Plastic-eating fungus in Amazon...

http://www.fastcoexist.com/1679201/fungi-discovered-in-the-amazon-will-eat-your-plastic

mysterious ability and wisdom of Nature..

can this be an option for radioactive waste problem?



I really enjoyed this class..

This class help me getting some clear idea of science and beyond..

-Mosey

The Early Days of Nuclear Science

For the last class I wanted to post something that underlined the sort of thing that seemed like a good idea at the time in the nuclear history of the world. First, a story about radium's popularity due to it's faint blue glow. Before the dangers of radiation were understood, radium was used in a variety of consumer products, at a huge danger to everyone involved.

The link to a New York Times article on that.

Another good example is the x-ray shoe fitting device popular up to the 1960's. Few people experienced serious effects from this, but the idea seems completely surreal to me knowing what I do about radiation.

Here's the link to a summation of the history of these devices.

I guess that's it. Have a nice vacation everyone!

Ben

Algae for fuel in Japan

http://en.rocketnews24.com/2013/11/22/scientist-says-he-can-end-japans-energy-woes-by-turning-algae-into-fuel/

I just thought this was interesting, since it also reminded me of the previous post about the algae energy house too.

-Maria

Energy Dept. Is Told to Stop Collecting Fee for Nuclear Waste Disposal

Energy Dept. Is Told to Stop Collecting Fee for Nuclear Waste Disposal

"A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that the Energy Department must stop collecting fees of about $750 million a year that are paid by consumers and intended to fund a program for the disposal of nuclear waste. The reason, the court said, is that there is no such program."  

 Article dealing with nuclear waste/ Yucca mountain .   

-Marianne

Nuclear disarmament at the touch of a few buttons

In the film G.I. Joe: Retaliation, the president of the United States demonstrates the solution to all of our nuclear weapon problems in a few short minutes. Here's the clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzvnDaL8bnc

Ridiculous, but humorous.

-MIles Worthington

Wind Power in Japan

http://japandailypress.com/japan-wind-power-has-capacity-to-replace-nuclear-floating-turbines-tested-near-fukushima-0939244/

I found this tiny, but interesting article about the capability of of wind power in Japan.

-Maria 

Final paper resources

I posted a bunch of general resources to this blog for last year's class that are still mostly quite useful, so I suggest browsing that post:
http://theunstablenucleus.blogspot.com/2012/11/extra-resources-on-nuclear-weapons.html
It contains links to key policy documents, anti-nuclear organizations, and an article on why nuclear weapons should be given the Nobel Peace Prize.  Lots of good stuff!

For this semester, here are a few additional interesting starting points for final paper issues/topics:

1) Recent book on the safety of nuclear weapons:  Eric Schlosser has written a book called "Command and Control:  Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety."
There have been loads of interviews with him and articles about the book and related topics, so even if you don't read the whole book you can track down some interesting commentaries just by finding some of those articles.

2)  The Union of Concerned Scientists has a fact sheet on nuclear weapons facilities in the U.S.
Start here to find out what they are and where they are, but then look at news sources to see what current economic/social/political issues might surround these facilities and their work.

3) Articles on a few random specific topics:
A thought-provoking analysis of the situation with Iran from the Economist
Washington Post on the ending of an agreement between the U.S. and Russia for recycling bomb-grade uranium
National Journal piece on U.S. missile defense and related issues with Russia

Happy paper writing!

pop culture radioactivity in "fringe"

So on the super non-scientific side-- "Fringe" is a pretty dumb/ super fun TV show about the FBI's "fringe division," who deal with weird/ unexplainable phenomena mostly having to do with crazy chemical weapons and mechanical portals to a parallel universe. I've noticed them throw around "radioactive" as a catch-all scare word a few times but this one episode, "The Cure," centers on it in a pretty ridiculous way. A woman who gets an experimental cure for a disease walks into a diner and within minutes everyone in the room starts spurting blood out their eye sockets and dies-- purportedly because the cure made her radioactive. While I think scientifically debunking pop culture sci-fi stuff is a little silly, I found a few articles about the realities - here's one: http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/4288445

Sadly I couldn't find a clip of the diner scene :( but here's a still of the diner window for dramatic effect

