Lest We Forget…

It has been over two years since the nuclear power plant in Namie-machi, Fukushima, Japan was crippled by the tsunami triggered by the “Great East Japan Earthquake.” In the aftermath of the nuclear accident on March 2011, all 21,000 residents of the town of Namie-machi were forced to flee their homes.

They are still forbidden to enter the city.

On March 27, the mayor of Namie-machi, Mr. Tamotsu Baba, wrote a guest post on the Official Google blog in which he announced the results of a collaboration with Google to find a way that the citizens of that city, and the world, could get a better sense of the devastating effects the disaster had on the area.

With his cooperation, Google Street View cars drove through Namie-machi, capturing images of the city as it is today, with its shuttered shops and deserted streets. These images of Fukushima Exclusion Zone Town Namie-machi are now available on Google Maps. 

One image shared on the Official Google Blog on 3.27.13

The mayor posted several images and commented on their significance. He also wrote, “Ever since the March disaster, the rest of the world has been moving forward, and many places in Japan have started recovering. But in Namie-machi time stands still. With the lingering nuclear hazard, we have only been able to do cursory work for two whole years. We would greatly appreciate it if you viewed this Street View imagery to understand the current state of Namie-machi and the tremendous gravity of the situation…We want this Street View imagery to become a permanent record of what happened to Namie-machi in the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster…Finally, I want to make a renewed commitment to recovering from the nuclear hazard. It may take many years and many people’s help, but we will never give up taking back our hometown.”

Fukushima was not the only region in Japan to sustain severe damage from the earthquake and tsunami. At the Memories for the Future Project site it is possible to view “before” and “after” photos of a number of places throughout Japan. When the people fled these areas they left behind their homes and most possessions, including cherished photos and videos. The Memories for the Future Project was established in order to help people “rediscover lost memories of their homes and towns.” 

These images are powerful reminders of the horrific consequences when the forces of man and nature collide.

Early May 2011 News Roundup & Blog Updates 5.6.11

With all that’s been going on these past few days, there are a number of stories that came and went without too much notice. I’d like to take this opportunity to recycle a few.

NEWS from ALL OVER:

According to Reuters, Japanese engineers are still struggling to gain control of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Two of the six reactors are now considered stable. Check out these Q+As for the latest on the progress. 

For a detailed summary and analysis of the April 25-28 tornado outbreak in the South, check out Dr. Jeff Masters’s blog.  If you scroll down the page, you will find a video of the Birmingham-Tuscaloosa tornado, which killed at least 66 and injured over 1000.

The threat of flooding along the Mississippi was so severe that the Army Corps of Engineers blew up the levee at Birds Point, Missouri (designed to be destroyed in the event of a record flood), intentionally flooding 133,000 acres of rich farmland. According to Jeff Masters, the levee was demolished once before, during the historic 1937 flood.

Yale Environment 360 reported that scientists at MIT have unveiled transparent solar cells that someday soon may turn skyscrapers into solar collectors. With perfection of this invention, the entire surface area of a building’s windows could be used to generate electricity, without interfering with the view to the outside. You can read more at the MIT site. 

Slow Food USA sent out an alert about Mark Bittman’s Op-Ed of 4.27 commenting on proposed legislation in several states that would make it illegal to photograph farms. According to Bittman, in Florida it would become a first degree felony to photograph any farm without the owner’s written permission. Slow Food is gathering signatures for a petition  and also requests that over the next few days everyone goes out armed with cameras and join their “farmarazzi.” Here is the link to the Slow Food Facebook page where farm photos are starting to appear. 

Santa Clara County joined the growing list of California communities banning the distribution of plastic shopping bags.  Customers without bags will have to pay 15¢ each for paper ones beginning January 1.

NEWS from NEW HAVEN:

Stop & Shop opened on Whalley Avenue and seems to be doing a brisk business. I’ve already been there a couple of times.

The Elm City Market solicited written good wishes for placing on the store’s dirt floor prior to its being covered with concrete.

I felt like Forrest Gump last weekend:

The Yale Institute of Sacred Music staged an elaborate Flash Mob at Union Station  on April 29. I was there but you’ll have to look really closely to spot me at 4 seconds in.

I rode in the third annual Rock to Rock bike ride on April 30, a benefit for 14 environmental groups in the community. It seemed everyone I knew came out of the  woodwork for a wonderful event on this sunny Saturday. This year more than 500 riders raised over $50,000. Those of us on the short ride were treated to a police escort and the thrill of zooming through the City on streets closed to traffic. The “Pot Heads” from the New Haven Land Trust were the winners of both the team spirit  award and the top team fundraising award. The group’s executive director Chris Randall won the highest individual fundraising award. The success of the event is a real boon for the City’s environmental organizations. As just one example, funding for the New Haven Land Trust’s community garden program in the proposed City budget is facing a $17,500 cut— from $25,000 to $7,500.

