Survival And Prosperity

Preview Of Doomsday Preppers, Episode 6

If you think the government’s going to be there, are you going to sit back and wait for the cavalry? They may never come. So what are you going to do about it? Why don’t you start to prepare? Because it’s your personal responsibility.

-Mike Mester, “doomsday prepper”

Last week, I received an e-mail about participating in part two of National Geographic’s Doomsday Preppers Blog Carnival. By agreeing to take part in the event, I’d get a sneak peak of the next Doomsday Preppers episode airing on the National Geographic Channel on Tuesday, March 6. More importantly, I’d be able to provide Survival And Prosperity readers a preview of episode number 6, “Nine Meals Away from Anarchy.” I watched the show, which focused on three prepper groups. In order of appearance:

Mike Mester, a contractor living in suburban Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife, kids, and dogs
“We’re preparing for civil unrest caused by a global economic collapse.”

Preston White, a web developer living in central Colorado
“Preston believes that a cloud of deadly radiation from Fukushima is heading towards the mainland United States and will soon contaminate food and water supplies.”

Riley Cook, a welder living in Silverthorne, Colorado, with his wife and four kids
“I’m preparing my family to survive a polar shift.”

Now, because this post in only a preview, I can’t give up too much information. However, I think those that are interested in preparedness and who are following the television series will really enjoy this installment of Doomsday Preppers. How so? Well, I’ve learned that preppers come from all walks of life here in the United States. As such, plenty of viewers will relate to the Mester family and their situation in the suburbs, the Cook family and small-town living, and Preston White, the mild-mannered, techno-geek prepper. Personally, I can identify with all three parties. I grew up more or less in the Chicago suburbs, a lot of it in a town writer Ernest Hemingway once supposedly-described as consisting of “broad lawns and narrow minds.” I’ve also spent a good deal of my time throughout the years in a small town in southeastern Wisconsin that’s generally succeeded in not being overrun by throngs of vacationers from northern Illinois. Finally, with the word “eccentric” having been used to describe me before, coupled with my ongoing interest in computers from an early age (borrowed my uncle’s TI-99 back in 1983, picked up an Apple IIc in 1984, and never looked back), I think I understand where White is coming from.

I think viewers that are prepping or are interested in it will also appreciate episode 6 of Doomsday Preppers because many topics will probably hit close to home. Sorry, but no umbilical cords being handed out in this installment. From the Mester family section:

• How to retrieve family members during a SHTF situation who are located a long distance away from the household
• Prepping for pets, particularly dogs
• What to do with expired food
• A cheap, alternative heating and cooking source
• Preparing for civil unrest that might spill into the suburbs from the city in a major crisis

From Preston White’s section:

• A personal seed bank
• Tents to grow food year-round and for living- in a radioactive environment
• An HHO generator and home heater
• A home defense firearm battery
• A graphic lesson about maintaining operational security, or OPSEC

From the Cook family section:

• Underground shelters
• An alternative form of transportation
• Bugging-out in severe conditions

Now, the Cook family is prepping because they fear a polar shift is coming. You may recall that in episode 4 the O’Brien family had the same concern. From that episode:

Kevin believes that a 2012 polar shift will cause the earth to move on its axis, resulting in an onslaught of natural disasters… and since Florida is a low-lying coastal peninsula, Kevin believes that his home state will be completely devastated by a polar shift.

I feel it’s important to point out, once again, that what I think the O’Brien and Cook families are really concerned about is not a magnetic pole shift, but what’s known as “true polar wander,” or the solid-body rotation of the Earth with respect to its spin axis, causing the geographic (not just the magnetic) locations of the North and South Poles to change, or “wander.” Some theorize that rapid TPW could lead to scores of natural disasters taking place across the world over a small period of time.

Overall, I think you’ll really get into episode 6 of Doomsday Preppers. Like I said, many viewers should be able to identify with the featured preppers and topics. I thought this episode covered the most interesting material to date- although I leave it up to you to decide on Fukushima. While I liked learning about the Mester family’s suburban stronghold and the Cook family’s mountain retreat, I thought the HHO generator/heater that Preston White and his friends were playing around with was way too cool. Then again, that’s the techno-geek in me coming out.

Tune into Doomsday Preppers episode 6, “Nine Meals Away from Anarchy,” on Tuesday night, March 6, on the National Geographic Channel.