-selden

David Suzuki talks about Fukushima

Here's a somewhat heavy video from a talk with scientists David Schindler and David Suzuki about the Fukushima disaster. They talk about risk assessment and the potential for another meltdown in the forth reactor that could arise if a 7 or above earthquake were to happen again in Japan. This could cause severe problems for the country as well as affect the west coast of the U.S. I looked more into Suzuki and it doesn't seem like he's the type of scientist who is out to make a name for himself by scaring people, it seems like he's just trying to inform the public with the real facts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=iTqzqoKMLEg#t=171

-Austin

     I recently stubbled upon this interesting film called "Radio Bikini". It provides an account of the events that transpired on the Bikini Islands during nuclear bomb tests. Much of the film is taken from the documentation done by the government. Footage focuses on the lives of soldiers, camera men, and locals, their individual accounts are also provided.
I found that it put a face to the location, and made it clear that peoples' lives will have forever been changed by the events that transpired May 20, 1956.

-Sara

A few interesting things

I forgot to post for the last few weeks, so I'm going to make up for it by posting everything I meant to post.

First, an article from Scientific American that says that there is more radiation released from coal burning than from a running nuclear plant. I'm personally not surprised by that. Ideally no radiation should be released from a nuclear plant, whereas coal plants don't do much to stop emissions.

Here is the link to that.

Next, a Wired science article expanding on the potential use of Thorium as a new, better source of nuclear energy. It even mentions the molten salt reactor design, which I must say sounds awesome.

Another link.

Finally, on a slightly sillier note, I found the website to a 'long-term' luxury bomb shelter. It's kind of hilarious. I doubt any number of amenities and fancy rugs could reassure anyone if any situation arose where something like this would be necessary.

Last link.

Okay, that's enough stuff for now. I'll try to find something interesting for next week too.

Ben Roy

Cockroaches Surviving A Nuclear Blast?

Here's a short Mythbusters video about the theory that cockroaches can survive a nuclear explosion...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-6cIy_s8pQ

+ Karly

Interesting infographic from the Union of Concerned Scientists

Related to the NRC hearing discussed below, the Union of Concerned Scientists (a non-profit group that often critiques the nuclear industry and the U.S. regulatory agencies) has put together an infographic trying to explain the nuclear waste situation and advocate for particular approaches.  It's interesting - see what you think:

http://www.ucsusa.org/assets/images/np/nuclear-waste-dry-cask-infographic-large.jpg

NRC hearing near Chicago next week!

In case you are interested, there's a public hearing to get comments on "Waste Confidence" for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.  Here are the details:

Public Hearing on Nuclear Waste in Oak Brook
Date: Tuesday, November 12
Time: 6:00-10:00 p.m.
Location: Chicago Marriott Oak Brook, 1401 West 22nd St., Oak Brook, IL 60523

Here's information from the NRC about this process:
http://www.nrc.gov/waste/spent-fuel-storage/wcd/pub-involve.html

If you can't attend this hearing but want to weigh in on current nuclear waste policy, the NRC is also accepting written comments.  This is an opportunity to push the NRC towards particular approaches to nuclear waste storage if you have strong opinions about how it should be done. 

More on David Ropeik vs. Helen Caldicott

There's been more exchange in the New York Times about the risks of radiation.  The "Dot Earth" blog reports on fact-checking Helen Caldicott's statements about studies of Chernobyl casualties... and pokes some holes in her argument:
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/11/06/helen-caldicott-chernobyl-and-the-new-york-academy-of-sciences/

Pandora's Promise

Tonight at 8pm on CNN they are premiering a new documentary called Pandora's Promise. The documentary focuses in on the benefits of nuclear power and claims to "explode" your preconceived thoughts on what you thought you knew about nuclear energy.

Watch it! The website says it will also soon be on Netflix.

http://pandoraspromise.com/

+ Karly

Re: YOU SHOULD READ THIS

Below is the letter to the editor from last week's article that Kathryn posted from the nytimes (the YOU SHOULD READ THIS post)... this time written by an antinuclear advocate. I tend to agree with this one and felt like the last article totally had a not-so-hidden agenda (but, then again most things too). This one does too as you will see, but seems to mirror more of the things we have learned in class. What do you think? Who is (more) right?

