The Chernobyl nuclear disaster took place all the way back on 26th April 1986 due to an accident at the power plant in Ukraine. It is often describe as the worst nuclear accident in the world. Chernobyl was located in the former Soviet Union which is now known as Ukraine. At present, Chernobyl is now known as a nuclear wasteland and people are believed to have evacuate the place, but however, there are still some settlements there even with the danger of mutation and radiation sickness those people are exposed to.
The nuclear disaster happened at 1.32am when the town slept very peacefully. A fire broke out at the nuclear power plant nearby. It was a bluish glow all over the power plant. Lieutenant Colonel Leonid Petrovich Telyatnikov was the head of the fire department at the Chernobyl power plant then, led the team of firefighters to the fire at reactor number 4 which had caused the outbreak of the fire. Despite the radiation level being extremely high at that time (even higher than the one after the Hiroshima atomic bomb), they still fought the blaze without a radiation suit and respirators. They only had their uniforms and gas masks. After about a few minutes of trying to put out the fire, Telyatnikov began vomiting and it was the sign of radiation sickness. Several days after that, Telyatnikov and his teammates began developing radiation burns all over their bodies. They were soon taken to a hospital in Moscow where they were kept in sterile units because their body immune system had been weakened. In 1987, Telyatnikov was named a Hero of the Soviet Union. He died of cancer at the age of 53. On April 25, 2006, the twentieth anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, a monument was dedicated to him at the Baykove cemetery in Kiev where he is buried.
The causes of the explosion were a long list of problems with management errors being the main issue. The head managers who conducted the test at Chernobyl were electrical engineers but none were specialised in reactor plants. Is it said that there were a sudden loss of water to cool down the 1661 uranium fuel assemblies that were set in pressure pipes surrounded by 1700 tons of graphite blocks, causing the fuel rods to overheat. The zirconium alloy around the fuel assemblies, along with the pressure tubing, melted at about 3500 degrees Fahrenheit, overheating the graphite. This causes the temperature to increase even more. Soon, the uranium-oxide fuel began to melt at 5100 degrees Fahrenheit. When water was introduced into the fire, it immediately turned into a superheated steam which reacted with the graphite, fuel, zirconium to produce hydrogen, methane and carbon monoxide. Over several hours, the gases built up and combined with the oxygen released from the cracked pressure tubes which resulted in a massive explosion. Melted metal fissioned out of control, releasing radioactive isotopes that were sucked up into the smoke, creating dangerous cloud of deadly radiation. Since water cannot be used to put out the fire (as it would react with graphite to produce more methane which is a flammable substance), the only way to stop the fire was to wait for the flammable elements to have run out.
The worst part is that, The Soviet government did not informed other countries of the incident so that they would be well prepared with safety precautions and such. Instead, they covered up the incident and acted as if nothing had happened.They did not even bother to evacuate the area. The rest of the world found out of the incident in a rather shocking way. Sweden was the first that realised something when they saw signals indicating high levels of radiation in the area. At first the technicians involved thought that it might be a leaked in one of their power plant which contributed to the high level of radiation. They used a Geiger counter to test it on all of their worker's clothing and had found nothing. Similar reports then came from parts of Finland, Sweden and Norway. Soon they realised that it was coming from the Soviet Union. Evacuations had only started several hours after they had confronted the Soviet Union. However, several serious damage had already been done to the people.
Evacuations were also very discriminatory. According to Jessica Lee in USA Today, "Increased ethnic unrest threatens because Byelorussians were not evacuated immediately after the accident." As quote by Lemonick, "this angered many people along with the fact that the communist officials failed to evecuate nearby towns and cities rightaway, although they knew of the danger." Chernobyl now is common with human and animal mutation. Pregnant women living in these areas has a higher chance of giving birth to deformed babies or infants with genetic problems. After the incident in Chernobyl,many women were afraid to give birth because of the risk of getting a deformed child. Animals in the affected areas often deliver young that are stillborn or so deformed that they had to be destroyed. According to Gould, "the radioactive fallout resulting from Chernobyl was detected all over the world, from Finland to South Africa."
In 1995, over 125 000 people had died due to the accident. Many of these deaths could have been prevented had the Soviet Union taken responsibility in the first place and if the Soviet Union had nuclear power plant standards as high as the United States.
In "The 20th Century Plague" by Sharon Begley and Susan Katz, the effects of radiation on the body is laid out.
