A class action by honest people against the (polluters) for negligence toward humanity….”

JF Aus – I trust you don't object to me replacing the word "media" with “polluters?”

We in Australia revere the polluter. Several industrial barons have been awarded OBEs even knighthoods for exposing unwitting citizens to lethal chemicals and for the destruction (with impunity) of this nation’s ecosystems. Yet unremorseful industrial corporations remain the greatest opponents to the Emissions Trading Scheme, despite the fact that the largest polluters will receive massive credits for minute mitigations of their hazardous emissions.

Rudd’s five percent emissions’ reduction ETS will not be effective, however, it’s better than nothing but shall we soon witness a litigious nation, more so in the resource states?

Already 300 citizens have commenced a class action against an international polluter in WA because governments have failed to enforce the EPA legislation. Lawyers are seeking pro bono cases to assist citizens who until now, have remained impotent in their quest for justice. In the future, I envisage a class action against the WA government for crimes against humanity.

Citizens around the world are suing Australian based mining companies for billions of dollars. International NGO’s are reporting to the UN and Rudd's government on Australian mining companies which have trashed the environment and people's livlihoods in poor nations:

http://www.oxfam.org.au/media/articles.php?dep_id=7&cat_id=15

Last year, the state of California commenced a class action against their federal government (Bush) who denied California and 16 other states a waiver that would have allowed the states to enforce their own emission standards to mitigate carbon dioxide emissions.

However, this year, the USEPA announced that carbon dioxide is a health hazard and in January, a Stanford scientist spelled out the direct links between increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and increases in human mortality due to ground level ozone, particles and carcinogens in the air.

The “descent of man” in this nation is due to his absurd belief that an environmental toxic brew is “good” for your health because it’s good for your pocket. We hasten in earnest towards the lemmings’ cliff.

It will take a good lawyer to sort a case to overcome the blatant disregard for the ocean environment and people who depend on seafood. It is government sewage systems that are dumping the nutrient pollution. Politicians consider government pollution is not a tenable issue. They savvy media will not report news of government sewage pollution and impact. Severe impact of sewage nutrient pollution includes devastation of the SW Pacific Ocean environment, including the RAMSAR seagrass site in Moreton Bay Queensland. Following Moreton Bay RAMSAR devastation in 2000, mass starvation of mutton birds occurred with mortality extending along coastline from Rockhampton Qld, down the SE Qld and NSW coast, around the Victorian and along South Australian coast, and around the coast of Tasmania. Wildlife officers in 4 states were shocked by severity of the mortality but the massive and significant event was only reported by one TV station. If the event had been honestly reported the public would call on politicans to find the cause and solutions. Instead the conspiracy of silence has led to no solutions and no debate and a recent 69% increase in maternal mortality in Solomon Islands. In reality the SW Pacific Islands have now lost their traditional available staple food resources of essential protein. Malnutrition and anaemia and disease is worsening unchecked. Poverty is becoming chronic for many more people, all under Australia's watch on security and regional 'assistance'.

The system of reporting damage to the environment is broken down. The SW Pacific is being trashed. Majopr media is not reporting eastern Australia longshore current transporting nutrient pollution past Fraser Island into GBR waters where coral bleaching is occurring. Media is not reporting that GBRMPA science does not research the longshore current inflow because the GBRMPA southern boundary excludes Fraser Island. Media is instead blaming global warming for coral bleaching. Media is also blaming farmers for agricultural nutrient runoff pollution without southern city nutrient input to the region even being mentioned. We are being deceived by media business and great damage to the environment and the economy is resulting and is well advanced.

Dear Rehctub, Just had to let you know I’ve had to add your name to my spell check dictionary, you should see what it comes up with as word options, sorry about that. Just thought it was funny.

Well you needn't have bothered, all you need to do is spell it backwards and it spells butcher.

We butchers, or rehctub's as we are known within the industry, have a whole different language that we speak, some of which you may have heard while in a butcher shop.

Anyway, some interesting info on nuclear power, esspecially the suposed lack of unrainum.

Yeah but its funnier if you let Microsoft make the suggestive jokes for you.

“As far as I’m able to determine, there has never been a safety incident with a Gen. II, III or IV ……”

With respect Spindoc, Generator 1V nuclear reactors have not yet been built and currently there are only two Generator 111 commercial reactors operating in the world and these are in Japan. They are the advanced boiling water reactors which are modifications of existing reactor types.

Gen. 1V reactors are expected to be commissioned between 2020 and 2030. There is a history of problems and delays. Australia will be lucky to commission one reactor by 2020.

The UK are planning 10 new reactors but currently the costs for decommissioning aged reactors and cleaning up nuclear waste has amounted to 83 billion pounds which has now been passed on to taxpayers. The president of France wants to export French nuclear know-how around the world, however, its nuclear industry continues to be buffeted by a series of embarrassing mishaps.

“The good news is that having never disposed of it we can now use it again as fuel in the new Gen. IV reactors.”

The bad news is that oceans are teeming with radioactive wastes which have been disposed of in the past and continue to wreak havoc on the planet. Following are merely a few examples:

Radioactive waste – marine dumping:

United States:

Atlantic Ocean :1951-67: 33,998 containers – estimated atomic activity 79,482 curies

Pacific Ocean: 1946-1967: 52,530 containers – estimated atomic activity 14,677.3 curies

United Kingdom

1951-1967: 50,570 containers – Alpha 3,331, Beta 44,096

After the 2004 tsunami, hundreds of drums containing hazardous waste and radioactive substances, washed ashore in Somalia. Somalians who attempted to open the drums were burned, sickened or killed.

The situation is urgent – we need to demand enforcement of existing regulations for polluters and seek immediate solutions (not futuristic ones) but first we need to clean up the mess we've made. Twiddling our thumbs for the next 15 to 20 years whilst waiting for just one useless nuclear reactor in Australia will be at our peril.

Hadn't heard much about this before, Protagoras.

>>oceans are teeming with radioactive wastes which have been disposed of in the past<<

Do you have some links I could follow?

This one, though, was just a little misleading:

>>After the 2004 tsunami, hundreds of drums containing hazardous waste and radioactive substances, washed ashore in Somalia.<<

Two things. You make it sound as though the drums had previously been in the ocean, and it was the tsunami that brought them ashore. And that their main purpose was to get rid of radioactive waste.

First of all, dumping toxic waste has been a part of the Somali economy for some years.

"...contracts signed by two European companies and representatives of the then President, Ali Mahdi Mohamed, to dump in Southern Somalia 10 million tonnes of toxic waste in exchange for $80 million."

http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/node/4719

And in a United Nations report...

"Most of the waste was simply dumped on the beaches in containers and disposable leaking barrels which ranged from small to big tanks without regard to the health of the local population and any environmentally devastating impacts."

I agree that this illegal dumping is a major problem. I also agree that companies who participate in the exploitation of LDCs in order to cut costs should be made to suffer, big time.

But this example is not specifically about nuclear waste, which is the topic you were discussing.

Poetic licence is one thing. But this is misleading.

I look forward to your providing the links on "Radioactive waste – marine dumping".