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Environmental Disasters -- Human Failures

On March 28, 1979, as the sun rose over Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, a series of mechanical, electrical, and human failures led to what has been described as the worst nuclear power plant accident in the history of the United States. News of the accident rocked the nation, and its effects were keenly felt by those who lived in the shadow of the great concrete towers of Three Mile Island.

According to the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the accident

"permanently changed both the nuclear industry and the NRC. Public fear and distrust increased, NRC's regulations and oversight became broader and more robust, and management of the plants was scrutinized more carefully. Careful analysis of the accident's events identified problems and led to permanent and sweeping changes in how NRC regulates its licensees - which, in turn, has reduced the risk to public health and safety."

Bhopal in Central India in 1984

One of the worst industrial accidents occurred in Bhopal in central India, capital of Madhya Pradesh State. In December 1984 deadly methyl isocyanate gas was leaked from a chemical plant in Bhopal, causing the deaths of at least 3300 people; it was the worst industrial accident in world history!

In 1989, after years of litigation, the United States owners of the plant agreed to pay the Indian government $470 million. In return, the government agreed to drop criminal charges against the company and its former chairman.

Chernobyl in 1986

The first nuclear disaster happened in Chernobyl in 1986. This was the year when the world first experienced the terror of a collective international nightmare - the explosion at the then Soviet Union's Chernobyl nuclear reactor on April 26, 1986. The disaster left 2,500 dead and millions affected. Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced -- many of whom have still not been able to return to their homes.

Larry West, an environmental investigative reporter wrote about the accident:

"Seventy percent of the radioactive fallout from Chernobyl landed in Belarus, affecting more than 3,600 towns and villages, and 2.5 million people. The radiation contaminated soil, which in turn contaminates crops that people rely on for food. Many regions in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine are likely to be contaminated for decades. Radioactive fallout carried by the wind was later found in sheep in the UK, on clothing worn by people throughout Europe, and in rain in the United States."

Chernobyl remains the largest civil nuclear disaster to date. There are currently more than 400 commercial nuclear power reactors operating world-wide.

Environmentalism and Technologies Investment

Rachel Carson is one of the most influential women in the history of the environmental movement in the United States. The publication of her best-selling book,  Silent Spring , marked the beginning of America environmental movement in the 1960s and 1970s. A marine biologist by training, Carson discusses harmful results from the excessive use of pesticide. She helped many to see themselves being connected to the earth, as part of an interconnected web of life rather than the controllers of a world intended to satisfy individual needs.

After Silent Spring set off a storm of controversy, President Kennedy set up a commission to study the effects of such pesticides. The commission discovered that Carson's findings were accurate, and eventually DDT was banned. It also led to scientific and public concern over the general use of pesticides and other chemicals and the danger people pose to themselves and to the environment.

Environmental technologies have become an important investment by the U.S. and other government. According to government figures, it invested a $70 million since the mid-1970s in cooperation with the private sector, has spawned an annual $2.5 billion market for four environmental technologies and services. As of 1993, this investment has delivered to consumers an estimated $6 billion in energy savings, and a net benefit of $10 billion is anticipated over their entire service lives.

For a complete record on Environmentalism, check the Timeline below.

FACT: Between 1974 and 1991, more than 200 power plants were canceled (about half fossil fuel), half of nuclear's demand for electricity dropped after the '73 Arab oil embargo. Plant cancellations were not the result of the TMI accident, as is commonly thought.