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Is Chernobyl Still Dangerous? Was 60 Minutes Pushing Propaganda?
An anonymous reader writes:
This article has an interesting take on how the media is presenting the current Chernobyl situation. Its author, Ron Adams, is a long time nuclear advocate, so read with that in mind. Adams critiques a recent CBS 60 Minutes broadcast that took pains to show how dangerous the area still is. He writes, "The show is full of fascinating contrasts between what the cameras show to the audience and what the narrator tells the audience that they should believe. ... I correspond with a number of experts in fields related to radiation, radioactive waste management, site restoration, and the health effects of low level radiation. There has been quite a bit of discussion about the misinformation propagated by this particular 60 Minutes segment."
Why, I think we should build day care centers there.
I did an extensive report on Nuclear energy and it's environmental impacts when it goes sideways, as a final project in a class called "Environmental Issues" during my undergraduate degree. Despite the fact I got an A on it, and in the class, I was particularly moved by this website and included content from it where I could because my view was that a balanced perspective between Academic resources and scholarly references needed to be balanced with firsthand accounts where possible. This site was cited in numerous places in my report and my professor approached me after the class was over and told me how moved by it he was as well.
That being said, I would say without hesitating for a second that the Chernobyl area is most definitely NOT SAFE in any reasonable measure.
Check out this site and pay particular attention to the radiation readings when given.
http://www.kiddofspeed.com
and do yourselves a favor and don't believe it when anyone tries to make the logical fallacy of making an appeal to ignorance .. (IE.."What do all those scientists know? they are wrong most of the time so they are probably wrong here too.." Ad-Nauseum, when anyone can do a quick bit of critical thinking and a few google searches and find out.)
Enjoy!
The effects of radiation is interesting. The SciShow episode Inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is quite interesting on the subject. Sure it's short 4min format, but it introduces the interesting fact that, although some species have suffered gravely, some plants and animals flourish. If you read further into the subject, it gets even more weirder. As for example species that tend to suffer under human civilization, such as the deers and the lynx, suddenly are quite successful; it appears that humans are worse drain than the radiation.
Problem with it is that it's not actually scary. People have been living in Exclusion Zone itself and right outside it for a long time. Mainly cleanup crews and their families.
So long as you don't go rolling in the hay of Red Forest, it appears you're going to be pretty much fine living there. Locals are even living off the land and eating local produce like fruit and mushrooms. Which apparently scared the pants off the BBC cuisine reporter who went into the region until they thawed him off with some good old moonshine. Which they told him afterwards, was made from the local produce.
http://www.bbc.com/travel/feat...
"The show is full of fascinating contrasts between what the cameras show to the audience and what the narrator tells the audience that they should believe.
Because you can't see radiation? Or even most of its effects?
That the trees aren't rotting, even after 30 years, is as visual as it gets, but even that needs narration or you won't realize that this tree hasn't fallen yesterday, but in 1986 or whenever.
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
I know, but it was quite the hellzone radiation wise in 1986. People in pripyat and surrounding areas were exposed quite severely.
Today, the exposure at the plant itself where people are working, is still quite toxic. It's not just about the strength of the exposure, it's the length of time and how it propagated through your body (alpha/beta/gamma). Eating food grown there every day puts you at greater risk.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
Maybe it's just you that doesn't have Google.
Here's a properly readable source with proper links to somewhat less readable scientifically sound sources:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/...
0x or or snor perron?!
Eyeballs are attracted to bad news. Good news does not sell papers or attract viewers. This has been documented for a century, and modern psychology actually studies the "fear", "bad news", and "schadenfreude" centers in the brain. Perceived risks that you avoid releases dopamine. Talk radio manufactures doomsday stories every hour, on the hour.
The saddest thing is when CBS 60 Minutes gets it completely wrong - and wins a journalism Award. Ask CBS 60 Minutes anchor, Scott Pelley, about the state of journalism. http://www.mediabistro.com/tvn...
"Our house is on fire. Never before in human history has more information been available to more people. But at the same time never before in human history has more bad information been available to more people.” - Scott Pelley
He should know. Pelley's won an journalism award for misreporting the "trail" of "e-waste" in 2008. But reporting that a past story was exaggerated doesn't sell many ads.
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