If my fragile and incomplete mental picture of the reactor challenges in Japan is accurate, the most pressing need is to get water to the reactors to cool things down into controllable temperature zones and to keep various hot bits covered.

Discussing this on ETS will not physically solve this problem, but perhaps we can use the story to exercise the brain trust in suggesting ways of that could work. It feels a bit like helping which I like better than the helpless alternative, and who knows what we might come up with?

So:

1. How much water do they need?

2. If that amount of water was delivered to the site, are there systems that would let them easily use it?

3. Is there infrastructure in place that could be used to deliver enough water to the site, even if it means converting it from its different intended use?

4. Is there new infrastructure that could be put in place quickly enough to get the needed water to the site?

5. Do we know how far the site is from big enough water sources like the ocean, big lakes, and rivers?

6. Is container delivery of water a viable solution?

7. Is onsite generation by water-from-air technology a viable solution?

And then there are the smart questions that those who understand the reality better than I can suggest!