solidarity

• The government approved construction of the disastrous Belo Monte Dam, allowing heavy machinery to break ground on the banks of the Xingu River.
• The Brazilian Congress is on the verge of approving a major rollback of the Brazilian Forestry Code, already causing a huge spike in deforestation.
• Leading forest guardians have been victims of murder and intimidation.

This is one of the defining environmental struggles of our times; the assault on the Amazon must stop!

We, the international community, need to stand in solidarity with the growing numbers of Brazilians calling for environmental sanity and respect for human rights in the Amazon. Together, we can make a difference.

You can help protect the Amazon!

Saturday 20 August will be massive day of action in at least 22 Brazilian cities. Antonia Melo, a key leader of the movement to stop the Belo Monte Dam, has asked people to join her by organising protests around the world on Monday August 22 in front of their local Brazilian Embassy or Consulate.

Take action

Find out where the events are taking place
Download resources for the event you are attending and find out more about the dam
Call on the Brazilian President stop the Belo Monte Dam

Sri Lanka is set to be on the receiving end of more un-sustainable development due to the Hambantota 2018 Commonwealth games proposal. 

The area the authorities propose to develop the games' infrastructure is one of the last remaining strong holds for the endangered Leopard, Elephant and Sloth Bear, as well as countless other endangered flora and fauna that plays a crucial role in Sri Lanka's rich but declining bio-diversity. 

Over the last few years, the once lush green Island of Sri Lanka has gradually started to become a concrete jungle. Once the bio-diversity is lost, Sri Lanka will loose it's popularity with eco tourists, and it's people and tourism will suffer. 

Hence, we urge you to take immediate action to stop amending the flora and fauna act to permit buildings near nature reserves and move the Commonwealth games out of Sri Lanka's wilderness.

Take action

This action has been initiated by Rainforest Protectors, Sri Lanka

Marlon Lozano Yulan, courtesy of Twitter. 

We expresses solidarity with Marlon Lozano Yulan's family and repudiate this new assault against the life of a social leader, something which, unfortunately happens too often and with total impunity in Latin America.

Meanwhile, we express our most heartfelt solidarity with all the comrades of Tierra y Vida, and other Ecuadorian organizations that go through similar atrocities on a regular basis.

On July 20, two hired hooded assassins fatally shot Marlon Lozano Yulan in downtown Guayaquil. Tierra y Vida's acting Secretary, Raquel Silva, told Friends of the Earth's Real World Radio that the deadly attack was addressed at the organisation's legal advisor, Milton Yulan, who is related to Marlon.

Tierra y Vida focused its work on defending the right to ownership of the peasants in Guayas province over lands that used to belong to estate owners and bankers until the 2000 banking crisis, when they were confiscated.

Tierra y Vida suspects that sectors opposed to land distribution, which defend land concentration in the hands of corporations and economic groups were involved in the murder of the young activist.

In response to these incidents we call on the social movements and grassroots organizations of the region to strengthen their solidarity. We also demand the Ecuadorian authorities carry out the necessary investigations into the murder of Marlon Lozano Yulan, and  punish those who are responsible.

An alarming trend

We also call on the Ecuadorian and regional authorities in charge of enforcing human rights, the judiciary and human rights organisations to implement the necessary mechanisms to prevent acts like this, which go against the right to peaceful protest.

On May 24, producer Jose Claudio Ribeiro da Silva and his wife, Maria do Espirito Santo, were murdered. They were known in Para state for their struggle for land and defense of the Amazon forest. 

Three days later, in Rondonia state, Adelino Ramos was also killed while he was selling vegetables in the state's capital. He had exposed the actions of big wood corporations in the border between the states of Acre, Amazonia and Rondonia. Hundreds of Brazilian environmental activists have received death threats according to the Land Pastoral Commission.

In Central America, the death threats and persecution of social leaders have become part of the daily reality. The case of Honduras, with a government that succeeded the dictatorship, is the most concerning one.

