Planet Earth....what has man done to you?

The birds in my backyard would be facing some pretty tough times if everyone in the neighborhood left.

These birds are adapted to human environments. When the humans leave, of course they'll have trouble. Increased radioactivity only adds to their troubles, but I doubt very much it's the principal cause of declining numbers.

In your eyes nuclear power can cause no harm at all...

I think the vast majority of human industry is vile and very harmful to the natural environment.

But I'm not going to pay $31.50 or even drive to the university library just so I can pick apart a study that, on the face of it. seems to suffer some very obvious flaws.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749112000255

Since you have no idea of the details of the study, your claim that it has "very obvious flaws" is purely a product of your imagination.

http://nuclearhistory.wordpress.com/2012/02/09/university-of-south-carolina-prof-tim-mousseau-et-al-genetic-survey-of-small-wildlife-fukushima/

Thanks.

Your intent is to promote and protect nuclear power.

I think Tim Mousseau and Anders Pape Møller are harming the anti-nuclear cause. The "science" here isn't credible.

And I'm not promoting nuclear or any other form of electric power. I think they all suck.

Hunter, as Emperor of the Earth is a Radical Green Luddite who would be tearing down power plants all over the place. The Colorado River would flow unimpeded to the sea, the coal mines would be closed, fossil fuels banned, the electric grids dismantled. Nuclear power would be unnecessary. 99% of your transportation needs would be met by walking. If you wanted to travel you'd be taking a slow boat or train to wherever you wanted to go, maybe 35 miles per hour, tops. Ten days to cross the USA ain't so bad. You need a vacation and whatever "productivity" you take pride in is bad for the environment and toxic to the human spirit.

That said, I can't make a huge fuss about nuclear power so long as we are still burning fossil fuels (including natural gas) and maintaining the giant hydroelectric systems that have destroyed our riparian environments.

If I seem to be "promoting" nuclear power, it's only because I think most other ways of generating electricity are worse.

At least you are partially forthcoming; "If I seem to be "promoting" nuclear power, it's only because I think most other ways of generating electricity are worse."

You practice a form of "greenwashing" on behalf of nuclear.

See also:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/11276628#post14

i.e., your bloody-minded dedication to the cause of smearing anyone whose opinion
dares to vary from your own.

Hunter has clearly stated his position on this (not for the first time either) and even
though he is a clear ally for the anti-nuclear "lobby" here, you still persist with your
tunnel-visioned attacks on him.

You need to understand that other people *are* allowed to hold opinions, beliefs
and attitudes that differ from your own *opinions*, *beliefs* and *attitudes* as
otherwise you risk undermining all of the good that you yourself do: the beneficial
articles & the factual counter-arguments.

I make sure that I top up all of the bird feeders before I go off on holiday
(usually only for a week at a time) but at least the birds would be able to
go to a neighbour's feeders if mine did run out.

If everybody had left at the same time, famine in no time...

This is a rural/agricultural area where they are still growing (contaminated) rice.

Feral cats wreak havoc on songbird populations, and many papers have reported people abandoning their pets in the rush to evacuate.

If hundreds of thousands of domesticated cats were released into the wild at the same time with nothing to eat......

I think about 80,000 households total have evacuated

They reproduce quickly and eat both eggs and baby birds.

But I think the assertion fails before it even gets that far.

Finding a signal attributable to radioactivity in this highly disrupted environment seems unlikely.

"Our results point to the need for more research to determine the underlying reasons for differences among species in sensitivity, both initially and following many generations of exposure,” said Mousseau.

In other words, please send money...