Alright, so you have heard about how important keywords are in SEO. But why is it so important, you might ask. The answer is pretty simple really.
Because, unless you sell to your target audience, chances are that your webpage is lost in the millions of pages out there.
This is one of the reasons why most companies spend considerable time in keyword research before going online. If you are a company who is about to go online in some time, then you can follow these steps to maximize the effectiveness of your SEO program.
What are people searching for?
That’s exactly what you need to find.
- While it is normal that you have at least 1 to 3 keywords on your main page, the focus should be on the most crucial keyword.
- Get a piece of paper and jot down a list of the most used and most searched terms.
- Look at it as if you are a customer searching for something and write down the very terms that you would use.
- This will very easily give you a few words to start with and then you can list down the ones that are closest to these keywords.
- There are several tools like overture and word tracker that can help you with the most used keywords in the last few weeks.
Competition
Just pick up any term that is relevant to your product from the list and conduct a search on google for the term. The number of web pages that come up in the result pages will help you determine the competition for that particular term.
And the last part is how you apply the keywords to your content. This is a section called as on page SEO techniques which tells you how you have to use the keywords on your webpage.
For more info visit : SEO Keyword Research
You may be interested about how to improve your pagerank. The methods to do this help you improve rankings as well, so you may want to know how to do this. There is a benefit behind it. But having a pagerank of seven means nothing at all if your website is not ranked anywhere for your niche keywords.
Getting one way links.
That is the number one method. Now there are many methods to get one way links. The more you get, the higher your pagerank. The faster you get them, the faster you see pagerank increase. Nothing too difficult to understand there.
Popular websites like youtube, google, yahoo and so on have a high pagerank simple because almost everyone links to them. They get many one way links automatically from people.
The higher the pagerank of the webpage that links to your site the better, because it gives your site more pagerank. The less outbound and inbound links on that webpage the better. Outbound links are links that point to other websites and inbound links are links that point to other webpages on that same site.
A one way link from a content website is always better than a one way link from a directory. One within an article is more better than one in the bio section of the article. Bio section is located just after the article. A link inside content is always better.
But how all this may help you. After all you are not going to spend all that amount of time to get one way links. However if you can hire someone you can give them specific instructions. They are going to do the work anyway not you. You might as well provide them clear instructions as to what you want, you get more benefits.
Instead of getting a thousand one way links from anywhere, you can get a hundred from pagerank six webpages. The main benefit is that it is easier and faster to get hundred than a thousand backlinks so you get backlinks faster and rankings improve faster.
So here are some other things to consider.
Now you need to decide which webpage on your website you want to have the highest pagerank. Usually it is the homepage. You can use nofollow tags to filter almost all your pagerank to your homepage. It means your other webpages will pass pagerank to the homepage. To do this simple link to your homepage whenever you can, just one link from each webpage.
Then put the nofollow tag on the links on your homepage that either point to your inner pages or to other websites. So your homepage does not pass any pagerank at all.
These help your rankings, simple because your homepage is getting many backlinks and it links to none.
So think carefully for a bit of time if you have a budget set aside to hire someone to help you in search engine optimization. You can make a big difference by taking in consideration some simple things that can help you get more powerful one way links in a short period of time.
How I improve search engine rankings? Get a step by step answer, complete and a blue print to seo success using Karl Sultanas material.
The importance of generating backlinks to increase Page rank can not be emphasized any more, it is absolutely mandatory. Once you start your backlink building campaign, you will find that it can be a difficult task if you don’t know which direction to take.
The traditional way to acquire backlinks is to search the internet for websites with a high PR that share the same or similar interest with your own and ask them for a reciprocal link. A reciprocal link is an link exchange between two website owners where each party agree to place each others links on their websites. The problem that occurs when searching for reciprocal links is, if you are just starting out, then your page rank will probably be zero. Most sites that are already established do not gain any incentive to exchange links with you.
The other alternatives to finding established sites to link is to get a little creative in order to build some backlinks. We all know that Web 2.0 social networking sites have bombarded the internet, but what most people do not realize is that they are a great source of high Pr backlinks. You can set up an account with several networks, submit a blog with a link to your website and voila!; you have created a quality backlink to your website.
