GerryBalbido.com

Fukushima residents versus government officials

Gerry Balbido — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 13:07:38 +0000

I was looking at my Google+ stream and I saw this unbelievable and shocking video in an article by Time Out Tokyo.

The people want to evacuate. They need assistance. They want answers.

It’s funny how the government officials tried to avoid answering the people’s questions. They couldn’t even answer with a straight face. And so they just run off and try to escape.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVuGwc9dlhQ

The video was uploaded by pejorativeglut. I thank the uploader for providing pretty accurate English subtitles.

Source:
http://www.timeout.jp/en/tokyo/feature/4170/Fukushima-residents-confront-government-officials

What do you think about this situation? Please leave your comments below. I would love to hear from you.
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How the 2011 Japan Tsunami Happened

Gerry Balbido — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 14:28:52 +0000

Let’s put aside, for a while, all that stuff about the nuclear accident, because I want to tell you something.

For the past 4 weeks I have consciously tried to avoid watching any videos of the devastating tsunami, and the unimaginable destruction that it brought upon the people of Japan.

But now, more than a month after the disaster, it’s about time I learned and understood exactly happened, however mind-boggling it could be.

So please join me in watching this documentary to learn more about the earthquake and tsunami from a scientific point of view.

Warning: EEW alert sounds (which sometimes send chills down my spine) can be heard in this video. Not for the faint of heart.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0T_ZSjgYI4

I liked what they said in the end:

We can’t stop these things from happening. We can’t prevent it. But we can prepare for it.

I think that’s the best thing that I could pick up from this video: Be prepared.

OK. I know it is not going to be easy to watch this but people need to learn more. So I hope you can help me spread this to more people. I would really appreciate if you could tweet or share this post! Thank you!

For those of you who would like to know how to help the people in the disaster stricken areas of Tohoku region, you can check out this page for donation options.

And as always, I am looking forward to hear your thoughts. Why don’t you leave some comments below?

How to Monitor Radiation Levels in Tokyo on a Daily Basis

Gerry Balbido — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 14:54:05 +0000

It’s been tough these past few weeks in Tokyo. While dealing with aftershocks and citywide power reduction, I have to deal with threats of radiation in the air, water and food.

And so here I am, still trying to grasp the concept of “microsieverts per hour“, here comes “becquerels per kilogram” begging for my attention. That’s quite a lot to handle.

With all those things going on, many agencies are collecting data on a daily basis. Trust me, that’s a helluva lot of data that I have to keep track of.

Lucky for me there are people who have gathered all the numbers and made them simple and easy to understand.

So for those of you who are looking for an easy way to find out about the latest radiation levels in Tokyo, you have come to the right place.

The graphs below show radiation levels in Tokyo, including how much Iodine-131 are still in the water supply.

You can bookmark this now and check back again daily. Don’t forget to hit ‘Refresh’ to see the latest graph for the day.

Click on the images to enlarge them.

For the complete set of graphs, please go to the original source.

As you can see from these graphs, the trend is going downward. Is that awesome or what?

DISCLAIMER:
Although the source data is provided by the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Public Health, I did not make these graphs. Please understand that I am not liable for any errors in the graphs you see here. Thank you.

Please do the world a favor and sharing this on Facebook and Twitter. As always, I would like to know what you think about this. So please leave some comments below. Thanks!

How to Protect Yourself from Radiation

Gerry Balbido — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 14:55:02 +0000

I know that this question is on the minds of a lot of people around the world who are following the current situation of the nuclear accident in Fukushima, Japan.

I came across an interesting blog post which provides details in how we can protect ourselves from radiation. There are no silver bullets for radioactive isotopes such as Cesium-137, but that doesn’t mean we’re just sitting ducks and we can’t do anything about it.

