.The Fukushima Mothers’ Chorus Association at the 2nd Japan-US Chorus Festival.
Carnegie Hall Will Host Three Manhatanville Alumane
17 October 2013
….The Fukushima Mothers’ Chorus Association is made up of 750 members split into 32 groups all hailing from Fukushima prefecture, Japan, an area recently devastated by the earthquake and a subsequent nuclear power plant failure in 2011. Although many of the members were forced to evacuate and live in temporary homes they still actively perform around the world…..
Image source ; http://www.fukushimaminponews.com/news.html?id=233
 Manhattanville College will be well represented at Carnegie Hall on Oct. 19 as three alumnae will share the stage with the Fukushima Mothers’ Chorus Association for the 2nd Japan-US Chorus Festival.Alexis DePersia-Norelli ’06, MA ’13, Stephanie Ofshinsky 06’, MAT’09, and Sabrina Doolittle ’07, MAT ’13, all regularly travel, compete and perform with the Harmony Celebration Chorus. The New Jersey-based group is a barbershop-style chorus made up of more than 60 women that sing a variety of different musical selections.
“I am really excited,” DePersia-Norelli said adding that their final rehearsal Wednesday night went really well and that she is looking forward to performing. We are going to be singing and dancing at Carnegie Hall that is crazy.” The Fukushima Mothers’ Chorus Association is made up of 750 members split into 32 groups all hailing from Fukushima prefecture, Japan, an area recently devastated by the earthquake and a subsequent nuclear power plant failure in 2011. Although many of the members were forced to evacuate and live in temporary homes they still actively perform around the world. The Harmony Celebration Chorus will be the third act to take the stage, just before the Fukushima Mothers’ Chorus Association and the two groups will perform two songs together. The two groups won’t be meeting until Saturday when they have a short rehearsal before the concert, however despite their different styles and backgrounds DePersia-Norelli expects all of them to connect through music. “For me, music is one of those cool things that translates across cultures,” she said. Other acts include the Japan Choral Harmony “Tomo” and the Manhattan Symphonie. People can donate to On the Road to Fukushima, an organization helping achieve environmental recovery to Fukushima, either at the concert or in advance. Contact Mike Shirota for more information on donations. The concert will begin at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 and seating is on a first come, first served basis. Contact the Carnegie Hall box office for tickets, 212-247-7800. Visit the concert’s website for more information. |
UN Says Fukushima Workers Radiation Exposure 20 times Higher Than Japanese Officials State
Published on 17 Oct 2013
The UN has found that Fukushima workers have been exposed to much higher levels of radiation than Japanese officials having been reporting.
Reference: UN questions Japan estimates of Fukushima worker radiation doses
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles…
A Review and Critical Analysis of the Effective Dose of Radiation Concept by Alexey Yablokov.
- 10-9-2013
- Categorized in: Chernobyl, NUCLEAR POWER, PUBLIC HEALTH
Alexey Yablokov l Blacksmith Institute (Journal of Health and Pollution) October 2013
Link to downloadable article: http://blacksmithjournal.org/ojs/ojs-2.2.4/index.php/journalhealthpollution/article/view/71/95
“Radioactive pollution and its effects are some of the least visible but most dangerous man-made changes of the biosphere. Though above-ground nuclear weapons testing has been banned since the 1960s, mankind has continued to find new ways to exploit radionuclides. To protect people from anthropogenic radiation contamination, it is necessary to determine an acceptable level and range of exposure. Today, the system of radiation safety endorsed by the U.N. and other multi-national groups is based on the concept of an effective dose—the measure of cancer risk toan entire organism from radiation exposure to its various parts. This review posits there are serious problems with both the concept of an effective dose and the methodology behind its calculation, and that a new framework is needed. In order to study the issues and drawbacks of the official concept of radiation safety, and to assist readers in understanding the basis of his argument, the author sums up and critiques the current system’s main basic postulates and conclusions.”