Another source for acquiring backlinks that usually goes unnoticed are RSS feeds. You can use RSS feed for a variety of reasons. One reason is to receive great exposure for your website or blog. Once you submit your website to an RSS Feed Directory your feed can be subscribe to by numerous readers, thus creating great exposure for your website. RSS feeds are also a great backlinks tool, you can not only generate backlinks every time your RSS feed is subscribe to, but you will also get free backlinks from each RSS feed directory you use to submit your website.
For best results submit to about 15 directories at a time to spread the amount of traffic you will receive. Spreading your traffic will also help with you Google ranking. The search engines rank websites with consistent traffic higher. You also do not want to generate too many backlinks too fast, as to not raise any eyebrows with Google.
http://www.squidoo.com/Book_Demon
Rafting down rapids is a good way to get the old ticker clicking over at a high rate. Here is an overview of the basics of rafting down the rapids.
Adrenaline Rafting Basics
In the last 30 years, rapids rafting has gained massive popularity. People tend to go in groups for a family gathering, friends reuniting and even corporate team building exercises. Rafting is massively fun and an undisputed adrenaline rush.
At its core, whitewater rafting is simply the act of taking a raft down through turbulent areas of a river. These turbulent areas are known as rapids. Rapids are formed by three factors — constriction, gradient and obstruction. Water naturally flows downhill because of gravity. When it is constricted, it pushes in from the sides, speeding up and getting turbulent. Speed also increases when the gradient get steeper and, of course, obstructions cause water to crash into them and swirl around as the flow tries to find the best way to follow gravity. Each of these events causes rapids and the resulting turbulence churns the water thus causing the froth. The goal of rafting is to surf these rapids without being flipped or dragged under.
Rapids are classified by six categories. Category 1 is a smooth river with no rapids. The categories climb from their too Category 6, which is either impassible or should only be attempted by experts. Most river rafting trips occur on Category 3 and 4 rapids, where the turbulence gives you an exciting ride, but with limited risk.
River rafts are typically big and sturdy. They hold between six and 12 people spread equally on each side. Although an expert guide controls the steering at the back, most rafting companies allow the passengers to paddle on each side of the raft in their corresponding spots.
River rafting has a certain risk factor and safety is paramount. All rafters absolutely should wear helmets and life jackets. Falling out of the raft can be a common occurrence depending on the river conditions. All rafters should be able to swim.
There are thousands of rivers that are perfect for rafting trips. Most people choose a rafting company for their trip since the company is already familiar with the river conditions and has the necessary equipment.
Rick Chapo is with NomadJournals.com - makers of writing journals. Visit us to read more articles about the great outdoors and white water rafting.
It’s hot and I’m walking in a war zone. There is tension here in the cool sycamore shade, in the hot hissing blacktop, wafting in and out of the contrasting temperatures. On a lawn to my right, slightly elevated and beneath a large picture window is a sign that states, “War is Not the Answer”. The words are shouted in baby blue, the silhouette of a dove in flight floats in a corner on the white background. My contrarian mind wonders what is the question and why be so obtuse. When one has something to say, especially something important, I’ve found that few one liners adequately express the point. A woman when told she has lovely eyes wants to know what it is that is lovely about them. “War is Not the Answer” begs a question and questions beg answers.
So why would a homeowner post this sign on their front lawn I ask myself as I tread carefully past. I’m respectful enough not to appear as though marching. It is not the first time I’ve seen this particular sign and each time I pass it I am hopeful that the owner will be outside weaving blankets for displaced refugees and drinking cool, bottled French water. If they were, I might ask some questions about this sign. I might ask this apparent peace-nik what is the question and what is the answer to it. I might ask them why they are withholding the answer. I might ask them if it was their habit to declare war in such a passive-aggressive way and if this was common in all aspects of their life, or do they limit their aggression to signage.
Naked aggression offends. War would certainly rank at the horrid end of a scale measuring the horridness of naked aggression, with perhaps little children calling names at the other end. Certainly obtuse and haughty signs are somewhere along the scale. Passive aggression however isn’t always so naked. It is clothed like the wolf in the flock. It poses as sweetness and light, as understanding and helpfulness, as ignorance or witlessness. Perhaps passive aggressiveness is what I find most offensive about this sign I decide as I crest the hill.
