There is a lot of debate on the web about nuclear power. This is a different kind of take on the issue. Our author explains how the emotional aspects of the danger of nuclear power has to be taken into consideration. I’m sure there are many who would argue that only the rational arguments should be taken into consideration.
However, the advocates of nuclear power have cast every kind of insult at their opponents ranging from tree hugger to murderer (that’s right, since using coal power can increase death from particulate matter, opposing nuclear power is murder), I think the use of the irrational on that side is already well established.
James Pilant
In any debate over nuclear power, the people calling for a “rational” discussion tend to be proponents of nuclear power. In response, those in the “anti-nuclear” camp will often adopt the “rational” vocabulary of their “pro-nuclear” counterparts, basing their arguments on issues of cost and statistical risk (and perhaps some case studies to prove the viability of renewable sources of energy). And thus, there emerges a tacit consensus between thes … Read More
Predictable, I wonder why it took so long. As radiation is detected in larger and large amounts further and further away from the damaged nuclear plants, I guess things just started to get annoying. So, we’re just going to give all those nasty news agencies a good talking to!
James Pilant
'The supposedly free democratic nation of Japan, which supposedly values and promotes freedom of speech, has officially issued orders to telecommunication companies and webmasters to remove content from websites that counter the official government position that the disaster is over and there is no more threat from the radiation. The government charges that the damage caused by earthquakes and by the nuclear accident are being magnified by irresp … Read More
I like the current one where there are more women than men. But that, of course, is merely my personal preference, I have no practical rationale.
There is something vaguely funny about radiation causing more male births. I’m sure there are a number of good jokes in there. However, it does demonstrate that our genetic structure gets played with when radiation changes in level.
Read the article. It’s fun.
James Pilant
A World with More Men than Women The idea might seem quite appealing to some men, especially those who have unprocessed overriding issues to deal with, however the likelihood of that happening, even in the short term seems to be the findings of scientists at the Helmholtz Zentrum München, Germany. They analyzed data on population U.S. and 39 European countries for the period 1975 to 2007, and found that this is in fact a trend. As women live long … Read More
Greenpeace in its effort to bring attention to Mattel’s use of rogue paper companies in Sumatra hangs a banner on one of their buildings (they also bring in a barbie look alike). The paper company in Sumatra destroys tiger habitat and is big into deforestation.
Let’s join Greenpeace’s effort to discourage Mattel from using this brand of paper. You don’t have to agree with all of Greenpeace’s philosophy. This is a good fight.
Barbie gets dumped as part of a new campaign by Greenpeace targeting the toy industry for its connections to deforestation in Indonesia.
SHE is more likely to be cruising yards in a pink convertible, plucking an item from her glamorous wardrobe or generally enjoying the lifestyle afforded an international fashion icon.
Up until now Barbie has yet to be seen with a chainsaw, hacking her way through pristine rainforests.
But a Greenpeace campaign is seeking to do exactly that as part of a global campaign to highlight the destruction of rainforests for pulp paper used in the toy’s cardboard packaging.
This is just too much fun but the comedy doesn’t end here. Here is Mattel’s response –
A letter from Mattel’s director of corporate responsibility Kathleen Shaver, which Greenpeace showed to the smh.com.au, said it was “advancing its sustainability strategy” by printing its catalogues on paper with a minimum of 10 per cent of recyclable materials and that its annual report and office paper was printed on paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.
Mattel has faield to return emails from Farifax but a spokeswoman for APP said met all the legal requirements for logging in Indonesia and called upon Greenpeace to make public its analysis.
“Greenpeace may think citing popular children’s toys is a cute way to get attention for its extreme position. However, we believe it’s irresponsible to play on the emotions of children and their parents to rehash old, discredited allegations in order to attack the industry of a developing nation,” she said.
Wow, looks like Greenpeace hit a nerve. Apparently all that PR training can’t conceal a little arrogance about the “industry of a developing nation.”
This is delicious. This campaign is clever and fun. It shows how corporate PR and the billions spent on advertising and brand recognition can be turned against the company.
As time goes by, this kind of clever anti-marketing is going to become a necessity as corporate power in the government increases. More and more it will be necessary to turn the company’s power against it. It’s very much like judo.
James Pilant
The “Ken dumps Barbie” campaign launched by Greenpeace to protect the natural habitat of the Sumatran tigers, orang-utans and elephants was being promoted globally this week. The campaign is to stop Mattel from using Indonesia’s most notorious rainforest destroyer Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) for their packaging. There is strong global pressure from corporate business and trade organisations for APP to change its method and practice of clearin … Read More
You may have become tired of my endlessly repeated statement that the Fukushima crisis is a almost daily event which shows no sign of a cure. Here is another writer with the same point of view. There is also an excellent summary of the current situation at the four nuclear plants.
