Just for Fun -- How would I do Mars

How would I do Mars? I'd start by setting up a support system for humans. We've done a lot. We need to do more surveying and to put into place an infrastructure for communications and information.

Step One

Need to pre-position:

• GPS, Weather, Ground imaging and communications satellites. Put 8 in Polar orbit and 8 in Mars-Synchroneous equitorial orbit; minimum. That would cover the entire surface.
• Also satellites have to be in orbit that image our Sun and with Earth. These can be part of the ground imaging satellites.
• We need supplies in orbit. Including vessels for emergency return to Earth. The first landers sent to Mars should be empty and sit in orbit.
• We need to pre-position enough equipment, gear, vehicles and supplies so that they will already be there when humans arrive.
• Continue exploration

Drones to explore and hunt for lava tubes, resources, and map out landing sites and mineral resources.

Including flying explorers, tunnel exploring unmanned vehicles, etc...

First Milestone

No humans until shelter, water supplies and minerals are mapped out.

Step Two

• Pre-Position habitat, energy production, and similar resources near the best located site for a human settlement. A mix of equipment in kit format that can be assembled by humans and equipment assembled by robots.
• Send Robots to assemble what is needed
• Assemble, power, energy, water, fuel storage and generation abilities.

Including solar panels, cleaning robots, fuel cells, wind mills and the like.

• Stockpile backup parts and backups to the backups.
• Continue exploration, including new drones.
• Run power, communications between the assets
• Prepare a landing site.
• Lay guidance and communications assets at each site.
• If tunnels available, put assets in the tunnels. Bury what can be buried.

Second Milestone

Go/No go based on whether enough supplies are pre-positioned for Marsnauts to use and live on.

Now you can send humans.

Daydreaming.

High Levels of Radiation measured in Encantado Brazil

The Fukushima disaster is doing more than providing trace radiation readings. It is registering major fallout contamination all over the world. We've gotten so used to such contamination that we don't realize what it means to us. Sure, the levels aren't high enough that hair is falling our or people are dying directly. But they are high enough that it is causing stochastic disease; degraded immunity to disease and energy levels, and increased odds of various cancers including leukemias, lung cancers, thyroid cancers, and a whole host of others. The governments response to fallout contamination, all over the world, is to put a classification stamp on the information and treat those who disobey the gag orders as nuts. So when someone gets one of his reports into a newspaper or magazine it is a rare and encouraging thing. One activist I've met recently is a young fellow named Samuel Dal Pizzol who recently wrote about his own measures in Encantado Brazil, inland from Porto Alegre in the area that is part Pampas and was once part of the little country of Uruguay. It is a land of Gauchos and farmers, and beautiful country. And they are getting radiation there.

"recorded peaks of up to 86 uSv / h ( microsievert per hour , unit for measuring radiation) , a result considered very high . Although the "discovery " , Brazilian nuclear experts and authorities found that the region of Encantado no risks of contamination."

Read more: http://noticias.r7.com/internacional/cientista-amador-tenta-desvendar-misterio-radioativo-no-rs-mas-autoridades-negam-contaminacao-09122013

86 microsieverts per hour is a high enough reading. And the experts know this, but our governments seem only unanimous in their desire to treat this ongoing disaster as a publicity and propaganda issue, rather than doing anything about it. "No risk of contamination?" This is evidence of contamination. And people with geiger counters have been measuring rates double or tripple the previous background all over the world since Fukushima started.

Samuel Dal Pizzo is an ordinary young man, living in a place that is out of the way in a part of the world where everybody in the rest of the world confuses Buenos Aires with Rio De Janero, but the locals know the scale of their own countries is grand. I consider him a hero and hope we realize the massive fraud and injury being done to us by the folks involved in manufacturing Atom Bombs and dangerous reactors -- before we get worse.

I once tried to pretend that everything was okay after a series of disasters. And everytime I said "at least it can't get any worse" it got worse. And our situation with Fukushima, Chernobyl, Three Mile Island and other sources of massive contamination is the same reality, the more we pretend that this time "we've learned our lessons and it can't get any worse" the more we find they haven't learned anything and are setting up the next one. Each disaster worse than the previous. We have found out just how incompetent, reckless and cheap the people running the nuclear system are. I hate saying that because I grew up in a family of engineers, some of whom were involved in this industry. But this system of secrecy, restrictions on information, and hiding failure has already led to multiple cascading massive potentially earth threatening earthwide disaster. We need to wake up before the people running this industry kill us all.

