Fuk-u-shima

Japanese child being checked for radiation 

            Whether it was eating dirt, planting flowers with my mom in the garden or helping my big brothers with target practice, being repeatedly pegged by paintballs, some of my greatest childhood memories were made outdoors at the house I grew up in. Imagine waking up one morning and having everything you’ve ever known taken away from you. This was the unfortunate reality for the 160,000 citizens that were displaced by the horrible Fukushima Diachii disaster that struck the Tohuku area of Japan on March 11, 2011. Families were displaced from their homes, forced to leave everything behind. Parents no longer allowed their children to play (or in my case eat) the contaminated dirt. On the three-year anniversary of this tragedy here are nuclear lessons learned for Japan as well as the rest of the world. 

                    

Wearing white protective masks and suits,
Yuzo Mihara and his wife Yuko pose for photographs
on a deserted street in the town of Namie

Killing 16,000 citizens, injuring 6,000 and leaving billions of dollars of destruction in its path, the series of unfortunate events left hundreds of thousands of people in complete dismay. The disaster began with a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, the worst earthquake in Japans history, triggering a tsunami with waves as high as 133 feet. The tsunami generated serious damage to the Fukushima Diachii Nuclear Plant, melting down three out of the six General Electric boiling water reactors. Citizens braced themselves for a complete nuclear disaster. This disaster has effected and continues to effect the environment and its inhabitants in many ways including increased radioactive cesium on land as well as in the ocean.

Takeda Miyoko poses for journalist Kim
Kyung-Hoon in her old dance Kimono 

            Located within 310 square miles of the disaster, the total economic loss of cities, towns, agricultural lands, business, homes and properties add up to $250 to $500 billion. In September 2012 a total count of 159,128 people were evicted from their homes in the exclusion zone, loosing not only their homes , but almost all of their possessions. Journalist Kim Kyung-Hoon accompanied evacuee, Takeda Miyoko, back to her now uninhabitable home in Okuma.  In this touching image, Miyoko shows the journalist her most fancy kimono and explains, with tears in her eyes, that she used to wear it for her dance performances. The beautiful kimono can no longer be worn because of radiation, the former traditional dancer will never get to wear it again.

Okuma is one of the many villages evacuated from radiation pollution. Mr. Jason Bartashius, a graduate of St. Michael’s College and, after the disaster, an activist in Japan stated in an interview, “Some 80,000 people from that area are now living in temporary housing units or have relocated to other parts of Japan.” Many people were evacuated back in 2011 but now are being told that they can return to their homes. The government plans on relocating the people of Fatuba to the city of Iwaki, which is inside the Fukushima prefecture. TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company) claim that these areas, like Iwaki,  are now safe again. Those 2 million people who have returned home to the district have all sorts of medical issues, which the government insists are unrelated to Fukushima. Idogawa, the former Mayer of Futaba, claims that this is a “violation of human rights” and that the area is not safe no matter what the government says.

An example of one of Reads pieces 

The abandoned homes now have a new dweller, radioactive cesium. Cesium contaminates soil, plants and animals. It has been detected in many Japanese food sources including spinach, tealeaves, milk and beef. Cesium-137 has a half-life of 30 years and takes 10 half-lives for any radiation to disappear. Needless to say, this radioactive disaster will be around for the next couple of centuries. There are many attempts going on to decontaminate the land affected by this catastrophe, but none have been exceedingly successful. Attempts to clean up areas are failing because once slight progress is made, rain and melting snow from the contaminated mountains trails the radioactivity directly back to the area. Geoff Read, is a British artist who organized workshops for Fukushima children. Read helped the children paint self-portraits as a way to express their feelings about the heartbreak. Read has the children paint depictions of their feelings and when they are finished, he then adds his artistic put on the drawings. “Their lives had changed in one day” Read explains in his video, “for example, they weren’t aloud to play football outside anymore, thier parents were concerned that they were just grieving the loss of play in their lives.” The art was a way for the children to feel like they were “just simply being children.” 

