Nuclear/Unclear

I've read a lot of articles over the last 3 days attempting to explain the situation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant and discussing the potential problems for Japan and the rest of the world. Sadly, the vast majority of them are speculative and use fear mongering to attract readers. It's difficult to find good data right now, especially since the crisis is still unfolding amidst real human tragedy (more on that below). Nevertheless, the best three pieces I've seen in the aftermath of this catastrophe are:

1. Nuclear Overreactors in Slate, by William Saletan. It is pithy and enlightening in its comparison of nuclear energy production to fossil fuels: "...fossil fuel is more dangerous. The sole fatal nuclear power accident of the last 40 years, Chernobyl, directly killed 31 people. By comparison, Switzerland's Paul Scherrer Institute calculates that from 1969 to 2000, more than 20,000 people died in severe accidents in the oil supply chain. More than 15,000 people died in severe accidents in the coal supply chain—11,000 in China alone. The rate of direct fatalities per unit of energy production is 18 times worse for oil than it is for nuclear power."

2. Japan's nuclear reactor overreaction by the Bad Astronomer, Phil Plait. As always, Phil nails it; like Saletan, he keeps it short and to the point, and brings in some more facts that I wasn't aware of, like "coal plants release more radiation than nuclear plants by a long shot...not to mention the disastrous environmental impact of burning it. How safe is that? Yet we use far more energy from coal than from nuclear plants."

3. The best by far is this discussion by Dr. Joseph Oehmen, originally posted on the blog of an English teacher in Japan, but now hosted and maintained by the MIT Dept. of Nuclear Science and Engineering. This is a very comprehensive explication of nuclear reactions, nuclear reactors in general, what has specifically happened thus far at Fukushima, and what will most likely happen. The educational value of this piece is priceless, and though it's longer than the others, it reads like a thriller.

The absolute worst thing I've seen in the last three days is this Youtube clip of a cretinous American Christian, deliriously thanking the god of the Bible for shaking Japan at this start of the Lentil [sic] season, in an attempt to open the eyes of atheists everywhere.



Despite this young lady's enthusiasm for the death and destruction she believes she helped cause, intercessory prayer doesn't work, whether one is trying to hurt the victims or help them. If you would like to do the latter, please consider donating to the Center For Inquiry's S.H.A.R.E. program. 100% of your donation, with no operating costs retained, will be given to Doctors Without Borders, a secular organization that already has teams assisting the government-led response in Japan.