CEO of OceanGate, Operator Of The Missing Titanic Tourist Submarine, Explains Why Experienced “50 Year Old White Guys” Are Not Hired

The CEO of OceanGate, which is operating the missing Titanic tourist submarine, explains that the company didn’t want to hire any experienced “50 year old white guys” because they weren’t “inspirational.”

pic.twitter.com/yqrOJMKjiH

— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) June 21, 2023

WNU Editor: The operator of the sub was the founder, an 61-year old ex-navy white guy (link here). But I think the issue has to do less with the pilot and more to do with the construction and engineering.

On a personal note. Last year the GF put visiting the Titanic on our bucket list on things to do when we retire. I told her that if we had the money to afford it my answer is a yes, but it will be the last thing to do on our bucket list.

Is The Earth's Magnetic Field About To Flip As It Did 42,000 Years Ago?

 

NPR: Ancient Trees Show When The Earth's Magnetic Field Last Flipped OutAncient Trees Show When The Earth's Magnetic Field Last Flipped Out 

An ancient, well-preserved tree that was alive the last time the Earth's magnetic poles flipped has helped scientists pin down more precise timing of that event, which occurred about 42,000 years ago. 

This new information has led them to link the flipping of the poles to key moments in the prehistoric record, like the sudden appearance of cave art and the mysterious extinction of large mammals and the Neanderthals. 

They argue that the weakening of the Earth's magnetic field would have briefly transformed the world by altering its climate and allowing far more ultraviolet light to pour in. 

Read more .... 

WNU Editor: This is scary shit. But also fascinating to read about.

 More News On the Possibility That The Earth's Magnetic Field Is About To Flip Again As It Did 42,000 Years Ago 

Study blames Earth’s magnetic field flip for climate change, extinctions -- Ars Technica

Earth's magnetic field broke down 42,000 years ago and caused massive sudden climate change -- Phys.org 

Earth's magnetic field FLIPPED 42,000 years ago, creating a climate 'disaster' that wiped out the Neanderthals - and it could happen again, study warns -- Daily Mail 

Reversal of Earth's magnetic poles may have triggered Neanderthal extinction -- and it could happen again -- CNN 

Magnetic disaster ‘that wiped out neanderthals’ is due a repeat -- The Australian

Deutsche Bank: There’s A One-In-Three Chance Of A ‘Massive’ Disaster That Could Be Worse Than COVID-19 In The Next Decade

Market Watch: There’s a one-in-three chance of a ‘massive’ disaster that could be worse than COVID-19, says Deutsche Bank

After Tuesday’s rally on better-than-expected retail sales figures and an encouraging study of a drug to treat coronavirus patients, the S&P 500 SPX, +0.05% has rallied 40% from its closing low and is down just 8% from its February peak.

Clearly, disasters aren’t necessarily devastating to financial markets. That’s worth bearing in mind when considering a new report from Deutsche Bank that looked at the next massive tail risk for markets.

Analysts, led by Henry Allen, say there is at least a one-in-three chance that at least one of four major tail risks will occur within the next decade: a major influenza pandemic killing more than two million people; a globally catastrophic volcanic eruption; a major solar flare; or a global war. (The current COVID-19 pandemic has killed 443,765 globally already.)

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WNU Editor: The four major risks that Deutsche Bank is flagging for this 33% are the following .... a major influenza pandemic killing more than two million people; a globally catastrophic volcanic eruption; a major solar flare; or a global war. The odds increase if the time-frame is stretched to two decades .... If the time frame is two decades, then there is a 56% chance of one of these disasters.

No mention of climate change.

US Government Updates Its Nuclear Disaster Plans

BuzzFeed News

“We are looking at 100 kiloton to 1,000 kiloton detonations,” a FEMA official said.

Buzz Feed: The US Government Is Updating Its Nuclear Disaster Plans And They Are Truly Terrifying

Amid concerns over North Korea, federal emergency managers are updating disaster plans to account for large nuclear detonations over the 60 largest US cities, according to a US Federal Emergency Management Agency official.

The shift away from planning for small nuclear devices that could be deployed by terrorists toward thermonuclear blasts arranged by “state actors” was discussed on Thursday at a two-day National Academies of Sciences workshop for public health and emergency response officials held at its headquarters across the street from the US State Department.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: If FEMA is updating disaster plans to account for large nuclear detonations over the 60 largest US cities .... that tells me that they are preparing for all out nuclear war.