Do you feel like you are dealing/struggling with the same issues in your own papers? I know I am.

Radiation Fears are Real

-Stephanie 

Japanese artist made maps of nuclear explosion around the world

I think here is potencial new art movement..

http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2010-07/6/japanese-artist-nuclear-weapons

- Mosey

radiation protective underwear?

I have no idea whether to take this seriously or not.  From a CNET article:





 


This is produced by Yamamoto, supposedly to protect radiation workers cleaning up Fukushima.  ???

YOU SHOULD READ THIS!

Since we have been talking in class about how the human response to risk involves all kinds of things that aren't strictly about the degree of risk, this is an extremely relevant article from the New York Times:
"Fear vs. Radiation" by David Ropeik
It is an opinion essay arguing that the fear of radiation is more harmful than the radiation itself.  The arguments are really interesting and thought provoking, particularly in light of what we've discussed in class.

Tokyo Rising ; short film about 3/11 Disaster

http://www.palladiumboots.com/video/tokyo-rising#part8

- Mosey

Algae Haus

Last class we talked about wind, solar and nuclear energy sources. I found an article in Sierra magazine for a building in Germany powered by bioreactors of panels of algae. Slime walls. Very cool.

The last two steps seem a lot like what happens in a nuclear reactor, even in step four when they are like "???what??? do we do with this stuff??" Like nuclear waste, there are ways to recycle the waste, but, in this instance, it is costly and doesn't serve the cause of lowering carbon emissions. Its nice that the heat produced by the algae can safely be used for the apt building.

Here is a picture of the actual goo-wall

I scanned the images from the mag because the image in the Sierra source kinda sucks. Click them to make them bigger. The first image shows the first part of the process and the second image the last part of the process.

How it works:

1. BIQ's bioreactors are bolted to the south-facing sides of the building and are designed to work with barely any human intervention or cleaning. Each bioreactor is three inches thick, more than eight feet high, and holds about six gallons of water between panels of laminated safety glass.
2. A complex circulatory system keeps the algae alive and pushes water, phosphorous, and nitrogen through the bioreactors. The food supply—carbon dioxide—comes from the exhaust pipe of a ground-floor generator. (In future installations, the algae might gobble CO2 emitted from other buildings.) Blasts of compressed air prevent the algae from growing too thick, while tiny beads scrape the glass and keep the organisms from clinging to it.
3. When algae reproduce, they give off heat, meaning that on a sunny day the water in the bioreactor can hit 100°F. That water courses through an exchanger and heats up a second supply of water, which circulates through pipes embedded in the floors to warm the rooms—or to preheat the water used in showers and kitchens. Excess hot water is stored in eight 260-plus-foot-deep boreholes under the building. Altogether, the algae from the bioreactors produce enough calories to heat four apartments year-round.
4. At least every week, the algae are filtered from the water and trucked three miles to a university, where they are processed for methane and hydrogen. If they were burned, they could be used to generate electricity—though this may be a costly and ineffective way to negate carbon emissions.
   
   -Stephanie
   Source
   Source
   

Update on Iran

You may have heard about recent talks between Iran and other nations concerning their nuclear program.  What's the status, and how does this fit into the big picture?  Here's an interesting FAQ from the New York Times.  Something to note from this piece is that (while opinions on this vary a lot), experts believe Iran could make enough highly-enriched uranium to build a nuclear bomb by the middle of next year, if that's what they intend to do.

UV radiation turned all the American flags on the moon white!

According to lunar scientist Paul Spudis:

For forty-odd years, the flags have been exposed to the full fury of the Moon's environment – alternating 14 days of searing sunlight and 100° C heat with 14 days of numbing-cold -150° C darkness. But even more damaging is the intense ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the pure unfiltered sunlight on the cloth (modal) from which the Apollo flags were made. Even on Earth, the colors of a cloth flag flown in bright sunlight for many years will eventually fade and need to be replaced. So it is likely that these symbols of American achievement have been rendered blank, bleached white by the UV radiation of unfiltered sunlight on the lunar surface. Some of them may even have begun to physically disintegrate under the intense flux.



http://gizmodo.com/5930450/all-the-american-flags-on-the-moon-are-now-white


http://blogs.airspacemag.com/moon/2011/07/faded-flags-on-the-moon/

-Mosey

Resources for Nuclear Energy and Waste Debates

Here's a set of resources that might be useful for your first paper, which should be an opinion piece on some specific current topic related to nuclear energy or nuclear waste. These resources are good for background information, highlighting current debates, and getting source material for your arguments.


1) Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI): U.S. nuclear industry group. Website has lots of "fact sheets" and analysis of current issues from the pro-nuclear-energy standpoint.

 2) World Nuclear Association: global nuclear industry group. Website has tons of statistics on nuclear energy around the world, safety information, etc., all from the pro-nuclear-energy standpoint.

3) Greenpeace: Runs one of the largest worldwide campaigns against nuclear energy.  Has lots of fact sheets and news stories from an anti-nuclear standpoint.

4) Nuclear Energy Information Service:  an Illinois public watchdog group with an anti-nuclear stance.  Good place to find out what local nuclear issues are being discussed.

5) Union of Concerned Scientists:  a non-profit and non-partisan group that does not formally take a "pro" or "anti" stance towards nuclear energy, but highlights safety failures and problems with the current nuclear energy and nuclear waste practices in the U.S.

6) Nuclear Regulatory Commission:  main site of the government agency responsible for licensing and regulating nuclear energy facilities (basically, their job is to ensure safety). 

7) Presidential Blue Ribbon Commission on Nuclear Waste:  go here to find out what Obama's commission to review the nuclear waste problem recommended, and what the current status is of nuclear waste policy.

Watch for more upcoming posts highlighting a few current debates that might be good topics for your paper, but you should definitely do your own research to find something that you feel strongly about!

Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough

We were just talking about the lack of progress on nuclear fusion in class, and I found this article about the first time a human produced fusion reaction produced more energy then was put into it. And, surprisingly enough, it happened in the USA! And during the shutdown too!

Here's the link to the BBC article

Now, I'm sure we should take this with a grain of salt. It's a significant milestone, but it's in no way indicative of widespread fusion energy anytime soon. I was honestly surprised that the article didn't quote one of the scientists saying that we would have perfected fusion in 10 years maximum.

Ben Roy

A missing nuclear bomb

This isn't really a current news article, more of a daily newsletter with interesting facts, and this is one of them. It details how the Air Force lost a nuclear bomb back in the 50s. Here's the link:

http://nowiknow.com/bombs-away/

Enjoy,
-Miles

Jellyfish shut down reactor in Sweden!

Here's a weird article - about a Swedish nuclear reactor that has had to shut down recently due to jellyfish clogging up the cooling system:

http://news.discovery.com/animals/jellyfish-shut-down-swedish-nuclear-reactor-131002.htm

Scotch Tape Source Article

Hi everyone

Last week in class I mentioned tape being used as a source for X-rays. So, I thought I would post the NY times article which talks about the discovery. What a great discovery for the future of low cost medical imaging!

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/28/science/28xray.html?_r=0

Best,
Mady Berry

Spent Fuel Storage Pools

The what-if blog comes from the maker of a funny physics/mathematics themed webcomic called xkcd, and it examines the lethality of radiation in a storage pool for spent fuel. It certainly has a comical tone, and one of the reference links is broken, but the author seems to have a good grasp of the science. I figured that we cover a lot of very serious topics in class and a bit of comedy is always welcome.

Here is the link

I would actually recommend reading more of the what ifs, they are all very funny, albeit mostly not related to nuclear physics. The hair dryer one is my favorite.

Ben Roy

More on Fukushima! I find the article intriguing because it calls for action, not just retorting crisis facts with a journalistic distance and..."unconcern". I find the descriptions of the technical issues with the leak unclear, though, with little analysis to back up statements such as the Japanese government being incapable of handling the problem. And I'm still unclear on the specific cause of this 60 day doomsday mark. Is it only because Tepco is going to be removing those dangerous fuel rods then? I'm curious about these procedures more in depth.

-Chelsey S.

http://truth-out.org/buzzflash/commentary/item/18208-nuclear-crisis-at-fukushima-could-spew-out-more-than-15-000-times-as-much-radiation-as-hiroshima-bombing

TED Debate on Nuclear Energy

I've found that TED talks are pretty good at providing entry level education on a variety of topics, and the debate format that this one takes seems to be especially relevant to this class. Two environmentalist debate whether or not nuclear energy is the right direction to push in.

