A Side Dish To Go With Your RIBs & BEIR

This is extra explanatory material for the series.  It need not be read to understand the series.

The topic is causal criteria. 

Quality Anti-Nuclear Propaganda

This is pretty much standard fare, with same the old, cherry-picked scientists, half-truths, anecdotal evidence, NYAS book, kiddie photos, etc.  Where it does excel is its production qualities.  I will give them that.

That said, the Chernobyl thyroid cancers described are real and there will be an increase in other cancers.  Time will tell how well epidemiology can detect them and give us some science-based insights on the totality of the consequences.

Good News For Some, Bad For Others

Depending on which side of the nuclear energy position you are on.

Japan has restarted one of its reactors.

Why Does A Lie Always Follow "If I Lied..."???

I recently discussed the flaws in an LNT-denialists arguments.  Let's play a similar game with a fear mongerer.  Enter Dr. Helen Caldicott:

RIBs & BEIR P1

This will be a series of posts on the underlying science supporting BEIR VII.  There have been a number of comments reflecting various degrees of misunderstanding (and outright ignorance) of science and epidemiology.

First, no science is perfect.  We don't even fully understand gravity.  Science is about finding the best explanation that fits the facts.  If you want to play the "science isn't perfect therefore X", read no further.  If you have evidence for X, then that becomes a part of science.  We can test evidence.

BBC Report - Fukushima

Here's a series of BBC videos about Fukushima, and yet little is shot there and it lacks specific detail. ...they bounce from place to place.  But it does have some good visuals, useful for teaching others.

Pt. 1 - Basic reactor design.  They are quite creative at using props to visualize what happened.

The Other LNT Deniers

For fun contrast, here is an old review by an anti-nuclear group, who seemed to have been in denial about BEIR VII because LNT isn't super-linear!  They think the BEIR committee is too loosey-goosey!

http://www.nuclear-free.com/english/beirVII.htm

HA! HA!

Science is a process...you take enough folks with enough expertise and perceived objectivity, and you let them get to work on the evidence.  And that's what happened in BEIR VII (and previous ones)...and those with their preconceived notions about what the outcomes SHOULD be...go into denial. 

And yet, the process is the best process we have!

At least anti-government regulation LNT Denialist-In-Chief, S. Fred Singer was consistently against the LNT: