MISCELLANEOUS

1) It grieves me to report the death of Prof. David J. Rose of M.I.T. last October. Along with Prof. Cohen of the U. of Pittsburgh and Prof. Conolly of Stanford, Rose was one of the first scientists to point to the vastly superior safety and healthfulness of nuclear power compared with coal and other power sources. Unlike spokesmen of the nuclear industry, who never talk about the comparison (so as not to offend the coal lobby and the utilities), neither he nor the other scientists ever made it to the TV shows, where Brokaw, Rather and the other propagandists feign fairness in debates between industry spokesmen and their critics, with this fundamental point concealed by both sides.

2) On the day our editorial on asbestos went out last month, top EPAcrat Lee M. Thomas proposed to ban all uses of asbestos, beating himself in the breast that this would avoid about 1900 cancer deaths over the next 15 years. I have requested EPA (Wash., DC 20460) to testify at the hearings. I will want to know 1) what so disturbs Mr Thomas about 1900 fatal cancers when he yawns over some 45,000 to 250,000 cancers due to energy conservation via radon over the same period (total cancer deaths over 15 years: about 6 million); 2) whether he has considered the deaths due to lack of asbestos in brake linings (there is no good substitute now), or whether the EPA merely plans another publicity stunt, comparable to its ban of PCBs, which was based on dubious suspicions and causes frequent electrical fires by flammable substitutes [AtEMar 85, Nov 85].

3) Thumbs down on the Luddites against the frost-damage preventing Ice Minus bacterium [AtE Feb 86] in Berkeley. Protesting the protest is world-renowned Berkeley professor of biomedicine (and long-time AtE subscriber) Thomas H. Jukes, who was told by these scholars of English grammar that there is too much food in the world. Earth First! is the genteel group of nature lovers who hammer long spikes into trees (to damage the saw mills), burn road machinery, and topple power line towers [AtE Oct 85]. Turning 80 this year, science activist Jukes puts to shame younger scientists who are doing all they need for evil to triumph: nothing.

4) Not just Margaret Thatcher, but even socialist Mitterand is selling off the big losers to private companies, reports the US branch of Britain's Adam Smith Institute, 305 9^th St. SE, Wash., DC 20003. Write for free introductory package.

5) The Wall Street J. asked me to write an article on Price-Anderson and it on Feb. 6. Send SASE to us for a copy.