Posts by Steve Barnes
Last ←Newer Page 1 2 3 4 5 Older→ First
-
The radioactive Boar story just goes to prove how easy it is to get your sticky mitts on our "Hard Earned Money"©,
I have heard it said, in some circles, that all you have to do to get funding for research is to claim that it is in respect of Antropiganal Globule Warming, or something, a scandal I tell you. It's about time scientists got back to doing what they are told to do and stop asking all those questions.
Is it me or is it getting hot in here.
Yrs.
Rodney (I've got nothing too) Hide -
Jeeze Kyle, are you that dangerous?.
-
Yeah, like I said "Don't Flame my arse" which I guess is an open invitation to do just that. However...
And the dental X-ray analogy is misleading. That's high level exposure for a fraction of a second. Some ingested radionucleides, like Sr-90 are with you for life.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency
Although some of the radioactive isotopes released into the atmosphere still linger (such as Strontium-90 and Caesium-137), they are at tolerable exposure levels for limited periods of time.... Exposure to low but unusual levels of radiation over a period of time is less dangerous than exposure to a huge amount at once, and studies have been unable to link any direct increase in cancer risks to chronic low-level exposure.
I did, actually, watch that documentary with a respected Scientist friend of mine and we were both intrigued. There is, or seems to be, a public perception about the dangers of radiation that exceeds the actual effects and if the world is ever going to eliminate excessive use of fossil fuels Nuclear energy is an option open to those without NZ's renewable sources. However, once again the common perceptions are those that rule the roost, as it were.
And all this is before we look at the situation with Iran with all the political posturing.
I must add that I would in no way condone Nuclear power for New Zealand, too expensive and we do not need it. Think of the potential impact on our tourism alone. -
Or is that "Come on iLoan"
Where the future is Apples but rapidly going pear shaped.
As we look at the World through Rose Tinted Eye Pads. -
Dancing Cossacks, Pah.
Anyone remember the "Labour isn't Working" campaign? that didn't work for National. How about something along the lines of "National, working for less" as a starting point for Labours next campaign? Less money? less people? take your pick. -
I think the recent Russian fires threatened not only nuclear power plants (and created airborne radioactive ash from around Chernobyl)
Now don't get me wrong here and start flaming my arse but...
There is a lot of misunderstanding around Nuclear Power and its associated risks, even today there are pastures in the UK that have "Too high" amounts of ionising radiation from Chernobyl to allow the consumption of sheep raised on them, the amounts are not even as high as you would get from a dental Xray but still "Too High" for those that make those decisions. Pah!
There is a BBC Horizon Programme that highlights this point, Nuclear Nightmares -
I think I've mentioned it before but the whole monetary system is rooted in fantasy and using exchange rates between countries to establish "fair" rates of pay is a road to confusion. We need a system based closer to thermodynamics to work out a better exchange system for labour pricing, think about it.
Anypoo, Windup Girl...
Mmm, Megadont. Are they a bit like Mammoth?.
You like Mammoth?
I know, I've posted it before but hey. -
If it isn't applying decent environmental standards, it gets taxed by the notional cost of those standards. That way, providers have to compete on quality, not on exploitation and pollution.
Yeah, right. Don't they do that in Germany. Well Sort of.
We were told in the Eighties that User Pays was the way to go, I have often wondered how Big Business slipped through that net and continued to "Socialise" their environmental costs.
We have the technology...Why do you think China and India have been kicking up such a stink about Kyoto? It's not that they don't care about the environment (at least not in so many words), but that they really object to being told by a bunch of countries that already went through their dirty-polluting-industrial-growth-economy stage that, no, they're not allowed to grow their economies through dirty, polluting industrial means. Hypocritical much?
We are all in this together, we only have the one Planet. When today's developed countries were, well, Developing, we didn't have the technology we have now. If the West wants the cheap stuff then the West should ensure that the manufacturing process should be as environmentally acceptable as possible by supplying the technology as part of the trade deal. Even if the workers are paid shit they shouldn't have to live with our shit. It would be a start and fend off some of the criticism that developing countries, rightly, use as an excuse to do little in terms of pollution control.
-
Ah, but. They didn't break the law did they? However, if only they had been caught with a bit of pot then we could have seized their assets.
Doncha just love Justice?. -
Bum, forgot what I was going to say. Fair point Craig, but who should have bailed out the BNZ, Fay,Richwhite & Co.?. After all, they did make a packet on the deal.