Tags: Atlanta, bugging-out, Colorado, dogs, Doomsday Preppers, Doomsday Preppers Blog Carnival, Doomsday Preppers episode 6, Doomsday Preppers TV show, expired food, fallout, Fukushima, Georgia, heating, HHO generators, Japan, Kevin O'Brien, magnetic pole shift, Mike Mester, Nine Meals Away from Anarchy, operational security, OPSEC, pets, polar shift, Preston White, radiation, Riley Cook, rural living, seed banks, severe weather, Silverthorne, suburban living, TPW, true polar wander, underground shelters

IMF, World Bank Warn Global Economy Has Entered Danger Zone

When the World Bank president said last week the world had entered a new economic danger zone, it grabbed my attention.

But when the chief economist of the IMF said today that the world economy had entered a dangerous new phase, I decided I better share their concerns with you.

Associated Press’ economic writer Christopher S. Rugaber reported this afternoon:

The world economy has entered a “dangerous new phase,” according to the chief economist of the International Monetary Fund. As a result, the international lending organization has sharply downgraded its economic outlook for the United States and Europe through the end of next year…

“The global economy has entered a dangerous new phase,” said Olivier Blanchard, the IMF’s chief economist. “The recovery has weakened considerably. Strong policies are needed to improve the outlook and reduce the risks.”

(Editor’s note: Italics added for emphasis)

Rugaber talked about the IMF’s outlook for the United States. He wrote:

The IMF expects the U.S. economy to grow just 1.5 percent this year and 1.8 percent in 2012. That’s down from its June forecast of 2.5 percent in 2011 and 2.7 percent next year…

Unemployment is likely to average 9 percent next year, the IMF’s report said, echoing a recent estimate by the Obama administration.

The concerns of the International Monetary Fund follow those voiced by the head of the World Bank last week. Reuters’ Lesley Wroughton wrote on September 14:

World Bank President Robert Zoellick said on Wednesday the world had entered a new economic danger zone and Europe, Japan and the United States all needed to make hard decisions to avoid dragging down the global economy.

“Unless Europe, Japan, and the United states can also face up to responsibilities they will drag down not only themselves, but the global economy,” Zoellick said in speech at George Washington University.

“They have procrastinated for too long on taking the difficult decisions, narrowing what choices are now left to a painful few,” he said ahead of meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund next week…

“The time for muddling through is over,” Zoellick said. “If we do not get ahead of events; if we do not adapt to change; if we do not rise above short-term political tactics or recognize that with power comes responsibility, then we will drift in dangerous currents.”

(Editor’s note: Italics added for emphasis)

Disregard such warnings at your own peril.

Sources:

Rugaber, Christopher S. “IMF: World economy enters ‘dangerous new phase’.” Associated Press. 20 Sep. 2011. (http://news.yahoo.com/imf-world-economy-enters-dangerous-phase-142632262.html). 20 Sep. 2011.

Wroughton, Lesley. “UPDATE 3-World Bank chief says world economy in danger zone.” Reuters. 14 Sep. 2011. (http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/15/worldbank-zoellick-idUSS1E78D0XK20110915). 20 Sep. 2011.

Tags: IMF, Japan, Olivier Blanchard, Robert Zoellick, unemployment, World Bank

Report: World’s Millionaire Households Grew More Than 12 Percent Last Year

While Marc Faber is alarmed by the display of wealth he sees in America these days, he could be witnessing such “opulence” for good reason. Robert Frank wrote in the Wall Street Journal blog The Wealth Report yesterday:

According to a new report by Boston Consulting Group out today, the number of millionaire households in the world grew by 12.2% in 2010, to 12.5 million. (BCG defines millionaires as those with $1 million or more in investible assets, excluding homes, luxury goods and ownership in one’s own company).

The U.S. continues to lead the world in millionaires, with 5.2 million millionaire households, followed by Japan with 1.5 million millionaire households, China with 1.1 million and the U.K. with 570,000. Singapore leads the world in “millionaire density,” or the percentage of millionaires, with 15.5% of its population now millionaire households.

The most important trend, however, is the global wealth distribution. According to the report, the world’s millionaires represent 0.9% of the world’s population but control 39% of the world’s wealth, up from 37% in 2009. Their wealth now totals $47.4 trillion in investible wealth, up from $41.8 trillion in 2009.

Those higher up the wealth ladder also gained. Those with $5 million or more, who represent 0.1% of the population, controlled 22% of the world’s wealth, up from 20 percent in 2009.