The sign is passive-aggressively anti-war. To post this sign a person must believe that their neighbors are war mongers harboring secret caches of weapons. It is a civic responsibility to correct them. But here is the truly passive aggressive part, outright confrontation must be avoided (lest a rocket take out the sign). The message must be obtuse, not stating a question or an answer, it only implies that some people in this neighborhood have the wrong answer and that the owner of such a superior sign has the right one.
This person believes that there is power in posting a non message, that the literary power of their signage will generate a stampede of like-minded thought. The owner of this sign must believe that a disconnected answer to an unasked question posted on the lawn in babbly blue will lead the neighborhood of closet war mongers to lay down their bazookas and join the Blue Doves.
I turn a corner into hot sunshine and leave the war-torn neighborhood behind. I’ve named this covert peace mongering underground the Blue Doves; they’ve exposed themselves. I know where they are. There is a passive aggressiveness to the Blue Doves that belies their logo and betrays their color scheme.
I walk on enjoying the peace of life outside the war zone.
SEO, search engine optimization
All Think Tanks must think of things to Think About and so each and everyday the Online Think Tank considers various concepts, original thoughts and ideas to think about. Mostly, to solve problems, device better systems or create new inventions, but sometimes they try to figure out answers to local problems or plans to change the adverse effects of linear decision-making. For instance below are listed the thoughts of the day at the Online Think Tank to give you an idea of what I am talking about and to spur thought in your own mind as well:
1. Get Rid of Time Clocks Using Cell Phone Digital Camera Features
In most companies when the employee comes to work, they go to the time clock and punch in. The time clock is usually in a room that is far from their actual office or workspace. This is problematic because it loses efficiency and time. This procedure could be changed to promote efficiency using a modern cell-phone - Why not when the employee came to work, have them pass through the front door where there would be a new sign, that would be changed each day.
The employee could take a picture of that sign with their cell phone, which would identify it is them and it would send that to the human resource department’s computer and sign them in. The picture would have to match otherwise obviously they were not there that day. Kind of like taking a picture with a Newspaper in hand to verify the date.
2. Are We Running Out of Rogue Nations to Conquer?
We live in a cruel world, and unfortunately every decade or so, the United States Army must show a sign of forced. Otherwise, the evil empires of the world will think we are pushovers and take advantage of us. It appears that the international terrorists and the nation-states, which sponsor them through proxy have forgotten, but if we are to have a display of force every 10 years, that means we need a rogue nation to attack.
Currently there are only a few rogue nations such as; Venezuela, North Korea, Syria, and Iran, but since these nations will no longer be rogue as they will either have made smart negotiations for peace, stopped their willful funding of international terrorist groups or their leaders will be thrown out of power by their own people. This will leave fewer nations to use as examples to keep all nations in line with how the world expects nations to behave. Without being able to show for us, what will keep the future nations in line?
3. Outsource Offshore US Prisons for Illegal Alien Criminals - Make Work Camps to Pay Costs.
In Arizona 65% of the inmates are illegal aliens in this costs a huge amount of money. Each illegal alien in jail for a violent crime costs $35,000 per year and it is estimated that the state of Arizona can stand every graduating senior from high school to the University of Arizona for the same amount of money currently being spent to house these illegal aliens. Perhaps we should have offshore prison camps run by private industry in places like Tierra del Fuego. If someone escapes from the prison, they would have to walk nearly 8,000 miles to get back home.
These prisons could be run by corporations, which would use the labor for manufacturing to offset the costs of the prison. This is one idea that someone in our think tank came up with, and it would work they say. It would free the state and the federal government from millions of dollars bill spent on putting illegal aliens in prison, who are not even supposed to be in the United States in the first place.
4. Do US Asian Families Force Their Kids into Simulated Study Sweat Shops?
Why do Asian kids outperform their counterparts in our school educational system? It is because the parents and families demand excellence in education as it is part of their culture. However, some educators think that the Asian families are forcing their kids to work too hard to do their studying, and they are not able to grow up and have a normal childhood life. Could this be considered akin to allowing their children to work all day in sweatshops? At least one person believes so and cites 10 examples of children who are locked in their room each day to do homework. What do you think about that comment? It is of concern.
