Monday, December 31, 2012
Gov't Agreements Abound
It looks like we will see an agreement with the U.S. fiscal cliff...but there's also agreement between the DOE, the EPA, and WA state over Hanford delays.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Managing HLW
Here is a newly uploaded excerpt from the Heritage Foundation's Powering America "documentary" which I've discussed before:
Rep. Dan Burton Is An Anti-Vaxxer
I am watching C-Span and he's on there spouting nonsense. Vaccines do NOT cause autism.
Here's a recent clip of him at a Congressional hearing. The clip also includes the fraud Andrew Wakefield :
Here's a recent clip of him at a Congressional hearing. The clip also includes the fraud Andrew Wakefield :
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Speaking Of TV....
James Hansen is scheduled to speak about climate change on C-Span at 9:05 p.m. EST. There is a good discussion on the channel right now!
The God Problem On Book TV
The book is called "The God Problem: How A Godless Cosmos Creates" by Howard Bloom.
It's scheduled to appear at 7:00 p.m. Eastern and will probably replay later this weekend.
It's scheduled to appear at 7:00 p.m. Eastern and will probably replay later this weekend.
Friday, December 28, 2012
What's Wrong With This Headline?
The news is good. It's about a study that found that proton beam therapy works no better than intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). So why pay more? But protons are radiation as are the photons associated with IMRT.
Sakura Meet Rosemary & Meister
Sakura was the Fukushima robotic aide I covered in this post.
Here are a couple more. They all face hurdles:
Here are a couple more. They all face hurdles:
Krauss With A One-Two
A couple of short philosophical videos by theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss:
How Celebrities Went To War Against Science
A round-up of some of the celebrities who engaged in pseudo-science. They're just people too.
Nuclear Power Plant Flood Risk
The author of this piece did very well in touching base with the anti-nukes. However, it is important for nuclear facilities to prepare for climate change and not ignore it. And they don't have to wait for the NRC to prod them, either.
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Jerry Coyne Chimes In
Biologist Jerry Coyne chimes in on my last post about science and religion. He sides with Dawkins (and me!). I don't know when this talk was given, but it was uploaded to YouTube less than a week ago:
Physicist Criticizes Biologist Over Anti-Religious "Fundamentalism"
Peter Higgs, known for theorizing the recently discovered boson which carries his name, has criticized biologist Richard Dawkins over Dawkins' approach to dealing with religious believers.
What may motivate Dawkins is that the central paradigm of his science is evolution, and many religious leaders promote that evolution isn't true. There isn't much religious objection to physics, so Higgs hasn't had to deal with the same problems that Dawkins has.
I'm fundamentally (pun intended) with Dawkins. Higgs offers no reason not to be other than others in his field are religious. That's not a good reason.
What may motivate Dawkins is that the central paradigm of his science is evolution, and many religious leaders promote that evolution isn't true. There isn't much religious objection to physics, so Higgs hasn't had to deal with the same problems that Dawkins has.
I'm fundamentally (pun intended) with Dawkins. Higgs offers no reason not to be other than others in his field are religious. That's not a good reason.
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Treasure Island Rad Levels
I've written about the island before. Rad levels are pretty high at 80 mrem/hr.
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Radiation Induced Cancer Risk - Timing Is Important
According to Dr. Pandharipande, a Harvard professor of radiology.
(You can only read the first page unless you suscribe).
(You can only read the first page unless you suscribe).
Monday, December 24, 2012
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Flaws In Pipeline Leak Detection Systems
Detect leaks less than 20% of the time.
Recall that natural gas is a greater contributor to global warming than CO2. Even though when burned, natural gas produces less CO2 than coal, any natural gas leakage works against this benefit.
Recall that natural gas is a greater contributor to global warming than CO2. Even though when burned, natural gas produces less CO2 than coal, any natural gas leakage works against this benefit.
Science & Faith. Another Reconciliation Attempt?
In HuffPo.
It's hard to really understand what the author means by "faith". He seems to be arguing more for philosophy.
In any event, just because some things are not understood by humans or we've discovered some things that are counter-intuitive doesn't mean "faith" has anything to add. It doesn't.
