Power To Save The World

Gwyneth Cravens grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the Sandia Mountains in the distance. With Sandia National Laboratories close by, she worried that the Soviets were going to bomb her home into oblivion. As she got older, like many Americans, she associated nuclear power with nuclear bombs and thus became anti-nuclear. After relocating to Long Island, she joined protesters in successfully preventing the Shoreham nuclear power plant from ever coming on line. It's now something she regrets.

In the early 90's, while visiting friends and family back in Albuquerque, she met Dr. D. Richard "Rip" Anderson, a scientist at Sandia National Laboratories, and his wife at a party. She struck up a conversation with him that would ultimately lead her over the next decade through a tour of the entire nuclear power industry: uranium mines, research labs in Idaho, Three Mile Island, power plants, old weapons test sites, and waste disposal sites. Although she didn't visit Chernobyl, there's a chapter that analyzes what went wrong and why it couldn't happen here. Cravens covers radiation, mining, fuel supply, politics and regulations, costs, risk assessment, waste storage, improvements in reactor design, safety, terrorism, baseline energy demand, and contrasts the nuclear industry with coal. The end result is: "Power To Save The World: The Truth About Nuclear Energy."

This is an amazing book. Cravens, a novelist by trade, is able to make a book about physics and engineering, which could be dull to non-technical readers, a compelling read. We're there as she makes her journey through the nuclear world. Vivid descriptions and colorful anecdotes break up the science lessons and statistical evidence presented to destroy the myths and allay the fears that people (including herself) have regarding nuclear power.

The most illuminating portion of the book for me was the fact that we are awash in radiation from natural sources. The universe, our planet, and everything we eat, exposes us to radiation. Had a banana lately? Anything with potassium in it harbors Potassium-40 atoms, which emits beta radiation. Feeling sick now? You shouldn't. Cravens tears apart the belief that radiation exposure is harmful at all levels as all the evidence shows that low level exposure is harmless and that there is a threshold that must be passed before damage occurs. However, regulations have been established that all radiation is bad, hence the great lengths that power plants and waste repositories must go through to insulate the public. For example, the EPA states that the neighbors of nuclear power plant must not be subjected to more than 15 millirems of radiation. All American nuclear power plants emit 1-2 millirem/year. By contrast, a chest X-ray exposes you to 10 millirem. Dental X-ray 29 millirem. A roundtrip flight from NYC to LA gives you 3 millirem. The granite in Grand Central Station exposes people to 540 millirem (assuming you were there round the clock). People living in Denver are exposed to 700 millirem/year (the higher the altitude, the less atmosphere there is to shield you, not to mention all that granite). Yet there are no cancer clusters among Grand Central workers, dental technicians, airline pilots, flight attendants, or the residents of Denver. By comparison, cigarette smokers who have a one pack per day habit expose themselves to 8,000 millirem/year. Tobacco plants, it seems, have an affinity for radionuclides.

While she defends the science of nuclear power and defends the engineering incorporated into structures, she doesn't brown nose the corporations that own the power plants. She acknowledges that they've miscommunicated, kept things hidden, and made poor strategic decisions. The industry is over regulated. And while that's forced workers to adopt a culture of safety (a good thing she argues) it's over the top. I worked for a chemical company that would've been shut down if it had to report every single little spill that happened. A few milliliters of a non-reactive substance is harmless. So too are the "accidents" at nuclear power plants that you read in the paper or hear about from shrill anti-nuclear groups. But even water leaks that don't come into contact with the reactor are required to be reported. Do you tell your health insurance company every time you blow your nose? In fact, if the chemical, oil, and coal industries had to live up to the standards imposed on the nuclear industry, they wouldn't be able to stay in business due to regulatory expenditures. "Cheap coal" would be an oxymoron.

There's just so much in this book. I could go on and on and on about the material in this book (especially about radiation) but time, space, and my kids prevent me from doing so. I strongly recommend that everyone read this book (it's in paperback now too) to get the facts about nuclear power. Or go to Cravens' website.

At the end of the book, Cravens visits a clinic to determine her level of exposure after ten years of researching her book. After visiting uranium mines, Three Mile Island, a couple nuclear power plants, nuclear research sites, bomb test sites, and waste repositories, her test results came back negative.

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DED

Phoenix Arrives On Mars Sunday Night

On Sunday night, if all goes well, another NASA probe will land on Mars, bringing the number of active craft on the planet or in orbit up to 6. The Phoenix mission is different in that it will land near Mars' north pole. In 2002, the Mars Odyssey Orbiter mission discovered water-ice buried beneath the surface. Given that Mars' past was much wetter than it is today, did life ever arise there? Is there life there now? Phoenix will try to answer these and other questions.