- Krypton 85 affects the entire body and can increase a person's chances of getting cancers like leukemia within two years of exposure. It has a half life of 10.7 years.
- Cesium 137 can attack the entire body, centering on the liver, spleen and the muscles. It has a half life of 30.2 years.
- Barium 140 gathers in the bnes and can cause tumors as late as thirty years after exposure. It has a half life of 12.8 days.
- Iodine 131 gathers in the thyroid. It can trigger cancer there decades after exposure. It has a half life of 8 days. Most radioactivity disappears from the body after only two months.
The Chernobyl accident has cost a lot of money so far and will cost even more if Ukraine ever wants to use the land again. This incident should be remembered so as to not be repeated in the near future. As the saying goes, people learn from studying history so as to not repeat the same mistakes again.
References:
1. Barnathan, Joyce and Steven Strasser. "The Chernobyl Syndrome." Newsweek. 12 May 1986: 22-30.
2. Begley, Sharon and Susan Katz. "The 20th Century Plague." Newsweek. 12 May 1986: 36-37.
3. Lemonick, Michael D. "The Chernobyl Coverup." Time. 13 November 1989: 73
4. Lee, Jessica. "14,000 at Chernobyl to Evacuate." USA Today. 24 April 1990.
5. E.S., 4/01/99, for History and Thought of Western Man, Rich East High School, Park Forest, Illinois, United States of America. Retrieved from http://www.richeast.org/htwm/chernobyl/chernobyl.html
6. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Leonid Telyatnikov. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonid_Telyatnikov
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Eruption of Mount Vesuvius
Have you ever wondered what it'll be like to watch a volcano erupt in real life? To watch it up close and not through a television screen, through the internet or in pictures posted in the papers. To watch in awe as one of nature's most spectacular yet deadly occurrences takes place before your eyes.
Regarded as one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world today, Mount Vesuvius is most 'renowned' for its catastrophic eruption in the year of 79 AD with the exact date and time unclear but believing to have lasted for about two days. The eruption obliterated the two Roman cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii which were located to the West and Southeast of Vesuvius respectively. The estimated death toll was put around 16,000 lives with ash and dust clouds covering most of its southern regions. Almost everyone in Pompeii and Herculaneum was unable to flee for their lives and were killed.
Preceding to the great eruption of 79 AD, a major earthquake struck the Bay of Naples adjacent to Pompeii 17 years beforehand. It is common knowledge that seismic activity within the vicinity of volcanoes are usually either directly or indirectly related to volcanic activity. The movement of deep underground seismic plates located many kilometers beneath the surface coupled with magma flow causes tremors that reverberate in all directions. On the surface, major tremors shake the very earth thus disturbing the volcano and causing an immense release of pressure from volcanoes. In the case of Vesuvius, the pressure build up was due to ground water seeping from the surrounding into faults within the volcano. The water heated up and formed pockets of extremely hot gas with lots of energy just waiting to be released into the open. Needless to say when the chance for the volcano to 'let loose some steam' came, it did not hold back.
A majority of the lives lost and damage done are actually not due to the eruption itself or lava. An occurrence known as pyroclastic flow which succeeds the volcano eruptions cause the largest percentage of human casualties in any volcanic eruption. Pyroclastic flow is a current of superheated gas and rocks that is thrown out by the volcano when it erupts. The currents can reach speeds of up to 700 km/h and temperatures of up to 1000°C. These devastating currents stay close to the ground and spread outwards from the mouth of the volcano.
Within one day after the eruption, pyroclastic flow from Vesuvius began engulfing the city of Herculaneum. Although the temperature of the currents from Vesuvius was relatively low, about 300°C, the density of the clouds were thick enough to knock down entire buildings. The next three surges reached the city of Pompeii and destroyed it. Those unlucky enough to be caught in the streets when the currents hit were instantly burried under rocks or suffocated to death due to ash inhalation. Anybody hiding in buildings or structures could not have escaped as the city was surrounded by gases of incinerating temperatures, meaning that they were either killed when the buildings collapsed on them or were 'cooked' to death.
The great eruption of 79 AD had rather permanent effects on the geography of the mountain and its immediate vicinity. After that eruption, the summit of mount Vesuvius had been changed considerably and was more deformed with a larger crater. The Sarno River nearby the volcano had also been affected with its river being redirected in a slightly different direction and most of its river basin being burried during that period. The city of Pompeii was very well preserved underneath the pumice, ash and layers of earth that covered it in the many years after that until its accidental discovery in the 18th century.
