tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944796799720738820.post8321929064570082361..comments2013-10-28T22:46:53.202+00:00Comments on Strange News From The Plankton: A reminder of riskPlumbagohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04517664753686599228noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944796799720738820.post-76193242833798682582011-07-22T10:39:50.253+01:002011-07-22T10:39:50.253+01:00A harder task, at least in terms of doing so witho...A harder task, at least in terms of doing so without sounding too pejorative, would be to summarise in one sentence the relationship that many in the environmental movement have towards nuclear energy. <br /><br />Because of their interest in environmental issues (fed, largely, by what scientists have been able to say about the Earth), this should be a better-informed demographic. At least in theory. But there just seems to be black-and-white thinking around nuclear energy, in spite of the actual grey we know about the subject. <br /><br />It's clearly not a good thing to release radionuclides into the environment, but to be grown-up about it one needs to consider both the quantitative scale of such contamination in case of accidents, as well as what the alternatives for generating power are. CO2 is safe from a toxicology perspective at the levels we've raised it to, but its effects are <i>far</i> more malign from a climatology perspective.Plumbagohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04517664753686599228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944796799720738820.post-55157501417006664152011-07-21T16:00:31.361+01:002011-07-21T16:00:31.361+01:00"the public's scepticism is a reasonable ..."the public's scepticism is a reasonable approach to a relatively complicated technology with a shady association with the military"<br /><br />That is an excellent way of summarizing it in one sentence, which is hard to do! <br /><br />James AachAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944796799720738820.post-58593569706670662872011-07-21T11:45:45.182+01:002011-07-21T11:45:45.182+01:00Thanks for the pointer. I can't promise to re...Thanks for the pointer. I can't promise to read it (not least because I have a never-ending stack of other things to read), but it's good if those involved on the inside with nuclear energy try to make it less mysterious to the wider public. In part, the public's scepticism is a reasonable approach to a relatively complicated technology with a shady association with the military. Anyway, thanks for dropping by!Plumbagohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04517664753686599228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944796799720738820.post-81862581889725739062011-07-20T18:46:33.615+01:002011-07-20T18:46:33.615+01:00You might find this an interesting look at the sub...You might find this an interesting look at the subject of atomic fun....<br /><br />FYI: “Rad Decision: A Novel of Nuclear Power” gives an insider's view of the US nuclear industry and includes an event very similar to Fukushima. (Same reactor type, same initial problem.) The novel is free online at the moment at http://RadDecision.blogspot.com . (No adverts, nobody makes $$$ off this site.) Paperback at Amazon. Reader reviews at the homepage and Amazon say the book is an excellent source of perspective for the lay person. Few understand how atomic power really works day to day -- including most scientists, academics and journalists. The author has been working at nuke plants for 25 years.<br /><br />“I got to about page four and I was hooked, I couldn’t put it down… It was very easy to read." -- DAVID LEVY, noted science author and comet discoverer.<br /><br />"I'd like to see Rad Decision widely read." - STEWART BRAND, founder of The Whole Earth Catalog.<br /> <br />VICKY commented at the homepage: "Thanks for making this available online…. Your novel explains the workings of a nuclear plant, so that a layperson can understand. A very suspenseful read!"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com