Global Research, March 18, 2011
Washington’s Blog

Preface: This is written for the millions of people around the world who are worried about radiation from the Japanese nuclear reactors. For those who are not worried about radiation from Japan, you can ignore this post, or save it for any future radiation scares closer to home. How do we protect ourselves against radiation? It is true that potassium iodide protects against high doses of a certain type of radiation. As the New York Times notes: Fortunately, an easy form of protection is potassium iodide, a simple compound typically added to table salt to prevent goiter and a form of mental retardation caused by a dietary lack of iodine. If ingested promptly after a nuclear accident, potassium iodide, in concentrated form, can help reduce the dose of radiation to the thyroid and thus the risk of cancer. In the United States, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission recommends that people living within a 10-mile emergency planning zone around a nuclear plant have access to potassium iodide tablets. Indeed, virtually all suppliers of potassium iodide have sold out, especially after , the U.S. Surgeon General recommended that West Coast residents stock up. But as I noted yesterday: Keep in mind that iodide only protects against one particular radioactive element: radioactive iodine, technically known as iodine-131. Iodine-131 has a half life of only 8.02 days. That means that the iodine loses half of its radioactivity within 8 days. The government hasn’t stockpiled much potassium iodide. As the New York Times notes: Congress passed legislation in 2002 requiring the federal government to supply potassium iodide capsules to people living within 20 miles of nuclear power plants in the United States. But the administrations of George W. Bush and Barack Obama have not implemented that provision, saying the law allows for alternatives. Some states have given pills to people living within 10 miles of nuclear plants, or stockpiled the pills for those people. But given that the government says that only minute amounts of radiation will hit the United States, and given that iodine-131 has such a short half-life, the whole issue may be moot (many, however, do not trust the government’s assurances. See this and this). And taking high doses of potassium iodide can be harmful, especially for people with certain pre-existing medical conditions. So talk to your doctor before taking any. Other Radiation Dangers While iodine-131 poisoning can be prevented with potassium iodide, there are no silver bullets for other radioactive isotopes. As I pointed out yesterday: The New York Times noted last week that – in addition to iodine-131, the big danger is cesium: Over the long term, the big threat to human health is cesium-137, which has a half-life of 30 years. At that rate of disintegration, John Emsley wrote in “Nature’s Building Blocks” (Oxford, 2001), “it takes over 200 years to reduce it to 1 percent of its former level.” It is cesium-137 that still contaminates much of the land in Ukraine around the Chernobyl reactor. * Cesium-137 mixes easily with water and is chemically similar to potassium. It thus mimics how potassium gets metabolized in the body and can enter through many foods, including milk. * The Environmental Protection Agency says that … once dispersed in the environment … cesium-137 “is impossible to avoid.” Cesium-137 is light enough to be carried by the wind a substantial distance. There is no surefire prevention for cesium-137. As the EPA notes in a discussion entitled ” What can I do to protect myself and my family from cesium-137?”: Cesium-137 that is dispersed in the environment, like that from atmospheric testing, is impossible to avoid. Neither the EPA – nor any other government agency – gives advice on how to minimize the danger from cesium-137 poisoning. Some have theorized about So does that mean that we’re sitting ducks? Well, the fact that there is no silver bullet (although some have theorized about potential approaches) does not mean that there is nothing we can do. Some Foods and Herbs May Help Many foods and herbs have shown efficacy in helping to protect against radiation poisoning. Indeed, antioxidants in general have been found by some studies to reduce the consequences of radiation exposure. A leading alternative health authority – Dr. Andrew Weil, a medical doctor who runs the Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona –writes today in response to the question of how to protect ourselves against radiation: I discussed other preventive strategies with Tieraona Low Dog, M.D., director of The Fellowship at the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine and an expert on botanical health. She said that there is reason to believe that taking two to four grams of curcumin, the active compound in turmeric, can help protect a number of body tissues. In addition, reishi and cordyceps mushrooms can protect bone marrow from toxic assaults, and antioxidants can help the body defend itself from radiation damage. Since radioactive particles may be carried by dust, having a HEPA filter in your home would also be a good idea in the event of a nuclear accident that is close enough to be of concern. Dr. Tieraona Low Dog is a medical doctor who has impressive credentials in herbal medicine, and who has been tapped to fill a number of health related posts in government. Retired neurosurgeon Dr. Russell Blaylock – on the editorial staff of the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons – also recommends foods and herbs to help protect us from radiation: “Most of the health risks are not going to be due to acute radiation poisoning,” he tells Newsmax. “It’s going to be a risk of increased cancer.” … If radiation does arrive in the United States, people would need “to change their diet. They need to stop eating Western farm products,” Blaylock says. … Among the supplements he cited, iodine can protect the thyroid gland if taken before the exposure to radiation. Gingko biloba can be protective even after exposure to radiation. Beta-glucan protects the bone marrow. Curcumin also can offer protection after exposure, particularly against breast cancer. He also suggests garlic extract, ginger, melatonin, and magnesium. … We understand if all of this sounds a bit flakey, crunchy, woo-woo and hippy-ish. And none of these are 100% effective even against low doses of radiation. But there are actually numerous scientific studies backing up the ability of some foods and herbs to help protect us from radiation. Admittedly, some scientific studies are good studies and some are of worthless quality. But the rest of this post will round up some of the scientific literature for your review. As the Journal of Clinical Biochemical Nutrition noted in 2007: The results obtained from in vitro and in vivo studies indicate that several botanicals such as Gingko biloba, Centella asiatica, Hippophae rhamnoides, Ocimum sanctum, Panax ginseng, Podophyllum hexandrum, Amaranthus paniculatus, Emblica officinalis, Phyllanthus amarus,Piper longum, Tinospora cordifoila, Mentha arvensis, Mentha piperita, Syzygium cumini, Zingiber officinale, Ageratum conyzoides, Aegle marmelos and Aphanamixis polystachya protect against radiation-induced lethality, lipid peroxidation and DNA damage. Many inexpensive foods have protective properties against radiation, including: Garlic (one Indian tribe living in the desert of Nevada used to eat bulbs of raw garlic to help protect against radiation from the above-ground nuclear tests) Foods rich in beta-carotene Ginger Curcurim (and see this) – the active ingredient in turmeric which, in turn, is in yellow curry (available in Indian and Thai dishes). Many types of seaweed (see this, this and this) Miso (when it has been “long-fermented”, instead of fermented for a shorter time) Many herbs and supplements available at health food stores and drugstores pharmacies have protective properties against radiation, including: Vitamin D3 Vitamin E (see this and this; the natural form is probably much healthier for you than the synthetic form) Panax Ginseng, a traditional “adaptogen” in Chinese medicine (see this and this) American Ginseng (indeed, one study apparently found American Ginseng helped prevent damage from cesium-137) Rhodiola, an adaptogen Holy basil (and see this; also called tulasi; this is the top herb in traditional Ayurvedic – i.e. Indian – medicine) Chlorella, a blue-green algae (see this and this) Spirulina, a blue-green algae available at health food stores Ginko bilboa Tomato extract (Lycopersicon) Reishi mushrooms (and see this) Cordyceps mushroom (and see this) Magnesium pemoline Sesamol (an extract from sesame seeds) Melatonin applied to the skin Thiol family of antioxidants, such as N-acetyl cysteine, glutathione and thioproline Beta-glucan (a yeast derivative) And many herbs commonly available in some parts of the world have protective properties against radiation, including: Aloe arborescens (commonly known as “Krantz Aloe”, a lesser-known member of the aloe family) Nigella sativa Centella asiatica Tinospora cordifolia (known as “guduchi”) Emblica Note: Just because herbs are “natural” does not mean that they can be swallowed in large doses without side effects. Herbs can have powerful effects, just like medicine. As such, you should treat them with respect and study proper dosage and potential side effects before taking them. Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or a health professional, and this should not be taken as medical advice. Nothing contained herein is intended to diagnose or treat any condition. You should consult your doctor before making any decisions about whether or not to take any of the foods, herbs, supplements or substances mentioned herein.
Global Research Articles by Washington’s Blog