Here are the two key paragraphs from the article –
Fukushima did not happen. Fukusima IS HAPPENING… still.
Unfortunately, the economic containment by Japanese corporations and policy officials could not have been much worse – exacerbated by their deafening silence and sheer communication vacuum of information. Despite this being initiated by a natural disaster of epic proportions, it does not provide cover for the blatant failings of the officials, management and system as a whole. Japanese utilities, and this TEPCO’s Fukushima power plant in particular, were repeatedly warned that they did not have enough tsunami protection. The tsunami did not just tip the scale for breaching defenses, it completely overwhelmed and destroyed them – it was not a marginal miscalculation. Given the pump design-flaws I highlighted earlier, this bodes for more than just an engineering mistake. It is a structural issue within the industry as a whole. This has not been a moment of shining glory for the Japanese utility companies.
It is hard not to be astonished at the level of incompetence of the Japanese government and TEPCO, the Japanese utility in charge. However, the government of the United States and its massive loan gurantees and indemnification of the nuclear industry is acting in an equally bizarre fashion. This is definitely the time to re examine what mix of elements will be used in the future to generate power in the United States.
James Pilant
RED ALERT: Japan’s Nuclear Disaster Is Still In Its Infancy Firstly I’d like to thank Chris Martenson and Arnie Gundersen of Fairwinds Associates for producing the first assessments of the situation in, what I would call, a logical and easy-to-understand fashion. Martenson interviewed Gundersen a couple of days ago and you can catch it here, on Martenson’s free blog site. I’ll admit, since coincidentally writing about Japan’s structural challenge … Read More
The key paragraph is this one. If there is anything that demonstrates the arrogance of the Berlusconi’s government is its intent to ignore a nation wide moratorium on the use of nuclear power. I’m glad to say this is not working out so well for his government which is increasingly the subject of comedy routines as its credibility erodes.
Mr Berlusconi’s government, a powerful advocate of the atomic industry, had planned to embark on a big new building program from 2014 with the aim of producing 25 per cent of the country’s electricity needs with atomic energy by 2030. Italy has had a ban on any industry expansion since 1987, when the electorate, deeply suspicious of nuclear power after Chernobyl, voted for a moratorium. Fearful of a similar backlash in the wake of the Fukushima disaster, Mr Berlusconi has waged an unstinting battle against the plebiscite, even offering a suspension of his nuclear plans in April in an effort to ride out controversy.Please read the whole article.
James Pilant
From bad to worse as grip on nation slips further out of Berlusconi’s hands By Paola Totaro Sydney Morning Herald They say bad things come in threes and for Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s Prime Minister, the week brought the full quota of political misfortune. On Monday Mr Berlusconi, 74, once seen as untouchable and invincible, witnessed Italy’s regional governments, including his home city of Milan, fall to a phalanx of communist mayors, some of th … Read More
This is a sort of quiet well informed and literate outrage. I don’t see a lot of this kind. It’s a great pleasure. The lead in, discussing zombie ants, is one of the most original I’ve seen. I would read it just for that story if nothing else. But there is more, I was unaware of the situation with the California librarians. (I have a soft spot for librarians having grown up hanging around the stacks of books. I have maintained an interest in librarians ever since.)
Good writing. I am happy to have an opportunity to share. I’m going to return and have a look from time to time.
James Pilant
My thanks to The Conflicted Doomer!
May 14, 2011 What an interesting news week it’s been. Early in the week, I read a couple of articles about a fungus that infects and takes over the nervous systems of certain ants in the jungles of Brazil and Thailand. The fungus then causes the ant to behave erratically, wandering the jungle for over a week until it finds the “perfect place” on the un … Read More
To use or not to use nuclear power? This article focuses on Malaysia but the issues are the same everywhere on our planet.
Costs, safety, and most important, trust, are the primary elements. That trust is on the list might surprise you. But I can’t help but feel the soothing hand of corporate PR every time I read some right-wing blog’s assurances that the amount of radiation is inconsequential and the constant, continuous claims that the technology is better now. Didn’t they say that after Chernobyl? Didn’t they say that after Three Mile Island, etc? It’s one of the classics, reassuringly pointless.
I am tired of PR. If the nuclear industry had ever been in anyway honest over the last fifty years I would feel differently but there is no trust here and without trust there can be no agreement.
This posting is an intelligent analysis and I enjoyed it.
James Pilant
Radiation is invisible and cannot be recalled. In a nuclear crisis, there will be many questions about radiation. As the Japanese people are now discovering, it is a nightmare trying to make sense of the uncertainties. How do you know when you are in danger?How long will this danger persist?How can you reduce the danger to yourself and your family?What level of exposure is safe?How do you get access to vital information in time to prevent or mini … Read More
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