Another Earthquake That Changed The World

Part I: A modern economic super power, Japan's future was about to be changed at a greater scale than any one could imagine. March 11^th of 2011, an earthquake measured 9.0 struck the Pacific Ocean, generating a massive tsunami which struck the northeastern prefectures of Iwate, Fukushima and Miyagi, wiping the entire area. The earthquake was so powerful that it even moved the island of Japan by eight feet and shifted the Earth's axis by 4 inches. The earthquake not only triggered big fires but left five million homes lacking source of electricity and one million homes with no water. There are more than 5,0000 houses destroyed. Nearly every businesses and jobs in the area are destroyed, school is shutdown and the future of all the family of this area is uncertain. Evacuee and homeless shelters are running out of space, clothes, food, water, and more needs for the big masses of people who are in great need of help. The death toll is believed to be about 25,000 while about 14,000 people are still missing; however the numbers are changing constantly with people racing to find survivors. Even after the major earthquake, there were hundreds of aftershock with a magnitude larger than 6.0 or even 7.0, causing non-stopping fear to the people. On top of this great burden, Japan is also facing a new danger of damaged nuclear power plant. Out of six nuclear power reactors, at Japan's Fukushima plant complex, was made to with stand earthquake of 8.2 magnitude, not enough to stand against the earthquake which disabled three of the reactors' backup cooling system. The disability of the reactor caused explosion after another. The workers stayed at the plant to try reducing the damage risking their own lives. Nearby residents were ordered to evacuate and even residents in Tokyo were told to evacuate the area. Japan relied on nuclear power for source of electricity generation, although the people are still sensitive to the nuclear hazard issue due to the atomic bombing in World War II. It is not a surprise that the Japanese Prime Minister, Naoto Kan has called this national obstacle, the country's “Worst Crisis” since World War II. The Japanese citizens across the nation is not only concerned but enraged at the government especially regarding the radiation danger. Majority of the citizens believe the Japanese government is not revealing enough information about this nuclear threat to the people. In Tokyo, government was sending out mixed messages saying that the amount of radiation is not likely to be harmful but to stay inside as much as possible. Many people are fleeing out of Tokyo, mainly women and children to avoid the chaos, believing the the government is only drip-feeding selective information; to them, because of the fear of radiation, even breathing air was suspicious. In other hand, people are trying to reduce chaos among the common people as much as possible since Japan is a very earthquake pron country and people are educated to stay calm together.

Part II: Right as the disaster happened, U.S reached out to help. President Obama said he was “heartbroken” and pledged that the U.S. will do everything they can to help Japan. As part of the aid, U.S. military force mobilized to help with searching and rescuing the survivors, and general recovery. U.S. Navy has dispatched three aircraft carriers to Japan and American charities' relief teams are on the way. After all, Japan is a key ally of U.S. in Asia and U.S. do have military bases in Japan. Meanwhile, many American citizens are also in fear worried about the same possible scenario that could happen in main land. First, the damage in Santa Cruz and Hawaii showed that this is not just another country's problem, but global. As an earthquake pron state, there is an increasing fear in Californian of the same degree of earthquake and tsunami. Americans are staring to ask: “Are we ready for this type of disaster that even damaged one of the leading, high technological country like Japan?” Not only that, the nuclear plant emergency have raised many questions about America's use of nuclear power. Obama administration have been trying to reassure the public that the U.S. Nuclear plants are safe and there is no harm of radiation coming from Japan's disabled nuclear plant. The disaster in Japan gave new powerful ammunition to the critics of Obama and his nuclear power project. There are about 100 commercial nuclear reactors in the U.S. and quarter of them are the same type as those in Fukushima. Also, some of the reactors including two in California are vulnerable to both earthquakes and tsunamis which raised many concerns regarding safety even among experts. However the administration have stated that they are trying to speed constructing the nuclear power facilities for source of alternative energy other than carbon dioxide and gases. The White House spokesman Jay Carney have assured that the administration will incorporate lessons from the tragedy in Japan. Meanwhile, many businesses are in a dilemma as majority of manufactures in Japan are shut down; businesses such as technology and automobile do rely on parts from Japan. Also, the damaged manufacturing of automobile is affecting the American automobile industry at a great deal as many Americans drive Japanese cars such as Honda and Toyota. This is the proof that America is interrelated with Japan in many different ways.

