Sharing our Humanity at the 20th Anniversary of Chernobyl
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin 
on 04.23.06
We try to stay upbeat here at TreeHugger, preferring to be part of the solution rather than to curse the darkness. The comments to TH's satirical party tips for the Anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster demonstrate that this approach is not shared by all TreeHugger readers--even though a close look at the entertainment agenda proves the effectiveness of the "party tips" at revealing the underlying truth of the case: how can someone without direct experience even remotely appreciate the impacts on the individual lives of those involved? If the ironic superimposition of a hint of the uncertainties and fears into your own routine is not to your liking, may we suggest that you mark the 20th anniversary of Chernobyl with a visit to Pixel Press "Nuclear Nightmares: 20 Years Since Chernobyl". This series of photos by Robert Knoth and reporting by Antoinette de Jong presents in stark black and white a testimony of the suffering of some victims of Chernobyl. The arguments will continue about whether Chernobyl was as much a failure of communication, planning and politics as it was of engineering and science. We will have to continue the arguments about how to meet our need for power in the face of peak oil and global warming. But perhaps in honor of those who have suffered, you can instead use the comments to share a memory, experience or website which will remind us of our common humanity in the modern world.
via Google search: "Chernobyl 20 years"
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It is my 20th birthday on the 25th, the date that many say Chenobyl occured. It isn't a pleasant experience sharing this date with something so tragic. My heart goes out to all affected.
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ed. note: Happy Birthday wishes to you, and thank you for sharing another unique perspective on the pain that remains.
http://www.physorg.com/news62948251.html
Subsurface bacteria to immobilize uranium
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http://www.physorg.com/news6046.html
Bacteria that bind toxic metals: Are they the future of nuclear waste cleanup?
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http://www.newstarget.com/008527.html
Chlorella can neutralize and eliminate some of the contaminating heavy metals and strengthen the immune system, and GLA, which enhances prostaglandin production and possesses anti-inflammatory abilities.
Complete Encyclopedia Of Natural Healing by Gary Null PhD, page 135
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http://www.desertconcerns.org/spirulina.html
Spirulina - natural sorbent of radionucleides
- by L.P. Loseva and I.V. Dardynskaya. Sep 1993. Research Institute of Radiation Medicine, Minsk, Belarus. 6th Int'l Congress of Applied Algology, Czech Republic.
Spirulina, a natural food supplement, reduced urine radioactivity levels by 50% in only 20 days. This result was achieved after giving 5 grams a day to children at the Institute of Radiation Medicine in Minsk, Belarus. The Institute has developed a program to treat 100 children every 20 days. This 1993 report confirms 1990-91 research on the beneficial health effects of spirulina on children with radiation sickness. It concludes: "Use of spirulina decreases radioaction dose load received from food contaminated with radionuclides, Cesium-137 and Strontium-90. Spirulina is favorable for normalizing the adaptative potential of children's bodies in conditions of long-lived low dose radiation."
Here is an account of a recent disinformation campain