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April 5, 2012 at 12:22 pm By Roz Potter
From the Care2 Website: Link
Excerpts:
I am sitting here in tears, gut-wrenchingly grieving, as I sit in witness to the slow death of my profession.
First I read this article, which says that this year, the cost of insuring a family of four now exceeds $20,000/year. Who can afford that in these times? And what are they getting for all that money? Thirteen minutes with a frustrated, rushed, overworked doctor who doesn’t have time to listen?
Then I read this article that says that the United States spends more than any other country on health care but only has the eighth-lowest life expectancy. Japan, on the other hand, spends significantly less and has the longest life expectancy. More health care expenditure does not equal better health care. Period.
Then I read this article about how the Supreme Court may overturn President Obama’s not-quite-there-but-at-least-it’s-a-start health care reform policy. And it breaks my heart, because if that happens, after Obama sacrificed so much political capital to try to manifest real (if not quite good enough) reform, the message to politicians is “Don’t go there. You’ll never make change and you’ll ruin your career in the process.” Yes, we need universal health care for everyone and this new policy doesn’t get us there, but it’s a start. If we don’t at least start to turn this sinking ship around, we’ll have a Titanic disaster on our hands.
Then I read this article about how 9 out of 10 doctors would not recommend becoming a doctor.
Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/how-broken-does-health-care-have-to-get.html#ixzz1rCAyAicI
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
September 20, 2011 at 10:16 pm By Roz Potter
From the Digital Journal, Link . Also see Geology.com, Link for a discussion of the 1815 eruption – the largest in recorded history and the cause of a deadly lowering of global temperatures.
Excerpt:
Increased rumblings this month from Mount Tambora on Indonesia’s Sumbawa Island are forcing residents to take the mountain seriously, with authorities there raising the volcano alert to its second-highest level.
“On August 30, we recorded seven volcanic earthquakes and since Sept. 8 the frequency of the quakes rose substantially, to between 12 and 16 per day,” said Husnuddin, head of the West Nusa Tenggara Disaster Mitigation Agency, (BNPB), the
Jakarta Globe reports. Mount Tambora has the distinction of having the world’s deadliest eruption which killed at least 71,000 people, with some estimates as high as 90,000. Between 11,000-12,000 were killed by the eruption itself while tens of thousands more died from the ensuing starvation and disease associated with volcanic fallout which created the “Year Without a Summer” in 1816, a summer which greatly impacted the Northern Hemisphere, including North America and Europe.
Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/311696#ixzz1YYpHX4QS
Posted in Severe Weather Preparedness, Uncategorized, natural disasters | No Comments »
May 24, 2011 at 6:51 pm By Roz Potter
Photo by Kurt Voigt. AP
From the Union of Concerned Scientists: Link
As Earth warms, powerful storms are becoming the new normal
What is the relationship between global warming, climate, and weather?
Weather is what’s happening outside the door right now; today a thunderstorm is approaching. Climate, on the other hand, is the pattern of weather measured over a number of decades.
Over the past 30 years there has been a pattern of increasingly higher average temperatures for the whole world. In fact, the first decade of this century (2001–2010) was the hottest decade recorded since reliable records began in the late 1800s.
These rising temperatures—caused primarily by an increase of heat-trapping emissions in the atmosphere created when we burn coal, oil, and gas to generate electricity, drive our cars, and fuel our businesses—are what we refer to as global warming.
One consequence of global warming is an increase in both ocean evaporation into the atmosphere, and the amount of water vapor the atmosphere can hold. High levels of water vapor in the atmosphere in turn create conditions more favorable for heavier precipitation in the form of intense rain and snow storms.
The United States is already experiencing more intense rain and snow storms.
As the Earth warms, the amount of rain or snow falling in the heaviest one percent of storms has risen nearly 20 percent on average in the United States—almost three times the rate of increase in total precipitation between 1958 and 2007.
In other words, the heaviest storms have very recently become even heavier.
