We're struggling with climate change here, right at the moment; the calendar says March 13; but the weather seems to have settled on about April 25th. Or maybe May 10; hard to say exactly.
On a farm of any kind; you have to jump when spring hits; and it's here far too early, which causes dislocations in other work loads. Exhaustion is a side effect of climate change which is rarely addressed.
All of which is by way of making excuses for my lack of good activity here. Sorry. Working on it.
Meanwhile; I'm going to put up another couple of in toto quotes from Japanese public televsion news; if you'll check the last post, indeed the links to the original stories no longer work. So you have to grab this stuff while you can.
Three stories which will NOT hit MSM repeats here inside The Shire; one stemming from the anniversary of the quake/tsunami/melt-throughs:
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Human chain surrounds Diet in anti-nuclear rally
Thousands of people have formed a human chain around Japan's Diet to call for scrapping nuclear power plants in the country.
The protesters held the rally in central Tokyo on Sunday, the first anniversary of the powerful earthquake and tsunami that triggered the nuclear accident in Fukushima.
They observed a minute of silence at 2:46 PM, the time the quake struck. The demonstrators then marched to the Diet building and formed the human chain.
A 71-year-old man from Tokyo said he used electricity generated at the Fukushima plant while people from the prefecture shouldered the burden. He said nuclear plants must be shut down and everyone in Japan should think about energy issues.
A woman who brought her child to the rally said it's unthinkable to keep nuclear plants that could cause accidents and force people to leave their homes because of radioactive contamination.
A university student said daily life would become inconvenient if nuclear plants were shut down, but this is the time to switch to other energy sources to ensure safety 30 years from now.
Sunday, March 11, 2012 23:09 +0900 (JST)
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Such a demonstration would have been impossible/unthinkable- before Fukushima. But the attitudes being reported from the common people in Japan are now radically different.
And; NHK goes to lengths to report on anti-nuclear activity elsewhere on the globe; which we do not hear about from our regular news sources. 30,000 people protesting in France, against nukes? Nah, that's not news.
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Protestors say "No" to nuclear power plants
Around 30,000 protestors came together in France on Sunday to form a human chain to call for an end to nuclear energy.
One year after the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, people linked arms for some 230 kilometers along a major road in southeastern France, where many nuclear facilities are located.
Demonstrators from France, Germany and Switzerland also rallied at 10 sites as part of the anti-nuclear power protest set up by an NGO.
In the town of Cruas, which has power plant facilities, many protestors, including children and old people, formed a human chain and chanted "No to nuclear power."
One participant said that even though Japan is known for its advanced technology, it still experienced a nuclear catastrophe. He said that means it will be even more difficult for France to avoid such risks.
Almost 80 percent of France's electricity is generated by nuclear power. The country has 58 reactors, the second-largest number in the world after the United States. In the wake of the nuclear accident in Japan, the French anti-nuclear movement has gained momentum.
Anti-nuclear rallies were also held across the United States on Sunday.
In New York, about 200 people, including some Japanese, marched through the city center, calling for a society without nuclear energy.
The protestors gathered in a square in Manhattan to hear speakers call on the world to learn from Fukushima to build a society without nuclear power stations.
Monday, March 12, 2012 11:05 +0900 (JST)
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And another story about the memory of war, from the losing side. Japan often teaches its high school students essentially nothing about WWII; where Germany teaches basically everything; from Hitler to the Holocaust.
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67th anniversary of US air raids on Tokyo
Tokyo is observing the 67th anniversary of massive US air raids during World War Two.
About 100,000 people living mainly in eastern residential areas of Tokyo are estimated to have been killed in the predawn raids and fire after the attack on March 10, 1945.
A memorial service was held on Saturday at the site in Sumida ward that contains the unidentified ashes of 105,000 people.
More than 350 people, including family members of the dead, mourned the victims.
A 71-year-old man, remembering the area burned flat that day, said he wants to tell his late father and brothers that he is now living in peace and in good health thanks to them.
An 80-year-old woman said she could not forget watching her mother die while trying to flee the devastation along with family members. She added that she wants to describe the disaster to her grandchildren as part of the horror of war.
The metropolitan government is still identifying the dead of that time.
Saturday, March 10, 2012 21:50 +0900 (JST)
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And, fourthly; a "canary in the coalmine" story; which I am struggling to comprehend:
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Beer shipments plunge in February
Shipments of beer and beer-like beverages in Japan dropped in February to a record low for the reporting month.
Domestic shipments totaled just less than 360,000 kiloliters. That's the lowest for the month of February since comparable records became available in 1992.
The February shipments were down 4.7 percent year-on-year, and marked a third straight month of decline.
Demand was hit by cold weather and heavy snowfall in parts of Japan. Beer makers add that sales of new, non-alcoholic-type drinks also hurt beer shipments.
Monday, March 12, 2012 12:36 +0900 (JST)
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Beer consumption is down???? I think some analysis is called for! "Cold weather" might be part of it- but others are up... people usually drink a little more beer if they're feeling depressed, which all other measures in Japan indicate is the case... Is it possible to become too depressed to drink beer? That would news.
Just some more fun stuff to contemplate, as you go about your business today.
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1 comment:
After the desaster in Fukushime, Germany has decided to get off nuclear power. The goal is to switch off the last nuclear power plant in 2012. Instead, the necessary electricity will be provided by photovoltaic, wind and water power. All kinds of alternative energy are now heavily supported by the government.
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