Ah, Fox News, the Tea Party and Ann Coulter… the new American ‘Age of Enlightenment’…
The greatest source of radiation that humans are exposed to, worldwide, comes from a star called Sol (the Sun). Without this radiation there would be no life on earth. ‘Sunburn’ does not occur just from heat, it’s caused mostly by ultraviolet (UV) radiation, and often leads to skin cancer. The heat bit comes mostly from infrared radiation, which is not as damaging as UV radiation. UV radiation is dangerous to living organisms because it can cause cell damage and deformities, especially to bald animals like humans.
With regard to nuclear power stations blowing up, you’re dealing with different types of radiation, potentially much deadlier than UV radiation. Here’s a slightly saner take on things from the New Scientist…
Fukushima radioactive fallout nears Chernobyl levels
UV radiation is not Ionizing radiation, which is what they’re talking about.
Didn’t you find the Taiwanese cobalt-60 story interesting at all?