Cassini

[Michael Burba <Michael.Burba@UC.Edu>]

Last night about 2320 I was channel surfing and came across a press
conference replay on C-span 2 at the National Press Club.  I am doing
this from a tired memory and may make mistakes on spelling of names
and organizations since I didn't take written notes.  Bruce Gragner
of the Florida Coalition for Justice and Peace was speaking of their
upcoming protest at Cape Kennedy to stop the launch.  On October 6
they plan to have some people led by 97 year old Louise Franklin-
Remirez (her name was on the deadly radiation sites from a few weeks
ago) go sit on the launch pad in protest of the launch.  Bruce made
statements such as, there are plans to have nuclear powered mining
communities on the moon and Mars by 2007 and rockets powered by
nuclear reactors are being developed.  Our friend Michio Kaku spoke
about the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) numbers.  He says he
studied every single number.  He claims the 1 in a million chance of
a catastrophe is wrong.  The odds are 1 in 20 that the rocket will
fail and cause a disaster leading to many deaths and the loss of the
Kennedy Space Center.  He stated the EIS did not assume the winds
blow and the path of contamination would not be two square miles, but
hundreds of thousands of square miles as in the Russian satelite
which crashed and burned in Canada.  Several other speakers were
heard; an oncologist from California and someone from a Women's
International League of something.  Again, I,m sorry about specifics
because I was dozing off.

The one area where we can have an impact is to write, phone, e-mail
or fax the White House to give support for the mission. Bruce
Gragner's organization plans to petition the President to stop the
mission.  We as individuals and the local chapters of radiation
organizations we belong to should inform the President of our support
for this mission so he doesn't decide to stop it.

Standard disclaimer...my opinion only

Michael J. Burba
Assistant RSO
University of Cincinnati
Michael.Burba@UC.EDU