The reason for the growth in wealth? A recovery in stock prices, Boston Consulting Group claims. Bloomberg’s Alexis Leondis wrote last night:

“We have seen a growth from 2008 to 2010 that matches the growth from 2005 to 2007,” Peter Damisch, a partner based in the firm’s Zurich office and head of the wealth-management practice in Europe, said in a telephone interview. “But the growth from 2008 to 2010 was driven by the recovery of equity markets and much less by the generation of new wealth.”

(Editor’s note: Italics added for emphasis)

Sources:

Frank, Robert. “Millionaires Control 39% of the World’s Wealth.” The Wealth Report (Wall Street Journal). 31 May 2011. (http://blogs.wsj.com/wealth/2011/05/31/millionaires-control-39-of-the-worlds-wealth/). 31 May 2011.

Leondis, Alexis. “Ranks of World’s Millionaires Increased by 12%, Boston Consulting Reports.” Bloomberg. 31 May 2011. (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-31/world-s-wealthy-rose-by-12-on-market-gains.html). 31 May 2011.

Tags: Boston Consulting Group, China, Japan, millionaire households, rich, Singapore, stock prices, United Kingdom

China, Japan, And South Korea Look At U.S. Dollar Alternatives

This morning it’s being reported that a number of Asian nations are considering distancing themselves from the U.S. dollar as it concerns trade and investment. MarketWatch’s Chris Oliver wrote:

Officials from China, Japan and South Korea agreed on Wednesday to study a proposal to use their own currencies for regional trade settlement instead of the U.S. dollar, according to a Dow Jones Newswires report.

The report cited a joint communiqué issued in Hanoi.

Finance officials from the three big Asian economies said they were mindful of challenges arising from inflation, noting commodity prices were high while volatile capital inflows were also a concern.

It’s also being reported that South Korea is looking at acquiring securities that aren’t U.S. dollar-denominated. The Wall Street Journal’s In-Soo Nam wrote this morning:

South Korea is considering investing part of its foreign-exchange reserves in yuan-denominated Chinese securities to diversify its portfolio as its reserves rise to a record high, a senior Bank of Korea official said Wednesday.

“China will be a good investment destination for us in the mid- to long-term, given the country’s efforts to make the yuan a global currency,” Hong Taeg-ki, chief of the BOK’s reserve-management group, told Dow Jones Newswires.

He said South Korea’s foreign-exchange reserves need to be diversified to include yuan assets, although any significant investment in Chinese securities isn’t likely in the near future given the strict Chinese rules on investment by foreign investors…

The BOK has said it is diversifying its investments to include assets denominated in major currencies other than the U.S. dollar, including the yen, euro and the U.K. pound, to shield it from the volatility in the value of the greenback.

The South Korean official quoted in the article claimed this was not an attempt to lighten-up on dollar holdings. Nam added:

Mr. Hong said the central bank’s move to invest in yuan assets doesn’t mean an immediate change in investment strategies nor is it aimed at reducing the U.S. dollar’s position in the BOK’s foreign-exchange reserves.

Sources:

Oliver, Chris. “Asian trio to study dollar alternative: report.” MarketWatch. 4 May 2011. (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-trio-to-study-dollar-alternative-report-2011-05-04) 4 May 2011.

Nam, In-Soo. “South Korea Weighs Investing Reserves in Yuan Securities.” Wall Street Journal. 4 May 2011. (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703834804576302241461870226.html?mod=googlenews_wsj). 4 May 2011.

Tags: Bank of Korea, China, commodity prices, Euro, foreign-exchange reserves, Hong Taeg-ki, Japan, pound, renminbi, South Korea, U.S. dollar, yen, yuan

The Crash Prophets Revisited, Part 1

Last week while I was off on my “spring break,” a series of posts, entitled “The Crash Prophets,” were re-published from my old blog. In the first installment of the three-part series, dated June 14, 2007, I discussed how financial market watchers Peter Bernstein, Richard Bookstaber, Jeremy Grantham, and Gary Shilling were warning of a fast-approaching crisis. Bookstaber, a risk manager and derivatives designer at the time, is now employed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and Bernstein, a Wall Street legend, passed away back in June 2009. Grantham and Shilling still ply their trade- and continue to warn that the U.S. economy and markets could be in for a rough ride ahead.

