05.18.11
Posted in Book Reviews, Church Issues and Bible Interpretations, Health-related--Natural Alternative Treatments, History, Treatment Decisions at 12:53 pm by Administrator
For anyone interested in medical ethics and it’s history, I recommend Acres of Skin by Allen M. Hornblum.
Acres of Skin: Human Experiments at Holmesburg Prison
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Originally I was gathering information on radiation when I stumbled across an interview with Allen Hornblum. He was discussing why he wrote the book and detailed some information on medical experiments performed on prisoners. While he admits that there were experiments done at several different prisons, Hornblum focused primarily on the Holmesburg Prison in Pennsylvania wherein prisoner experimentation spanned over the early 1950s to the mid 1970s. These experiments involved many substances from soaps, lotions, shampoos, etc. for pharmaceutical companies to bacterial and viral experiments for the U.S. military, to mind control drugs for the CIA, and radiation experiments for NASA.
Personally I find it fascinating that humans can be so cruel and heartless towards one another. Seemingly “normal” people have perpetrated horrific things upon their fellow human beings. Things we ordinarily would think was “unthinkable” to do to humans have been, and continue to be, inflicted upon people as if they were merely animals or objects. I find the duplicity a bit scary and a warning to be careful that I (or my family) not fall into that trap of condoning unethical practices. References were made to the Nazi and the Nuremberg trials where some of the “defense” arguments some of the Nazi medical doctors presented were that “they were not doing anything that the American doctors were not doing themselves.” The experiments done on U.S. prisoners and the mentally handicapped are examples of what the Nazi medical doctors were referring to. One only need look into the published, peer reviewed medical journals to verify their claims. The obvious duplicity was that we as American’s were pointing the finger at the Nazi doctors as being barbaric and inhumane sentencing them to imprisonment or death, while we were doing the same thing, but thought there was nothing wrong with it. It reminds me of reading early U.S. history about how slaves were considered only 3/5’s of a person and that even their children were born into condoned perpetual slavery. That used to be thought of as proper, and even part of our accepted law. As a Christian I believe we are to love one another, and there is no distinction between color or social status. Yet, we see time and time again people abusing one another, both religious and non-religious alike. I find it interesting how we “justify” questionable actions if “we” are performing them, while we can simultaneously “condemn” the very same action if “other” people are doing them.
Acres of Skin helped me to reflect upon my personal feelings regarding the “ends justifies the means” mentality. I am conflicted because I know that I live my life using the very substances or technologies that I have found came from dubious means. At the moment I try to limit that use as much as I can, but I certainly am nowhere near eliminating all those derived “benefits.” Even some of the literature I’ve read to figure out ways to treat myself have come from very questionable experiments. Where do we draw the line?
Overall, I give Acres of Skin two thumbs up. Hornblum discusses many more examples of prison experiments, including quotes from interviewees (mostly former inmates who were involved with or knew about the experiments) and various people who would talk to him about the Holmesburg experiments. Hornblum also discusses the moral implications and the outcomes of various experiments, including the subsequent banning of prisoner experimentation and the closing of the prison as well as other aspects of Dr. Albert Kligman’s, the primary doctor who organized and operated the prison experiments, medical research and experimentation operation. I found the book well-written, informative, and easy to read.
Marlakins
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05.11.11
Posted in Health-related--Natural Alternative Treatments, Treatment Decisions, Uncategorized, family stuff at 12:27 am by Administrator
Last night it rained. Before March 11, 2011, I used to love it when it rained because all my plants would get watered, and I just loved the overall feeling that everything around me was washed. The plants always seemed to look so much happier, too. The March 11 nuclear disaster in Japan at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant changed all that. Now I’m torn when it rains because if there’s any radioactive material in the skies above us, then it’s when it rains that it comes down. I don’t want radioactive material raining down on us no matter how “safe” the government tells us it is. My son was out that night at his Aikido class, and I was worried that he might be walking in the rain. Normal rain would be just fine, but not radioactive rain. Sure it may not even have any radioactive particles, but now we can never know for sure. It was bad enough that we have chemical pollution, but at least plants have the ability to cleanse some of those pollutants and we have ways to detox those types of things. But radioactive particles are different. Plants can not break them down to stable, safe isotopes. Depending upon which isotope it is, it can continue to emit harmful radiation for years and years to come. It really puts a damper for me to even eat the stuff we’ve grown in our backyard.
