Re: FW: News Media and How to Deceive

[Holloway3@aol.com]

Not long ago, I came upon a web site produced by a high school senior.  The
theme was anti-nuclear power.  She stated that nuclear power plants increase
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and that nuclear power plant workers are 5
times more likely to get cancer than the general population.  I sent her an
email and asked for her sources for these "facts".   I asked her to provide
the details of how nuclear power plants emit carbon dioxide.  I also pointed
out that since 20% of the population gets cancer, her claim implied that all
nuclear power plant workers would get cancer.  She replied that she didn't
remember where her numbers were from, but that her original writing was for a
high school class in which the teacher believed all sorts conspiracy theories.
She said that she deliberately told the teacher things that he would believe,
in order to get a good grade.   Sometimes I think that correcting all this
misinformation is like trying to empty the ocean with a spoon.  The attitude
of that high school senior is fairly common in organizations such as
Greenpeace, in my opinion.  

                                           R. Holloway
                                           holloway3@aol.com
************************************************************************
The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription
information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html