Of course, there are some that already believe that there is life on Mars. I'm not referring to the Face of Mars, but more "mundane" discoveries. ALH84001, a meteorite whose origin was traced back to Mars, contains chain-like structure that could be the remnants of fossilized bacteria. Although tests for organic material have revealed amino acids and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). However, the results aren't conclusive. There's still the possibility that non-biological processes could be involved or the meteorite was contaminated from contact with Antarctic ice.

But the life on Mars debate goes back even further. When the Viking probes landed on Mars, soil samples were tested for the presence of organic materials. Basically, the soil was dumped into solutions of water and nutrients. The amount of CO₂ in the test chamber increased. The onboard gas chromatograph (GC) didn't detect any sign of organics but Gilbert Levin, the experiment's designer, said that the amount of microbes could've been below the threshold detection limits of the GC. Others counter that superoxidants in the soil could've produced the observed reaction. A recent re-examination of the Viking data suggests that extremophiles, a form of life unknown during the 70's, might account for the observed results.

Phoenix will try to settle the matter once and for all. But while there are a lot of us that hope it discovers signs of life, past or present, there are those who hope it doesn't. Nick Bostrum wrote an essay for MIT's Technology Review (TotH: David Brin) explaining why he hopes that Phoenix doesn't find anything. For those of you not interested in registering or reading the lengthy article, I'll summarize it.

The foundation of Bostrum's piece is Fermi's Paradox. To paraphrase, considering the age of the universe and assuming the existence of life is at least somewhat commonplace, where is everybody? We should've been contacted by someone by now. UFO sightings and alleged abductions notwithstanding, we don't have any evidence that intelligent life exists outside of Earth. For the sake of his piece, Bostrum doesn't show any interest in the positive explanations (I define "positive" to mean "yes they exist, but....") that are offered in Wiki. Instead, he sticks with the negative explanations.

Bostrum has labeled the event that has thus rendered us alone "The Big Filter." What is The Big Filter? The Big Filter is some event that wipes out life everywhere in the cosmos and has left us in our current situation: all alone. He doesn't know what it is exactly, but it results in any of the negative explanations in the Wiki entry. The Big Filter either occurs in the distant past, inhibiting life from arising in the first place, or at some point in the future, destroying civilizations before they can expand beyond their homeworld.

If Phoenix doesn't find any signs of current or past life (expected to be microbial), then it means Earth, and humanity, has survived its encounter with The Big Filter and is free to prosper in the galaxy.

If Phoenix does find life, or signs of past life, on Mars, then the universe has the natural propensity to create life, but, in keeping with Fermi's Paradox, it doesn't survive long enough to spread. That means that Earth and humanity still has to face the challenge of The Big Filter and there's no reason to believe that we are any different than any other civilization that has come before us. Whether civilizations self-destruct, or run out of resources before they escape the confines of their homeworlds, or are eradicated by some external threat, the odds are against us and we're doomed.

Of course, there's no guarantee that if the The Big Filter lies in the past, we won't go extinct anyway. Unless we can strike a balance between aggression and compassion, wisdom and folly, intelligence and ignorance, enlightenment and fear, then the universe is probably better off without us.

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DED

2008 Connecticut Craft Brewers Beer Festival

Saturday was the 14th annual Connecticut Craft Brewers Beer Festival in Naugatuck. After some overnight showers, the sun came out and provided us with a beautiful day. Although there was a threat of showers for late afternoon, they held off. Temperatures were in the mid to upper 60's.

I didn't have to deal with the food lines at all this year as I joined Bob over at Adam's house for a pre-beer fest 1/2 lb burger with a healthy covering of a onion and mushroom concoction that was delicious. Coupled with a late lunch, I was all ready to go.

We met Cooper and Chris at the beer fest and proceeded to systematically make our way through all four tents. We compared notes and made recommendations. We all have different palates: I'm the malt guy while Cooper and Adam are big on hops.

My first stop was Olde Burnside for their Ten Penny Scottish Ale, a favorite. They had Penny Weiz Scottish Wheat Ale on hand. In order to sell me on it, the guy from the brewery said that it resembled Blue Moon. The problem is, I'm not a Blue Moon fan. I considered coming back for it later but I never got around to it.

BruRm @ Bar was there with three cask conditioned ales: Damn Good Stout, Bar Pale Ale, and Reekie Tartan Scottish Ale. Last year's Raven Haired Beauty and Smoked Porter were absent unfortunately. I went with the stout. I found it too be a little too sweet with the coffee overtones a little too strong and the finish had some extra yeastiness to it. Bob got it as well and said that it was likely the cask conditioning that did it. Adam, Bob and Cooper said that the beer served at the brewfests were always better tasting than what they served at the bar.

