Nuclear protesters are “All Out Against Fall Out”
An excellent thought experiment from Richard Muller in his book “Physics For Future Presidents.” Chernobyl was evacuated because the increased levels of radiation would like lead to about a 1.8 percent increase in the number of cancers—500 new cases in a population the size of Chernobyl’s at the time of the accident.
Well, in Denver right now, people are exposed to higher levels of radiation than most of the rest of America, and the result is increased cancer among Denver residents. Muller’s conclusion:
you could save 4800 lives by evacuating Denver right now. That’s more excess death than is expected from the Chernobyl nuclear accident!
The radiation exposure from the earthquake/tsunami/volcano crisis in Japan is (so far) much, much lower, after disasters far worse than anyone anticipated. Disasters that are virtually impossible in the US.
Ready to end America’s entire nuclear power program? And if so, do you shut down the reactors before or after you evacuate Denver?
(h/t Matt Lewis at the Daily Caller)
"The truth is something [Warren] probably prefers not to confront. Harvard doesn’t come calling just because you’re a smart lawyer and a terrific teacher — not with Warren’s modest, Oklahoma upbringing and non-Ivy League education. She is not your typical Harvard professor. At a certain point, when the law school was under pressure to promote diversity, she represented a three-fer: a great lawyer with a national profile, a woman, and a minority, at least by virtue of family lore. "
-- Joan Vennochi