How To Ride Out The Apocalypse

iStock

Eugene K. Chow, The Week: How to ride out the apocalypse in a big city

Thanks to wildfires, hurricanes, and certain leaders trading threats of nuclear annihilation over Twitter, you've probably been thinking a lot about disasters recently — specifically how not to perish in one.

And if you live in a city, this kind of thinking can be extra fraught. It's easy enough for doomsday preppers living in the woods to head for bunkers filled with canned food, but how are you supposed to get out of dodge when you don't even own a car?

Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, there are no realistic scenarios that would require a sudden, mass evacuation of an entire city.

Nuclear attack? I hate to break it to you, but nuclear-tipped ICBMs travel far too quickly to give anyone time to flee before all are incinerated in hellfire. Dirty bomb? Conventional explosives combined with radioactive material would not release enough radiation to kill anyone or cause severe illness.

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WNU Editor: I keep at least a month of water and dry or canned food at all of my homes to take care of 4 people. And if there is an expectation of a nuclear war or a cataclysmic event .... in Canada I would head to my chalet in the woods to ride it out (generator, wood, and propane is a must), and in Russia, same thing .... I would head to my parent's dacha west of Moscow.

Why Was Houston Not Evacuated Before The Arrival of Hurricane Harvey?

Heavy: Why Wasn’t Houston Evacuated Before Hurricane Harvey?

Why wasn’t Houston evacuated? Why wasn’t there a mandatory evacuation order for the city? Who’s to blame?

Those are questions people are starting to ask as horrific images circulated of the dire flooding in the city. People begged for help from rooftops, were photographed up to their waists in water in nursing homes, a man was rescued from a partially submerged truck, and families pleaded for rescue on social media. You can read some of those accounts here.

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WNU Editor: This was a tough call to make. I saw the mayor of Houston answering this question on Canadian news .... and as he said .... putting millions of people on the roads a day or two before the arrival of Hurricane Harvey may have made a bad situation far worse. Here is an easy prediction. After this disaster has passed, many people are going to analyse this event and will make recommendations on what should be done in the future. Specifically .... what needs to be done to evacuate millions of people from a city, and to make sure that they have the supplies on hand (or that can be shipped in) to take care of these people until a disaster has passed. On a personal note .... my GF had her basement flooded a while back. I know from personal experience that when a home gets flooded it is a nightmare situation .... and for the tens of thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) in Houston .... the GF and I know only too well what you are going through right now. Our advice is to stay safe .... and make sure that your neighbours and loved ones are OK, and that they know that you are OK also.

Catastrophic Floods Hit The City Of Houston

CBS Houston: Historic Flooding Leads To Thousands Of Rescues In Houston Area

Rescuers battling heavy downpours plucked hundreds of people from rising floodwaters left in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, answering desperate calls for help all along the ravaged Texas coastline where at least two people were killed and up to 14 injured.

Anxiety ran high throughout the region between Corpus Christi and Houston because some of the most devastated areas were inaccessible to rescuers. And the forecast for days of steady rain threatened to inundate the region’s flat landscape, including Houston, with as much as 40 inches (100 centimeters).

Read more ....

More News On Catastrophic Floods Hitting The City Of Houston

WFAA Live Coverage -- WFAA
Houston Chronicle
KHOU Houston
LIVE UPDATE: Forecasters say Harvey could dump 50 inches in Texas -- Statesman
Catastrophic flooding 'beyond anything experienced' in Houston and 'expected to worsen' -- Washington Post
Catastrophic floods strike Houston; thousands flee homes -- AP
Harvey causes 'catastrophic flooding' in Houston, thousands of rescue calls made -- FOX News
Crews rescue hundreds from homes and cars as Harvey floods Houston -- Reuters
Storm Harvey: Up to 2,000 rescued as Houston hit by 'catastrophic floods' -- BBC
Stranded Texans turn to social media for help as flood waters rise -- Reuters
Officials warn deluged Houston could see 4-5 more days of rain -- CNN
FEMA administrator: We're 'going to be there for years' -- CNN
Trump meets with Cabinet about Hurricane Harvey response and recovery efforts -- Washington Examiner
Trump to travel to storm-ravaged Texas. -- The Hill
Trump says will head to Texas when not 'disruptive'. -- AFP
Tied up and left to face the wrath of Harvey: Picture of abandoned dog that's breaking the hearts of Texans as flood waters rise -- Daily Mail
With Harvey causing 'epic catastrophic flooding' in Houston, why wasn't the city evacuated? -- Chicago Tribune

GAO Report: U.S. Not Prepared For Nuclear Terrorist Attack Ar A large-Scale Natural Catastrophe

GAO Report Finds US Unprepared For Catastrophic Disaster -- FOX News

The federal government is not fully prepared to handle a nuclear terrorist attack or other sort of large-scale catastrophe and is years away from ensuring the safety of Americans if an event should happen, a Government Accountability Office finds.

