Citizen Scientist: Collected Essays of Frank von Hippel / Edition 1

by Frank von Hippel, Frank Von Hippel

Overview

"Blurb & Contents" Frank von Hippel has been at the forefront of those scientists grappling with the troubled legacy of our Nuclear Age. Von Hippel offers insights about the choices we must make and how science can help us to make them. Topics include nuclear power, atomic weapons, disarmament, energy and the future of automobiles. The scientist's role in public life and the importance of "making trouble" is emphasized. Of interest to physicists, particularly those working in nuclear physics, policy makers, environmentalists and those concerned with nuclear disarmament and the role of science in society.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780883187098
Publisher:	American Inst. of Physics
Publication date:	03/01/1991
Series:	Masters of Modern Physics Series
Edition description:	1991
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.36(d)

Editorial Reviews

In a provocative, sometimes shocking report, von Hippel charges that the executive branch of the federal government consistently misrepresents scientific advice to the public and Congress by distorting facts and concealing much of the data that scientific advisers provide. A physicist and Princeton professor of public and international affairs, the author cites as evidence the government's positions on nuclear reactor safety, aftereffects of ``limited'' nuclear war, crop destruction programs in South Vietnam, pesticide regulation and antiballistic missile systems. A leading advocate of nuclear arms control, von Hippel here debates Edward Teller on disarmament and offers a devastating analysis of the long-term health effects of the Chernobyl disaster. While his suggestion that methanol-powered cars are more energy-efficient than electric cars is debatable, his call for automotive fuel economy to reduce U.S. dependence on Persian Gulf oil is timely, and his recommendations for due-process protections of professional whistle-blowers are widely applicable. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

A powerful collection of previously published essays on scientists as advisors and as dissenters, the nuclear arms race and the scientific basis of arms control, cooperative efforts between US and Soviet scientists, the global risks of expanding energy consumption, the unnecessarily low fuel efficiency of automobiles, and the health risks posed by a nuclear reactor meltdown. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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