Chernobyl, 20 Years Later
Chernobyl, 20 Years Later
#0Chernobyl, 20 Years Later
Posted: 4/25/06 at 9:45pm
Remember April 26, 1986
Hundreds of thousands of people across Europe will today commemorate the 20th anniversary of the world's worst human-made disaster - when Reactor 4 at the Chernobyl nuclear power complex exploded during a routine safety test and sent a plume of radioactivity a mile high to drift over 40% of Europe and as far away as Japan. Between 50 and 250 million curies of radiation, approximately equal to 100 medium-sized atomic bombs, was unleashed.
Chernobyl
NCGuy
Broadway Star Joined: 4/8/04
#1re: Chernobyl, 20 Years Later
Posted: 4/26/06 at 12:20am
Slate.com today has a horrifying video/photo essay on the effects of Chernobyl, focusing mostly on the children of the region...be warned, the pictures are very graphic.
Slate.com - 20 Years After Chernobyl
#2re: Chernobyl, 20 Years Later
Posted: 4/26/06 at 9:46ambump
NYadgal
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/18/04
#3re: Chernobyl, 20 Years Later
Posted: 4/26/06 at 9:53am
I remember that horrifying day.
I wonder what we've learned in 20 years.
iflitifloat
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/10/03
#4re: Chernobyl, 20 Years Later
Posted: 4/26/06 at 9:53am
NPR has had a number of good segments on Chernobyl. One, in particular, focuses on what people who were there remember twenty years later.
Chernobyl voices
#5chernobyl, 20 years later
Posted: 4/26/06 at 9:58am
i posted this a little while ago and am not trying to steal any of the thunder from this thread which is an important reminder of the truly horrible human consequences of bad design and poor planning, but to respond to addy's query, the founder of greenpeace says he learned that nuclear power is the future.
a green makes the case for nukes.
...global warming can manifest itself as heat, cool, precipitation, storms, drought, wind, or any other phenomenon, much like a shapeshifter. -- jim geraghty
pray to st. jude
i'm a sonic reducer
he was the gimmicky sort
fenchurch=mejusthavingfun=magwildwood=mmousefan=bkcollector=bradmajors=somethingtotalkabout: the fenchurch mpd collective
iflitifloat
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/10/03
#6chernobyl, 20 years later
Posted: 4/26/06 at 10:21am
We've learned that waiting to act on issues in the making now means that we will be forced to opt between undesirable options in the future.
I was thinking about that over coffee this morning when I read that Bush is relaxing the "clear air" additive to gasoline in hopes of reducing gas prices. Yes, he is responding to a crisis and doing what people want and need in order to maintain our current way of life. But ultimately it contributes to the downfall of the environment. And to be fair, this is one of those damned if you do and damned if you don't situations.
#7chernobyl, 20 years later
Posted: 4/26/06 at 10:23am
Ah, but Iflit, would we be having these problems if his other policies hadn't led us to this state? One could argue that he put himself into this damned if you... situation.
Sorry to threadjack. I will say that, much like any good waffler, I reserve the right to change my opinion but I do think nuclear energy CAN be a positive and good thing for the future. With safeguards.
iflitifloat
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/10/03
#8chernobyl, 20 years later
Posted: 4/26/06 at 10:33am
My father-in-law was a Way-Leftist AND a nuclear engineer...way back when...
It's the relaxation of safeguards in the inevitable times of crisis that scare me the most.
It's too late for prevention, now we are left with choosing the best of the objectionable, but realistic, solutions. And yet, we'll continue to dig ourselves in deeper every time it gets painful.
I'm very depressed.
#9chernobyl, 20 years later
Posted: 4/26/06 at 10:48am
But, hey, isn't it so much better to have some doggedly pursue their set of goals and beliefs without EVER changing position or admitting to being wrong? I know I, for one, sleep more safely.
Sarcasm aside, it frightens me, too. The signs are everywhere of the deep hole we're digging.
Videos