Thursday, April 27, 2006
Chernobyl
Hell on Earth by John Vidal. The article has to do with the Chernobyl disaster, the clean up, and the health problems of all involved. It's interesting, but terribly sad.
We usually think of the humans affected, but the flora and fauna are not always discussed.
We usually think of the humans affected, but the flora and fauna are not always discussed.
...Some scientists are upbeat. Biodiversity, says the Institute of Ecology in the Ukraine, has increased due to the removal of human influence. Moose, wild boar, roe and red deer, beavers, wolves, badgers, otters and lynx have all been reported in the area, and species associated with humans - rats, house mice, sparrows and pigeons - have all declined. Indeed, of 270 species of birds in the area, 180 are breeding.I wonder, sometimes, if diseases such as Avian Bird Flu might have been caused or worsened by the pollution our technology creates and puts in the air.
But it is not as simple as that. Other scientists report mammals experiencing heavy doses from internally deposited Caesium-137 and Strontium-90 radioactive fallout. One study has found mutations in 18 generations of birds; another that radioactivity levels in trees are still rising. Contamination has been found migrating into underground aquifers...
