Calamitous Thoughts

Read this in the seventh chapter of Moroni last night, and it seems appropriate to echo here, given recent events:

AP photo by Mike Gullett

Wherefore, all things which are good cometh of God; and that which is evil cometh of the devil; for the devil is an enemy unto God, and fighteth against him continually, and inviteth and enticeth to sin, and to do that which is evil continually.

But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God.

Wherefore, take heed, my beloved brethren, that ye do not judge that which is evil to be of God, or that which is good and of God to be of the devil.

For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to judge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night.

For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.

(Mornoni 7:12-16)

It’s been pretty popular as of late, to blame events such as the Japanese earthquake/tsunami and the tornadoes in Tuscaloosa and Joplin on God – even those who don’t believe in God seem bent on placing the blame there, so as to enforce their own stance that if God exists, why does he let such things happen.

Well, here’s my theory, and it goes back to the story – call it a fable if you want – of Job. God allowed the Devil to test and try Job to see if he would remain faithful. As Job went through his trials he saw his friends, even his wife, urge him to curse God and die because a loving God would not allow such terrible things to happen, if he even existed at all. Job, however, remained faithful without anticipation of reward – for he was in sackcloth and ashes, mourning the deaths of his children, speaking to God all the while, wondering why such calamity occurs.

All that is good comes from God. All that is bad comes from the Devil. That God allows bad things to happen does not mean he is evil – for a good fountain cannot bring forth bitter water, as Moroni also writes.

So what good comes out of these calamities?

The way we react to them. The way those who suffer through them react. The way they react in the face of death – which the faithful know is only a temporary separation. The Devil waits to see the pure waters of our faith turn bitter and salty and he laughs when that comes to pass. But as we maintain our faith in the face of calamity and death, we see the good that comes of it. We still mourn, we still remain, for a time, for a long time, in sackcloth and ashes, but we do not turn bitter, those who have the spirit of the Lord to comfort and lift them.

How we react is important – that is how we show our goodness, and that is how God shows his love.

Chernobyl, 25 Years On

I am an advocate of nuclear power. But it is foolish to think that nuclear power is 100 percent safe. Nothing really in this world is, but those who advocate for nuclear power need to recognize that when nuclear power is unsafe, the consequences can be dire (warning: disturbing images).

A lot of things went wrong at Chernobyl, 25 years ago. Above all, the reactor that exploded was poorly designed and clumsily operated.

A lot of things went wrong in Japan – but what went wrong there was outside the control of humanity. Given what happened, I think the Japanese and those assisting have responded as well as could be expected.

Used under the fair use doctrine for commentary purposes.

Excuses and explanations, of course, don’t erase what happened at Chernobyl, nor will they erase what has happened and is happening at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant in Japan.

What is clear, however, is that comparisons between the two disasters do not make for an apples to apples comparison, as Joe Colvin explains at the ANS Nuclear Café blog, here.

Here’s what he says in part:

The Chernobyl reactors were a special design using highly enriched uranium in a graphite moderator—and as we learned from studying the event—the accident could only have happened with this type of design. The reactors were created to produce weapons grade plutonium for the Soviet military forces along with electricity for commercial use. They were difficult to operate and required constant adjustment to remain stable. The officer in charge was an electrical engineer who was not a specialist in reactor plants. The sequence of events which caused the accident occurred when operators began an engineering procedure to test the main electrical generator, which was outside of the reactor building.  Delays in starting the test, and management pressure to meet the schedule, resulted in several crucial outcomes that combined to cause the accident.

At Fukushima, from what we know at this time, it’s also plain that situation arose, not from human error in design or operation, but rather from the most extraordinary and unprecedented natural disaster in human memory—and what’s more, it was the tsunami wave, not the earthquake, which occasioned the loss of power and therefore challenged the cooling of the reactors. In fact, the reactors operated as designed and built – they shut down automatically when the earthquake occurred.

Yes, there are lessons to be learned from Fukushima, as Dr. Akira T. Tokuhiro outlines at Idaho Samizdat here.

Perhaps most significant is Dr. Tokuhiro’s call to form an international nuclear disaster strike team, ready to mobilize to tamp down a disaster as soon as possible, rather than waiting the three weeks that were required before international experts were invited and able to come to Japan’s aid. This would, of course, require further cooperation among various nuclear regulatory agencies, power companies, and other bureaucracies, but such cooperation is not impossible.

Resiliency

I realize it's somewhat foolish to get all whipped up about a little dog, but you know what? If this were a person, I'd be just as whipped up about it.

This is how things survive. This is how humanity will survive. This is how Japan will recover from this, its latest disaster, as it has recovered and flourished from so many in its past.

God, who knows of the fall of a sparrow, imbues His creations with the necessary resiliency to survive. That resiliency is tested. Sometimes it is bested. And sometimes, we emerge victorious. That the resiliency is bested does not mean God is dead or asleep. It just means sometimes people -- and dogs -- die.

