Attack of the Radioactive Giant Jellyfish

OK, well, I lied on that post about being a suicide blogger. I decided that I am going for the sensationalism! We're doomed! Giant Radioactive Jellyfish are Attacking Japan's Nuclear Power Plants!


Death and destruction! The world holds its breath as Japan waits for the inevitable Armageddon and apocalyptic end!... Read on!


As if Japan doesn't already have enough troubles to deal with concerning nuclear power plants and hyperventilating journalists telling us that it's the end of the world, now we're under attack by jellyfish.... Again!


No, these are not the giant jellyfish that, quite coincidentally, attacked Japan and that I reported on the very morning of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami lead to the nuclear accident at Fukushima nuclear power plant! I faithfully wrote about it in Japan's Attack of the Giant Jellyfish from Space that reported:


Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. It's true! It has been reported from Hiroshima, of all places, that hordes of millions of giant jellyfish have invaded the seas around Western Japan. These jellyfish are massive with some weighing in at over 210 kilograms!

Don't believe me? Well here's proof! The UPI reports:
HIROSHIMA, Japan, March 9 (UPI) -- Giant jellyfish, thought to be from Chinese waters, have been floating into the Sea of Japan and wreaking havoc on the Japanese fishing industry, officials say.

Millions of the creatures, each weighing almost 450 pounds with a bell reaching almost 7 feet across and trailing a tangle of long, stinging tentacles, have moved into the Sea of Japan every summer since 2002, LiveScience.com reported Wednesday.

Armadas of giant jellyfish, Nemopilemanomurai, probably originate in the coastal waters of China, Shin-ichi Uye of Hiroshima University said. Uye said he has documented the movement of young giant jellyfish from Chinese waters into the Sea of Japan on currents, and the growth of these jellyfish along the way.


Go to here to also see news photos and video footage of these giant monsters wrecking havoc on the Japanese coast.


But now, as the summer heat is upon us, along with the Japanese people and businesses lowering their electrical consumption by 30 ~ 40%, Japanese nuclear power plants are working over time to fill Japan's soaring electricity needs as the air conditioners need to be turned on. 


So what timing! Just like out of some Japanese monster movie from the 1960's, some nuclear power plants in Shimane prefecture have come under attack from jellyfish! You cannot make this stuff up! 


Reuters reports:

TOKYO, June 24 (Reuters) - Jellyfish sounded the retreat on Friday after blocking an all-important seawater cooling pipe at a western Japanese nuclear power plant, the plant operator said.

Several Japanese utilities are struggling to meet peak summer demand due to safety concerns after a March 11 earthquake and tsunami triggered a nuclear crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co's plant in Fukushima, north of Tokyo.

The jellyfish managed to block the cooling system at one reactor at the Shimane plant on Thursday, prompting the operator to lower its generation capacity by 6 percent.

The Hiroshima-based operator, Chugoku Electric Power Co , said on Friday the jellyfish, common in Japanese waters during the summer, had backed off and operation was back to normal.

It was the first time jellyfish, about 20-30 cm long (8-12 inches), had interrupted operations at the Shimane plant since 1997, a company spokesman said.

See the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRjEuRHfxyo The news report also added a note that I have written on before. It said:

Not resuming operations at the reactors would lead to power shortages around Japan, while replacing all energy generated by nuclear reactors with thermal power generators would raise costs for industry and consumers.

"Would raise costs for consumers"!? Probably an award, or at least a nomination, for the "Biggest Understatements of 2011 Award."  

I'm wondering how the next Keith Harmon Snow, Arnie Gundersen or Michio Kaku clone will twist this attack of jellyfish upon a cooler at a nuclear power plant into the next coming of the Four Horsemen of Apocalypse?