Not only does this line include references to nature’s vulnerability (in the form of leaf bugs), but it also shows that people have considered using these radiation-susceptible leaf bugs to the advantage of humans in order to predict the effects of radiation. The response to the discovery of a creature that could help humanity is often to use it, rather than try to accept and understand the effect Chernobyl had on them. Through this, it is clear that it is easy to disregard the impact of human action on non-human entities.

The adjectives used to describe the nature in these sentences call to mind an image of fragile beauty through the delicacy invoked by the colors and structural description. The use of metals as color descriptors, however, also indicates a perception of strength, as does the unanticipated nature of the weather on the day in question. On a broader scale, this shows that there is an idea that nature in the Exclusion Zone is delicate, but capable for the most part of withstanding the radiation—the resiliency found within the Zone is stunning to those who see it, but the balance between the beauty and what has made it that way is precarious.

Safaris are an adventure trip meant to feel rugged and exotic, though the land they cover is not much different than any other undeveloped place in its lack of human influence. By calling a visit to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone a safari, Mycio is evoking that sense of exotic beauty—that the Zone is at once beautiful and dangerous. However, while on a regular safari, people are hoping to see a lion and not get hurt by it, here they are hoping to see radiation and not get hurt. Chernobyl, in the context of disaster tourism, is seen as an area of unusual beauty and fascination.

It is often difficult to understand the way radiation affects things other than human beings, because the focus of studies on Chernobyl affected areas tends to be on the human element. It is also possible that people struggle to envision the changes in the Chernobyl environment because they cannot see the radiation or its effects from somewhere across the world, they just know that it’s there and things are vulnerable to damage by it.

This article uses the deformity in nature affected by the Chernobyl disaster as an example for discussing responses to these kinds of mutated creatures. By emphasizing the “deformed” nature of the leaf bugs, the author, Astrid Schrader, is pointing out the negative effects of Chernobyl on the leaf bug population. This also serves to show, and as a reminder, that nature is just as vulnerable to damage by radiation, and in ways that are remarkably similar to humans in some cases—humans are not the only one’s vulnerable to human-made catastrophe.

While this line does not directly call to nature, it is nature that provides us with the background to our daily lives. Of course, there are no more humans to make our human associated noises and smells, but there are no plants rustling or fresh blooming flowers to smell that will overpower the disquiet of those who know Chernobyl—the disaster is an abandoned memory and has been left to die in silence.

Whereas Sirota previously commented on the new growth of nature, here the mortality is emphasized. Not only are the leaves barely alive in the first place, being described as “pallid”, but the dew is causing their death, as it is described as “morbid” likely to express that it contains radioactive particles condensed from the atmosphere.

Here readers are presented with a standard image of a cherry tree in bloom, however, the actual danger of it is imperceptible until the last line highlighted here. Not only does Sirota choose to call them choke-cherries, which is indicative of mortality, but then goes on to say that the flowers, though white--which is associated with cleanliness--are bright and dirty with radiation. Even though these blossoms seem to indicate new life, in fact there is no life to be had here due to the radiation.

This line emphasizes the quietness of the Chernobyl Zone, where the only thing making a sound is the tree branches rocking in the wind, as there is nothing else there to make a noise. In essence, other than some natural elements like trees (as this line does not point out the status of nature in the Zone, merely the quietness of it), the Zone is dead, or nearly so. Though vegetation and nature continue to exist there, the perception is of a quiet, dying place.

Not only has nature changed, so has the world around it. The presence of radioactivity post-Chernobyl forces us to have to adapt and change our ways in response to the transformation of nature, on which humans rely to live. Whatever normal was before Chernobyl, it’s not how normal is perceived now.

Because Chernobyl is so heavily associated with radiation contamination, it seems fair to use Chernobyl and radiation interchangeably, as is done here. Mushrooms are a staple for many Slavic diets, and now they are no longer safe to eat. This is change that not only affects nature, though invisibly, but also affects humans directly, which influences personal perspectives on the events of Chernobyl as a whole by forcing confrontation with the differences in lifestyles from before to after.

The context for this line is that people are unwilling to acknowledge the effect that the radiation had, and continues to have, on nature, even when they know the extent of the damage to their area, in particular when it comes to making money. These individuals are afraid of the change that would come with the acknowledgment. They know the berries are “radiating”, but they pick them anyway because nature has changed, and nothing can be done about it.

This is what the authors expect to see, gardens growing, wild and untamed by human hands, in areas affected by the radiation from Chernobyl. However, nature is reclaiming these areas in other ways, by drawing humans to do other things than keep it at heel, like picking the berries: nature is reclaiming human action and its own version of order. But the fact remains that the way irradiated nature is thought of is that it has changed to be wild and reclaim its space that was lost to human interference.