[OT] They're restarting Chernobyl?

At 11:48 AM 11/27/99 -0800, Daniel A. Seagraves wrote: The reactor that had the fire was (and is) irretrievable. The new reactor was one that was in process to go on line before the disaster and has never been run. There are several interesting reports about Chernobyl but perhaps the one most sobering is that during its time of operation, _including_ the meltdown, it has generated more power and killed fewer people and done less harm to the environment than the coal fired plants in Michigan. The damage those plants have done include dumping so much sulphur and other chemicals into the air that they have killed vast tracts of forest and made some lakes and streams completely devoid of life. If you add the number of people killed in coal mining accidents and getting black lung disease the numbers are even worse. Consider it flame bait if you like, but if you run the numbers this country would be a lot better off (fewer people killed generating the power, fewer natural resources destroyed) with a nuclear power infrastructure than it would be with a fossil fuel powered one. --Chuck