The Northeast has seen a 67 percent increase in the amount of rain or snow falling in the heaviest storms.
As storms increase in intensity, flooding becomes a larger concern.
Flash floods, which pose the most immediate risks for people, bridges and roads, and buildings on floodplains, result in part from this shift toward more extreme precipitation in a warming world.
In 2008 two scientists, Sharon Ashley and Walker Ashley, of Northern Illinois University, analyzed flood fatalities between 1959 and 2005 in the mainland United States, excluding those from Hurricane Katrina.
Their research found that Texas had the largest number of fatalities from flash floods and river floods over the study period. When standardized for population, South Dakota, Mississippi, West Virginia, and Montana had the highest numbers of fatalities from flooding per 100,000 people. Those between the ages of 10 and 29 and those over 60 years old were disproportionately at risk.
Does global warming create more frequent and more intense tornadoes?
Tornadoes are relatively small, short-lived phenomena and scientists don’t have robust enough data to determine whether and how climate change may be affecting tornado frequency, intensity, or the geographic range where tornadoes are most likely to form.
Tornadoes often form when warm, moist air near the Earth’s surface rises and interacts with cooler and drier air higher in the atmosphere. This creates unstable conditions that are favorable for thunderstorms and sometimes tornadoes.
Unlike thunderstorms, tornadoes need a rotational source such as when warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico wafts over the southeast and strong Jetstream air aloft arrives from a westerly direction, as during the tragic string of tornadoes in April 2011.
While one study found that the number of tornadoes reported in the United States has increased by around 14 per year over the past 50 years, the trend may have more to do with how tornadoes are tracked and reported rather than how many are actually forming.
Similarly, the study found that severity ratings for tornadoes are usually based on the damage they cause to structures and may not have been consistently applied over the past fifty years.
What can be done to deal with severe weather?
This pattern of intense rain and snow storms and periods of drought is becoming the new normal in our everyday weather as levels of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere continue to rise.
If the emissions that cause global warming continue unabated, scientists expect the amount of rainfall during the heaviest precipitation events across country to increase more than 40 percent by the end of the century. Even if we dramatically curbed emissions, these downpours are still likely to increase, but by only a little more than 20 percent.
Regardless of what actions we take to cut emissions, we must adapt to the likelihood that severe storms are becoming ever more commonplace.
Efforts such as modifying local infrastructure to withstand floods, adjusting agricultural patterns to account for droughts, as well as establishing emergency planning in our homes, would be far less costly to implement when compared to the costs of responding to washed out bridges, deluged homes, or loss of life.
Clearly, the time has come to develop smart planning and engineering solutions to cope with storms of the future.
Editor’s note: Clearly, the time has come to prepare our families, homes, businesses, organizations and communities for multiple hazards.
Posted in Severe Weather Preparedness, Tornadoes, Uncategorized, natural disasters | No Comments »
April 26, 2011 at 10:00 am By Roz Potter
If everyday activities like working, cooking, shopping, house- and garden-keeping, child rearing, socializing, worship, staying healthy, getting through the day, and other pursuits seem more urgent than disaster preparedness, you’ve got a lot of company.
In the absence of a disaster in your life, everyday pursuits are more compelling and many are a lot more fun. But if you find your preparedness conscience being pricked by world events, yet are truly limited in your ability to prepare due to the resources required (cost, time, health), there is a an alternative to full-blown disaster preparedness.
It’s Couch Potato or Incidental Preparedness. And these are the benefits.
First, you’ll have one emergency supply of water. That means survival. You can live without food, but not without water.
Second, you will have food that can be eaten under disaster conditions. Although food is not essential for short-term survival, you’ll be a lot happier, healthier and energetic if you’re able to eat a reasonable diet. For infants, the elderly, the ill and already malnourished, it’s a necessity for survival.
Third, you’ll have medications and medical supplies to sustain you, your family and others, when there is no other supply.