This is the link to the video.

Personally, I found that the anti-nuclear side of Jacobson relied heavily on overly complex charts and appeal to fear in the form of 'inevitable' nuclear attacks. Another thing I thought was odd was that while Brand cited research that put the amount of land needed at the size of the entire US, Jacobson said that wee needed only a tiny portion of ocean space. It seemed too good to be true. If we could throw up a couple of wind farms over the ocean in just a few years and solve the whole problem, wouldn't we be doing that?

Ben Roy

Paradise 26 Feet Underground - Stephanie

Peewee Herman tweeted about this house this afternoon and I thought I would share. Other than being completely bizarre, eccentrically beautiful and lavish... I think it may relate to the class because it captures the fear and anxiety that was of nuclear bombing during the Cold War period. 

view from inside the underground house... out into the "yard"

Built by a millionaire couple in Las Vegas is the late 1970's, this home brings the outside inside...that is 26 feet inside....the Earth... in order to live through a nuclear blast. The couple had fake grass, fake trees, fake rocks (one containing a bbq pit inside of it), and fake landscapes painted on the walls (mural on walls took 3 years to complete, depicting places the couple has lived before and traveled) along with a pool, dance floor, putting green installed in order to connect them with the outside world and keep them entertained for awhile. There is even mood lighting installed that mimics sunrise and sunset. The house is now for sale. The couple died within 10 years of the home being completed... which I think is weird, I guess if I was elderly I wouldn't care how I died and definitely would not invest my numbered precious time and energy into a project like this... BUT I am glad they did because it is AMAZING.

For more information and more photos click below...you will want to do this

-Stephanie 

Source

Video and more information

Wildlife around Chernobyl

Hi everyone,

The other day at the end of class, we touched on the subject of nuclear-related deformities and whether they were a legitimate concern or mostly hype.  I found this pretty thorough and interesting article on wildlife around Chernobyl, which argues that both the health and diversity of the area's ecosystem counters the assumption that radiation is always detrimental to living things (although the animals at the scene contain high levels of radiation in their bodies, they generally function normally, with no defects).  In fact, the article posits the idea that human disruption of natural spaces could have more to do with the population decline of wild species than environmenal radiation exposure does.  Obviously not everyone agrees, but reading this definitely makes me appreciate how resilient life is and gives me a little more hope for the future.   

Here is the article: Do Animals in Chernobyl's Fallout Zone Glow?

Nola Weber

Ways the Syrian Crisis Relates to this Class

Major global events have a place in any classroom in my opinion. But, the current crisis that is unfolding over the response to Syria's alleged use of chemical weapons may be directly relevant to things we are discussing in this class. Here are some possible connections that I see:

1) Policy and precedent on "weapons of mass destruction" (WMDs). Chemical weapons and nuclear weapons are both classified as WMDs, and the global reaction to the use of chemical weapons may set precedents for policy and responses to nuclear or radiological weapons.

2) Iran is watching closely. Iran allegedly has a nuclear weapons program, and the U.S. has said we will not allow Iran to develop a nuclear bomb. The U.S. reaction to Syria may be seen by Iran as a hint of the consequences if they go forward with a nuclear weapon. Here is an opinion piece from Foreign Policy magazine that discusses the reasons for and against bombing Syria, including the messages sent to Iran.

3) Power dynamic between the U.S. and Russia. We don't often hear about this, but nuclear weapons, nuclear weapons treaties, and missile defense systems are big topics of friction between the U.S. and Russia even in these post-cold-war days. Any situation that affects the relationship between these two countries may impact the next phase of nuclear treaty negotiations, and vice versa. Here's a truly bizarre thing that hints at the weirdness going on between us and the Russians right now - a New York Times editorial by the Russian president about Syria.

 4) Russia put out warnings that if the U.S. strikes Syria, we could end up hitting a nuclear facility and creating new problems. Here's a Reuters article about this.