Original source is here.

Congratulations! You just learned something new today. So what do you think? I would love to read your comments.

Warning: Nuclear Boy has Stinky Poo!

Gerry Balbido — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 17:50:49 +0000

We’ve all been through quite a rough ride this week, with all this commotion about the situation at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. I don’t know about you but I am tired.

I am tired of reading a lot of very technical stuff. Milli sieverts. Micro sieverts. Sieverts shmieverts. I say it’s time for a time out. Time to unwind!

Japanese media artist Kazuhiko Hachiya created this cool video to explain Japan’s current nuclear crisis to kids. I found it quite entertaining, that’s why I’m sharing it with you.

So sit back, relax, unwind, and enjoy the show.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sakN2hSVxA

What do you think? Did you like this video? Yes or yes?

Please share this to your friends on Facebook and Twitter. And leave some comment love below! Thank you!

Caught in a Disaster? There’s an App for That

Gerry Balbido — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 17:18:48 +0000

I love my iPhone. But not in a fanboy way.

I never thought my iPhone would turn out to be such a life saver.
It’s so useful that I can’t imagine going back to my old Galapagos phone. I would probably be lost?

Here are some must have iPhone apps that may help you in case of disasters.

QuakeWatch
The most popular earthquake app on the iPhone is now universal for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch.

BuddyGuard VIP
This freemium app can send alerts to your contacts when you are in trouble. It can also detect an impact or fall, and send out an emergency alert.
If you upgrade and pay a monthly fee, it can alert local emergency teams or even your embassy if you get in trouble abroad.