Image showing the dispersed radiation from Fukushima 

“A lot of sushi is consumed these days in neighboring East Asia and if it comes from Japanese waters they are going to be concerned” Johnston explains. Cesium is not only polluting the land but the water surrounding the Fukushima Diachii plant and beyond. The contamination has affected freshwater fish up to 200 miles from Fukushima. The disaster produced the largest release of radioactive material into the ocean in history. 733,000 curies of radioactive cesium were pumped into the Pacific Ocean. Fifteen months after the tragedy 56% of all fish caught were contaminated with cesium.  As well as 40% of bottom dwelling fish, including halibut and cod, were found with cesium levels higher than the Japanese regulatory limits. Fishing had been banned off the coast of Fukushima, one of the many factors taking a toll on the Japanese economy. The radiation threatens to pollute the food chain, affecting people all the way in the Asia-Pacific region.

"Fukushima wasn't a 'Japanese' nuclear accident," said Lochbaum, a nuclear engineer who worked in the industry for 17 years before joining the UCS staff. "It was a nuclear accident that happened to occur in Japan.” There are 23 nuclear reactors in the US designed exactly like those at Fukushima making them highly vulnerable to catastrophic natural disaster, system failures and terrorist attacks. Jeff Ayres, St. Michael’s College professor, the chair of the department of political science and the program director of environmental studies, stated that, “what has happened in Fukushima is an international issue”. The US nuclear reactors and emergency plans are no more equipped than the Japanese to handle such devastation.  An article published by USA today on March 9 predicted that very low levels of radiation would reach the ocean waters along the west coast by April. These levels of radiation are extremely low and will not harm humans or the environment. The University of Hawaii created a digital image showing the dispersing of nuclear waste from Fukushima over time.  

Eric Johnston, the deputy editor in Osaka for the Japanese Times, one of the biggest English news papers in Japan, stated:

If a high-tech, highly educated and highly organized society like Japan has an accident like Fukushima, what are the odds of an even worse accident occurring in other countries that lack Japan's technological and organizational strengths? And what happens if there is an accident, especially if the country involved does not have a transparent system of government?

Tokyo 2020 announcement

Johnston explains that, “Not enough is being done.”  He goes on to say, “what is clearly needed is a massive, unprecedented effort on the part of the Japanese government to tap as much available international expertise on all aspects of the Fukushima clean-up, regardless of whether or not the experts are fundamentally in favor of nuclear power.” The 2020 summer Olympics are being hosted in Tokyo, Japan just 150 miles from the Fukushima disaster. Ayers explains, “Japanese politicians in Tokyo are trying to assure everyone that they have Fukushima under control, don't worry, and `please do come to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics” when in reality the situation is not under control. The Olympics, however, will be great for Japans economy since the great loss from Fukushima. Although it will take centuries to clean up the unfortunate catastrophe at Fukushima, the Olympics may be exactly what Japan needs to pick back up.

Bibliography

Bartashius, Jason. E-mail interview. 9 Mar. 2014.

Childs, Dan. "How Fukushima May Show Up in Your Sushi." ABC News. ABC News Network, 28 May 2012. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.

Conca, James. "Radioactive Fukushima Waters Arrive At West Coast Of America." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 16 Mar. 2014. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.

"Fukushima 2014: Don't Forget (English Subtitles)." YouTube. YouTube, 10 Mar. 2014. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.

"Fukushima Radiation Killing Our Children, Govt Hides Truth - Former Mayor." - RT News. N.p., 21 Apr. 2014. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.

Johnston, Eric. E-mail interview. 11 Mar. 2014.

"'Kids Die, Govt Lie!' Ex-mayor Exposes Real Scale of Radiation in Fukushima (FULL INTERVIEW)." YouTube. YouTube, 21 Apr. 2014. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.

Kille, Leighton W. "The 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Fukushima and Japan’s Economy." Journalists Resource RSS. N.p., 18 Sept. 2013. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.

Kyung-Hoon, Kim. "Tragedy in Fukushima: When Can We Go Back to Home Again?" Photographers Blog RSS. N.p., 13 Feb. 2012. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.

Read, Geoff. "Fukushima’s Children." Kyoto Journal. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.

ROBICHON, FRANCK. The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.

