Tuesday, November 27th

Led by Donna Dillman who has been on a hunger fast since Thanksgiving Day, Oct 8th

calling attention to stopping proposed uranium mining exploration near Sharbot Lake.

From Mike Nickerson:

For 45 days my wife has not eaten in

protest against the dangers of radiation -

You can help by joining Tuesday's procession to Queen's

Park and/or notifying the people you know in and

around Toronto and encouraging them to participate.

Greetings:

We have an opportunity to generate a public

discussion about the dangers and benefits of

nuclear power.

There is a big gap between the message that

"there is nothing to worry about, nuclear power will

solve climate change" and the hundreds of stories

about routine radiation releases, accidents and

occasional catastrophes that surround the nuclear

industry. The decision, to break uranium loose from

the Canadian Shield and turn it into long-lasting waste

that is a million times more radioactive, should be

made carefully.

On Tuesday, November 27th, at 11:00 am, a

procession will form at the corner of Orde St. (one

block South of College) and University Ave. This

is the location of the Princess Margaret Hospital,

Canada's renown cancer hospital and its research

arm, the Ontario Cancer Institute. From that

corner, the procession will walk a couple of blocks

to the main Legislative building at Queen's Park,

there to ask Premier McGuinty to hold an open

public inquiry into the dangers and benefits of

uranium.

Leading the procession will be Donna

Dillman, a grandmother who has gone without

food since Thanksgiving Day, October 8, in protest

over exploration for a uranium mine up wind from

where her grandchildren live.

Donna, who is also my wife, says "We can

live a long time without food but clean water is

essential for all life." After more than forty days

of trying to get the Premier's attention from Eastern

Ontario, she is moving the protest to Toronto.

There has already been a lot of publicity around

this protest, Donna's sacrifice provides a unique

opportunity to get the nuclear issue on the table

for a full and open public review.

Everyone who would like to see uranium left

in the ground is invited to join the procession. If

you can, bring a letter (or mail one, postage free, if you

can't make it) expressing your concern about a nuclear

future and, in particular, call for a public inquiry

into the industry.

Such letters should be addressed to:

Premier Dalton McGuinty

Main Legislative Building

Room 281, Queens Park

Toronto, ON, Canada

M7A 1A1

Some details of interest and concern:

A Cure for Climate Change - Not!

The International Atomic Energy Agency

(IAEA), a pro-nuclear organization, predicts that,

even with today's renewed interest in building new

reactors, nuclear's share of the world's energy

supplies may actually drop between now and

2030. At best, they say, all-out nuclear

development over that period would only expand

its share of electrical production from 16% to 18%

A Lack of Health Concerns:

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission

that regulates nuclear energy and uranium mining

has no health department, nor does it employ

biomedical specialists or medical doctors. A 1980

report by the British Columbia Medical

Association, entitled "The Health Hazards of

Uranium Mining", declared that the Atomic

Energy Control Board was "Unfit to Regulate" due

to its lack of medical expertise. The situation is

no better today with the Canadian Nuclear Safety

Commission, successor to the AECB.

Nuclear Liability:

The Insurance Industry will not insure

nuclear power plants. Nuclear facilities are

granted limited liability by the government,

underwritten with our taxes.

The liability of nuclear plants has been

limited to $75 million in the event of an accident.

I've heard that this liability limit has recently

been raised, but that does not deflect the question

of why nuclear facilities cannot be insured like

every other business.

Stranded Debt:

Every user of commercial electricity in

Ontario has a regular payment added to their

hydro bill to help pay off the debt stranded by

earlier nuclear development. The Darlington

nuclear generating station was supposed to cost

$5 billion and ended up costing $14.4 billion.

Energy production from those reactors has not

been able to pay off the overruns.

Perhaps the billions of dollars could be

better employed finding lasting solutions to the

crisis of our non-sustainability.

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We are faced today with an enormous challenge.

Human beings fill the Earth, yet, our tradition is to grow more.

We must change direction and pursue a new goal,

a steady state relationship with our planet.

See "The Challenge and the Goal" at:

http://www.SustainWellBeing.net/challengeandgoal.html

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http://www.SustainWellBeing.net

Sustainability Project - 7th Generation Initiative

2799 McDonald's Corners Rd.

RR #3 Lanark, Ontario

K0G 1K0

phone (613) 259-9988

e-mail: sustain5@web.ca