The Beyond Nuclear project based in Washington DC recently convened a series of speaking events for Indigenous people affected by nuclear industry projects.
Featured speakers included Mitch, an Arrernte/Luritja woman from Central Australia, Sidi-Amar Taoua, a Toureg nomad from Niger and Manuel Pinto, an Acoma Pueblo person from New Mexico who won the 2008 nuclear free futures award. Dr Bruno Chareyron, director of CRIIRAD (Commission for Independent Research and Information on Radioactivity) also participated in the tour to present his research of uranium contamination in Niger.
The tour was timed to coincide with the Powershift Youth Climate Action Conference, which was attended by around 12 000 people from across the USA. There was a strong focus on ‘carbon free, nuclear free’ campaigning, with the panel discussions on nuclear issues attracting over 500 people.
Over the three days of speaking tour events, which included a press conference, film screening of Poison Wind (directed by Jenny Pond), and lobbying on Capitol Hill, the Indigenous speakers shared many personal experiences and insights about the devastating effects of the nuclear industry on land, culture and communities.
Mitch, who has spent years fighting a radioactive dump proposed on her traditional land said; we have companies coming into Australia and we are told that uranium is clean and green and its renewable energy. We know that this is lies and this is a disgusting form of control over a population that is made to rely on the government for all their resources, their energy, their consumption.
It is policies of genocide so that other people can have power.
We are told that the next generation will have the education and the smarts to fix up our problems… but I don’t think we have the moral rights as your elders to leave the mess for you to fix up.
We do not want the next generation to try and get water out of rock, to get air out of sludge, to get food out of the bottom of the sea that is full of algae.
Sidi-Amar Taoua explained the impact of the uranium mining industry on Toureg people and their traditions;
The Toureg remain of one of the last people who live in the Saharan desert. Their way of life revolves around finding grazing for flocks of livestock in one of the planet’s hardest landscapes.
Uranium continues to be a critical French national interest since the country produces more than 80 per cent of energy from power plants that are fuelled by Niger uranium. One French lightbulb in three is lit by uranium from Toureg land.
People have many kind of diseases. Many are worried about the spread of radioactive dust from the mining companies bulldozers and machines. People are forced to pick through the company garbage for scrap metal to build and furnish their houses. Meanwhile French mining executives and other expatriates live nearby in luxurious villas with land and swimming pools.
Toureg believe uranium mining and its attendant operations pose a critical threat for the environment and especially for the Toureg existence. The Toureg have inhabited this part of northern Niger since the 19th century. They understand that the world is changing but they are asking that their rights as indigenous people, their land and their way of life to be respected.
With the nuclear industry still insisting a ‘nuclear renaissance’ is around the corner, Manuel Pino from the Acoma Pueblo tribe succinctly pointed out;
…how can we put the cart before the horse and say that nuclear power is the answer when we cant even dispose of the waste or clean up the existing legacy mines or mills that exist, in a majority of times, on indigenous peoples lands.
Written by Natalie Wasley
Beyond Nuclear Initiative-uranium project coordinator
www.beyondnuclearinitiative.wordpress.com
Showing posts with label uranium. Show all posts
Showing posts with label uranium. Show all posts
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Locals demand answers over Angela Pamela
Locals demand answers over Angela Pamela
http://www.abc.net.au/local/photos/2009/03/27/2528374.htm?site=alicesprings&rotator=true
The Minister for Resources, Kon Vatskalis, spent a tense hour at a community meeting discussing the potential exploration at the Angela Pamela uranium deposits south of Alice Springs.
Over one hundred people packed the Andy McNeil room at the Alice Springs Town Council to put questions to the Minister.
A panel grilled the Minister on everything from water use to dust suppression, eventually asking him to revoke the license given to Cameco to explore the site.
The meeting was organised by a number of local organisations concerned about the proposed mine south of town.
Organiser, Emma Chessell, from the Alice Springs Angela Pamela Collective said the meeting was a success.
"It was really good the Minister reiterated his support for a public enquiry at the Federal level."
The Minister was heckled when he admitted to not knowing about the company's operations in Canada.
"I don't know what Cameco does in Canada, that's for Canada to decide," said Minister Kon Vatskalis.
Alice Springs local, Craig, who has lived in town for ten years and has two young children said he was disappointed with the Minister's response to one of his questions.
"I'm not happy with the response, I don't think he answered the question...It's in his power to end this now. He can revoke any licenses given and we wouldn't be here."
Following the meeting, Minister Vatskalis indicated that the mine may not even go ahead.
"There's no guarantee there's going to be a mine, there are a lot of hurdles to jump."
http://www.abc.net.au/local/photos/2009/03/27/2528374.htm?site=alicesprings&rotator=true
The Minister for Resources, Kon Vatskalis, spent a tense hour at a community meeting discussing the potential exploration at the Angela Pamela uranium deposits south of Alice Springs.
Over one hundred people packed the Andy McNeil room at the Alice Springs Town Council to put questions to the Minister.
A panel grilled the Minister on everything from water use to dust suppression, eventually asking him to revoke the license given to Cameco to explore the site.
