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JULY 31st , 2008 The
Community Coalition Against Mining Uranium (CCAMU) celebrated its first
year of existence on July 12! CCAMU members are proud of our many accomplishments
towards reaching the goal - to stop uranium mining and exploration in
Frontenac and Lanark County and to reform the Ontario Mining Act. |
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IN THIS ISSUE: 1)
BOB LOVELACE RETURNS TO DELIVER A TEACHING, by Jeff Green 1)
ARTICLE: BOB LOVELACE RETURNS TO ROBERTSVILLE TO DELIVER A TEACHING 2)
SOURCE WATER PROTECTION (SWC) COMMITTEE MTG, AUG 7TH The SWC reports to the ministry of the Environment (MOE) via their chairperson and is sanctioned through the 'Clean Water Act' to represent the Mississippi and Rideau watersheds. This is
an important meeting since a response from the MOE based on actions Persons
can book a 5-minute timeslot if they wish to address the committee. 3) GRAMMA DONNA REPORTS ON "LIVING ON EARTH' TOUR Mike and I are back from 33 days on the road, having taken the uranium message across the continent, along with our Question of Direction theme, "Living on Earth as if we want to stay." The tour took us from North Bay, Ontario, across this great country to Vancouver and Salt Spring Islands, and from Eureka, California, back through the stunning canyons of Utah and Colorado. We travelled the 'Loneliest Road in America' on our way to Kansas City, Missouri and then on to Urbana, Illinois, through to Michigan where we were welcomed in Harbert, Kalamazoo, Lansing and Ann Arbor before returning home. In most of our two-dozen workshops, we shared our story in regard to the uranium cycle and learned what was happening in the various communities we visited. The consensus seemed to be that a coalition of all the various organizations and networks would be a good idea; having access to each other's knowledge and experience and being able to join our voices will add power to our common cause. With what I learned during the Citizens' Inquiry and while on the tour, I've come to believe that extracting uranium is not actually about nuclear generation at all, tho it is possible that people like Premier McGuinty believe that it is. And it is not about medical isotopes, either. Cyclotrons, which create radioactive fluoride to detect tumours, can be used in the place of uranium. (It is my assertion that many more cancers result from various aspects of the uranium cycle than will ever be 'caught and cured' using it for medical purposes.) NO, I believe, rather, that the nuclear generation story is being propagated to give the moral high ground to extraction, so that uranium remains available for use in weapons. Yes, weapons of mass destruction for the war machine. This conclusion was reached after a lot of reflection on the fact that nuclear energy is not as hyped. And in asking myself time and again, what the hype was covering up. To begin with, nuclear generation is so very obviously, not clean. It doesn't take a rocket scientist.. as they say. Nor is it green. While it is true that carbon dioxide emissions are non-existent during nuclear electrical generation, the routinely released tritium, as well as the highly radioactive spent fuel rods pose problems of intergenerational magnitude. >From the airplanes used in the exploration stage; to the machines and equipment used in the drilling and processing; to the fuel used in transport; to the vast amount of cement used in building the power plants; to the cost of spent fuel rod storage, and to decommissioning. All along the line, huge amounts of dirty fossil fuels are required. It takes approximately fourteen years of operation for nuclear power plants to break even on carbon costs and THAT is with high-grade uranium. When we must move to lower grades, which is what is available locally, and, in the big picture, that move is imminent; it is expected to be a negative return. And lest we forget, uranium, like oil, is not sustainable. Nuclear it is also not safe. Quite aside from the proven increased risk of cancers, birth defects and mortality rates, nuclear facilities can't be insured because no insurance company can afford the risk of a major accident - think Chernobyl & Three Mike Island. Around the world and here at home, there are leaks and exposures happening almost weekly, and the next big accident could happen anytime. Despite claims to the contrary, Canada's uranium finds its way into depleted uranium weapons. It is processed here and sent off to the