Looking far beyond Australia’s muddled election
The nuclear industry banks on a world that continues on a path of ever more consumption of material “goods” and of energy. The “consumer society” with its rampant materialism will inevitably end, one way or another. There’s a hope that the change will be made in a co-operative, careful way, by human societies. – rather than by a ecological crash, or nuclear war.
Sometimes the ?corny words of songs come to mind – “you gotta have a dream, if you don’t have a dream, how you gonna have a dream come true?” – or John Lennon’s “You make think I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one”.
In the sorry mess of Australia’s election, the national swing to the Greens shows the hope of so many Australian for a more intelligent style of politics, and a movement towards caring for the planet. – Christina Macpherson 28 Aug 2010
Stopping mindless consumption – no more ‘politics as usual’
all these issues – environmental, social and economic – have their source in a world view that sees the central purpose of our society as pursuing ever more material enrichment in order to allow us to consume more……….
Fiddling while the Earth burns, The Age, Richard Eckersley, August 27, 2010 No more ‘politics as usual’ should mean having enough courage to tackle the sickness of mindless consumption…… Continue reading
Aboriginals and Labor oppose uranium mining in Western Australia
Kade Muir, a Wongatha anthropologist who was born in Kalgoorlie but now resides elsewhere, says, “We don’t want this product disturbed from the ground. We don’t want to bequeath a legacy for future generations of a toxic environment.”
Enough of Uranium Mining, Say Aboriginal Communities. Galdu. Resource Centre for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, August 2010, KALGOORLIE-BOULDER, Australia — As a mining giant prepares to open a major uranium mining site in Western Australia next year, the clamour for the state to once more ban mining of the radioactive mineral has become louder.
By Jessie Boylan, IPS Continue reading
Conflicts of interest in USA “independent” uranium study group
The Southern Environmental Law Center, for instance, objects to Henry A. Schnell, who is with the mining business unit of Areva, the French-owned nuclear services company.
Questions raised about Va. uranium study members, BusinessWeek, By STEVE SZKOTAKS, 27 Aug 2010, RICHMOND, Va. As an independent scientific panel is assembled to study the risks of uranium mining in Virginia, environmental groups are questioning whether some of its provisional members can be impartial because of their ties to the nuclear power industry or mining interests. Continue reading
Business looks to new Australian Parliament for action on Climate Change
Fiona Wain, the head of the Environment Business Australia think tank made half a dozen useful recommendations: –
Trillion-dollar climate question, Sydney Morning Herald, August 28, 2010 Hopes surged this week that a swing to the Greens will result in meaningful action on climate change in the new Parliament. Continue reading




