I was reading a blurb on Bloomberg regarding uranium prices and was reminded of the fact that some of the uranium fuel used to power nuclear plants in the US come from converted Russian nukes.
Yes, that is right, according to a press release in 2002:
Over the past eight years, Megatons to Megawatts has eliminated weapons-grade uranium equivalent to 6,000 nuclear warheads by converting it to clean-burning fuel for nuclear power plants. By already completing about one-third of our 20-year goal of eliminating 500 metric tons of weapons-grade uranium, this milestone achievement has measurably reduced the threat of nuclear terrorism Noun 1. nuclear terrorism – the use of a nuclear device by a terrorist organization to cause massive devastation or the use (or threat of use) of fissionable radioactive materials; “assaults on nuclear power plants is one form of nuclear terrorism” in the world.
The benefits to both the United States and Russia are substantial and will continue to grow. By 2013, at the contract’s scheduled conclusion, we will have eliminated 500 metric tons of weapons-grade uranium–the equivalent of 20,000 nuclear warheads.
And while Obama is continuing much of the same ridiculous foreign policies as his predecessor, here is to hoping that he expands the denuclearization (weapon) talks with Russia. He is scheduled to meet later this year to discuss decommissioning even more nukes. So with any luck, these radioactive pits will one day power homes and businesses instead of living on the tip of a missile.
For more on the Megatons to Megawatts program, here is the official brochure (PDF) and the WNA has a more thorough, web-friendly explanation.
- A softer approach to North Korea (NY Times in 2005)
- Border calm as tensions rise on Korean peninsula (AP)
- Kim Jong Il’s provocations to the West may hide a rational purpose (Times Online)
- China, Japan on collision course over rare-earth metals (The Australian) :: it is an update to a previous story
- New Vietnam port heralds US service (AFP)
- Potential of US Copyright Agenda to Endanger Freedom of Expression in China (IP Osgoode)
- New Law In Korea Means Google Bans The Uploading Of Music On Any Blog (Techdirt) — I noted this quagmire two years ago in this footnote
And here are two somewhat conflicting articles on the economy in North Korea. The first is from Newsweek which says, “the North doesn’t have to rely on the black market to support itself.”
Yet a new piece from AFP discusses just how much regular/common/normal folk depend on black and grey markets to obtain consumer goods. Thus, the tie breaker goes to the interview with Andrei Lankov whose statements seem to affirm the AFP report.
- Can “Terminators” Actually be our Salvation? (h+ magazine)
- The 10 Best Online Ads Of The Last 12 Months (SAI)
- Review: The Universe: Order without design (NewScientist)
- Nine games computers are ruining for humanity (NewScientist)
- Scientists Unveil Missing Link In Evolution (Sky News)
- Video introduction to Wolfram|Alpha (Wolfram)
- Microsoft’s Virtual WiFi will make Windows 7 wireless adapters do a double-take (Engadget)
- Study Examines Impact on Dyslexia of English, French and Italian Spelling (AAAS in 2001)
Not quite, but the Board is voting on the age of the universe.
Why stop there? Why not vote on the mass of the Higgs boson? Heck, next session, why not vote and fill in the missing quantities for the Millennium Prize in mathematics?
Unsurprisingly, many members of the Board are adherents to creationism and have pushed forth various new laws and resolutions to change the wording in various text books.
If nothing else, this should serve as a case for why taxpayer-financed Board’s of education should be abolished. Consequently, the easiest and fairest way to remove politics from the science room is doing just that, axing all the committees and barring future oversight.
Thus, in addition to a separation of church and state there should also be a separation of science and state as well as separation of education and state.
When pigs fly
So that will probably not happen on this side of the singularity, but while creationism is in the news, I wanted to point out a germane comment that Gene Callahan made the other day (Gene usually confuses me, but this one is concise and to the point):
Early evolutionary theorists who were theists:
St. Augustine: A man brilliant enough to realize, by 400, that Genesis “should not be taken too literally.”
al-Khazini, al-Jahiz, Ibn al-Haytham, Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī, Nasir al-Din Tusi: All developed Islamic theories of evolution in the Middle Ages.
Leibniz, Herder: Devout theists who developed theories of evolution in the 18th century.
James Burnett, Lord Monboddo: Theist and early advocate of the idea that men descended from apes.
I could keep going, but you get the point, fundamentalist: The idea that the theory of evolution was “devised by atheists” or “devised to support atheism” is a lie propagated by fundamentalist websites, and easily disproven by spending 15 minutes browsing the Internet.
There is a game being played with this stance (”Every line of the Bible must be taken literally or else!”) and the name of the game is “Holier than thou” — it’s about getting an ego boost, not about acting as a Christian.
But then again, these guys were obviously on the dole of the Big Evolution – Big Textbook establishment!
Reasons not to believe
The one other blurb I recently came across that ties into all of this was a post from Michael Shermer on Biblical Patternicity. Irrespective of your belief system, his whole post is worth a read as he does a good job showing how creationist groups like Reasons to Believe (RtB) use postdiction (as opposed to prediction) as a methodology.
The reason this struck my fancy is that 8 years ago, when I was deconverting from Christianity/creationism, it was actually debates hosted by RtB that began to untwist my own nutty worldview I had been taught. Oh the irony!
And then there wasn’t light
The only other comment I have regarding the Texas situation is that these luddite literalitists are doing no favors to Western civilization as their rigid fundamentalist thinking is similar to the Islamic literalists of yore. Guys like Chief Mufti, his janissaries and the ulema did wonders to “enlighten” the advanced, sophisticated Arab world of the 16th century (Hint: they helped destroy it, much like the Wedge potentially can do).
Not to downplay the potential fatalities this swine flu may claim, but according to a new LA Timespiece the typical flu season in the US:
[B]etween 5% and 20% of the population becomes ill and 36,000 people die — a mortality rate of between 0.24% and 0.96%.
To add some more perspective, roughly 38,000 people die each year on US highways.
Or in other words, unless it morphs into something portrayed in 12 Monkeys, this will probably be a lot more hype than is warranted (the LA Times piece also notes that the virus has been decoded and scientists worst fears have been assuaged).
Now get back to investigating congresscritters!
And be sure to check out Walter Block’s new book on private roads.
- Cure For Honey Bee Colony Collapse? (ScienceDaily). Unsurprisingly the huge hype and nonsensical stammering about “cell phones killing everything” turned out to be a lot of hot air.
- Are running shoes a waste of money? (Daily Mail). Should you also eat like a caveman?
- Unskilled and Unaware of It (PDF). Funny journal article that explains the behavior of the annoying Cornell grad down in accounting. Classic concluding remarks. Via Geordie Rose
- How to End a War, Eisenhower’s Way (NY Times)
- The costs and benefits of home ownership (The Economist)
- U.S. May Become Basket Case With Gauchos on the Potomac (Bloomberg)
- Predator C Avenger Makes First Flights (Aviation Week)
- 450-mm fabs to run $10B; scaling to slow (EE Times). A few months old, but interesting
Not quite, but the Board is 