Cesium to Begin Falling on Pacific NW States

Very interesting link, Anonymous. It will be interesting to cross check the "SERES" Japan forecasts with "weatherimages.org's" Japan jet stream forecasts to see how well the Japan to North America wind patterns for these two forecasters correlate.

http://www.weatherimages.org/data/imag192.html

Is it safe to fly through the plum? I live in Seattle too and I am thinking evacuate to Dallas for my child's sake, stay there for several wks, or just settle there if things do not get better. Taxes seems to be a good place to be since it's further south. by looking at the wind pattern map, it's better protected somehow...I am feeling so guilty though to leave my Hubby behind due to his job..

Does anyone here know if it's safe to fly at the hight of the plum? Is the air in airplane totally isolated from outside air? or is it better to stay put here at the groud level and stay inside instead?

Thanks so much!

Concerned Mom

Deliberate is accurate. "Dilution is the solution to pollution," is the scientific mantra to dealing with with these situations, (as I was told recently when speaking to a UCLA scientist). Diliberate dilution... through the food chain, through the jet stream, through the Pacific Ocean... all these avenues serve as means to dilute the high levels of radioactivity to a level where they may be manageable. This does not mean that the Japanese government is intentionally poisoning the world, it does mean that they are choosing (often through inaction, often through the routes taken) to distribute this radiation far and wide, in the hopes of saving their own backsides. I think that they believe they have no choice, if they are to retain any hope for the future of the Japanese nation... this disaster is simply too huge and too out of control for them to manage. I think it is naiive that many on this and other discussion sites keep posting, (in incredulity to the hideous missteps and seemingly incomprehensible choices that TEPCO and the Japanese government have made in dealing with this mess), "perhaps they do not know what they are doing." In the early days TEPCO panicked & fled the site, missing the critical opportunity to possibly contain this beast. Those opportunities are gone. This has created/and continues to create so much radioactive waste... where are the Japanese to store it? They are geographically constrained. Mind you, I think they need to make the morally correct decision and designate some wasteland in THEIR territory to store, in perpetuity, the debris... however, that does not appear to be the decision that they are making, and our own government is apparently backing them on this.

Perhaps the reason is that, in the first days of this disaster, the Obama regime transferred the authority/responsibility for responding to this from the EPA to the NRC. A move that should make all of us suspicious, given that the EPA is mandated to protect the public and was historically charged with the responsibility to protect the United States from foreign nuclear disasters... whereas the NRC is a nuclear industry promoter, run by nuclear industry shills. This transfer of responsibility immediately raised the radiation "levels of concern" rate from the public safety oriented EPA levels, to the crisis management and extremely hazardous NRC levels... for the entire American public. Sounds like the US and the Japanese government are using the same playbook, doesn't it. Here is a great lecture given by Daniel Hirsch, UCSB professor. It was a speech to the concerned Santa Cruz community given early in the game (mid April, I believe), before we knew the true extent of the contamination. Nevertheless, this serves as a great refresher as Hirsch gives a solid history, comments upon the US reaction/policy changes in March and gives his recommendations going forward. It's long... but well worth the time investment:
http://www.communitytv.org/programs/online/japanese-nuclear-disaster?gcl...

We cannot afford to give the Japanese government the "benefit of the doubt," on their seeming management mistakes of this catastrophe any longer. We have already accepted enough contamination/future injury while walking down that road, and it's been an ugly trip with no rest stops and no destination in sight, thus far. The world community is being injured. The world community needs to step in and protect the children of the world, as well as the children of Japan since apparently the Japanese government is willing to sacrifice them in service to their denials and lies. Is it a matter of national pride? Is it an attempt to protect the nuclear industry? I really don't care. This insanity must come to an end... and I am confident that it will not come to any sort of positive conclusion under current management.

I agree, Annette. Action is definitely needed. Here is a good place to start: Watch this video, created by a guy named Norman in Japan: http://vimeo.com/27982280

It is a summary of what has been happening in Japan since 3-11. He has created a petition to ask the Japanese government to help relocate the families of Fukushima and their children: ipetitions.com/?petition/?evacuate_fukushima/?

(As you may have read, the Japanese government had been trying to put a "happy face" on this situation, claiming it would soon be safe for families in the 20 km exclusion zone to go back home. I think their decision may have recently changed, given the high levels of contamination they are finding not only near the Fukushima plant, but in some areas as far south as Tokyo as well.)

But the dangers still exist for the children outside this arbitrary exclusion zone...and that is why they have started the petition.

So spread the word! Helping protect the most innocent among us, our children, from this terrible tragedy, is the least we can do as compassionate human beings. I can't think of a more worthwhile course of action.