Closing Note of Appreciation to Supporters of the Fukushima Indiegogo Campaign
Dear Friends:
The Indiegogo Campaign is coming to a close on January 6, 2014. We wish to thank all those who have visited the Campaign site for your concern, interest, and support. Although the Campaign did not realize its financial targets, we did make progress on several important fronts. Here is a Summary Progress Report and our Action Plan for moving forward.
Progress Report
* Fukushima presents an array of formidable challenges to the world. The first circle contains technical challenges, particularly relating to Reactors 1-4. It is extraordinary that the removal of fuel assemblies in Reactor 4 has thus far proceeded apparently without mishap. TEPCO and the Japanese government deserve credit for this. But we are only at the threshold of this perilous operation. The greatest risk is a M 6+ earthquake, which could topple the spent fuel pool in Reactor 4 or precipitate a criticality in the remaining three. We continue to believe that the Japanese government is dangerously underestimating the consequences of such an earthquake by not collaborating closely with the international community in preparing a Global Emergency Contingency Plan. Our affiliated seismologists continue to believe that the probability of a M 6 + earthquake originating either in Japan or within the Ring of Fire with serious consequences on Reactors 1-4 is extremely high and will occur sometime in 2014.
* Comprehensive Monitoring--One of the startling realizations produced by the Campaign is that the west coast states are not conducting comprehensive monitoring of radiation levels. We have sent a letter to Governor Jerry Brown requesting a meeting and urging him to install such a system which is described in the write up in the Campaign and our last blog. Accurate monitoring is in everyone’s interest. If radiation levels are below regulatory standards, Governor Brown and the public can have peace of mind. If the levels exceed regulatory standards or are recognized to be dangerous at even lower levels (This is quite possible as a regulatory standard is not a guarantee of safety, merely a political compromise), at the least the Governor will be forewarned and in a position to undertake preemptive action. As of this writing Governor Brown has not responded to our request for a meeting.
* Potential Breakthroughs—The Explorers’ Wheel 1.0 we will build is a powerful software program coupled to an imaginative web site. Although the Explorers’ Wheel has not received adequate financial support, notwithstanding, the Indiegogo Campaign has succeeded in raising public consciousness and has identified a number of promising potential solutions that we will continue to vet and to offer to the engineers on the front lines of Fukushima. Some of these potential breakthroughs are described in other parts of the Campaign. They include:
* An innovative entombment strategy proposed by a triple Ph.D. emeritus professor of ocean engineering at MIT.
* Several technologies that will seal the containers currently storing the radioactive waste water.
* A radically different radiation containment strategy. We are currently vetting the product(s) and contracting for a series of independent tests of the extraordinary claims of the inventor. We will continue to provide reports of our progress on our web site.
* Medical Challenges—Fukushima presents medical challenges involving radiation exposure and illness that the international medical community is only beginning to address. At the same time there are increasing numbers of cases, especially of thyroid cancer in young children in Japan; a medical record is being built in the litigation initiated by American service men and women on the US Ronald Reagan who were exposed to radiation in their rescue attempt during the original March 2011 explosion. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1K3qzBqjOc
* Fukushima presents a stark challenge of how to address, treat, and if possible prevent a whole range of illnesses (including infectious diseases resulting from compromised immune systems) related to greatly increased levels of exposure to radiation among unprecedentedly large populations. As of this writing the Japanese government has not been forthcoming in cooperating with the international medical community. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0rwSpeGRf0&feature=em-upload_owner
* Political Developments—The tragedy of Fukushima continues to unfold against the background of poorly conceived national policies both in Japan and the U.S. The clearest example is Japan’s State Secrets Protection Law enacted in December 2013. The new law can be interpreted to criminalize the release by physicians of vital medical data, deemed to be “state secrets,” relating to radiation illnesses of their patients. The enactment of the State Secrets Law undermines almost seventy years of democratic institutions in Japan. Most troubling is the connection of the State Secrets Law with a series of policies being implemented by the Obama Administration without Congressional oversight hearings, predicated on the premise that a rearmed (even nuclear Japan) is the best deterrent against an increasingly hostile China. The situation presents an extraordinary opportunity for courageous and imaginative members of both the Japanese Diet and U.S. Congress to collaborate in holding joint hearings. This would be a historic event. It will attract broad media coverage, develop a joint record, and help to inform both legislative branches of government and the public. The Fukushima Explorers’ Wheel will be a powerful means to educate, engage, and empower the public in connection with these proceedings.
