Radiation Found In Massachusetts Rainwater

 Massachusetts State Flag

Small amounts of radiation have been found in rainwater in the United States as far east as Massachusetts. The measured levels of radioactive iodine 131 are considered harmless.

An article titled “Radiation In Massachusetts Rainwater Likely From Japan” by the Associated Press March 27, 2011 and published in the Huffington Post details the issue. The measured amounts of radiation found in rainwater across the country are at very low levels and not a threat to human health or drinking water.

What the discovery of radioactive iodine in rainwater falling in the United States tells us is how widespread the distribution of radiation can be once it is in the environment. It is 6,551 miles between the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Japan and Boston, Massachusetts.

What this also allows others to understand is the uproar taking place in Germany where massive protests against the continued use of nuclear power have been taking place. Germany was in the path of nuclear material that spread across the country when the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded in the Ukraine region of the former Soviet Union.

There is no reason to panic, but this is food for thought.

President Obama Shows His Birth Certificate And …

Barack Obama Birth Certificate

The thing that so many have clamored for has finally been produced. President Barack Obama produces his long form birth certificate and the reaction to it was shocking.

One of the first responses was, “He’s still a Muslim.” Of course, this is a hypothetical situation, but is exactly the type of response that would come from those with 10, not 1 reason they don’t support President Obama. Those ingrained attitudes are also exactly the reason President Obama should not show his long form birth certificate.

Barack Hussein Obama is the legitimate President of the United States. He was voted in by the people and sworn in by the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. President Obama met all of the requirements of the Constitution, election commission and every states requirement for inclusion on ballots for President of the United States.

The other reason the President should not buckle to calls to produce a long form birth certificate is that the satisfaction it would provide to the faction pushing the “He is an other” conspiracy theories. The satisfaction that group would get from having the sitting President complying with their requests would be immense. The symbolic damage of President Obama showing his birth certificate would be like he was pulled over and asked for his papers and that image would never go away. The individuals riding on the birther bandwagon are in a world of their own making and President Obama showing his long form birth certificate will not grant him acceptance into that club.  

Now some of these states have bills coming to the legislature that require a birth certificate as a part of qualification to be included on their ballot for President. It is questionable if any of these measures will become law. An article titled “Ga. latest state to propose "birther" bill” by the Associated Press March 2, 2011 and published on the CBS News website goes into the details on the measure in Georgia. These laws seems to like rules change imposed in some sports when a player comes along and takes a quantum leap beyond everyone else participating.

This is the state of American politics today with code words, finger pointing and fear mongering as the order of the day.

U S Gives Out Potassium Iodide Pills In Japan And Workers Flee Smoking Nuclear Power Plant

Potassium Iodide

In a real life saga that seems to never end, workers fled from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power Monday March 21, 2011 as smoke rose from two reactors. In a separate action the United States made Potassium Iodide pills available to U.S. personnel and dependents in Japan.

These two events while separate certainly have an intersection. The intersection is the radiation coming from the damaged nuclear power plant and the potential harmful effects it could have on those exposed to it. An article titled “Workers flee Japan nuclear plant as smoke rises” by Eric Talmadge and Mari Yamaguchi March 21, 2011 and published on Yahoo.com details a setback in efforts to brink the nuclear reactors under control as workers fled the Fukushima Dia-ichi nuclear power plant as smoke rose from two reactors.

Another separate article titled “U.S. makes potassium iodide available in Japan” by Arshad Mohammed and published on the Reuter website details the U.S. decision to make potassium iodide available to its personnel and dependents in certain parts of Japan.

One of the radioactive elements released into the environment from the nuclear power plant in Japan is radioactive iodine. Radioactive iodine has been detected in the environment in Japan. The human thyroid, that regulates growth, will absorb iodine and can’t tell the difference between radioactive iodine and nonradioactive iodine. Iodine is needed in order for the thyroid to function properly. When you see the label of “iodized” on table salt it means that small amounts of iodine containing salts have been mixed with regular salt to help prevent iodine deficiency. The thyroid will absorb radioactive iodine and that is where potassium iodide comes in as a blocker. The thyroid will absorb the potassium iodide and become full. If the thyroid is full it will not absorb radioactive iodine.

Radioactive iodine absorbed by the thyroid can cause thyroid cancer. There are many issues taking place in Japan and the longer it goes on, it seems the more serious things become.

GAS PRICE INCREASES HITS THE UNITED STATES

By Danny Pollard February USA- Nothing reminds us of how dependent we are on oil from Northern African and the Middle East more than sharp increases in the price of gasoline at our local service station. Events that are occurring halfway around the world have a direct connection to our pocket books in the United States and it hurts.

Unrest in Libya as the population there has taken a cue from citizens in Egypt and are moving to oust their leader of 40 years, Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi. Although we are far removed from the actual unrest we see it when driving by the signs at the gas pump as some will increase from the time we drive by on the way out from home and come by on the way back. 

An article titled "Gas prices keep rising in Dallas-Fort Worth, with no relief in sight" by Elena Harding, Jessica L. Huseman and Amber Bel February 23, 2011 and published on the Dallas News .com website detail the rising gas price issue in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. That article was a few days ago and prices are even higher now. 

Effect Of Fuel Prices On Economic Recovery

As gas prices increase, the amount of money available to spend on other things will decrease and that means the economic recovery will slow down. If gas prices hit $5 dollars a gallon it will be like throwing cold water on other spending. Not only will the price of filling personal gas tanks go up, but the price of fueling delivery trucks will increase also. Increased cost to deliver everything from food to tires will be passed on to consumers. We must hope that stability returns to those troubled areas that we depend on to keep our country moving.

Time To Break Our Foreign Oil Addiction

Will this become just another drill in complaining about the price of gas or will this be the opportunity to begin to turn the page on our oil addiction. Technology has zoomed forward in many areas such as computers and cell phones, but automobiles are using the same engine and fuel technology as 100 years ago.