Everything is Wonderful and No One is Happy

**Update at bottom**

English Phrase of the Day:
Calm down!

               Ok guys, it’s been drawn to my attention that Western media is making a horrible mess out of the situation in Japan right now. And before anyone says anything, no I don’t believe every word the Japanese media is releasing. I’m full aware of the NHK’s history with distorting facts. That being said, I take all my information and closely examine it before believing it all and right now the American media is doing their best to make things seem a lot worse than they are through allusion, rhetoric, and simply stretching the facts. At the bottom of his article I’m going to post some links to articles my university here has sent to me and that seem reliable.

               But first, let’s talk about me. I’ve been asked many times over the last week and a half if I have any plans to leave and my answer has remained the same: no I do not as I am not currently in any foreseeable danger. “Oh no Madeline” you all start saying “Clearly the Japanese media is lying to you, you are in great danger! The reactors are going to blow sky high and spread radiation all across Japan!” Bzzzt, wrong. Let’s look at a map:

               These are the regions of Japan, labeled by numbers. The reactors are all up in 2, at about the height of the number itself. Tokyo is around the middle of 3 and I am way over in 5, to the left of the number. Hey, look at that, I’m pretty far away from things. 300miles from Tokyo, which is in turn 200miles from the reactors. It has been stated that any nuclear radiation that should get into the air would disperse into non-harmful levels by the time it reached Tokyo. Considering I’m more than twice that far away I have nothing to worry about. Also, you may notice the lovely arrows I drew on the map. Those indicate the direction the wind normally goes in Japan: to the east, out to sea.

               “But Madeline” you pester, “what if another giant earthquake comes? You know aftershocks last for weeks after a large quake!” Why yes, I do know that. I also know that I am on a different tectonic plate than the one currently wiggling and causing trouble up north. Japan is in fact split into two plates right where Mt. Fuji is (Fuji-san having been born out of this split). On the map Fuji is in 4 in the divet in the bottom right corner. Still a good distance from me, right? The recent quake I felt barely (a day or so ago) was centered on that fault line and was a 6.0. By the time it reached me it was a 3.0 or less, barely even noticeable. Also, the people of Fuji-san get quakes a lot so they’re very well prepared for them with furniture bolted to the floor and such. You’ll also notice from the map that Osaka is protected from tsunamis by the island labeled 7. Oh, and we also have no volcanoes. So it’s pretty much the safest spot in the entirety of Japan. Now please, stop calling my mother and worrying her! I am completely safe! Daily life is completely normal where I am and food is not being mass bought out.

Everything is wonderful and no one in America will be happy for me!

Additional readings:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-12722435
http://www.kalzumeus.com/2011/03/13/some-perspective-on-the-japan-earthquake/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/ferguswalsh/2011/03/japan_nuclear_leak_-_health_risks.html
http://bravenewclimate.com/2011/03/13/fukushima-simple-explanation/
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/



**3/17**
Hey guys, just saw this article on yahoo news and read it through. I wanted to point out that the article is states the State department is only issuing warnings to those within a 50 mile radius of the plants -- I'm 500 miles away. Tokyo is a major destination for Westerners visiting Japan so I can see them asking Americans to limit travel since Tokyo could be at risk in case of continued negative nuclear developments. Osaka is still totally safe -- just wanted to preempt any concerns this article might raise.