative” — see, he thinks that Japan should move to oil. “Remember, they need to get their nation back on their feet,” he says. “They aren’t worrying about their carbon footprint so much. They’re thinking we need to get oil here now – so we can get our generators up and running.” While there’s some grain of truth here, we wonder how much of what he’s saying is wishful thinking, seeing that he’s the CEO of an energy-brokering company. Quotes like these? They seriously make us cringe. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Mar 2011 10:29

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World: Japan’s Sendai quake could prove insanely expensive

  • $200 billion the potential cost of the direct effects from the earthquake to Japan, one of the world’s largest economies; power outages could make things worse
  • $626 billion the amount of market value Tokyo’s stock market lost on Monday and Tuesday; it recovered somewhat on Wednesday source
  • » If this is true: This makes this the most expensive earthquake in Japan’s history, handily topping the $100 billion cost of the 1995 Kobe earthquake.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Mar 2011 23:39

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World: Fukushima update: Radiation briefly reaches one sievert an hour

  • 1,000 the level the radioactivity reached near the Fukushima reactor, in milli-sieverts per hour – which is a new high, by far
  • 800-600 the level the radioactivity fell to not much longer after that, in milli-sieverts per hour; this is still far more than average source
  • » For context: Please check out our various updates here, here, here, and here.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Mar 2011 10:56

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World: Tracking radiation levels in Tokyo: A minorly scary photo

  • Photo of the day: “A radiation detector marks 0.6 micro-sieverts, exceeding normal levels Tuesday, near Shibuya train station in Tokyo. Concern over possible radiation exposure has increased after a fourth reactor released radiation, Tuesday.” To compare – this level is higher than average, but only a tiny percentage of what’s happening at the plant. 1,000 micro-sieverts per hour equals one milli-sievert per hour. So this is high, but still minor. (Kyodo News/AP) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

15 Mar 2011 10:28

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World: UPDATE: Fukushima’s radiation levels drop significantly

  • 11.9 the current peak radiation count, in milli-sieverts per hour
  • 400 the peak radiation count in milli-sieverts per hour – which was hit last night
  • 300k the peak mSv/hour count at Chernobyl – to keep things in check source
  • » It’s no longer at its peak, and that’s a good thing: The International Atomic Energy Agency says that the decrease happened over a six-hour period. And the IAEA makes a good point that you should keep in mind. “This is a high dose-level value, but it is a local value at a single location and at a certain point in time,” they say. In other words, even if you’re within the 20-mile radius where radiation is likely to hit, the level will most assuredly be far lower than these peak levels. It’s still high, though – one milli-sievert per hour is equal to the yearly legal limit of radiation you’re supposed to get. (see our earlier posts about this topic here and here)
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Mar 2011 23:40

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World: UPDATE: What does “400 times annual legal limit” mean?

  • 400 the amount of radiation in the air, in milli-sieverts per hour, according to the given estimate
  • 40 the amount of radiation that is, in roentgen per hour – which, don’t get us wrong, is very high
  • 30k the amount of radiation in Chernnobyl had – which Fukushima doesn’t touch source
  • » This is an extremely large jump: One milli-sievert per hour is the legal annual limit for radiation in a year. Our earlier estimate showed a level of 8,217 micro-sieverts. 1,000 micro-sieverts equals 1 milli-sievert. So we went from 8,000 to 400,000 in a couple of hours. This is still no Chernobyl, but this is a huge jump. If it jumps to 1,000,000 micro-sieverts, it leads to radiation sickness – and then we’re in trouble.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Mar 2011 21:13

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World: Some quick math: How does Fukushima compare to Chernobyl?

  • » To explain: This number comparison is to emphasize the difference between an actual going-to-kill-us-all meltdown and what’s happening in Fukushima. While things could get worse from here, right now, the worst of what’s happening in Fukushima is 0.002739 percent as bad as the worst of the Chernobyl disaster. 400 rontgen is enough radiation to kill you. 10,000 micro-sievert equals 1 rontgen. Chernobyl was pushing out 30,000 rontgen per hour at its core – enough to kill someone in 48 seconds. This is an important point to make – while levels are higher than normal, this is extremely minor on the scale of a real disaster. Oh, and one more thing – Fukushima only hit its 8,217 micro-sievert peak for a very short period. Chernobyl’s level was sustained.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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