On July 14, Nery Jeremias Orellana was murdered. He was a 26 year-old journalist who worked with social movements and who was a member of the Broad Front of Popular Resistance. In 2010, 14 people working in the media were murdered in Honduras.

We are on alert over the current violence against social movements in Ecuador and the region and will continue to speak out against abuses whenever we hear of them.

further information

Several months after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, we are beginning to get a sense of the likely long-term impacts.

Radiation has spread across much of the northern hemisphere and parts of the southern hemisphere. Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency estimates the radioactive release at 770,000 terabecquerels in the first week of the crisis. Total radiation releases will probably fall somewhere between 10−40% of those from the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. Radiation releases have not been stopped and will continue for some months.

The long-term cancer death toll will probably be somewhere between several hundred and several thousand. For comparison, a reasonable estimate of the Chernobyl death toll is 30,000.

Allowable radiation dose limits in Japan have been thrown out the window, both for emergency workers and for the general public.

Estimates of the economic costs of the disaster range from $50 billion to $130 billion − but it wouldn't be surprising if the true costs are considerably greater.

Between 100,000 and 150,000 people cannot return to their homes because of radioactive contamination. Some may be able to return before the end of this year but permanent relocation is a likely outcome for those who lived in the most contaminated regions. Legal and political battles will take decades to play out.

Globally, the nuclear power 'renaissance' has taken a big hit. Germany, Italy and Switzerland have decided to abandon nuclear power in favour of renewable energy sources. Plans to introduce or expand nuclear power in many other countries have taken a big backwards step.

Nuclear power has no part in building a climate-friendly and sustainable future.

A large and growing number of scientific studies have detailed the wide range of energy supply and energy efficiency options that can be deployed to meet energy demand while sharply reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The claim that nuclear power is a necessary or desirable part of the fight against climate change must be rejected. Nuclear power is at most a very partial and problematic response and presents unresolved and unacceptable problems.

Uranium is the first link in the toxic nuclear fuel chain, and is the primary source of radioactive materials used in nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons. Many uranium mines have had serious adverse impacts on the environment and the communities that live near them.

Nuclear power plants around the world have already experienced many problems caused by natural and man-made disasters which are likely to become more frequent and more severe as a result of climate change − as seen in Japan. The nuclear industry has been very slow to address these problems. Meanwhile the nuclear power industry continues to survive because of huge taxpayer subsidies.

Hazardous radioactive wastes are generated at every stage of the nuclear fuel cycle. There is not a single permanent repository for spent fuel or high-level nuclear waste anywhere in the world.

In addition to the risk of accidents, nuclear power reactors are vulnerable to disasters from sabotage, terrorism, or the use of conventional forces to attack nuclear facilities during war.

Nuclear power is the one and only energy source with a direct and repeatedly-demonstrated connection to the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction. Doubling nuclear output by the middle of the century would require the construction of 800-900 reactors to replace most of the existing cohort of reactors and to build as many again. These reactors would produce over one million tonnes of nuclear waste (in the form of spent fuel) containing enough plutonium to build over one million nuclear weapons.

These are some of the very clear reasons why we MUST reject the nuclear industry.

A clean energy future, based primarily on renewable energy and energy efficiency and conservation measures, is viable, safe and affordable.

Friends of the Earth Asia Pacific is calling for Government's in our region like Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Australia to transition into nuclear free societies.

Friends of the Earth Asia Pacific region will pursue a nuclear free world as a region and in our individual countries.

We urge the citizens of Asian Pacific region to join us in taking action to build a nuclear free world.

Friends of the Earth Asia Pacific
Thursday 30 June 2011
Seoul, Korea

Kumi and Ulvar climbed the oil rig, situated 120 km off Greenland coast line, with the aim of handing over a petition signed by 50,000 people from all over the world demanding Cairn publish their oil spill response plan.

They wanted to personally call on Cairn to leave the Arctic.

Speaking moments prior to his arrest Kumi said:

"I did this because Arctic oil drilling is one of the defining environmental battles of our age. I'm an African but I care deeply about what’s happening up here. The rapidly melting cap of Arctic sea ice is a grave warning to all of us."

