CNBC reports 'Japan bets on nuclear energy 15 years after Fukushima disaster'

I closed Marsh Family sings 'Grief and Destruction' with the choices for today's entry.

Tomorrow is the sixth anniversary of COVID-19 being declared a global pandemic and the fifteenth anniversary of the Fukushima triple disaster. Stay tuned to see which one I write about.

For the first time since Invasive species riding plastic debris from Fukushima 11 years later, I'm examining the Fukushima triple disaster. I begin with CNBC International Live reporting Japan bets on nuclear energy 15 years after Fukushima disaster.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is expected to discuss further investment and energy cooperation when she meets with U.S. President Trump this month — with nuclear power and related technology likely to remain a key theme. On the 15th anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, CNBC's Kaori Enjoji examines how this deepening economic and energy engagement could draw Japan further into a geopolitical tug-of-war and weigh on its companies.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is a lot like Donald "Hoover Harding Cleveland" Trump in choosing an old technology over a newer one. In her case, it's nuclear energy over renewables. In his case, it's coal and other fossil fuels. I think she's maker the smarter choice. I really don't like coal and would pick nuclear energy over it, although I really prefer renewables.

South China Morning Post examined Japan's changing attitude toward nuclear energy in Why a Fukushima survivor is choosing a nuclear future.

Takuma Hashimoto was just three when the 2011 tsunami triggered a nuclear meltdown near his home in Japan’s Fukushima prefecture. Now, the 18-year-old student is training to become a nuclear engineer. His journey mirrors a national shift; 15 years after the Fukushima disaster, Japan is choosing energy security over its nuclear trauma. As the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East squeeze global supplies, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is leading a pivot back to nuclear power. With public support at record highs, Japan is waking up to a stark reality: for the most resource-poor G7 nation, nuclear energy is no longer a risk, but a lifeline.

It's not just Prime Minister Takaichi who is choosing to return to nuclear energy, but a majority of her country. However, not all agree. Notice the protestors in Al Jazeera English reporting Japan nuclear power: Largest plant reopens years after Fukushima disaster.

The world's biggest nuclear power plant is back on line in Japan. Engineers flipped the switch to power up the plant 15 years after the Fukushima disaster, which killed an estimated 20,000 people. Tokyo Electric Power Company is responsible for Fukushima, and is also in charge of this plant. That fact alone has residents near the facility opposed to the plan.

Al Jazeera’s Patrick Fok reports from Kashiwazaki in western Japan.

Two things. First, the tsunami killed the overwhelming majority of victims, not the meltdown. Second, the Fukushima plant performed as designed; it was the failure of the backup generators, which the tsunami drowned, that led to the meltdowns. The higher seawalls help protect against both of those reoccurring, so I'm relieved to see them.

That's a wrap for today's anniversary. Stay tuned to see if I cover COVID-19 tomorrow.

Fukushima nine years later

Today marks the ninth anniversary of the Fukushima triple disaster.  I thought I might be done writing about it here after I wrote Seeker/DNews tells its viewers to chill about Fukushima two years ago, which is why I ignored last year, posting Charlotte Russe liquidating, a tale of the Retail Apocalypse on this date instead.  I was wrong, as there are still stories to tell about Fukushima.

National Geographic told one of them in Returning to Fukushima | Explorer, which I could have used last year if I hadn't been concentrating on the Retail Apocalypse instead.

The Dai-ichi Nuclear Plant in Fukushima suffered a meltdown in 2011. Now, Japan has a plan for residents to return to the area.
...
The Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant spewed radiation across dozens of towns, triggering a 12-mile evacuation zone. What are your thoughts on Japan encouraging people to move back?

That story, as grim as it is, offers some hope for the situation.  It also mentioned other topics more recent videos explored.  One is that tourists visit the evacuation zone, a subject The Telegraph examined in A holiday in Fukushima? "Dark tourism" in the nuclear disaster zone | Japan welcomes the world.

On 11 March 2011 a 9.1 magnitude earthquake struck off the east coast of Japan, prompting the second biggest nuclear meltdown of all time at the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant.

Fukushima joins Chernobyl and Australia's nuclear test site as destinations for dark nuclear tourism.

Finally, both the continued cleanup effort and the Olympic torch relay beginning in Fukushima appear in The Today Show's nside The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster Site, 9 Years Later.

