RE: Request for suggestion

["Franta, Jaroslav" <frantaj@aecl.ca>]

You wrote :
> 
> Trust will NOT be restored by comparative body counts (eg., "Chernobyl
killed
> 1000 people , but coal killed 1002; hence nuclear is safer."

	--We are not talking about a slight difference. The difference is
a factor of 1000 or more, >10,000 vs <10 deaths per year on average. This
difference is not subsantially changed by different opinions about trust,
unless they claim that there will be several meltdowns per year.

<><><><><><><><><><>

COMMENT:

This correction was well deserved. Good.

As far as the public is concerned though, trust is required to some extent
to believe this "factor of 1000" in the face of constant media reports of
thousands of victims of the Chernobyl disaster (not to mention some
Ukrainian officials who also continue to support these ridiculous figures,
in spite of UNSCEAR assurances to the contrary.... such as the recent letter
by Lars-Erik Holm).

For example, I recall from my university days ('80s) that Rosalie Bertell
garnered a great deal of trust among students (especially
non-science/engineering ones), whereas no-one knew anything about Bernard
Cohen. Regretable but true. A good number of those students were in
journalism and political science (& active with PIRGs, Greenpeace, etc.) --
they're the ones who invite speakers like Bertell to universities. Many have
since found work in the various media & in politics, and continue to
propagate the antinuke message, except now with much bigger budgets than
what they had to run their sudent newspapers.
Bertell received the Right Livelyhood "Alternative Nobel Prize" -- Cohen
didn't. People notice this sort of thing... it gets lots of press coverage.

Sorry, I don't have any great suggestions to offer (but I did do my part in
fighting the antis in school, armed with references such as the books & HPJ
articles by a certain B. L. Cohen....).

Jaro
frantaj@aecl
************************************************************************
The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription
information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html