Back in May I posted how “mysterious” levels of radiation were showing up all over Japan, in sewage treatment centers, and trash burning centers. The situation has gotten incredibly worse, and is clear evidence that Fukushima Daiichi is spewing massive amounts of cesium.
All over Japan water treatment centers, and trash burning centers, are reporting that their waste sludge continues to be contaminated with cesium. Not only that, but the levels are so high that they can not legally dispose of it.
At least 50,000 tons of waste sludge is contaminated with cesium, and 1,500 tons are so contaminated that it can’t be touched. Those 1,500 tons contain at least 8,000 becquerels per kilogram of cesium.
But that’s not all. A water treatment center in Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture, has 89,697 becquerels per kilogram of cesium in its waste sludge. Remember the national safe limit for food is 500.
This is proof the damaged nuclear plant is spewing far more radiation that what people are being told.
The government of Japan has already banned beef shipments from Fukushima and Miyagi Prefectures. Now Iwate Prefecture is being considered for such a ban after cows there have been found contaminated with cesium.
At least 12 prefectures are voluntarily checking their own cows. The national government is says it will cover the cost of the testing. It is now believed that at least 3,000 contaminated cows made it to consumer markets.
It is becoming very clear that the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has been, and still is, spreading massive amounts of cesium across Japan.
Nissan is going to invest $7.7 billion into the world’s largest car market…no not the United States…China!
Nissan entered into a joint venture with China’s Dongfeng Motor, and together they’re investing billions to boost car production in China. They expect to produce 2.3 million vehicles per year by 2015.
Nissan’s U.S. sales mirror that of Toyota, up at the beginning of the year, but down by the end of May.
The latest results of life expectancy around the world, puts Japan in number one spot for the 26th year in a row, at least for Japanese women. Women in Japan average 86.39 years. Japanese men hold the number four spot at 79.64 years.
Hong Kong women are in second place, while men in Hong Kong take first place. Men from Switzerland hold second place. Women from France hold third place, while men from Israel hold third in their category. Women from Spain hold fourth place.
Where does the United States rank? Despite spending the most money on health care, of any other country, life expectancy continues to drop. Last year the U.S. ranked 36th, this year the U.S. ranks 38th.
In a separate study, looking at U.S. counties, it was discovered that some counties had fallen to the level of third world countries back in the 1950s. So much for corporate/insurance controlled health care systems.
Last week the national government of Japan ordered all cattle shipments from Fukushima Prefecture halted, now they have done the same with cattle from Miyagi Prefecture.
It turns out that the majority of cesium contaminated beef came from Miyagi Prefecture. The cows were fed hay contaminated with thousands of becquerels of cesium. The national safe limit is 500.
In another sign that radiation is spreading across Japan, officials say the contaminated cows did not come from specific areas within the prefectures, but from all over.
Credit scoring companies are getting so nit picky that now they judge you based on where you live.
CardRatings.com now considers the state you live in as part of your credit score. One of the states that can make your rating go down is Idaho. Curtis Arnold, founder of CardRatings.com, says Idaho scores low because of high unemployment and high bankruptcy/foreclosure rates.
A low credit score for your state doesn’t just affect your rating, but the credit ratings of your local banks. This makes it harder for local financial institutions to get major loans from national banks, which in turn makes it harder for them to issue local loans.
Which state can make your credit score go up the most? Oil rich North Dakota.
I noticed a headline change in front of my eyes on CNN’s website this morning. First it said “Home prices increase”, then when I clicked on the story the headline read “Home prices dip 4.5%”. This is actually common on CNN’s website (that’s why you got to do your research).
What I found out about home prices, is that it really depends on where you live in the United States. Some areas are seeing increased home prices, usually a good sign of a strong local economy, while in other areas home prices are still falling.
Here’s and example: Cities that showed increases in home prices include Boston and Washington DC. Some cities that continue to have home prices decline are Las Vegas and Tampa.
Normally increased home prices are a good sign of a good economy, but the latest numbers show that even in the cities where home prices are up, overall home prices are still below their highs of 2006. Maybe that explains the alternating headlines on CNN’s website?