Jeremy Grantham

Jeremy Grantham is a co-founder and former chairman of Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo & Co. (GMO), a privately-held global investment firm with $107 billion under management as of December 31, 2010. Currently GMO’s chief investment strategist, Grantham has a special talent for correctly-calling the direction of the markets. For example:

• In 1982, said the U.S. stock market was ripe for a “major rally.” That year was the beginning of the longest bull run ever.
• In 1989, called the top of the Japanese bubble economy
• In 1991, predicted the resurgence of U.S. large cap stocks
• In 2000, correctly called the rallies in U.S. small cap and value stocks
• In January 2000, warned of an impending crash in technology stocks, which took place two months later
• Saw the 2008 global financial crisis coming. In April 2007, said we are now seeing the first worldwide bubble in history covering all asset classes.

Grantham, whose individual clients have included former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and former U.S. presidential candidate John Kerry, pens a quarterly investment letter on GMO website. In his January 2011 installment, the British investor warned that U.S. stocks are due for a reversal. He wrote:

Looking Forward

• Be prepared for a strong market and continued outperformance of everything risky.
• But be aware that you are living on borrowed time as a bull; on our data, the market is worth about 910 on the S&P 500, substantially less than current levels, and most risky components are even more overpriced.
• The speed with which you should pull back from the market as it advances into dangerously overpriced territory this year is more of an art than a science, but by October 1 you should probably be thinking much more conservatively.

As I write this, the S&P 500 is at 1,320.

Grantham also talked about the problem of resource scarcity. He added:

For my money, resource problems exacerbated by weather instability will be our biggest and most complicated investment problem for years to come. How should we prepare for it? First, we should all transfer more of our intellectual resources to the problem. Yes, we have already recommended forestry, agricultural land, and “stuff in the ground.” It would be nice to back this up with more detail. To this end, we are starting to look more closely at commodity cycles, both historically and currently. We will report back from time to time.

Grantham wrapped up his quarterly letter with the following comments:

Things that Really Matter in 2011 and Beyond (in one person’s view) for Investments and Real Life

• Resources running out, putting strong but intermittent pressure on commodity prices
• Global warming causing destabilized weather patterns, adding to agricultural price pressures
• Declining American educational standards relative to competitors
• Extraordinary income disparities and a lack of progress of American hourly wages
• Everything else.

A. Gary Shilling

Gary Shilling is the founder and president of A. Gary Shilling & Co., Inc., an economic consulting company he formed in 1978. Shilling publishes the monthly newsletter INSIGHT, is a regular columnist for Forbes magazine, and his articles appear in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, among other publications. Shilling also makes frequent appearances on radio and TV business shows. Like Grantham, he is known for his correct calls on the financial markets. From his website:

Dr. Shilling is well known for his forecasting record. In the spring of 1969, he was among the few who correctly saw that a recession would start late in the year. In 1973, he stood almost alone in forecasting that the world was entering a massive inventory-building spree to be followed by the first major worldwide recession since the 1930s. In the late 1970s, when most thought that raging inflation would last forever, he was the first to predict that the changing political mood of the country would lead to an end of severe inflation, as well as to potentially serious financial and economic readjustment problems, and a shift in investment strategy from one favoring tangible assets to an emphasis on stocks and bonds.

The July 5, 1991 edition of The Wall Street Journal stated, “Mr. Shilling was one of the few analysts a year ago to forecast a recession. At that time, he said a recession ‘may already have started,’ a forecast that now looks prophetic.”

The January 22, 1993 edition reviewed the track records of interest rate forecasters polled semiannually by the Journal since 1981 and said, “The economist with by far…the best record in picking when to buy long-term bonds: A. Gary Shilling, who heads an economic consulting firm and manages money. During the 1980s, Mr. Shilling…saw sharply lower interest rates ahead. …investors who bet on his rate forecasts by putting their money in long-term bonds did very well.”

The July 7, 1997 edition stated that “Mr. Shilling…had the best overall forecast” of the economy, interest rates, exchange rates and inflation “among the…57 economists polled in the latest survey.”

The January 2, 2003 edition, in reviewing the forecasts of its poll taken six month earlier, stated, “In June, only one forecaster…Gary Shilling, expected the Fed to cut short-term interest rates in the second half, as it did in November….Only one forecaster, again Mr. Shilling, expected the Dow Jones Industrial Average to finish the year below 9000. Twenty-seven of the 55 saw it finishing the year above 10,000.” (It finished at 8342.)

Twice, a poll of financial institutions conducted by Institutional Investor magazine ranked Dr. Shilling as Wall Street’s top economist. Futures magazine also ranked him the country’s number one Commodity Trading Advisor. And in 2003, MoneySense ranked him as the 3rd best stock market forecaster, right behind Warren Buffett.

