Tsunami Debris

There have been many reports recently about the debris from the March 2011 Tsunami in Japan reaching the shores of the west coast of the US and Canada. It’s estimated that five million tons of debris went into the Pacific Ocean and while 70 percent of it sank, 30 percent of five million tons reaching land is a lot of debris!  Who pays to have it cleaned up? How dangerous is it?

I read one story about a Harley Davidson motorcycle with Japanese plates washing ashore in Canada.  They were able to track the owner by the license plates.  The 29 year old owner survived the disaster but lost three family members and his home.  Harley Davidson has offered to have the bike cleaned up and restored.

Most of the traveling debris will not start to hit shores until late in the fall and into 2013, although there is enough hitting the shores of Alaska that several areas have organized volunteer clean up efforts. What will the volunteers do with the debris once it is cleaned up from the shore? The disaster continues.

Kanji Update

A while back I posted about this sign at the mall and wondered about the first kanji symbol, that is repeated in the second and third lines.  It looks like an elephant with tusks and stars for eyes. One of Ted’s students translated it for me.  It means “Not Allowed”.  After seeing it on this sign at the mall, I’ve seen it in many places and is often next to the kanji for “Stop”.  I think this is a good combination to know if you want to stay out of trouble.