I was one of over 500 participants in Connecticut Food Bank’s annual WALK Against Hunger in New Haven on May 1. The WALK will take place in Bridgeport on May 15 and in Waterbury on May 22.

On Wednesday I discovered that at the tables down at Mory’s one can now enjoy a mean Vegetarian Green Tomato BLT. 

Brown paper still covers the window of the storefront on Broadway where it is rumored that an Apple store will open. Apple still has not made an official announcement, but on the Apple site, applications are being accepted for retail jobs in New Haven. Why does this matter? Broadway is a lot closer than Farmington or Danbury, which means smaller carbon footprints for local Apple addicts.

BLOG NEWS

I still need Mississippi. Someone must know someone there.

SPECIAL EVENTS:

May 7 (tomorrow)

Opening of the 8th season of the Wooster Square Farmers Market

Lettuce toss at 9 am. CitySeed  says special guests include Senator Martin Looney, Mayor John DeStefano, and Director of the New Haven Office of Sustainability Christine Eppstein Tang, who will bring along a few free compost bins.

May 1- May 8

Compost Awareness Week

Earth 911 has lots of information to up your awareness and get you started on making your own black gold. [more in my February 24, 2010 post] 

Now until May 31

Vote to bring fruit trees to New Haven. 

Friends of Edgewood Park have been nominated to receive a free fruit orchard. Help the Friends get to the next level of the competition. Vote for them once daily at the Edy’s Fruit Bars site.

Freebie Friday Returns!

In the spirit of my winter Freebie Friday posts I offer up this link to a A Google A Day,  a daily trivia game some of you may have seen in the New York Times. You are meant to google to get the answer, but to avoid spoilers, be sure to do it here. You can read more about the puzzle here.  Test out your search skills! Put your brain to work!

TGIF. Have a great weekend. And please come back soon.

Early April 2011 News Roundup & Blog Updates

NEWS from ALL OVER:

The nuclear crisis at Fukushima has been raised to severity level 7, the highest level on an international scale overseen by the International Atomic Energy Agency, and on par with the disaster at Chernobyl. Members of the “Fukushima 50” gave their first interview. 

It is nearly one year since the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010. The owner of the rig is arranging to fly relatives of the 11 men who died out to the disaster site on the anniversary.  

Bolivia is poised to pass The Law of Mother Earth, granting all nature equal rights to humans. As part of a complete restructuring of the Bolivian legal system, heavily influenced by its indigenous Andean people, the country will establish 11 new rights for nature. Please read more here.  

The US Government did not shut down. While debate rages over where to make cuts in the budget, the military bands play on. 

MoveOn.org joined forces with Hungerfast.org, whose tagline is “fasting and prayer to protect vulnerable people,” to protest proposed budget cuts which “lack conscience.”  You can watch Moby’s video on 30,000 fasters here. You can sign on to participate here.

Members of the Boston Tree Party, a collaborative campaign to plant 100 pairs of heirloom apple trees in civic spaces across Greater Boston, held its Inauguration Ceremony on April 10th at the Rose Kennedy Greenway. You can read more about the group and its first event here.

There have been 516,216,260 views of Justin Bieber in the most popular YouTube video yet.

NEWS from NEW HAVEN:

Stop & Shop will open its doors for business at 6 am tomorrow on Whalley Avenue in the building formerly occupied by Shaw’s Supermarket. New Haven has been without a downtown supermarket since Shaw’s closed in March. Hundreds of carbon footprints will get a little smaller. An official opening ceremony will take place this evening from 5-7 pm with refreshments, entertainment, and prizes.

The Elm City Market, a cooperatively-owned supermarket scheduled to open this summer on the ground floor of 360 State Street, in the heart of downtown, has now signed on nearly 500 members.  

New Haven said farewell last week to Willis Diggs, a gentle giant beloved throughout greater New Haven. Willis was most recently a case manager at the Department of Veterans Affairs in New Haven. He had served as Facilities Director and Director of Operations at the Connecticut Food Bank, Executive Director of the Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen, and in a number of other positions in the nonprofit community. Innovator and entrepreneur, he brought out the best in everyone. Willis was a Vietnam War veteran and recipient of a number of medals, including the Purple Heart.

The Mitchell Dubey Family Benefit Show was held at Toad’s Place. Police have still not made an arrest in the killing. 

BLOG NEWS

I have had readers in 49 states. Mississippi is the one holdout. Know anyone there to whom you can send this link? The page views are climbing. Thanks for all your support.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Friday, April 22

Earth Day

Saturday, April 30

Rock to Rock Earth Day Ride [more in my 3.23.post].

Saturday, April 30

National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. Visit this site for a location near you.

That’s it for today. Please remember to return tomorrow for Freebie Friday when I hope to have a freebie or two for you.