U.S. where it is mixed with uranium from other countries and used to make bombs. Ask any Iraqi citizen how safe that is, or look at pictures of the birth deformities in that country. (See www.uraniumcitizensinquiry.com under 'Health Hazards of Uranium by Qais Ghanem, MD') Increasingly, the off-spring of returning soldiers and their spouses are at risk and cancer of the cervix is on the rise among that population. Nor is nuclear affordable - not on many counts, including financially. Huge subsidies are necessitated, - $42 billion is currently budgeted in Ontario, (544 million in the U.S.) just to continue with current percentages of nuclear generation. Private investors, cognizant of the risks, are turning away, leaving it to taxpayers to foot the bill. Every month on our Ontario hydro bills, we are faced with the "debt retirement charge" relating to the nuclear BUILDING fiasco of the 80's and 90's. I've only just touched the tip of the iceberg in regard to how the hype does not make sense. The sales job is pure propaganda. Major conservation efforts and renewables are much smarter; obviously green, safe and affordable options. So the question begged asking, "Why the propaganda; the hype?" It could be about big money, like I had originally thought, but now I am not so sure. I'd like to think that I am wrong in regard to it being about weapons proliferation, but I've stopped being shocked by such possibilities. On the bright side, the media is starting to pay attention; Rotary Clubs and Town Councils, are opening to Mike's message - he has a full schedule of Rotary talks planned for the end of October in southern Ontario, and more and more young people are in attendance at the talks. They have everything and nothing to lose; everything (their future) and nothing (no babies or mortgages to concern themselves with) and lots of energy and time, relative to us old-timers. It is no longer just the previously converted who are showing up either. People are becoming more conscious and more willing to step up to the plate, so there is hope. All it will take is a critical mass and we are getting close. The "Living on Earth as if we want to stay" tour has us heading off in the direction of the east coast in September. We will be away most of the month, this time loaded down with copies of the Citizens' Inquiry Report for distribution. Check it out at the www.ccamu.ca site. Our first stop will be at a West Quebec CAMU fundraiser Raft Adventure at Esprit rafting in Davidson, Quebec on Sept. 1st. Do join us, somewhere along the way, and thanks for the continued support. More tour info at www.SustainWellBeing.net Thanks again to Joan and Jim for taking custody of Mori in our absence. You might recall that Mori (short for Moratorium) showed up at the side of the road in Robertsville and became our mascot while I wasn't eating. She has a way of being at home wherever she is, and has settled in quite nicely with her guardians.
Bancroft Uranium has released the report on the Monmouth Uranium Project in Tory Hill. http://www.bancrofturanium.com/projects/monmouth/43-101report.asp The conclusions are on page 51 of the report. Essentially, the report says that Bancroft's initial exploration showed less uranium than previous exploration but that the actual grade is uncertain because of the irregularity in the distribution of the uranium deposits. Further drilling is recommended. 5)
THE COUNCIL OF CANADIANS ONLINE POLL 6)
GORE CALLS FOR 100% RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY IN U.S. IN 10 YEARS ". . . Today I challenge our nation to commit to producing 100 percent of our electricity from renewable energy and truly clean carbon-free sources within 10 years. This goal is achievable, affordable and transformative. It represents a challenge to all Americans in every walk of life: to our political leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators, engineers, and to every citizen. . . . So I ask you to join with me to call on every candidate, at every level, to accept this challenge for America to be running on 100 percent zero-carbon electricity in 10 years. It's time for us to move beyond empty rhetoric. We need to act now. 7)
GREENPEACE'S TONGUE IN CHEEK MESSAGE TO THE MCGUINTY GOVERNMENT
This just in from Germany: Global:
Since January 2006, 45 000 megawatts of wind power capacity have been
installed worldwide. In the same time, only 3347 MW nuclear capacity have
been installed - and 2236 MW nuclear decommissioned. 9)
OTTAWA REJECTS CALL TO GUIDE URANIUM DRILLING |