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