Due to its past history, the Italian government has put in place an emergency evacuation plan should an eruption occur. The plan is tailored for an eruption of the worst kind similar in scale to that of the 79 AD eruption with 14-20 days notice prior to an eruption. The plan comprises of the emergency evacuation of 600,000 people in the immediate danger zone in the event of an eruption by means of ferries, trains, cars and buses. The government has also put in place ongoing policies in order to reduce the population of people around the presently inactive volcano. Among these are the establishing of a national park reserve around the volcano to prevent further development closer to it and to provide financial assistance for those who wish to move away from the region. The purpose of these policies are to reduce the number of people needed to be evacuated and the time required to evacuate the overall population. After all, better safe than sorry.
Today the region around Mount Vesuvius is home to around 3 million people and is one of the most densely populated volcanic regions in the world. The most recent eruption of Mount Vesuvius took place in the spring of 1944 during World War 2 where the fallout from the dust and debris damaged a USAAF airfield in Italy. With a period of roughly 7 decades since the last eruption, it has been the longest period of inactivity from Vesuvius in over 400 years.
Regarded as one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world today, Mount Vesuvius is most 'renowned' for its catastrophic eruption in the year of 79 AD with the exact date and time unclear but believing to have lasted for about two days. The eruption obliterated the two Roman cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii which were located to the West and Southeast of Vesuvius respectively. The estimated death toll was put around 16,000 lives with ash and dust clouds covering most of its southern regions. Almost everyone in Pompeii and Herculaneum was unable to flee for their lives and were killed.
 |
| Artist impression of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius from Pompeii. |
A majority of the lives lost and damage done are actually not due to the eruption itself or lava. An occurrence known as pyroclastic flow which succeeds the volcano eruptions cause the largest percentage of human casualties in any volcanic eruption. Pyroclastic flow is a current of superheated gas and rocks that is thrown out by the volcano when it erupts. The currents can reach speeds of up to 700 km/h and temperatures of up to 1000°C. These devastating currents stay close to the ground and spread outwards from the mouth of the volcano.
Within one day after the eruption, pyroclastic flow from Vesuvius began engulfing the city of Herculaneum. Although the temperature of the currents from Vesuvius was relatively low, about 300°C, the density of the clouds were thick enough to knock down entire buildings. The next three surges reached the city of Pompeii and destroyed it. Those unlucky enough to be caught in the streets when the currents hit were instantly burried under rocks or suffocated to death due to ash inhalation. Anybody hiding in buildings or structures could not have escaped as the city was surrounded by gases of incinerating temperatures, meaning that they were either killed when the buildings collapsed on them or were 'cooked' to death.
The great eruption of 79 AD had rather permanent effects on the geography of the mountain and its immediate vicinity. After that eruption, the summit of mount Vesuvius had been changed considerably and was more deformed with a larger crater. The Sarno River nearby the volcano had also been affected with its river being redirected in a slightly different direction and most of its river basin being burried during that period. The city of Pompeii was very well preserved underneath the pumice, ash and layers of earth that covered it in the many years after that until its accidental discovery in the 18th century.
Due to its past history, the Italian government has put in place an emergency evacuation plan should an eruption occur. The plan is tailored for an eruption of the worst kind similar in scale to that of the 79 AD eruption with 14-20 days notice prior to an eruption. The plan comprises of the emergency evacuation of 600,000 people in the immediate danger zone in the event of an eruption by means of ferries, trains, cars and buses. The government has also put in place ongoing policies in order to reduce the population of people around the presently inactive volcano. Among these are the establishing of a national park reserve around the volcano to prevent further development closer to it and to provide financial assistance for those who wish to move away from the region. The purpose of these policies are to reduce the number of people needed to be evacuated and the time required to evacuate the overall population. After all, better safe than sorry.
Today the region around Mount Vesuvius is home to around 3 million people and is one of the most densely populated volcanic regions in the world. The most recent eruption of Mount Vesuvius took place in the spring of 1944 during World War 2 where the fallout from the dust and debris damaged a USAAF airfield in Italy. With a period of roughly 7 decades since the last eruption, it has been the longest period of inactivity from Vesuvius in over 400 years.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Hydrothermal Vents
Although 70% of the earth's surface is covered by water with vast and deep oceans, a large portion of it still remains uncharted. The seabed itself is one of the most isolated and unexplored places on earth with much of what goes on down there remaining as a mystery. Yet, it is here that many of the most intriguing orders of nature occur. Many of them complex and difficult to understand and just as many of them simple yet with interesting effects that kindle the interests of researchers everywhere.