Friends of the Earth International stands in solidarity with Kumi Naidoo and all the activists arrested during the action. We extend our solidarity to all those who take a stand against against unsustainable practices. We support the right of local communities to reject and resist extractive industry operations that threaten their health and livelihoods. 

We challenge the world's governments to redirect their support towards economic alternatives that could take us towards equitable and sustainable societies. At the same time, we call upon people everywhere to think critically and creatively about what they really need to consume and produce.

Find out more about our work on resisting mining, oil and gas.

Peace Boat would like to express our appreciation for the donation of JPY 938,000 received from Friends of the Earth International for its Earthquake & Tsunami Relief Efforts in the city of Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture.

The donation has been utilized to support our purchase of mud cleaning equipment for our volunteer Tsunami Mud & Small Debris Clearance initiative. Since March 16, this project has resulted in the clearance of over 500 homes and other buildings, including schools, retirement homes and shops, and miles of streets and drains.

The activity has directly impacted over 2500 people (those whose home and businesses were cleared) and thousands more in the wider community who have benefited from the improved environment and the re-opening of local shops and public buildings.

Speaking about the work of Peace Boat, local resident Sakuma Ikuko said:

"I have nightmares about the tsunami every night. I get swallowed up by the waves and the moment that I think I’m going to die, I wake up. When I do wake up, all I see out of the window are the endless mountains of debris. A darkness was beginning to consume me and I didn’t think I could make it through. But then, I saw the young Peace Boat volunteers, with their boundless energy, partaking in sludge and debris removal. They gave me courage and the drive not to give up. That is what Peace Boat gave me."

Find out more about the recovery work

Peace Boat Japan
The Japan Chernobyl Foundation

It has come to our attention that Mr. Roberto Smeraldi of Amigos da Terra Amazonia Brasileira (Friends of the Earth Brazilian Amazonia) continues to use the name of Friends of the Earth domestically and internationally to promote projects that undermine the work of our Brazilian member group, the name of the federation, and the relationship with our allies. 

We have received a request from our Brazilian member group Núcleo Amigos da Terra Brasil (FoE Brazil) to communicate widely the distinction between these two organizations in order that the general public, the media and the people of Brazil are aware of this important issue. 

This request comes at a very important moment in Brazil as our member group is campaigning to prevent any changes to Brazil's most important forest protection code, which is currently under attack by the agribusiness lobby and is due to be voted on in the national congress. Friends of the Earth Brazil is undertaking this important work with our strategic ally, La Vía Campesina, several local groups and national networks.

Smeraldi´s organization, Amigos da Terra Amazonia Brasileira is currently promoting a joint proposal between the pulp/paper sector and various NGOs dubbed ¨the Forest Dialogue¨, which is proposing market-based mechanisms to forest protection and changes in the forest protection law. 

Amigos da Terra Amazonia Brazileira is neither a member nor an ally of Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) and his organization is undermining the important work of FoEI´s Brazilian member, Núcleo Amigos da Terra, the work of our strategic allies, as well as the compromising the integrity of FoEI´s name.

Japan's people desperately need help to ensure their children are safe from radiation exposure. Please support them by taking action now!

http://www.foejapan.org/en/news/110517.html

After you sign the petition, you will receive a confirmation email. To complete your action, click the link in the email to confirm your signature.

Thank you

April 19, 2011

I joined the volunteer groups, composed of around 200 people, organised by the Peace Boat last weekend and went to Ishinomaki, around 15 km from Sindai City. What we found there was still the misery sight that should have been gone already, as it has been more than one month since when the earthquake and the tsunami had happened. But the situation still needed more and more support to remove debris and sludge, or the very first-step for revival.

One of the main activities we engaged in was to scrape sludge out of the houses affected by tsunami. After being equipped with helmets, dust-proof masks, safety boots, and so on, we left for one shopping arcade in Ishinomaki. They said that the black muddy stream had swallowed up to the height of the 1st floor ceiling in the area only  within 20 minutes after the strong earthquake.

