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from Photographers Blog:
Fishing in Fukushima
Hirono town, Fukushima prefecture, Japan
By Issei Kato
After some tough negotiations with local fishermen cooperatives I was allowed on board a fishing boat sailing out to check fish radioactive contamination levels in waters off the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Commercial fishing has been banned near the tsunami-crippled complex since the March 11, 2011 tsunami and earthquake disaster. The only fishing that still goes on is tied to contamination research carried out by small-scale fishermen contracted by the government. The fishermen set out to sea every two weeks remembering the good old days, as they seek to reestablish their livelihoods and anxiously hope they will be able to go back to full-time fishing again.
I began thinking about the best way to take as many versatile pictures as possible in a tough environment - on a tiny boat which is slippery and keeps rocking back and forth with waves of water splashing all over the bouncing deck. I was told that the fishermen were going to use gill nets which take up quite a bit of space on the deck. This spelled out more dangers and obstacles for my equipment and I, as I knew I would have to try hard not to get caught up in the nets or trip up and fall into the sea. I was worried that had I stepped on one of the nets I would get scolded by a gruff fishermen and the whole effort would be in vein because of my own thoughtlessness.
I decided to use a remotely operated camera on a monopod to take close-up pictures of the fishing net overlooking the boat. This unusual technique also enabled me to take dynamic photos from right above the water surface as well as under water. I attached my favorite Canon EOS5D Mk3 to the top of a monopod, across a ball head platform to avoid image rotation. I covered it with plastic waterproof material and connected a remote switch with a long cable to the camera to operate it from the safety of the deck.
At first I considered using a wireless trigger system, which enables taking pictures remotely by sending a radio signal to the camera. In the end, I decided to go for a more traditional but reliable method and attached a cable to the camera because I was worried that the wireless system may not work with plenty of water around and the plastic covering over the camera. I’ve learned my lesson the hard way. I remembered a chilling experience of not being able to trigger a shutter via radio during a soccer match coverage. It was raining and the camera was wrapped in a plastic bag – I wanted to take a picture but the wireless system for some reason failed. I never found out whether that was because of the water or the protective gear, but I didn't want to take my chances.
from Photographers Blog:
Seaside nuclear power
Omaezaki, Japan
By Toru Hanai
Chubu Electric Power Co.'s Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station in Japan is located at water level next to a beach. It is also widely reported to be one of the world's most dangerous nuclear plants as it sits close to a major fault line - not unlike the one that caused the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
I had an offer of an exclusive tour of Chubu Nuclear Power Station where an 18-meter (60 ft) high and 1.6 km (1 mile) long tsunami defense wall has been built at a cost of $1.3 billion.
from Photographers Blog:
Destination Fukushima: Two years on
Fukushima, Japan
By Issei Kato
“Let’s put our hearts together and keep going, Fukushima!” reads a large banner that hangs across a large steel structure that stands next to the No. 4 reactor building at Tokyo Electric Power Co’s Fukushima nuclear power plant.
The plant was overwhelmed by a massive tsunami and earthquake two years ago, triggering hydrogen explosions and a nuclear meltdown.
from Photographers Blog:
Inside the world’s biggest nuclear plant
Kashiwazaki, Japan
By Kim Kyung-hoon
“Sleeping nuclear giants” - That was my first impression when I visited the world’s biggest nuclear power station, Kashiwazaki Kariwa power plant in Japan's Niigata Prefecture.
GALLERY: IMAGES FROM THE PLANT
With seven reactors which can produce a total of 8,212 megawatts of electricity, this power station is officially registered as the largest nuclear power station in the Guinness Book of Records. But the reality of the power station is much different than its reputation. Two of its reactors were shut down for a time after the 2007 earthquake and the remaining reactors were taken offline for safety checks and maintenance due to public concerns about the safety of nuclear energy in the quake-prone country after Fukushima’s nuclear disaster.
from Tales from the Trail:
Washington Extra – Going nuclear?
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission commissioner Kristine Svinicki (L) is seen here with Chairman Gregory Jaczko (C) and fellow commissioner George Apostolakis (R) listening to testimony at a meeting at the NRC's headquarters in Rockville, Maryland in this March 21, 2011 file photo. REUTERS/Larry Downing
Obama to renominate Republican to nuclear panel - President Obama will renominate Republican Kristine Svinicki to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, defying opposition from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a White House official told Reuters. Republicans want Svinicki, whose term as a commissioner expires in June, to stay on the panel and believe the process is being held up because she, along with three other commission members, accused the current NRC chairman, a Democrat, of bullying women. For more of this story by Jeff Mason and Roberta Rampton, read here.
from Edward Hadas:
The lesson of Fukushima
The first anniversary of Japan’s nuclear disaster is a good time to take stock. Opponents and proponents of nuclear power are doing so, and they have come to the same conclusion: “We were right all along.”
The meltdown at the Fukushima power plant is certainly grist for the mill of the anti-nuclear crowd. It forced the evacuation of 300,000 people and will cost as much as $250 billion to clean up, according to the Japan Center for Economic Research. If a natural disaster can trigger such a dangerous, disruptive and expensive crisis in a country as advanced as Japan, then it’s impossible to guarantee safety anywhere. Efforts to do the impossible will make nuclear power even more expensive and, by some analyses including that of the Worldwatch Institute, it already costs more than solar energy.
from Breakingviews:
Kim Jong-un could thaw dictatorship into growth
By Martin Hutchinson
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
A limited nuclear deal with the United States suggests North Korea’s Kim Jong-un might be looking for a thaw. If the country’s basketball-loving young master really wants to build on that agreement and bring economic growth to his impoverished citizens, land reform would be a good place to start.
from Global Investing:
The missing barrels of oil
Where are the missing barrels of oil, asks Barclays Capital.
Oil inventories in the United States rose sharply last week, with demand for oil products such as gasoline at the lowest in 15 years and crude stockpiles at the highest since last September. Americans, pinched in the wallet, are clearly cutting back on fuel use.
But worldwide, the inventories picture is different -- Barclays calculates in fact that oil stocks are around 50 million barrels below the seasonal average. And sustainable spare capacity in the market is less than 2 million barrels per day. What that means is that the world has "extremely limited buffers to absorb any one of the series of potential geopolitical mishaps." (Barclays writes)
from Photographers Blog:
Have you seen this Fukushima child?
By Kim Kyung-Hoon
Near midnight on March 12th, 2011, I was looking for Fukushima evacuees who had fled from towns near the nuclear power plant hit by a massive tsunami and earthquake the day before, and was now leaking radiation.
On hearing the warnings of meltdown and radiation leaks at the nuclear plant, my colleagues and I drove west from Fukushima airport where we landed by helicopter with two very simple goals: stay as far away as possible from the nuclear power plant, and find the evacuees.
from Photographers Blog:
Fukushima’s invisible fear
By Issei Kato
These days, a mask, protective clothing and radiation counter have all become a usual part of reporting trips, as essential as a camera, lenses and a laptop. Soon, this situation will have gone on for a full year.
The 20 km (12 mile) zone around Japan’s crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is now a virtual ghost town after being evacuated of residents due to radiation. I asked a friend, who was forced by the disaster to leave the area and has been searching for a way to resume work, for help, and was able to enter the area where he used to live.