The report obtained by the Associated Press finds that the Federal Emergency Management Agency did not always keep track of safety efforts, which affected the preparedness of states even after Superstorm Sandy devastated the northeast.

"FEMA is not aware of the full range of information," the report says. The investigation relied in part on internal documents from the Homeland Security Department, which oversees FEMA, including previously undisclosed details from a 2013 disaster plan that highlights needed improvements in the event of an attack from an improvised nuclear device.

Read more ....

Update: US not prepared for nuclear attack, large national catastrophe, report says -- AP

My Comment: Thinking and preparing for the unthinkable .... besides stockpiling the basics, how can anyone prepare for that.

In The Event Of A Yellowstone Supervolcano Eruption, MIllions Of Americans Will be Displaced To Brazil, Australia, And Other Countries

This map from the U.S. Geological Service shows the range of the volcanic ash that was deposited after the three huge eruptions over the last 2.1 million years.

Yellowstone Volcano Eruption: Report Claims That US Has Contingency Deal With Brazil, Australia -- Epoch Times

If the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts then millions of U.S. citizens could end up in Brazil, Australia, or Argentina.

That’s according to the South African news website Praag, which said that the African National Congress was offered $10 billion a year for 10 years if it would build temporary housing for Americans in case of an eruption.

The potential eruption of the supervolcano, one of the biggest in the world, has been a hot topic ever since videos of animals allegedly fleeing the area before an earthquake were posted online. Although the veracity of the claims haven’t been backed up, dozens of bloggers and others have been trying to figure out what, if anything, is going on.

One of the latest theories is that the U.S. Geological Service and its partners, which keep an eye on the caldera, are hiding data from the public.

Read more ....

My Comment: Such an eruption would produce cold temperatures on a global scale for years .... relocating Americans will be on the bottom of the priority list for most countries.

Yellowstone Volcano Eruption In 2014?

This map from the U.S. Geological Service shows the range of the volcanic ash that was deposited after the biggest of the Yellowstone National Park eruptions around 2.1 million years ago. "These eruptions left behind huge volcanic depressions called “calderas” and spread volcanic ash over large parts of North America," it said. "If another large caldera-forming eruption were to occur at Yellowstone, its effects would be worldwide. Thick ash deposits would bury vast areas of the United States, and injection of huge volumes of volcanic gases into the atmosphere could drastically affect global climate. Fortunately, the Yellowstone volcanic system shows no signs that it is headed toward such an eruption in the near future. In fact, the probability of any such event occurring at Yellowstone within the next few thousand years is exceedingly low."

Yellowstone Volcano Eruption in 2014? Are Animals Fleeing Park As ‘An Alert’? -- Zachary Stieber, Epoch Times

A number of bloggers are posting videos that show bison and other animals allegedly leaving Yellowstone National Park, prompting theories that as earthquakes ramp up the seismic activity will set off the Yellowstone supervolcano.

Two of the main bloggers behind the discussion stress that there’s no way to know when the supervolcano will go off but note that the 4.8 magnitude earthquake that hit on March 30 seemed to set off a reaction from the animals, who are moving for a reason.

Read more ....

My Comment: Here is an easy prediction .... if such an eruption should occur .... it will be the number one news story for all of us for a very very very long time.

Stopping Asteroids Is The New (Old) Reason Why We Need Nuclear Weapons

Asteroid. NASA — MCT

With Need For Nuclear Weapons Questioned, Builders Find A New Target – Errant Asteroids -- McClatchy News

WASHINGTON — When geophysicist H. Jay Melosh attended a meeting of U.S. and ex-Soviet nuclear weapons designers in May 1995, he was surprised by how eager the Cold Warriors were to work together against an unlikely but dangerous extraterrestrial threat: asteroids on a collision course with Earth.

After Edward Teller, the father of the hydrogen bomb, urged others meeting at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California to consider building and orbiting huge, new nuclear weapons for planetary protection, some top Russian weapons experts lent their support.

“It was a really bizarre thing to see that these weapons designers were willing to work together – to build the biggest bombs ever,” said Melosh, an expert in space impacts who has an asteroid named after him.

