Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 27, 1978)
opinion vours County should claim its place in anti-nuclear history Just as vital information about the dan gers of asbestos was suppressed by the asbestos industry for over 30 years (Washington Post, Nov. 12) attempted coverups are already taking p.ace in rela tion to one of nuclear power’s most insidi ous aspects: nudear radiation. In 1974, the U.S. Department of Energy terminated the research funding for Dr. Thomas Mancuso after he refused to use his preliminary findings to refute another study (by Dr. Sidney Marks) showing a 25 percent cancer excess among workers at the Hanford Nuclear reservation near Rich land, Washington. Dr. Mancuso continued his research independently and his final re port confirmed Marks’ earlier findings. What is happening has been succinctly summarized by Dr. Irwin Bross, another cancer researcher: “In summary, the ‘Big Science’ federal agendes such as the AEC, their industrial constituencies, and their al lies in the engineering, scientific and medi cal communities have been lying to the pub lic about the hazards of low level ionizing radiation for about 25 years. To protect the lie from exposure by honest researchers, ‘Big Science' used its control of the ‘peer review’ machinery to suppress, vilify, or cut off the funding of the ‘little scientists’ who told the truth. As in the asbestos, the dangers of nuclear radiation are not limited to those who actually work in the plants or at the waste disposal sites. They are not even limited to those living within a given radius of a nuclear power plant. A major “spill” of radioactive material can occur on any major transportation route in the U.S. For example, on Sept. 17, 1977, 10,000 pounds of radioactive uranium con centrate was spilled onto a highway in Southeastern Colorado—the result of a highway accident. The nuclear power option for our energy future is not one that should be left to the “experts" who more often than not have been bought out by the nuclear power industry, the U.S. Department of Energy (led by nuclear power advocate James Schlesinger) or both. The history of nuclear power as written 40 years from today should not be one of decisions made by elites meeting in inac cessible “chambers of power.” It should be a history of popular decisions involving the broadest possible spectrum of public input. It should be a history whose underpinnings are found in the October 1978 referendum in Austria, where further development of nuclear power was voted down by the pub lic over the adamant objections of its prime minister, who placed his own term of office at stake on the outcome. It should be a history which records as a major turning point the initiative passed by the citizens of Montana on Nov. 7, 1978, placing such severe restrictions on the building of nuclear power plants as to effec tively halt the development of nuclear power in that state. Finally, it should be a history which de scribes a groundswell of local (city and county) pressure resulting in the effective banning of the transport of all nuclear waste material along the major transportation routes of the U.S. Citizens of Lane County have an oppor tunity to become part of that history this Wednesday when the Lane County Com missioners are taking public testimony on a proposed injunction to ban the transport of nuclear waste material through Lane County. The public hearing will take place at 9 a.m. in Harris Hall at 8th Avenue and Oak Street. If you cannot possibly attend, address your opinions to the County Commission ers, Public Service Building, 125 E. 8th, Eugene, OR. 97401. Bruce Bowers graduate, education policy Coast program benefits students Last spring I participated in the interdisciplinary pro gram People and the Oregon Coast at our marine station in Charleston. It is an innovative program, limited to 40 under graduate students. Five departments cooperate. The stu dents take half their credit in courses and half in a research project which must involve at least three of the disciplines being offered. The courses are oriented around the general theme of coastal living and the impact of man on coastal environ ments. Each department offers a lower division course, and an upper division methods course. All formal teaching is done during the first half of each week, the second half being set aside for student research. Students and staff attend all of the lower division courses, but students are graded only for those for which they are registered. Lectures each week are centered around a common theme (such as Estuaries and Fisheries, Agriculture, Forestry) presented by each instructor from the perspec tive of his or her discipline, and numerous guest speakers. During the second week each student submits a re search proposal with a tentative schedule for implementing it. Much of our time and much of the methods courses are directed toward assisting them in making good choices and good progress in their projects. At term’s end they turn in a typewritten report. We also invite the public for an evening at which each student has an exhibit and discusses his or her project with anyone interested. Interested students should contact Colleen Burgh in Suite 4 EMU or call 686-3798. Paul Rudy deserves the highest commendation for the way he has put this program together and handled it—in addition to his outstanding job of putting our marine station on its feet for its more conventional programs. Bayard H. McConnaughey professor, biology ‘Discrimination no factor here’ With reference to the last article in the series on Women in Science (Nov. 17), I would like to comment on statements attributed to me and also to clarify some points in general. As to the misstatements, never during the interview did I discuss salaries, and only mentioned the so-called “buddy” system in hiring as an often cited problem encoun tered by women in physics and astronomy in the past. As for myself, I received my Ph.D. from the Ohio State Univer sity in 1976 and completed my B.S. in Physics in Louisiana in 1969.1 do research on the spectra of cool stars, which has certainly not been discouraged in my position here at the U. of O. My husband has covered more of my classes than vice versa, as most of my observing is done in Arizona during the winter. The general outlook for women in astronomy is far from bleak. Women professors are not a “rare” breed on astronomy faculties. Most astronomy departments include at least one woman - either with tenure or in tenure tract positions. Also, I certainly do not feel that we live in a world of silence. I and the female colleagues that I know personally have been accepted as equals by our male colleagues. We have enjoyed a generally close working and social relation Page 4 theirs ship with them. Women have been active professionally in astronomy throughout this century. To cite a few examples—one of the most important astronomical doctoral dissertations was done by Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin at Harvard in the 1920’s; Margret Buitidge was director of the Royal Green wich Observatory in this decade; and, the current presi dents of both the American Astronomical Society (AAS) and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific are women As you can see there are no lack of “role-models” for women here. There is currently a working group on the status of women in astronomy. From their report to the AAS in 1974 covering the period 1972-1974,18 percent of the bachelor degree and 7 percent of the Ph.D. recipients ip astronomy were women. In addition, the the total number of women obtaining degrees is increasing each year sinCe the survey Concerning employment prospects, the working group (looking at a representative period) found that 8 percent of the positions listed in the AAS Job Registry were filled by women—which is nearly the same percentage as women in the field as a whole. This is not to say that statistical inequality does not exist in other areas they considered but I tend to agree with Chancellor Lieuallen (Emerald, Nov. 16) that much of this is unintentional ff we are to encourage more women to choose science as a career, we must begin on the primary and secondary levels, not the oollege level. More detailed opinions and an enlightening discussion on careers in the physical sciences by other women can be found in a pamphlet derived from a symposium held in 1975 at Harvard University: “Space for Women: Perspectives on Careers in Science." Personally, I do not feel that I have been discriminated against professionally for being a woman. Finally, in dis cussing the situation in the University of Oregon Physics Department with some of its female graduate and under graduate students, I find the general feeling to be that such discrimination is not a factor here. Patricia C. Boeshaar assistant professor, physics ‘shut up and pay respects’ Last week’s article on the Dylan concert in Portland was an extremely one-sided report. Many of us were moved to tears by the splendid performances. Not all of us expected Dylan to be the hard-cutting prophet he was in the Dylan's got a right to change and now that it's the 70s’ it was a pleasure to hear Dylan’s songs put to music by a very tight and excellent eight-piece band. We all still know the words by heart. The article's author should have shut up and paid the respect due to a living legend. Joan DeLorotto junior, art education
