[ RadSafe ] The hot and cold of history & journalistic credibility

Mon Feb 5 13:03:12 CST 2007

I agree with your conclusion but you should not overreact yourself when a person would expose his or her total disagreement for nuclear energy. I found some people on this list (not pointing to you Ruth) at least as radical then some green activists.(I have the opportunity to speak off-line to some of you about political issues as well....)I don't believe that most opposing nuclear power are "anti-science".

I am currently completing a master degree in environmental studies. Why ? To be able to understand BOTH sides of the equation and to think outside the normal Health Physics box for a change, and you know what ?  It feels good !

I agree with anyone on this list that nuclear power is zero CO2 emission. But we have also to realize that nuclear power comes with its share of ...long term issues like high level waste. If you place yourself in the shoes of a "sustainable development person", shoveling your rad waste to the next generations may not be an answer as well. So that person could easily say "no" to nuclear as an option because of this LOGICAL thinking. Accepting this fact, we should make all the efforts to improve our sale pitch on nuclear energy instead of blaming the media. You probably know that some companies are working on CO2 capture power plants that would develop very low greenhouse effect gases and still produce about 800 MW of energy using natural gas ? What will the nuclear industry will be doing if such project is accepted by the population and even realized  ?  Still blaming the media ?

It is time to fight on another level. There is no doubt in my mind that a 1000 MW nuclear reactor about 100 miles from a big city is almost a win-win situation (even from the standpoint of environmental impacts), especially in a country that suffers from energy bulimia. I agree that perhaps we did "dig our own grave" by stopping nuclear power and allowing on the other hand, more coal power generation instead, we are loosing on both sides. But can you blame the media to make headlines with fear of nuclear, even in 2007 ? When you need (in Canada at least) an RSO for a simple nuclear gauge ? When the government will site you like a criminal for not securing a few microcuries of P-32 ? Are we always there, experts in rad safety,when the public is saying that nuclear power is not SAFE ?  

My opinion only.

Stéphane Jean-François, Eng., CHP
Manager, Environmental and Health Physics services
Merck Frosst Canada
514-428-8695
514-428-8670
stephane_jeanfrancois at merck.com
www.merckfrosst.com

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl [mailto:radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl] On Behalf Of Ruth Sponsler
Sent: Friday, February 02, 2007 4:04 PM
To: jjcohen at prodigy.net; howard long; Bill; radsafe at radlab.nl
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] The hot and cold of history & journalistic credibility

Climate change and nuclear power are _not_ the same
thing.

Nuclear energy has been under attack by the
anti-science crowd for some 30 years...but the science
is more and more in its favor, showing a supurb safety
record and also showing that low dose-rate radiation
is harmless or perhaps beneficial for living
organisms.  The anti-nuclear groups are pretty well
scientifically discredited.

The science over in the weather dept. is showing, more
and more, that _fossil fuels_ are affecting climate. 
If we hadn't listened to the %&&*% anti-nuke
activists, we might have less of a climate problem.

Climate and nuclear power are two _very different_
issues.  It's really a shame when they get confused
like this.

It drives me equally up the wall when people (not on
this list) that say they want to do something against
climate change are against nuclear power...our biggest
non-CO2 energy source.

Let's go with scientific opinion in both the case of
nuclear power and the case of climate.  More reactors
means less CO2.

~Ruth

--- jjcohen at prodigy.net wrote:

> Howard & all,
>     I have a theory to account for what we have
> observed regarding the
> public's perception of global warming, nuclear
> power, environment
> degradation, and many other "threats" currently
> facing humanity.
> Simply stated, I hypothesize that there is a
> unwritten rule in all
> journalism schools that any student displaying an
> understanding or aptitude
> for science is precluded from graduating and
> attaining a degree in
> journalism. I can't prove my theory, but it
> certainly would explain a lot
> about what we have been observing. What do you
> think?
> Jerry Cohen
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "howard long" <hflong at pacbell.net>
> To: "Bill" <wwebber2004 at comcast.net>;
> <radsafe at radlab.nl>
> Sent: Friday, February 02, 2007 10:22 AM
> Subject: [ RadSafe ] The hot and cold of history
> 
> 
> > Howard Maccabee PhD MD is an LLNL physicist turned
> radiation oncologist
> and founder of Doctors for Disaster Preparedness. I
> have seen him exposed to
> dozens of presentations on global warming by Harvard
> astrophysicist Sallee
> Balliunas, Willy Soon, Springer, Moore, Balling and
> many others. I was his
> guest at an SF presentation featuring Michael
> Crichton MD, who started out
> supporting the movement but found data showed the
> opposite of what the
> carbon tax collectors claim, thus "The State of
> Fear" on my waiting room
> table.
> >   Howard Long
> 
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