Taxpayers in the United States lost $1.3 billion when Fiat bought back all the remaining Chrysler stocks held by the U.S. government (U.S. taxpayers lost at least $14 billion, between Chrysler and GM).
Now Chrysler/Fiat is claiming they lost money too. Chrysler would have reported a profit for the second quarter of 2011, it weren’t for the stock buy back, which they claim cost $551 million.
Chrysler is also reporting a 30% increase in sales revenue (compared to the second quarter of 2010), but don’t think you can buy some of that Chrysler stock, they’re privately held by Fiat and Union trust funds.
The city of Pocatello is back to the drawing board after voting against buying $6.2 million worth of water rights. The deal would have been made with Portneuf Marsh Valley Canal Company. City officials backed out after credible threats of lawsuits from water users “downstream”.
Water is a big issue for Pocatello. Its main source of water is the Lower Portnuef Valley Aquifer, and it’s running dry. The Portneuf River flows through Pocatello, but it does not recharge the aquifer, and the city does not take any water from it.
To add to the problem, the city of Pocatello is not the only one using the Aquifer, the city of Chubbuck also gets its water from the same source.
For a long time it was thought that surface water runoff made its way to the ground water (Aquifer), but now its known that most surface water runoff just ends up in rivers heading out to the oceans (although some recharging comes from Mink Creek, and snow).
Geoscientists believe the Lower Portnuef Valley Aquifer was created 17,000 years ago when a natural dam broke, releasing a huge sea into the area (Bonneville Flood). Part of that sea was trapped in what is now known as Lower Portnuef Valley Aquifer.
Another issue is that while many aquifers are held in small rock formations, even pebbles and sand, the Lower Portnuef Valley Aquifer is trapped by huge boulders, which were part of the natural dam holding back the ancient sea. You can see huge boulders around the area now. Every time a housing development goes in they end up spending a lot of time digging out the boulders in order to put in basements. It has also resulted in lucrative local rock mining businesses.
The water in the Aquifer is almost finite, it does not easily recharge as was once thought.
However, while most rain ends up in rivers, any water from slow melting snow, or used on farms or residential properties can get into the Aquifer. The problem is that large boulders do not filter the incoming surface water, like sand or pebble aquifers. This means the Lower Portnuef Valley Aquifer is very vulnerable to contamination.
To add to that, the soil is only about 2 to 8 feet thick, before you hit rock. I can attest to that since I’ve done a lot of landscaping here, and I grow vegetables and fruits. I can dig the depth of a shovel blade and hit rocks 4 inches in diameter or bigger. The thin soil means if you dump used motor oil on the ground, or use chemicals on your garden, it’s almost instantly heading for the Aquifer.
There is a three part (boring, basically a college lecture from 2010) video explanation of the Lower Portnuef Valley Aquifer issue, presented by Glenn Thackray of Idaho State University:
Thackray explains that the cities, residents, farmers and businesses take out more water from the Lower Portnuef Valley Aquifer, per year, than what flows into the Aquifer. This has been going on for a long time, and is why we’re running out of water. Add to that the fact that we’ve had some very dry winters, with less than normal snowfall (a big source of recharge, because it melts into the ground, unlike rain that runs off). The water level has been dropping since the 1990s.
Pocatello city officials say they are taking this issue seriously, and are being proactive about finding a solution.
The USPS lost $8.5 billion in 2010. It lost $3.8 billion in 2009. So far this year the USPS has lost $2.2 billion. The result; the United States Postal Service will make public a list of post offices that could be closed this year, as many as 3,653.
The United States Postal Service does notmake money off taxpayers, they are solely funded by the postage they charge. The problem is that Congress controls the postage they are allowed to charge, and so far Congress has refused to allow postal rates to reflect the actual operating cost of the USPS.
On top of that, Congress overcharged the USPS $75 billion for the Federal Employees Retirement System plan. The Postmaster General asked for that money to be returned, but Congress refused (you think they already spent it?).
As a result of incompetence (or is it on purpose?) by our elected officials in Congress, thousands more USPS employees will lose their jobs.