It's hard to really understand what the author means by "faith". He seems to be arguing more for philosophy.
In any event, just because some things are not understood by humans or we've discovered some things that are counter-intuitive doesn't mean "faith" has anything to add. It doesn't.
Friday, December 21, 2012
A Lot Of Stupid In One Book
It's called, "The Politically Incorrect Guide To Science", but it should drop the word "politically".
It pretty much gets all the science-denial in one place - radiation is good for you, there is no global warming and biological evolution doesn't happen. (Thanks to the blog Pharyngula for pointing this piece of "work" out).
It pretty much gets all the science-denial in one place - radiation is good for you, there is no global warming and biological evolution doesn't happen. (Thanks to the blog Pharyngula for pointing this piece of "work" out).
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
What Do So Many People Have Against Science?
James Randi answers.
It's ironic that the interview appears in the Washington Times which is owned by the Unification Church.
It's ironic that the interview appears in the Washington Times which is owned by the Unification Church.
Monday, December 17, 2012
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Hanford Challenge Criticizes Hanford Progress
Hanford Challenge is your typical self-annoited appointed watchdog group.
They are critical of DOE's progress at Hanford.
It does seem like the DOE could be doing better.
They are critical of DOE's progress at Hanford.
It does seem like the DOE could be doing better.
Biased German Physician Faults WHO Fukushima Report
I'm referring to the WHO Fukushima Preliminary Dose Estimate Report which I provided a link to on the right hand side of this webpage.
What evidence does this physician have that the WHO really got it wrong? None. He's just finding them guilty by association with the IAEA and he's claiming that they've omitted discussions on the health effects.
That's because that report only deals with dose estimates. Health effects are to be discussed in a subsequent report which is due to be published this year (time is running out).
The WHO is yet to respond.
What evidence does this physician have that the WHO really got it wrong? None. He's just finding them guilty by association with the IAEA and he's claiming that they've omitted discussions on the health effects.
That's because that report only deals with dose estimates. Health effects are to be discussed in a subsequent report which is due to be published this year (time is running out).
The WHO is yet to respond.
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Sunlight Radiation Hormesis
So I was reading the latest issue of the Health Physics Journal and I see this really stupid letter by a guy named William B. Grant criticizing the UV Index working group on its work. The UVI working group primarily focuses on the cancer risk associated with UV radiation.
Grant accused them of not paying enough attention to the beneficial effects of UV radiation in areas other than bone health (ie, cancer risk reduction). He primarily used studies which suffered from the ecological fallacy to bolster his case.
Like the radiation hormesis proponents (or Intelligent Design proponents or global warming deniers) he has a website.
Grant accused them of not paying enough attention to the beneficial effects of UV radiation in areas other than bone health (ie, cancer risk reduction). He primarily used studies which suffered from the ecological fallacy to bolster his case.
Like the radiation hormesis proponents (or Intelligent Design proponents or global warming deniers) he has a website.
IDiot Tries To Raise Doubts On Biology
From the IDiot Institute (actually The Discovery Institute which tries to undermine biology in favor of the long debunked Intelligent Design, hence the name IDiot):
How's that model of the Designer looking?
How's that model of the Designer looking?
Friday, December 14, 2012
Wade Allison At It In Warsaw
Apparently he gave a talk to the World Nuclear Power Briefing called the "Road To Public Confidence In Nuclear Power" (see towards bottom of the webpage link).
Congrats Americans!
Most of you are not in denial of global warming.
The rest of you need an education....and not a pseudo-education from Rawls.
The rest of you need an education....and not a pseudo-education from Rawls.
Exelon Tells Employees To Tell Congress
To end wind power tax credits because it's hurting their profitability.
The Fukushima "50"
Those who helped control the plant during the crisis...actually more than fifty. Cool graphic at bottom of article.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
LA - This Is Very Troubling
Here's a <20 minute talk by Barbara Forrest of the National Center For Science Education called, "Religious Politics and Secular Values". It was posted on YouTube yesterday though it dates back to about a year ago. The focus is on Louisiana and the interplay between religion and politics there:
America - This Is Very Troubling
About 36% of Americans think that the changes we've experienced from climate change, are due to end times.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
How About Some Cheese With That Whine?
