Chernobyl Disaster: 20 years Later

We should not forget this accident. Not should we gloss over how serious it is and the danger the reactor still poses. MSNBC placed a link to a survey in this article. They asked the question, “Is nuclear power a good option?” 74% of the people responded with a yes. Apparently it will take an accident in this country before people realize how serious the danger is. It would be a hell of an expensive lesson and we would pay the price for generations to come.

Ukrainians remember Chernobyl tragedy
Terrible memories of nuclear explosion plague survivors, 20 years later

• Preventing further leaks
• Life in the Chernobyl zone
• Surviving against the odds
• Photographing Chernobyl

Updated: 6:45 a.m. ET April 26, 2006
KIEV, Ukraine –
Bells tolled across Ukraine and mourners carried red carnations and flickering
candles to commemorate the 20-year anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear
explosion Wednesday, an event that continues to scar the psyche of the ex-Soviet
republic.
The April 26, 1986, pre-dawn explosion, to be marked in Ukraine
with daylong events, became the world’s worst ever nuclear accident, spewing
radiation across vast stretches of Europe. It cast a radioactive shadow over the
health of millions of people; many believe it contributed to the Soviet Union’s
eventual collapse.

I bought a raffle ticket to go on the 2007 Fish Round Up

I went to the New England Aquarium Dive Club meeting and bought a raffle ticket for the 2006 Fish Round Up. Going on a trip like this would be an unbelievable experience. They put the price at $3800. I say its priceless (but expensive) 🙂
Read the description of the 2006 trip.

Bahamas Collecting Trip with the NEAqApril 22nd through May 1st, 2006 FISH ROUND UP Or Tropical Adventure in Bahamas with New England Aquarium Dive Experts.
Certified Scuba Divers age 18 and older are invited to join staff of NEAq
Dive Department on a fish collecting trip to the Berry Islands, Bahamas from
April 22nd through May 3rd, 2006. Bring back not only pictures, but also
colorful reef fishes and invertebrates that will populate the GOT and other
tropical exhibits. And you will have bragging rights as a supplier of creatures
for NEAq.
This unusual working vacation is open to both beginners and
experienced divers, and is a great opportunity to dive with and learn from NEAq
aquatic experts. This eight day adventure features dive sites in the Bimini and
Berry Islands area, with a visit to Atlantis in Nassau. The last day of the trip
is spent in Miami, preparing fishes for shipment to Boston.
The estimate
trip fee is approximately $3500-$3800. The fee includes airfare, shipboard
accommodations on the R/V Coral Reef II (meals, board and cocktails), up to five
dives per day (weights and tanks are included) and a rare opportunity for a
check dive in the GOT. There is a $300.00 rebate if you make your own flight
arrangements.
For more information, or to reserve a space, call Sherri
Floyd, Senior Aquarist /Expedition Leader or Sarah Zibailo GOT Aquarist at
617-973-5248, or e-mail Sherri at sfloyd@neaq.org

Congress moves to block wind energy project

Anyone else wonder why our country wants to build more nuclear power plants, which are unsafe on so many levels, but block wind energy projects?
Read the following quote from the article. I would think navigation and radar hazards are small compared to a nuclear accident.

“Kennedy, D-Mass., U.S. Rep. William Delahunt, D-Quincy, Romney and other project foes have voiced concerns about the environmental and economic impact to Cape Cod, particularly its tourist and fishing industries. Some critics say the project’s grid of 130 turbines towering 417 feet high could pose navigation and radar hazards.”

See the MSNBC article, Congress moves to block wind energy project.

U.S. ambassador’s car ambushed in Venezuela

Warning signs of problems in Venezula. This is just the beginning.

U.S. ambassador’s car ambushed in Venezuela
Updated: 8:58 p.m. ET April 7, 2006
CARACAS, Venezuela – Supporters of President Hugo Chavez threw eggs and fruit at the U.S. ambassador’s car Friday and motorcyclists chased his convoy for miles, at times pounding on the vehicles. The U.S. State Department swiftly accused Caracas city officials of complicity.

Groundwater leaks at nuclear plants a trend?

More about the nuclear issue…
This is the first paragraph in a recent MSNBC news article by Miguel Llanos.

“Public fears about nuclear power plants have usually centered on massive radiation releases into the air, but recent leaks of water contaminated with low-level radiation have raised a new concern: Local groundwater supplies could become a source of long-term radiation exposure with potential health risks.”

The crazy thing is that many countries, including the US, are considering expanding our nuclear program. I say the long therm risk outways the short term benefits. The following quote from the article shows the extent of the problem.

“The federal agency agreed to a meeting after a petition by 22 environmental groups last January cited leaks in the last decade at nuclear power sites in Braidwood and Dresden, Ill.; Lynchburg, Va.; Salem, N.J.; Haddam Neck, Conn.; and Indian Point and Long Island, N.Y.
Since the petition was filed:
Two more plants — at Palo Verde, Ariz., and Byron, Ill. — have reported groundwater leaks.
Illinois has sued Exelon over the Braidwood spill, caused by a broken concrete pipe.
A new spill was reported at Indian Point.
Most of the leaks involve tritium, a byproduct of nuclear power generation. Tritium also occurs naturally at low levels, but large amounts, if ingested, can lead to cancers, birth defects and miscarriages.”