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shockingly, caddis fly larvae achieved
concentrat ions 350,000 times that of the
water. And a survey of bird Jife along
the river showed birds which feed on
river iosects h ave a high concent ration
of radioactivity. Novick reported duck
egg yolks had 40,000 times the radio–
activity of the river water; adult swal–
lows had a concentration of 75,000
times that of the water.
Caocer, congenital malformatioo, and
life-shortening have been noted in ex–
periments in which laboratory animals
were exposed to low radiatioo doses
over long periods of time.
Much has yet to be learned about
the effects of Jow-level radioactive ex–
posure on humans. Tt is knowo, how–
ever, that sorne rad ioactive elements are
Ambossodor
Coll•go
Photos
For left, bumper- to-bumper
traffic during urban rush–
hour periods belch volumin–
ous amounts of health-ruining
gases into the oír; above and
left, screaming jets generate
their share of ai rborne con–
taminants, besides making
living in certoin oreas olmost
unbeorable because of noise.
so difficult to distinguish from certain
stable elements normally oeeded by the
body, that they are incorporated un–
suspecbngly into tissue. These absorbed
radioactive elements are believed to have
the potential of disrupting or destroying
cellular tissue.
The controvcrsy surrounding nuclear
power plants is a very vocal one. On
one side are conservationists, adamantly
aga inst installatioo of such facilities. On
the other side stands the electrical
power industry. Its studies project
phenomenaJ increases in electrical usage
for the yea rs ahead - needs which they
claim cannot be met by conventional
power production methods, whether
fuel bt1cning plants or hydroelectric
generators.
13
Again, the problem boils clown to
more pcoplc living in larger cities dc–
manding more goods and servíces -
nearly :111 at the expense of a dean envi–
ronment.
Power and Resources: The
Voracious Appetite of Man
and lndustry
The tremcndous need to dean up our
befouled environment
runs
counter to
the burgconing wants of an expandiog
industrial society and
a
growing popu–
lation.
As Dr. Lee DuBridge reported in his
opening address in Sao Francisco:
"More peoplc inhabit the earth every
day, crowding our cities, pushing their
housing developments into the farm,
forest, mountain and beach are<ls,
crowdíng the dímioishing recreation
areas, and all adding to the colossal
human consumptioo of the earth's re–
sources and adding to the mountains of
waste which must somehow be fed back
to Mother Eartb.
"And these same people demand
more electric power, more food, more
refrigerators, more automobiles, more
jobs, requiring the construction of more
factories producing more pollution and
more defacemeot of the formerly pleas–
ant surroundings. ...
"Primitive meo," continued Dr.
DuBridge, "did not despoil their envi–
ronment - at least not much. There
were too few of them and they had not
Jearned
all
the techniques for using up
the earth's resources and converting
them into waste products. Industrial
man is far more numerous - and far,
far more efficient in using the earth's
resources to
fill
his wants and needs
and not very efficient or very considerate
in disposing of waste products.
"More people, more consumption
and more waste products. That is the
story of modern civilization. That is thc
story of the earth's environment."
What then, specifically, about the
energy and resource necds of the fu–
ture?
In a paper enti tled "Mineral Re–
sources in Our Eovironment," delivered
at the UNESCO meeting, Orlo E.
Childs gave a glimpse into the future:
"In the decadc of the 70's as well as
in the 80's, the United States faces