ENVIRONMENTAL CARBON 14

Amid our current plague of swarming pseudoenvironmentalists, the story of carbon 14 also provides a lesson in true environmental science - the study of the actual physical realities of our environment by means of the phenomena we find within it.

With every breath, we ingest substantial amounts of this radioactive substance. It is in our water, in our food, and in the rocks, plants, animals, and people around us. The most recent results of health physics indicate that we have learned to live harmoniously in the sea of radiation to which ¹⁴C is a contributor, and (although this work is ongoing and not yet complete) there is a growing indication that we actually benefit from it.

Moreover, by understanding ¹⁴C and learning to manipulate it, we have learned a great amount about chemistry, biochemistry, and other sciences, and have greatly increased our own personal benefits from medical science. Through biochemistry, we have also enriched the beauty of our lives. We no longer see only the forests and the trees. We are able to see inside these and other living things and understand them on a molecular level. The incredible molecular beauty of our environment is a wonder that has been hidden from all human beings who have lived on earth before this century.

Contrast this knowledge with the fear of the ignorant who still believe that "radiation'' is an evil and that there is no safe dose - who interfere with the life-giving and life-saving energy that flows from nuclear power plants because it is associated with "radiation.'' Ignorance is a debilitating handicap, fear a terrible master, and the true story of ¹⁴C is a great place to start in the elimination of both.