http://blacksmithjournal.org/ojs/ojs-2.2.4/index.php/journalhealthpollution/article/view/71
http://blacksmithjournal.org/ojs/ojs-2.2.4/index.php/journalhealthpollution/article/view/71/95
From this source
Plutonium contaminates water in Fukushima
Documentary: Plutonium detected “all around” mountain in town 20 kilometers from Fukushima plant — “Everyone knows that… We use the water that comes from those mountains” (VIDEO) http://enenews.com/documentary-plutonium-detected-all-around-mountain-in-town-20-kilometers-from-fukushima-plant-everyone-knows-that-we-use-the-water-that-comes-from-those-mountains-video
October 16th, 2013
Title: Welcome to Fukushima (2013)
Director: Alain de Halleux
Release Date: 11 March 2013 (Belgium)
Minamisoma resident Seiko Kowata, ~20km from Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant:
Plutonium has been detected all around the mountain, everyone knows that.
But the ground absorbs the rain and we use the water that comes from those mountains.
So we must have further discussions to find out what the after effects could be.
But even the government has no idea.
UK security in doubt, as China to own its nuclear power plants?
Should we be worried about the Chinese owning our nuclear power stations?Angus Walker: China Correspondent ITV, Thu 17 Oct 2013 Chancellor George Osborne has today given formal Government approval for Chinese state-run firms to buy into British nuclear power generation…….
Unlike the other sectors which already see Chinese state and private company investment, nuclear power is highly sensitive.
Today, George Osborne has approved future majority stakes for the Chinese, allowing China to control the firms running our nuclear generation……
Today’s decision highlights the urgent need to get new massive infrastructure projects completed in the UK, but also puts concerns about the Chinese threat to state security under intense scrutiny. http://www.itv.com/news/2013-10-17/should-we-be-worried-about-the-chinese-owning-our-nuclear-power-stations/
China will control UK’s new nuclear power plants
Chinese companies will be allowed to own a majority stake in UK nuclear powerplants, George Osborne says Announcement is expected to hail start of ‘massive wave’ of Asian investment in British nuclear energy sector, ADAM WITHNALL The Independent, 17 OCTOBER 2013 George Osborne has announced that Chinese companies will be permitted to own a majority stake in future projects to build nuclear power stations in Britain.
The ground-breaking decision could see the first deal struck as early as next week, with Chinese investment now considered for a new £14 billion plant at the Hinckley C site….. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/chinese-companies-will-be-allowed-to-own-a-majority-stake-in-uk-nuclear-power-plants-george-osborne-says-8885829.html
‘Criminal situation’ as Japan hides seriousness of Fukushima radiation
Japan Journalist: Plutonium and uranium escaped Fukushima reactors as gas, it was a colossal 9,000ºF inside — Can’t be detected by a Geiger counter — Terrible things are looming for the children, they must be evacuated yet nothing’s done… This is a “criminal nation” — I am worried (VIDEO) http://enenews.com/japan-journalist-plutonium-and-uranium-escaped-from-fukushima-reactors-as-a-gas-temperature-was-9000of-cant-be-detected-by-a-geiger-counter-children-must-be-evacuated-yet-nothing-is-d
Title: Takashi HIROSE
Source: Yonaoshi 3.11
Date: Mar. 8, 2013
Transcript Excerpts
Hirose Takashi, journalist/former engineer: As we speak, radioactive material is seeping through Fukushima’s ground. It makes its way underground, reaches the ocean, to finally end up in the sky.
This kind of fact does not make the news, so everyone forgets about it. If that was talked about every day in the news, the Japanese population couldn’t ignore it. […] In my opinion mass media bear most of the responsibility for it. […] Incidents happen because mass media never take the problem seriously.
The problem with contamination is that we can only measure it within items surrounding us, in the soil, the ground. A lot of people today own a Geiger counter, but it can only report airborne particles, it only measures Gamma rays. In fact, when researching the radioactive content out from the reactors, and its dispersion, we do not find everything.