Explorers Wheel 1.0 Your Personal Roadmap to Health, Longevity & Abundance
* The same platform that will support the Fukushima Explorers’ Wheel will also launch other Explorers’ Wheels for humanity. Because Fukushima presents unprecedented risks to human health and well being, an Explorer’s Wheel focusing on Your Personal Roadmap to Health, Longevity & Abundance is the logical next step. We have a detailed Development Plan in place and our Technical Team is ready to implement. Again the missing ingredient is financing. The Fukushima Explorers Wheel has inspired and will be closely linked to the Health, Longevity & Abundance Wheel.
* Here is the Mission Statement from the Executive Summary—“Our mission is to create an entertaining and affordable multiplatform app that will enable millions of “explorers” in every country of the world to create their own personal roadmap(s) to enhanced health, longevity, and a more abundant life. The Explorers Wheel 1.0 will introduce the best available health-related science and technology of the West deepened by the wisdom and experience of mind, body, and spirit of Eastern and indigenous healing traditions. The Wheel will spin and gain momentum by the stories of thousands and thousands of explorers, for storytelling is how our minds create, process, and transform reality. The Explorers’ Wheel 1.0 will not dispense any form of medical or other advice. Rather, it will simply support explorers on their own personal journeys into health, longevity, and abundance.”
* The Health, Longevity & Abundance Wheel will be the subject of a case study in a massive open online course (MOOC) we will offer in collaboration with Case Western Reserve University in the spring of 2014 on the theme of “Innovation Integration for the 21st Century.”
Next Steps—Although the Indiegogo Campaign is ending, our Campaign to bring sanity, compassion, balance, and intelligence to the challenges of Fukushima is just beginning. Alliances for Discovery will renew its investment in time and energy to uncover scientific and technical breakthroughs, while launching the first of a series of Explorers Wheels that in time will evolve into a “Global Brain for Humanity.” During the next three months we will be carefully and critically testing and vetting the technology of one of our collaborating scientists who may-- just may-- have a turnkey solution to the horrors of Fukushima. We will continue to keep you informed through regular blogs and Innovation “Alerts.” In the meantime, we express our continuing deep appreciation for your interest and support, and wish you…..
A Bountiful, Happy, and Healthy 2014.
Julian Gresser
Piloting Through Chaos—The Explorer’s Mind (http://bridge21.us)
Chairman
Alliances for Discovery
www.explorerswheel.com
juliangresser77@gmail.com
Dear Friends,
Our goal is to create a phenomenal resource that doesn’t exist today: a Global Brain for Humanity. (Explorers’ Wheel). The Explorer’s Wheel is a unique software program that mines the intersections among fields, often the most fertile area of discovery and invention. The software is designed to support effective collaboration between experts and “creative amateurs” which is the key to solving many seemingly impossible global problems. Our Team of Explorers (See Gallery) has been working on the components for over ten years. We are now ready to bring them together in a coherent system. We propose to apply this first Explorers’ Wheel to the unfolding nuclear crisis at Fukushima, Japan, already the most serious nuclear disaster in history. (http://www.explorerswheel.com/blog/inventing-humanitya-collaborative-strategy-global-survival)
Fukushima’s Cry for Help
Ambassador Mitsuhei Murata has issued this eloquent and poignant appeal to the world: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn0bXqT1Yhw
Here is the essence of the problem:
Similar conditions exist at other nuclear power plants in the U.S. such as Diablo Canyon. Diablo Canyon is poised to become a second Fukushima. The plant is not well fortified against a mega-earthquake (M9+)/tsunami as has occurred at Fukushima. The US Geological Survey expects such an earthquake in Alaska or possibly around the Cascadia fault. .(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cascadia_subduction_zone). No emergency management plan is in place to protect the citizens of California.
