I don't really remember. My excuse is that I was only 8 years old!

Actually scrap that, I do remember - It was a Saturday and I was with my Dad watching TV.

You were much more aware of world events at that age than I was! ;-)

I remember it - I was in college.

A couple of years later, I was in a speech class and one of the speeches I had to give was pro-con. Our instructor assigned to me the topic of nucular energy on the con side and I used Chernobyl as most of my argument against nucular energy. Seemed logical since it was the most recent incident at a nucular facility.

I was afraid that doing the research would cause my views to change from pro to con, but alas, I am still very much in support of nucular energy. Chernobyl's are extremely rare and I think the risk is worth the reduced energy costs.

Jen, I guess Chernobyl and Three Mile Island became the poster children for those opposed to any kind of investment whatsoever in nuclear energy, and it's hard to argue that this energy source is completely free from risks. The issue of disposal of the radioactive waste generated by nuclear power plants alone is huge problem.

However, even with this and other related problems, I still believe that we (in the US, that is) have the technology and skill to build and operate power plants that are safe and provide a reliable and relatively inexpensive source of energy. Unfortunately, the environmental climate -- and resulting political climate -- is such that we're probably never going to see any new developments in this area.

Where's a good fusion reactor when you need it? ;-)

Out in CA, we had our own little poster child, namely Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant. The thing started out on the wrong foot(print) when the contractors accidentally built it backwards! Oh yeah, and it's built on an earthquake fault. And of course, it's built right on the beautiful bluffs by the ocean and releases its waste water into the ocean. This gave all kinds of fuel (pardon me) to the left wing nutcases who staged walk-ins, walk-outs, sit-ins and camp-outs on the site for years until it finally opened, but I don't think it's producing much fuel. It's mostly shut down for "repairs." It's the human factor that causes the greatest concern with nuclear power. Homer Simpson being a good case in point. ;-)

Gwynne, the only thing we seem to be unable to protect ourselves against is our own stupidity. Those who wish to prevent any kind of progress on the nuclear power front would be wise to mount their campaign based on that sole factor. They'd have a lot more credibility.

That was kind of my point. Although, even armed with what I think was a good supply of evidence with which to make that case, the left wing-nuts still managed to lose the battle over Diablo, which was my other point.

And did you catch Jen's Bushist spelling of "nucular"? I just caught that. Good one, Jen. ;-)