POLLUTION, DAIRY FARMING AND LAKE CHAMPLAIN: Reading for Tues, April 29 (James Maroney)

Dear Rob: 

In advance of my lecture and film on the 29th, you might give this statement to your students and ask them to read the 9 pages devoted to agriculture in the Draft Phase One Plan referred to:

On page four of the 236 page Draft Phase One Plan: Lake Champlain Total Maximum Daily Load, Commissioner Mears makes this straightforward statement:

“Agriculture is the largest source of phosphorus load into Lake Champlain, estimated to be approximately forty percent of the total load. Reducing polluted runoff from farms is by far the most cost effective investment we can make in reducing phosphorus.”

To combat this problem, the Draft Phase One Plan recommends that all farms, large and small, comply with the Accepted Agricultural Practices (1995). According to Mears, the AAPs were designed “to reduce non-point pollutant discharges through implementation of improved farming techniques rather than investments in structures and equipment, however...those remediations may be of a high cost. State law requires that these practices must be practical [emphasis added] as well as cost effective for farmers to implement.”

During the near twenty years the AAPs have been in effect, lake pollution attributable to agriculture has increased dramatically. Yet, the Draft Phase One Plan devotes just 9 pages to agriculture, recommending as its most important remedy that farms comply with the Accepted Agricultural Practices (1995).

These statements, taken together, tell us the state acknowledges that agriculture is the proximate cause of lake pollution but that state law prohibits implementation of any strategy to remedy it that imposes a cost on conventional dairy.

Drill, Maybe, Drill!

Drill, Maybe, Drill.

1. Diagram of hydraulic fracturing

Albany, New York. Like the rest of our nation, New York State has been looking to a variety of industries to resuscitate our economy, and in recent years, the natural gas industry claims we have a solution in our midst, in the form of hydraulic fracturing. New York rests atop the Marsellus Shale, a massive reserve for natural gas. While Hydraulic fracturing would mean a more energy independent New York, there is a concern that fracking could negatively affect the water supply in the Empire State. Even two major New York watersheds exist within the Marsellus Shale. This past year, the New York State Assembly put hydrofracking in a moratorium state, meaning that for another year, hydrofracking will be banned. This is the third time the state government has issued this ban. While this means that hydrofracking’s usefulness will not be reevaluated until later in 2014, there still remains an active debate in the state on the part that hydrofracking could play in the lives of New Yorkers. Lobbyist groups from both sides have stated their cases in the Assembly and Senate, but there are also farmers and business groups that have voiced their support for or against hydraulic fracturing.

Hydraulic Fracturing, or hydrofracking, is a controversial form of energy extraction that is beginning to gain popularity throughout the nation. Using a high enough pressure, a collection of 600 chemicals, including mercury methanol, and hydrochloric acid, can be pushed through the Earth, cracking shale and releasing pockets of natural gas that can then be used as fuel. In all corners of the Earth, fracking has been implemented and while it has been advertised as a stimulant for struggling economies, there are those who are paying the price in the frequent mishaps of fracking wells. Everything from polluted drinking water to even earthquakes has been attributed to fracking, and reports and documentaries, including 2010’s “Gasland,” have reported on the darker side of natural gas drilling. One social media group, known as Frack Action, cited an article, which referenced a report by Michael Breitenstein from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, stated that “Breathing only a tiny amount of silica dust per day, enough, roughly, to cover Franklin Delano’s Roosevelt’s nose on a dime- can put a worker at risk for myriad health problems…”(Intelligencer.com) “Everything we have seen thus far is that it is already happening, said Travis Proulx, director of communications for Environmental Advocates of New York. “In Pennsylvania they passed a gag order law that doctors could not state their patients have been poisoned because of water contamination. Beyond the water contamination, there is the air pollution. Methane emissions at these plants are much worse than carbon, and are a thousand times greater than industry regulators had already said. There is no upside for these communities and it is a business that has a habit of getting its way.”