My group helped a coffee shop and a dental office over the weekend. We devoted ourselves to our work, having blessed them to start their work again as a master of the cafe and a dentist as early as possible. After removing the sludge into many sandbags, carrying out the muddy furniture, electrical appliances, and child toys etc., and wiping mud away, we could finally saw the surface of the floor after all two days.

“Arigatou ne (“Thank you very much” in Japanese)!” “Hontou ni Tasukatta yo (“You really helped us a lot” in Japanese)!” said the local people in the shopping arcade to us when we were about to leave there. Tears welled up in my eyes. I strongly believed again that each of us could do something even in a small way, which could piled up and became the big support for the local people to reconstruct their lives and communities.

HH

On April 19, the Japanese government announced that it would be increasing the level of radiation deemed safe for children to 20 mSv/y. This is comparable to the maximum dose allowed for nuclear power plant workers in Germany.

Note

References

further information  

Nuclear power is unwanted and unnecessary.  Life within our means!
We do not need to make life more convenient.  Life without damaging someone!
There's not enough to use energy unlimitedly.  Life that children are not frightened!

The triple blow of the large earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident are now depriving the people of Fukushima, my home town, of foundation for living.  There are villages that decided to evacuate pregnant women, toddlers and babies. Vulnerable people who cannot line up for gasoline at a gas station are being forced to endure difficult living conditions with growing anxiety.

The nuclear accident is a man-made disaster. It is thought that Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), pro-nuclear politicians and academics are to blame for the accident, but that is not all.

The fact is that fifty years ago Fukushima Prefecture invited the electric power company to build nuclear power plants in order to promote regional development. The local anti-nuclear energy movement requested countermeasures against tsunamis but this did not happen. This is totally different from what happens in the United States. 

It may be a consequence of our choice and giving our silent approval. We should not only blame TEPCO and the government without understanding the point. It may be said that we made this disaster ourselves as we believed everything the politicians said.

What's the solution?

Providing energy education to learn nuclear power objectively and knowledge and wisdom to protect life is necessary. Reviewing a monopoly system of electric power companies to divide them into a generation company, a transmission company and a distribution company, and establishing a territorially distributed system of electric power supply. 

Let people choose their energy. Using different heat sources for residences. An oil stove is useful in case of disaster. Full electrification is easily affected by power failures. Reviewing electricity payment methods for electric power at peak times.

I feel so sad that the sea and fields in my home town have been contaminated in return for a convenient and gorgeous life in the Tokyo metropolitan area. "I don’t mind darkened stores." "Stores do not have to open 365 days a year. Revive regular holidays."  "Until now, it was too convenient and too bright." I hear those words spoken earnestly.

The nuclear accident triggers us to look into our daily lives and change the structure.  I will take actions praying for the repose of disaster victims in my home town.

Shouting, singing, and dancing, the participants expressed their own opinion about the nuclear power plants in various passionate ways. Last Sunday, April 10, I joined one anti-nuclear power action at Kouenji, one of the towns in Tokyo. Around 15,000 people gathered for this, the biggest demonstration against nuclear power plants in Japan after the triple-disaster of March 11.

Most of the participants in the action were in their 20’s and 30’s, including some parents with their children. There were also many people who were taking part in their first demonstration.   

"When could we change this situation, if not now?” "We don’t want to leave

this kind of big risk and burden behind for our children." These were the thoughts that moved more and more people to join in the demonstration. Many people found out about it through Twitter and the internet.

There were anti-nuclear actions in other Japanese cities on that day. I have a feeling the demonstrations will spread across the country.

Coverage of the demonstrations

“STOP Nuclear Power”  Action @ Kouenji on April 10, 2011-part 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81ljAs4LAzc

“STOP Nuclear Power”  Action @ Kouenji on April 10, 2011-part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mt0paTkGGTU

http://410nonuke.tumblr.com/

HH

On April 11, I visited Fukushima City with two activists from Citizens Against Fukushima Aging Nuclear Power Plants (Fukuro-no-Kai). We met four members from Fukushima Citizen’s Conference for Reconstruction from Nuclear Disaster, a citizen’s group established immediately after the events of March 3. 