With the advent of the Fukushima disaster, so much of the things I’ve been reading about our future has been depressing. So what to do? Basically we just have to go on living and just try to adopt as healthful a lifestyle as possible (course trying to get me to exercise more is a challenge in itself!) From the things I’ve been reading and watching, living a long healthful life seems bleak with all the toxins and dangerous substances being released into our environment. One of the interviews I watched was with a man named Dr. Alexey Yablokov. He recently published a book called Chernobyl: Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and the Environment. In it, he discusses the damages to humans, animals, and the environment that he believes is connected to the radioactive material spewed out from Chernobyl back in 1986. Apparently, he worked for the Russian government at the time, but when during a meeting in 2005 he heard comments that only about 9,000 people died as a result of Chernobyl, he got so mad and decided to publish a book about the things he knew and studied about the effects of Chernobyl. Basically, instead of 9,000 deaths due to Chernobyl, he estimates around 1 million deaths. His interview can be viewed here.
Dr. Yablokov has a pretty thick accent and can be a bit hard to understand, so here’s another video interview with the contributing editor of his book, who is a easier to understand.
I was watching some of Helen Caldicott’s presentations on Chernobyl and Fukushima, but she really got me depressed (might add some of her videos later because she did have some pretty interesting things to say, and I did learn some things. . . ) But the one thing I got out of Dr. Yablokov’s interview is that from their comparisons of populations living in the “clean” zones vs “hot” zones, there was about a 4% increase in deaths in the contaminated zones. Four percent might sound small, but in relation to billions of people, then that would translate to millions of deaths. There are likely lots of others still living with negative health effects, but they are still alive. I believe Yablokov mention million in increase of morbidity. So that made me think that somehow some people seem to manage much better than others. What could be the factors involved? Well, I have heard that the radiation that spewed out from Chernobyl affected areas in patches like a leopard skin, and also eating habits of animals affects how high a radioactive burden they carry. This is something I want to look into more, but in the meantime, I’ve decided that my family will not be having dairy products for now since radiation has been detected in milk products here, and since radioactive particles can be floating around, I’ve told my kids that I no longer want them eating outdoors. They have to eat inside. It’s not fool-proof, of course, but it’s small precautions that just make me feel better. I’ve also started the boys on more mineral supplementation to make sure that their mineral stores are up to snuff. And I think I’m gonna try to think of ways to manage the dust control in my house. I live on a fairly busy street, and the dust build up is amazing. I think Russell Blaylock also recommended some supplements to help shore up our health against radiation. I’ll have to look back into that, too.
I know that I may sound paranoid. And I know that we all must die some time. But I really don’t want to die a painful, debilitating death. The Fukushima disaster did prompt me to do more reading and what I found is that there is a lot more pollution in our environment than I realized. It makes sense now why my heavy metals test I took over 10 years ago (when I was first diagnosed with aplastic anemia) showed my uranium level off the chart. And why my middle son’s heavy metals test about 5 years ago showed he had a high arsenic level. Our environment is highly polluted even before Fukushima spun out of control. There are reasons for our health problems. I can see now why obtaining optimal health in this day and age is an uphill battle. But I do believe that God created this world to sustain life, so there must be natural things that God has given us to help us heal and protect ourselves. Why else would there be such things that strengthen our cells like proper minerals, vitamins, and fats? Or why would there be natural chelating agents like clays and various foods, herbs, and minerals? I think God knew that our lives would be put in danger like this, and so He has given us hope that He has given us help. We need to search it out and reach out and use it. Now if only the pyschos running our government (and the other countries governments) would finally come to their senses and realize that they are destroying our world with all their greed and warmongering, maybe we will have a chance to live with peace of mind. But then again, maybe that’s why Jesus has to come back because it’s only He who can truly set things right again. Maybe we’ve already gone too far.