5. True Free Markets Bring Poor People Up Much Faster than Re-distribution of Wealth Strategies.
In many communist countries or even socialist countries it is believed that by helping the poor people in redistributing the wealth from the rich, that the society will be fair for all concerned. However, in reality, it has been shown that true free markets bring people up much faster than in socialist countries, which redistribute the wealth. Additionally, although there are no true free markets, because they have never actually existed; the more free the markets, the better the population will do as a whole. You only need to locate the United States of America’s middle class to see, this is true. Still, there are those that dismiss these ideas and are doomed to repeat the follies of all of the collapsed socialist and communist nations that have ever been created in past periods.
6. There Seems to Be a Big Disagreement on How Much Water It Takes to Grow Our Own Fuel -Ethanol.
There are many problems with growing our own fuel through Ethanol. One of the biggest complaints is the huge amount of corporate welfare that goes into the agricultural industry to prop up the growing of corn for ethanol. Additionally, corn is not the best material to make ethanol. Despite all these complaints, there is a bigger disagreement and problem and that is the amount of water needed to grow the crops to make the fuel.
The refining process takes between eight and 10 gallons of water to make 1 gallon of ethanol. This of course is on top of the amount of water it takes to grow the crop in the first place; thus, we see a huge amount of water usage, and in times of drought, there may not be enough. Then we have to pay the food we need against the fuel we need to run our civilization, who will get the water?
Eating is a higher priority than transportation, but even the food has to get to market and will need fuel. You can see the big problem. Many ethanol producers say it does not take that much water to grow corn that has genetically modified seeds, which use less water, still the refining process takes quite a bit of water. In that water has to come from somewhere.
7. Should We Harvest More Rainwater in Drought Stricken Areas?
The state of New Mexico allows people to collect water running off of their rooftops, but any other water running off of impervious surfaces on the ground, that water belongs to the state of New Mexico, and must be allowed to go into the storm drain, which will if eventually go into streams and rivers. The water in the river helps wildlife in when there is a severe drought, the wildlife has no water in the river in there for the wildlife comes into the city and will get either run over on a highway or cause a nuisance for humans.
The state of New Mexico does not want the desert species to run out of water and have to come into the city. But water that lands on your rooftop can be collected and used to water your garden, wash your car or water your lawn. This makes good sense, but what about the water on your driveway, is on your property, why can’t you collect it? Fundamentally, this argument may sound ridiculous, but after a decade of droughts in serious water issues. Human civilizations are pitted against other species that live down river.
In many places, water that comes from rain is collected into water retention basins, unfortunately, in many cases, the water evaporates during the hot summer months before he can be used in therefore is wasted. In many parts of Colorado and New Mexico, the evaporation rates are very large. In Nevada’s Lake Mead, the amount of water evaporation is so huge that some want to put a cover over the entire lake, which really isn’t feasible.
8. Questionable Use of Environmental Regulations in China.
The world has been getting after China to increase their environmental regulations and cleanup some of the rivers and polluted waterways within their country. Since the 2008 Olympic Games will be in China many people will go and look to see if the environmental controls have been put in place - is the water in the rivers clean? China says it has closed 400 factories, due to polluting of waterways. They have also fined 762 other companies.
One global economist said that China was closing down companies with huge foreign capital interests that had a stake in these companies - not because they were polluting. Is China using the world’s environmental concerns against foreign invested capital by only closing down those companies that are not owned by the state or that have a high stake of foreign investment?
Will these environmental pollution regulations which have already generated 97 million dollars in fines actually clean up the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers? Are they killing two birds with one stone, removing foreign owned companies and cleaning the rivers or are they really doing nothing to fix the pollution and only pretending, while effectively Nationalizing some companies and eliminating competition? Consider it, because these issues are very real.
9. Will China Become a Knowledge Based Economy and Out Innovate the World?
Many nations believe that they will become the innovators of the world in the knowledge-based economies, while China will produce and manufacture everything that they design. This is a fallacy because China plans to become an innovation economy. While some people laugh at that scenario, because presently China is stealing everyone else’s technology, China sees it differently.
