Stand By Me, Japan

This is a good an excuse as any to listen to a good song, and, at the same time, be reminded of the suffering the great nation had to endure earlier this year.

Why not use this video as a springboard for a class discussion on natural disasters, for example?

You might like to read this post on activities using songs.

 

Earth Hour 2011: Join in! Spread the news!

From the humble beginnings of a one-city initiative in Sydney in 2007, Earth Hour has grown to be the largest ever voluntary action taken by mankind. What's more, this year, it carries added poignancy due to the triple tragedy which hit Japan on Friday 11th March, leaving millions of people without electricity. Earth Hour this year is not only to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate change, but to show solidarity with the Japanese people.

Earth Hour was conceived by WWF and The Sydney Morning Herald in 2007, when 2.2 million residents of Sydney participated by turning off all non-essential lights for one hour, but each year sees more and more cities joining in. What's more, the call for this year is to go BEYOND the hour.



Will you be joining in?

Remember, tonight 26th March 2011 at 20:30 hours, local time.

To help Japan, go here.

Nuclear Energy Power Debate: What's the way forward?

With all the headlines on the problems of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant in Northern Japan, now is a good time as any to have a debate on the viability of nuclear power as a source of energy.

The strongest objection of the anti-nuclear power lobby are the safety concerns, but what other methods of producing cheap clean energy have we got? Is nuclear power a dirty word? Is alternative energy the way forward?

I'm sure this topic will generate heated debate in the classroom, so why not organise one?

If you are not familiar with formal debate, make sure you read these: All you need to know about debate, and Debate: tasks for everyone.

There are lots of information available on the web, but I'll include a few here to start you off on the right track.

Learn how a Nuclear Reactor Works

-  How Nuclear Power works from How Stuff Works.

-  The Nuclear Fuel Cycle from BBC

-  How a Nuclear Plant Works from BBC
-  BBC also has a graphic explanation of the Fukushima nuclear alert and some facts about radiation.
-  Updated 11 April 2011: Detailed BBC analysis.

-  The Union of Concerned Scientists in Facebook has links & information

All comments will be most welcomed. Thank you.

Tsunami Disaster in Japan: Idioms Part 21 with interactive game. HELP JAPAN!

One must be indeed cold and heartless not to be affected by the triple calamity of earthquake, tsunami, and threat of nuclear meltdown that hit Japan on Friday 11th March 2011. Why, even the Yakuza, Japan's notorious Mafia gang have been doing their bit to help, giving donations and driving relief supplies into radiation zones without protection. You can read about their humanitarian efforts here.

If you wish to help, click on this list to see a list of organisations accepting donations for Japan.

Still, life has to go on, and the series on idioms is no exception. I thought it would be a good idea to take a short break from food, and introduce you to idioms that you could easily come across in a conversation regarding the current situation in Japan.

an arm and a leg

very expensive: It will cause the Japanese an arm and a leg to rebuild their country after this disaster.

back to square one

This means that you are in the exact same situation you were before you started to do something, i.e., you haven't made any progress. This is similar to

back to the drawing board

When you try to do something and it wasn't successful, and you have to think of something new, you go back to the drawing board: 

When the cooling system broke down, TEPCO resorted to using sea water to try to cool the nuclear fuel rods, but that didn't succeed, so they were back to square one.

They then tried to drop tons of water from helicopters flying above the reactors, but that didn't work very well either, so they had to go back to the drawing board.

bend over backwards

Willing to do anything to help: In spite of having lost all their possessions, they were still bending over backwards to help one another.

bite off more than you can chew

You do this when you take on a task that is way too big and complex for you: The Japanese originally rejected a US offer to help with their nuclear crisis, but they quickly realised that they had bitten off more than they could chew, and ended up accepting the help.

blue moon

a rare occurrence: Having a 9.0 earthquake, a tsunami that created waves more than 10 metres high, and a threat of a nuclear meltdown from a reactor whose cooling system (and the backups) failed, all at the same time is something that happens once in a blue moon.