Chalk another one up for Shilling as he not only successfully predicted the 2008 financial crisis- but identified a primary catalyst for it. From my June 14, 2007, post:

And what will trigger the meltdown? According to Farrell, Shilling still sees the subprime debacle as the catalyst.

These days, the economist remains more concerned than ever about the U.S. economy. Shilling wrote in The Christian Science Monitor on April 5:

Despite the revival of stocks in the past two years and recent optimistic economic data, the US economy remains so fragile that it could easily be driven into another recession. All it would take would be an outside shock – even a moderate one – and there are several candidates lining up.

Normally, the United States is resilient in the face of such shocks, especially when its economy is recovering. But this is no ordinary recovery. It’s a two-tier phenomenon, with the fortunes of higher-income folks reviving swiftly while the rest of America is stuck in a slow deleveraging of household balance sheets that will take years to accomplish. This partial rebound makes the economy particularly vulnerable.

Shilling thinks that any of the following events could drag the United States back into recession:

• Global supply and demand disruption resulting from the disaster in Japan
• Pull-back in consumer spending due to higher gasoline prices related to Middle East turmoil
• Further fall in housing prices. Shilling wrote:

The third candidate is further decline in US house prices. Sales and prices remain weak, lending standards have tightened, and people are balking at buying big new assets that will be worth less in a year. Furthermore, the massive overhang of house inventories, the mortal enemy of prices, suggests another 20 percent fall in prices, resulting in a 43 percent peak-to-trough decline.

With that additional drop in prices, I estimate that about 40 percent of mortgages will be under water, up from 23 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010. The negative effects on consumer spending and the mortgage market are ominous.

• Decreased demand for commodities from hard landing in China
• “Fresh” sovereign debt crisis in Europe

Time will tell if Jeremy Grantham and Gary Shilling are correct- once again. Next week, the second installment of this three-part series of posts will visit with legendary investors Warren Buffett, Jim Rogers, and George Soros, and see what they think is in store for the United States down the road.

(Editor’s note: Part 2 located here; Part 3 located here)

Sources:

Grantham, Jeremy. “Pavlov’s Bulls.” GMO.com. Jan. 2011. (http://www.gmo.com/websitecontent/JGLetter_PavlovsBulls_4Q10.pdf). 15 Apr. 2011.

Shilling, A. Gary. “A fragile recovery – and five shocks that threaten it.” The Christian Science Monitor. 5 Apr. 2011. (http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/2011/0405/A-fragile-recovery-and-five-shocks-that-threaten-it). 15 Apr. 2011.

Tags: agricultural land, climate change, consumer spending, forest land, Gary Shilling, gasoline, gasoline prices, global warming, home sales, housing prices, housing supply, Japan, Jeremy Grantham, mortgages, Peter Bernstein, resource scarcity, Richard Bookstaber, underwater mortgages

Jim Rogers Bullish On Commodities, Bearish On U.S. Dollar Long-Term

Jim Rogers hasn’t been shanghaied by the anti-hard asset crowd with the run-up in prices of many commodities. In fact, the former partner of George Soros in the Quantum Fund who predicted the beginning of the commodities boom way back in 1998 still insists there’s plenty of money to be made in hard assets. Lydia Chen of the Shanghai Daily (China) reported yesterday:

INTERNATIONAL investor Jim Rogers forecasts agriculture as an exciting area to make money in the next 30 years as inflation is bound to worsen globally.

The shrewd American investor, who is known as the king of commodities, overweighed agriculture because food prices will continue to rise around the world and not just in China, he told a press conference on Saturday in Shanghai.

Rogers said that most farmers around the world who have stayed basically poor will see a dramatic change. Investors should pay attention to agriculture, or other areas, which may benefit from high inflation, he added.

Commodities such as copper, steel and cement will also be attractive because Japan will need large amounts of these for reconstruction following the earthquake and tsunami which damaged a large part of the country.

As doubts grow over the safety of nuclear power in Japan, opportunities may also open up in the oil and natural gas industries, he suggested.

Earlier this month, Jim Rogers told hosts Matt Nesto and Jeff Macke of Yahoo! Finance’s new daily trading and investing show Breakout that while he was considering buying the U.S. dollar at that time, he predicted the greenback would decline to “multi-multi decade new lows” over the long-term. However, the chairman of Rogers Holdings doesn’t dismiss the possibility of a dollar collapse coming sooner. He said:

Somewhere along the line we’re going to have a tipping point for the dollar, then it’s all over for the dollar. Now I thought it would happen in a few years- maybe it’s going to happen in a few weeks.