Disaster Readiness 2011
Be prepared for any disaster (earthquake, hurricane, nuclear blast, terrorists, etc) with this great paid app!
It gives a very thorough guide complete with step by step instructions on how to secure, treat and survive the worst case scenario.

Pocket First Aid and CPR
This paid app from the American Heart Association can guide you through the giving of CPR and other basic first aid. It can also call emergency services for you.

Flashlight-4
A simple free app that uses iPhone4 LED as flashlight or strobe light. It can also flash SOS signals.

YureKuru Call for iPhone
This cool app sends push notifications to your iPhone if an earthquake occurs. When a notification arrives, it plays an alarm sound. Nice to have when a shakedown happens while you are sleeping

Softbank 伝言板　(Disaster Message Board)
This free app is available to Softbank subscribers only. It allows users to send messages to the disaster message board, with an option to set automatic notifications to 3 email addresses each time you update your status.

iSeismometer
With the built in accelerometer and gyro, your iPhone4 can be a good seismometer. Try it out for free!

Twitter
Good way to get the latest news and info. Also great way to send a quick message or make a status update, which also goes straight to my Facebook wall. Very reliable especially when calling is not possible.

Skype
When mobile phone cellular network was down and I couldn’t make calls, Skype was there to save the day. I was able to make clear international calls over 3G data network.

Facebook
I use this app to get the latest news and info on earthquake and radiation levels in Tokyo.

NHK WORLD TV Live
I mentioned this great app for watching news in English in a previous post. The quality is good even on moving trains.

I guess it’s also worth mentioning Google Maps because I couldn’t have made it home on foot, at night even, without this great tool.
WARNING: GPS operation eats up a lot of battery life!

Do you know other useful apps? Let me know what you think.
And remember to share this on Facebook and Twitter. Thanks!

10 Simple Ways to Help Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Victims

Gerry Balbido — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 16:58:50 +0000

I have gathered some links to charities and different ways to help and make donations.
Most of them can be done from any part of the world. Some may be applicable to US only.

Text to Donate

Just text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate to the American Red Cross for Japan Earthquake Relief.

Additionally, you can text JAPAN or QUAKE to 80888 to make a $10 donation to the Salvation Army.

Note: Most likely this is applicable to US mobile networks only.

Donate via Facebook

You can also donate $10 to $500 to the Red Cross via their Causes campaign

Buy virtual goods

Buy stuff on Farmville, Cityville and other Zynga games. No kidding!

They have raised millions of dollars for charities. Social media for social good. Awesome!

Embed some code

Check my previous post about the Hello Bar at the top of this site.

“Like” a Facebook Page

Explore.org will donate $1 for every Like of the “Dog Bless You” Facebook Page. The search dogs will help find survivors under the rubble and debris.

Help on Twitter

Find out the many ways you can use the power of Twitter to help Japan. Tip: click the Tweet button on this post

Donate via iTunes

Apple has setup a donation page on iTunes so you can donate from $5 to $200 to the Red Cross.

Complete details are here:
http://mashable.com/2011/03/13/japan-earthquake-tsunami-help-donate/

Donate to MSF

Make an unrestricted donation to Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières.

Help find missing persons…

Using Google’s People finder. You can check it out on Google Crisis Response

Help Save the Children

You can help Save the Children by donating online.

BONUS: Share this post to friends

Please share this post to your Facebook friends and Twitter followers. Let’s spread the word. Thank you!

There you have it. As with anything that involves money, please do your due diligence before making any donations. Don’t waste your money on bogus charities. Make your contribution count!

If you know of other good ways to help, please leave some comments below.

How to Look at Radiation Levels

Gerry Balbido — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 08:37:49 +0000

By now you’ve probably heard about the recent spike in radiation levels detected in Ibaraki and Kanagawa prefectures. They say it is about 10 to 100 times the “usual level”. Those numbers don’t mean anything to me. The question is: are those measured levels of radiation still with the acceptable range or is it beyond what my body can handle and cause severe damage to my health?

So I want you to check out this neat chart I found to put things in perspective.

This is the explanation by gakuranman, the guy who posted the chart:

Here’s a chart showing the range of radiation levels in milli sieverts (mSv). Currently up to 400mSv per hour are being recorded in the immediate vicinity of Fukushima. Remember, although these figures may suggest that the level of radiation being recorded at Fukushima is not extremely high, the danger is constant exposure over a period of time. For this reason, people within the 20km evacuation zone are at high risk of serious harm.