NEW!!(12/12/13) Innovation Action Alert # 1--Reliable Radiation Monitoring for California and other western states
An Explorers’ Wheel among its many uses is a powerful tool to invite, aggregate, and focus crowd intelligence on solving critical global problems. Fukushima is presenting a critical challenge right here in California for which we have already devised a solution: Comprehensive and reliable monitoring coupled to an innovative program of public education.
The Challenge: There are increasing numbers of reports of serious radioactive contamination arriving on the west coast of the U.S. from Fukushima. Are reports like these accurate or exaggerated?
http://www.turnerradionetwork.com/news/72-mjt
We believe that Governor Jerry Brown has an urgent public duty to obtain accurate information about the current and emerging situation and to inform the relevant state agencies and the general public. If based on comprehensive, continuous, and accurate monitoring, Governor Brown and his professional team, along with a team of independent experts and observers, determine that the radioactive contamination is not a problem, Governor Brown will have done the people of California a great service by allaying fears and misunderstanding and restoring public trust in government. He will have established a baseline framework and methodology for other U.S. states, indeed nations, beginning with Japan. On the other hand, if monitoring determines that there is a serious problem, the State of California will be in an excellent position to mount an effective Emergency Response Plan.
An Immediately Available System
We urge Governor Brown immediately to install a comprehensive program of state wide radiation monitoring. At present this program does not exist. All the key elements are available from pioneering companies like International Medcom. A comprehensive program would include the following:
Collaborative Innovation Enabled by an Explorers’ Wheel
If reports such as the above turn out to be accurate, there will be sudden and urgent need for innovations that improve the above system. This challenge is an ideal candidate for a frontier educational initiative organized as public/private partnership between the State of California and private companies. The goal would be to tap the imaginative talent of Silicon Valley and other innovation hubs, integrating frontier technologies of social media, crowd intelligence, advanced search, smart publishing, 3-D printing, 3-D visualization, and other relevant platforms. Such a program will go a long way to reducing fear and misunderstanding about nuclear energy in general, while building public trust in the Governor Brown’s commitment to protecting the public.
Inventive Challenges at the Fukushima Site—Fukushima already presents the world with a host of inventive challenges which the experts in Japan will not be able to solve by themselves or by conferring with other experts in their vertical silos of specialty. A creative bridge must be built between the engineers at ground zero and an inspired and informed public. This is where “swarm creativity”* or "crowd intelligence" becomes most useful. The Explorers’ Wheel begins to spin with your and the domain experts' questions. Here are some of the most urgent:
Some Early Innovative Breakthroughs
Entombment
We are already gathering and analyzing the most promising innovations. For example, a triple Ph.D. professor emeritus in ocean engineering from MIT has proposed entombing Reactors 3 & 4 with a form of liquid concrete that is lighter than water. The concrete would be dissolved in water and only harden after it is sprayed on the Reactors. It could be sprayed on the pools from above through a telescopic nozzle suspended from helicopters. Since the pools are already being cooled with water, the controlled delivery of additional water should not in theory further destabilize the pools. We are seeking to obtain design drawings of Reactors 3 & 4 in order to determine whether entombment can be accomplished safely. If the liquid concrete can be delivered to penetrate the entire facility, we may have a way to prevent the further release of radiation into both air and ocean.