Marlakins
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04.16.11
Posted in Church Issues and Bible Interpretations, God, Health-related--Natural Alternative Treatments, History, family stuff at 12:21 pm by Administrator
If I were to describe my mood today, I would say, “a bit sad.” Ordinarily I should be happy. My oldest son is finally “officially” graduating with a BA! The ceremony is to take place in June. Last Wednesday I went with him to his Grad fair and picked up his cap and gown, took his grad pictures and all those extra stuffs associated with graduating. I was very happy for him. We even discussed the possibility of him going off to Korea and teaching English for a year. Course the doting mom that I an would go with him! LOL It’s not the highest paying job, but a nice diversion and experience for a young man. Then the reality of the Fukushima reactor still spewing out radioactivity relatively close by South Korea hit me. . . Radioactivity from Chernobyl traveled hundreds and even thousands of miles leaving elevated radioactivity in places still today such as Germany and Sweden. I’m sure other places, too. Should I let that get in our way? Weighing the possibility of genetic damage and subsequent cancers, deformities in offspring, and other health concerns, should we risk that? I have to use my head and opt to forgo South Korea. At the age of 46, I’ll likely never see South Korea in my lifetime since nuclear radioactivity will last longer than my lifetime. I’m not only sad for myself, but sad for my children, not to mention the millions of people living in those contaminated zones. It’s really tragic.
I think of when I visited Tokyo as a teenager with my dad years ago. It was very nice. I had thought that one day I’d like to take my boys there for a visit. Now we’re not likely to ever go. Such a beautiful place, such a shame that it has been needlessly contaminated.
Am I over reacting? Well, I’ve been trying to educate myself on the matter and have been trying to soak up what everyone is saying and weigh the material. While I don’t want to be paranoid, I also want to be responsible and not be willfully ignorant. I do believe in the consequences of that. I have to do my best and then trust God for the rest. But I do believe God expects us to do what we can to help ourselves first. He has given us all that we need, but we have to reach out to use it. God finds no pleasure in sluggards as the Bible even tells us that, “the slack hand will be put to forced labor.” Proverbs 12:24 “The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute.” There’s a lot about laziness in the Bible. Another example is Proverbs 19:24 “A slothful man hideth his hand in his bosom, and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.” That seems to indicate that a lazy person won’t even feed himself. No, I don’t believe we just wait for good things to happen to us. We have to strive for good. Thus, do I just walk into a radioactive zone and pray that I’m spared damage? No, I should do my homework. I shouldn’t be lazy and expect God to preserve me. I have to use the good judgment God gave me and act according to good sense.
The topic of nuclear power and radioactivity is very complicated. There is so much out there that I’ve been trying to learn and understand. While I understand that nuclear energy is very controversial, I’m still amazed that there are those who feel it is safe and clean. I just can’t see how any informed honest person can believe that. But then again I’ve been amazed to find how little some people know about radioactivity at all. I’ve even met someone who didn’t know what Chernobyl was!!! Oh my, no wonder our rights have been so easily trampled. Many of us have been in the dark. I’m still learning a lot and finding so much that I didn’t know. The contamination to our earth is much worse than I had known, and it’s making Revelation 11:18 much more meaningful to me,
“And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.”
I have since learned that there have been many more nuclear accidents that have been hidden from us. Many more parts of our earth have been contaminated and left uninhabitable for generations. It’s likely that all of us have some nuclear contamination already. The video presentation, Chernobyl Heart, is only a glimpse of what so many people have suffered as a result of nuclear energy. So many other people who suffered nuclear exposures have been forgotten like all the military personnel and civilians used in nuclear tests and experiments. People we never hear about, but who have suffered greatly. Not only do we not hear about them, we are lied to that they never existed. Even today, these children in Belarus and the surrounding areas are little known and would be still unknown if not for the kind people who documented Chernobyl Heart.
Part 2
Part 3
It’s maddening to think of how much we spend on the military and this is what we get for it–death, destruction, and contamination. (Nuclear energy was harnessed by and for the military. The main reason it was pushed onto the public sector was to keep the technology alive during “peace time.” Check out the story behind Windscale aka Sellafield.) No wonder the 24 elders in Revelation spoke of “destroying those who destroy the earth.” This reminds me of another parallel concept in the Bible, “Those who live by the sword shall die by the sword.” Matthew 26:52 “52Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.” I think of all these things and I get angry. But mostly and more recently, I’ve been sad.