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My Comment:  The logistics and engineering required to put together such a device (nuclear warhead that will strike a fast approaching asteroid) will probably be incredibly expensive and complex. But .... when it comes to government's spending money .... we all know how easy that can happen.

The Aftermath Of The Lac-Megantic Disaster

Inside The Brutal Clean-up Efforts in Lac-Megantic -- Christine Pelisek, Daily Beast

In train-wrecked Lac-Megantic, basements are flooded with six feet of fuel—and above ground, it’s still too hot for rescue workers to last more than 15 minutes. Christine Pelisek reports.

Nine days after a train derailment and explosion gutted the heart of the Eastern Quebec town of Lac-Megantic, police and firefighter crews are working non-stop under brutal conditions as they continue to hunt for bodies. So far, they have recovered 37 victims of the 50 people who went missing on July 6. Thirteen are still unaccounted for.

“There are still cars filled with gasoline,” said Sûreté du Québec Sgt. Michel Brunet about the hazardous scene. “There are still 10 to 15 buildings that have six feet of fuel in the basement. We have to empty all of them to see if there are any bodies in there.”

Over 60 firefighter and law enforcement agencies across Canada and the U.S. are aiding in the search of the so-called Red Zone, which was once a thriving block of restaurants and businesses that included the Musi-Café, a library, a real estate office, a funeral parlor, and picturesque clapboard cottages and homes, but recovery efforts have been hampered by the toxic fumes, contaminated soil and volatile chemicals.

Read more ....

Update: First glimpse at Canada disaster site shows scale of devastation -- Reuters

My Comment: Regular readers of this blog know that I live in Montreal, but our family also has a small farm/vineyard that is in the Eastern Townships and it is about 60 miles from Lac Megantic. This weekend I will be visiting some friends who live a few milers outside of the town of Lac-Megantic .... I will be posting observations and comments after my visit.

Explosions In A Russian Munitions Depot With 13Million Shells Forces Thousands To Flee

Thousands Evacuated After Explosions At Russian Munitions Depot Storing 13Million Shells, With 1,500 Firefighters Sent To Tackle The Blaze -- Daily Mail

* 30 people injured after blasts at depot near city of Chapaevsk
* 6,000 people evacuated and local authorities declared state of emergency
* Depot stored up to 13million artillery shells with a range of about 1km

More than 6,000 people were evacuated after explosions rocked a Russian munitions depot last night where up to 13million shells are stored.

At least 30 people were injured when the shells exploded, causing huge blasts at the Chapaevsk military depot in the Samara region.

Reports from Russia said about 1,500 firefighters were sent to tackle the blaze and residents were evacuated from the nearby village of Nagorny, about 15km from the city of Chapaevsk.

Read more ....

More News On The Russian Chapaevsk Military Depot Fire And Explosions

Russia blast: Multiple explosions rock arsenal storing ‘millions’ of shells (VIDEO) -- RT
One Killed, Thousands Evacuated in Ammo Depot Explosions (Videos) -- Moscow Times
Russia Probes Blasts at Depot Storing ‘Millions’ of Shells -- RIA Novosti
Thousands flee ammunition blasts at central Russia testing site -- UPI

One dead, thousands evacuated in Russian arms depot blasts -- Global Post/AFP
6,000 flee as explosions rock Russian military depot -- Washington Times
Russia evacuates thousands after blasts at army munitions store -- Reuters

Tornado Disaster In Oklahoma City -- News Update

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

Worst in memory: This detailed map of downtown Moore, Oklahoma, locates the path of Monday's devastating tornado and compares it to the path of the 1999 tornado, which had the most powerful winds ever recorded

Up To TWENTY-FOUR Children Feared Dead In Rubble Of Flattened Elementary School After Giant TWO-MILE Tornado Rips Through Densely-Populated Suburb Of Oklahoma City -- Daily Mail

* Two entire schools flattened in Moore, Oklahoma after monster tornado touched down just after 3pm local time
* Up to two dozen children are trapped under debris at one of the schools, Plaza Towers Elementary
* At least 51 people confirmed dead, authorities say, and at least another 145 injured in local hospitals
* Children told to hold on to the walls, while teachers shielding the students with their bodies
* Hundreds of homes wiped out and more than 8,000 people left without power after up to 200 mph winds pulverized a 30-square-mile stretch
* Reports of looting in the medical center severely damaged by the storm
* The devastating tornado was larger than 1999 storm in the area that left 36 people dead
* More tornadoes now heading east towards Meaker, Ryan and Wilson in Oklahoma

Rescuers have uncovered the bodies of seven children who drowned in a pool of water under the flattened Plaza Towers Elementary School and up to 24 more students are feared dead after a two mile-wide tornado touched down in a highly-populated suburb of Oklahoma City on Monday.