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2. Nirav Shah with Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Regardless of previous information that has been released, for the past one and a half years, the research as to whether or not fracking is safe has been undergone by Nirav Shah, Health Commissioner for the New York State Department of Health. All eyes have been on him and his secret research, and even organizations such as the Department of Environmental Conservation have waited to release their official stance on fracking until Shah comes up with the results. According to their own public statements, the DEC has even drafted their own regulations for fracking if the ban is lifted. This delay in the results have led groups on both sides to criticize Shah, anti frackers have seen the dangers of fracking and do not want to see something catastrophic happen in New York, and pro frackers, including Cuomo’s opponent for Governor, Republican Rob Astorino, who even said that Shah is only there to do the governor's bidding. Allegedly, because of this pressure from pro fracking organizations and politicians, Shah has decided to resign his position, while the work on fracking carries on.

 

3. Travis Proulx, Environmental Advocates of New York.

Groups in New York have been working to keep the moratorium in place, like Environmental Advocates of New York, an organization dedicated to changing environmental policy in realm of state politics and policy, and has established a network of advocacy with groups such as New Yorkers Against Fracking, who can then provide people willing to protest outside of government buildings, while they try to dissuade politicians from fracking within Albany’s state buildings. Proulx said that this network has allowed protestors to appear in droves at every event Governor Cuomo attends. But for Proulx, that has not stopped the interests of oil and gas from seeping into the pockets of Albany politicians. “We have legislators who are personally invested in fracking. Republican Senator Tom Libous, controls what bills come to the floor and decides what is voted on in the Senate. He will not let a moratorium vote if he knows it is going to pass because he is in business ties with oil and gas companies.” Currently, Cuomo will be making the executive decision whether or not to lift the ban, and for Proulx, that might be best concerning who is in the Senate. “The shady ties are rampant,” he said. “If there was a vote, the moratorium would pass in the Senate as well as the Assembly, but if someone is choosing what to vote for, they are not caring about democracy.”

4. Farmers in the Southern tier of New York, debate the usefulness of fracking.

Pro-fracking groups have been known for throwing a lot of money in the faces of politicians to see their goals achieved. Since 2007, such groups, representing companies like Chesapeake Appalachia and ExxonMobil, have "spent $64.7 million in campaign contributions and lobbying, compared to just $7.1 million spent by anti-fracking interest groups" (Campbell, polhudson.com). These groups have also been working to sway the public opinion of New Yorkers. One group that oil and gas companies have rallied behind has been farmers. In December, the New York Farm Bureau worked with its 25,000 members to shoot down a proposal by fellow farmers to oppose fracking. Jeffery Williams, director of Public Policy for the Bureau, believes that there is money to be had that can boost agriculture if farmers sell portions of their land to oil and gas. “Farmers’ relationship with oil and gas has gone back one hundred years since they have been drilling,” Williams said. “And we have heard of farmers making some good money off of natural gas drilling and reinvest that money back in the farm.” Williams is not ignorant to the news that has come out of fracking, but he believes that the DEC is putting good regulations in place so that history would not repeat itself in the Empire State. “New York can learn from the past experiences of other states in making better regulations on fracking if it is allowed,” Williams said.

5. Anti frackers protesting in Albany.

Proulx and Zachariah Ralph, a director of outreach for the Citizens Campaign of New York, a grassroots organization that works with local communities to deal with environmental issues, were skeptical of this claim. “The idea that the future of New York agriculture is dependent on this boom and bust economy (of fracking) is absurd,” Proulx said. “I get that they are struggling, but it is not because there is a lack of fracking, it is because the industry that stuck in a 19th century mindset.” Ralph also told me that as a means of battling the influence of oil and gas companies on farmers, Citizen’s Campaign has lobbied for an increase in state farm subsidies so less resort to giving up their mineral rights to land, successfully getting $19.1 million in the hands of New York farmers.  But after dealing with politicians and farms, where does that leave the rest of New York? Last fall a poll from the Siena Research Institute had found that more men than women had opposed fracking. Based on class discussion in my Civic Journalism class, it was argued that women tend to be more sympathetic to environmental issues. But according to Ralph, it might also be because fracking jobs more often go to men, so it would be men who would support such job creation. “I have friends that work on the oil rigs and it seems like it appeals more to rough and tumble masculinity,” Ralph said.

