gregladen | March 14, 2011A Defense of Nuclear Power As a Second Best Option
In light of the nuclear power plant partial meltdowns in Japan, there are calls for not expanding the U.S. nuclear power plant capacity, and even shutting down existing plants. What bothers me about this is that there is no discussion of how we make up the energy production shortfall...
Read the rest at MTMB
The Fukushima legacy
At one end of the hyperbole scale we have Helen "If you love this planet" Caldicott, who raises the specter of "cancer and genetic diseases" if things get any worse at the growing list of nuclear power reactors…
gregladen | March 14, 2011Also born today was Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli, the guy who identified the canals om Mars. And, in 1960, lisp was introduced, thus allowing the existence of emacs!
gregladen | March 14, 2011A second hydrogen explosion rocked a crippled Japanese nuclear reactor Monday, spewing a giant cloud of smoke into the air and injuring 11 workers, officials said.
The blast was so large it could be felt 25 miles away.
The plant's operator, however, insisted that radiation levels around the facility remained within legal limits.
source
Video:
For more information and essays about the Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Reactor problems in Japan CLICK HERE.
gregladen | March 14, 2011The ABC News web site has a remarkable set of images that use javascript and your mouse cursor to compare before and after. Here. Hat Tip: Joe
For more information and essays about the Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Reactor problems in Japan CLICK HERE.
gregladen | March 13, 2011... according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. Maybe. This seems not to be an official prediction stated my the JMA, as it does not appear on their web site, but agency director Takashi Yokata has made the statement to news agencies. There have been, of course, numerous aftershocks already. A 3.8 mag aftershock occurred in the immediate vicinity of the earlier 9.0 quake just as I was writing up this blog post. A 4.9 magnitude quake occurred a half hour ago. Oh, wait, there was another one down in Okinawa, 3.7 magnitude, a few seconds ago. It is impossible to keep up! Over the last…
gregladen | March 13, 2011I keep wanting to know this so I put it here:
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Tokyo Time
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gregladen | March 13, 2011This webby thing called Opinionati is asking: Creation Museum denies admission to two men: What do you think?
Good luck trying to figure out how to use the site. But I thought you'd like to see it. Hat tip: Joe
gregladen | March 12, 2011Seriously. It's below the fold:
...
That, according to reports, is NOT a human. It is something else.
Details here.
gregladen | March 12, 2011On Skeptically Speaking:
This week, we take another look at water, and what happens to it after it goes down the drain. Researcher Liz Borkowski joins us for a look at the connection between sewage and civilization, and the struggle to introduce modern sanitation in the developing world. And we'll talk to Dr. Alistair Boxall, about the sources and effects of pharmaceutical contaminants in the environment.
This show records live on Sunday, 3/13 at 6 pm MT, and airs on CJSR on Friday, 3/18 at 6 pm MT. The podcast will be available to download by Noon MT on Sunday, 3/20.
Details.
gregladen | March 12, 2011News about the Nuke Plants:
Meltdown "most unlikely," nuke industry rep says
The explosion at a nuclear plant in Fukushima, Japan destroyed a building that houses a reactor Saturday, triggering a radiation leak and fears of a nuclear meltdown.
But a representative of the global nuclear power industry asserts the possibility of a meltdown is "diminishing by the hour," making a meltdown "most unlikely."
News about the death toll
Hundreds dead in tsunami after massive 8.9 quake devastates Japan
Police said 200 to 300 bodies were found in the northeastern coastal city of Sendai. Another 88…
gregladen | March 12, 2011From the Roman aqueducts to the latest research on what happens when you turn the tap, it's an hour on water. Dr. William James joins us for a lesson on the history and technology of municipal water systems. And we'll talk to University of Toronto researcher Dr. Marc Grynpas about the science and safety of water fluoridation.
TONIGHT Last Night! on Skeptically Speaking.
I wrote this notice two days ago but forgot to hit "Publish" .... well, anywah, the pod cast for Skeptically Speaking generally comes out late Sunday, so tune in then if you did not catch the show live.
Also, Sunday Morning (…
gregladen | March 12, 2011I know a lot of pro-nukers are going to say things like "That's not really an explosion" or "the plants behaved exactly as expected" and "bla bla bla" but whatever, here's the film:
gregladen | March 12, 2011Now that space shuttle Discovery has returned from its last mission, NASA workers will start getting it ready for its next voyage -- to a museum.
NASA is retiring its shuttle fleet this year, and 21 museums across the country are vying for the chance to become a retirement home for one of the iconic space shuttles.
I remember when John Glen's space capsule toured and was displayed briefly in the State Capitol in Albany, in the same place they displayed the bodies of various touring dead presidents and other similar memorabilia. It would be really cool to visit the Space Shuttle in some…
gregladen | March 11, 2011Three days ago I happen to glance out the front window of our townhouse and found myself staring at a bald eagle swooping by, presumably after picking up one of the neighborhood dogs or small children1 A few minutes later, the doorbell rang. When I opened the door, no one was there but a package was on the stoep. And in the package was my new The Crossley ID Guide: Eastern Birds! It was almost a Harry Potter moment.
The Crossley ID Guide is a unique and special bird book. It is not exactly a pocket field guide, unless you are the Jolly Green Giant and have pockets the size of ... well,…
gregladen | March 11, 2011A planet is considered "Class M" if it can sustain human life1. We live on a Class M planet. However, the conditions that make a planet conducive to life may change over time, so it is important to have instrumentation and gauges and stuff that will keep track of important variables.
It is estimated that when about one trillion tonnes of fossil carbon is released into the atmosphere by human activities, we will have reached a critical point, at which time we may have to leave the planet2.
We're nearly half way there.
James Hrynyshyn at the blog Class: M has devised a sort of tricorder…
gregladen | March 10, 2011Unions and Democracy are no longer major factors in the Badger State:
Wisconsin lawmakers voted Thursday to strip nearly all collective bargaining rights from the state's public workers in one of the strongest blows to the power of unions in years.
The state's Assembly passed Republican Gov. Scott Walker's explosive proposal 53-42 Thursday. The state's Senate approved it the night before after using a procedural move to bypass its AWOL Democrats.
Details
gregladen | March 10, 2011Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is upset that the federal government has squelched his right to own a super-toilet, leaving him with less freedom than women, who are still allowed to have abortions. It's an unusual comparison, but it's meant to underline his opposition to the executive branch's involvement in encouraging energy efficiency.
In a Senate hearing, Paul laid in to Kathleen Hogan, deputy assistant energy secretary for efficiency, for imposing restrictions and fines meant to encourage people to use environmentally friendly appliances.
Read the rest of this incredible story here.
And the…