Forth, if you choose to go that far, you’ll have hygiene, sanitation and comfort items, safety and communication, essential documents and cash. We’re not going there this time – that’s Part II of Couch Potato Preparedness Planning.
While the following preparedness activities do require someone to get off the couch, many people can accomplish them in the course of everyday or weekly activities. These activities are a starting, not an end point. The Couch Potato Plan takes some extra effort and cash, but then so does turning on the lights.
1. Purchase one 2.5 gallon bottle of water every week or every other week, until you have at least 5 gallons for each person in your house. Ten gallons per person is better, twenty is much better. Current cost, around $3.00 per 2.5 gallon container. Benefit, survival. You cannot live without water. Downside, one gallon per person per day is enough for drinking (for most people and conditions) and minimal cooking or hygiene but not both. One gallon containers are a better choice for the elderly, those with arthritis, and for convenience.
2. Once a week, transfer from your cupboard or purchase 2 extra cans or packages of food that your family likes to eat, for each person in your household. Preparedness foods should meet the following requirements: no need for cooking, refrigeration, or heating, under 400mg of salt per serving (if possible), uses little water, calorie-dense, familiar and liked by household members. Your list may include ready to eat cereal, canned soups, stews, meats and fish, canned fruits and vegetables, high calorie food bars, unsalted nuts, crackers, dehydrated milk and other beverages. Store food supplies in an insect and rodent impervious bin in a cool, dark, reasonably accessible place. Don’t forget a manual can opener.
3. Add one item to your medical kit each week. This could be extra medications, first aid supplies, a first aid and/or home medical care guide, a list of your prescription drugs including their name, dose and frequency, primary medical conditions, drug, latex and other allergies, and if available, blood type for each family member. I suggest you include face masks, gloves and over the counter medications for common ailments such as diarrhea, constipation, pain, allergic reactions, inflammation, colds, sleep, anxiety (plenty of that during disasters) and other needs.
On a couch potato day, someone could list current contents but don’t push it. This is incidental preparedness. If you make it too burdensome, there could be pushback so that instead of a beginning to preparedness, it’s the end.
If you’re more goal driven, you may want to first set a goal for each of the three categories, i.e. the number of days supply for each person in your family, a food supply that will meet particular calorie and nutritional criteria, or perhaps a full complement of medical supplies and medications needed for most eventualities. You might decide on a 3 day supply of food, water, medications and some contact/medical information. Or maybe a 10 or 20 day version, or just the food and water part. Or, just the contact/medical information part.
In Part II, we’ll take a look at other, above noted,categories of Couch Potato Preparedness including safety and communications, comfort items, hygiene and sanitation, shelter and tools, critical documents and cash. And, if you can bear it, the location and number of supply caches you may want to stock, if only in a rudimentary manner.
Posted in Disaster preparedness, Preparedness Ideas & Lessons, Uncategorized | No Comments »
April 17, 2011 at 11:44 am By Roz Potter
Link, Excerpt:
Geiger counters are probably ineffective for consumers in detecting hazardous levels of radiation in food and water at home, scientists, professors and device makers said.
Large samples should be tested in laboratory-like settings to obtain results, said Joseph Rotunda, who heads the radiation measurement division at toolmaker Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. Determining whether food, water or milk is safe also requires expert knowledge and more sophisticated equipment than the typical devices sold online, said Atsushi Katayama, a member of the Japan Society for Analytical Chemistry.
The ministry recommends using tools known as scintillation counters to detect iodine-131 in milk and vegetables, while devices called “inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometers” should be used to trace uranium.
Buyers should chose an instrument that comes with clear instructions for interpreting results and is sensitive enough to measure background radiation, or about 0.01 microsieverts, Allison and Katayama said. Geiger counters with a digital display and ability to save a log of the results are easier to use and preferable to devices featuring analog screens with moving needles, they said.