This was the first year Butternuts Brewery was there. They served up their wares in cans. Yes, cans. Apparently people in the craft beer industry have come to the belief that canning technology is good enough now. Bob told me that Minnesota prohibits glass bottles from being used on their lakes but cans are ok (because they float better?). New England Brewery has had a measure of success selling their brews in Minnesota because they switched to cans a couple of years ago. Anyway, I tried the Porkslap Pale Ale. My first impression was "pork soda." It had a bit of a ginger ale feel to it. I can't say that's a recommendation.

I needed something malty after that so I grabbed a Gonzo Imperial Porter from Flying Dog. Others in the group went for the Double Dog IPA and gave it a thumbs up.

Chris recommended the Lobster Ale from Belfast Bay, a late addition to brewfest. It was terrible. I poured it out. That's how bad it was. I think it was some kind of American pilsner but I could be wrong.

Now I was desperately in need of a good beer to wash that swill out of my mouth. Harpoon was there. I sampled their Red Rye Ale, one of their 100 Barrel Series. It was very good, especially for Spring.

Chris wanted to make it up to me so he suggested the Old Yankee Ale from Cottrell. And he did. This was a nice crisp, hoppy beer. The website says that it's an American Amber Ale. I'd imagine that it would be good for spring and summer bbq's. They also had a bock, though I don't know the name and it's not listed on the website. My first impression was "bacon!" Bacon beer, mmmmmmm. It must've come from the smoky flavor. Curious.

I've never had any of Trout River's offerings before. Although the name is familiar, I'm not sure that it's available outside of Vermont. I'll have to keep an eye out for them. I had their Scottish Ale which was really good. Not too sweet at all. I then had their Hoppin Mad Trout, a pale ale. Despite its name, it wasn't overly hoppy at all. In fact, I'd say that it matched the style just fine.

Ipswich is another brewer that I've heard of but never had. I sampled their Summer Ale which was crisp and clean. The website says that it's an unfiltered blonde ale.

Cambridge House, a brew pub in Torrington, was there. I went with Three Steves Stout and it was good.

Hartford Better Beer Company made their first Naugatuck appearance this year. I haven't had them since the Brass City Brewfest last fall, so I picked up a glass of their Praying Mantis Porter. Still yummy.

Another last minute addition was Pennichuck Brewery. They were so last minute that their name didn't even appear in the menu that attendants receive upon entrance. Anyway, they're from New Hampshire and are just making inroads to CT and NY. I went with a dark lager named Feuerwehrmann Schwarzbier, which translates to Firefighter Black Lager. This was a very good offering. Plenty of malty goodness balanced with a lager bite.

And last, but certainly not least, Blue Point Brewing made their first visit to Naugatuck. I was hoping to clean my palate with some of their Blueberry Ale but, due to the lateness of the day, they didn't have any cold. So the rep from the company gave me a bottle to take home. Sweet! So, I settled on the Toasted Lager. This was a good choice to end the day. A good mix of hops and malt.

And there you have it. Another fine afternoon of people enjoying quality brews in a public setting free from tyranny, social conservative oppression and frat boy rowdiness. Even the police officers hired to monitor the event seemed to be having a good time. It's enough to restore one's faith in humanity, even if only for a few hours.

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DED

Heavy Metal In Baghdad

This intrigues me.

FILM SYNOPSIS

Heavy Metal in Baghdad is a feature film documentary that follows the Iraqi heavy metal band Acrassicauda from the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 to the present day. Playing heavy metal in a Muslim country has always been a difficult (if not impossible) proposition but after Saddam’s regime was toppled, there was a brief moment for the band in which real freedom seemed possible. That hope was quickly dashed as their country fell into a bloody insurgency. From 2003-2006, Iraq disintegrated around them while Acrassicauda struggled to stay together and stay alive, always refusing to let their heavy metal dreams die. Their story echoes the unspoken hopes of an entire generation of young Iraqis.

Here's the movie trailer.



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DED

The High Cost of Salt and Beer

Even infrequent readers of my blog know that I'm a beer aficionado, so when prices go up I'm going to be affected. But the rice shortage is impacting me too. Not because I'm a huge consumer of rice, but because of its impact on salt. Potassium Chloride salt to be exact.

