Nuclear Fears

Where has all the time gone?

We are 9 days into the 8.9 earthquake/tsunami in Japan. Four of the six nearby nuclear reactors are out of control due to various reasons. With the death toll exceeding 8,000 and the missing even higher, the loss of life connected with these reactors still seems to be ZERO. Yet the media gives the majority of its coverage to radiation fears.

West coast scam artists are getting $2,000 for a $1 bottle of KI pills.Almost no actual radiation levels have been reported, and certainly no comparisons have been given to background or medical radiation levels.

I thank my lucky stars that I passed on the Nuclear Engineering option back in the early '60s when I had made plans to go to graduate school.

Fear trumps facts. We've seen it in the dioxin scares, although much this issue seems backed by people and lawyers who see a way to cash in.

My solution? Marie Curie (two-time Nobel physics prize winner) said it best: 'Nothing is to be feared. It is to be understood.'


Larry