Posted in Food Safety, Radiation health risks, Uncategorized, Water Safety | 2 Comments »
April 13, 2011 at 1:14 am By Roz Potter
From the International Atomic Energy Agency. This document details how radioactive contamination of plants, water and animals occurs. It also provides information about ways to minimize ingestion.
Link
The second reference is from a blogger who has some deep knowledge and good ideas about how to minimize exposure to radioactive particles in soil, food and water.
Link
Please remember that there is a continual source of radioactivity entering the atmosphere and being deposited around the planet, from Fukushima. This is in addition to background sources. There is no known safe level of exposure to radiation, and low-level exposures still have the potential to cause harm, particularly if they persist over a long period of time. Radiation is damaging. Efforts should be made to minimize exposure.
Posted in Radiation health risks, Uncategorized | No Comments »
April 11, 2011 at 7:11 pm By Roz Potter
Link Excerpt:
The Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan released a preliminary calculation Monday saying that the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant had been releasing up to 10,000 terabecquerels of radioactive materials per hour at some point after a massive quake and tsunami hit northeastern Japan on March 11.
The disclosure prompted the government to consider raising the accident’s severity level to 7, the worst on an international scale, from the current 5, government sources said. The level 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale has only been applied to the 1986 Chernobyl catastrophe.
The current provisional evaluation of 5 is at the same level as the Three Mile Island accident in the United States in 1979.
According to an evaluation by the INES, level 7 accidents correspond with a release into the external environment radioactive materials equal to more than tens of thousands terabecquerels of radioactive iodine 131. One terabecquerel equals 1 trillion becquerels.
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April 1, 2011 at 11:56 pm By Roz Potter
An in-depth examination of the consequences of worldwide energy policy, including the Chernobyl accident. An excerpt:
Nuclear-promoting regulators inspire even less confidence. The International Atomic Energy Agency’s 2005 estimate of about 4,000 Chernobyl deaths contrasts with a rigorous 2009 review of 5,000 mainly Slavic-language scientific papers the IAEA overlooked. It found deaths approaching a million through 2004, nearly 170,000 of them in North America. The total toll now exceeds a million, plus a half-trillion dollars’ economic damage. The fallout reached four continents, just as the jet stream could swiftly carry Fukushima fallout.
Physicist Amory Lovins, Chairman and Chief Scientist of Rocky Mountain Institute, consults on energy to business and government leaders worldwide. He’s written 31 books and over 450 papers. To read more, link
Posted in Nuclear power disaster, Radiation health risks, Uncategorized | No Comments »
March 21, 2011 at 10:58 pm By Roz Potter
Link Excerpt:
Radiation 1,600 times higher than normal levels has been detected in an area about 20 kilometers from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
The International Atomic Energy Agency says its team of experts measured radiation in the air and soil at 11 locations in Fukushima Prefecture.
Posted in Nuclear power disaster, Radiation health risks, Uncategorized | No Comments »
March 17, 2011 at 11:41 pm By Roz Potter
A bleak and realistic appraisal from the head of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Link
Posted in Nuclear power disaster, Radiation health risks, Uncategorized | No Comments »
March 16, 2011 at 1:44 pm By Roz Potter
Link . An important article.
Excerpt:
After the explosions and fire, the Fukushima nuclear complex released radiation of up to 400 millisieverts per hour, Japanese officials have said. That would be about 20 times the annual exposure for some nuclear industry workers.
Dr. James Thrall, radiologist-in-chief at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and president of the American College of Radiology, said anything more than about 50 millisieverts may be cause for alarm, including the use of potassium iodide pills to mitigate exposure. Studies conducted after the atomic bombing of Japan during World War II showed those exposed to 50 millisieverts or more of radiation were at increased risk for leukemia and cancer, Thrall said.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
March 15, 2011 at 3:02 pm By Roz Potter
CBS news reports that 2 workers are missing and a crack in the roof of reactor #4, has been discovered. There was an explosion at the reactor yesterday.
