This will not persuade Greenpeace

It may, however, cheer the rest of us up, a bit.

Good News. A new study, to be published in Environmental Science and Technology in November, has concluded that the manufacturing of specified nanomaterials such as buckyballs and quantum dots is safer than oil refining or making wine. This was based upon an actuarial model that Zurich based XL insurance have developed to assess risks in existing manufacturing processes. Using the model allowed an assessment of the 'environmental footprint' of potential nanomaterial manufacturing.

Not that I have any reason to cheer the prospect of safe nano manufacturing on. Well, possibly more reason than some, but nano holds out the hope of being as important to the 21s century as wrought iron was to the 18th.