The meeting was organised by a number of local organisations concerned about the proposed mine south of town.
Organiser, Emma Chessell, from the Alice Springs Angela Pamela Collective said the meeting was a success.
"It was really good the Minister reiterated his support for a public enquiry at the Federal level."
The Minister was heckled when he admitted to not knowing about the company's operations in Canada.
"I don't know what Cameco does in Canada, that's for Canada to decide," said Minister Kon Vatskalis.
Alice Springs local, Craig, who has lived in town for ten years and has two young children said he was disappointed with the Minister's response to one of his questions.
"I'm not happy with the response, I don't think he answered the question...It's in his power to end this now. He can revoke any licenses given and we wouldn't be here."
Following the meeting, Minister Vatskalis indicated that the mine may not even go ahead.
"There's no guarantee there's going to be a mine, there are a lot of hurdles to jump."
Alice Springs Artists response to the uranium threat
Alice Springs Artists response to the uranium threat
Calling all poets, song writers, artists etc to create works responding to the uranium mining-dumping threats to our town.
We are hoping to create an exhibition to be displayed in the ASTC Library May-June
Queries please call Unanyntji ;0488266478 ,unanyntji@hotmail.com
Calling all poets, song writers, artists etc to create works responding to the uranium mining-dumping threats to our town.
We are hoping to create an exhibition to be displayed in the ASTC Library May-June
Queries please call Unanyntji ;0488266478 ,unanyntji@hotmail.com
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Beyond Nuclear News
Sounds like Nat and Mitch are making waves in the United States.
Stay tuned for more info...
-----------------------------------------
From the Age.
US lawmakers warned about uranium mining
February 28, 2009 - 1:04PM
Australian aborigines, a French physicist and a US actor joined representatives of indigenous peoples from Africa and the United States on Friday to send US lawmakers a stark warning about the dangers of uranium mining.
"We want US lawmakers to understand that uranium mining is highly pollutant and that there is currently no scientific answer to the question of radioactive waste containment," said Bruno Chareyron of France's CRIIRAD laboratory, which measures radioactivity in the environment.
"We want them to know that the information they are given by the mining companies is not wholly reliable," he said.
Representatives of the Tuareg nomads of Niger, Native Americans and Australian aborigines told of the ravages of uranium mining on their communities.
In Niger, French company Areva has been mining uranium for more than 40 years with "no regard for the environment, people's health, animals", said Sidi-Amar Taoua, a Tuareg who has lived for seven years in the United States.
"Uranium mining has impacted every area and sparked a war between the Tuareg who took up arms to defend their land, and the government, which is complicit with Areva," he said.
Areva announced last month that it has applied for US government approval to build a $US2 billion ($A3.08 billion) uranium enrichment plant in the northwestern state of Idaho.
The project would be the French state-controlled group's first uranium enrichment plant in the US.
Native American lands in the southwestern US have been the site of more than 1,300 uranium mines.
Although most have been closed, the mines' legacy includes contaminated drinking water and illnesses from cancer to kidney disease, said Native American environmental activist Manny Pino.
"In this process of nuclear renaissance, it's almost like the federal government is ignoring the historical legacy of uranium mining in the past and prioritising the economic benefits of nuclear power in the future at the expense of our land, our water and our people," he said.
Mitch, an aboriginal militant against radioactive waste dumps and uranium mining in Australia, the world's biggest producer of the mineral, said: "Short term monetary gain will leave us with long-term deadly waste for generations to come."
Uranium mining saw a long boom period in the US between the 1940s and 1980s, before coming to a near halt in the 1990s as prices paid for the mineral plummeted.
In 2005, as uranium prices were starting to climb upwards again, the Navajo passed a law banning the mining or processing of uranium on their lands.
But when the price of the mineral peaked at around $US140 ($A215.52) a pound in 2007, mining companies descended "like vultures" on uranium-rich areas, 70 per cent of which are situated on land inhabited by low-income indigenous communities, said James Cromwell, the actor who played George H.W. Bush in the film W, which has just opened in Australia.
As oil and gas prices spiked last year, nuclear power gained ground as an attractive energy option to ensure US energy independence.
Then secretary of the interior Dirk Kempthorne authorised uranium exploration near the Grand Canyon, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
"There's a lot of activity. When uranium prices went up we saw proposals for exploration all over the place," said Sandy Bahr of environmental group the Sierra Club's Grand Canyon chapter.
In January, Arizona lawmaker Raul Grijalva introduced a bill in Congress that would permanently withdraw from mineral extraction one million acres of public lands in watersheds surrounding the Grand Canyon.
© 2009 AFP
http://beyondnuclearinitiative.wordpress.com
------------
Beyond Nuclear Initiative Uranium Project
natwasley@alec.org.au08 8952 20110429 900 774
Stay tuned for more info...
-----------------------------------------
From the Age.
US lawmakers warned about uranium mining
February 28, 2009 - 1:04PM
Australian aborigines, a French physicist and a US actor joined representatives of indigenous peoples from Africa and the United States on Friday to send US lawmakers a stark warning about the dangers of uranium mining.