When Japan hosts the Olympics this year, the torch relay will begin at Fukushima, site of one of the world's worst nuclear disasters only nine years ago. TODAY senior international correspondent Keir Simmons got rare access to the nuclear plant, and found surprising conditions.

Now that I've watched these videos, I'm sure I'll be writing about the recovery from the triple disaster, particularly the nuclear plant meltdown, for years to come, especially next year, the 10th anniversary.  That is, if coronavirus doesn't get me first.  Given my age and diabetes, that's a small but real possibility, especially since the first cases in Michigan were announced yesterday.  One of them is in the county where I live.  Yikes!

Seeker/DNews tells its viewers to chill about Fukushima

Yesterday marked the seventh anniversary of the Fukushima triple disaster.  When I looked for graphics and videos to observe the occasion, I ran into so many conspiracy theories that I decided to look for calmer sources.  I found one in Seeker/DNews, which has been telling its viewers not to panic for at least five years.  Here are the channel's videos on the topic, all with Trace Dominguez as the host.

I begin with 2013's Fukushima Radiation: What You've Heard are LIES!  Despite the sensational title, it's not denouncing what the professionals and authorities are saying, but what the sensationalist amateurs are shouting.

You may have seen that image purportedly showing the alarming spread of Fukushima radiation across the Pacific. But dig deeper, and you'll find that's not the case at all. And that's not the only piece of false information spreading about this scary nuclear disaster. Trace dispels the rumors and tells us what's really going on.

The next year, Trace and DNews told their viewers to Stop Worrying About Fukushima Radiation!

Since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, people have been quick to blame radiation levels across the Pacific on the deteriorating power plant. Is the radiation spreading that far, and is there any way to tell if it's actually from Japan? Trace explains why even with the best technology, we can't make Fukushima the culprit. So stop worrying!

Last year saw two videos, the first under the old DNews label, the second as Seeker.  Here's the earlier one, The Internet Is Overreacting About Fukushima's Radiation, Here's Why.

Over 6 years later, new readings from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant show that radiation levels are still very high, but should you be worried?

Yes, DNews is still telling its viewers to chill.

As Seeker, the channel became a little more concerned, but at least it had a scientific basis.  Watch A New Source of Fukushima Radiation Was Just Found, Now What?.

Researchers found radioactive particles from Fukushima on beaches miles away, but how did it get there? And should we be worried?

Make no mistake, things are bad, but there is no need to make them worse than they really are.  I'm glad DNews and now Seeker does not exaggerate for views and just tells the truth.  May I continue to follow its example.

Fourth anniversary of Fukushima triple disaster

Today is the fourth anniversary of the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown in Fukushima, Japan.  The occasion was met with a somber ceremony, captured by Euronews: Japan remembers victims of Fukushima disaster exactly four years on.

Four years to the day since Fukushima, a minute of silence has been observed across Japan to remember the more than 18,000 people dead or missing in an earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster that have marked the country's history forever.

The video mentioned nearly a quarter of a million people have been displaced by the triple catastrophe.  Here is one of those people who has come to terms with not returning to his old home in a BBC clip, Japan marks 4th anniversary of quake-tsunami disaster, Fukushima.

Many of Japan's Fukushima nuclear refugees have given up on going home and are instead, rebuilding their lives elsewhere.

More text from an AFP article at the link.

Follow over the jump for an encore presentation of Fukushima: student sustainability video festival 28 and links to previous years' commemorative posts.

Wild boars may prevent people from returning to towns near Fukushima

I know I hinted twice that I would celebrate Purim on this blog, I've decided to skip it this year because today marks the sixth anniversary of the Fukushima triple disaster.  That is an occasion much more on topic for the blog's themes, so today I observe an anniversary of DOOM instead of joy.*

After six years, conditions have managed to improve near the ruin nuclear plant, enough that people might return.  Gizmodo has the story.

In just a few weeks, the residents of a Fukushima city will finally be allowed to return to their homes. Trouble is, the place has been overrun by hundreds of belligerent and potentially radioactive wild boars, prompting public safety concerns.

