Adventure Ausrama Blog

The problem with the International Whaling Commission (IWC) is that it is too bureaucratic and pussy foots around still toying with the concept of "scientific" whaling. All research on whales should be banned and have done with it. Leave the mammals alone and they will look after themselves. They do not need human intervention. Of course, finding that Japan was not practicing scientific whaling left the door open for them to change their methods and continue slaughtering the defenseless creatures. Unfortunately, the IWC was never set up to stop the killing. It was meant to manage the widespread industry in the 1940s. The moratorium and having whale sanctuaries in the Antarctic have failed, as Japan keeps bending the rules. Japan continues to rave and jump up and down about their culture. Since when has culture been part of lawmaking - it never has been. The IWC is far too soft and it exists because the industry still exists. Set up a completely new body with tough ...

Japan plans to resume whaling in the Antarctic next year. It will modify its "scientific" research system to fit in to what the International Court of Juctice (ICJ) wants, although the court stated that scientific whaling per se was illiegal and would always be illegal. Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR) says it will take the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) to the ICJ to stop it harassing Japanese whaling ships when they carry out future legal scientific whale hunting in the Antarctic, in short the resumption of killing of whales for food. Just why Japan is so pig-headed about continuing to wastefully kill whales says something about Japanese culture - they are arrogant.  Japanese consumers want whaling despite not actually buying whale meat. This nation has tonnes of whale meat in storage because it doesn't sell, despite being highly subsidized. I am about to get personal about this issue. Those readers easily offended should stop ...

Japan knows a massive flood is imminent. It is building defenses against it. However, Major floods in Australia have shown that even the most strategically placed levies can be "ignored" by rushing water. Tokyo is encircled by rivers, with one running right through the middle of the city. The cost of such a disaster will be in the trillions. Despite calls for more spending by Toru Sueoka president of the Japanese Geotechnical Society there is a limit to how much can be spent to prevent destruction. With enough water the rivers will rise to flood just about everything. Building the banks higher will do no good. Though other types of disasters are frequent, flooding causes more damage in the world than any other calamity, noting that flooding is a side effect of typhoons. http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.tysaustralia.blogspot.com/ http://adventure--australia.blogspot.com/atom.xml http://www.technorati.com/blogs/ . . . . . . . . . . . ....

Let us wish the Japanese well in their bid to explore space. The US has had great success with their missions. It seems odd why Japan would spend money on space exploration when the economy is in such bad shape. Nonetheless, all people in the world benefit from new knowledge, After success with its first attempt to retrieve samples from the Itokowa space rock, the second spacecraft Hayabusa2 will be launched in 2014 and closely examine asteroid 1999 JU3. The rendezvous will take place in 2018. Valuable samples will be brought back to Earth in 2020. Japan is doing the work with assistance from other nations. The probe will be tracked by NASA's Deep Space Network. Like the first project the spacecraft will land in Australia. Powered by ion engines the craft will make a small crater in 1999 JU3. In the past this asteroid may have come into contact with water. A German made lander called MASCOT will move over the rock's surface. Intense examination will hopefully bring...

The last thing the world needs is an easier way to enrich uranium. There is nowhere to put the used uranium and the disaster in Japan shows the potential risk and damage from nuclear power stations. A new laser enrichment process has been developed by General Electric. It enables production of enriched uranium cheaper, quicker and in larger amounts. It is feared that "rogue" states will get hold of the knowledge and make uranium for nuclear bombs. Claiming that nuclear power is a way of reducing greenhouse gases is ridiculous. If more power plants are built more will be at risk from natural disasters. Vast tracts of land will be left uninhabitable as in Japan. It is ironic that GE has made this leap forward in partnerships with a Japanese company, Hitachi. They are talking now about turning the damaged power plant back on because the country cannot manage without it. Workers there will have to wear full-protection suits all day every day to generate electrici...