In recent weeks jellyfish have been successful in closing two nuclear reactor sites, in Scotland and Japan, also affecting a coal fired generating plant in Israel.
Fishing boat at Torness clearing jellyfish.
Starting on the 24th June swarms of jellyfish stopped Chuba Electric’s Hamaoka nuclear plant in Shimane, Japan. a week or so later on July 5 the Torness Nuclear plant in South East Scotland was closed by another massive swarm of jellyfish and within a week another swarm crippled the Hadera power station in Israel. As the news services seem confused as to whether the Hadera plant is Nuclear or not one cannot expect an invertebrate not generally credited with having a brain for making a mistake on this one. While the scientists are trying hard to mark this down to coincidence brought about by increases in jellyfish populations, it does leave room for other interpretations.
Jellyfish extracted from inlets at Hadera, Israel
Apparently increasing sea temperatures combined with overfishing of species that generally predate jellyfish are resulting in population explosions of the species. Quickly looking through stories on jellyfish there are not many instances of previous plant closures. Admittedly jellyfish have previously caused problems at some Red Sea desalination plants and we are in peak jellyfish season however it is nice to fantasize about a hive mind of intelligent activist jellyfish or even consider this of active evidence of James Lovelock’s Gaia principle where the earth will protect itself from destruction by human greed and stupidity. In fact that looks even more likely when you factor in the Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan and the two recent further earthquakes in the area in the past weeks, this morning’s one triggering a tsunami warning and evacuation of workers at Fukishima.
I will leave it up to you to decide or even comment suggestions of your own as to what is going on or which species will rise up next against the humans!
Thanks to Reuters for the images.
Kevan Shaw July 10, 2011
03 Oct 2011 at 12:17 pm | #
A lovely and creepy concept all at the same time - hive mind jellyfish sacrificing themselves to save the planet - although you did not say whether their selflessness ended in their deaths or not. I imagine the extraction process would have done them in if nothing else.
I would like to see sharks take their revenge next. In return for humans cold bloodedly chopping off their fins and then dumping them back into the ocean to drown, they could wait until an unsuspecting swimmer was far enough out and then nip off his appendages so that he too would have no way to move through the water.
And dolphins - they are due their pound of flesh, surely. First we poison them with mercury then bludgeon them to death or sell them into slavery. They are smart enough to think up something truly Machiavellian… I can’t wait!