Unbeknown to man until very recently, underwater hydrothermal vents located in the deepest parts of the sea have been actively spewing out hot water into the oceans and seas. Up till 1977, these vents would not have been discovered if not for a deep see underwater submersible named 'Alvin' which made this amazing discovery while diving in the East Pacific Rise near the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific.
Hydrothermal vents can occur up to 5,000 metres underwater where tectonic plates on the sea bed move apart and the sea water is free to flow into underlying layer of molten lava. The lava in turn heats the almost freezing cold water, usually around 2°C, and the water bursts back out in fumes from below the seafloor. The superheated water travels upwards now laden with dissolved minerals. As the extremely hot water makes contact with the chilling water of the deep ocean, the minerals in the fumes harden thus forming long cylindrical-like structures which come to be known as hydrothermal vents. Some of these structures are known to be 6 kilometres long. They hold some similarities to volcanoes and logically thinking, if they can occur above water, why not underwater too? Just on a smaller scale.
Essentially there are two types of vents. The black smokers and the white smokers. Black smokers, as the names suggests, release plumes of black material into the sea caused by high levels of sulphur in the dissolved superheated water. Black smokers are also considerably hotter than white smokers. White smokers on the other hand, emit particles which are lighter and brighter. Another difference is that white smokers result in alkaline conditions whereas acidic conditions exist for black smokers.
The long cylindrical structures of hydrothermal vents that resemble volcanoes are metal sulphide ore deposits and their rich mineral content like zinc, copper, lead and sulphur have been highly sought after by resource and mineral companies because of their value to them. The race between these companies have produced some impressive results with many new and advanced mining techniques applied in modified ways to mine and transport the minerals on a large scale. However, the act of carrying out this economic endeavour has its detrimental effects on the ecosystem in the sea. The increase in the frequency of movement around these vents has the potential to stir up dust particles, reopening 'dormant' vents or sub-oceanic landslides.
The amazing thing about these vents is that once the activity on them has died down and they lay 'dormant' for the time being, they become hosts to a large variety of aquatic life. They form a temporary community of organisms with an organism density of over 10,000 times higher than that of the surrounding sea floor. The transformation of the bare fields of underwater vents into gigantic underwater communities is a miraculous spectacle to behold and is another one of nature's many wonders.
Hydrothermal vents can occur up to 5,000 metres underwater where tectonic plates on the sea bed move apart and the sea water is free to flow into underlying layer of molten lava. The lava in turn heats the almost freezing cold water, usually around 2°C, and the water bursts back out in fumes from below the seafloor. The superheated water travels upwards now laden with dissolved minerals. As the extremely hot water makes contact with the chilling water of the deep ocean, the minerals in the fumes harden thus forming long cylindrical-like structures which come to be known as hydrothermal vents. Some of these structures are known to be 6 kilometres long. They hold some similarities to volcanoes and logically thinking, if they can occur above water, why not underwater too? Just on a smaller scale.
Essentially there are two types of vents. The black smokers and the white smokers. Black smokers, as the names suggests, release plumes of black material into the sea caused by high levels of sulphur in the dissolved superheated water. Black smokers are also considerably hotter than white smokers. White smokers on the other hand, emit particles which are lighter and brighter. Another difference is that white smokers result in alkaline conditions whereas acidic conditions exist for black smokers.
The amazing thing about these vents is that once the activity on them has died down and they lay 'dormant' for the time being, they become hosts to a large variety of aquatic life. They form a temporary community of organisms with an organism density of over 10,000 times higher than that of the surrounding sea floor. The transformation of the bare fields of underwater vents into gigantic underwater communities is a miraculous spectacle to behold and is another one of nature's many wonders.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
-Tsunami: The Aftermath-
I'm sure many still remember the huge tsunami incident that had happened on the 26th of December 2004 in Phuket, Thailand. Tsunami: The Aftermath, is a television mini-series that was filmed in the year 2006. This movie is actually based on some of the victim's own personal stories, of how they had lost their loved ones and then finding the strength to move on later in life.