Other
The Japanese government has thus far received over 800 proposed solutions from around the world. The Idiegogo Campaign is currently analyzing some of the most promising of these, including novel ways to seal the containers holding radioactive water. This underlies the importance of developing a mechanism—an imaginative way to automate the process—which can rapidly analyze, match, enhance, prioritize, and deliver the most promising breakthroughs to the key decision makers. This is one of several essential functions of an Explorers’ Wheel.
Innovation Alert # 2-- The Ultimate Fukushima Challenge
Can we discover a way to neutralize radiation at Fukushima so that Reactors 1-4 can be rendered non-toxic and safe, and similarly render neutral and harmless other areas contaminated by emissions from Fukushima including the Pacific Ocean? This could potentially be a Holy Grail Solution not only for the Japanese authorities struggling with Fukushima but for the rest of the world wrestling with how to treat and manage radioactive waste. It is an ideal challenge for a new approach to harvest crowd intelligence for humanity— a Global Explorers Mind.
Step # 1—Define the “Core Discovery Puzzle” (CDP) As described in Piloting Through Chaos—The Explorer’s Mind the first step in the process is to define the “Core Discovery Puzzle(CDP)” in the language of the domain experts themselves, in this case nuclear engineers. Here is a simplified explanation:
Radiation is produced by releases of energy from the nucleus of certain elements such as Tritium, Cesium, Strontium, Uranium, Plutonium, Xenon, and other elements. This radiation is highly destructive to living cells because it damages DNA, induces mutations, generates free radicals, and other harmful effects. Hence the CDP is how to stabilize the nucleus. In other words, can we discover a way to render the nucleus either completely inert, or to block or to significantly retard (or dramatically increase) the process of decay, so that the nucleus becomes stable? Under these conditions the above elements will remain in a “pure” non-isotopic state. Some experiments have shown that bombarding these isotopic elements with gamma radiation can actually reduce the radiation. However, this method is not practical or cost effective for Fukushima, at least at the moment. Is it possible to devise a practical method which can be applied immediately and cost effectively?
Resources:
Step # 2—“Democratizing the CDP”—A Challenge to the Idiegogo Campaign
The history of science is replete with the contributions of “creative amateurs” who without advanced degrees conceived breakthroughs of enormous significance for humanity. Pasteur was not a physician but a biochemist; Albert Einstein worked as a clerk in a patent office; many breakthroughs in astronomy are attributed to unheralded imaginative amateurs. The key is to create a communication bridge-- a special language built on imagery, metaphor, and stories— between Sponsors or Seekers and Solution Providers. How many brilliant minds might be motivated to devise practical solutions for Fukushima if we can level the playing field by: 1. translating the complex issues into terms that anyone can readily understand 2. packaging the creative responses so they can be rapidly grasped and 3. priming the problem holders on the front lines at Fukushima to be open to fresh ideas and different perspectives?
The Challenge: Can you help us depict the above CDP by an analogy, image, picture, story, or metaphor that is so clear and simple that any bright eight-year old will understand it?
Hint # 1: The nucleus will naturally degrade on its own. It “seeks” a lower energy state under the laws of thermodynamics, which is why it is throws off particles or waves of energy. We can influence it with a physical event from the outside—ie. bombarding it with gamma rays. But can you think of any process or example where something regains an “internal harmony” without outside interference? It no longer “needs” to look outward to add or subtract anything? It simply “discovers” or “attains” its own internal balance, harmony, and stability. Nature and the world’s wisdom traditions may afford some clues, and there may also be “lead users” in even remote industrial applications. (See the work of Professor Eric Von Hippel of MIT’s Sloane School)
Crowd Intelligence—We welcome your ideas and input. An Explorers’ Wheel begins to spin and to gain momentum with the inquiry around the CDP. Even if you believe your “solution(s)” are farfetched, please don’t censor yourself. It may turn out that your “lead” will inspire a fellow explorer, and by “chance” a breakthrough will emerge. Remember the origin of the word “discover” is the Latin “discoupire” ie. to “uncover.” The breakthrough may exist already somewhere in the crowd. It is just a matter of giving it a voice. Chance favors the prepared mind.