6. Map of natural gas wells in Weld County, Colorado

For me and my family, fracking and its advocates is a close to home issue, not necessarily in New York, but elsewhere. After my grandmother died in 2011, we inherited over 300 acres of land in Weld County, Colorado, of which we have the mineral rights to. But my Aunt, Pamela Walpole, has refused to give up those rights to oil and gas companies, who have pestered her with letters and phone calls, promising our family a fortune if we give in and let them frack. Walpole, a New Yorker and a devout Catholic, believes that we are “stewards of the Earth,” and practices like fracking would poison the planet she believes God has given us. “If anything were to damage the environment, I would not be for it,” Walpole said. “Sometimes you don’t know all the consequences. It looks good and it turns out to be bad but I would not do anything that would harm the generations to come by contaminating their water and destroying their land.” On top of that, Walpole, while not considering herself an expert on the subject, thinks that the focus on fossil fuels for energy is setting back our civilization from real progress, and sticking us in cycle where we do not learn from our mistakes. “Why are we still at this point in our modern civilization resorting to oil and natural gas?” Walpole said. “It bothers me that we are not looking for more environmentally sound ways to serve our energy needs.”

7. Hydrofracking well in Ohio.

New York rests at a crossroads. Either we forget this dangerous hydrofracking business, or we plunge deeper into it. The evidence is all around us, that this is not only a short term solution to a long term problem, but it has created long term consequences in the process. And while it is understandable that the state government wants to take a scientific and research based approach, it is apparent the money of oil and gas is on everyone’s mind, and the temptations of riches beneath the Earth is clogging up the flow of our state government’s ability to be rational. It is still speculated as to when Cuomo will actually make a decision, but parties on both sides believe he will wait until after his reelection campaign (Coin, Syracuse.com). An executive decision leaves us all at the mercy of one man. Those for fracking, like Williams think it will be lifted as soon as he is sworn in for a second term, but the opposition thinks that Cuomo has much more sense than that. Ralph believes that Cuomo would have a lot to answer to if he stood by fracking and then decided to run for president as speculated. “Cuomo has a strong resolve,” Ralph said “And a strong historical footprint is more important than natural gas.”

 

Works Cited

Ralph, Zachariah. Phone interview. 18 Mar. 2014.

Proulx, Travis . Phone interview. 2 Apr. 2014.

Walpole, Pamela. Phone interview. 20 Apr. 2014.

Williams, Jeffery. Phone interview. 21 Apr. 2014.

Campbell, Jon. "Report: Pro-fracking interests outspending anti-fracking groups - Politics on the Hudson." Politics on the Hudson RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. <http://polhudson.lohudblogs.com/2014/01/13/report-pro-fracking-interests-outspending-anti-fracking-groups/>.

Coin, Glenn. "Hydrofracking decision won't be 'rush to judgment,' says New York DEC commissioner." http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2014/02/hydrofracking_new_york_dec_health_study_martens.html. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Apr. 2014. <http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2014/02/hydrofracking_new_york_dec_health_study_martens.html>.

"Disclaimer." High Volume Hydraulic Fracturing Proposed Regulations. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. <http://www.dec.ny.gov/regulations/77353.html>.

Hicks, Ian . "Gas Workers Risk Silica Exposure." - News, Sports, Jobs. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. <http://www.news-register.net/page/content.detail/id/598589/Gas-Workers-at-Risk-Of-Silica-Ex---.html>.

Lucas, Dave. "New York: Shale Fail." WAMC. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. <http://wamc.org/post/new-york-shale-fail>.

Nearing, Brian . "Cuomo aims at 2014 decision on gas fracking." Times Union. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. <http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Cuomo-aims-at-2014-decision-on-gas-fracking-5114675.php>.

Reisman, Nick . "Shah’s Fracking Review Expected To Outlive His Tenure." NY State of Politics. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. <http://www.nystateofpolitics.com/2014/04/shahs-fracking-review-expected-to-outlive-his-tenure/>.

Weaver, Teri . "NY farmers reject anti-hydrofracking position at Farm Bureau meeting." World News. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. <http://article.wn.com/view/2013/12/04/NY_farmers_reject_antihydrofracking_position_at_Farm_Bureau_/>.