In this movie, there were many issues bringing brought up to the viewers and also, some signs to educate the public on the happenings and effects of natural disasters, be it in terms of emotion, mental and or physical. The movie mainly focus on the Carter family where they were separated in the starting of the movie. Susie, the mother, went for a diving activity organised by the hotel they were staying at, the Khao Lak Oasis hotel, was safe from the tsunami hit. However, her husband, Ian and daughter, Martha were not as lucky as she was. Ian and Martha were separated due to the strong currents of the sea. Ian panicked and kept reminding Martha to hold on to the tree before he fell into an unconscious state. When he regained consciousness, he couldn't find his daughter anywhere. Both Ian and Susie found each other soon after in the movie, and they were still searching for their daughter who was believed to be already dead. Susie could not forgive Ian and blamed him for letting go of their daughter in the first place. Towards the end of the movie, Susie took another person's child from a hospital who look like Martha to replace her missing daughter.
Another scenario showed a Thai waiter working in the Khao Lak Oasis Hotel who went back to his village and discovered the dead body of his beloved grandmother. He took her golden bracelet later and was caught by the local police when he was taking food from the deserted place. The police arrested him because they thought that he was stealing from the tourists when they searched him and found the golden bracelets in his pockets. This scene shows us on how chaotic the place was after the tsunami attack and how the people had go against their moral values by stealing from the place for their own personal gains. But then again, who's to blame? It's for the villagers to do all they can to stay alive after losing everything they had such as money, food, etc.
Other than that, the movie also focused on another family called the Peabody family who were also residing in the hotel. The mum and the youngest son were safe because they had also went for the diving activity. They had learnt about the dad's death soon after from Ian Carter and were still staying strong about it. Soon later, they found the eldest son in the hospital where he was badly injured. The mum, took an advice from an Australian aid worker named Kathy, went to the British Council meeting after that to plead for a plane to take her and her sons home so her elder son could sought proper medical treatment back home. This shows the strength the victims of the tsunami had, to go through the challenges in life instead of caving in to their emotions and lost interest in doing anything to stay alive. As the saying goes, life is never smooth.
Kathy, the aid worker from a christian charity group helped out the villagers in Thai and also had been with Tony Whittaker, a British counselor officer. She helped in the releasing of the Thai worker from prison and also voicing out the pains of some victims to Tony. Tony, on the other hand, has a lot to handle as a representative of the British Council. Due to the tsunami attack, there were chaos everywhere. He had to listen to the people complains and also to deal with what he thinks is worth doing because everyone seems to be complaining and being unhappy with what had happened. Due to this, his faith in the system is also torned apart because there is nothing much he could do when everyone seemed to put their only hope of survival on him.
An aspired journalist, Nick Fraser, was sent to Phuket to gather the latest information with a Thai partner and after what he had seen in Phuket, he felt sad to what had happened at that place. He saw how the monks buried the dead bodies without identifying them first because the dead bodies were just too massive and the monks were forced to burned them to avoid diseases from spreading. Also, he and Ian were angry that some tourists were also burned together without notifying their family first. How is it possible for their family to know whether they're dead or alive? Like in Susie's case where her parents never knew whether the daughter is dead or alive. Nick emailed those pictures of the bodies being burned and got into a heated arguement with his Thai partner, because his partner believe that what they are doing are right and that Nick should understand and respect it. Honestly, I don't think the monks should be blame though.. Because they had to get rid of the dead bodies to prevent an epidermic from attacking their village and also, they did chant prayers so that the dead's soul will rest in peace, least that is what they believe in.
At the end of the story, they showed a scene where a Thai meterologist known as Smith Dharmasaroja was being confronted by a Thai official with a proposal he made years ago being handed to him. Apparently, in the year 1998, he predicted that a tsunami is gonna occur and he also advocated tsunami warning systems but was ignored. After the tsunami attack, he was called back from retirement to helped in the development of Thai and regional warning system.
In this movie, some of the westerners were also wondering about the existence of the tsunami alarm. Questions like "Shouldn't there be a form of warning to alert the people?", etc, were being brought up. This shows that Thailand could have prevented the tsunami from killing so many of the villagers if they had listened to Smith in the first place. On the other hand, it could be also probably due to the low advancement of both technology and the country's economy which made the Thai government think that it is not worth the money to be invested into it yet because after all, it was just a prediction.
There were also some "signs" from nature where the behaviours of the animal were a little bit out of the norm. For example, fishes were at shore, jumping about wildly and birds were all flocking together in the sky, making lots of noises. Certain safety measurements were also being shown to educate the public when the Thai worker kept reminding Ian to move to a higher ground in case of another second attack.
