Chernobyl Wildlife is Thriving

I grew up with two parents working for the Nuclear Power Industry. It began being Babcock and Wilcox, then McDermott, then Framtome, now Areva (and I probably forgot a name change or two in their somewhere). So I grew up with a bit of a different perspective on Nuclear Power than many. I still think Nuclear Power is a viable option for energy. The safe guards are numerous, the plants security would make Fort Knox look like a child's piggy bank in comparison, and we all know that oil is going to run out. It is just a matter of time.

This week marks the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl explosion. This explosion released 400 times more radiation into the atmosphere than the bomb at Hiroshima. People died, there is a huge area that people are told to stay out of without special permission. The other night, I watched a news reporter who was there five minutes, and said, it is now time to leave as he looked at his radiation monitor. Here are a few photos of what it looks like now in Chernobyl.

But, live does survive in this radiation filled land. No, Mothra and Godzilla haven't been seen, but wildlife does roam the otherwise empty streets and some species are doing better now that man is no longer around, even though radiation fills the air. However, some scientists are not very optimistic about this seeming surge in wildlife. Only time will tell whether we can call this the silver lining of a cloud or not.

And for more information on Nuclear Power, you might want to check out the April 2006 edition of National Geographic or visit the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Website. They even have a student/teacher section, which can help us non technical people to get a better understanding of nuclear power.