Ranting Eva is a twenty-something whose ever observant eye hopes to share the daily trials and tribulations of the 21st century, through some downright opinionated rambling on different facets of pop culture.« Reality killed the television show | Main | How can you lose a 38 ton sculpture? »
January 17, 2006
Don't forget to pack your Geiger counter!
Yesterday morning, while I was at the gym I watched a rather disturbing news story. Apparently the hottest extreme ecotourism spot is none other than Chernobyl, site of the catastrophic Ukrainian nuclear meltdown in 1986. The reporter followed around a tour guide who used a Geiger counter to measure the radioactivity of an apple tree. The woman proceeded to pluck an apple and take a big bite, saying that the apple was bitter. Really!!!! I never thought that the vegetation in a nuclear wasteland would have a strange bitter aftertaste.
I know that our society has a tendency for thrill-seeking, but vacationing at a village that was so completely devastated is absurd. It is disrespectful to all those who lost their lives and have been affected greatly. Life is slowly coming back to Chernobyl but I think this drastic jump to ecotourism hotspot is not the right way to begin to rehabilitate the region. This is an area where men only work two weeks in the year, repairing the shield protecting the nuclear reactor. Bringing people in for short periods of time and exposing them to "safe" levels of radiation is an odd way to bring money into the area.
But what do I know! I suppose if you like living on the edge, and x-rays are too tame for you, book yourself a ticket to the nuclear wonderland of Chernobyl and live dangerously. Call me a warm blanket, but I think I'll stick soaking up some solar radiation on a beautiful Caribbean beach while sipping an ice-cold drink and listening to the crashing waves.
Posted by eva on January 17, 2006 8:13 AM