Some interesting lines for further exploration;
Please send your ideas and suggestions either to the Idiegogo Campaign, or jgresser@aol.com. This blog is based on a conversation and acknowledges with appreciation the contributions of Dick Wullaert, Ph.D. President Bioguard Industries, Inc(rawater@cox.net).
How the Explorers' Wheel Works
The image on the left is the basic template for an Explorer’s Wheel which was designed to support a personal discovery process. Depicted in the center are 8 realms. The image on the right shows how each of these realms can be expressed in words or pictures. Here is how a similar template can be usefully applied in addressing one of the world’s most complex and urgent calamities: the continuing nuclear disaster at Fukushima.
Step 1: Adapting the Wheel—The basic template can be customized to your areas of greatest interest and concern. For example, the following 8 realms might encompass Fukushima and similar disasters: “Solutions,” “Medical,” “Aid to Victims,” “Monitoring,” “Emergency Management,” “Advocacy,” “Earthquakes, Tsunamis, and Other Causes,” and “Guidance” (Wise Decision Making).
Step 2: Inputting Your Data—Simply click the spiral and input your core question or desired area of exploration. You can then begin to input your other important ideas, themes, pictures, or stories into any of the 8 realms. Each realm can transform into its own 8-realm template, as illustrated above.
Step 3: A Collective Discovery Engine—The Explorer’s Wheel is a continuously evolving, intelligent, and transforming Discovery Engine. It records, analyzes, synthesizes, and aggregates your contributions and those of every other explorer. It is “smart”-- it continuously learns 24/7 from you and everyone else in the Network. The more its members contribute, the faster the Wheel learns and works on developing solutions to the problem(s).
Step 4: Accessing Discoveries—The Explorer’s Wheel is available to you anywhere, anytime. It will be designed to run on any major platform and on any device. All you need to do is click into the Network. The Explorers’ Wheel becomes your personal learning portal.
Technology Development Note
The Explorers' World Platform will be supported by five (5) online engines:
Many of the core elements listed above have already been conceived and tested, and in some instances, already developed in earlier ventures by the Core Team. Our most important technical challenge will be how to integrate these diverse elements into a “global brain” that will include some of the most interesting features and skill sets of social media, crowd sourcing, advanced search, smart technologies, narrative platforms, and gaming. We have identified some talented software programmers who will become an integral part of our Core Team.
Why is the Explorers’ Wheel Unique?
The Explorers’ Wheel will build upon and extend the present capabilities of popular social media and crowd sourcing platforms such as Quora (www.quora.com):
Thank You for Your Support!
Your support will help us address the critical issues at Fukushima and also improve the Explorer's Wheel, so that we can apply it in the future, with increasing confidence, to clusters of other serious challenges. As noted, our longer term goal is to create a 'living global brain' - a vast self-organizing network and expert system reflecting our collective intelligence and wisdom. This 'collective mind' will help us to anticipate and avoid crises, to solve problems better and faster, and to take advantage of promising opportunities.
To do this successfully will require bringing together many people with specific knowledge and wisdom. We invite you to join with us in contributing to this vision and in spreading the word to your friends, family and colleagues. Please let them know that all of us together can help to solve the Fukushima challenge successfully - and that doing this together will put us in a far better position to move forward consciously and to create other worthwhile projects that can dramatically shape our future and the world we live in.
Rewards—Idiegogo permits us to offer Rewards for your help to us.In addition to the listed Rewards our friends are joining us by contributing bonus awards. Here is a first extra reward. It is a print of the Goddess Protector of the Oceans created by our friend and partner Mayumi Oda, a famous artist and environmentalist. We will email you this print along with other Rewards conceived and contributed by members as the Campaign gains momentum. Mayumi informs us there is only a few of these prints left. It is included as a bonus to the $ 300 Reward.
