For 30 years Scott Portzline has researched the issue of sabotage and terrorism of nuclear power plants. His research has been recognized by the US Departments of Energy and Homeland Security, and various military branches. In the first half, he discussed several nuclear disasters and how some are still poisoning the planet. Speaking about the Three Mile Island accident (its 40th anniversary is today) in which there was a partial meltdown of a nuclear reactor, he believes there was evidence of insider sabotage instigated by a cult in Harrisburg, PA. The cult had issued a warning before the incident that the area near the nuclear plant would be uninhabitable.
In the Fukushima disaster, the Japanese people have struggled to believe that their government might lie or misrepresent the situation to them, Portzline commented. He expressed concern over terrorists using nuclear plants as targets and the devastation that might be wrought. Whether through accidents or terrorism, nuclear radiation could lead to mutations in the genome that might change the human body in drastic ways, he added. He also spoke about the threat of hackers and detailed an incident involving a Russian group that used a "spearphishing" attack on Westinghouse Nuclear Headquarters this past October.
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One of America's top astronomy writers, Bob Berman, wrote the popular "Night Watchman" column for Discover for seventeen years. In the latter half, he addressed a wide array of powerful celestial events including solar storms, gamma-ray bursts, and other upheavals. Our moon actually provides stability for the Earth, he explained, and without one the planet would tilt more drastically over time, causing temperature extremes. There have been five mass extinctions over the eons on Earth, and some say we are in the midst of a sixth one, he cited.
In the first extinction, 441 million years ago, around 86% of all life forms died. It's possible, he postulated, that we live in a double-star system, "and our companion comes close every 70 million years or so, and when it does, the gravity from it throws all these distant bodies that are out in the Oort cloud" hurling toward us. He shared different Armageddon fears, such as when the tail of Halley's Comet passed through Earth in 1910, and many thought they might die from cyanide exposure. Berman also pointed out that the Earth's north and south poles have been moving rapidly, and we're seeing a weakened magnetic field. While a pole reversal may be underway, he noted that it generally takes between 100 to 1,000 years for this play out.
News segment guests: Dr. Peter Breggin, Lauren Weinstein