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The recent and captious communication
from Niels Paul Dreyer dismissing the concerns of those who seek to agitate the
Federal Parliament and Executive government about the mining of uranium at
Jabiluka is misguided.
His perception that the issue is of
low priority ought not to derogate from the efforts of those who think
otherwise.
The premise upon which his message is
based, and the trap into which he falls, is that "lesser" evils are
ok. That logic is perverse. No environmental evil should be
tolerated.
In any event, my understanding is
that technology is not yet available to quarantine the waste produced from this
energy source from us Humanity will have to endure this waste for tens of
thousands of years.
Until the necessary technology is
developed to ensure that we can be protected from the waste produced from
uranium, this energy source should not be exploited. Two wrongs don't make
a right- just because some perceive this energy source as less dangerous than
fossil fuels ( which proposition is not free from controversy), doesn't mean
that is safe.
It seems to me that it would be
better that resources are diverted to the development of renewable energy
sources rather than to something that could pose a peril for thousands of years
to come.
I would suggest that the issue of
mining uranium within the vicinity of the World Heritage Kakadu National Park
ought to ranked with similar priority to those other environmental concerns
listed in Niels Dreyer's communication. It is narrow-minded and wrong to
dismiss this issue as "politically sexy". Those who are minded
to agitate government and business about the issue ought not to be detracted
from doing so by the unenlightened and despiteous diatribe of Niels
Dreyer.
M. Douglas,
Killcare.
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