5) As we talk about the idea of "acceptable risk" in this class, we will talk about how dangers that have particularly horrible or scary consequences are often seen to be worse than more "conventional" dangers, even when the actual number of casualties may not be as great. Lots of people right now are debating whether chemical weapons really are worse than conventional bombings and deserve a special response. See, for example, this CNN article. Similar questions could apply to thinking about whether nuclear weapons are considered useable or unusable weapons.

Want some general background?
 A Washington Post Blog post on questions you were too embarrassed to ask (it's opinionated but will catch up on the situation quickly).
A BBC Q&A on the current diplomatic crisis
Another BBC article on the alleged chemical weapons attack

Crazier than fiction?

The latest plan to try to stop contaminated water from leaking into the Pacific from the area around the Fukushima reactors? A giant underground ice wall. You can't make this stuff up...

Breaking News | Celebrity News | More ABC News Videos

Microwave Radiation

 Hi everyone,

I took a back seat in yesterday's heated debate, but wanted to share an article on microwaves.  Does anyone else besides me consciously stand as far away from their operating microwaves as humanly possible?  Or push 'start' and quickly leave the room?  Like cell phones, microwaves are something I've always been wary of but don't know much about.  This article skims the surface scientifically (I can tell it's written for a layperson), but it still covers some pertinent concerns.  If anyone has any more thorough articles on microwaves, they should post!

From your shy classmate,
Nola Weber

Microwave Dangers: Urban Myth or Frightening Reality?

Articles for Homework 1 - Radiation in the News

This week's readings are a smattering of news articles about different sources of radiation around us. Some of the questions deal with trying to make sense of the different types of radiation discussed in these articles, and some of the questions deal with your reflections on the articles and the topics they discuss.  If you get stuck or have any questions, please email me (or message me through Canvas)!

Articles:

1) New York Times article on granite counter tops

2) Huffington Post article on contaminated fish.

3) Two articles on cell phone radiation:
Chicago Tribune article on recent calls for review of cell phone radiation rules.
PCWorld article on the state of our understanding of cell phone radiation risks.

4) Two articles on airport x-ray body scanners:
Wired article on lingering questions about the safety of the scanners.
Scientific American article on Europe banning x-ray body scanners

5) ABC News article on radioactive polonium in cigarettes.


If you have any trouble accessing these articles, please email me.  Technical difficulties are not an excuse for skipping any of them!

Welcome to a new semester of The Unstable Nucleus!

It's Fall again, and time to restart this blog for a new session of The Unstable Nucleus.  It's been a big year for nuclear news!  Some of the news stories we will be talking about this semester: 

1) Iran!  This is the nuclear news story that never dies - is Iran on the verge of having nuclear weapons?  Or not?  How does the recent change in leadership in that country affect the situation?  What should the U.S. and the world do (if anything) to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons? 
Here's an article from the Washington Post about the current situation. 

2) Fukushima!  If you thought the nuclear crisis that unfolded after the 2011 Tsunami in Japan was over, think again.  The nuclear reactors that experienced meltdowns during that crisis are still in a very dangerous state, and are still leaking radioactive materials.  A recent leak of a significant amount of radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean caused international concern.  Read about it in this CNN article. 

3) Nuclear Waste in the U.S.!  We've got lots of it, and no real plan for what to do with it.  Debates have been re-opened about maybe using a site in Nevada called Yucca Mountain as a long-term storage facility for extremely radioactive nuclear waste.  But, the bigger issue is whether the U.S. administration can enact any workable plan for nuclear waste - besides just letting it sit in aging temporary storage locations all around the country.  Here's an update on the Yucca Mountain discussion from ABC News, as well as a recent opinion piece on nuclear waste policy from the L.A. Times. 

4) Closing Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant!  This may be a regional news story but it is an interesting situation to consider in this class.  Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant has caused a lot of controversy in the past.  It has had safety problems, and for a while was leaking small amounts of radioactive water into the environment.  After fighting for years to keep the plant open, the company that owns it has recently decided to shut it down for economic reasons.  What changed?  Why is the power plant no longer economically viable?  Here's an article about this from USA Today.


Have you seen any other interesting news stories about nuclear weapons, nuclear power, nuclear waste, or radiation?  Post them to talk about in class!  I look forward to a great semester of discussions about all of these issues and many more.