It was about 5,000ºC [~9,000ºF] inside the reactors. This was a temperature of colossal magnitude. The uranium and plutonium took on a gas form to escape. I can find all that based on my calculations, but none of this can be detected using 
a Geiger counter […]
No one even measures the strontium level. The strontium is the scariest of all. It penetrates and stays resident in bones, causing leukemia. This is particularly dangerous for the growth phase of children exposed today.
For children living near contaminated areas like Fukushima, we have to immediately set up a plan for their evacuation. […]
Before Japan lost the war, we organized group evacuations. We managed the escape of children from dangerous areas […]
This is something that must be done now. But the country does not do anything about it. For that I am calling this country a criminal nation. If we do not act, terrible things are looming for those children. I am worried.
Watch the clip of Hirose here
AREVA joins the pack marketing nukes to Britain
Areva Said Ready to Join Group Building U.K. Nuclear Power Plant, Bloomberg News By Tara Patel and Francois de Beaupuy October 16, 2013 Areva will take a stake in the Hinkley Point project from Electricite de France SA, the people said, asking not to be identified before an announcement is made. China General Nuclear Power Corp. will also become a shareholder, the people said. Areva and EDF’s boards will meet in the next week to approve the deal, they said.
Bringing in Areva and China General as partners will allow EDF to share the expense of a project likely to cost about 14 billion pounds ($22 billion). The EDF-led group, expected to sign an agreement with the U.K. government next week, will build two Areva-designed EPR reactors able to supply about 3,600 megawatts, more than 4 percent of U.K. generation capacity. Officials at EDF and Areva declined to comment. Nobody at China General was available to comment outside office hours……http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-10-16/areva-said-ready-to-join-group-building-u-dot-k-dot-nuclear-power-plant
Financial boost for global renewable energy
Norway’s Sovereign Wealth Fund Gives a Boost to Global Renewable Energy http://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Norways-Sovereign-Wealth-Fund-Gives-a-Boost-to-Global-Renewable-Energy.html By Joao Peixe | Wed, 16 October 2013 The Norwegian sovereign wealth fund is the largest in the world at around $750 billion, and a new government is currently being formed in Oslo that is considering investing some of the wealth in renewable energy projects across the world.
Formed in 1990, the fund generates money from taxes on Norway’s oil and gas industry, as well as owning several fields in the North Sea, and a 67% stake in Statoil. It also owns large shares in many of Europe’s largest companies, and it has been calculated that one in every $80 invested in equities around the world is owned by Norway, giving the fund massive influence over the global financial market.
Samantha Smith, the head of global climate and energy initiative at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), explained that “if Norway actually does this, it will be an unprecedented shift in the global investment community and also for tangible action on climate change.”
After the elections that took place in September, truthdig reports that a centre-right coalition government is being formed by Erna Solberg, the leader of the Conservative party. One of the first proposals that they have talked about is to use the sovereign wealth fund, officially known as the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global, to invest in renewable energy projects in developing countries, and the global renewables sector.
The WWF is asking the Norwegian government to give 5% of its investment portfolio to invest in renewable energy infrastructure, and end all investment in coal and tar sands.
Public opinion misled on global warming, by biased mainstream media
Media false balance as illustrated in the IPCC reporting by outlets like the BBC, Wall Street Journal, and Fox News is largely to blame for this “consensus gap.” This practice of false balance misinforms the public and does us all a disservice.
Conservative media outlets found guilty of biased global warming coverage http://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2013/oct/11/climate-change-political-media-ipcc-coverage by John Abraham and Dana Nuccitelli
New studies show conservative and politically neutral media outlets are creating false balance in climate change reporting There’s a 97 percent consensus on human-caused global warmingin the peer-reviewed climate science literature and among climate experts. There’s a 96 percent consensus in the climate research that humans are responsible for most of the current global warming. The 2013 IPCC report agrees with this position with 95 percent confidence, and states that humans are most likely responsible for 100 percent of the global warming since 1951.