Search teams on site had reported hearing cries for help from beneath the rubble at the elementary school that was obliterated in the worst storm the area of Moore has ever seen but the screams reportedly stopped at around 6:30 p.m. Shortly after, it was reported that the search and rescue mission had become a recovery mission with scores of little ones feared buried under the rubble. Some of these, however, had reportedly been found in churches and triage centers since, though it's unclear how many.

The monstrous tornado roared through the Oklahoma City suburbs obliterating entire neighborhoods with winds up to 200 mph pulverizing a 30-square-mile stretch. Block after block lay in ruins. Homes were crushed into piles of broken wood. Cars and trucks were left crumpled on the roadside.

Read more ....

Previous Post: Massive Tornado Rips Through Oklahoma (Live Reporting)

My Comment: Our prayers are with those who lost loved ones in yesterday's tornado disaster.

Survivor Found 17 Days After Bangladesh Clothing Factory Collapse

'I Never Dreamed I'd See The Daylight Again': Seamstress Weeps With Relief As She Is Rescued From Rubble SEVENTEEN Days After Bangladesh Clothing Factory Collapsed Killing More Than 1,000 People -- Daily Mail

* The woman had been trapped in the basement of the eight-storey Rana Plaza
* Waved a hand to rescuers before telling them her name was Reshma and she was 'not much hurt'
* She has not suffered any significant injuries and has been given biscuits and water
* Huge cheers from crowd of rescuers as she was taken away to hospital in ambulance
* Dozens of badly decomposed bodies pulled from the rubble have been sent for DNA identification
* Bangladeshi authorities order shut down of 18 factories over further safety fears
* Survivors wages are now being paid by the government after massive street protests

A seamstress wept with relief as she was pulled alive from the rubble of the Bangladesh clothing factory, 17 days after the disaster that has claimed more than 1,000 lives.

Reshma, who emerged almost unscathed, had been trapped in a second floor prayer room and survived by scavenging for dried food in the wreckage around her.

She was discovered after rescuers heard groaning moments before they were due to demolish a concrete slab surrounding the tiny space where she was entombed.

Speaking from her hospital bed in Dhaka, she said: 'It was so bad for me. I never dreamed I'd see the daylight again.' The incredible discovery came as the death toll from the accident, which has become the world's worst industrial accident since the Bhopal disaster in India in 1984, rose above 1,000. There are fears many more bodies are trapped inside.

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My Comment: This is amazing.

Incredible Aerial Photos Of Wednesday's Texas Fertilizer Plant Blast

A Tragic Day For Heroes: 11 Firefighters And Medics Confirmed Killed At In Texas Fertilizer Plant Blast And At Least Three More Feared Dead -- Daily Mail

* Huge explosion ripped through a fertilizer plant near the town of West, Texas at 7.50pm on Wednesday
* As many as six firefighters who had responded to a fire before the explosion have been reported missing
* 179 people have been hospitalized and 24 are in critical condition, including children
* Mayor: 'We've got a lot of people who are hurt, and there's a lot of people who aren't gonna be here tomorrow'
* Records show the plant insisted there was no risk of fire - and it was cited in 2006 for failing to have a permit
* The owner, Donald Adair, said no employees were there at the time and he does not know what caused the fire
* U.S. Geological Survey: Blast produced ground motion equivalent to that of a magnitude 2.1 earthquake

Authorities have confirmed that 11 firefighters and medics were killed last night in the fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas - though at least three more people are feared dead as rescuers search the rubble for bodies.

The State Firemen’s and Fire Marshals’ Association of Texas said in a statement on Thursday that six firefighters, four paramedics and one other first responder died Wednesday night as they battled a blaze the West Fertilizer Company.

'We were all volunteers. There was not one person that got paid to be there. Not one person that was ordered to go there,' Brice Reed, an EMT with the West Volunteer Fire Department, told CNN. Reed also rushed into the blast zone, but survived and was visibly shaken as he spoke.

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My Comment: An incredible collection of pictures and videos.

Rethinking On How To Respond To A Nuclear Disaster

Reactors and cooling towers at the en:Susquehanna Steam Electric Station south of Shickshinny, Pennsylvania. Wikipedia

U.S. Rethinks How To Respond To Nuclear Disaster -- New York Times

WASHINGTON — Two years after the Fukushima nuclear accident in northern Japan, the United States government is using lessons from that disaster to rewrite its plans for responding to radiation contamination, focusing on long-term cleanup instead of emergency response. But the proposals have set off vehement opposition from critics of nuclear power.

On Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency expects to publish in the Federal Register a draft document that would change its long-standing advice to state and local governments about how to limit long-term exposure to radiation after a reactor accident or a “dirty bomb” attack. By reducing the projections for how much radiation exposure is likely in the years after such an episode, the proposal could also reduce the amount of contaminated land that would have to be abandoned.

A federally chartered research group will close its comment period on Monday on a draft report that it has prepared for the Department of Homeland Security and that lays out long-term cleanup standards.

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My Comment: Why the discussion and rethink now? Is it based on fears of the industry after the Fukushima nuclear accident .... or is it based on fears of a dirty bomb attack.

NASA Chief Says Earth Defenseless In Asteroid Strike

Thing And A Prayer: NASA Chief Says Earth Defenseless In Asteroid Strike -- RT

If an unknown large meteor or asteroid were on a collision course with Earth, NASA chief Charles Bolden told a US House of Representatives Science Committee hearing Tuesday, then praying is all America or anyone else could do.

Events in Russia last month have reignited concern about the threat civilization on Earth faces from asteroids.

On February 15, a meteoroid estimated to be about 17 meters in diameter exploded over the city of Chelyabinsk in central Russia. The shock waves from the explosion shattered windows and damaged buildings. More than 1,500 people were injured by flying glass and other debris caused by the shockwave.

Read more ....

More News On Congress Hearing Options For Asteroid Defense

NASA's advice for near-term meteor strike: "Pray" -- CBS
Congress hears options for asteroid defense: Pay now or pray later -- NBC
Large asteroid heading to Earth? Pray, says NASA -- Reuters
Asteroid headed toward Earth? 'Pray,' NASA advises -- FOX News
NASA Warns Lawmakers More Funding Needed To Protect Earth From Doomsday Asteroids -- Red Orbit
NASA says catastrophic asteroid hit unlikely for centuries -- Washington Post

French Government Keeps Secret What A "Worst Case" Nuclear Disaster Scenario Will Cost

Nuclear Power in France. Image from World Nuclear Association

French Nuclear Disaster Scenario Was So Bad The Government Kept It Secret -- Business Insider

Catastrophic nuclear accidents, like Chernobyl in 1986 or Fukushima No. 1 in 2011, are, we’re incessantly told, very rare, and their probability of occurring infinitesimal.

But when they do occur, they get costly. So costly that the French government, when it came up with cost estimates for an accident in France, kept them secret.

But now the report was leaked to the French magazine, Le Journal de Dimanche. Turns out, the upper end of the cost spectrum of an accident at the nuclear power plant at Dampierre, in the Department of Loiret in north-central France, amounted to over three times the country’s GDP.

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My Comment: Talk about having a need to look for other alternatives .... but coal fired plants produce a lot of pollutants and "green tech" is incredibly expensive and not a guarantee in meeting the energy needs of a growing society.

End Of The World In 2036?

Asteroid Apocalypse -- Michio Kaku, The Daily Beast/Newsweek

The recent crash-down in Russia was a fleabite. The one in 2036 could destroy entire nations...

It was an amazing spectacle, a rapid succession of giant asteroids blazing across the sky. First, on February 15, Russia was hit with the biggest asteroid in 100 years. Barely a few hours later, an even bigger one made the closest approach to Earth ever recorded for an asteroid of its size. Then the residents of San Francisco, Cuba, and south Florida looked up and saw meteors streak across the sky, rattling their nerves.

It was a historic display of nature’s cosmic firepower, something I never expected to see in my lifetime. Mother Nature was showing Hollywood who’s boss.

The city of Chelyabinsk in Russia bore the brunt of the celestial fireworks. A piece of rock, about 50 feet across and weighing more than 7,000 tons, came crashing to Earth. Traveling at a blinding speed of over 40,000 miles per hour, it created a sonic boom and shock wave that shattered windows across the city: 1,200 people were injured, mainly by the flying pieces of glass, and 52 were hospitalized, 2 of them in serious condition. Chelyabinsk, once known as one of the most polluted places in the world due to its storage of nuclear waste, will now be known as “meteor city.”

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My Comment: We have been bombarded by these meteorite strikes in the past .... and I suspect that we will in the future. I only hope that in the future we have the capability to prevent such catastrophes from hitting us.