On the 26th of April, 1986, a freak accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant resulted in the meltdown and explosion of reactor #4.
Much has been documented about this event, the subsequent evacuations and cleanup, and the long-term effects this had on the region and the world. It is said that this event and the subsequent coverups was one of the key accelerants of the fall of the Soviet Union.
33 years after the accident, I had the chance to see the aftermath with my own eyes. The residual radioactivity, while much lower due to cleanup efforts and natural decay of the isotopes with shorter half-lives, was still clearly there, and estimated to be another 3,000 years before it would be safe for long-term human habitation. The rest of nature didn't seem to care.
I sometimes wonder what the world would look like if humans were to suddenly vanish, and this was an eerie first glimpse. Just over three decades you would see significant re-wilding - for example, an entire forest sprung up where there used to be a sports field. What would three hundred, three thousand or even three hundred thousands years look like?
This site is a reminder of our impermanence on this world, as well as the need to be prudent, transparent, and responsible with the great powers we are attaining through continued exponential scientific and technological progress. We cannot afford to make too many mistakes as the scale and consequences are scaling exponentially in-step.
No comments:
Post a Comment