cross your fingers

You do this to hope something will be all right: Let's cross our fingers and hope that their cooling system hasn't been damaged!

dropping like flies

Falling ill or dying in large numbers very quickly: Due to the lack of medical supplies, clean water, and food, the evacuees were dropping like flies.

every cloud has a silver lining

Even difficult times will lead to better days: They say every cloud has a silver lining, so let's cross our fingers and hope that this disaster will, paradoxically, end the world economical crisis.

everything but the kitchen sink

everything you own: Most people who were directly affected by the tsunami lost everything but the kitchen sink.

field day

an enjoyable day or situation:  The anti-nuclear lobby was having a field day when the Fukushima nuclear reactors started having problems.

go against the grain

to be completely different to what you feel is right or normal: "The idea that the Japanese are acting in some way against the grain in an emergency situation is challenged by columnist Johann Hari in the UK's Independent." (BBC News Magazine)

Good Samaritan

The Good Samaritan helps others in need without expecting compensation: The Yakuza turned Good Samaritan and started delivering relief supplies to the evacuation centres.

If it's not one thing, it's another

A series of thing that go wrong: It's incredible how if it's not one thing, it's another: the tsunami struck half an hour after the 9.0 earthquake, and then the Fukushima crisis began. After 8 days, they're still having aftershocks of great magnitude.

in the same boat

We're in the same boat if we're faced with the same challenges or difficult situation: Everyone is sharing what they have because they are all in the same boat.

keep your chin up

to remain happy in a difficult situation:  It is truly amazing how people manage to keep their chins up in spite of the difficult situation they're facing.

kick the bucket

to die (although it tends to be used more in a humorous situation): In the darkness, the old lady tripped on a bucket, and literally kicked the bucket.

out on a limb

You go out on a limb when you put yourself in a risky situation, or in a situation where you get no support: The 200 or so workers of Fukushima are going out on a limb, risking their lives, to try to put the perilous situation under control.

saved by the bell

to be saved at the last possible moment: She was hanging on the tree, and was saved by the bell when the rescuers appeared out of nowhere.

start from scratch

to start all over again: When all this is over, the Japanese, especially in the North East, have to start their lives from scratch.

Apart from the usual tagging game (click on the image below), you can compose sentences of your own, showing how you've understood the idioms. Post them in the comments section below (click on the pencil icon).

Be sure to check out the rest in this series. Go to the index file and search (ctrl F) for 'Idioms'.

Tsunami in Japan: my favourite sites for resources

By now you must have heard about the triple catastrophe that hit Japan: earthquake (measured at 9.0 on the Richter scale, it was the biggest to have hit Japan), giant tsunamis, and nuclear crisis. There are, obviously, numerous websites where you can get up-to-date accurate information, but here are some of my favourite from which you can find useful resources to help you prepare a lesson on the disaster, or simply to get the latest news.

The BBC is always a useful place to find news, in-depth analysis, Q&A, etc. You can get live video & text coverage here.

To understand how tsunamis occur, they have an animated explanation from 2004 here.

The New York Times have incredible images here and interactive before & after images here. More before & after images can be seen at ABC News, too. CNN offers high resolution images of the aftermath here.

NPR does a comprehensive study on the Fukushima nuclear reactors crisis here.

To get an idea of the scale of the earthquakes from which Japan has been suffering, take a look at this interactive map.

Rather than inundate you with countless websites, which will only serve to confuse more than educate, I have just recommended these. Spare a thought for all the people in Japan, dead or alive. If you can, help them by clicking on the image below.

For more organizations involved in the donation process, see this list.

Help Japan if you can...

Help if you can. Either way, spread the news on the social networks: retweet, post in Facebook, etc. I'm sure the people of Japan will be grateful. Image from setjapan.com

To donate to the Japanese Red Cross, click on the image or here.
For more organizations involved in the donation process, see this list.
Do read Barbara Sakamoto's aftershock series for more bona fide donation services.