Marlakins
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03.14.11
Posted in Church Issues and Bible Interpretations, Health-related--Natural Alternative Treatments at 12:04 am by Administrator
Yeah, I know. Proverbs 6:27 is referring to the consequences of adultery, but I do see a principle here regarding reaping what we sow.
More specifically, I’m very disturbed about the situation in Japan and their “venting” nuclear power plants. It’s really heartbreaking to learn about the destruction and hardships the Japanese are now experiencing in wake of the earthquakes and tsunami, but the damaged nuclear power plants are REALLY upsetting to me. I mean the gulf oil spill was bad enough! I keep checking in on the status of Fukushima, and if it’s not annoying enough to read that U.S. Senators like Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell say, even in the face of the nuclear crisis in Japan, that “they are still open to expanding nuclear power capabilities in the U.S.” (Update: Obama Administration, Senators Stand Behind Nuclear Power Amid Japan Meltdown Scare, by Elise Foley at the Huffington Post), then to read, Radioactive Releases in Japan Could Last for Months, Experts Say posted today in the New York Times by David Sanger and Matthew Wald, I can’t help but vent myself!
After my dad passed away, I felt numb and lost. I put all my books down and haven’t read anything significant since. A little news, yes, but not like before. But this recent crisis in Japan must be knocking some of my old self back. I “feel” some of my old passions again regarding the destruction man is causing to the earth and the people. Sure the earthquake and tsunami were acts of nature (at least if you don’t believe in HAARP’s capabilities and all), but nuclear power plants were/are avoidable. They don’t have to be built. I believe the dangers outweigh the good and that nuclear energy is basically a Faustian bargain. I’m saddened that we can’t go back to when nuclear power was not discovered and harnessed. I’m saddened to think of all those people who have suffered radiation exposure and continue to suffer today from it (countless birth defects, cancers, heart defects, etc. in the Ukraine, Japan, Iraq, etc). I’m saddened to think of the people being exposed right now, and all the suffering they will endure through no fault of their own, but as a result of the decisions made to build nuclear plants without their choice. I have to remind myself that there will be justice in the end because I do believe in God and judgment day.
Marlakins
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01.17.11
Posted in Health-related--Natural Alternative Treatments at 12:10 pm by Administrator
As part of starting the new year, I have a confession to make. I can be pretty stubborn and as a result can lead to me learning some lessons the hard way. The good side is that once I’m convinced I’m wrong, I will admit my error.
Those who know me know that I’ve had serious health challenges in my life. I tried to read up on various healing modalities then incorporated the ones that made sense to me. Then I tossed out the ones I tried that didn’t seem to work. One of those things were bottled supplements.
To make a long story short, I managed to run myself down after my dad passed away last July. I have been struggling ever since to regain my health (thank God my blood counts didn’t seem to take a hit, but my skin and energy level did as well as several other things that cropped up). I did some research to try to figure out what the heck was happening to me, and found to my dismay that I was seriously nutrient deficient. I have since started supplementing with vitamins and minerals and am happy to say that I am finally really starting to feel and see that I’m getting the upper hand again. Whew. What a ride! As a little peek at what supplements I’ve been taking. . . B complex, biotin, vit e, molybdenum, vanadium, multi-mineral supp, D3, and magnesium oil/flakes. I’ve also pulled out the juicer again and have been juicing about 2x a day with Romaine lettuce, cucumber, dandelion greens, cilantro, celery, and an occasional carrot. I toss in some flax seeds and probiotics to the juice. I’m starting to feel like my old self. What a relief!
So what got me so deficient? Well, in retrospect, I think I was always still deficient although I had a least managed to get my blood counts back up. I still had skin issues and started battling things like UTI’s and eye infections. As a result, I did a big no-no. I abused goldenseal, which in addition to my already existing health problems and the stress of losing my dad sent me on a downward spiral to obvious clinical nutritional deficiencies. I didn’t mean to abuse goldenseal, but things kept cropping up where the goldenseal seemed to just work magic. But I have since found that prolonged use of goldenseal can have similar effects of using prolonged conventional antibiotics. I found that it could interfere with the body’s ability to utilize vit B’s. Deficiency in vit B’s in turn is a recipe for deficiencies in all other vits and minerals. It was a very hard and painful lesson, but I hope I’ve learned it good and won’t have any repeats!
