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Re: [Phys-l] physics guy makes good



By Steven Mufson / Washington Post:

The man tapped to be the next secretary of energy, Nobel
Prize-winning physicist Steven Chu, recently compared the danger of
climate change to a problem with electrical wiring in a house.

Suppose, he said, you had a small electrical fire at home and a
structural engineer told you there was a 50 percent chance your house
would burn down in the next few years unless you spent $20,000 to fix
faulty wiring.

"You can either continue to shop for additional evaluations until you
find the one engineer in 1,000 who is willing to give you the answer
you want -- 'your family is not in danger' -- or you can change the
wiring," Chu said in a presentation in September.

Full story [1100 words] at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/11/AR2008121103380_pf.html