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week_11_questions_comments-325_25 [2025/11/06 12:55] – [Document B:US Congress, Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, Environmental Effects of Producing Electric Power, Hearings] 108.44.149.185week_11_questions_comments-325_25 [2025/11/10 18:08] (current) – [Document A:US Congress, Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, Atomic Power Development and Private Enterprise] 199.111.65.11
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 I found it a bit unsettling as they were advertising something to destructive as an atom bomb as something in a positive connotation, promising a better future. The atom bomb was even called “peaceful” while being an incredibly destructive force.- Izzy Ellenberger I found it a bit unsettling as they were advertising something to destructive as an atom bomb as something in a positive connotation, promising a better future. The atom bomb was even called “peaceful” while being an incredibly destructive force.- Izzy Ellenberger
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 +Following the development of nuclear weaponry, the atom became conspicuous with destruction. It’s not surprising that since then people have had a hard time seeing nuclear projects as being a “peaceful” method of energy . - Justin Hoskins
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 This chapter delves into the history of the development of atomic bombs and atomic energy through the study of political discourses. The author primarily focuses on the United States, although he notes similar propaganda methods in the USSR. Generally, Smith argues that the US government and private industry collaborated in a campaign to sell the idea of the peaceful atom to a public, which was haunted by nuclear warfare. - Nikolai Kotkov This chapter delves into the history of the development of atomic bombs and atomic energy through the study of political discourses. The author primarily focuses on the United States, although he notes similar propaganda methods in the USSR. Generally, Smith argues that the US government and private industry collaborated in a campaign to sell the idea of the peaceful atom to a public, which was haunted by nuclear warfare. - Nikolai Kotkov
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 +Campaigns for "the peaceful atom" celebrated atomic power as a positive in technological advancement. Public attitude were overwhelmingly positive and introduced nuclear power in different ways to appeal to different generations. //Our Friend the Atom// still stands out to me, it makes me wonder how advertisements like these would be received today and how they would change to fit more contemporary audiences. - Izabella Martinez
  
  
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 The document talks about the uncertainty and the unclear of how safe this energy was at the time of its creation. While it warned us and try to make us more aware about the dangers it also was talking about ways that the US could implement safe nuclear energy. - Will C The document talks about the uncertainty and the unclear of how safe this energy was at the time of its creation. While it warned us and try to make us more aware about the dangers it also was talking about ways that the US could implement safe nuclear energy. - Will C
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 +This passage looks at nuclear energy from a significantly more militaristic approach. Bringing focus to how these areas could be targets and the dangers associated with surrounding areas. Another way this strikes me is how the speaker mentions they’ve had good luck avoiding nuclear disaster but believes it is inevitable in time.   - Justin Hoskins
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 +The reading discusses how the U.S. government aimed to promote private involvement in atomic energy while maintaining federal oversight. It emphasizes the effort to balance national security concerns with the goal of fostering innovation and economic growth through peaceful uses of nuclear power.-- Caitlyn Edwards
  
 ====== Document B:US Congress, Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, Environmental Effects of Producing Electric Power, Hearings ====== ====== Document B:US Congress, Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, Environmental Effects of Producing Electric Power, Hearings ======
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 This Congressional hearing document captures the growing tension in the mid-20th century between technological optimism and environmental responsibility. The Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, originally created to oversee nuclear power, broadened its focus by the late 1960s and 1970s to consider the environmental consequences of energy production both nuclear and conventional. The hearings reveal how policymakers, scientists, and engineers grappled with the unforeseen byproducts of industrial progress: air and water pollution, thermal waste from power plants, and the long-term risks of radioactive contamination. What emerges is a portrait of a society wrestling with the limits of its own technological achievements. The same government that had once championed atomic energy as the pinnacle of modern civilization was now forced to confront the ecological and human costs of that success. - Todd Holman This Congressional hearing document captures the growing tension in the mid-20th century between technological optimism and environmental responsibility. The Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, originally created to oversee nuclear power, broadened its focus by the late 1960s and 1970s to consider the environmental consequences of energy production both nuclear and conventional. The hearings reveal how policymakers, scientists, and engineers grappled with the unforeseen byproducts of industrial progress: air and water pollution, thermal waste from power plants, and the long-term risks of radioactive contamination. What emerges is a portrait of a society wrestling with the limits of its own technological achievements. The same government that had once championed atomic energy as the pinnacle of modern civilization was now forced to confront the ecological and human costs of that success. - Todd Holman
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 +This passage covers an exchange regarding environmental issues with nuclear energy. Pointed to how some believe the standards set by the government were too lax to be safe. It seems reasonable to me that if a state would want to increase regulations to improve safety, they should be allowed to do so.   - Justin Hoskins
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 The nuclear public relations campaign was created and in this document it is updated with the purpose of giving factual and up to date information about the developments in nuclear technology and what impacts that could have for them. - Grayson Donohoe The nuclear public relations campaign was created and in this document it is updated with the purpose of giving factual and up to date information about the developments in nuclear technology and what impacts that could have for them. - Grayson Donohoe
  
 +This section covers the United States government's attempts to boost public opinion on nuclear energy through their public affairs operations. I found section 3 of “Proposal for a Nuclear Energy Public Affairs Program” quite interesting to read, as it breaks down how the government thinks it best to appeal to certain people with different backgrounds and occupations.  - Justin Hoskins
  
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 +This document represents a later stage in the American government’s engagement with the consequences of its technological expansion the hearings before the Subcommittee on Energy Conservation and Power during the 1970s and 1980s. By this time, the optimism of the atomic age had given way to a sobering recognition of resource limits, energy crises, and environmental degradation. The hearings focused on the urgent need to balance energy production with conservation and environmental stewardship. Lawmakers examined the inefficiencies of fossil fuels, the risks of nuclear dependence, and the promise of alternative energy technologies such as solar, wind, and hydroelectric power. What makes this document important is its tone: it reflects a Congress that was no longer celebrating innovation blindly but struggling to reconcile progress with sustainability a distinctly post-industrial mindset. - Todd Holman
 ====== Isao Hashimoto’s 1945-1998 ====== ====== Isao Hashimoto’s 1945-1998 ======
  
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 It was very unnerving to watch this video, demonstrating nuclear weapons that were being developed by various countries. The sound that plays as the numbers rise up continues to play more and more, and you see more countries added to the counter. - Hannah Holstrom It was very unnerving to watch this video, demonstrating nuclear weapons that were being developed by various countries. The sound that plays as the numbers rise up continues to play more and more, and you see more countries added to the counter. - Hannah Holstrom
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 +This video displays, in a very interesting way, nuclear tests performed by each country over time. I was surprised to see just how many more tests the United States and USSR had done compared to other countries, and just how exponentially it grew during the cold war. It makes me curious, how rapidly was this technology developing to justify so many tests, or were all these tests conducted just to be a show of force. - Justin Hoskins
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