Nuclear Phobia

["D. Kosloff" <dkosloff@ncweb.com>]

Here in the USA, nuclear phobia springs from many sources.  First, there is
little awareness of natural radiation.  Often when people acknowledge the
existence of natural radiation, they fall back to the position that natural
radiation is different from man-made radiation.  The real introduction to
nuclear energy for most people was the detonation of the atomic bombs in
Japan.  This was followed by numereous horror movies wherin numereous
impossible bad effects were attributed to radiation.  Intellectual laziness
was a larger factor than secrecy.  Often when people are too lazy to learn
about something, they claim the information was kept from them.  One of the
early secrecy claims was that the Atomic Energy Commission  knew that
nuclear power was cheap and limitless and it therefore was being kept from
the people as part of a conspiracy.  Many of the early anti-nukes began
making claims that radiation was going to kill large numbers of people.  One
example was that nuclear power plants would only be able to employ old
workers who were about to die, because radiation would kill any plant
workers in a few years anyway.  In about 1954, John Hughes wrote an
excellant  book that was intended primarily to inform the general public
about the uses of radiation and nuclear power.  In 1970, I had to explain to
my mother-in-law that electricity from nuclear power plants was not
radioactive.  She remained skeptical.

Don Kosloff dkosloff@ncweb.com
Perry OH 44081

----- Original Message -----
> Sandy and all:
>
> The nuclear "phobia" has its origins in weapon programs and secrecy. The
> bad perception about nuclear power is a by-product of this secrecy.
> Everyone is scared of unknown, so education is the way, and the results,
> as you said, will show up after a generation. Politicians are not an
> exception and they will do anything will bring them some votes. In poor
> countries nuclear is not so feared and that is not a result of
> ignorance. Unfortunately, they cannot afford to go nuclear because of
> the high cost of the investition.
>
> A nice spring to all of you,
>
> Cristian
> cnicolau@nbnet.nb.ca


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