The Human Toll of Coal vs. Nuclear

I should preface this post with a reminder that devastation is devastation, it comes in all shapes and sizes without discrimination, and pain is universally felt. Considering the human toll of different energy sources this soon after the natural and unnatural disasters in Japan is in no way meant to diminish the sympathy we feel for every single soul over there. So it is with continued support and hope for the people and animals of Japan, as well as so many who have suffered from the toll of coal, that we suggest taking a look at the following graph courtesy of an "Electricity Generation and Health" study reported on by the Washington Post's David Brown.

Brown's accompanying article explains how the data was and continues to be gathered and reveals the following:

"History suggests that nuclear power rarely kills and causes little illness. That’s also the conclusion engineers reach when they model scenarios for thousands of potential accidents. Making electricity from nuclear power turns out to be far less damaging to human health than making it from coal, oil or even clean-burning natural gas, according to numerous analyses. That’s even more true if the predicted effects of climate change are thrown in."