“Nothing with two heads” |
The exclusion zone surrounding the Chernobyl nuclear power station is “teeming” with wildlife despite the radioactive conditions that caused humans to be evacuated some 20 years ago. The BBC has a fascinating story about the animals not only moving in but multiplying in numbers:
[Sergey Gaschak] has found ample evidence of DNA mutations, but nothing that affected the animals’ physiology or reproductive ability. “Nothing with two heads,” he says.
How about the resiliency of these animals and the fact that with no humans around, they can thrive? Could man be worst than the remnants of a nuclear blast?
The government is considering dumping nuclear waste in this area. Woodsy the Owl may soon have a new monniker: Give a hoot, pollute. Spooky.
Did this post make you go hmm?
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I saw a special (I think it was the discovery channel) where they are still constructing a type of containment ‘dome’ over the old damaged reactor site. It was quite a large area. From what I recall, the people working on the project were allowed a lifetime supply of exposure. This was measured by a badge they wore that indicated how much radioactivity they were exposed to. Basically a welder for example, would go into the area, weld some seams for a half an hour roughly. The worker could then never return to the site again because of the amount of exposure they received - even with protective gear. Really kind of horrid. Makes me think of the possible alternative energy sources. I am NOT in favor of nuclear power simply from the horrible waste it creates that takes forever to break down - and the damage it causes to the environment. I’m not a tree hugger or anything, but this stuff is downright scarey!
Comment by ^Lestat — April 21, 2006 @ 9:06 am PST
Francisco and I were talking about “tree huggers” awhile back (where did he go, anyway?!) and maybe that’s not such a bad thing to be? Many forests in our area have been decimated and they are having a hard time growing back some of the trees. We need the trees to survive. Our grandchildren’s children generation will definitely be doing some tree hugging if the clear cutting doesn’t slow down.
Comment by TDavid — April 21, 2006 @ 9:11 am PST
There are safe nuclear reactor designs out there. The dependence on fossil fuels is likely to kill the planet, unless something is done relatively soon. Nature’s End and a few other books address the issues of ecological imbalance fairly well.
Comment by Dan — April 22, 2006 @ 3:31 pm PST