On January 29, 1982, the Father of the Nuclear Navy, Admiral Hyman Rickover, testified before the Joint Economic Committee of Congress on the Hazards of Nuclear. Rickover was probably the single most influential person over our government's involvement and the heightened productions of nuclear government contract productions during the Cold War. That is why his quote below is so jaw-dropping:
"I'll be philosophical. Until about two billion years ago, it was impossible to have any life on earth; that is, there was so much radiation on earth you couldn't have any life - fish or anything. Gradually, ab out two billion years ago, the amount of radiation on this planet and probably in the entire system reduced and made it possible for some form of life to begin, and it started in the seas, I understand from what I've read, and that amount of radiation has been gradually decreasing because all radiation has a half-life, which means ultimately there will be no radiation.
Now, when we go back to using nuclear power, we are creating something
which nature tried to destroy to make life possible. Now that is the
philosophical aspect, whether it's nuclear power or using radiation for
medical purposes or whatever. Of course, those are not bad because they
don't last long, but every time you produce radiation, you produce
something that has life, in some cases for billions of years, and I
think there the human race is going to wreck itself, and it's far more
important that we get control of this horrible force and try to
eliminate it.
I do not believe that nuclear power is worth it if it creates radiation. Then you might ask me why do I have nuclear-powered ships? That's a necessary evil. I would sink them all."
--Admiral Hyman Rickover
I do not believe that nuclear power is worth it if it creates radiation. Then you might ask me why do I have nuclear-powered ships? That's a necessary evil. I would sink them all."
--Admiral Hyman Rickover
He would have known sinking the ships would do nothing to mitigate the radiation.
ReplyDeleteMaybe future weapons would include towing old rusty nuke ships into enemy waters and threatening them to leave it there.
The krill took much of the radiation from Fukushima to Davy Jones locker. it will help a little, some will half life away before making their remaining presence known in the future.
DeleteThe gift that keeps on giving.