Friends,
This week’s news were literally radioactive -and I’m not
talking about the fallout from the Trump-Putin summit. I’m talking mutate your
DNA-exciting news. I’m talking Marie Curie-worthy news. I’m talking
Geiger-counter-tilting news. I’m talking… well, you get the (glow in the dark)
picture.
- A study about a lone wolf collared near Chernobyl and
tracked on a long trek spawned the headline “Could
Chernobyl Wolves Be Spreading Mutations?” While one can be forgiven
for envisioning a flying wolf with laser eyes and a green aura about it,
the disappointing story basically says most mutations are harmful to an
animal’s health -and unhealthy animals are unlikely to travel 250 miles
and mate with other wolves, contaminating the gene pool. So, much ado
about nothing.
- The desire to open
Rocky Flats (a nuclear weapons facility turned wildlife refuge) to the
public has triggered some litigation from an environmentalist group. At
stake is the government’s claim that the area’s “plutonium levels are
safe” for people. Which begs the question, is ANY plutonium safe? And,
which regulatory body should set that threshold? (if you said it’s the
FDA, you’d be wrong. It’s actually the EPA… although, I think the FCC has
a claim, after all it is RADIOactive… get it? )
- Nuclear
test footage from the ’50s and ’60s released this week has been
described by some as “beautiful”. These are presumably the same people who
have naked mole rats as pets and would love to have the blue mustang
sculpture at DIA decorate their front lawn. That said, the digitally
restored video U.S. scientists captured to improve the design of their
weapons of mass destruction does hold a morbid allure.
- And, of course, Vladimir Putin bragged yesterday about
his new attention-seeking nuclear
capabilities. “They kept ignoring us, nobody wanted to listen to us,
so listen to us now!” I’ve heard about troubled children and their need
for attention, but I must admit this is a new tactic.
I’ll tell you what’s NOT radioactive (as far as I know):
Donuts! If you’re in the south office this morning (yes, this is my first time
here!), swing by the break room and grab one. But you might want to hurry, I
only brought a dozen.
Happy Friday!
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