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posted by
cmn32480
on Wednesday September 14 2016, @01:07PM
from the interesting-but-not-surprising dept.
from the interesting-but-not-surprising dept.
Three of the four major candidates for United States president have responded to America's Top 20 Presidential Science, Engineering, Technology, Health and Environmental Questions. The nonprofit advocacy group ScienceDebate.org has posted their responses online. Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, and Jill Stein had all responded as of press time, and the group was awaiting responses from Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson.
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U.S. Presidential Candidates Answer ScienceDebate 2016 Questions
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You are a fluke of the universe; you have no right to be here.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by DannyB on Wednesday September 14 2016, @03:26PM
Nailed it in one.
The problem with nuclear (nook-you-lar) energy safety is not a problem with technology. It is a problem with corner cutting executive bonus maximizing MBAs or bureaucrats being in charge of a nuclear power plant.
The profit motive needs to be replaced by a safety motive. That safety motive probably exists to most levels of the power plant personnel. Except those at the very top. Safety is not a budget item on a spreadsheet that you can tweak.
The cost of an accident needs to be considered so unthinkable that it simply cannot be allowed to happen. Maybe there needs to be some kind of unthinkable personal consequences to those at the top if an accident is determined to be due to poor management.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Gaaark on Wednesday September 14 2016, @04:33PM
And, not just the nuclear industry:
my wife is an educational assistant with a public school board. On paper, a lot of the kids with special needs have one-to-one workers, but in reality don't.
There is one case she knows of where one person has 3 wheelchair bound kids on the second floor of the school.
If there is a fire, they are not supposed to use the elevator, so ONE person is in charge of getting 3 non-walking kids down the stairs and out the door.
And nothing will change unless those above are held responsible (and, of course, until something 'bad' happens...): then, maybe, something will change.
It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye: here's hoping it's the eye of someone in charge.
I told my wife she should start documenting EVERYTHING and COVER HER ASS.
also suggested reaching out to a news agency 'whistle blowing' person/website.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 14 2016, @04:39PM
Ya mean like requiring the MBA-types at the top of the company and their families to live right next door to the power plant? I think it may be worth trying.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 14 2016, @06:41PM
Problem is the MBA types would still take risks. It's like the scorpion on the back of a fox being transported across the river.
(Score: 2) by RamiK on Wednesday September 14 2016, @09:34PM
For every MBA encouraging taking shortcuts, there's an engineer and\or an independent contractor signing off plans & work they know to be unsafe and a dozen workers cutting short their end-of-shift inspections to rush home.
You want safety at work places? Put a camera at every work stations and stream it to the open internet. Not to a manager's office or a select group of government safety inspectors that can be bribed. Better yet, set-up a bounty system where a citizen can send a complaint with a time stamped picture and get rewarded financially from the offending party.
Make industry go through the same 1984 style surveillance motorists went through, and I assure that just like how people used to run at red lights and then stopped because of traffic cameras, so will industry stop cutting corners and paying bribes.
You can't change human nature. You can place enough incentives, checks & balances in oppositions to corruption and let greed take it's natural course.
compiling...
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday September 15 2016, @02:18PM
I doubt the people at the lower levels want to sign off on work they know to be unsafe.
So why would that happen?
Because they are pressured or coerced into doing so. And who is pressuring the 'grunts' to sign off on unsafe work? Those up the chain of penny pinching management that's who.
If you don't sign off on this unsafe work, I'll replace you with someone who will.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 2) by RamiK on Friday September 16 2016, @12:08AM
I doubt the people at the lower levels want to sign off on work they know to be unsafe.
They do it all the time. It's a way to look like a team player. It's a way to get off inspections and cut the shift short.
High and low, humans are stupid. Those at the top just get more chances to REALLY fuck things up.
compiling...
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday September 16 2016, @07:28PM
> It's a way to look like a team player.
That just repeats what I said about: Because they are pressured or coerced into doing so.
Although it may be their direct co-workers.
The culture needs to be that if it isn't safe, being a team player is to report it and not sign off on it. It's only the MBAs that want it to get done NOW. When the shift ends, the shift ends. Whether something you are inspecting is safe or not should not affect an inspector's shift.
Inspectors of all people would not sign off on unsafe work unless under pressure to do so.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 2) by Joe Desertrat on Thursday September 15 2016, @09:14PM
You want safety at work places? Put a camera at every work stations and stream it to the open internet. Not to a manager's office or a select group of government safety inspectors that can be bribed....You can't change human nature. You can place enough incentives, checks & balances in oppositions to corruption and let greed take it's natural course.
Then you get complaints and voter outrage about government regulations hurting business...
(Score: 2) by turgid on Friday September 16 2016, @08:36AM
You are today's winner of the Internet for posting the correct answer to one of the world's great problems. I'd give you a donut but I don't have any.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].