Part III: President Obama have stated: “The United States stands ready to help the Japanese people in this time of great trial.” He is encouraging his citizens to help Japan in a subtle way during this recession. His aid by military and more was enough and I just hope that it is consistent. 

Through out the year in my economic and government class, there is a clear reason why I enjoyed the class everyday; that is because Mr. McAlister did not forget to remind us what is going on around the world and what is influencing our economy and our own government. By this way, I learned the fact that any thing that happens on earth will sooner or later, will affect the whole planet including United States. No one is alone in this biosphere and that is why the Inelegant Expression crew and I did not hesitate to choose International Red Cross as our choice of charity, one of the leading organization for helping Japan. During this kind of recession, I do not think there is a lot to be done by Americans for Japan. However, the government must keep encouraging people to help our ally and consider Japan as our big lesson; it is a lesson that teaches the whole world: even if a country is an advanced with a strict building codes, fast warning systems and 8,800 miles of seawalls and breakwaters as preparation for natural disaster, at the end, there is a limit; that is why we must prepare even more and make sure the possible future damage is reduced. At first, community service was just another burden to the crew and I. We organized a non-profit student art show so we can get graded for school; there were no strong passion involved yet. However, right when we were deciding where to donate our money to, the disaster hit Japan. Seeing horrifying images of waves of debris with houses on fire and a fireman crying looked almost alien to us. As kids who mostly grew up in a peaceful suburbia, it was hard to imagine what kind of pain and calamity the Japanese people are going through half way across earth. By then, the project was not another school related work, it was a duty to all of us as another human beings living in the same world. Another factor that moved me through out the project is the people who were so willing to help Japan through us by giving us extra donation. Many visitors at the show have told us how scared and sad they are at the same time. Some lady even said “That could be us any day.” At the end of the two day show, we earned about $1000 for Japan and we are set on sending exactly $1000 check to the Red Cross, the leading charity that took the earliest action to help Japan. After the show, many students including me felt that that was one of the most fulfilling thing we ever did in our lives so far and I definitely want to do more with my passion for art to help people around the world. It is a very humble idea to use your passion for something that is so meaningful. I think Japan has hope despite this darkness. I know Japan will re-build the country as if this disaster never happened. Just within two generations of World War II, Japanese reconstructed their country from a mess to a dynamic and innovative Asian leader of the world. I believe if they have done it before, they can do it again. I hope that the Japanese people find peace in their mind during this world wide chaos.

Citation:

"Disaster Alert: Earthquake in Japan, Tsunami Warnings." American Red Cross Disaster Newsroom. 11 Mar. 2011. Web. 03 Apr. 2011. <http://newsroom.redcross.org/2011/03/11/disaster-alert-earthquake-in-japan-tsunami-warnings/>.

"Focus On: Japan's Earthquake and Nuclear Crisis (Research Feature)." World News Digest. Facts On File News Services, Mar. 2011. Web. 10 Apr. 2011. <http://www.2facts.com/article/r00151>.

"Editorial Opinion: Record Earthquake Strikes Northern Japan, Triggering Devastating Tsunami; Struggle to Contain Radiation at Damaged Nuclear Power Plant." World News Digest. Facts On File News Services, n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2011. <http://www.2facts.com/article/e00518>.

"Record Earthquake Strikes Northern Japan, Triggering Devastating Tsunami; Struggle to Contain Radiation at Damaged Nuclear Power Plant." Facts On File World News Digest: n. pag. World News Digest. Facts On File News Services, 17 Mar. 2011. Web. 10 Apr. 2011. <http://www.2facts.com/article/2011540241>.

Tapper, Jake, and Luis Martinez. "Obama Administration Reacts to Japanese Earthquake; Braces for Pacific Tsunami." Political Punch. ABC News, 11 Mar. 2011. Web. 10 Apr. 2011. <http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2011/03/-obama-administration-reacts-to-japanese-earthquake-braces-for-pacific-tsunami.html>.