Tom,
 I also feel very frustrated as well, but think the best thing we can  
do at the moment is donate to an organisation such as Red Cross, they  
are the experts in disaster relief. I know it is difficult to have to  
sit back and watch the terrible images but this is an unprecedented  
disaster and we have to rely on the authorities on the ground.
 Before I retired, I was my department's Regional Emergency Management  
Officer and was also in the SES. When those reports and images started  
to come in via the media, my immediate thoughts were "where do you  
start with this mess?' The first stage, survivor rescue is virtually  
over. The next stage will be clean-up and body recovery, which will  
have to be done alongside repair of infrastructure such as utilities  
and transport systems. The Japanese Self Defence and Civil Defence  
Forces seem to be getting on top of the immediate problems of housing  
and feeding the survivors, though they are not being helped by the  
weather at the moment, with this cold snap. Heating the shelters must  
be a great problem.
 We should really feel for those working on site. Burnout will be a  
real problem for those working at the pointy end. There is only so  
much emergency service personnel can take in a terrible situation like  
this.
 What we can best do for the longer term is buy Japanese products and  
so support the Japanese economy and help the country get through.
 As far as what we can do about the nuclear power stations, all I can  
suggest is pray that those 50 poor buggers who are trying to control  
the situation succeed. They are real heroes, as they are probably  
giving up their lives to do it
Carl Clifford
On 18/03/2011, at 9:35 PM, Tom Tarrant wrote:
OK, sorry I lied but I know you will forgive me,  SE Australia has had
 record unbelievable floods, Christchurch was torn-down by an  
earthquake but
what has happened in Japan defies description....
Most Australian birders have contacts with their counterparts in
 Japan.....what can we do to help?  We've all seen images of homeless  
people
with nowhere to sleep, no food and no fuel to escape the freezing  
conditions
but to cap it all their nuclear power-stations are threatening to make  
their
regions uninhabitable.....I'm sure that we can do something to help,
 C'mon Birding-Aus, ideas?  let's get our heads together...I know we  
can do
do something!
Tom
--
********************************
Tom Tarrant
Kobble Creek, Qld
http://kobble.aviceda.org
http://picasaweb.google.com.au/aviceda/
********************************
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