7,000-10,000mSv – Person dies from radiation poisoning. (Full body exposure).
1,000mSv – Nausea and vomiting (Full body exposure).
500mSv – Decrease of lymphocytes in peripheral blood (white blood cells that defend your body) (Full body exposure).
200mSv – No clinical conditions confirmed below this number
10mSv – 1 year’s worth of natural radiation (Brazil)
6.9mSv – CT scan
2.4mSv – 1 year’s worth of natural radiation (world average)
1mSv – Limit of one’s year’s exposure to non-natural radiation (excluding medical examinations)
0.6mSv – Stomach X-ray
0.2mSv – A return air trip from Tokyo to New York
0.05mSv – Chest X-ray (or the level of radiation expected around a nuclear power plant – in practice it is much lower than this)

Source: http://gakuranman.com

The chart shows radiation levels measured in units of milli Sieverts. So let’s do a little math here.

Recent spike measured in Tokyo was around 1 micro Sv (I think the usual is about 0.1 micro Sv). If 1 milli Sv is 1000 micro Sv, then today’s spike was about 0.001 milli Sv.

The media might say: oh it’s 10 times the normal level! If the normal level was 0.0001 milli Sv, then even 100 times the normal level would be 0.01 milli Sv. And that is just 1/5th of a chest X-ray.

Of course, we still have to be careful because the longer you are exposed, more radiation adds up. So take caution.

UPDATE: A similar chart was featured on Daily Yomiuri Online. Check out the full article here.

What do you think? Please leave your comments below. Did you like this post? Go ahead and share it on Facebook and Twitter. Thanks!

How to Check for Radiation Even If You Don’t Have A Geiger Counter

Gerry Balbido — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 15:21:37 +0000

With all the recent explosions at the nuclear power plant in Fukushima, there’s a lot of talk about radioactive stuff leaking into the surrounding areas.

The Japanese government says it’s pretty safe and things are “under control.” Then there’s this report that says choppers that flew 60miles near the damaged reactors “became coated with particulate radiation that had to be washed off.”

And then there’s a lot of misinformation going around through e-mails and text messages that are just aggravating the situation. Honestly, I don’t really know which information is right or wrong.

What I am worried about is that, whatever other people are saying, I don’t have any gadget to help me check the radiation levels on my own. I mean, I’ve seen friends on Facebook who have bought Geiger counters!

So what about us folks who live in Tokyo and don’t have those cool tools?

I found this neat live stream of a Geiger counter in Koto Ward in Tokyo, which is about 20miles (32km) from my home.
This live feed is on all day if you want to check it, follow this link:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/geiger-counter-tokyo

It shows the current CPM (counts per minute) reading which is about 12 as of today. I don’t really know much about these things but I guess the current reading means that Tokyo is safe, for now at least.

DISCLAIMER: The person who put this up says it is not professional grade so use caution. Also, this live stream sometimes goes offline.

UPDATE:
Here’s a map of real-time geiger counters in Japan. Each point has their own site where they post their data. Some sites are all Japanese so I suggest you paste their link to Google Translate or Excite Japan

If the geiger counter in Tokyo is offline, you can also check this one in Kashiwa City, Chiba:

Broadcasting Live with Ustream.TV

So what do you think? Please leave a comment below!
If you have more info about radiation and how to detect it, please do leave a comment.
Also, if you found this info cool or even useful, please share it on Facebook and Twitter! Let’s go!

3 Ways to Watch NHK World News in English

Gerry Balbido — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 09:35:41 +0000

For foreigners living in Japan, it is extremely important to be able to understand any important announcements and news updates. Fortunately, there is a news broadcast service in English.

NHK WORLD TV is an English language 24-hour international news and information channel.
It is one of the sources of information that I use today.
Right now there are 3 ways you can access this news service.

1. Watch it on NHK World TV Live main site
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/index.html

2. Watch via USTREAM

UPDATE: click play to watch directly from this page [Flash only].

Live Broadcasting by Ustream

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nhk-world-tv
This is the Official NHK WORLD TV live on USTREAM.

3. Watch it on the go

You can also watch it on iPad, iPhone, iPod touch.
Download the NHK World TV Live app for free:
http://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/nhk-world-tv-live/id350732480?mt=8

If you know of other news sources in English, please leave comments below. Also, please share this information to Facebook and Twitter. Thank you!