Last week, I posted on how politics skews the reporting of scientific research, citing the gap between the Chernobyl statistics of the U.N. and Greenpeace (4000 projected deaths, v. 90,000, resp.). But wherever the true number of casualties and lives affected lies, there is no doubt that this was a serious wake-up call to all of us, especially poorly run communist or rogue nations that fail to take safety precautions and maintenance of these facilities seriously.
Today is the 20th anniversary of Chernobyl, and here is an amazing narrated picture show about it. Be sure to hit PLAY after the intro to see the whole thing, or open up the menu.
You MUST also visit Elena’s motorbike ride through Chernobyl to see her pictorial essay of the area – amazing and sobering (click on "The map").
“there is no doubt that this was a serious wake-up call to all of us”
Well, I hope we are awake by now.
Three Mile Island – 1979
Chernobyl – 1986
You MUST also visit Elena's motorbike ride through Chernobyl to see her pictorial essay of the area – amazing and sobering (click on "The map").
Seeker, great link.
She describes Pripyat as "A modern day Pompeii." Looking at those pictures is so eerie. The "Sarcophagus" which encases the reactor will remain radioactive for the next 100,000 years. Thousands died putting out the radioactive fire and building the Sarcophagus. They were called "liquidators" according to Elena.
I know. What's weird is, I tivo'd the original Godzilla and watched it tonight, and with those Chernobyl pics in my mind, I realized why the Japanese made so many movies about messing up the environment w/ nukes. I mean, Nagasaki and Hiroshima were terrible, but somehow, those Chernobyl pics were really unsettling, and it made the Godzilla pic not so funny.
You know being non-religious as I am, I still get freaked out thinking about the implications of the translation of Chernobyl's name – Wormwood.
For those of you who don't know, the Bible in Revelations tells of a fallen star named Wormwood that would fortell the coming of the Apocalypse.