In this movie, the medical facilities provided were not many and a lot of the victims died trying to find a hospital. For example, James Peabody who died during the travel. He could have been saved if there was a hospital nearby in the first place. There were also a very chaotic scene when people were looking around for their family members, not knowing whether their loved ones are safe or not. Emotions were also being brought out when some victims had already found out that their loved ones had already died or when Ian and Nick saw the monks burning the dead bodies, etc. Safety measurements should be taken into count to avoid situations like this from happening. After all, prevention is better than cure.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Review of The Cove
Just like my previous post on "The Review on South Park: Whale Wars", this too, brings up controversies on the killing of dolphins and whales by the Japanese.
This documentary stars the famous Ric O' Barry who is known as the first guy to capture and train five dolphins for the movie Flipper. After his favourite dolphin, Kathy, who was the main star in Flipper died, he decided that he would make it his life long objective to set as many dolphins as possible free. He said that Kathy died out of her own will, meaning that it was suicide. He described being down at the pool with Kathy that day when she came up to him with a look in her eyes, closed her blowhole, and went back down. He blames himself for starting this trend of capturing and training dolphins and in the end, unintentionally leading them to their own death out of loneliness and lack of freedom in captivity.
The documentary takes place in Taiji, Japan a town where dolphins and whales swim off its coast. However the activity of catching and slaughtering dolphins and whales took place in an isolated cove nearby with signs "Keep Out" erected everywhere in order to hide it from the eyes of the public. Not even the locals knew about the activity. Dolphins that were caught were sold to marine parks, and those not sold were made into dolphin meat to be sold in supermarkets. Worst of all, they were also sold in school lunches even when dolphin meat contained high level of mercury of abut 2000 ppm(parts per million)! The crew underwent a lot of challenges trying to get this documentary done as well as to collect solid evidence of their activity. They even used underwater microphones and cameras disguised as rocks.
The dolphins were killed cruelly by stabbing them and leaving them to die slowly. Instant death would probably be a less cruel way to kill them. Why torture them and let them feel the pain over and over again until they couldn't take the pain and die from it?
Throughout the whole movie, it is to be said that dolphin hunting is labelled as a cruel activity of pure evil. When the Japanese fisherman were asked as to why they were doing this, they replied that it's because marine life is their primary food source and that dolphins and whales are consuming too much of it which upsets the balance and supply. In short, pest control. Some said that it is a tradition to the people of Taiji, but were however proved wrong when the crew interviewed the locals about it. All of the villagers didn't have the slightest clue about the killings. So a question was raised, how is it even a tradition if the locals do not know about it? Or is it just down to reality where money making is of the most importance factor of them all? (a dolphin can be sold to marine parks for $150 000 USD and its meat for $600 USD)
After the release of the film, there were a lot of controversies behind it. Some of the Japanese being filmed in the documentary such as the professor from the Health Sciences University of Hokkaido who revealed the staggering levels of mercury content in the dolphin meat, sued the local media for misleading edits in the comments which had damaged his reputations. It is somewhat true however, that this film is mostly a one-sided story only. But nevertheless, allowing the sale of dolphin meat in the market when it is known to contain a high level of mercury is wrong. Despite several legal lawsuits and much criticism, the documentary had also won the hearts of millions and clinched several awards as well as raising public awareness on the slaughter of dolphins all over the world.
This documentary stars the famous Ric O' Barry who is known as the first guy to capture and train five dolphins for the movie Flipper. After his favourite dolphin, Kathy, who was the main star in Flipper died, he decided that he would make it his life long objective to set as many dolphins as possible free. He said that Kathy died out of her own will, meaning that it was suicide. He described being down at the pool with Kathy that day when she came up to him with a look in her eyes, closed her blowhole, and went back down. He blames himself for starting this trend of capturing and training dolphins and in the end, unintentionally leading them to their own death out of loneliness and lack of freedom in captivity.