"We want US lawmakers to understand that uranium mining is highly pollutant and that there is currently no scientific answer to the question of radioactive waste containment," said Bruno Chareyron of France's CRIIRAD laboratory, which measures radioactivity in the environment.
"We want them to know that the information they are given by the mining companies is not wholly reliable," he said.
Representatives of the Tuareg nomads of Niger, Native Americans and Australian aborigines told of the ravages of uranium mining on their communities.
In Niger, French company Areva has been mining uranium for more than 40 years with "no regard for the environment, people's health, animals", said Sidi-Amar Taoua, a Tuareg who has lived for seven years in the United States.
"Uranium mining has impacted every area and sparked a war between the Tuareg who took up arms to defend their land, and the government, which is complicit with Areva," he said.
Areva announced last month that it has applied for US government approval to build a $US2 billion ($A3.08 billion) uranium enrichment plant in the northwestern state of Idaho.
The project would be the French state-controlled group's first uranium enrichment plant in the US.
Native American lands in the southwestern US have been the site of more than 1,300 uranium mines.
Although most have been closed, the mines' legacy includes contaminated drinking water and illnesses from cancer to kidney disease, said Native American environmental activist Manny Pino.
"In this process of nuclear renaissance, it's almost like the federal government is ignoring the historical legacy of uranium mining in the past and prioritising the economic benefits of nuclear power in the future at the expense of our land, our water and our people," he said.
Mitch, an aboriginal militant against radioactive waste dumps and uranium mining in Australia, the world's biggest producer of the mineral, said: "Short term monetary gain will leave us with long-term deadly waste for generations to come."
Uranium mining saw a long boom period in the US between the 1940s and 1980s, before coming to a near halt in the 1990s as prices paid for the mineral plummeted.
In 2005, as uranium prices were starting to climb upwards again, the Navajo passed a law banning the mining or processing of uranium on their lands.
But when the price of the mineral peaked at around $US140 ($A215.52) a pound in 2007, mining companies descended "like vultures" on uranium-rich areas, 70 per cent of which are situated on land inhabited by low-income indigenous communities, said James Cromwell, the actor who played George H.W. Bush in the film W, which has just opened in Australia.
As oil and gas prices spiked last year, nuclear power gained ground as an attractive energy option to ensure US energy independence.
Then secretary of the interior Dirk Kempthorne authorised uranium exploration near the Grand Canyon, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
"There's a lot of activity. When uranium prices went up we saw proposals for exploration all over the place," said Sandy Bahr of environmental group the Sierra Club's Grand Canyon chapter.
In January, Arizona lawmaker Raul Grijalva introduced a bill in Congress that would permanently withdraw from mineral extraction one million acres of public lands in watersheds surrounding the Grand Canyon.
© 2009 AFP
http://beyondnuclearinitiative.wordpress.com
------------
Beyond Nuclear Initiative Uranium Project
natwasley@alec.org.au08 8952 20110429 900 774
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Greens Gathering - ASAP
We would love more people to get involved in the Greens in Alice Springs and for more people to be informed about issues affecting life in Central Australia. To encourage this we have decided to have a Green gathering every second month on the second Sunday of the month. This will be a social event with a time to meet other Greens members and learn more about a particular issue.
The first one will be happening this Sunday (12th October):
Date: Sunday 12 October
Time: 5pm - 6pm
Venue: Telegraph Station
Focus Issue: Angela-Pamela exploration license - what happens now?
What to bring: drinks/snacks to eat and share, something to sit on
Kids, friends, non-members VERY welcome.
Hope to see you there!
Lisa Hall on behalf of the Alice Springs Greens
The first one will be happening this Sunday (12th October):
Date: Sunday 12 October
Time: 5pm - 6pm
Venue: Telegraph Station
Focus Issue: Angela-Pamela exploration license - what happens now?
What to bring: drinks/snacks to eat and share, something to sit on
Kids, friends, non-members VERY welcome.
Hope to see you there!
Lisa Hall on behalf of the Alice Springs Greens
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Protest against Angela Pamela
Unfortunately we are one step close to being a Uranium mining town
The Angela Pamela license to explore for uranium 21km from Alice Springs has been granted:
http://www.nt.gov.au/d/Minerals_Energy/news_media_archive_article.cfm?newsid=404&ws=1
Over 100 people gathered yesterday and another protest is planned for tomorrow.
PROTEST THIS SUNDAY Oct 5th: Flynn Church lawns 10.30am
You may also want to find out more about ASAP and join the No Alice U-Mine facebook group
The Angela Pamela license to explore for uranium 21km from Alice Springs has been granted:
http://www.nt.gov.au/d/Minerals_Energy/news_media_archive_article.cfm?newsid=404&ws=1
Over 100 people gathered yesterday and another protest is planned for tomorrow.
PROTEST THIS SUNDAY Oct 5th: Flynn Church lawns 10.30am
You may also want to find out more about ASAP and join the No Alice U-Mine facebook group
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