40 years ago today, the Chernobyl nuclear disaster happened (USSR, now Ukraine). The cleanup and disaster mitigation involved exposing HALF A MILLION people to radiation, potentially many more. These people, called liquidators, risked their lives to protect us all, and many of them paid the ultimate price either in the immediate aftermath or years down the line due to increased rates of cancer and other ailments. Many never received their promised pensions and healthcare after the fall of the Soviet Union since the government guaranteeing such benefits no longer existed. There is a memorial to the liquidators pictured below with has a simple inscription: "To those who saved the world".
A potent example of our power and the responsibility that comes with it. We stand on the shoulders of giants who risked everything to ensure a future for humanity. An opportunity for us to do better and go farther than they did. And a reminder of what we can accomplish when we work together. We only get one earth.
If this topic is of interest to you, you can learn about the liquidators in the USSR and Japan in this very well done video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eF-KSUfnbhg#onthisday #ussr #ukraine #nuclear #history
