http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110624/wl_asia_afp/japandisasteraccidentnuclearsunflowers
TOKYO (AFP) – Campaigners in Japan are asking people to grow sunflowers, said to help decontaminate radioactive soil, in response to the Fukushima nuclear disaster that followed March's massive quake and tsunami. Volunteers are being asked to grow sunflowers this year, then send the seeds to the stricken area where they will be planted next year to help get rid of radioactive contaminants in the plant's fallout zone. The campaign, launched by young entrepreneurs and civil servants in Fukushima prefecture last month, aims to cover large areas in yellow blossoms as a symbol of hope and reconstruction and to lure back tourists. <more> Does it work? Apparently: http://www.mhhe.com/biosci/pae/botany/botany_map/articles/article_10.html Excerpt: "In February 1996, Phytotech, Inc., a Princeton, NJ-based company, reported that it had developed transgenic strains of sunflowers, Helianthus sp., that could remove as much as 95% of toxic contaminants in as little as 24 hours." So replace the blue tarp of shame with the happy yellow flower. T
