Mr. Burns Makes Surprise Appearance in D.C.

Working in Washington, D.C., I’ve become very accustomed to seeing street protests of all types and sizes. From the big, inflatable scary rat that pops up on a sidewalk, to construction workers chanting and banging on drums, to the truckers of America riding on Independence Avenue honking their horns, there’s always a little something for anyone who is ready, willing and able to protest.
So, when I saw this little nugget in last Monday’s Politico Morning Energy, I got very excited to see what the day would hold:

Noon - The group Beyond Nuclear holds a Halloween event in front of DOE headquarters to protest federal support for nuclear power. Costumes and street theater have been promised.

Costumes? Street theater? What more could a girl want on Halloween?
Well ... exactly that!

The group was not as organized as one might think. Other than “Mr. Burns” speaking into a camera, I’d call the “Scream Rally” a poor showing at best.
But, Beyond Nuclear, the proud organizers of this event, still heralded it a “screaming” success (pardon the pun) in their weekly newsletter.

Staff from Beyond Nuclear along with representatives from Pax Christi and other organizations were at the DOE on the last day of public comment on the [blue ribbon] commission’s draft report.

I’m guessing several of the “representatives” had to call in sick to the rally given that Halloween fell on a Monday and they probably had to do their day jobs. Regardless, the poorly attended rally did give “Mr. Burns” the platform he needed to voice his opinions on nuclear energy.

I guess I’ll have to stay tuned for the next “protest” to grace D.C. streets.
Photo of Beyond Nuclear protestors in front of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Forrestal building.

On The Discovery of Blinky in Argentina

Like a lot of folks, we've been seeing the reports out of Argentina that locals have caught a 3-eyed fish (leading to inevitable Simpsons comparison) in a lake adjacent to the Embalse nuclear power plant.

Here are just a couple of thoughts before the shots get mainstream media pickup:

• While the photos in question might be interesting to those who get their science from a prime time cartoon, one would hope they would be treated with a healthy dose of skepticism.
  
• If the photos are real, we need to keep in mind that while seeing examples of mutation can be unsettling, they're not uncommon and occur naturally all the time.
  
• Drawing a connection between this fish and the power plant is more than a bit of a stretch. During normal operations, nuclear power plants are a source of clean and reliable, carbon free power. As even a source like Scientific American has noted, coal plants actually emit more radioactivity than nuclear power plants.