Lyric discussion by andher 

i'm just wondering the history of detroit. cos the meaning of the song seems pretty direct. karen Silkwood is an activist who worked at a 'giant power station'. idk which in particular.

Nuclear power plants have a unique cooling tower (Hyperboloid) = "Stands out on the highway" The giant power station he talks about is Enrico Fermi one by Monroe, Michigan. Now decommissioned for thirty plus years. It 1966 it has partial meltdown but if it would have been a full melt it could have been worse. Hence why we almost lost Detroit.

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