We spoke about how we can convey their voices to the Parliament and Government of Japan and the possibility of further collaboration. As they spoke under the stress, the sense of duty for immediate actions and the stress and the ongoing fear of radioactive contamination / exposure, each and every word weighed heavily. 

During the meeting, there was a very strong earthquake. We interrupted our meeting as the TV reported that Fukushima Daiichi had lost its power sources. Several strong earthquakes were felt afterwards, but people didn’t seem to care, they just continued talking. I think they have become accustomed to the quakes.

Fukushima Citizen’s Conference for Reconstruction from Nuclear Disaster have been monitoring the amount of radiation at several schools and kindergartens in Fukushima and the southern part of Miyagi. As a result, some high values were monitored in some playgrounds. They aim to request and pressure the local government to monitor thoroughly and conduct necessary actions by presenting the data monitored by the citizens. Their intention was partly realised, as Fukushima Prefecture began the radiation monitoring at more than a thousand schools. Citizens Against Fukushima Aging Nuclear Power Plants (Fukuro-no-Kai) have collaborated by providing the Geiger counters and utilising the monitoring of results at a national level.

During our meeting, the activists stressed the following:

- People in Fukushima have accepted Nuclear Power Plants, which meant that we put priority on money over life and safety. This disaster is a direct consequence of it. It is the time to reverse the order. We have been struggling to change our society, which does not want to move under severe pressure and stress. But we must change.  We would like to build a foundation of the future society for our children.

- We feel a sense of urgency when we see children playing in the rain without umbrellas.

- The government should evacuate the children from all schools where high amounts of radiation have been recorded.　The governmental support is indispensable, thus, it must provide for the coordination of host communities and financial support”

- Independent monitoring by citizen's group is very important, but we do not have a sufficient number of Geiger counters and any measurement instruments for food and soil contamination. We need international support to continue our activism.

Further information

http://fukurou.txt-nifty.com/fukurou/2011/04/the-fukushima-c.html

Smile a cheerful smile !
Let today and again tomorrow be filled with your beaming smiles !!

Tell us about something wonderful you met today.
Tell us about something happy you got today.
Let your smiles be spread all over the world again today.

Your smile will surely put new life into all of us !!

Ikumi

I just happened to be at my cousin's home with my daughter when the first

strong earthquake hit North-west Japan. We felt quite a strong quake and I held the kids tightly until the quake stopped.

All the kids started to cry "Scary!!"

Calming down the kids, we couldn't stop watching TV... it was just like a

fiction disaster movie but it was all real. Also one of my best friends was

in Ishinomaki for a business trip, where had fatal tsunami hit. He came back

five days after the disaster by luck.

I couldn't sleep at all that night, I just prayed things would not get worse in

the midst of the frequent aftershocks.

If I were out for work on that day as usual and left my 22-month old

daughter at the child day care....? If something worst happened at the

Fukushima nuclear plant...?

Such thoughts kept giving me a shudder and I couldn't let my child away from

me even after the day care restarted.

It was extremely difficult to sort out the information for the first week

(it is still difficult though, and maybe getting worse), however,  I decided to follow my instinct as a mother and evacuate to my hometown in the south-west region!

So far, I'm satisfied with my decision to leave Tokyo for a while.

The biggest reason is now I'm free from the extraordinary tension in Tokyo.

I didn't notice that I was under such way-out stress until I left there.

Here I've got a sense of self-composure to join and organise some charity events. I just came back from the kids' English lesson and now I've become keenly aware that the smile of children always gives adults the right direction.

Last but not least at all, I truly appreciate so much for care and prayers from all over the world. Also, let me apologise for radioactive pollution from Fukushima. A lot of ordinary Japanese citizens feel that we shoulder part of the responsibility as we've neglected its danger in order to enjoy a semblance of quality of life. Nuclear is not a necessary evil any more but an absolute evil!

