Two words strike undeserved fear in the hearts of many Americans:
Nuclear and Genetic.
Both have had their reputations mismanaged and maligned by Hollywood
in search of an easily misunderstood boogyman.
Recent events and their currently unknown aftermaths notwithstanding,
nuclear power remains a safer, more efficient and practicable power
source than many of the other alternatives, including oil and coal -
both of which have had their own share of disasters over the past
year.
Still, GATTACA and China Syndrome imagery permeate our national
dialogue even decades after their theatrical release. Perhaps it is
now time for the news-entertainment media to step-up, in light of
Fukushima (it survived a 8.9 quake essentially intact!), and help,
rather than hinder the uptake of these socially valuable technologies.
Dov Greenbaum & Mark Gerstein
Unpublished letter in response to:
Ken Dilanian and Don Lee’s “Japan's
crisis may have already derailed 'nuclear renaissance'”
LA Times, March 14, 2011
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/mar/14/science/la-sci-japan-nuclear-plants-20110314
