So our group, Team Boomer-aang (not to be confused with the Krew) has decided to do a Citizen Science Cafe on the topic of nuclear power and weaponization. This is the first blog post from the Designer/Artist and Data Manager of the group.
Our final digital deliverable is going to be a short documentary. For this, we are going to use two DSLR cameras and a high-end microphone to capture the event in as professional quality as possible. It’ll be edited in Final Cut Pro and presented to the class. We’re looking into a variety of different cafe’s, as well as the Macaulay Building, as a possible location for the Cafe event, but wherever we choose to shoot, it’s definitely got to have adequate lighting, as Canon T3i’s are only so effective in low light.
Okay, now that all that boring technical stuff is out of the way.
We don’t have much (or really any) data yet, so there isn’t really much to collect, but I’m starting to compile all the background research that we do. Meanwhile, I’ve been taking a look at the history behing nuclear warfare and the weaponization of nuclear power. Einstein wrote Roosevelt to start an atomic research program to be prepared to counteract the potential threat of Nazi atomic weapon development. Ironically, it can be argued that we became the villains when we dropped two bombs on Japan (one in Hiroshima, one in Nagasaki) in 1945. These events caught the attention of the USSR, which kick-started the nuclear arms race between us that we commonly refer to in history as the “Cold War”. These tensions caused a perpetual sense of fear and discrimination, known as the “Red Scare”, upheld by political institutions such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation during the 50’s and 60’s.
While not strictly scientific, this information is important as it allows us to assess the social and political power of nuclear energy. Is it worth it to further explore and exploit its capabilities in the name of energy if it poses such a threat in so many ways when weaponized? This can be an interesting point of contention for the Citizen Science cafe.