Yet a new study conducted by Media Matters for America shows that in stories about the 2013 IPCC report, rather than accurately reflect this expert consensus, certain media outlets have created a false perception of discord amongst climate scientists.
Background of guests who accept and reject human-caused global warming in IPCC media stories, courtesy of Media Matters.
The 19 percent of guests classified as ‘climate scientists’ in the above graphic is also very generous to the conservative American media outlets. Continue reading
Energy storage to revolutionise large scale renewable energy
Energy storage mandate expected to bring large-scale renewable energy projects onto the electric grid http://photos.mercurynews.com/2013/10/16/energy-storage-mandate-expected-to-bring-large-scale-renewable-energy-projects-onto-the-electric-grid/ Oct 16, 2013
The first-in-the-nation energy storage mandate is expected to help integrate large-scale renewable projects onto the electric grid, help the grid better manage unpredictable events such as storms or wildfires, push utilities to consider a wider range of emerging technologies and jump-start the storage market as a whole. PG&E’s Yerba Buena Battery Energy Storage System Pilot Project, based in East San Jose, charges batteries when demand is low and sends stored power to the grid when demand grows, allowing operators to balance supply and demand. The project, which cost $18 million, uses the sodium-sulfur batteries made by NGK in Japan that have 4 megawatts of capacity and can store electricity for roughly six hours
PG&E’s Yerba Buena battery energy storage project, seen Tuesday morning Oct. 15, 2013, is capable of storing up to four megawatts of power from its place in the hills above Evergreen Valley College in San Jose, Calif. A California law that requires utilities to get 33 percent of their electricity from renewable sources like solar and wind is widely credited with accelerating the state’s cleantech economy. Now state regulators are poised to compel utilities to invest in “energy storage,” which could jump-start technology long considered the holy grail of the electricity industry. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Proud history of USA women holding back nuclear power industry
In their determination to publicize its hazards, the intervening women were pioneers alerting the American public to the scientific consensus that all radiation exposure is cumulative and damages cellular DNA.
No Nukes and Intervening Women http://www.huffingtonpost.com/renee-parsons/no-nukes-and-intervening-women_b_1425733.html?utm_hp_ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false#sb=623147b=facebook Renee Parsons : 04/16/2012 In an era when Occupy Wall Street protestors are beaten and arrested like hardened criminals, more than 40 years ago in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, there was another organized protest movement that captured the nation’s attention as it spread from New Hampshire’s Clamshell Alliance to the Abalone Alliance in southern California..In the mid-to-late 1970s, massive civil disobedience and notably peaceful arrest of protestors were taking place from the tidewater of Virginia to the farmlands of Oklahoma against the construction and operation of commercial nuclear power reactors.
What is less well-known is that at the root of the controversy, prior to public demonstrations of opposition, were a handful of exceptional women, mostly “housewives” whose thankless work done at their dining room tables provided those demonstrators and an uninformed country with the true realities of the “peaceful” atom. Continue reading
South African govt influenced by coal industry to hold back renewable energy
SA renewable energy held up by politics, says Greenpeace News 24 Duncan Alfreds, 17 Oct 13 Duncan Alfreds Cape Town – Renewable energy has proven itself and the government should move ahead swiftly with implementation, an environmental organisation has urged.
“It has been proven that there are no technical or economic barriers to renewable energy, leaving only the lack of political will as a barrier to RE,” Ruth Mhlanga, Greenpeace Africa Youth and solutions campaigner told News24.
She accused the government of being influenced by incumbent industry players to ensure that the status quo of energy supply networks remained unchanged.
“Vested interests in the fossil fuel industry with strong political ties use this influence to promote investments in fossil fuels rather than renewable energy,” said Mhlanga.