Samuel Dal Pizzo is a hero and we need more like him.

Fukushima On the Web

This little blog entry is just so that I can park some web-pages on the subject that people may be interested in. Mostly this is for my own reference so feel free to not trip around on this, it might give you nightmares. It does me.

Japan Declared Evacuation too expensive

Information suppression and government preparing to water down relief to victims

Homepage

Chernobyl and Atom Bomb testing

Canada covering up radiation spikes

Rice contamination

Piece of the debate about the #4 Spent Fuel pool which probably mostly burned into fallout

Beware the Nuclear village

Economy chief has cancer

http://hrn.or.jp/eng/news/2013/11/07/anand-grover-esq-un-special-rapporteur-on-the-right-to-health-criticizes-unscear-report-on-fukushima/

Anand Grover criticizes UNSCEAr report

Secret Fallout

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096706371300112X

Radioactive Fish everywhere, including Switzerland

Fibromyalgia and Alpha radiation

Fibromyalgia is defined in a google search as:

"Fibromyalgia is a common syndrome in which a person has long-term, body-wide pain and tenderness in the joints, muscles, tendons, and other soft tissues. Fibromyalgia has also been linked to fatigue, sleep problems, headaches, depression, and anxiety."[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001463/]

An article titled "AAssociation of fibromyalgia symptoms with beta radiation levels." by a fellow named Bobby shows his connection of materials from several sources and the association of beta radiation with Fibromyalgia symptoms. [http://optimalprediction.com/wp/association-of-fibromyalgia-symptoms-with-beta-radiation-levels/]

Source: http://optimalprediction.com/files/fibroradiation.jpg

Anyway, after reading this article, and all the other ones about fibromyalgia, I don't see a clear message yet. I read up on the main alpha emitters and they include:

Alpha Emitter	Atomic Number
americium-241	95
plutonium-236	94
uranium-238	92
thorium-232	90
radium-226	88
radon-222	86
polonium-210	84

Source:http://www.epa.gov/radiation/understand/alpha.html#emitters

So whatever is causing fibromyalgia, if it's a alpha emitter, it's pretty nasty stuff.

The author notes:

"Symptom severity positively associated with beta radiation and statistically significant: Mental focus impairment, memory impairment, anxiety, depression, gastrointestinal problems, sleeping problems"

So if these symptoms correlate to the radiation or the chemical substance causing that radiation, the effects appear to be in the above list. The author then notes:

"Symptom severity positively associated with beta radiation and not statistically significant: Pain, fatigue"

And

"Symptom severity negatively associated with beta radiation and not statistically significant: Stiffness"

This result corresponds to recent research on environmental triggers for fibromyalgia, and other diseases like chronic fatigue syndrome and multiple chemical sensitivity

Considering that war zones and the use of depleted uranium are a major source for complaints of chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia. How much is beta radiation and how much other kinds of poisoning? (chemical).

Search for Causes

And note these measures were taken before the Fukushima disaster, so I wonder what radiation was being measured, and from what source? Could it be radon from folks basements. Or is something else going on?

I've observed it is hard to find information on these subjects and it appears much of it is classified. But what we can see is that these conditions are most likely the result of chemical assaults (directly in the case of toxic chemicals or dissolved metals, and indirectly in the case of insults like radiation) on the chemistry of the cell itself. This article: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3155329/ notes:

"The scant experimental evidence gathered so far in controlled clinical/laboratory studies on MCS patients still poorly support the whole body of medical hypotheses. In particular, available clinical data prove, though only indirectly, that functional or/and genetic defects of endogenous enzymes detoxifying hydrogen-/lipid-peroxides or stable toxic products of lipid peroxidation, may cause chronic oxidative stress and consequent metabolic and immunologic alterations characteristic for the patients with environmental SRI. Our group has recently demonstrated [17] relevant alterations vs. healthy controls of erythrocyte catalase, glutathione peroxidase (Gpx), glutathione transferase (GST) activities, and of decreased levels of glutathione and polyunsaturated fatty acids, in association with specific alteration patterns of pro-inflammatory cytokines, significantly correlated with clinical manifestations in a representative group of MCS Italian patients, has registered some progress towards the identification of reliable markers of disease onset and progression. These and other possible validated markers may also be useful for a correct and evidence-based evaluation of treatment outcomes and follow-up, to-date unfortunately still unaccomplished."

