The Earthquake Check In thread

In Kyoto? You shouldn't be much conerned about. Way far away from everything.

 

I think that the media in Germany is much better than in other countries.
But it's still that you're to read between the lines to get something that comes near to the truth.

Remember how governments "told the truth" in past nuclear accidents!
At the moment it is not important if nuclear energy is usually safe or not. It's only that there is a high risk of many people getting radiated.

 

That is exactly the point at which the German media is doing it completely the wrong way atm. Telling lot of horror stories instead try to help to keep peeps calm.

 

Well, I suppose the risks of nuclear energy is the big political sore point in Germany. I gather there was an anti-nuclear energy rally there last weekend (by sheer coincidence - it was planned ages ago) and Chancellor Merkel is a bit proponent of nuclear energy (yet has had to downplay this in the run-up to the election). I suppose this is having a influence on their coverage.

Not that I have an opinion on that issue either way.

 

You look German TV? No one here tells horror stories!
We also get the official information that is told by the japanese government + japanese media information. In addition specialists are discussing that those information may not be the whole truth. That's all.

From what was predicted most things have become reality.

 

I suppose it's just a massive contrast with the Japanese coverage. The Japanese media seem to be trying their best to skirt around the nuclear reactor problems entirely, reporting when they really have to, then switching back to the tsunami victims. I don't know if they're doing this to keep people calm, if the tsunami victims are the more pressing issue (not an unreasonable stance to take), or if it's the old Japanese art of downplaying problems, but I've had to watch internet feeds of BBC News to get proper information about the state of the nuclear reactors.

 

Can someone point me in the direction of this German article that you're all so bothered by?

 

The German media is jumping on the nuclear disaster train, because the current government over here had just extended the lifetime of the nuclear reactors in this country - against their promises prior to their election. Lots of money from Vattenfall and RWE floating around it seems.
Now they're trying to take back that decision (which means shutting down a few reators in the next few years without really having any replacement) without losing their face.

Seriously, the people over here have always been quite sensitive to nuclear energy, the waste materials are transported in special "Castor" containers by train and there are always mass demonstrations, attempts to block the trains by protesters etc... followed by the use of massive police forces to keep them running.

If the power plant owners would have to pay for the costs associated with these transports and storing the nuclear waste atomic energy would actually be among the most expensive ways of producing power over here. But since the state finances a lot of this stuff, even partly the storage of burnt-out fuel rods, it seems to be the cheapest (we just don't see the real cost on the electricity bill).

That said, if we wanted to go all-renewable energy, it would probably be even more expensive, apart from the noise created by all those wind turbines (people are already complaining about that too). I'd like to see the typical "tree huggers" face when electricity prices would rise even more because of the decision to dump nuclear power entirely. They would be the first to scream for the state to lower the prices so they can keep their aircons running.

Edit: Alchy, it's no single article, it's the vibe of all media, even the state-sponsored ones. They were bleeping out a doctor who spoke on behalf of Greenpeace though, he was asked about radiation poisoning and started a wild rambling against the whole nuclear industry. Suddenly, he was muted and the reported noted "we got your point, you made your statement, could you please answer the question now?"

 

I think what japanese media does is the best that can be done.
A mass panic would cause many more deaths than radiation. They already have enough problems in Japan already - more than can be solved.

Here's a link to a typical German info page about the news from Japan.
Just use Babelfish and you'll see that there's not much difference from what is being told in other countries.
http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/0,1518,750954,00.html

 

My German friends, of which there are many, have transcribed them for me. Alarmist, agenda-pushing bullshit. They should be kicked in the cock.

With a spin! It might be a select few, but it would be everyone of the select few I've been told.

 

well , as you might know nuclear energy is not popular in germany in the first place.

than you should also keep in mind that we had alot of accidents ourself in the last 50years incl some minor to two near meltdowns and we experienced the direct consequences of chernobyl.

there is alot of fear regarding this technology , thats why its on air all the time.

the stopped shutdown process of our plants is another major factor.

 

light irradiaton reached tokyo. level is 9 times higher than normal :/

 

Right, but it seems they're not keeping in mind that Japan is no stranger to Earthquakes. Not by a long shot. This was a massive one and the plant is still standing. I can understand if it's hit a soft spot, but the alarmism really does serious damage to those of us inside the zone that potentially could be effected. To quote myself, "it chips away at your soul". I think I speak for all of us when I say we really only want one thing: facts.

 

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/geiger-counter-tokyo?lang=ja_JP

 

i hear you and your right.

the problem is that pretty much nobody seem to have an idea what exactly is happening ( that includes the jp govermant) and when that happens , people start the speculate.

 

All there is to fear is fear itself.

 

Again who says that? Several counters measuring a decrease of radiation in tokyo and there was never any danger level radiation from begin with.

 

I'll stick to what I've said at shmups: they've been closer than the western media. And you guys know me -- I'll bash anyone that I think is bullshitting...especially Japan.

 

oh, don`t get me wrong , i`m not even saying the jp goverment ist the problem , tepco is to blame.

i`m glad they have finaly asked the us for help to deal with the reactors.

 

The thing is that even when Japan is actually the best prepared country for an earthquake, there is no preparation possible for a tsunami.
The thing that damaged the plant was not the earthquake but the tsunami.

All I'm hoping for is that they can contain the disaster in the reactors as soon as possible. I feel very sorry for the men and women actively working ON the reactors at the moment, given that they probably will suffer very dire consequences in terms of their health. Those people are heroes.

Regarding the earthquake and tsunami victims, as someone pointed before, nobody can bring back the dead; but I have absolut confidence in the Japanese as a society. They will rise again from this disaster. Probably stronger than ever