China’s central planners are smart. They are slowly trying to slow the rate of growth of new factories in dirty industries and move towards more clean industries. This should not surprise anyone because this is what the rest of the world is also trying to do in China is merely copying what works, as they copy everything anyway. China wants our aviation industry, computer industry, biotech industry, automotive industry, software industry, IT industry, NanoTech, space industry, military weapons industry, and that is to just name a few. They plan on designing, innovating and manufacturing and anyone that thinks they are incapable is lying to themselves, as they are well on their way now.
For industrialized nations like Canada, Germany, UK, the United States, Japan, and most of the EU to think that they will be the designers of new technologies in China will be the place to produce them and manufacture them is blue sky thinking and simply outrageous forward-looking statements; it ain’t going to happen. CNN reported China as saying:
The stakes are extremely high,” says Lan Xue, head of the Institute of Science and Technology Policy at Beijing’s Tsinghua University. “The environmental costs make it impossible to go on growing like this; we have to transform growth so it is based on technology and innovation.
The OECD has made many errors in judgment, and many other reports that claim that China is going to be the world’s manufacturer allowing other nations to do all the thinking and creating are silly. The Chinese have more engineers and scientists with Ph.D.s since 2003 than the United States [Scientific American September 2007], which have published more research and scientific papers than all but the US, Germany, Britain and Japan. [BBC Article September 10, 2007]
The gap is growing more each year and China is leaving other nation’s Knowledge Based Societies in the dust, plus consider all the 6000 Chinese spies stealing American technology in our country [GAO Report on Technology Spying] . China says it wants to be an “innovation oriented society by 2020,” you can see they think long-term, and you can bet that they will surpass the US GDP by 2018 or 2020. [The Economist August 2007].
10. Would an Unwritten Constitution Be Better?
Interesting comment on an unwritten constitution, as it would not ever have to be interpreted literally in the future after things change so drastically. One individual who recently asked to join our Online Think Tank suggested this. Does it makes sense? Well, it is known that many societies and civilizations have performed wonderfully without written Constitutions. Many in the US do not understand how that could be, but it is so. There certainly wouldn’t be problems with the changing of societies in future periods would there.
Many cringe at the thought, however all this mess with legislating from the bench in a way is changing the words of our Constitution and perhaps an upgrade is needed as well or an easy to recite spoken Constitution that is simple and covers the basics might be worthy of note? Just a thought, remember this is a Think Tank and we consider all, even if it does seem somewhat farfetched at the present.
Well, there are ten of the items we considered today, there are 33 in all today, yesterday we had 27 and the day before 40 items to discuss. What will we discuss tomorrow, well we shall wait and see. Sincerely, Lance.
“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance is a guest writer for Our Spokane Magazine in Spokane, Washington
Polished like gemstones in the river of time, the tales of Birbal’s wit and insight have delighted children and grownups across India for generations. These tales have entertained and taught people on all levels for hundreds of years. Although these tales are charming and amusing, they are not fictional. They are true stories of a wise man who lived in age old India in the palace of Emperor Akbar. Birbal served his Emperor with wit and wisdom, and he became so renowned that even today, parents and grandparents use these clever adventures as morality tales.
Birbal was the grand vizier and most trusted adviser of the Mughal emperor Akbar. Birbal’s duties at court were mostly military and administrative. He was a close friend of the emperor and was well known for his wit and wisdom.
One night, Emperor Akbar dreamed that he had lost all his teeth, except one. The next morning he invited all the astrologers of his kingdom to interpret this dream.
After a long discussion, the astrologers told Akbar that all his relatives would die before him. Akbar was very upset by this interpretation and sent them all away without any reward.
Later that day, Birbal entered the court. Akbar told Birbal his dream and asked him to interpret it. After thinking for a while Birbal replied that the Emperor would live a longer and more fulfilled life than any of his relatives. Akbar was pleased with Birbal’s explanation and rewarded him handsomely.
Another time Emperor Akbar and Birbal were taking a walk in the palace gardens. It was a nice summer morning and there were many crows happily playing around the pond. Akbar decided to test Birbal’s wit.