So bottom line? Quality bottled supplements can improve one’s health, and may even be necessary for some people like me. Don’t abuse goldenseal! There’s a reason why they recommend only using it for two weeks at a time. And if you do have to take it for any reason, take a probiotic as well. B vits are crucial. I know that now. And magnesium oil can really do seemingly miraculous things just like the literature claims. I still have a ways to go to be in tip top shape, but I’m much better now. So much so that I’ve gone ahead and booked for our yearly Philippine trip. Almost thought I was going to miss it this year.
Hope this means that I’m starting this new year off right this time!
Marlakins
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07.20.10
Posted in Health-related--Natural Alternative Treatments, gardening at 10:03 am by Administrator
Oftentimes I have a few words to say about a topic. Maybe it’s too early in the morning, or these subjects emotionally wear me out because this time I only have three words. . . Good for them.
“(NaturalNews) In an attempt to backdoor GMO seeds into a new market, Monsanto has taken the opportunity to donate hundreds of tons of GMO seeds to Haiti and is calling it an effort to help the people in Haiti with earthquake relief. However, Monsanto’s “generosity” is being met with skepticism and outright rejection.
Recently, a large group of small farmers burned a symbolic quantity of Monsanto’s donated hybrid corn seed in the central square of the agricultural town of Hinche. A 200,000-member national coalition is encouraging Haiti farmers to burn all Monsanto seeds that have already been distributed, and has called on the government to reject additional shipments.”
The full article can be read here.
Marlakins
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06.29.10
Posted in Health-related--Natural Alternative Treatments, Hmmm Moments at 12:16 am by Administrator
Following along with the news on the Gulf oil spill is depressing. There’s all kinds of info and rumors running around from the relief wells being almost finished to the leak is not stoppable due to the high pressures of the leak. There’s all kinds of predictions out there, particularly dooms day predictions and even conspiracy theories. Certainly I hope they’re not right, but regardless, seeing all the oil out in the ocean and washed up on the beaches and marshes is so upsetting. Particularly heartbreaking is seeing all those birds and sea animals dying and being covered in oil and all those people who have lost their livelihoods.
When the news first hit that the rig exploded and that it was doing exploratory drilling at unprecedented depths, it crossed my mind that this leak might be the US’s Chernobyl. From my reading of The Day We Lost the H-bomb, I knew that working in deep water was no cake walk. The H-bomb that had to be recovered was at a depth of about 2,800 ft, and the military had a heck of a time recovering that one bomb. That’s why at first I could understand why Obama was leaving it to the oil company to deal with since the oil companies are likely the ones to have the best technology for oil well drilling, not the military. Yes, I know that the H-bomb recovery was back in 1969, but I just had my suspicions that our technology for this type of thing hadn’t come up that much since then. Seeing that this leak is still gushing uncontrollably, my suspicions seems to have had some merit. But now it seems that it’s not only the depth of the well that’s that problem (5,000 ft below the surface, practically twice the depth they had troubling recovering the h-bomb), but that the well was drilled so far (almost a mile down), that they hit a strata with oil that has a psi so strong that we don’t currently have the technology to stop it. And that’s why we were starting to hear about using nukes like the Russians have done to stop up several of their land wells. Supposedly it worked 4 out of 5 times, but supposedly with the geology structure of the gulf, nuking it might prove disasterous if it doesn’t work. Namely, the leak would become bigger and therefore really unstoppable. Not to mention, adding radioactivity to it would likely not help matters, either. But that’s another story, and really what I wanted to blog about was something I just happened to come across while reading and watching stuff on the current gulf oil leak.
Apparently, various gases are not the only toxic substance that comes from oil drilling. According to this video, they can also bring up radioactive material. Oye, I had not known this. Here’s a video that shows an area in Kentucky that was abandoned due to radioactivity. Evidently, the process of a common technique used for oil recovery is water flooding. The result is radioactive residues. Here’s the video I stumbled upon on Radioactive Oil Fields.
Ah, the joys of industrialization. . .
