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Chernobyl disaster

April 26th marks the anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. An accident in 1986 caused an explosion in the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and radioactive material was released in the air. Large parts of Ukraine, Russia and Belarus were contaminated and up to a hundred thousand people died of the various consequences. The disaster is considered to be the worst accident in the history of nuclear energy and illustrates its enormous danger.

Chernobyl disaster

Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster

The 11th of March marks the anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. The cooling systems at the Fukushima nuclear power plant failed in 2011 after being hit by a severe earthquake and violent tsunami. The resulting meltdown released large amounts of radioactive materials. Up to 150,000 people had to leave the contaminated area permanently. The disposal work will still take around 40 years. After the disaster, several countries abandoned their nuclear programs.

Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster

Dakota Access Pipeline protests

When the pipeline plans became known in 2016, a broad protest movement formed with indigenous people who fought for their holy land, environmentalists and other political groups. The protests were reported worldwide, there were recurring demos and many arrests. Unfortunately, the pipeline was finally completed in 2017. However, it was temporarily switched off in summer 2020 because a federal judge wants to investigate the environmental impact.

Dakota Access Pipeline protests

Wind Power

In 2019, wind turbines generated a nominal output of over 651 GW  worldwide. Although this corresponds to only 5.6% of the global electricity requirement, the environmental compatibility and the low electricity generation costs make it a promising energy resource. Although, for a sustainable and widespread use there has to be a satisfactory solution for critical points such as the long-term storage of energy or the noise emission of the wind turbines.

Wind Power

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Hero of the Month

John Deutch

John Deutch is the former director of CIA and the author of "The Crisis in Energy Policy. He has been a member of the MIT faculty since 1970 and has published over 140 publications in physical chemistry, technology, energy, international security, and public policy issues.