I've written about the International Hormesis Dose Response Society before (see my page, "Comparing The Creationist & Hormesis Cults", on the right hand side of this webpage) and I've written about Jerry Cuttler before (search his name).
Put the two together and you have a paper by him in the latest "journal" published by the society. It's titled "Commentary On The Appropriate Radiation Level For Evacuations". You will have to search for it to read it, and when you do you'll see that he's been repeating this over and over.
This is the opposite of science.
Instead of providing new evidence to support his claim, he attached a paper from 1990 to his.
It's almost 2013.
That's classic science denial.
Put the two together and you have a paper by him in the latest "journal" published by the society. It's titled "Commentary On The Appropriate Radiation Level For Evacuations". You will have to search for it to read it, and when you do you'll see that he's been repeating this over and over.
This is the opposite of science.
Instead of providing new evidence to support his claim, he attached a paper from 1990 to his.
It's almost 2013.
That's classic science denial.
Poisoning The Well
Good article which describes how even though injecting pollution into aquifers is against the regulations, a company can get exemptions. And with the current surge in domestic drilling for energy resources, that's what companies are doing.
Bang! There Goes That Theory!
It looks like there is a British television show called "Bang Goes The Theory" which tried to give the "truth about the effects of radiation".
But they didn't.
But they didn't.
Scientist Doesn't Like Science
You can always tell when they use the neologism of "scientism". When we apply the scientific method to everything, we fare better than when we don't. Yes, even ethics. When we observe and tabulate the effects of certain behaviors on others we can get data to help us decide whether the behaviors are more harmful than we might have first thought.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Climate Change Denier Clown
He is Englishman Lord Christopher Monckton at the international climate conference last week. He didn't go representing England, he doesn't have the technical skills to be qualified for that.
He went in disguise as sheikh from Burma!
Monday, December 10, 2012
Georgia's Rad Material Market
Not the U.S. state of Georgia, but the country. It seems to be part of an illicit market for radioactive material which could be used to make either a dirty bomb or a nuclear weapon.
The Santa Lie - Does It Hurt Kids?
Here's a Slate article that discusses the question and generally finds that because it fosters creativity it has some benefit. And of course, one day the children learn it was lie.
But what about this?:
But what about this?:
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Friday, December 7, 2012
Breast Cancer Radiotherapy - Less Is Better
Less total dose delivered in fewer, but larger treatments is better.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
And Don't Forget About Health Physics!
A good article on what is and is not a scientific debate and the role of the media.
Japan's Health Physics Deniers
Yup, Japan has them too, and some have been nuclear industry funding recipients.
One of them says that the linear, no threshold model is a "tool" and possibly not scientifically sound.
It may not be, but he needs to provide evidence to convince others, and he obviously hasn't.
I don't know what work he's done on salamanders or other animals, but it's sure is early to declare that there are no harmful effects.
One of them says that the linear, no threshold model is a "tool" and possibly not scientifically sound.
It may not be, but he needs to provide evidence to convince others, and he obviously hasn't.
I don't know what work he's done on salamanders or other animals, but it's sure is early to declare that there are no harmful effects.
Pseudoscience - The Shadow Of Science
This article describes what I've found to be true...the pseudosciences will always migrate to do what they can to look like legitimate science because real science earns so much respect.
Working against biology we have the Discovery Institute and working against health physics we have the International Dose-Response Society. They look reputable and scientific...they even have PhD's.
But they are peddling nonsense.
Working against biology we have the Discovery Institute and working against health physics we have the International Dose-Response Society. They look reputable and scientific...they even have PhD's.
But they are peddling nonsense.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Ban On CO2
That would be U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
I wonder why the article's author felt compelled to find a climatology denier to interview.
I wonder why the article's author felt compelled to find a climatology denier to interview.
Fukushima - >80% Of Homes Remain Contaminated
About 100,000 homes was the estimate of the total number requiring decontamination.
