The class discussion that sat heaviest with me was that regarding the disproportionate effect of the Fukushima Daiichi power plant meltdown on women and children. It's disturbing how careless corporations and government officials are when it comes to stewarding the health of our ecosystems, our ancestral lands, our homes - all for short-term profit for a select few. How do we let this happen? As Elokin spoke of in class, there are tsunami stones all over Japan, set there as a warning for future generations the highest places that a tsunami will reach. What arrogance to think that walls can keep a tsunami, or any other natural event, from touching human-made structures settlements. What disrespect to our ancestors, and disregard for our communities, to build nuclear power plants in places we know have been washed away before. In this country we talk of building pipelines that will defy nature's movements. This is lunacy. The deep level of denial of our inability to control this world and invent order and rules for nature becomes more evident in the actions of the Japanese government, attempting to force families to return to unsafe areas, as is simply saying that it is safe will make it so. Like saying that a power plant will not meltdown will make it so. Like saying a pipeline won't break will make it so. I am glad these women are suing the Japanese government in the thousands.
https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/21/world/asia/21stones.html
Shout out to Yaminah for sharing this lovely story on how sunflowers are being used to decontaminate soil in Fukushima! https://yamssciencesummer.blogspot.com/2018/07/biochemistry-23-july-cell-biology-and.html?showComment=1532900696822#c426118813064458981
I really enjoyed reading the cell structure articles. I learned something new about viruses! My mental image of viruses was more like that of a bacteriophage. Animal viruses are more compact than I thought.
I tried to post the pictures but blogger got mad at me: http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/cells/virus.html
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