He asked Birbal how many crows there were in his kingdom. After a moment’s thought, Birbal replied, “There are ninety-five thousand four hundred and sixty-three crows”.
Amazed by his quick response, Akbar asked, “What if there are more?” Without hesitating Birbal replied, “If there are more crows, then some are visiting from other neighboring kingdoms”. “And what if there are less crows?” Akbar asked. “Then some crows from our kingdom have gone on holiday to other places”.
Although he was well loved by Emperor Akbar and the common people because of his wit and attention to justice, the other courtiers at Akbar’s court were jealous of Birbal and they continuously plotted his downfall, without success. Even Birbal’s death in battle was said to be caused by treachery rather then defeat. Akbar mourned for several months on hearing the news.
There are many books, videos, and CD ROMS available that have a rich collection of Birbal stories and are useful not only to children, but also young adults living outside of India. Amar Chitra Katha helps to reacquaint them with their heritage.
Victor Epand is an expert consultant for Krishna art, religious gifts from India, and Hare Krishna books. You can find the best marketplace for Krishna art, religious gifts from India, and Hare Krishna books at these sites for Krishna art, Birbal gifts from India, and Hare Krishna books.
SEO, search engine optimization
We all know that frivolous lawsuits today necessitate asset protection planning. Asset management teams are firms or groups, which help us protect our assets. These teams use their expertise in this area to advise their clients on prudent ways of protecting their assets.
These asset protection teams mainly work towards these four goals: Firstly, to protect one?s assets from lawyers and lawsuits; secondly, to guarantee complete financial privacy; thirdly, to preserve your estate for posterity; and, finally, to reduce personal and business taxes. They undertake a complete study of the legal framework at the state and the federal level, so as to be able to give their clients the best possible alternatives.
For example, they will advise the client on sheltering their home, auto, savings, and other assets from particular kind of lawsuits. Again, they might offer advice on protecting money in offshore havens safely and legally. They even offer advice on seemingly strange but extremely practical probabilities such as protecting assets against sudden eventualities like a divorce.
There are a number of groups and teams today, which offer such services across the length and breadth of the country. They specialize in their own specific areas and conduct business. For example, Donlevy-Rosen & Rosen PA handle asset protection and offshore trust matters. New York State Asset Protection and Elder Law Firm helps seniors avoid probate, save estate and income taxes and protect assets from nursing home costs. Inc. in Nevada offers a full line of corporate and asset protection products to corporations and family limited partnerships.
Choosing an asset protection team is an important decision. Remember, your hard earned savings or your dream house, your favorite SUV or your priced yacht is at stake. So it is always wise to do a thorough background study before you take a decision.
Asset Protection provides detailed information on Asset Protection, Asset Protection Trusts, Offshore Asset Protection, Asset Protection Strategies and more. Asset Protection is affiliated with Asset Management System.
In its pursuit to curb inflated tax deductions, the IRS revised the Charity Car Donation Tax Law. The revision eliminates loopholes and deficiencies that donors have learned to abuse to trade off better value for their old cars. The logic behind this is quite simple: taxpayers would benefit more in giving away their beat up cars in exchange for substantial tax cuts.
Since its execution, donors/taxpayers are limited to the price their donated vehicle fetches based on its actual value. In the event that the charitable institution uses or materially improves the vehicle, the donors/taxpayers may then deduct the total cost of the vehicle’s market value, which may, again, be reflected on their tax deductions.
Since the revised Car Donation Tax Law has come into effect, a slump in the number of donated cars has been observed. Charitable institutions have seen the dramatic decrease in the number of cars being given to charity and attribute this to the fact that taxpayers can now take advantage of tax exemptions based on the supposed resale value of their cars. They usually get much less than the expected price.
The Senate Finance Committee feels that improper handling of tax deductions from car donations is unfair to other taxpayers who end up subsidizing the unjust deductions.
Despite numerous criticisms from charities and previous donors, the committee remains undeterred. Donors feel that the new law is not as appealing as it once was, when tax benefits were preferred over the resale price that old vehicles may fetch.
Charities are still hoping that the slump is temporary. They look forward to bringing back the time when a lot of donors traded in their cars and that was before the new law was made effective.