The documentary takes place in Taiji, Japan a town where dolphins and whales swim off its coast. However the activity of catching and slaughtering dolphins and whales took place in an isolated cove nearby with signs "Keep Out" erected everywhere in order to hide it from the eyes of the public. Not even the locals knew about the activity. Dolphins that were caught were sold to marine parks, and those not sold were made into dolphin meat to be sold in supermarkets. Worst of all, they were also sold in school lunches even when dolphin meat contained high level of mercury of abut 2000 ppm(parts per million)! The crew underwent a lot of challenges trying to get this documentary done as well as to collect solid evidence of their activity. They even used underwater microphones and cameras disguised as rocks.Throughout the whole movie, it is to be said that dolphin hunting is labelled as a cruel activity of pure evil. When the Japanese fisherman were asked as to why they were doing this, they replied that it's because marine life is their primary food source and that dolphins and whales are consuming too much of it which upsets the balance and supply. In short, pest control. Some said that it is a tradition to the people of Taiji, but were however proved wrong when the crew interviewed the locals about it. All of the villagers didn't have the slightest clue about the killings. So a question was raised, how is it even a tradition if the locals do not know about it? Or is it just down to reality where money making is of the most importance factor of them all? (a dolphin can be sold to marine parks for $150 000 USD and its meat for $600 USD)
After the release of the film, there were a lot of controversies behind it. Some of the Japanese being filmed in the documentary such as the professor from the Health Sciences University of Hokkaido who revealed the staggering levels of mercury content in the dolphin meat, sued the local media for misleading edits in the comments which had damaged his reputations. It is somewhat true however, that this film is mostly a one-sided story only. But nevertheless, allowing the sale of dolphin meat in the market when it is known to contain a high level of mercury is wrong. Despite several legal lawsuits and much criticism, the documentary had also won the hearts of millions and clinched several awards as well as raising public awareness on the slaughter of dolphins all over the world.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Review on South Park - Whale Wars
Whale Wars, also known as Whale Whores, is one of the most famous episode made by an American animated television series named South Park. South Park is famous for its usage of crude languages on random stuffs with a little bit of humor in it.
This episode, Whale Wars, is about a little boy named Stan, trying to save dolphins and whales from being killed by the Japanese. The story started of with the scene of the Japanese entering a dolphinarium where he was celebrating his 9th birthday, and thus, he witnessed the murdering of the poor little dolphins. At home, there were news on the Japanese not only killing dolphins, but whales as well. He was very much disturbed by it and was determined to make a change - to stop the Japanese from killing any more dolphins and whales.
He then invited his friends along but his friends replied by saying "That's just the way they are. You can't change the way an entire country thinks." and that they couldn't care less about dolphins and whales being murdered. Thus, he began his own adventure by participating in a activity to stop the killing hosted by Paul Watson and his crew in the Sea Shephard. However, he was quite upset with the way they use to deal with the problems - by throwing stinky butter at the Japanese. One of the Japanese responded by shooting a harpoon into Paul Watson's head and he died instantly. Stan took this chance and threw flare guns at the Japanese fuel barrels. The rest of the crew saw this and joined him too. With that, Stan became the new captain of the ship. His friends joined him later, this time by saying that they do care about dolphins and whales and it is not about joining him to gain a little bit of fame. Stan also received lots of criticism from some medias who claimed that he is just doing this to gain attention from the public. At the later part of the movie, Stan was arrested by the Japanese and was then brought to the Emperor Akihito where the emperor explained the motive behind the killing - The Americans handed them a doctored photograph of a killer whale and dolphin in a plane, bombing Hiroshima. So then, Stan handed over a new doctored photograph of a chicken and a cow instead in the plane. The movie ended with Randy congratulating Stan in making the Japanese "normal" by now making them killing chicken and cows instead.
So, what IS normal? Killing chicken and cows are normal because we consumed them as food instead of dolphins and whales? How is it that killing dolphins and whales abnormal? Are they not animals too? Or is it because dolphins and whales are relatively quite close to the nature of a human? There is a significance in the last scene where it suggests some kind of imposition of culture. It seems that it is "right" to kill chickens and cows because they are seen as food.
Another thing that we can see from this movie is that fame can buy you fake friends. Stan's friends didn't want to help him out initially and they were more interested in their games rather than be bothered to save whales and dolphins that are being killed. They even told Stan that he couldn't do much because he, alone, couldn't change the way the whole world thinks. However, after Stan became famous for succeeding in bringing down the Japanese and preventing them from killing anymore whales and dolphins, his friends came to join him and they claimed that they wanna help because they too, feel pity for the whales and dolphins. It is obvious that they are just helping Stan because they too want to be famous.
It is amazing how this movie portray that a simple, innocent little kid manage to raised public awareness out of pure love towards the whales and dolphins. Although many media critics are blaming him for doing it out of fame, he just stick to his same old answer, that is, doing it to save the whales and dolphins.
