[cdn-nucl-l] RE: Taking the bull by the horns

["Brown, Morgan" <brownmj@aecl.ca>]

Who is the "we"?  Those of us who are determined not to let exaggeration,
incompleteness, ignorance, emotion  and downright lies take the place of
fact.  It is not a time to "defend" nuclear, but rather the time to promote
it, and do so ardently (yet remaining sensible about it, maintaining our
grip on the scientific approach).  

Why is it that newspapers report the nonsense of the Sierra Club or Energy
Probe?  Because those organizations are well-heeled and have placed
themselves very conveniently to be "watchdogs" (dogs, anyhow) that are
easily accessible by the media.  The anti-nuke orgs plant outrageous
statements (short, clever, quotable sound-bites) in the media (which lap
them up, given that we aren't there to counter them).  Therefore the
anti-nuclear organizations justify themselves to their supporters ("See all
the quotes we had in the news this year - we're doing a good job so send us
money.").  Look at Energy Probe, and other parts of Probe Corp, which gets
many op-eds in the National Post.  I counted five in a two month period
around Christmas.  Where are our op-eds?

I was amazed when, last week, David Bond, a professor in the commerce
faculty at UBC, opined his positive thoughts regarding nuclear power on CBC!
He has taken the bull by the horns, ahead of us.

It is essential that we establish ourselves with the media for exactly who
we are - fact-based scientists/engineers/technologists/lay people who are in
favour of utilizing nuclear science and technology.  We need to improve our
visibility and credibility.  Some are already doing it, like Jeremy and his
Canadian Nuclear FAQ page on the internet.  Perhaps letters to the editor
are too responsive, too defensive, too apologetic.  Maybe we need to write
letters that take the lead.

my $0.02

Morgan Brown

> ----------
> From: 	Jerry Cuttler[SMTP:jerrycuttler@home.com]
> Sent: 	Monday, February 12, 2001 6:13 PM
> To: 	cdn-nucl-l (E-mail)
> Subject: 	[cdn-nucl-l] Taking the bull by the horns
> 
> Very good letter, Morgan!  I hope they publish it.
> 
> Who exactly is/are "we" taking the bull by the horns?  The equivalent
> organization in Canada would be the CNA.
> If the CNA were to take on such a campaign, it would be useful to speak
> with
> the Brazilian Nuclear Energy Association (ABEN) to understand exactly how
> they did it* and then develop an appropriate strategy to do it here.  Then
> the CNA would need to assign good people and the necessary funds to attack
> the rascals skilfully, without mercy, using facts and good science.  It
> would take a few years to win.
> With the costs of energy rising, isn't it time to start to play the game
> with our own rules?  We don't have to play a fool's game with their rules.
> 
> Jerry
> 
> -------------------------------------------------
> *  The director of the Brazilian Nuclear Energy Association, nuclear
> engineer Guilherme Camargo, tells the fascinating story of how the truth
> won
> out over Greenpeace's lies, in an interview with Dr. Jonathan Tennenbaum
> which will appear in a future issue of 21st Century Science & Technology
> magazine.
>