At the end of March, the six-year-long evacuation order will be lifted for Namie, a city located just 2.5 miles (4 km) from the damaged nuclear power plant. Radiation levels, now measured at 0.07 microsieverts an hour, are the same as they are in other areas of Japan. Namie is the closest area to the nuclear meltdown residents have been allowed to return to since the disaster on March 11, 2011, but the continued presence of wild boars in the region is making prospective homecomers nervous.

Newsy has more in Boars overrun Fukushima.



High radiation levels drove people away from many areas of Fukushima.
I shouldn't have been surprised.  As the video noted, Chernobyl became an impromptu wildlife refuge, complete with radioactive wolves, so the evacuation zone around Fukushima becoming one as well should have been expected.

Finally, the idea of Fukushima being infested with radioactive boars evoked the image of the giant boar demon from the opening scene of "Princess Mononoke."  I wasn't the only one to think that, as Gizmodo used the following illustration for their article.


Geeky minds think alike.

*No, I won't observe it tomorrow, as that is the beginning of Daylight Saving Time.  I'll save it for next year, when it falls on the evening of February 28th -- perfect timing!

Fukushima three years after from Reuters

I mentioned the third anniversary of the earthquake, tsunami, and meltdown last month in Fukushima radiation being monitored in U.S. kelp beds, but now the occasion is upon us.  Reuters has covered the event with three videos so far.  First, Candlelight vigil and protest ahead of Fukushima three-year anniversary.

People in Japan hold a candlelight vigil and protest ahead of the three-year anniversary of the 2011 Japanese tsunami and Fukushima nuclear crisis. Gavino Garay reports.

Follow over the jump for raw video of two anti-nuclear protests plus links to previous posts on the anniversary.

Fukushima radiation being monitored in U.S. kelp beds

Once again, I’m getting a signal from the universe to talk about a topic, in this case, Fukushima.  First, Elaine Meinel Supkis is ranting about Fukushima again.  Then one of my students asked if she could talk about Fukushima for her presentation this semester.  Finally, I watched this video and read the accompanying articles for Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday (Science of Relationships) on Daily Kos.  The third anniversary of the tsunami may be next month, but it looks like the time to write about this ongoing story is now.

KPBS: Fukushima Fallout: San Diego State Researchers Monitoring Sea Kelp For Radiation Exposure

San Diego State University researchers will be joining in a new program to monitor one of the most vulnerable areas of the marine environment — kelp beds — for radioactive isotopes.

Also read the accompanying article and SDSU Professor Helps Test California Kelp For Radiation Exposure From Fukushima Disaster.  The following comes from the first link.

Now San Diego State University researchers will be joining in a new program to monitor one of the most vulnerable areas of the marine environment —kelp beds — for radioactive isotopes.

"The root reason for this study is there's a nuclear disaster and the waters around Fukushima are heavily contaminated," said Matthew Edwards, professor of biology at SDSU, who is part of the research team, "...we know there's a major impact there (Japan)...the question becomes: Is it going to impact other ecosystems?"

From the second link, Edwards thinks that the answer for the kelp beds along the U.S. Pacific coast and the people on land near them will probably be no.

Q. My understanding is that you doubt if radiation is detected, it will pose a public health threat. Why is that?

A. It's not that I doubt it will be detected. Our levels of detection are quite good with the instruments we have. However, by the time the waters reach our coast they've traveled great distances and it's been some time. And as water travels across the ocean it dilutes greatly.

Q. There's some confusion over "detectable" amounts of radiation and "harmful" amounts. If they're not harmful, or of concern, would there still come a point where they could affect the food chain?

A. At the levels we're talking about right now, I don't believe so.

I’d post Professor Farnsworth, but I’m not that optimistic.  Just the same, this news is another good example of three things that I teach my students: Everything is connected to everything else; There is no away; and There is no free lunch.

BBC World Service on the tenth anniversary of Fukushima triple disaster

Today marks the 10th anniversary of the Fukushima triple disaster, an earthquake followed by a tsunami and nuclear meltdown. The BBC World Service has the story in What happened at Fukushima 10 years ago?

On 11 March 2011, Japan's most powerful earthquake on record triggered a tsunami, which then caused a meltdown at a nuclear power plant. It wiped entire towns off the map and forced Fukushima’s residents from their homes as radiation leaked from the plant.
...
The government estimates the disaster could cost nearly $200bn, and the clean-up may take until 2051. Today the prefecture of Fukushima is still dealing with the aftermath of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.

