Opinion
Chernobyl and the nuclear lobby
The fact that 20 years after the Chernobyl disaster, we have such widely varying reports on its impact just highlights how corrupt and corrupting nuclear power is.
The truth is still a victim in this propaganda war, where the nuclear lobby is trying to protect its hoped for revival, spurred by climate change. It is a disgrace that the UN has put its name to a whitewash report, suggesting an unbelievably low impact. That was an insult to those affected, the citizens of the world - its constituency.
Join EUobserver today
Get the EU news that really matters
Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.
Choose your plan
... or subscribe as a group
Already a member?
For a proper analysis of the overall impact of Chernobyl, your readers might like to consult an international scientific study by the European Committee on Radiation Risk, which involves people who actually know what is happening on the ground and who consider wider effects, not just immediate deaths.
It also works around the inadequate radiation standards used today, which national radiation institutes are now starting to realize are based on blinkered science.
Nuclear continues to menace the world, as we see in Iran for example. Chernobyl showed that it could be described as 'stored violence'.
The sun delivers 15000 times humanity's total energy needs, and will do so safely for the next 3 billion years. Let's stop wasting time with nuclear, and harness nature's continuing gift, which cannot ever cause the kind of problem directly experienced by the unfortunate people of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia.
Disclaimer
The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author's, not those of EUobserver.