Shizuka

Thanks to the support of people who donated to Friends of the Earth International's appeal, we've passed on 600,000 Yen (around 5000 euros) to Peace Boat, who are conducting emergency relief efforts for those who are suffering.

Peace Boat is now located in Ishinomaki city in Miyagi prefecture. For the last two weeks they have been carrying out the following:

• Coordinating requests from evacuation centres;
• Cooperating with other organisations willing to help provide assistance in Ishinomaki;
• Preparing and distributing at least 500 daily hot meals to survivors outside the evacuation centres, with an immediate goal of 2000 meals per day;
• Helping cater to affected areas that the authorities have yet to reach;
• Participating in efforts to clean the evacuation centres, clear debris and mud, and make the roads functional.

Despite our efforts, the area is still facing a serious shortage of food. Since March 25, Peace Boat has been rotating teams of 50 volunteers and will be coordinating more of them in the coming weeks.

The money that Friends of the Earth transferred will provide around 1000 hot meals. A member of Friends of the Earth Japan will be volunteering on April 16 and 17. She will report back here on the experience!

More information, in English, on Peace Boat's work can be found on their website and Facebook page. 

Peace Boat Website

Peace Boat Facebook page.

AY

Mario Mejía has become a leader of the Latin American agroecology and environmental movement because of his contributions in developing an agroecological way that respects environmental and cultural heritage. His publications are read by many.

In his home in San Antonio, Valle del Cauca, Professor Mario Mejia has developed the important work of protecting the water springs that provide drinking water to nearly 35 families. In addition he's been involved in reforestation work, a rural school, and workshops for peasant groups. Thousands of people have visited his house in order to learn environmentally friendly practices.

With his own resources he's built lodgings, dry toilets and wooden stoves which were seriously damaged by the raid.

We demand the Colombian authorities investigate these incidents and guarantee the human rights of the Professor, and those he works with, and that he is compensated for the damage caused to his property.

I would like to introduce an essay from one of our friends, who lives in Iwaki City, 40 km from Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

Two weeks after the hydrogen explosion at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant building, we've returned to Iwaki City at last. Iwaki is 40 km away from the Fukushima plant and is neither within the 20 km evacuation zone nor within the 30 km safety zone.

However, immediately after the nuclear explosion following the earthquakes and tsunamis, we were not able to determine the degree of risks involved and evacuated to Ibaraki Prefecture, 160 km from Iwaki city.

My wife works at a high school, 34 km from the Fukushima plant. Two days after the evacuation, she insisted on returning to Iwaki City. I was against this. At the time, there'd been a second hydrogen explosion. Upon hearing about this, my wife still persisted with her plans to return and we began to quarrel. One hour after the second explosion, the school finally got in contact with her with an official notice to stay on stand-by and not to return, my wife conceded.

I was relieved to settle this matter. We then began to worry about our cat that was left behind. This cat, being semi-wild, lies idly during the day in the neighboring field and returns home at night. We were certain that she would take refuge in the field and was not likely to starve, thus the problem was her radiation exposure.

The radiation monitoring began in Iwaki City and was reported to be about 1 micro sieverts per hour (Sv/h) in the atmosphere above normal levels. The soil contamination too appears relatively serious. As our cat lives in the field, she must be covered with the dirt. I wonder how much she has been exposed to.

Two weeks later as we returned to Iwaki city, our cat was fortunately alive and well. I wondered what she had been eating. We brought her into the bathroom immediately and washed her with some cat-shampoo. So as not to bring the radioactive material into the house, we had initially decided to wash her outside. However, the joy of finding her alive left us with no such reason.

The hardest part came afterwards. The cat naturally wants to go outside; she kept crying so that we could not keep her indoors any longer. As we told her, "outside you will be exposed to radiation", she would not listen and began rolling around in the field again.

Like many cats, our cat too dislikes getting wet; therefore we cannot wash her every day. We ourselves are wearing masks when outside and we take our clothes off in the entrance hall so as not to bring the radiation material into our bedroom. But is it any good at all if the cat comes in full of dirt?

