Re: How many deaths from Chernobyl?
OK you guys are obviously too well informed to fall into this trap. The "official" UN number is 56 directly and less than 400 eventual . . . Definitely tragic, but not my now watered down point. I was reading text of a speech that Michael Crichton gave in Nov. 2005, "Fear, Complexity, Environmental Management in the 21st Century"
Washington Center for Complexity and Public Policy, Washington, D.C.
Here's the link (first speech listed on page):
Michael Crichton Speeches
And a few excerpts:
"The initial reports in 1986 claimed 2,000 dead, and an unknown number of future deaths and deformities occurring in a wide swath extending from Sweden to the Black Sea. As the years passed, the size of the disaster increased; by 2000, the BBC and New York Times estimated 15,000-30,000 dead, and so on
Now, to report that 15,000-30,000 people have died, when the actual number is 56, represents a big error."
"But, of course, you think, were talking about radiation: what about long-term consequences? Unfortunately here the media reports are even less accurate . . . estimates as high as 3.5 million, or 500,000 deaths, when the actual number of delayed deaths is less than 4,000."
"But most troubling of all, according to the UN report in 2005, is that "the largest public health problem created by the accident" is the "damaging psychological impact [due] to a lack of accurate information
[manifesting] as negative self-assessments of health, belief in a shortened life expectancy, lack of initiative, and dependency on assistance from the state."
Very interesting speech with lots of good data. Stuff that leads to why I do not trust any predictions by anybody about almost anything, especially Global Warming.