When my house was built in the early 70's, the builder cut corners. Instead of using standard "L" grade copper pipe, he used "M" grade. The latter is suitable for closed circulating systems (heaters) but not for open systems. I have acidic water. It came up with a pH of 5.5 when I had it tested. Granted, the pH of well water is affected by various conditions, and 5.5 was probably on the extreme end. Anyway, the acidic water slowly ate away at the thinner walled pipe and led to pinhole leaks in my water lines. Fortunately, the way my house is set up, all of the leaking occurred in the garage. The acid would react with the copper pipe closest to the water source. Other than ruining insulation and sheet rock in the ceiling, we avoided any major damage.

Solution: We replaced the accessible copper pipe with flexible plastic pipe (cross-linked Polyethylene) which is unaffected by weak acids. The pH of the ground water would then be neutralized with a water softener/deionizer. Unfortunately, the water softener requires salt. Sodium Chloride is the standard, but I was concerned about introducing excess sodium into our diets so I opted for Potassium Chloride (KCl). Although at $9 for a 40lb bag it was twice the price, the relatively low consumption rate made it worth it.

But that was a few years ago.

Last month, I paid $16 for that same bag at Lowe's. I was in Agway with the kids the other day and I overheard one of the staff explaining to a customer that the price was now $24/bag. Why? China.

95% of KCl produced is used as fertilizer. It's referred to as potash (though the name is a catchall for potassium-based fertilizers). The clerk went on to say that China can't seem to get enough fertilizer for its rice crops (you remember the rice shortage, right?) and its causing a spike in demand for KCl worldwide.

Reminds me of the cement, copper, and steel shortages that were due to China's growth. Anyone seeing a pattern yet?

So, I can either pony up the money for KCl, switch to NaCl and elevate my family's blood pressure, or turn the unit off altogether and hope that my water's low pH doesn't attack the remaining copper pipe in the inaccessible parts of my house. And there's all the talk that acidic water is bad for you (though it doesn't stop people from drinking soda), but I've had a tough time finding unbiased info (most sites are trying to sell you something) on whether or not really weak acids (pH 6) are detrimental. For now, I'll spend the extra money on KCl.

Ok, now for the bad beer news. As I mentioned a couple of months ago, beer prices are going up. Well, if you drink swill, probably not so much. After all, it's so watered down that there's hardly anything in there. But if you're a craft brew drinker, you're looking at higher prices. Anyway, that article explains the situation (quadrupled hops prices! high gas prices! corn ethanol madness!) and offers tips on what you can do to "cope," including brewing your own beer (which I recommend).

Now for the good beer news (didn't want to make this all doom and gloom): the 2008 Connecticut Craft Beer Festival is Saturday, May 17th. I think I've got a 50/50 shot of making it this year. If I do, I'll be sure to report back here with my findings.

Specifically for Mike: Blue Point is now the #50 craft beer maker (in terms of volume) in the country. See this report.

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DED

Tagged Again

Mike tagged me with a meme from way over in his neighborhood. It's another one of those social memes you'd expect to do in high school or college at some kind of social mixer, possibly to find an inroad with a member of the opposite sex, except that this one geared towards an older crowd. Same maturity level though.

1) Ten years ago I was...

...engaged to the future Mrs. DED. We were living together in a two bedroom apartment in South Norwalk. I was employed by an internet advertising agency to build web sites for large corporations. I was still in Death Penis, though the group was spiraling towards break up. I was also enjoying my new found hobby: beer brewing.

2) Five things on today's to-do list:

1. Get my son ready for school
2. Get my daughter up, dressed, and fed so that we can go...
3. Grocery shopping
4. Help my son with his homework
5. Make dinner

I could go on and on but you get the idea.

3) Things I'd do if I were a billionaire:
A billion dollars doesn't go as far as it used to. There was a time when you could raise and army, hire an evil genius and take over the world. But not anymore. I suppose I'd buy an island or a mountain and build a fortress off of the grid, complete with RC aerial drones or tanks to keep out the dreck. Any money left over would be invested in some venture to make spaceflight more accessible to the masses. Maybe I could take over Mars instead.

4) Three bad habits:

1. Staying up until 2AM to watch west coast hockey teams
2. Cookies
3. Going back for seconds

5) Five places I've lived:

1. Shirley, NY
2. Syracuse, NY
3. Atlanta, GA
4. Stamford, CT
5. Norwalk, CT

There are several more, but this should suffice.

6) Six jobs I've had in my life:

1. Newspaper delivery boy
2. Cashier
3. Environmental Analyst
4. Metal Finishing Technical Service Representative
5. Quality Control Chemist - Raw Materials
6. Website Programmer

There are several more, but this is a good start.

Ok, that takes care of that. I tag Eduardo, Jim, and Toast (he likes memes). It's optional. If you guys don't feel like it doing it, I won't hold your feet to the fire. I'll leave that to Mike. :)

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DED