Quote of the Day
Don't take anyone else's definition of success as your own.
Jacqueline Brisken
American News Media and Fukushima: Same Old Same Old
I have written multiple rants about the tabloid coverage, but it continues. When I came from a meeting and glanced at midday stories, Fox News was highlighting its latest scaremongering story: the presence of plutonium outside the facility (on site by other sources?) We are quickly reminded that plutonium is distinctly part of the fuel mix for reactor 3. We are told about damaged fuel rods in the reactors, surging radiation levels in seawater samples... We are ominously cautioned about iodine detected in several samples across the United States. And, of course, there are the "experts". Question: have you noticed that Fox News never seems to talk to, say, chairmen of nuclear engineering and safety departments of universities? Have you heard the sensationalized, leading questions? Have you noticed that their interviews in Japan are only with American reporters, not with any of the principals? Don't get me started on Megyn Kelly... Today she became the classic textbook example of the Peter Principle. Whatever her merits as a legal analyst, she has no credibility at all when it comes to discussing scientific issues. I do not think I'll ever view her as a credible news anchor in the future. I don't have an issue with Beck and the Fox News prime time lineup expressing opinions, but news coverage should be held to a higher standard. Perhaps Megyn Kelly has heard the expression "the WHOLE truth." [Let me point out I also got an ABC News email alert on the plutonium story.]
I will discuss things more fully in my update shortly. But here are a few facts Fox News has constantly omitted from their coverage: (1) that plutonium in reported samples has been found doesn't mean the plutonium came from a Fukushima reactor; (2) the nature and extent of the plutonium is relevant to safety concerns; (3) radiation levels can fluctuate: for example, steam is released from the reactor containment vessel as needed, on an aperiodic basis; again, no discussion about safety of relevant levels; (4) the reported iodine trace levels in US water samples are mentioned, days after US experts debunked any risk; even if you dismiss the risk after the tease, what's the purpose of the tease, other than to spread alarmism? (5) the suspected core damage occurred early in the crisis and has been stabilized. There is no discussion of decay heat, that after 1 day we are already under 1% of full reactor power. There have been continuing injections of new coolant into vessels and spraying into the spent fuel pools. What Fox News has been doing is providing selective facts without sufficient context and leading the viewer to make invalid inferences.
Fukushima Nuclear Incident Update
TEPCO says that the reactor 3 reactor containment vessel is now being injected by temporary electrical pump vs. fire pump.
NEI notes:
- morning: the contaminated, flooded turbine basement for reactor 1 is being pumped into the main condenser; drainage conduits (except for reactor 3 because of rubble accessibility) have similar characteristics to (similar) flooded basement readings. Electrical-driven (versus diesel) pump injections of freshwater in reactor containment vessels 1 through 3. Sampling near a discharge outlet showed iodine decreasing from 1850 times normal to 250 times normal.
- afternoon: the above referenced plutonium samples showed only 2 of 5 detections compatible with reactor 3 fuel (the suspected source because the other reactors do not use plutononium). At minimum the remaining 3 are suspected traces from Pacific testing during the Cold War era. In any event, none of the samples were considered at amounts considered to be potentially harmful to human health.
- evening: pumping out the flooded basements at reactors 2 through 4 has not started because of full condenser or other issues. Ibaraki and Fukushima prefecture drinking water iodine readings remain stable below the safety level for infants; 6 prefectures (included the two above) have vegetable and certain fruits with flagged iodine levels. The 3 hospitalized workers under observation (two with radiation burns last Thursday) have been released.
IAEA claims freshwater is now on site (Navy barges finally arrived?) and as of tomorrow (preferred) freshwater will replace seawater in spraying of reactor 3 and reactor 4 spent fuel pools.
Hiroshima Syndrome blogger argues that comparable amounts being sprayed into the spent fuel pools daily reflect the loss due to evaporation from the pools. Extrapolating from the aggregate amount sprayed, he argues that the theory that a few spent fuel pools had been boiled empty is untenable. He continues to criticize TEPCO's confusing terminology using the term "white smoke" instead of (more likely) steam. He also claims that the suggestion of leaks of the reactor containment vessels is inconsistent with the fact that pressure hasn't dropped between coolant rejections.
Coming to a Theater Near You: "Atlas Shrugged"
By sheer coincidence, on my bedroom dresser over the past several months is a paperback edition of Ayn Rand's "The Fountainhead", Rand's first literary success. Rand, who died in 1982, espoused a philosophy of Objectivism; probably the best known current proponent of Objectivism is Dr. Leonard Peikoff. At the heart of Objectivism is an core belief in rational self-interest (versus altruism); in political terms, society is best served by unabashed individualism, a laissez-faire capitalism. Rand scorns conservatism, which hobbles individual accomplishment with extraneous considerations. (For example, the recent Bush Administration increased regulations and domestic expenditures.) No doubt Ayn Rand would be very frustrated with the young woman whom don't want her love interest to be intimidated by her strong academic performance or by sports trophies for everyone, not running up a score, ...
How ironic, in the Age of Obama, that a motion picture debuts which emphasizes the importance of individual accomplishment versus politically correct collectivist platitudes of teamwork. I can think of at least 6 projects, off the top of my head, where I single-handedly turned around a failing project (including projects at IBM and Oracle). There are people with scores of inventions, researchers with hundreds with articles, prolific novelists and songwriters, entrepreneurs whom create multiple successful businesses, etc.
In Greek mythology, Atlas is a Titan ordered by the god Zeus to carry the world on his shoulder. Ayn Rand asks, what if Atlas was to decide to cast aside that burden, i.e., to shrug? In a more pragmatic context, what if the entrepreneurs, the inventors, and the other job creators who carry the American economy on their shoulders were to go on strike? What would the collectivists like "spread the wealth around" Barack Obama, Michael Moore, George Soros and others do? No matter how much the statists steal, they will find a way to spend it all. Why should they care about efficient, limited spending? Other than death, the only thing certain is that statists will find a way to sustain their future spending through some form of taxation.
John Galt is Ayn Rand's protagonist, and he has a lesson in mind for the collectivists...
Political Humor
A few originals:
- After VP Joe Biden's staff temporarily locked a journalist in the closet, GLAAD immediately protested, noting that it has struggled for decades to bring people out of the closet.
- Remember President Obama from his South American trip finding the door to the Oval Office locked? That's right--it was Joe Biden's staff.
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups
The Beach Boys, "Fun, Fun, Fun"
