[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 09-14-2022).]

quote Originally posted by Patrick: I suspect most of us are aware that there have been multiple tests (and a couple of, ummm... non-tests) that have taken place over the last 77 years... but I don't know how the radioactive contamination compares between a "controlled" explosion and a nuclear "accident". Whether it's worse or not, it's probably not desirable.

Patrick, not trying to be a jerk, but I think a lot of your trepidation comes from years of propaganda. Europe also suffers from a similar issue right now, with an irrational fear of nuclear power.

For decades... literally several decades, foreign governments, specifically those that provide oil and natural gas, have funded anti-Nuke campaigns all around the world. I don't want to be trite here, but I realize you'll just read what I say and completely cast it aside, but I need to make the attempt never the less.

A much smaller example was something that I saw years ago here in South Florida. I saw this huge campaign to eliminate dog track racing... which was big money in South Florida years ago. I remember leaving the stadium (edit: Dolphin stadium, not a dog track stadium) one day and every car had a flyer from some organization, talking about all the horrors of dog track racing. Understandably, there is a dark side to dog track racing, just as there is for horse racing, but you don't see anything like that for the horse racing. Never the less, these pamphlets were telling everyone to sign an online petition to eliminate dog track racing immediately.

The dog track (I forget the name), also allowed gambling, and had slots on site. They even had free $5 dollar concerts. I saw America, Rare Earth, and several other bands there, it was fantastic. I looked into it a little bit and quickly discovered as I worked my way through the maze of organizations, that ultimately, the entire campaign was funded by the Miccosukee Indian Village. You see, it wasn't about the dogs at all... it was about protecting the casino profits on native American lands down the street.


Your fear and concerns about nuclear power are certainly founded, but these are things that are easily solved. NASA managed to solve this problem in the 60s, and they do it even better, with better technology, in the 2020s. The benefits of nuclear power are astounding for long-range and long-term storage of power. We use it on air craft carriers and other large vessels, and it makes sense for long-range space.

The only question I have is, do we trust CHINA to properly mitigate risks like we would in North America or Europe?

quote Originally posted by Patrick: Let's hear 'em. Name me some tangible "benefits" for Joe Average that are worth risking radioactive contamination of this and/or of any other planet.

As for this... I look at things through a different lens. I don't really look at government programs on what I can "personally get" from them. That aside... I mention duct tape and velcro, because both of those came from the space program. They're the two most talked about, but there are 1000s of tangible benefits that the public has seen from NASA. Just do a little search, there are plenty of websites.

But back on the point, for me, I see NASA (and space exploration in general) as something that needs to be done to move society forward. There are things "I want" ... and MY life that I lead, and then I see us as a race of humans, and things that we need to do collectively. My support of NASA and space travel has to do with my desire for the human race to explore space, and advance all of humanity into a new age of technology that would only come with space-travel.

[This message has been edited by 82-T/A [At Work] (edited 09-15-2022).]

[This message has been edited by ls3mach (edited 09-15-2022).]