I came across this great picture of a wolf at Chernobyl. For those of you who don’t remember, that is the nuclear power accident that happened back on April 26, 1986, or exactly 30 years ago today. And laid waste to approximately 360 square miles of land around the plant. In any case, there is a 361 square mile exclusion zone – 19 miles in every direction from the plant – in which no one is allowed to live.
Some photographers went back and took pictures in this exclusion zone. In some cases cameras were set up and left, and various wildlife, such as this wolf, checked the cameras out.
And this reminds us of the dangers we face if we don’t completely think through the decisions we make. In the case of nuclear power it is less the technology that was imperfect than the people who are running it. As one of my friends always reminded me, it’s people like you and me that are running nuclear power plants. And there is still no clear consensus on exactly what was to blame for the accident. Both human error and design flaws seem to have contributed.
We only have one planet to live on, so we’d better take care around the decisions that we make. Nuclear power is still a danger, as the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster clearly demonstrated. But the bigger danger now is global warming, which almost half of American politicians have yet to accept is real.
I would disagree and say that the immediate danger to us continues to be Fukishima. This plant continues to melt down and not surprisingly the media outlets have shown little to no interest in this eventual global disaster.
The media in Japan has been issued what could be considered a gag order not to discuss the horrors of this ongoing issue. They have essentially threatened the media with imprisonment. And yet, our government says nothing to alert the masses of this ongoing problem. Perhaps the reality is nothing can be done. It’s important to note that a few of our Nuclear Plants build in the United States are built from the same model.
“Reuters: Fukushima fuel melted through containment vessels and is “spewing radiation” — Nuke Expert: Fuel has “scattered all over the place” — Gov’t: Fuel may have burned out into environment — Tepco Official: Fuel could have flowed out “like lava in a volcano” (VIDEOS)”
Published March 15, 2016
The most current solution to slow the leakage of radiation into the water and the surrounding area is to build an ice wall that will somehow contain radioactive waste.
There is a ton of misdirection going on and your post misses to emphasize the seriousness of the Fukishima disaster. You along with many other informed citizens easily gravitate to what’s a popular trend and thanks to the media you are easily pushed along in a new direction forgetting or simply not following up on past incidents that do not fit your particular agenda or ideology.
With respect to you referring to your blog as one of a skeptic you seem to be more inclined to point out the absurdity of the republican party and dismiss those that are equally absurd in the democratic party. I get it, it’s your blog and you can write whatever you see fit.
In closing please consider the definition of a skeptic “a person inclined to question or doubt all accepted opinions.” Just please keep that in mind going forward…or not.
P.S.
I think you are a fantastic writer!!!!