Marlakins
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05.15.10
Posted in Health-related--Natural Alternative Treatments, family stuff, knitting and crocheting at 4:10 pm by Administrator
Just to update my yarnie projects, I’m happy to say that I actually finished a long-time project that I had almost forgotten about. . . my Babette blanket. . . I still need to block it, but I’m just not looking forward to doing that just yet. So, anyway, here it is, finally.
I placed it on my sofa to help give it size perspective, so here’s another shot at what it looks like laid flat.
Yep, another funky project that somehow caught my attention. But now that I got that out of my system, at least I’ve learned some things in the process and will be doing some things differently if I choose to make another Babette blanket. My oldest son isn’t too thrilled with this style and calls it my “Dr. Seuss” blanket. But I’ve always enjoyed Dr. Seuss, so maybe that’s why I like it? Ha!
Anyway, so moving right along. I think I mentioned in a previous post that I finally learned how to do entrelac. Well, I found a pattern that looked simple and kinda nice, so here’s what it looked like in progress.
And here’s the finished project–a shrug. . .
I’m finding it handy in our mild weather. The days are generally too hot to wear a full sweater, but the nights do get cool enough to warrant a little back and arm covering. I think I may be dabbling in a few other shrug patterns.
Then a while back I finished another multi-directional scarf pattern by Iris Schreier, so while I was clearing out the pics on my camera figured might as well share the finished scarf.
Then last week I finished another pair of socks for Andrew. However, he’s shy about modeling socks, so Brian did the honors here.
Oh, and while I’m at it (cleaning the pics off my camera), I might as well put in a little plug for Larch Hanson’s seaweeds. He’s my main seaweed supplier and a couple weeks ago my order from him arrived.
Our family likes to use seaweeds not only for flavoring, but also for micro minerals. We like to purchase the family pack which consists of a 1/2 pound each of kelp, alaria, digitata, nori, dulse, and a seaweed mix for soups.
Here’s what they look like outside of the plastic.
I’m so glad we have a person such as Larch who harvests these seaweeds with conscience and care. If anyone knows about seaweeds, it’s Larch! So if anyone is interested in ordering seaweed in bulk, check out Larch Hanson’s site www.theseaweedman.com Orders can be place through his website or by phone at 207-546-2875 or via U.S. mail: Maine Seaweed LLC, P.O. Box 57, Steuben, ME 04680
Good quality stuff! We’ve been using him for more than five years now, I think.
Okay, I think I’m updated now with my camera pics. Erp! Wait, I just remembered, no, yesterday I tagged along with my oldest son, Andrew, to a class trip they took to a museum yesterday. I have more pictures. . . but that’ll have to be for another post. . .
Toodles for now!
Marlakins
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05.12.10
Posted in Book Reviews, Health-related--Natural Alternative Treatments, Historical Trivia at 9:24 am by Administrator
Like many others, I’ve been keeping an eye on the Gulf oil leak. It’s really heartbreaking to know and think about all the damage being caused and that it’s still not over. The leak is still not contained and who knows how long it will take to contain it. From previous oil spills and leaks, the damages caused have not been fully reversed even after 20 or more years. Specifically, the Exxon Valdez spill 20 years ago; and the off shore oil rig blowout by Santa Barbara, California back in the 60s. It’s my impression that the oil rig blowout that happened in California back in the 60s is what spurred the green-type of movement or the environmentally conscious people here.
We environmentally conscious people tend to get a bad wrap at times as tree-huggers or hippie types, but really, it amazes me more that people aren’t more concerned about their environment. Well, on second thought, people hardly give a second thought as to what foods they’ll pop into their mouths, so why should they give a rats-a about the environment, right? Hmmm.
Anyway, yesterday I came across an interesting article that listed some “Bizarre Man Made Disasters“.
This pit is in Turkmenistan, and the caption in the article reads:
“In the desert in Turkmenistan is a hole 328 ft. wide that has been on fire, continuously, for 38 years. In 1971, a Soviet drilling rig accidentally punched into a massive underground natural gas cavern, causing the ground to collapse and the entire drilling rig to fall in. Poisonous fumes began leaking from the hole. To head off a potential deadly catastrophe, the Soviets set the hole aflame.”
