Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
Since the March 11th earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan, energy conservation has become a very important concern after the meltdown the disaster caused at the Fukushima nuclear power facility. Setsuden, the Japanese term for conserving electricity, has become a popular trend and media discussion topic. And in cities like Tokyo which have been hit hard by Japan’s diminished ability to produce electricity because of the Fukushima meltdown, setsuden has become a necessary if uncomfortable way of summertime life. So, ever the innovators, the Japanese have started coming up with new products and ideas to help people using less air-conditioning in the often stifling summer heat of Tokyo and other cities. You may recall the story we reported a few weeks ago about the Japanese government’s Super Cool Biz campaign, which urges office workers to wear lighter, cooler business fashions. Well in addition to cooler clothes, we’ve come across a couple of tech solutions for the Japanese heat. One is a small fan that clips onto the back of a salaryman’s tie and blows (hopefully) cool air across the chest and neck. It’s run by a small battery pack which can be recharged by plugging it into a computer USB port. Another tech solution is a special jacket that has fans built into it and keeps the wearer cool with a rather unfashionable but comfortable puffy balloon of circulating air while the garment is in use. Of course, we can’t vouch for how effective these devices are for their intended purpose, but the ideas seem sound. And they must certainly be a lot less drippy and messy than those gel-filled coolers you chill in the freezer and wrap around your neck in the heat. (Red Ferret Journal – USB Tie Fan) (The Raw Story – Japanese Fan Jacket)
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This freaks us out and the photo does as well. A cast of elder ex engineers and more are interested in helping out the Fukushima plant in Japan. Yes, they’re older and a dose of radiation might not hurt their chances of having more “normal” kids, yet, this is what it’s coming to. Amidst the slowly lessening news of the leaking reactors, yes, there’s new news of that today, and the general cleanup images, the problem persists enough for things to come to retirees feeling the need to help. (NY Times – Elders offer help at Fukushima)
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“The stress on the Japanese people continues to compound as concerns about the radiation leaks from the Fukushima nuclear plant continue to rise.” After you look at the pictures at the link, you’ll realize that one morning in Japan after the earthquake and tsunami, someone walked into their affected neighborhood and saw a rather large boat on top of their house. In the last three months, you have likely seen long shots or aerial images of the disaster damage in Japan. But you probably have not seen a series of photos like this, which show close shots of specific spots along the Japanese coast and affected areas inland shortly after the earthquake/tsunami, and then three months after. Three things about this gallery are really striking. First, the damage and debris in the ‘before’ shots. Second, the amazing amount of cleanup and return to visual normalcy in the ‘after’ shots. And, third, the huge amount of cleanup and rebuilding work which still needs to be done. In fact, some of the spots in the after images look nearly as hopeless and woeful as they did right after the disaster. Still, hope here is the operative word, and we expect that as the months wear on, more and more images coming out of the disaster area in Japan will show us a rebuilding and reestablishment of normal, happy lives. (Bit Rebels –Before and After the Disaster)
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“National suicide figures increased the two months following the disaster, the figures show.” Even some survivors of the March 11th earthquake and tsunami in Japan didn’t survive. And we are not talking about the Fukushima 50, who many suspect are mere walking dead now following their heroic acts in the highly-irradiated nuclear power plant. No, suicide is once again making the news coming out of Japan. On Wednesday, the Japanese National Police Agency reported that suicides for the month of May rose above 3,000 for the first time in two years. The total number, 3,281, is also a 20 percent increase from May, 2010. In Fukushima, there were 19 more suicides in May of this year than in 2010, for a total of 68. No direct evidence has been offered linking the March 11th disaster and the subsequent nuclear crisis with the increased suicide rates. But taking a moment to make the leap in one’s mind isn’t very hard to do. (CNN World – Japan Suicide Rates Higher)
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