What happened that day, and what was it like for the people who lived through it? The BBC’s Tui McLean explains how the triple disaster unfolded.

That's a very comprehensive summary of the past decade, so I don't have to embed any more videos. As for "the clean-up may take until 2051," that reminds me of what I wrote on last year's anniversary, "I'm sure I'll be writing about the recovery from the triple disaster, particularly the nuclear plant meltdown, for years to come, especially next year, the 10th anniversary." Thanks to the BBC, who also calls it a triple disaster, I don't have to write any more today.

Fukushima triple disaster five years later

As I mentioned yesterday, today marks the fifth anniversary of the Fukushima triple disaster.  Eurohews comemmorates the occasion in Japan: Fukushima wounds still deep, five years on.

Japan's Emperor Akihito led the tributes, five years on from the Fukushima disaster on Friday, but for those who lived through it, the wounds have far from healed.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also paid his respects at a memorial ceremony in Tokyo as across the country people bowed their heads in silence at exactly 2:46 pm local time.

Flags at central government buildings were at half-mast, some draped in black.  All the trains on Tokyo's vast underground paused for a minute.

That's looking back.  Agence France Presse (AFP) looks ahead as well in Dismantling Fukushima.

Japan on Friday marked five years since an enormous 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck along Japan's northeast coast. Thousands are working on the decades-long decommissioning process. They perform delicate work to make the volatile reactors safer.

Forty years--that makes my use of the decade label appropriate in ways I hadn't anticipated.

Second anniversary of Japanese earthquake, tsunami, and meltdown: video tributes

To follow up to last year's video memorial, I commemorate the second anniversary of the event with videos about the event from the last 12 hours of my YouTube subscription feed.  I begin with a local angle from WOOD-TV.

Japan Earthquake: Two Years Later

THERE IS STILL DAMAGE LEFT BEHIND FROM THE DISASTER... NOW TWO YEARS LATER.
WE WANTED TO KNOW HOW JAPAN IS COPING WITH THE AFTERMATH AND HOW FAR THEY'VE COME. JOINING 24 HOUR NEWS 8 FOR SOME INSIGHT IS JOHN PARKER, CHIEF SALES OFFICER FOR AMWAY.

Next, an overview from a more sophisticated international source, Link TV.

3/11, Two Years Later: How is Japan Coping Today? (LinkAsia: 3/8/13)

March 11th marks two years since Japan's devastating triple disaster of a massive earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown that left 20,000 people dead or missing. LinkAsia's Toshi Maeda reports from Tokyo on how people in Japan are coping today with the aftermath.

More videos over the jump.

Science crime scenes 1

Time for a new series, beginning with the stories from Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday (Higgs boson and heat wave edition) on Daily Kos that already have police investigations or should have them. It should come as no surprise, because of the amount of looting and vandalism, that many of these stories involve archeology. Thus, they qualify as examples of sustainability in unexpected places.

I'll begin with one of those archeology stories.

Voice of America: Mali Islamists Destroy Ancient Timbuktu Sites
Posted Monday, July 2nd, 2012 at 5:45 pm

Islamist militants in Mali's historic city Timbuktu destroyed and damaged ancient sites for a third straight day, defying international threats of prosecution.

Witnesses say the al-Qaida-linked group Ansar Dine targeted the 15th-century Sidi Yahya mosque on Monday, tearing off the entrance door. The door is considered sacred and was to remain closed until the end of the world.

I wonder what the reaction of the Islamists would be if they were told that they were contributing to a pagan end of the world prophesy? They'd probably either laugh or kill the messenger--maybe even both.

This isn't the first time something like this has happened. The Taliban blew up statues of the Buddha in Afghanistan 11 years ago, just before September 11th. Looks like the Islamists aren't any more tolerant of variants of their own faith than they are of other faiths and they aren't kidding around about it, either.

More over the jump.

Last night's top news from Reuters

I got halfway through composing a fast fill-in edition of Overnight News Digest on Daily Kos last night when I found out that someone else had posted a replacement diary ahead of me.  Since I don't like to waste my efforts, where are the top stories from Reuters from last night rearranged for my usual sustainability format.

The lead story is, no surprise, the U.S. federal government shutdown.