The jargon basically is telling us that they have a poor evidentiary understanding of what is going on, but there are indications that the causes of many of these diseases are to be found int chemical insults that oxidize (basically burn) important chemical pathways and create inflammation as a result. The article further notes:

"Relevant studies, thoroughly reviewed by Thomas et al., [43] have linked these conditions to exceptionally severe and prolonged intoxicating events, most notably multiple vaccinations, exposure to depleted uranium and powerful chemical toxicants present in war theatres. Other conditions connected to this polymorphic disorder are the post-traumatic stress disorder [44] and the burn-out syndrome [21], displaying similar impairment of the immunologic and neuro-endocrine patterns, and overlapping symptoms."

When you get a list like this it usually means the scientists aren't sure what is going on themselves, but we can see the reference to depleted Uranium there. The same agents that cause cancers and mutations also cause damage to cells in less specific ways that lead to symptoms like fibromyalgia, and syndromes like "Gulf War Syndrome." So it's not surprising that the author of the main subject found one cause to be alpha emitters. I imagine that there are also contributing effects from other forms of radiation and drugs. The article goes on to describe the direct relationship to mercury fillings and similarly. Oddly there are doctors who recommend using Cesium for treating fibromyalgia. Oh Maya. I don't think that is a good idea:

"Decreased appetite, nausea, and diarrhea were reported in a man who ingested about 34 mg Cs/kg (as cesium chloride) after morning and evening meals for 36 days; this man also experienced apparent neurological changes within 15 minutes of dosing (Neulieb 1984). Prolonged QT syndrome and associated cardiac arrhythmias have been described in patients who have ingested cesium chloride as a component of homeopathic remedies (Bangh et al. 2001; Harik et al. 2002; Saliba et al. 2001). [source: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp157-c3.pdf]

So the conclusion is that there may be a link between Fibromyalgia and alpha radiation exposure, to depleted uranium exposure, to mercury exposure and beyond that I still don't feel satisfied that I know squat. I sure hope our scientists and doctors are further along than what I've seen published so far.

Stochastic Disease Reality Versus propaganda points

A friend shared with me an article in German. My German isn't that good, but thankfully Google translate is much better than older translation routines and so I can share it. The article is titled[http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/837196.verharmloste-strahlenfolgen.html]:

Ärzteorganisation IPPNW kritisiert UN-Bericht zur AKW-Katastrophe von Fukushima

Google Translates this as:

"Medical organization IPPNW criticizes UN report on the nuclear disaster in Fukushima"

The article summary tells us:

"The medical organization IPPNW submitted on Friday criticized the Fukushima report of the UN Committee on the effects of radiation."

Essentially IPPNW notes that almost all our officials and their employed experts make their reports based on outdated assumptions and inadequate data largely because the scientists are forced to rely on unclassified and deliberately downplayed propaganda points about the effects of radiation in generating "stochastic" [statistical] disease. In the Russian roulette of radiation effects, the odds are worse for people than officials -- burdened by secrecy laws and a punitive nuclear security state -- will admit. "The United Nations Committee on the Consequences of Radiation (UNSCEAR)' annual report on Fukushima" was characterized by the "The organization International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW ) as:

"targeted misinformation to the public."

They protested the reports claim that UNSCEAR's claim that:

"no apparent increase of cancer in the affected population could be expected , which may be associated with radiation exposure."

... is misinformation. IPPNW disputes the claim that:

"Although UNSCEAR admits an increase of cancer cases indicates,...that this would not be noticeable in the statistics because of their small numbers."

The IPPNW Angelika Claussen, chair of the German section, protests this finding saying:

"this statement is untenable.

And she notes how previously "very rare thyroid cancer was diagnosed in 18 children exposed to radiation in the region, with another 25 suspected of having this disease", while the normal "long-term average" in the area "indicated only one previous case expected." The IPPNW report is protesting that the UNSCEAR report underplays the massive risk of "stochastic" effects from radiation exposure in the form of increased risk of cancer. And the IPPNW investigators found that authorities were blocking systematic health checks and excluding sub-contractors from the measurements.