Thus far when we brought her inside our home, we used disposable body-towels. However, since these towels are relatively expensive, and do not come in large amounts, we opted to use baby-wipes. We soak them very lightly and wipe her three times and needless to say they are then discarded.

We are well aware of the radiation risks and have some knowledge. Yet as we restart our lives, we end up not thinking of this risks as everyday needs and emotional needs take over. People living outside the immediate danger are far more sensitive to such risks. In fact, prior to our return to Iwaki City, our family members and friends living outside Fukushima Prefecture were very concerned and strongly opposed our return.

Despite this, my wife decided to return out of her sense of duty and out of her guilt for left behind. While I, with my affection for our cat, selfishly reasoned that "the plant will not explode immediately," "we can secure the gasoline if needed," "1 micro Sv/h does not present a high risk," and so on.

Upon returning, we found the shelves of the supermarket empty and about 100 cars lined up at the gas station. Yet here the sky is blue, and so ordinary is our everyday it makes it difficult to believe that only 40 km from here are the damaged nuclear plants.

Whether our cat is exposed to radiation is still unknown, and recently we nicknamed her Sievert. More accurately, as the cat is treated as a nuclear material, Becquerel is appropriate. Therefore, we thought of calling her Becky, however, my wife thought Sievert prettier and there was no use in arguing.

By continuing this life, the risk of radiation will be forgotten unless the situation worsens at the plants or until the onset of cancer emerges. I wonder for those who have settled here for good, this may well be a happier life.

Even if her life ends prematurely, our cat might be content to roll around in the field as usual. I too am defeated by my own emotion and no longer troubled by the thought of letting our cat into our home even if this means shortening my life a little.

Photo credit: DigitalGlobe

It has been three weeks since the earthquake and tsunami hit Touhoku and Kanto area. In Miyagi prefecture, the construction of temporary houses
has started for people whose homes were completely destroyed or washed away.

In Iwanuma City, the first 100 houses are under construction and another 58 will be added. In Miyagi Prefecture 10,000 houses will be constructed and, as of April 1, 2300 houses are already in the process of being built.

In Yamamoto town, consultations for residents were held, but information is said to be insufficient. For example, it's not known whether there's an option to move into temporary housing into other prefectures (districts). It will be a long way from fully satisfying people's needs. But at the same time, local officials are working so hard for the people.

Iwanuma City Hall

In Iwanuma City Hall, since the earthquake and tsunami occurred, a disaster centre has been established under the Mayor's initiative. When I visited the centre the staff seemed to be busy with recovering the bodies. They have been sleeping in the City Hall since the disaster to deal with huge loss and damage that has been gradually unfolding. The health condition of the workers is a serious concern. 

YN

Top photo: Construction begins in Iwanuma City. Bottom: A message board in Iwanuma City

On March 31, one of our staff members went to Iwanuma city, Miyagi Prefecture, one of the areas most affected by the tsunami to grasp the needs on the ground.

Those needs are still being assessed, but here are some photos of the devastation in Iwanuma City.


The remains of a road.

Paddy fields remain strewn with rubble and salt damage could harm future rice production.

These trees used to form a disaster-prevention forest, but were felled by
the tsunami.

Three weeks after the earthquake and tsunami happened, Sendai Airport (in Miyagi Prefecture) has reopened. We hope this will facilitate relief work and put forward the reconstruction.

I have often been upset by so-called 'experts' when I watch nuclear issues being covered on the TV in Japan. 

A nuclear expert who used to work at Toshiba said, one day, 

"Japaese nuclear technique will possibly be praised and we should be proud of it, as we could avoid the worst of the worst." 

How could he possibly say such a thing in such a way, almost ignoring those affected already in many ways!? And, he still continues to be on TV.

Yesterday, another expert on radiation in the sea, said that the fish are safe to eat, as we have already been taking in plutonium previously releaed in the pacific from elsewhere. 

This cannot be the reason why we are safe!! 

I do not blame all the experts. But, it strikes me some experts are exposed to media just to defend safety or protect themselves.

NS