U.S. shutdown seen dragging on as debt ceiling fight nears
By Mark Felsenthal and Richard Cowan
Thu Oct 3, 2013 10:46pm EDT

(Reuters) - The shutdown of the U.S. government appeared likely to drag on for another week and possibly longer as lawmakers consumed day three of the shutdown with a stalling game and there was no end in sight until the next crisis hits Washington around October 17.

Bowing to the reality that the impasse requires him to remain in Washington, President Barack Obama canceled plans to attend summits in Indonesia and Brunei next week. Earlier this week, he canceled visits to Malaysia and the Philippines because of the shutdown.

October 17 is the date Congress must raise the nation's borrowing authority or risk default, and members of Congress now expect it to be the flashpoint for a larger clash over the U.S. budget as well as President Barack Obama's healthcare law.

I'll have more on the shutdown later. For now, follow over the jump for the rest of last night's top news according to Environment, Economy, and Society, AKA People, Planet, Profit.

Invasive species riding plastic debris from Fukushima 11 years later

Today marks the 11th anniversary of the Fukushima triple disaster, an earthquake followed by a tsunami and nuclear meltdown. Instead of concentrating on the effects of the nuclear plant disaster in Japan, I'm examining the aftereffects of the the tsunami in the United States and Canada by sharing the VICE News report Invasive Species Are Riding Plastics Across Oceans.

When debris from the 2011 tsunami in Japan started washing up in North America, scientists knew they had a mystery—and a potential environmental disaster—on their hands.
In this episode of Weathered, we explore a “mass rafting event” that carried colonies of invasive species across the Pacific, revealing ominous new changes in how our oceans function.

On of my students gave a presentation on this subject years ago and showed photos of the fishing dock, motorcycle, and other debris to the class. I thought this story served as a good example of "Everything is connected to everything else," one of Commoner's Laws, as well as an unexpected consequence of the triple disaster. Radiation isn't the only threat traveling across the Pacific because of what happened 11 years ago.

That's it for this year's observance of the anniversary. Stay tuned as Daylight Saving Time begins tomorrow, a practice Colbert says "is not helpful and has no upside."

Drink to nuclear reactors on the anniversary of Three Mile Island

Today is the anniversary of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Accident, which happened 37 years ago.  I'll say something serious about it that relates to "The End of Suburbia," which I'm showing to my environmental science students this week, later.  Today, I'm just going to have some fun with the anniversary, thanks to Tipsy Bartender.  I present the Nuclear Reactor Shot.

A reverse bomb shot...THE NUCLEAR REACTOR!
...
NUCLEAR REACTOR SHOT
Green Shot:
1 oz. (30ml) Midori
1 oz. (30ml) Sweet & Sour
1/2 oz. (15ml) Everclear

Light Blue Water
1 oz. (30ml) Sprite
Splash UV Blue Vodka
Splash Island Pucker

I left a comment on the timeliness of this recipe at the YouTube video.

March is a good month for this drink.  Fukushima happened on March 11, 2011, and Three Mile Island happened on March 28, 1979.  As for Chernobyl, that has to wait until next month, when April 26 will be the 30th anniversary of the disaster.

It turns out there is a drink called the Three Mile Island.  It's also called Tokyo Tea, which means it does double duty for Fukushima.  Here's the recipe from Science of Drink.

20 ml gin
20 ml tequila
20 ml vodka
20 ml light rum
20 ml Cointreau
20 ml fresh lemon juice
30 ml Midori
splash of club soda
Shake all ingredients except soda, strain in ice-filled collins glass (400 ml) and add of club soda. Garnish with lemon slice.

Looks yummy and deadly.

In case you're wondering, I already have an appropriate drink selected for the 30th anniversary of Chernobyl already.  Stay tuned.

San Onofre decommissioning from KPBS

This morning, I wrote about Fukushima radiation being monitored in U.S. kelp beds.  Tonight, I’m presenting the news from the past few months about a much less dangerous closed nuclear power plant, San Onofre.  I first mentioned the plant’s closing in Energy news from California, when I quoted a LiveScience story about the plant being permanently shut down last June after a leak was discovered last January.  Since then, I’ve been following the story through KPBS’s coverage that I’ve been quoting for Overnight News Digest on Daily Kos.

I begin with San Clemente Doesn’t Want San Onofre’s Nuclear Waste Sticking Around by David Wagner on Wednesday, December 18, 2013.

