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Raised in the tumult of Japan’s industrial powerhouse, the 11 men and women profiled in A Different Kind of Luxury have all made the transition to sustainable, fulfilling lives. Based on Andy Couturier's popular articles in The Japan Times, this lushly designed volume has a wealth of stories about real people who have created an abundance of time for contemplation, connecting with the natural world, and contributing to their communities. In their success is a lesson for us all: live a life that matters. Read an excerpt of the book here or here. Read a review of the book here, here, or here.


Tuesday, March 15, 2011

One thing you could do to help-Geiger counters

UPDATE, Oizumi's brother has been found, alive. SCROLL DOWN... I just spoke with Oizumi again, and he says the situation continues to worsen.  (The last piece of news I've hears is that the containment vessel, which is the last line of protection, has broken at the Fukushima plant, and plutonium has been released.  (This from Democracy Now.)  Oizumi said, when I asked him if I could help him, "If you have one, a small one, and only an inexpensive one, made in the US is preferable, can you send me a geiger counter?"

So, if you would like to help out, please send geiger counters to Oizumi.  He'd be the right person to distribute them.  Here's his address:

San Oizumi
Gifu Ken, Mizunami-Shi, Hiyoshi cho  2423
JAPAN,  509-6251

Here's part of what Oizumi said to me on the phone:

"My brother, his wife, all their children: eight people: I've had no contact at all.  The bodies are washing to shore so mixed up it’s not even possible to tell one from the other.  

UPDATE: Oizumi's brother and family have been found.  They escaped by climbing to the roof of their house, and were rescued by helicopter.  They're all safe.  Oizumi  seemed very very happy on the phone.

(END OF UPDATE)
There's been an earthquake near the nuclear plant at Hamaoka in Shizuoka prefecture, not too far from my house.  It's not being reported.  

The Niigata prefecture nuclear plant has had an earthquake, and it still hasn't been repaired since the earthquake and fire there in 2007, and they STILL haven’t shut it down.  I think the men in power are actually crazy.  They should shut all the power plants down.

My daughter Nako is pregnant and will give birth soon, and she lives near that powerplant, and I said to her that she should come home to have her baby, but the Hamaoka reactor is near us here, so there IS no safe place to have a baby in Japan. 

It makes me think that Japan is a laboratory animal for America."

So, as I said in my book, we should simplify because it's a better life, but I should add too that we need to think how our actions could be hurting others.  Are you using any electricity you don't need to right now?  These aren't the only nuclear plants in the world.

This photograph is from an evacuation of a hospital near the reactors.  Please look carefully at it, especially the expression on the man's face on the right.

Thank you for that.
Andy

1 comment:

  1. If I had a Geiger counter I would send it. Maybe I could buy one, but where?

    The stories coming from Japapn are horrifying, and I'm sure that the ones we aren't hearing are worse. This certainly puts my own small problems in perspective.

    Thanks for sharing this Andy.

    Lynn
    www.writeradvice.com
    Author of You Want Me to Do WHAT? Journaling for Caregivers

    ReplyDelete