Sources:

Chen, Lydia. “Harvest profits in agriculture.” Shanghai Daily (China). 28 Mar. 2011. (http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=467410&type=Business). 29 Mar. 2011.

Nichols, Chris. “Breakout Exclusive: Jim Rogers May Buy U.S. Dollar as It Nears “Tipping Point” Yahoo! Finance. 17 Mar. 2011. (http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/breakout-exclusive-jim-rogers-may-buy-u.s.-dollar-as-it-nears-%22tipping-point%22-536042.html?tickers=^ixic,^gspc,^dji). 29 Mar. 2011.

Tags: cement, copper, crude oil, dollar collapse, food prices, Japan, Jim Rogers, natural gas, steel, U.S. dollar

Glowmen Sachs?

Speaking of Japan’s nuclear crisis this morning, it’s being reported that Japanese-based employees of global investment banking and securities firm Goldman Sachs have been told to stay put- or else they risk losing their jobs. From CNBC.com Senior Editor John Carney on the CNBC website yesterday:

At least four Goldman Sachs executives flew into Japan last week to speak with nervous ex-pat employees about radiation fears, according to a person familiar with the situation. They also conveyed another message: don’t leave Japan and don’t leave Tokyo.

Employees at the investment bank’s Japan offices are worried about radiation levels affecting their families, the person said. Many were asking if they could temporarily relocate out of the country or perhaps move to a location in southern Japan, farther away from troubled nuclear power plants. They were told that they should not leave Tokyo, according to the person.

Several meetings were held last week between senior Goldman executives and Tokyo-based employees. At least one meeting was held in a large conference room on one of the five floors of the Mori Tower in Tokyo, which houses Goldman’s offices in Japan. Senior executives attending the meeting included Michael Evans, the firm’s head of emerging markets and Asia chairman, and Ed Forst, the co-head of Goldman’s investment management division. Lloyd Blankfein was testifying in the insider-trading case against Raj Rajaratnam last week.

“The message was clear: no one is to leave. If you do leave, you can’t come back and expect to still work for Goldman,” the person said.

Carney added that according to another person at Goldman Sachs’ Tokyo offices, most employees have opted to stay.

Source:

Carney, John. “Goldman Sachs Employees Told Not to Leave Japan.” CNBC.com. 28 Mar. 2011. (http://www.cnbc.com/id/42304574). 29 Mar. 2011.

Tags: Goldman Sachs, Japan, radiation, radiation poisoning

Radiation From Japan Now Detected In 13 States, EPA To Step Up Milk Monitoring

Radiation from Japan’s damaged nuclear power plant has been detected in a growing number of states. Yet government officials keep telling the American public they shouldn’t be worried. From The Christian Science Monitor’s Mark Clayton yesterday:

Elevated yet still very low levels of radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear crisis have now been detected in the air or water in more than a dozen US states and three territories, federal and local authorities say.

Higher than usual levels of radiation were detected by 12 monitoring stations in Alaska, Alabama, California, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, and Washington State over the past week and sent to Environmental Protection Agency scientists for detailed laboratory analysis, the agency said in a release Monday.

Unusual, yet still very low “trace amounts” of radiation, were also reported in Massachusetts rain water and by state officials and nuclear power plant radiation sensors in Colorado, South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, and Pennsylvania, the Associated Press and Reuters reported.

“Some of the filter results show levels slightly higher than those found by EPA monitors last week and a Department of Energy monitor the week before,” the EPA said in its statement Monday. “These types of findings are to be expected in the coming days and are still far below levels of public health concern.”

The Environmental Protection Agency also announced that it will be monitoring U.S. milk supplies for radiation more often than usual. From the UPI this morning:

A U.S. agency began checking milk supplies as radiation from Japan’s crippled nuclear power plant was detected in the air and water in more than a dozen states.

The Environmental Protection Agency said it typically monitored milk for radiation every three months but would now begin the testing “immediately.”

Sources:

Clayton, Mark. “Traces of Japanese radiation detected in 13 US states.” The Christian Science Monitor. 28 Mar. 2011. (http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2011/0328/Traces-of-Japanese-radiation-detected-in-13-US-states). 29 Mar. 2011.