Without a national repository for nuclear waste, plants scattered throughout the country will have to keep waste on site for decades, possibly even centuries. Elected officials in San Clemente are expressing concern about how long waste will be stored in their own backyard.

With San Onofre Nuclear Generating System just a few miles down the coast, nuclear waste sits close to home. The San Clemente City Council voted Tuesday to take a stronger stance on waste storage at the plant, which was permanently shut down earlier this year.

As I point out to my students, the worst aspect of nuclear power isn’t the risk of meltdown, as in Fukushima.  Very few plants melt down.  All of them, however, produce radioactive waste, which is dangerous for thousands of years.  Dealing with that is the big issue.

The next article on the topic came this month: UCSD Professor To Lead Community Panel On Decommissioning San Onofre by Erik Anderson on Thursday, February 6, 2014.

SAN DIEGO — A UC San Diego professor will help keep the public informed about the decommissioning of the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant. David Victor was picked for the job by Southern California Edison, the plant's majority owner.

Victor is an international relations professor and the director of the UCSD Laboratory on International Law and Regulation.

He is seen widely as an authority on energy markets.

Interesting choice.  Looks like he’s highly qualified both in understanding energy and regulatory issues and communicating them to the public.  I wish him luck; he’ll need it.

Finally, I concluded last June’s entry by hoping that San Onofre would be replaced by something cleaner.  It seems that is in the works, as mentioned in Carlsbad's Vote On New Peaker Plant Hinges On Removal Of Smokestack by Alison St John on Tuesday, January 14, 2014.

Carlsbad has fought for years to get a massive power plant off its coastline. The Encina power station will be put into mothballs in 2018 because its sea-water cooling system no longer meets state environmental regulations.

But under previous proposals, there was no guarantee the 400-foot smokestack would be removed. And until now SDG&E had not signed any contract to use power from a replacement plant, so any energy produced might have gone out of the region.

Now, because the San Onofre nuclear power plant has shut down, the energy landscape in San Diego has changed. SDG&E is interested in contracting with the owner of the Carlsbad power plant, NRG, for electricity to use at times of peak consumer demand. The new plant would be gas powered like the old one, but it would be air cooled, rather than using ocean water, to meet new state mandates.

It’s not as clean as I would like, as it’s still a fossil-fuel-powered plant, but of all the fossil fuel choices, it’s the cleanest.

Three Mile Island: Student sustainability video festival 42

My students have managed to hit all three civilian nuclear reactor disasters in consecutive semesters.  Last December, a student produced her own video for Fukushima: student sustainability video festival 28.  This past May, Radioactive wolves: student sustainability video festival 35 looked back at Chernobyl.  Earlier this week, Three Mile Island Accident made an appearance.


Stay tuned for more in this continuing series.

Drink to Chernobyl 30 years later

I introduced Drink to nuclear reactors on the anniversary of Three Mile Island by noting the proximity on the calendar of the three most famous nuclear disasters.

March is a good month for this drink.  Fukushima happened on March 11, 2011, and Three Mile Island happened on March 28, 1979.  As for Chernobyl, that has to wait until next month, when April 26 will be the 30th anniversary of the disaster.

That was yesterday.  I then concluded with this program note.

I already have an appropriate drink selected for the 30th anniversary of Chernobyl...

With that introduction, I'll leave the serious observations of yesterday's anniversary over the jump and begin with the drink humor from Tipsy Bartender: How to make the Nuclear Rainbow.

It's a beautiful drink and it's very potent....THE NUCLEAR RAINBOW! This is a layered cocktail with a gorgeous array of colors. This drink is all about presentation and perfect for impressing your friends with your awesome bartending skills! The layering effect takes some practice so watch and learn how to do it successfully. Layering is a great skill to have in your repertoire and if you can master it you'll be able to make all kinds of badass cocktails like this one!
...
NUCLEAR RAINBOW
1oz Melon Liqueur
1oz Sweet & Sour
1oz Grenadine
1oz Blue Curacao
1oz Bacardi 151

I picked this drink because of the colors seen from the open reactor core.

A shimmering plume of rainbow-colored light shot straight up, lighting the sky for miles. According to our guide, some residents rushed closer to watch the exploding reactor — unaware of the danger — later claiming it was the most beautiful thing they’d ever seen.

