Hurricane Irene may be gone, but its aftermath isn’t. And although the effects were nowhere near as bad as originally predicted, for some communities they are still very bad indeed. Rivers are still rising in New Jersey. And landlocked Vermont—of … Continue reading →
No part of the US is immune to tornadoes, although the well-known “Tornado Alley” in the midwest has by far the largest number in this country and the world. But New England has some, too, and yesterday Springfield, Massachusetts—a large … Continue reading →
The devastating tornado in Joplin was especially devastating for a number of children who have been orphaned by it. The term “orphan” seems almost like an anachronism, something that was far more common in the past. And yet children are … Continue reading →
This AP article just may be the stupidest article on the Japanese earthquake and tsunami that I’ve read so far. Anyone who never realized that industrialized, organized, complex nations are most vulnerable of all to such threats simply does not … Continue reading →
We already know that being in the path of the tsunami was like a nightmare—the ocean coming swiftly to swallow you up along with everything in its path, inexorable, powerful, and deadly, and your only hope of survival to outrun … Continue reading →
We’ve been hearing the word “disaster” in connection with the nuclear reactors in Japan, usually in the context of phrases such as, “Japanese teams work mightily to avoid looming disaster.” But what is the definition of a disaster these days? … Continue reading →
I think I’m starting to sound like the proverbial broken record (although now that records are pretty much obsolete, should there not be another term?), but the beat goes on with the hyping of the nuclear plant problems in Japan. … Continue reading →
I’m not a scientist, but this article by William Tucker in the WSJ seems to make a great deal of sense and is worth quoting at length. The gist of it is that Fukushima Daiichi ain’t Chernobyl. Nor is it … Continue reading →
There’s the quake, and then there’s the aftermath. Sometimes, as in Japan today, the latter is worse than the former. Not that the former wasn’t really really bad. It was, and it lasted for over two minutes. I’ve been in … Continue reading →
The scenes on the television are surreal. Buildings and cars and trains and boats tossed around and floating in water like so many discarded toys in a flooded garbage dump. Fire. And now, a potential (or already partial) nuclear meltdown. … Continue reading →
The terrible earthquake and tsunami last night in Japan recalls the fact that tsunami is a Japanese word: The term “Tsunami” comes from the Japanese word for harbor (tsu) and wave (nami). The origins of the word are not surprising … Continue reading →
There’s a sense of deja vu for us boomers in reports such as this one that reflect a renewed government interest in telling people what to do in the case of a nuclear blast. Those of us who go back … Continue reading →