With monotonous regularity over the last generation, the American people have had the following statements so constantly drummed into them by the media that most Americans, it seems, have come to believe them:

1. Fossil fuels, such as coal and oil, are dangerous pollutants, and anyway we are running out of them.

2. Nuclear power is so dangerous that it cannot safely be used; indeed, the nuclear facilities already in existence represent such a mortal danger that they should be shut down.

3. But there is one hope: power derived from the sun and winds. These are infinite in quantity, or at least indefinitely great; and they are also safe and clean. All we need is a few years in which to develop this kind of power, and our energy needs will be taken care of.

Only the first of these three statements is true, with some qualifications. The second and third statements are utterly false, although it is popular to believe that they are true. //

How is it possible, in the span of a brief article, to prove the comparative safety of nuclear power? Here are a few examples of how nuclear power works and what its effects are on consumers of that power. For an excellent longer treatment, see Petr Beckmann’s incomparable book The Health Hazards of Not Going Nuclear.

Over 170 million U.S.-born people who were adults in 2015 were exposed to harmful levels of lead as children, a new study estimates.

Researchers used blood-lead level, census and leaded gasoline consumption data to examine how widespread early childhood lead exposure was in the country between 1940 and 2015.

In a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday, they estimated that half the U.S. adult population in 2015 had been exposed to lead levels surpassing five micrograms per deciliter — the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention threshold for harmful lead exposure at the time.

Underexposed: What If Radiation Is Actually GOOD for You?

By: Ed Hiserodt

There is a very large disconnect between the actual dangers of exposure to low doses of ionizing radiation and the fears of such exposure. A tiny leak at a nuclear power plant is front page news, while there has never been a death or even an injury to the public from escaping radiation. Meanwhile 50,000 deaths from auto accidents go almost unnoticed. 

This fear is particularly ironic since hundreds of studies show that low doses of ionizing radiation result is lower cancer rates and overall mortality. One of these studies examined in some detail was done by Johns-Hopkins involving an initial pool of 700,000 workers, some of whom worked on ships with nuclear propulsion, while others (randomly selected) were employed on non-nuclear ships. The nuclear workers had a standard mortality rate of 0.76 times that of non-nuclear workers.

In largest "ecological" study in history, Professor Bernard Cohen of Pittsburgh University was attempting to correlate level of residential radon with lung cancer. He was astonished to find that the opposite was true -- the more radon, the less cancer. Of course these data, from 1,729 counties (about 90% of the U.S.), didn't faze the Environmental Protection Agency that has continued its crusade against radon exposure.

The positive benefits of low doses of radiation is known as "hormesis" and is identified in over 150 studies and other documented evidence presented in the book.

Use OSMC to turn your Raspberry Pi into a media center! Watch your videos, listen to your music, view your photos, and take advantage of Kodi’s huge library of add-ons!

This guide was completed using a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ with OSMC Release 2019.04-1.

The OSMC (Open Source Media Center) is a free and open source operating system based on Debian Linux and The Kodi Project. It’s a very cool, feature-rich OS with great community support. It’s also easy to use! This guide will show you step-by-step how to get going with your own Raspberry Pi powered media center.

In 2014, the National Electrical Code included a new requirement. 690.12(1) through (5) A short requirement, only six sentences.

PV system circuits installed on or in buildings shall include a rapid shutdown function that controls specific conductors in accordance with 690.12(1) through (5) as follows.

1. More than 5’ inside a building, or more than 10’ from a PV array
2. Controlled conductors shall be limited to not more than 30V and 240 volt-amperes within 10 seconds of rapid shutdown initiation.
3. Voltage and power shall be measured between any two conductors and between any conductor and ground.
4. The rapid shutdown initiation methods shall be labeled in accordance with 690.56(B).
5. Equipment that performs the rapid shutdown shall be listed and identified.

But those six short sentences had a big change on PV system design. Gone were the days of simply wiring the solar panels, or modules, to the grid tied inverter or charge controller through a simple pass-thru or combiner box. Rapid ShutDown (RSD) has a noble cause. It is to protect the firefighters trying to put out a fire in your home or business. Even when they turned off the grid power to your house, and the inverter automatically shut itself off (in accordance with UL1741), the wires from the solar array all the way down into the inverter or controller were still live. In grid tied systems, they could have as much as 600VDC. Combine that voltage with a firefighter’s ax to vent the roof, and you have a disaster on your hands.

Rapid Shutdown gives the firefighters a way to also shut down the DC power from the solar array to the inverter. In 2014, it could shut it down to the area up to 10’ from the solar array, and more than 5’ of entering a building.