Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Commemorations and Memorials

In a way this day, April 12th has more commemorations and memorials than most days. The U.S. Civil War essentially began this day on April 12, 1861 -- and the GOP can now officially proclaim they've switched sides. Fifty years ago, Yuri Gagarin became the first man to be launched into space. Twenty years later was the first launch of the Space Shuttle.

But all-in-all these commemorations may pale, at least in imminence to this:

Japan raised the severity of its nuclear crisis to the highest level on Tuesday, putting it on a par with the world's worst nuclear disaster at Chernobyl in 1986 because of the amount of radiation released into the air and sea...

It had previously been put at a 5 rating, on a par with the 1979 Three Mile Island incident in the United States.


Well, at least they've stopped dumping radiation on the ocean. And that's about it for the good news.

[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

3 comments:

StonyPillow said...

How’s that just and lasting peacey thing workin out for ya? /Palin

PS: Not good news. They dumped all the lower-radiation water to make space for high radiation water. Until they find a way to keep the cracked reactors cool without pouring water through them, they'll keep making more highly contaminated water. Some day soon TEPCO will regret to announce the pools are full again, and dumping into the ocean must resume.

sukabi said...

without knowing much about nuclear anything... anyone with 2 functioning brain cells could figure out that a nuclear power plant that has been gutted by an earthquake AND a tsunami, AND that has 20+times the nuclear material on site, AND has lost all power for weeks, AND has not 1, not 2 but probably 3 or more cracked containment vessels, AND has spent fuel rods in leaking cooling ponds, AND has been having water dumped on it constantly for the last month to keep the spent rods "cool", ect. is most likely going to be at least "as bad as" Chernoyble.

pansypoo said...

the effects of this day will take decades to show up. don't drink the glowing snow.