Recently, Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies announced plans for a third massive coal-fired power station dubbed “Coal 3” though the Medupi and Kusile projects have been hampered by delays and allegations of poor workmanship……
“In fact, the huge problems at both Medupi and Kusile clearly show that new investments in coal are likely to sabotage the South African economy, and renewable energy can come online and feed into the electricity grid far more quickly and more cheaply than coal can,” Mhlanga said.
It does appear that the Cabinet is not fully united behind the idea of a third coal-fired power plant.
Beeld reported that Science and Technology Minister Derek Hanekom said government would have to rethink its plans for a third mega coal-fired power station…….
Coal power also impacts negatively on the environment and Greenpeace said that South Africans ought to consider the true cost of fossil fuel electricity generation.
“Delays and poor delivery are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to coal. There are also major hidden costs related to water scarcity, human health impacts and climate change – amounting to billions of rands every year, and it is ordinary South Africans who have to pay the price,” said Melita Steele, Greenpeace Africa Climate and Energy campaigner. http://www.news24.com/Green/News/SA-renewable-energy-held-up-by-politics-says-Greenpeace-20131017
World Health Organisation now distancing itself from dodgy report on Iraq birth defects?
there are signs that the WHO has sought to distance itself from the findings. The interim report, which was published on September 11th, is unsigned by its authors and, while published on the WHO’s website, is apparently the sole responsibility of the Iraqi 
Ministry of Health.
Fresh revelations cast doubt over reliability of Iraq birth defect study http://www.bandepleteduranium.org/en/fresh-doubts-over-reliability-iraq-study 16 Oct 13 Trust in the findings of a study into rates of congenital birth defects in Iraq, undertaken by the WHO and Iraqi Ministry of Health, has continued to decline after interventions from three former UN officials. ICBUW continues to argue that full transparency is the only way for the WHO and Iraqi Ministry of Health to rebuild the study’s credibility. Continue reading
Concerns over radioactivity in Fukushima rice
Rice grown nearby Fukushima plant cleared for sale — Farmer: “I would not dare eat it… We feel guilty about growing it and selling it” (VIDEO)http://enenews.com/rice-grown-near-fukushima-plant-cleared-for-sale-farmer-i-would-not-dare-eat-it-myself-we-farmers-know-better-we-feel-guilt-about-growing-it-and-selling-it-video
Fukushima farmers negotiate with Japanese Government
The Chosun Ilbo (English Edition),, Oct. 10, 2013: Rice Grown Near Fukushima Cleared for Sale […] Rice grown in some areas within a 30 km radius of the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant will be cleared for sale this year, but concerns remain. Some samples have tested positive for radiation well above the permitted level. So far only test farming of rice in the region was allowed. Fukushima Prefecture on Wednesday said 44 out of 52 sacks of 30-kg rice harvested in Minamisoma, 20 to 30 km from the power plant, likely exceeded the permissible levels of radioactive materials when tested with a conveyer-belt detector. The prefecture carried out thorough test of the 44 sacks, and detected 120 becquerels of cesium per kilogram, way over the permissible level of 100 becquerels. “It is possible to sell rice that does not exceed the level,” said a prefecture official. […]
Fukushima Farmers Negotiate with Japanese Government,Published August 31, 2013 – Farmer from Sukagawa, 60 km west of Fukushima Daiichi (at 1:45 in): Do you understand the meaning of ‘de’ in the word decontamination? We are just tilling deeply and spreading the radiation thinly. We are not removing the contamination. No wonder that the radiation level has not gone down. We measured the radioactivity in the air. It has not gone down at all. We have not removed the contaminated soil. Of course not! The environment has not changed at all 2 years after the explosions. […] In Fukushima, all farm produce must be checked for the cesium level prior to shipping. The current government limit is 100 becquerels. The farmers know how many becquerels of cesium their produce contains. We can ship them if the reading is lower than 100. But I would not dare eat them myself. The consumers assume there is no radiation in the food they buy. […] We farmers know better. We feel guilty about growing it and selling it. We won’t eat it ourselves, but we sell it.
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