You have a pronounced liberal-arts slant. (That's not to say you are a liberal!!!! I don't know.) But you are arguing a broad creative insight with two left-brain folks (eno_ and myself).
You are very intelligent, as shown by your writing style, which is superior to any typical HS dropout.
Just try to appreciate the perspective of our "conversation" here. You are creatively looking at a big picture, and trying to expose a tertiary concern. Which is good.
Meanwhile, us "nitpickers" are complaining about radioactivity this, or steel vs. iceberg that. This perturbs you. But this is the normal give and take between predominantly right and left brained folk!! It's a good thing. It's why architectural engineers don't get along with "architects." Architects see a grand design, and Arch E's say "no, that bridge cannot be made of glass."
So, Wenesday morning kudos to you. Please do not despair at those who would nitpick. If you are to maximize your potential, you will learn to adopt and address the complaints of the nitpickers, and eventually you will own the grand design for a glass bridge with steeel underpinnings....
All I know is summed up best by a "hic-farm-boy-sounding" caller on C-SPAN:
"You cant stop crazy people."
So, all you Engineers out there need to explain the type of world that needs to be created before we could stop achilles-heel type of terrorism pioneered and ground-tested by the following:
Buford Furrow. (opened fire on a day care)
Harris and Kliebold. (school massacre)
Larry Ashbrook. (church massacre)
No matter what you do to the airlines, the reservoirs, the nuclear power plants, etc -- in the end there is no defense against a suicidal terrorist with a gun of any sort charging into one of these 'sensative' sites and blasting away.
Not even guards help, as illustrated by the airport shooting.
(the LACK of any of the above happening should tell us something about the allegation of terrorist cells existing in the US -- they are either lazy, uncreative, ambivalent or simply non-existant)