Charity Car Donations provides detailed information on Charity Car Donations, Child Charity Car Donations, Catholic Charity Car Donations, Used Car Charity Donations and more. Charity Car Donations is affiliated with Charity Car Donations.
Learn how to get High Page Rank
On March 28, 2006 it will be the 27th anniversary of the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. I had just moved my family to South Jersey from York, Pennsylvania.
When I heard about the accident I got very nervous. On the Sunday after the accident I got in my car and drove to York. I picked up my daughter who I had left there to complete her last couple of months of High School. I picked her up and never took her back.
There was quite a bit of news about the accident at Three Mile Island in South Jersey, at least enough to cause me concern. In York, there was no news. The people didn’t know what was going on; certainly nothing serious.
I realized the news was in blackout in York. I packed up my daughter and headed for South Jersey, hoping that not too much of the fallout would drift our way. An evacuation of the area in Pennsylvania was eventually initiated.
Three Mile Island was a major disaster downplayed by the White House. Admiral Rickover presented a full report and was later sorry that he was not able to persuade President Carter to make a full disclosure of the event. I remember what the public was told. We were told that only a small amount of radiation had leaked out of the facility and that the public was not in danger.
What happened was that a reactor went into melt down and 10 years later it was still too dangerous to approach. Some folks that lived in the area got large awards for possible damage. These awards were given in secret. One woman was given an award for having a Down syndrome baby—possibly not caused by radiation—but she was paid anyway.
After the incident, the company who owned Three Mile Island requested that they be allowed to release a million gallons of contaminated water as steam. As one might expect, there was resentment that they would even suggest it.
There are many documents on the Internet about Three Mile Island. Just type Three Mile Island into your favorite search box.
There is a chronology of worldwide nuclear accidents at http://archive.greenpeace.org/comms/nukes/chernob/rep02.html.
In April of 1986 I was flying from Germany to England. I knew that a cloud of nuclear contaminants was coming from Chernobyl-4.
It was not a comfortable feeling. I wondered how much radiation I had been exposed to from the days of nuclear testing in Nevada to that date.
President Bush now wants to increase the number of nuclear reactors operating in the United States. After you’ve studied the tabulations at http://archive.greenpeace.org/comms/nukes/chernob/rep02.html you may not think it is such a great idea.
Just over thirty years ago I toured the nuclear reactors here in Idaho. There was a major nuclear accident at Arco just a few years before my visit. From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idaho_National_Laboratory we read “On January 3, 1961, the first fatal nuclear accident in the United States occurred at the NRTS. An experimental reactor called SL-1 (Stationary Low-Power Plant Number 1) was destroyed when a control rod was removed incorrectly leading to core meltdown and explosion. All three men working in the reactor were killed. Due to the extensive radioactive isotope contamination, all three had to be buried in lead coffins. The events are the subject of a book published in 2003, “Idaho Falls: The untold story of America’s first nuclear accident.”
The accident was vivid in the minds of the engineers and physicist we talked to at Arco. Doctors and nurses had little time to work on contaminated workers. They showered together to reduce nuclear exposure. There was no blackout on the Arco accident. I knew the details before I got to Arco.
Every precaution is taken to prevent disaster in nuclear operations. The problems come when automatic safety systems don’t work, when operators make mistakes or fail to make needed correction either because of error or lack of knowledge, or the corrective action is impossible.
When nuclear reactors are working safely, there is still the problem of nuclear waste. I worked on this over thirty years ago. Technology has improved since my day but there is tremendous cost in the stabilizing or isolating nuclear waste. Does your state want nuclear waste facilities? I didn’t think so. Some states object to nuclear waste being transported across their state lines.
Here is my take on nuclear operations: The past has shown that we have not been able to operate safely.
John T. Jones, Ph.D. (tjbooks@hotmail.com), a retired college professor and business executive, Former editor of an international engineering magazine. To learn more about Wealthy Affiliate University go to his info site. If you desire a flagpole to Fly Old Glory, go to the business site.
More info: http://www.InternetBusinessToolCenter.com
Business web site: http://www.AAAFlagpoles.com
SEO, search engine optimization