For those interested, a friend sent along this link to a blog that seems to keep up-to-date factual tabs on repairs and stumbling blocks encountered in the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear meltdown on March 11, 2011.
Some folks write me from time to time to ask what it is like to live exactly 100 miles (160km) as the crow flies from the Fukushima reactors (we are in Tsukuba, Ibaraki), and whether we are all worried about it. NO! we are not worried very much (about that or North Korean rockets or typhoons or Godzilla) ... and are pretty sure that we still have life expectancies longer than people had back in Hakuin or Dogen's time. Seriously, of all the things to worry about in life that might really kill you ... I guaranty that a long drive down America's highways is much more dangerous. People here pretty much shrug it off, eat the local fish, get on and off ladders (statistically much more a risk http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_people_die_from_falling_off_ladders_each_year?#slide=2) and we still enjoy life in one of the safest countries in the world with among the longest life expectancies ...
The funny thing about Fukushima (and I do read most of what I can get my hands on about the situation, disregarding the ideologues on both extremes) is that a lot of people have died because of the accident ... but none from radiation. Almost all where older people who died from the shock of being forced to evacuate their houses and live in refugee housing, most of whom would still be alive if they had been left where they were near the plant!
Hi Genkaku,
ReplyDeleteSome folks write me from time to time to ask what it is like to live exactly 100 miles (160km) as the crow flies from the Fukushima reactors (we are in Tsukuba, Ibaraki), and whether we are all worried about it. NO! we are not worried very much (about that or North Korean rockets or typhoons or Godzilla) ... and are pretty sure that we still have life expectancies longer than people had back in Hakuin or Dogen's time. Seriously, of all the things to worry about in life that might really kill you ... I guaranty that a long drive down America's highways is much more dangerous. People here pretty much shrug it off, eat the local fish, get on and off ladders (statistically much more a risk http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_people_die_from_falling_off_ladders_each_year?#slide=2) and we still enjoy life in one of the safest countries in the world with among the longest life expectancies ...
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/05/17/national/japan-still-tops-in-life-expectancy/#.UsBTi1tdWDk
The funny thing about Fukushima (and I do read most of what I can get my hands on about the situation, disregarding the ideologues on both extremes) is that a lot of people have died because of the accident ... but none from radiation. Almost all where older people who died from the shock of being forced to evacuate their houses and live in refugee housing, most of whom would still be alive if they had been left where they were near the plant!
http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/09/10/20420833-fukushima-evacuation-has-killed-more-than-earthquake-and-tsunami-survey-says?lite
Anyway, Tokyo has the Olympics in 2020 and we are planning to attend! We invite you too!
Gassho, Jundo Cohen