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.

For the first week of our citizen science project, I looked into the logistics behind Nuclear Power (NP) and the pros and cons of it.

Some pros I found were that NP is relatively clean compared to the usage of fossil fuels as it does not emit carbon dioxide smoke. This means that it leaves a smaller carbon footprint on the environment. Fossil Fuels and coal leaves a huge carbon footprint and emits numerous greenhouse gases, which are linked to the idea of global warming. Although, the con of NP is that it does produce radioactive waste, which is extremely difficult to handle and get rid of. The waste must be contained and has an extremely long life span. The waste can take thousands of years to stop emitting massive amounts of radiation.

Consequently, this relates to the economics of NP. The power generated from the plants is actually at a much greater quantity relative to wind, water, and coal. The issue that creates controversy is once again the waste. The contradiction is that even though NP may efficiently produce energy, it still creates large amounts of toxic waste. The removal and handling of this waste in itself raises the total costs.

The debate is among the issue if Np has too great of an impact on the environment. The waste that is produced can cause mutations and death among organisms that live around the disposal site. Although, the waste is much cleaner/greener than other sources of power. This is essential because global warming can be linked to the death of thousands of species of animals worldwide. In the present, NP can be beneficial such that it can replace the harmful methods of producing energy and can reverse or decrease the impact of global warming. In the long term, the radioactive wastes would accumulate. The most important issue may be to find a groundbreaking approach to eradicating the toxic waste.

I believe that NP in general has a negative  connotation, especially with disasters such as Chernobyl. I hope to find new leads and sources on ways that NP can grow and change into an energy source that can change our environmental impact.

Team Boomer-aang is hosting a Citizen Science Project dealing with the pros, cons, and future of nuclear power in the United States (and possibly abroad).

For the first week, I researched general information on nuclear power and the pros and cons of it.  Interestingly, the United States has 65 nuclear power plants with a total of 104 functioning generators.   These plants generate 19% of the United States’ energy, and the most nuclear energy generation in the world, even though the percentage we use for supply is lower (for example, France uses 80% of nuclear power for energy supply).  These plants are commercially owned.  The amount of plants surprised me, because nuclear energy is not discussed very much, especially in comparison to natural gases and coal.

The list of advantages and disadvantages seemed relatively constant across the web.  Advantages include no CO2 emissions; it is cleaner than oil; while non-renewable, radioactive materials are relatively available.  Disadvantages include radiation and contamination (including possible accidents)and  non-disposable resources.  Of course, money is a factor that can contribute to whether or not nuclear power becomes a bigger contender in the energy market.

After reading through background information, I discovered there are plants in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania.  For this upcoming week, I plan to research these plants and see if any of their workers would be willing to come to the citizen science cafe (or have a digital presence, via video chat or a prerecorded video message).  Also, I would like to research nuclear power in France, which produces the second most in the world as well as relying on it more heavily for energy use than the United States, and Germany, which also relies heavily on nuclear power but after the meltdown in some of Japan’s nuclear power plants in 2010, was considering phasing out nuclear power.  By looking at these two countries,  we can see how nuclear power plays a part in similar societies, as well as the debates in Germany as to pros and cons in a country already utilizing nuclear energy.  In addition, I will begin compiling a list of possible guests and hosts for the event.