Although the fire in the pond where fuel rods are kept has been extinguished, water in the pond is boiling, releasing radioactive particles into the air. The fuel rod containers may have been damaged. The walls of the storage pool building were damaged, making containment of released radioactive particles impossible.
There is deepening concern and some outright panic in Japan and other vulnerable areas.
Read the story Link
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March 15, 2011 at 2:40 pm By Roz Potter
A third explosions at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, ripped a 26 foot hole into in the reactor building and damaged the vessel below the reactor, but not the reactor core. The damaged vessel underneath the reactor will make it more difficult to control a meltdown, should it occur.
Three hours later, a fire erupted at a fourth reactor which has been offline. Steam with radioactive particles is being emitted directly into the atmosphere from nuclear fuel rods stored in a pool.
The US Navy has moved its ships to the east after detecting larger amounts of radioactivity than expected, through air monitoring. Several US military personnel were treated for radiation exposure.
140, 000 people living within 20 miles of the plant were ordered to seal themselves indoors until dangerous levels of radioactive emissions are under control. There is a ban on commercial air travel due to health concerns.
Posted in Disaster preparedness, Nuclear power disaster, Uncategorized | No Comments »
March 13, 2011 at 5:22 pm By Roz Potter
This group of scientists is more concerned than other sources posted earlier today.
Excerpt:
Officials from Tokyo Electric reported that after multiple cooling system failures, the water level in the Unit 3 reactor vessel dropped 3 meters (nearly 10 feet), uncovering approximately 90 percent of the fuel in the reactor core. Authorities were able to inject cooling water with a fire pump after reducing the containment pressure by a controlled venting of radioactive gas. As they did with Unit 1, they began pumping sea water into Unit 3, which is highly corrosive and may preclude any future use of the reactor even if a crisis is averted.
However, Tokyo Electric has reported that the water level in the Unit 3 reactor still remains more than 2 meters (6 feet) below the top of the fuel, exposing about half the fuel to air, and they believe that water may be leaking from the reactor vessel. When the fuel is exposed to air it eventually overheats and suffers damage. It is likely that the fuel has experienced significant damage at this point, and the authorities have said they are proceeding on this assumption.
One particular concern with Unit 3 is the presence of mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel in the core. MOX is a mixture of plutonium and uranium oxides. In September 2010, 32 fuel assemblies containing MOX fuel were loaded into this reactor. This is about 6% of the core.
To read the full article Link
Posted in Earthquake, Nuclear power disaster, Uncategorized | No Comments »
March 11, 2011 at 12:27 am By Roz Potter
The fifth largest quake in the world struck Japan at 2:46 p.m. followed by a series of powerful aftershocks and a large tsunami. There are reports of serious damage and numerous injuries. The area struck is 240 miles northeast of Tokyo, where building shook violently and there were reports of damage to some structures.
Read more…
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
January 18, 2011 at 2:21 am By Roz Potter
For those who might have missed the news reports, the USGS, FEMA and the California Emergency Management Agency convened a group of experts at U.C. Davis for two days last week to discuss a “Superstorm” that could be brewing. The last was in 1861-2. It continued for 45 days causing a 300 mile stretch of central California to resemble an enormous lake. Central California cities and towns including Sacramento were inundated. Such catastrophic storms occur every 100-200 years. They are called ARkStorms
Rising temperatures of the earth’s atmosphere makes such extreme weather events more likely. Such a storm could drop 10 feet of rain, flood 25% of the homes in California, cause massive landslides, disrupt sewer, water and waste systems, create toxic runoffs from industry, create ecologic damage and cause massive injuries, and loss of life with commensurate economic, social, agricultural and infrastructure damage. See NYT article Link and USGS news release Link, for more information.
Posted in Flooding, Infrastructure Failure, Severe Weather Preparedness, Uncategorized | No Comments »
October 14, 2010 at 3:45 pm By Roz Potter
Found on the Huffington Post. Don’t miss it.
Link
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Of Note