On that note, follow over the jump for more serious videos about the disaster.

Long COVID six years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic

I covered the 15th anniversary of Fukushima yesterday, so I'm blogging about the sixth anniversary of COVID-19 being declared a pandemic today. As the preview image shows, March 11, 2020 was an eventful date for the pandemic beyond the WHO declaration. Watch Fox 13 Tampa Bay report 6 years later: Millions living with long COVID.

Six years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of Americans are still living with its long-term effects.

Seven million dead from the disease worldwide? More like 21 million. That written, the big story is long COVID, which I touched on in 'The Pandemic Made People Worse Drivers,' a driving update when I pointed out the increased strokes and worse heart health mentioned in the SciShow video. The public health emergencies declared during the pandemic may have ended three years ago, but the after effects linger on. So does the denialism, which has infected the comments to this video on YouTube. Who's hiding under the bridge of an online science article? You don't want to know.

That's a wrap for today's observance. Stay tuned for Friday the 13th.

China and Japan in diplomatic row over air pollution

Fast Company via Scientific American: Can Air Pollution Start Wars?
By Terry Tamminen
February 15, 2013

Mixed up in the current spat between China and Japan is an accusation that Chinese pollution is damaging Japan.

In recent months, Japan and China have blustered over disputed islands that don't appear to have any real economic or territorial benefits for either nation. Jets have scrambled and radars locked on opposing vessels, all signs of increasing tension. But the two Asian powerhouses have now begun to argue over a shared threat that actually does have impacts on the health and future of their respective populations--air pollution.

Japanese media and environmental authorities have accused China of being the source of increasing levels of soot in the air (particulates 2.5 microns or smaller, which can lodge deep in the lungs and bloodstream, called PM 2.5). That PM 2.5 in the air comes largely from diesel exhaust, causing asthma and other respiratory diseases. It is also linked to heart disease and, therefore, more than 6 million premature deaths every year, according to the World Health Organization. China shot back that the cause is Japan's switch from nuclear power to new dependence on burning coal and trash for energy.

Two of the points I make in class are Barry Commoner's admonitions that "everything is connected to everything else" and "there is no away." Both of them work very well in a class that's as much about global awareness and understanding as it is about scientific literacy. This fight over air pollution between the two most powerful nations in Asia serves as an example of both, as well as how environmental issues become foreign policy and national security issues. While I've mentioned China's air pollution as a problem for its neighbors before, I haven't made the reciprocal point about Japan, mostly because they weren't a big coal burner until after Fukushima. I think I will, which will serve as an example for another of Commoner's Laws, "there is no free lunch."

The History Guy remembers 'Johnny Appleseed: Man Behind the Legend' for Johnny Appleseed Day

I closed SciShow and Wild Hope describe 'Where Scientists Keep the World's Most Endangered Animals' by telling my readers "I'm thinking of observing a holiday like Paul Bunyan Day tomorrow, National Johnny Appleseed Day."* I'm celebrating today by sharing The History Guy remembering Johnny Appleseed: Man Behind the Legend.

Usually portrayed as a lanky man wearing a long-handled pot on his head and spreading apple seeds, the real Johnny Appleseed was a shrewd businessman and religious zealot who played an important role in U.S. westward expansion effort. The History Guy explores the reality underlying the character of American folklore. This is the forgotten history of the man, John Chapman, behind the legend of Johnny Appleseed.

SciShow expanded on the role John Chapman played in the development of modern varieties of apples in The Truth About Johnny Appleseed & Apple Genetics.

Did you ever learn the story of Johnny Appleseed as a child? What did he actually do for the growth of apples in America, and what has this taught us about apple genetics? Join Olivia Gordon for a new apple-tastic episode of SciShow!

First history, then science. That's very much my spin on things.

I conclude by repeating what I'm fond of writing, that I learned a lot from these videos and it's always a good day when I learn something new, so today is already a good day. I hope my readers agree.

*There is another Johnny Appleseed Day on March 11, the anniversary of this death, but I devote that day to natural disasters compounded by lack of preparedness, namely the anniversary of the Fukushima triple disaster and the the anniversary of the WHO declaring COVID-19 a global pandemic. I have no room for a day as cheerful as this one then, but it's available today. Besides, I'd rather celebrate his birthday, which is today.