Monday, April 24, 2006

20 years...

As we approach the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl accident, I admonish you all to reflect on what happened and remember how precious life is and how blessed we are.

This is a picture of the "Elephant's Foot," a small portion of the fuel that still lies entombed within the sarcophagus. It looks glassy because the fuel mixed with and melted the sand that was used inside the reactor.



http://www.angelfire.com/extreme4/kiddofspeed/afterword.html

8 comments:

Blair said...

Chernobyl brings up troubling questions. Is it just the irresponsibility that allowed the risk of accident to come about, thereby causing the accident that is the problem, or is nuclear energy inherently bad? No matter what we seem to have energy problems. Oil is in short supply, pollutes, and is linked with governments that hate us (because of the oil?), nuclear energy has the potential for major disasters, radiation pollution, and is linked with nuclear weapons. There seem to be no cheap and easy energy solutions that aren't tainted in some way. Solar and wind are great, but are not yet viable as a major energy source, and even wind power has animal rights activists up in arms over because windmills often kill birds. Hydrogen fuel is expensive, and it explodes too (the Hindenberg). Is there an answer? Other than go back to pre-industrial society? (Which not only would kill millions of people, but would also eliminate this incredibly entertaining thing we have here called the Internet, which allows us to have these discussions in first place).
Let us always remember Chernobyl, and always keep looking for a better solution.

Stargirl said...

аминь, брат.

(I hope that translated okay.)

Hey, It's Ansley said...

This photo essay is amazing, hard to watch, and educational. But again, it is hard to watch. There is a timeline too that explains what happened and how all safety measures were ignored.

http://todayspictures.slate.com/inmotion/essay_chernobyl/

Blair said...

It translated great! What service did you use?

Stargirl said...

babelfish. I use it to translate things around the office to Engrish. Why haven't you posted on YOUR blog lately, eh? Why haven't you considered MY feelings?

Blair said...

Oh, how thoughtless I am! I never even considered the obvious grief and sorrow that the relative silence of my blog would cause to you! How can I ever receive your forgiveness?

If writing is required, I can't promise much. My last final (4 hours this time, so a bit longer than the last two, which weighed in at 3 and 3.5 hours each) is thursday, after which I am in a writing competition for the law review. I might be able to post sometime around May 12th, or so.

Or perhaps your feelings were hurt by my taking up so much space on YOUR blog. Please excuse me, I will limit my comments to one line only from now on. :)

Stargirl said...

No! I am not offended by your wordy comments. I like words. I like YOUR words. I like reading them. I just want to have an update once in a while on YOUR blog. That is what drives my life--reading about others' triumph and sorrow! So please, don't disappoint me on May 12th.

Oh, and good luck on your finals!

Blair said...

Ha! It's only May 9th, and the blog is updated! WIth no less than 2 entries!

Take that!