Eastern Europe

Objective 1: Summarize the geography of Eastern Europe.Objective 2: Discuss current events and issues.

Natural Resources

• Oil and gas are in short supply. • Industry depends on location of resources• Many countries look to imports from Russia

for support.

Environmental Concerns

• Burning coal and fossil fuels have caused acid rain.

• Forests have been destroyed by acid raid• Polluted water and soil cause high rates of

birth defects and cancer.

Chernobyl • Where?• When?– April 26, 1986

• How? – Fault test– Reactor #4– Explosion

Problems

• Design flaws• Unheeded warnings• Soviet Union disregard for human life• Radiation detected on April 28th in Sweden.• Information control: “An accident occurred at the

Chornobyl (sic) Atomic Power Plant and one of the reactors was damaged. Measures have been undertaken to eliminate the consequences of the accident.” Vremya, April 28th at 9 P.M.

Chernobyl

Impact

• Widespread radioactive pollution over Europe.– 100X more radiation than atom bombs at

Hiroshima and Nagasaki.• Contaminated farmland• Devastated sections of Eastern Europe. • Vacated cities (Pripyat, etc…) – More than 350,000 people forced to relocate

• Lasting impact

Moral Questions• Did the Soviet Union have an obligation to tell the world as

soon as the incident occurred? • Should Ukraine or Russia bear the brunt of clean-up costs?

Coal Energy Nuclear Energy

Pro – Large coal reserves are readily available in Eastern Europe.

Pro – One station creates lots of power.

Pro – Technology to reduce coal pollution has been developed.

Pro – Under normal conditions, nuclear energy produces less air pollution

Con – Mining coal is dangerous and damages the environment.

Con – Nuclear waste is dangerous and must be stored for a long time.

Con – Burning coal creates pollution that causes acid rain and may force climate change.

Con – Serious accidents can spread radioactive pollution over a large area. People must move and can cause long lasting health problems.