Articles
General articles about nuclear power, modern political views on nuclear power, and anything else related to Chernobyl that’s not already categorized.
Nuclear Power - A Brief, Unbiased Introduction
The origins of nuclear power can be traced back to the first achievement of nuclear fission in 1934 by Italian physicist Enrico Fermi. Over the years it has been refined and harnessed, and today it is a highly efficient as well as controversial method of creating energy with a demand that is steadily increasing.
Worldwide, the United States produces the most nuclear energy, comprising 19% of the total energy used. The energy system of France is by far the most dependent on nuclear energy, with 78% of its energy coming from nuclear reactors. Policies governing the usage of nuclear power differ throughout the European Union. Some countries do without nuclear energy altogether (such as Austria, Ireland, and Poland). Many military ships use nuclear marine propulsion as fuel, which essentially means that they are powered by nuclear reactors. A few Soviet/Russian ships have had accidents related to their nuclear reactors. Some of their nuclear marine propelled ships have been sunk, and their nuclear reactors still remain at the bottom of the Atlantic. Since the 1950s, there have been several civilian ships built that used nuclear technology, but most proved to be inefficient or too expensive to maintain.
Profiting from Chernobyl
The business of cleaning up and rebuilding Chernobyl is an expensive task, and many international companies have a great interest in being contracted to help. Domestically, the clean-up and rebuilding process along with handling all of the other problems caused by Chernobyl’s excess of nuclear waste potentially means thousands of jobs for Ukrainian citizens, along with considerable profits for consultants. Employment in the region could very well be bolstered by the activity of international business.
The History of Chernobyl: A Brief Introduction
The first documentation of Chernobyl dates back to a 1193 charter in which it was described as a hunting lodge of knyaz Rostislavich. A “knyaz” can be loosely translated in English to Prince, or Duke. In the 13th century, Chernobyl was a crown village of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 1566 the village was granted to royal cavalry captain Filon Kmita as a fiefdom, which at the time was a common practice of liege lords granting land to a vassal in return for their allegiance.
The Children of Chernobyl
Among the most saddening and clearly the most innocent victims of the Chernobyl accident are the children. Twenty-two years after the accident, the effects of the dangerous lingering radiation are still being observed in the children of Chernobyl and surrounding areas, and many families are rendered helpless by poverty and some even appear to be resigned to their fates.