February 4

Construction begins at Chernobyl, and an earthquake shakes Guatemala and Honduras.

Mon, Feb 04 2013 at 6:00 AM

Feb. 4, 1970: Ground is broken for the Chernobyl nuclear station complex north of Kiev in the Ukraine. The plant’s first reactor starts operation in 1977. Its fourth reactor explodes and burns in 1986 in the worst nuclear power accident in history.

Feb. 4, 1976: A 7.5-magnitude earthquake strikes Guatemala and Honduras, killing an estimated 23,000 people.

Feb. 4, 1985: The brown pelican (at right) is removed from the U.S. Endangered Species list after 15 years of protection. The birds had made a strong recovery following the 1972 ban on DDT.

Feb. 4, 1997: U.S. President Bill Clinton sets goals for declaring 10 American Heritage Rivers, and in a first for any president, he mentions global warming in a State of the Union speech.

Photo: kevincole/Flickr

This feature is compiled by Peter Dykstra, an MNN contributor and publisher of Environmental Health News and The Daily Climate.

The opinions expressed by MNN Bloggers and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of MNN.com. While we have reviewed their content to make sure it complies with our Terms and Conditions, MNN is not responsible for the accuracy of any of their information.

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