Fukushima Radiation Map from NOAA
In case you missed it, with U.S. support, Japan has imposed a new State Secrets Act that makes even the most reliable news reporting from the Fukushima site punishable by up to ten years in prison. Certainly, if Wasserman's article or this blog post were to be republished in Japan the folks responsible would be arrested. Consequently, the quantities and make-up of radiation pouring out of Fukushima are also now a state secret, with independent measurement or even public speculation punishable by up to ten years in prison.
The impacts of these emissions on human and ecological health are unknown primarily because the nuclear industry refuses to study them. By refusing to compile long-term emission assessments, the industry systematically hides health impacts at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, Fukushima, etc. This 'see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil' crap is the same crap we here in Canada face when trying to get accurate information about our energy sector's emissions. For instance, in the past two days alone new independent studies on the tarsands in Alberta and fracking wherever it's done have shown that, just like in Japan, our governments collude with industry to not know the truth.
They aren't hiding from the truth to protect us from the chaos that would be unleashed if we knew, they hide from the truth to protect themselves from liability. Tepco as a corporation, it's only goal is increased shareholder returns. The government's collusion is a perfect example that we live under the boot-heel of fascism. "Fascism should more properly be called corporatism, since it is the merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini
In these times of 'truthiness', of spin dominated press releases by guberments and corporate PR firms, the claims of all 'authorities' have become equally distrusted. So it's easy to understand why the new HuffPost/YouGov poll says that only 36 percent of Americans reported having “a lot” of trust that information they get from scientists is accurate and reliable. Fifty-one percent said they trust that information only a little, and another 6 percent said they don’t trust it at all. A whopping 78 percent of Americans think that information reported in scientific studies is often (34 percent) or sometimes (44 percent) influenced by political ideology, compared to only 18 percent who said that happens rarely (15 percent) or never (3 percent). IMO, those results would be nearly identical in Canada.
The reports we do get, like those of 'Radioactive Fish at 124 Times 'Safe' Levels Caught Near Fukushima' or those about how the 'Toll of U.S. Sailors Devastated by Fukushima Radiation Continues to Climb' are the tip of the iceberg. They escape silencing by Japan's secret's act because they are conducted offshore and reported on by independent journalists. Please read Wasserman's article carefully. Its 50 reasons why we must prepare for the worst for our oceans, our planet, our economy and ourselves are an apt warning to us all.
