Author Archives: RF_Alum

The World Set Free; A Story of Mankind

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world-set-freeWe usually don’t review fiction books, but this one deserves an exception. H. G. Wells wrote the book in 1913 and published it in 1914, and his visions of the future are quite amazing. A central part of the story is the discovery and application of nuclear energy for “aeroplanes” and other transportation vehicles. An “atomic riveting gun” is even mentioned. Wells uses the terms “radio-activity” and “atomic bombs” frequently. The bombs are a key part of the story. The major population centers are destroyed by atomic bombs, and mankind has little choice but to rebuild a more peaceful world. Wells was obviously keeping up with research of the atom by renowned physicists of the day to get material for the book.  He dedicates the book to Frederick Soddy, who had written a paper about radium.

The Prelude begins with man at “…the onset of his terrestrial career…” and we find him struggling to survive by making crude weapons and using fire and beasts of burden. Reading it made me wonder if the author of “Space Odyssey 2001” had read this book. Early man “…fled the cave bear over the rocks full of iron ore and the promise of a sword and spear; he froze to death over a ledge of coal…” Of course a few of the strongest and smartest survived and began to thrive. The author attributes this accomplishment to what is explained in the sentence, “Man began to think.” Not all was perfect, because man and his tribes invested centuries of history in warring against others. Many inventions, such as gunpowder, were intended to gain an advantage in wars. Still, at the end of the nineteenth century, “The sober Englishman …could sit at his breakfast table, decide between tea from Ceylon or coffee from Brazil, devour an egg from France and some Danish ham, or eat a New Zealand chop, wind up his breakfast with a West Indian banana, (and) glance at the latest telegrams…”

A professor named Rufus was giving lectures on radium and radio-activity and described how radium was “…breaking up and flying to pieces.” Rufus mentions uranium and thorium and describes that “…the atom…is really a reservoir of immense energy.” He goes on to describe how in fourteen ounces of the element uranium “…slumbers a least as much energy as we could get by burning a hundred and sixty tons of coal.” He continues to explain that that a sudden release of the energy “…would blow us and everything around us to fragments; … (or) keep Edinburgh brightly lit for a week.” He then proposes driving giant battleships or liners and predicts that “man’s material destiny” will be changed forever. Continue reading →

Tit for Tat

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This expression means to retaliate against some sort of attack or injury. The expression is posted this week as a companion to a review of the book “The World Set Free” by H. G. Wells. The book, written in 1913, describes how atomic bombs are used to destroy Paris and an aviator sets out with three atomic bombs to drop on Berlin, “tit for tat.”

The expression was used as early as 1556 and may have been variations in how to say “this for that.” Also, “tit and tat” are “…both the names of small blows that originated as ‘tip and tap’.”

Costs of Fighting Global Warming

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I was inspired to weigh in again on the issue of global warming by an article titled “Post-coal Pueblo left out in the cold” by Lydia DePillis of the Washington Post. Under the headline there is a picture of Pueblo resident Sharon Garcia who “…doesn’t allow lights to be left on in rooms that aren’t being used.” She had her power shut off in 2010, and is constantly struggling to make ends meet running a day care center. She is struggling with paying her electricity bill because the residential rate per kilowatt hour has increased 26 percent since 2010.

The reasons for the increase are complex, and I suggest you read the entire article. The impact of regulatory requirements on utility companies is what attracted my attention. A big part of the problem is caused by “…coal plants shutting down as Colorado transitions to renewable energy.” Black Hills Energy provides power to Pueblo, and Colorado’s 2010 Clean Air—Clean Jobs act caused them to shutter three older plants that would have been too expensive to overhaul. Utility regulators guarantee Black Hills an 8.53 percent return, which gives it an incentive to close nearly all of its relatively inexpensive coal capacity, build new plants, and pass the costs to consumers. Continue reading →

NSC 68 and the Political Economy of the Early Cold War

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polit-econ-cold-warFrequent readers of this web site will find that this is an unusual posting because it is a combination review and commentary. I took that approach because I disagree with the basic premise of the book that stated simplistically, the Soviets did not present the threat that was advocated by U.S. policy.  My disagreement with the premise of the book does not diminish its importance. There is, in my opinion, immense value in a healthy argument about whether the U.S. rearmament was the primary cause of the Cold War or whether the Soviet Union would have taken full advantage if that policy hadn’t blunted their efforts. I’m thrilled Truman was convinced that FDR’s trust of Stalin was misplaced and that containment of the Soviets was needed.

Back to a stab at a review, the book was written by Curt Cardwell, and he has some serious disagreements with the U.S. policies about the intentions of the Soviet Union before the beginning of the Cold War. Briefly, the National Security Council (NSC) issued a series of documents that gauged the intentions of the Soviet Union in the mid-1940s to early 1950s. Those who advocated that the Truman administration must take a hard line against the Soviet Union were primary authors of the policy statement titled NSC 68. The doctrine in that paper was approved by Truman and resulted in a massive rearmament program by the U.S. beginning in 1950. It was the culmination of several Top Secret documents advocating that the ultimate objective of the U.S.S.R. was world domination and that the U.S. was required to aggressively build military strength to prevent the Soviets from pursing that goal.  Cardwell strongly disagrees. He thinks the real purpose of NSC 68 was to protect free market capitalism. I disagree. I offer that the Soviets had blockaded Berlin, exploded their first atomic bomb in 1949, the Chinese Communists had taken control of China, North Korea had invaded the South, and the Chinese had entered the Korean War before NSC 68 was finally approved. Those events and actions indicate the Soviets were, in my opinion, interested in expanding their area of control.  Continue reading →

At First Blush

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One of my favorite books, “A Hog on Ice and Other Curious Expressions” by Charles Earle Funk, explains, “Anciently, a blush was a glimpse, a momentary view.” The expression evolved from that explanation of the expression to mean “…to redden as from embarrassment or shame.” I didn’t find an explanation why the expression evolved from meaning “a momentary view” to the current use  as described by Dictionary.com of “reddening from embarrassment.” Perhaps that is a mystery of the evolution of language.

Rocky Flats Benefits Changes—Another Personal Story

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To frequent readers, the recent commentaries have been in line with the title of this web site, “RockyFlatsFacts.com.” This may be the last of the commentaries about Rocky Flats until we hear more about changes to retiree benefits that the Department of Energy (DOE) is requiring. People who have what they think are “life-time benefits” from a contractor to a government agency should read what is happening to the people who worked at Rocky Flats and develop a “healthy cynicism.”

Several responses to the commentaries previously posted on the changes have been something to the effect, “This can’t be. I worked with dangerous materials. However, they promised me good health care benefits when I retired.” The first warning about the DOE’s willingness to renege on that promise was posted last week by a person who had their health care benefits removed by an administrative action even while they continued to be employed at Rocky Flats. DOE of course did not take the action directly to eliminate the “promised benefits.” They established a contract that required a contractor to take that action.

I received a letter from a reader dated December 1, 2000 addressed to “Retiree or Surviving Spouse.” It explained that DOE had directed Kaiser-Hill not to make any changes for salaried employees who retired before July 1, 1995 or their surviving spouses. The letter also included a memo from the DOE manager saying that there will be no changes and that “…post 1995 retiree benefits will be addressed in “…DOE forthcoming policy…” I am certain people are digging through their files to find information such as this as they contemplate how to protect their benefits. Continue reading →