This movie also has a subtle meaning behind it. It is shown when the Japanese quickly believed that it was a dolphin and a killer whale that is behind the bombing of Hiroshima and quickly declared peace with America after America had shown them the doctored photograph. However, despite several controversies and critics, Whale Whores was nominated for a Genesis Award in the television comedy as it raises public awareness and understanding regarding animal rights.
This episode, Whale Wars, is about a little boy named Stan, trying to save dolphins and whales from being killed by the Japanese. The story started of with the scene of the Japanese entering a dolphinarium where he was celebrating his 9th birthday, and thus, he witnessed the murdering of the poor little dolphins. At home, there were news on the Japanese not only killing dolphins, but whales as well. He was very much disturbed by it and was determined to make a change - to stop the Japanese from killing any more dolphins and whales.
He then invited his friends along but his friends replied by saying "That's just the way they are. You can't change the way an entire country thinks." and that they couldn't care less about dolphins and whales being murdered. Thus, he began his own adventure by participating in a activity to stop the killing hosted by Paul Watson and his crew in the Sea Shephard. However, he was quite upset with the way they use to deal with the problems - by throwing stinky butter at the Japanese. One of the Japanese responded by shooting a harpoon into Paul Watson's head and he died instantly. Stan took this chance and threw flare guns at the Japanese fuel barrels. The rest of the crew saw this and joined him too. With that, Stan became the new captain of the ship. His friends joined him later, this time by saying that they do care about dolphins and whales and it is not about joining him to gain a little bit of fame. Stan also received lots of criticism from some medias who claimed that he is just doing this to gain attention from the public. At the later part of the movie, Stan was arrested by the Japanese and was then brought to the Emperor Akihito where the emperor explained the motive behind the killing - The Americans handed them a doctored photograph of a killer whale and dolphin in a plane, bombing Hiroshima. So then, Stan handed over a new doctored photograph of a chicken and a cow instead in the plane. The movie ended with Randy congratulating Stan in making the Japanese "normal" by now making them killing chicken and cows instead.
So, what IS normal? Killing chicken and cows are normal because we consumed them as food instead of dolphins and whales? How is it that killing dolphins and whales abnormal? Are they not animals too? Or is it because dolphins and whales are relatively quite close to the nature of a human? There is a significance in the last scene where it suggests some kind of imposition of culture. It seems that it is "right" to kill chickens and cows because they are seen as food.
Another thing that we can see from this movie is that fame can buy you fake friends. Stan's friends didn't want to help him out initially and they were more interested in their games rather than be bothered to save whales and dolphins that are being killed. They even told Stan that he couldn't do much because he, alone, couldn't change the way the whole world thinks. However, after Stan became famous for succeeding in bringing down the Japanese and preventing them from killing anymore whales and dolphins, his friends came to join him and they claimed that they wanna help because they too, feel pity for the whales and dolphins. It is obvious that they are just helping Stan because they too want to be famous.
It is amazing how this movie portray that a simple, innocent little kid manage to raised public awareness out of pure love towards the whales and dolphins. Although many media critics are blaming him for doing it out of fame, he just stick to his same old answer, that is, doing it to save the whales and dolphins.
This movie also has a subtle meaning behind it. It is shown when the Japanese quickly believed that it was a dolphin and a killer whale that is behind the bombing of Hiroshima and quickly declared peace with America after America had shown them the doctored photograph. However, despite several controversies and critics, Whale Whores was nominated for a Genesis Award in the television comedy as it raises public awareness and understanding regarding animal rights.
Monday, July 2, 2012
What is Geography?
When the term "geography" is being brought up, many would picture maps, trees, volcanoes, cultures, longitudes, latitudes, etc. Geography can be defined in many ways. There are several other definitions of the term when searched on the net. Some say that it's a relation between the physical features of the Earth and of human activities whereas according to Wikipedia, it is referred to as the "the world discipline" and "the bridge between the human and the physical science". In my definition of geography, I defined it as an interaction between nature and humans where the happenings that occured all around the world has an impact on us, as well as how our activities impact the world in return.
So the next question is, why do we study geography for? In my opinion, it is for us to understand the way the world is and the importance of it so that we can protect and conserve our Mother Earth. Nature has served its purposes as a provider of food, shelter and life. Human activities such as logging, disrupts the balance of nature where both flora and fauna will lose their habitat and us, losing our foods. The interaction between nature and humans must always be on a balanced scale to maintain the cycle of life on our planet Earth. Thus, it is important that we have to conserve it the way it is.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)