“U.S. safety after Japanese nuclear crisis.” UPI.com. 29 Mar. 2011. (http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011/03/29/US-safety-after-Japanese-nuclear-crisis/UPI-71571301387400/). 29 Mar. 2011.

Tags: Japan, milk, radiation, radiation poisoning

Japan Radiation Spreads Throughout U.S. West Coast

Radiation from Japan’s damaged nuclear power plant is being reported in several West Coast states. From CNN’s Elizabeth Landau this morning:

Colorado and Oregon have joined several other Western states in reporting trace amounts of radioactive particles that have likely drifted about 5,000 miles from a quake and tsunami-damaged nuclear power plant in Japan, officials say…

Sampling from a monitor in Colorado — part of a national network of stations on the lookout for radioactivity — detected miniscule amounts of iodine-131, a radioactive form of iodine, the state’s public health and environmental department said Wednesday in a press release.

On the same day in Portland, Oregon, tiny quantities of iodine-131 were also detected by an Environmental Protection Agency air monitor, Oregon public health officials said.

Small amounts of radioactive material were detected Wednesday, too, in Hawaii — just as they had a day earlier, according to the EPA. But while they were above the historical and background norm, the levels weren’t considered harmful to human health.

Washington and California previously reported low levels of radioactive isotopes that likely came from Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which has been releasing radioactive particles into the air since its cooling and other systems were damaged by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and massive tsunami on March 11. Efforts continued Thursday to cool down the spent nuclear fuel rods, prevent a further meltdown of the plant’s six reactor cores and curb the release of additional radioactive material.

Federal authorities insist that Americans need not be concerned about the levels of radiation reaching the United States. From the article:

But, on a portion of its website dedicated to tracking such radiation, the Environmental Protection Agency noted Wednesday that these and other readings “show typical fluctuation in background radiation levels” and — thus far — “are far below levels of concern.”

Landau added:

Americans typically get exposure to radiation from natural sources such as the sun, bricks and rocks that are about 100,000 times higher than what has been detected in the United States.

There is no need for anyone as a precautionary measure to take potassium iodide, a medication that can counter the harmful effects of iodine-131, health officials say.

Source:

Landau, Elizabeth. “More U.S. states find traces of radiation from Japan.” CNN.com. 24 Mar. 2011. (http://edition.cnn.com/2011/US/03/23/colorado.oregon.radiation/). 24 Mar. 2011.

Tags: California, Colorado, Hawaii, Japan, Oregon, radiation, radiation poisoning, Washington

Should Americans Worry About Radiation From Japan?

Should Americans be worried about the radiation threat from Japan’s crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant?

U.S. President Barack Obama isn’t. On Tuesday, Obama told a Pittsburgh television station that he’s not worried about radiation from the damaged nuclear power plant reaching the United States. CBS affiliate KDKA-TV Channel 2 political editor Jon Delano asked the President, “Are you at all worried about radiation from Japan reaching American shores?” Obama’s reply?:

No. I’ve been assured that it… any nuclear release dissipates by the time it gets even to Hawaii, much less to the mainland of the United States.

Experts quoted in the mainstream media seem to agree with this assessment. From ABC News’ Ned Potter this morning:

To those of us here who might worry, nuclear engineers and meteorologists said the U.S., including Alaska and Hawaii, is safe.

“These releases from the plant, because they’re not elevated, because they’re not getting up high in the atmosphere, they won’t travel very far,” said Kathryn Higley, director of the department of nuclear engineering at Oregon State University. “There are so many factors in our favor. Rain will knock it down. There are 5,000 miles of ocean between us and Japan. It will be diluted, it will mix with sea spray, long before it gets remotely close to us.”

One computer model suggested the radiation won’t travel very far from Japan. Potter wrote:

But Jeff Masters, a former meteorologist at the National Weather Service who now works at Wunderground.com, ran a computer model and concluded that radiation would not get very far.

“Ground-level releases of radioactivity are typically not able to be transported long distances in significant quantities, since most of the material settles to the ground a few kilometers from the source,” he wrote.

“Given that the radioactivity has to travel 3,000 miles to reach Anchorage, Alaska, and 5,000 miles to reach California, a very large amount of dilution will occur, along with potential loss due to rain-out.

“Any radiation at current levels of emission that might reach these places may not even be detectable,” he said, “much less be a threat to human health.”