Our Partners—Because this Campaign involves complex and serious issues of great political, legal, and international significance, far beyond the capacities of a single individual, or even our small and determined team, we are joining forces with powerful environmental and other activist organizations which have a demonstrated track record of commitment and successful advocacy on the nuclear issues. Our initial proposed partners are: Friends of the Earth (www.foe.org/) and the Surfriders Foundation (www.surfrider.org/). We are actively inviting other professional organizations to join the Campaign.
The Campaign
We are already generating considerable momentum from these activities and other planned events:
· The concerns of thousands of global citizens who are presenting petitions to the UN drawing upon our advice and support.
· A conference held on October 24 and sponsored by the UN Association of Santa Barbara and that produced a Protocol expressing a Call to Action on Fukushima See:www.explorerswheel.com/blog
· A team in Japan which has direct access to the key decision makers in the Japanese government. This will ensure a hearing on ideas generated by the Explorers’ Wheel.
· A massive open online course (MOOC) on “Accelerating Breakthroughs for Fukushima and the Coming Global Emergency Response.” It is actively being planned with Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) and will be launched early in 2014.
· An Innovation Summit being planned in Tokyo for the spring of 2014.
· A massive campaign contemplated by Friends of the Earth, applying the lessons of Fukushima and the new skills of cyber-advocacy as introduced in the Explorers Wheel, demanding appropriate safeguards as precondition for re-licensing of Diablo Canyon, including accurate monitoring of radiation levels.
· A movement of millions of women in Japan and around the world who are uniting to protest the hazards of radiation to themselves and their children. The Fukushima/Other Disasters Explorers’ Wheel will especially honor the contributions and sacrifices of these women explorers and advocates.
The total budget for the project is $ 350,000 which covers the costs of software development, consultants on emergency management, story telling, and Japan. It will also pay for equipment, communications, marketing, licenses, administration, and travel. We can deliver the complete Fukushima/Diablo Explorers’ Wheel within six (6) months.
We are prepared to deliver the Explorers’ Wheel in stages if for some reason we cannot raise the full amount immediately:
· $ 50,000 will enable us to get started, to build a collaborative cyber-advocacy web site equipped with advanced search capability, advocacy training materials, and some smart features.
· $ 100,000 will enable us to build a basic smart interactive Explorers’ Wheel web site, with some advanced collaborative and search capabilities linked to Explorer’s Wheel and the MOOC on Accelerating Breakthroughs for Fukushima and the Global Emergency Response.
· $ 200,000 will enable us to enhance the platform with story telling tools, and introduce a Discovery Engine of best techniques of creative problem solving, discovery/invention engineering, and collaborative innovation.
· $ 350,000 will enable us to complete the first full embodiment of the Explorer's Wheel.
· Voice recognition
· More powerful advanced 3-D graphics
· More advanced esoteric predictive capabilities
· More advanced collaborative innovation
· Greater involvement of domain experts in key areas
· Intelligent data bases based on psychographic data harvesting and licenses to these data bases
· Greater user-driven adaptive features Open source innovation platform
· Advanced entertainment/game-like scenarios
· Advanced search using semantic web analysis
· Far more user driven innovations
Earth Ship by Mayumi Oda
(*The term “swarm creativity” was originated by my MIT colleague Peter Gloor. (http://www.swarmcreativity.net/)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=fZ1fFT7KPPs
Dr. Helen Calidcott
Dr. Sylvia Earle
Dr. Christina Consolo
TOUR of FUKUSHIMA by Dr. Arnie Gundersen
Monitoring /Prediction
Contamination
“Hot”(nano) Particle Problem
Radioactive Plume
Precarious State of the Reactors
Risks of Transporting Spent Fuel Rods
Environmental Effects
Health Effects
coming soon...
US Military Situation in Japan
coming soon...
General Effects
Zero Tolerance to Radiation
Toxic Thresholds
Nano or “Hot” particle exposure
Legal Liabilities/GE 10K Disclosure Obligations
Denial