Radiation from Japanese Reactors Detected in Idaho

The company I work for put out the following communication today:

As expected, the extensive environmental monitoring program at and around DOE's Idaho Site has detected minuscule amounts of radioactivity associated with recent releases from the damaged Fukushima nuclear facility in Japan. The results are consistent with the detection of radioactivity that has occurred in other locations around the U.S. and with results from the state of Idaho monitoring network. The amount of radioactivity detected poses no health concern.

For perspective, the radiation doses by people in the eastern Idaho area from the Fukushima nuclear facility releases are a small fraction of those received each day in the U.S. from natural sources of radiation -- such as rocks, bricks and the sun.

They also provide a set of links to various blogs and monitoring reporting stations, both inside and outside the Department of Energy, providing additional information to the public.

The most illuminating information provided comes from the Idaho State Department of Environmental Quality. Go here and take a look at the chart on this page. Notice that the beta particle radiation they're tracking -- as is the EPA -- hasn't spiked much at all since the reactor disasters. Note especially the high readings early in the month of March -- before the March 11 earthquake -- where radiation was much higher than the readings being seen now.

In other words: Nothing to worry about, folks.

Beta particles are high-energy electrons or positrons shot out of the shell of an atom as it seeks to decay into a stable atom. Such particles can be stopped with a simple sheet of aluminum foil. They're not to be joked around with, however, as they can cause DNA mutations and are used in medical applications to kill cancer cells. They're not the most dangerous type of radiation out there, but you still wouldn't want to mix them with your peanut butter.

It is good to note, however, that a University of Idaho nuclear engineer employed by the Center for Advanced Energy Studies in Idaho Falls is calling on the US to send experts to Japan to help Tokyo Electric Power rein in the ailing reactors. He's making these recommendations based on his knowledge of Japanese crisis control methods versus American ones -- he is of Japanese descent, so he knows of which he speaks. DOE has already responded by sending 40 technicians with their equipment to Japan to help out as they can. They're also gearing up to send a radiation-detection robot to help.

Nuclear Boy

Thanks to Brian Porter for passing (ha!) this on to me.

Jokes -- and all that banjo music -- aside, I think this video does an adequate and truthful job explaining what's going on with Japan's ailing nuclear power plant. The fart/poo metaphor is apt, and the comparisons to Three Mile Island and Chernobyl are accurate. I like that the author of this work has taken to explain a complicated (and somewhat scary) concept in terms that are easily understandable as they are accurate.

The same, unfortunately, can't be said for the YouTube commentors on this particular video, so I'd be wary of reading too much into what they say.

Last I Heard, God Speaks for Himself, Mr. Beck, not Through You.

UPDATE: I guess the Governor of Tokyo said essentially the same thing. Still seems odd to be putting one's own words in God's mouth.

This is a message to all of you so-called Christians from a guy who reacts a little bit differently than maybe you think he should.

When disasters happen, do not blame God. And when I say that, I mean do not say, as Glenn Beck said earlier this week, for example, that the earthquake and tsunami in Japan were a “message from God” to the nation of Japan:

“[T]here's a message being sent. And that is, 'Hey, you know that stuff we're doing? Not really working out real well. Maybe we should stop doing some of it.' I'm just saying."

Sure, you’re just saying, Mr. Beck.

Here’s what I’m saying:

What’s the message sent to the little kids who have to suffer through these events, if this is a message coming from God?

What’s the message sent to the elderly who have to suffer through these events, if this is a message coming from God?

What’s the message sent to anyone who has to suffer through these events, if this is a message coming from God?

From what I know, the Japanese are pretty much like us -- when disaster strikes, they fight back. One of their poets, Kokan Shiren, wrote a poem on earthquakes:

Still things moving,
firm becomes unfirm,
land like ocean waves,
house like a boat --
a time to be fearful,     
but to delight as well;
no wind, yet the wind-bells
keep on ringing.

God set us on the earth he created. I think we can agree on that. In part of that creation comes the phenomenon we now know as plate tectonics. Also in part of that creation, if I’ve understood my theology well enough, is that the devil is here on earth, his dominion as he calls it, also sending messages, if you will.
Maybe the message being sent from God is this: A tragedy has yet again occurred, killing many of my children and leaving many more homeless and afraid. What will my other children, who have not been directly impacted by this tragedy, do to help? Will they show empathy or will they merely sit back and pontificate, either on the evils or benefits of nuclear power, the roiling of the world’s financial markets, the scamming of money from those who want to help, the turning by ignorance of such events into fodder for comics and cynics and idiots? Will they pontificate on what kind of message they think I’m sending?

No, because even though there is no wind, the wind-bells are chiming. Dawn will come.

In 3 Nephi 17, when Jesus groaned because of the iniquity of the people of Israel, he did not rain destruction on them. He had compassion on those who were there to listen. He healed their sick. He blessed and comforted their children. The only message he sent was one of love.


Will God's children show empathy, rather than stupidity?

The answer is yes, Mr. Beck. They will show empathy. They will help in whatever way they can, even if all they can do is send a text message that nets the Red Cross $10, or if they kneel and pray to me. That’s the answer many are sending.

They’re not putting words in God’s mouth.They're too busy helping out.