And if the worst-case scenario takes place, where radioactive particles are carried by upper-level winds to American shores? From the piece:

In that case, “we will get some fallout on the West Coast 2-3 days after its release in Japan,” said Edward Morse, a nuclear engineer at the University of California, Berkeley, in an e-mail to ABC News. “The levels will not be threatening to life and health but they will be observable.”

“If any radiation were to make it here, it would be merely background levels,”said Jere Jenkins, the director of Radiation Laboratories at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. “Nothing for people on the West Coast or people in the United States to be concerned about.”

Higley said she has been spending a lot of time over the last few days urging calm.

“We have monitoring capability here in the U.S. that is extraordinarily sensitive. We can detect radiation that is like a hundred-thousandth of what you get from a regular X-ray, and we don’t expect to see even that.

“For the stuff to travel, it has to be picked up by the wind,” she said, “higher-level winds that have global distribution. And that’s just not happening. This is a little like a campfire — the smoke is all near the ground.”

Despite these assurances, some are still concerned about the threat. Jim Meyers and Ashley Martella wrote Tuesday on the news site Newsmax.com:

If a radiation cloud from Japan’s damaged nuclear reactors eventually reaches the western United States, it could pose a threat to American crops and the people who eat them, nationally known neurosurgeon Russell Blaylock, M.D., tells Newsmax.

Dr. Blaylock also says the radiation could pose a cancer risk, and explains steps to take to protect against the damaging effects of radiation exposure.

Blaylock is a health practitioner, lecturer, and editor of Newsmax.com’s “Blaylock Wellness Report.” His books include “Nuclear Sunrise,” which examines the threat nuclear radiation poses…

Prevailing winds in the area of the stricken Japanese reactors have been heading east into the Pacific, toward the Western Hemisphere. Dr. Blaylock was asked about the threat to Americans if radiation from the reactors eventually does reach Hawaii or the West Coast of America.

“Most of the health risks are not going to be due to acute radiation poisoning,” he tells Newsmax. “It’s going to be a risk of increased cancer.

“When we look at Chernobyl, most of West Germany was heavily contaminated. Norway, Sweden. Hungary was terribly contaminated. The radiation was taken up into the plants. The food was radioactive. They took the milk and turned it into cheese. The cheese was radioactive.

“That’s the big danger, the crops in this country being contaminated, the milk in particular, with Strontium 90. That radiation is incorporated into the bones and stays for a lifetime.”

Last night, the New York Times’ William J. Broad reported on a U.N. forecast projecting the radiation plume could reach Southern California by Friday. Broad wrote:

A United Nations forecast of the possible movement of the radioactive plume coming from crippled Japanese reactors shows it churning across the Pacific, and touching the Aleutian Islands on Thursday before hitting Southern California late Friday.

Health and nuclear experts emphasize that radiation in the plume will be diluted as it travels and, at worst, would have extremely minor health consequences in the United States, even if hints of it are ultimately detectable. In a similar way, radiation from the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 spread around the globe and reached the West Coast of the United States in 10 days, its levels measurable but minuscule.

The projection, by the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization, an arm of the United Nations in Vienna, gives no information about actual radiation levels but only shows how a radioactive plume would probably move and disperse.

The forecast, calculated Tuesday, is based on patterns of Pacific winds at that time and the predicted path is likely to change as weather patterns shift.

On Sunday, the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission said it expected that no “harmful levels of radioactivity” would travel from Japan to the United States “given the thousands of miles between the two countries.”

You can view an interactive map of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization’s forecast on the New York Times website here.

Sources:

“Obama: Radiation from Japan won’t reach Hawaii.” CBS News. 15 Mar. 2011. (http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7359774n). 17. Mar. 2011.

Potter, Ned. “Japan’s Nuclear Crisis: United States Safe From Radiation, Say Engineers.” ABC News. 17 Mar. 2011. (http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/japan-nuclear-plant-radiation-united-states-risk-engineers/story?id=13150089&page=1). 17 Mar. 2011.

Martella, Ashley and Meyers, Jim. “Dr. Blaylock: Japanese Radiation Could Pose Risk to US.” Newsmax.com. 15 Mar. 2011. (http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/blaylock-radiation-us-japan/2011/03/15/id/389474). 17 Mar. 2011.

Broad, William J. “Scientists Project Path of Radiation Plume.” New York Times. 16 Mar. 2011. (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/17/science/17plume.html?hp). 17 Mar. 2011.

Tags: Barack Obama, Japan, radiation, radiation poisoning