US races freshwater ro Japan nuclear plant

They have no choice if they wish to avoid total meltdown. That is a given. Which is the point about it being so dangerous and actually so foolish as an energy choice in the world we now live in.

I agree nukes are not a good source of energy But we as a nation have been entertained so long about stock market and tax relief for the rich that we would have trouble trying get out of a paper bag example three wars,New Orleans while we are cleaning up the trash left behind , blaming every one, Not taking responsibility and the entertainers wanted more tax breaks and drill baby drill.
The American people has no real journalist that can take the bull by the horns and point the way with results all I hear is cannons to the left,cannons to the right and cannons from the rear with expert commentary telling which cannon failed
From each expert nothing about how to defend against these cannons but we got to give them a tax break so they can buy more cannons not make jobs

I'm tired of hearing it too. We can do whatever we truly want to do, and that is the indictment of the human species....we make up all sorts of excuses to cover up our own prejudices, biases, selfishness and greed. We could have solar, wind, geothermal, tidal wave energy and a host of other renewables not even mentioned yet if we really wanted as a whole to see progress. However, it is known that the human species is inherently a warlike species so to do this would just about negate any reason to kill other humans and hold them down in order for the elites to maintain power, and of course, that just can't be allowed where doing so keeps those certain few rich from maintaining control. The world you and I and others speak of is too tolerant, too equal, too peaceful... Too human.

I pray as well for the people of Japan in the face of this disaster. This does not look good at all.

So true Jan, I read yesterday people in Japan are being told not to drink the water, yet given no viable option. Yet here they are dumping fresh water on the reactors as a last ditch effort to cool them. This is deja vu of the gulf oil crisis. I hope we learn something from this.

The irony is that the people of Africa wouldn't have such a problem with access to clean water if they had cheap, widely available electricity. I agree with your stance about nuclear, though. It isn't worth it. The hard hard reality is that the people of the world are going to have to get used to a world with less complexity, less mobility, a narrower variety of good and services to choose from, and less energy consumption.

Actually the other side to that coin is that Africa is experiencing drought, desertification, water evaporation and lack of potable water due to the socalled "cheap" energy we use here that is exacerbating biodistress and pollution in parts of the world whose footprint isn't even close to what we use here. Corporations continue to plunder these lands to satisfy our oil addiction, and that too uses and pollutes water they could use for themselves. And also in part from having their resources privitized by entities in business only to profit by deforesting land to use it to grow fuel instead of food. Solar energy is actually making a better headway in Africa than it is here despite this however. Go figure.

I hope so. How many disasters does it take?

Solar energy is more popular in China too- anyone can set up their own panels and get free, reliable electricity that they themselves control.
Coal, oil and nuclear are only "cheap" when you pretend all the other costs don't exist, it's like buying anything cheap really- the costs always add up much more expensive in the end.

I am glad they are finally getting water from healthy sources. I was listening to an interview on NPR who was speaking with individuals living in the area where the [water] ban was and the people NPR were speaking with told this information. There is so much information, dis-information, and uniformed right now, it is hard to discern the facts from fiction. One minute the levels are reported out the roof, one hour later it's taken back. I pray every day for the dear people of Japan who are living through this.

I don't watch tv, don't own one. (my choice) It is not called "tv programing" by accident, words do matter. I rely on news from various Internet sources and try to check facts, and never upon opinions. Even factual news sources are sending out news alerts that are one number and a few hours later the number changed, here is an example: (http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/27_24.html)

Tokyo Electric Power Company has retracted its announcement that 10 million times the normal density of radioactive materials had been detected in water at the Number 2 reactor of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

The utility says it will conduct another test of the leaked water at the reactor's turbine building.

The company said on Sunday evening that the data for iodine-134 announced earlier in the day was actually for another substance that has a longer half-life.

The plant operator said earlier on Sunday that 2.9 billion becquerels per cubic centimeter had been detected in the leaked water.

It said although the initial figure was wrong, the water still has a high level of radioactivity of 1,000 millisieverts per hour.

Sunday, March 27, 2011 22:02 +0900 (JST)

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Me again, so even the most reliable of sources can be unreliable at times. As I stated, when I heard the water report, it was a NPR reporter on site at one of the emergency shelters in Japan, I don't know why I wouldn't believe that? But again, one minute we get one report and the next another. I feel for you guys, If I did not care, I would be watching a movie and not even reading or listening. bless you my friend.