The article points to a failure to collect blood samples. It notes:

"they had to find in their journey through the mainly affected areas that the authorities block systematic health checks with blood [checks] 'spot.' Where this would have made on your own doctors , a significant accumulation of radiation- induced weakening of the immune system probably had been found . The pediatrician Alex Rosen , deputy chairman of the German section of IPPNW criticized , because even in the UNSCEAR report , especially the poor data base . Had been used mainly to the International Atomic Energy Agency ( IAEA), the operating company TEPCO and the Japanese nuclear authorities , although particular TEPCO repeated manipulations and inconsistencies were noticed . There are no data received from independent measurements in the report. Is also ignored , that in work in Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant after the disaster were used to a considerable extent employees of subcontractors that do not appear in the statistics.

So IPPNW is protesting deliberately left out data, and "manipulations and inconsistencies" in data collection and reporting. The report under reports the impact of radiation on the immune system and on Leukemia incidence. The article continues:

"How bad it is with the independence of UNSCEAR , has for Rose mere fact that the main radiation leukemia " expert " is a scientist who worked more than 30 years in the nuclear fuel manufacturer British Nuclear Fuel and also as a retiree or for the reprocessing plant at Sellafield operates."

This is not to impeach him as a science, but it does point to his probable partisan bias against admitting stochastic risks and that the man cannot possibly be a trained expert on Leukemia.

"Rose also sees shortcomings in other scientific methodology which partly goes from outdated assumptions since the 1950s . So it incorrectly assumed in the report of a threshold dose below which there will be no radiation damage. The radiobiological research has shown that such a threshold does not exist. In addition, embryos and fetuses were in the dose -response relationship simply equated with children , although in these the immune system is not yet fully emerged and they are particularly sensitive to radiation because of increased rates of cell division . In addition, an Australian study has 680 000 children in whom a CT scan was performed , compared with non-irradiated one million children. The absorbed radiation dose while about 4.5 millisievert ( mSv ) per 100 000 children have caused nine additional cancer cases. Such studies simply ignored the UN Committee , criticized Angelika Claussen , although UNSCEAR run out of loads comparable in Japan . But instead of a long-range evacuation had increased only in Japan, the annual allowable radiation exposure limit for children to 20 mSv."

So it is likely that embryos and fetuses are more susceptible to radiation than even small children.

And worse, instead of evacuating affected areas, Japan just raised the exposure level allowed for small children, expectant mothers, and others -- with predictable if "stochastic" results. Which the world governments are now denying.

[One] problem the IPPNW believes exists is the fixation on th[os]e [cancers] triggered by radioactive iodine thyroid exposure, although it is known that large quantities of radioactive isotopes with half-lives of around 30 years much longer-lived radioisotopes of cesium -137 and strontium -90 leaked continuous with leaking cooling water escape into the sea. Chronic exposure to these radioactivity can lead to leukemias , lymphomas and solid tumors.

Thyroid Cancers due to radioactive iodine are only the tip of the stochastic iceberg, as strontium and cesium poisoning initiates leukemias, lymphomas and solid tumors in affected populations. The IPPNW predicts:

The IPPNW expected in the coming years 10000-20000 additional cancer cases in Japan based on the determined by independent measurements of radiation levels around Fukushima. According to the roses is still a conservative estimate that emanates throughout Japan for one additional cancer case per 10 mSv lifetime dose of radiation.

10,000 to 20,000 future cancer cases; leukemia, lymphoma and solid tumors, in addition to the already expected thyroid abnormalities and tumors. And that is the real conservative estimate.

I believe the article gives the Atomic Energy and UNSCEAR scientists more credit than they deserve. Secrecy laws forbid them to tell the truth or they lose access to funds and contracts -- but I believe that makes them cowards, not merely blind, but cowards, because minimizing the effects of a deadly disaster makes them mass murderers or accessories to mass murder.

We did it to ourselves in the 50's and 60's. The Russians did it to themselves and the rest of us with Chernobyl and other disasters. Someday we'll see the real statistics on the effects of open air testing on our population.