There’s actually a list of about 11 places, the last one included being the Zone of Alienation in Chernobyl. I actually blogged about that on another post not to long ago. Actually, that’s the second disaster site cited on the article related to nuclear contamination, the other being in the Marshall Islands as a result of nuclear testing back in the 70s and still radioactive today. Which brings me to the article I read today that Russia and Turkey are schedule for some talks, part of which deals with building Turkey’s first nuclear plant. . . grrrr. The full article is titled “Russia weighs Turkey energy deal“.
Okay, okay, I understand that it’s for energy purposes, but I can’t believe that all the bright minds in the world can’t think of a better, safer option? I understand that Iran claims to want their nuclear program for energy as well, and on the grounds of principal, I can agree. But I just don’t like nuclear energy. The disaster in Chernobyl should be warning enough, not to mention all the nuclear waste sites that are growing and rendering our lands uninhabitable.
Anyway, I continue to just read and try to keep myself informed. What else can I do? I’m still going through Dark Sun, the Making of the Hydrogen Bomb. It’s taking me forever! And then I just recently picked up The Ayatolla Begs to Differ, by Hooman Majd. Not only is this book supposedly helpful in understanding some of Iran’s culture, but also helps to explain their tenacity of their nuclear power program. Maybe I’ll eventually blog about what I find there.
Marlakins
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03.31.10
Posted in Health-related--Natural Alternative Treatments, History at 9:18 pm by Administrator
While I was reading book reviews and looking up references to things I’ve been reading regarding nuclear energy, I came across some YouTube videos of Chernobyl. I know everyone knows Chernobyl from their nuclear power plant disaster back in 1986, but aside from that and a few tidbits of information, I realized that I really didn’t know much about the details of what happened in Chernobyl. So, I decided to watch some of the videos.
I came across a series called, Chernobyl Disaster Incident, which was very, very enlightening. While I knew that the accident was a horrible disaster, which risked so many lives, I found that there was still so much that I still didn’t know until after I watched the Chernobyl Disaster Incident series. I found that it was really much, much worse than I had ever known, and that millions of people are still suffering from that accident today, more than 20 years later. Many more thousands of people had died as a result that I didn’t realize as well. The accident was said to have released 10 times more energy than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Today a 30km/19 mi radius is still designated as the “exclusion zone” where no one is supposed to live due to radiation contamination.
The Chernobyl Disaster Incident is packed with information. It’s the best video I’ve seen so far regarding the details of what happened after the plant melted down. Once the reactor exploded, reinforcements were dispatched to try to help contain the reactor. Six hundred helicopter pilots were employed to drop lead over the open reactor to help cool it down and put out the fire. All the pilots were exposed to lethal doses of radiation, and “all” six hundred pilots died. Not only did the pilots die, but as the lead vaporized with the heat, many people, including children in the city, inhaled high doses of lead. Since there was concern that the meltdown would contaminate the water table below, 2,500 miners were dispatched to manually dig below the plant to make way to encase the reactor core. Half of those miners died, and many others became very ill with radiation sickness. In all, it was said that 500,000 people (other accounts claim 600,000 people) were dispatched to the Chernobyl plant to contain the reactor, half of whom have died since then as a result of radiation exposure and today about 200,000 are on permanent disability due to sicknesses from their radiation exposure. One in four births are said to be born with birth defects as a result of radiation exposure.
Part of the urgency to contain this reactor was due to the fact that a second explosion had the potential to render all of Europe uninhabitable. I had not realized that that one plant contained that much energy. But the more concerning part of this all is that the fuel in the reactor, the radioactive material, is still there and still has the potential to destroy Europe if not properly contained. The encasement of the plant was only designed to last about 30 years, of which more than 20 years have already passed. Updates to the enclosure is due very soon. It was said that the radiation emitted from the encasement continues to increase as the encasement ages.
To watch the eight part series click here for part one.
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Some claim that the Chernobyl accident was the worst nuclear accident in history. While that may be true, the sad fact is that it is not the worst case scenario. The power of nuclear energy can release much more destruction than what was unleashed in Chernobyl. Current nuclear warheads alone have the potential to release just as much devastation. The claim that we have enough energy to blow the world up 6 or 7 times apparently is not an exaggeration, but a sad truth.
Marlakins
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