Japan Earthquake

Japan Earthquake | Page 1991

@Ralph Unger volcanic ash is much heavier though isnt it? there are so many unkowns are there any restriction on shipping filling emptying ballast tanks in the area ?
by elainekirk 7/22/2011 8:57:50 AM

A few tonnes of radioactive water would not be of much effect, the ports were closed for the most part anyways.
by Ralph Unger 7/22/2011 9:00:21 AM

What bothers me is the food chain (now called the food web but I like chain better) which concentrate contaminates at the top of the chain, which is what we eat.
by Ralph Unger 7/22/2011 9:02:53 AM

@Ralph Unger when an afftect mammal has affected offspring does the chain continue? ie with thalidomide the effect stopped with the offspring didnt it ? do nuclear mutations continue down the genetic line
by elainekirk 7/22/2011 9:04:10 AM

I don't think I could drink 50 gallons of seawater per day, but that is what an oyster filters. And then I might eat it.
by Ralph Unger 7/22/2011 9:06:32 AM

Genetically, only the successful mutations would continue, the issue is all with bad mutations would die.
by Ralph Unger 7/22/2011 9:07:45 AM

Atomic gardening: Day of the irradiated peanuts www.newscientist.com
by Ralph Unger 7/22/2011 9:08:53 AM

@Ralph Unger if it filters 50 gallons that must mean it would pretty quickly be heavily contaminated how effective are its filter would they catch radioactive particles or pass them through
by elainekirk 7/22/2011 9:11:02 AM

IIRC they catch just about everything or else they would not get enough food.
by Ralph Unger 7/22/2011 9:11:47 AM

They would not catch radioactive particles, they would catch the little guys ( plankton) that had gotten the radioactive particles.
by Ralph Unger 7/22/2011 9:13:11 AM

And the crabs which might eat them would concentrate the waste even more , and then the fish that might eat the crabs.....
by Ralph Unger 7/22/2011 9:14:20 AM

@Ralph Unger not a nice thought if it depletes the wee beasties the bigger beasties are going to be affected by lost food sources long term
very disruptive
by elainekirk 7/22/2011 9:14:40 AM

Yep ,but radiation is in a large part a thing that effects organisms over time and the small beasties have short lifespans. But when we eat the larger beasties it will affect us.
by Ralph Unger 7/22/2011 9:16:24 AM

@Ralph Unger yes we really should be asking governments what testing is being done
by elainekirk 7/22/2011 9:26:03 AM

Testing? But they will just raise the "safe" limits.
by Ralph Unger 7/22/2011 9:26:37 AM

Like BPA , and the way it mimics estrogen, the problem is not "Too big to fail" but "Too big too adress" . www.sciencedaily.com
by Ralph Unger 7/22/2011 9:29:34 AM

Study: More U.S. girls starting puberty early , there is a lot of problems that are not radioactive that effect us all. www.cnn.com
by Ralph Unger 7/22/2011 9:32:18 AM

And the Republicans in the US want to kill the EPA. dailycaller.com
by Ralph Unger 7/22/2011 9:40:43 AM

@Ralph Unger humans have got taller over the years / centuries too I do think myself that naural evolutionary changes are sometimes seen as a 'problem' to be solved. On the islands yesterday we were lucky enough to see low tide when a giant boulder ic revealed 'resting' on two very small rocky areas a relic from the ice age/volcanic activity the islands are now average weather nothin freaky happened to change it and I think that people expecting everything to remain the same jumble natural events and man made disaters
by elainekirk 7/22/2011 9:41:33 AM

People have gotten taller because of better nutrition, look at the numbers, in the EU they have gotten much taller and in the US where we eat bad food we peaked a few years ago. As to the BPA and early puberty.. "Cancer risk isn't the only concern surrounding early puberty. Early development in girls has been linked with poor self-esteem, eating disorders, and depression, as well as cigarette and alcohol use and earlier sexual activity."
by Ralph Unger 7/22/2011 9:44:03 AM

@Ralph Unger yes that is a problem I think the blurring of the lines between child / adult have worsened that and we really need to start giving children more security if we dont give them reason to 'be grown up' and encourage tree climbing, woordwork, and other hunter gatherer building blocks we could stop the trend but just my opinion we have removed the natural building blocks that create adults

by elainekirk 7/22/2011 9:48:26 AM

Spare the rod, spoil the child. That sounds barbaric, but without parental encouragement, children will always be childish. I don't mean to say that corporeal punishment is a good thing, but expectations of good behavior is a good thing.
by Ralph Unger 7/22/2011 9:52:12 AM

Expectations... "are", bad English on my part and my Dad would quickly point that out to me if he were still alive.
by Ralph Unger 7/22/2011 9:54:41 AM

@Ralph Unger I have an English teacher amongst my daughters so I get corrected often
by elainekirk 7/22/2011 9:55:45 AM

I have many non-English speakers as friends online and I correct them often, but that is what they ask of me.
by Ralph Unger 7/22/2011 9:56:56 AM

If I go to CNN I bet I can find 5 typos or cases of incorrect English in 15 mins. I grew up at a time that what is written is a part of you and it is carefully considered. That is not the case anymore.
by Ralph Unger 7/22/2011 9:59:19 AM

@Ralph Unger it is a shame that we are losing the language
by elainekirk 7/22/2011 10:02:32 AM

@Ralph Unger @Ralph Unger how long till we revert to communicating by grunts
by elainekirk 7/22/2011 10:03:06 AM

1st article poor use of the -- "According to the official, who spoke on condition of not being identified, an announcement of that certification -- which is required to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy -- is likely to come Friday." and then proper use later in the article "A gay rights group -- the Log Cabin Republicans -- had sued over the 18-year-old ban on openly gay and lesbian members serving in the U.S. armed forces." sort of, why did they not use quotes?
by Ralph Unger 7/22/2011 10:03:31 AM

Am I being an A-hole by expecting journalists to know English? I was flamed in college when I wrote stuff like that. Spellchecker has emasculated proof-reading.
by Ralph Unger 7/22/2011 10:07:20 AM

@Ralph Unger no you are quite right to question standards
by elainekirk 7/22/2011 10:07:57 AM

Hole, This is a testicle of some of the arrows that get buy spell check.
by Ralph Unger 7/22/2011 10:09:42 AM

@Ralph Unger I fall foul of the predictive text function on my phone I must admit but I do check the spell check on comp
by elainekirk 7/22/2011 10:12:26 AM

Spell check does not consider context. were, we're where.
by Ralph Unger 7/22/2011 10:13:18 AM

Effect-affect? A problem I still have :-)
by Ralph Unger 7/22/2011 10:14:26 AM

5 AM CST but in the middle of a Star-Trek marathon. Season 2 Ep 7
by Ralph Unger 7/22/2011 10:19:15 AM

Getting an early start on a few things before I have to take the overgrown puppy to the vet etc. Sounds like a good reason to be up Ralph. :-)
by lillymunster 7/22/2011 10:19:30 AM