IDiot Needs Focus
Here's biologist, but biology denier, Doug Axe attempting to raise doubts about evolution (and sell a book):
Africa - Getting Energized
Kenya is scheduled to have its first nuke plant by 2022:
Meanwhile, Ghana and Morocco are scheduled to open large solar power plants.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Earth's Rad Belts Are Highly Dynamic
Remember the two space probes launched a couple of months ago to study the Earth's radiation belts?
They've begun to transmit unexpected data.
They've begun to transmit unexpected data.
"Don't Criticize Science When It Doesn't Give You The Answer You Thought You Knew"
Here's a wonderful Forbes article (Forbes of all places!) criticizing some of our Congressmen for promoting anti-vaxxers (the false allegation that vaccines cause autism, they don't).
Genetic Background Matters
This study shows that it matters in relating skin cancer risk to UV exposure, but it also matters for other cancer risks and ionizing radiation.
Many people make the mistake of thinking that the linear, no threshold risk model applies to individuals, but it doesn't. It applies to a population. An individual may be at less or greater risk than the population as a whole. And different populations can have different radiation cancer risks. This should be obvious in the case of UV radiation where darker skinned populations are at less risk than lighter skinned ones, but there can also be traits which cause differential ionizing radiation responses.
Many people make the mistake of thinking that the linear, no threshold risk model applies to individuals, but it doesn't. It applies to a population. An individual may be at less or greater risk than the population as a whole. And different populations can have different radiation cancer risks. This should be obvious in the case of UV radiation where darker skinned populations are at less risk than lighter skinned ones, but there can also be traits which cause differential ionizing radiation responses.
TEPCO Considers Giant Net To Control Contaminated Fish
This sort of thing was done before to minimize the spread of Hg contaminated fish in 1974.
Diet & Radiation Destroy Brain Tumor Cells
In mice. Those provided with a high fat, low carb diet fared better than those with a standard diet.
Q&A At An Anti-Nuke Conference
I can't embed the video, but it's here, from the recent Chicago anti-nuke conference, featuring Arnie Gundersen (I don't know who is at his side).
It's interesting to see how they maintain fear among themselves.
It's interesting to see how they maintain fear among themselves.
Anti-Nukes Visit Old Chicago Waste Site
They say to keep the risks of nuclear power in the public's mind, but if it's so risky why are they there?
Monday, December 3, 2012
Climatology Deniers Write Stupid Letter
Not in a science journal like the Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, but in the Financial Post!
For a resounding criticism of it, read this.
For a resounding criticism of it, read this.
When More Medical Radiation Is Good
When targeting lung cancers with it which have evolved resistance to drugs.
Teens Dying Curb Sunbed Tanning Industry
Yeah, not a good thing to contribute to kids' cancer. And where have we seen this line before (think - fossil fuel industry and global warming or nuclear industry and LNT or religious organizations and evolution)?:
“Though they don’t have much in the way of scientific argument, they do their best to obfuscate.”
“Though they don’t have much in the way of scientific argument, they do their best to obfuscate.”
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Radiation Issue In Indiana Town?
Possibly due to fly ash, but the EPA doesn't agree with local "expert".
Bashing Nuclear Power
The Nuclear Energy Information Service is holding a two day conference in Chicago, starting yesterday. Their confirmed list of speakers (provided on their website) are pretty much the same anti-nuclear folks of decades past.
Video's of yesterday's talks are here.
Arnie Gundersen has posted his talk on his website.
Video's of yesterday's talks are here.
Arnie Gundersen has posted his talk on his website.
The Guardian On Cumbria
The Guardian is a British newspaper and Cumbria is the proposed high level radioactive waste disposal site. Here are a series of short videos posted by the newspaper where a reporter gets different viewpoints from different folks:
Saturday, December 1, 2012
CO2 Could Reduce Crop Yields
It almost certainly will in a particular region for a particular crop, but it may help certain crop yields in other regions. Some people focus only on the fact that CO2 is consumed by plants as a part of photosynthesis, so the first thought is that rising CO2 should be good. But rising CO2 also causes temperature increases, droughts and flooding which can be worse.
High Thyroid Doses To 178 Fukushima Workers
According to this article describing the draft WHO report on Fukushima.
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