The technique is always to make the worse things when no one looks. So now that the media and newspapers (those not on the payroll of the italian premier) are distracted by the G8 dell'Aquila, the Senate has approved the so-called "law of development". The reason why this law will be famous, or infamous, it is that committs the government to find in six months sites to build new nuclear plants and sites for the storage of radioactive waste.
To solve the problem of expected resistance of the population to have nuclear waste next to their backyards these sites will be declared "of strategic national interest" and manned by the army. The same system with which they have "solved" the problem of waste in Campania, creating landfills here and there to poison the people and preventing the protests with the army. But the regime's televisions say that the problem was solved by Acerra incinerator, another manufacturer of tumors, which in reality cannot even dispose of all the regional waste .
While the rest of the world, the United States first, are investing on energy efficiency and renewables, and abandon the Nuclear, expensive and dangerous, the Italy return to it 30 years later, with working plants ready in 10 years or more. The new power also entail huge costs and will eventually have little impact on the energy balance of the country, which in the meantime will not have invested a cent on renewables.
The government relies heavily on the apathetic resignation of Italian citizens, who do not understand how much the nuclear industry is big business for some companies and a big cheat for the community. Advocates of nuclear energy say it is cheap. Sure, it costs little to businesses because of the enormous cost of disposal and storage of nuclear waste are left to the state, that is our taxes. And for years the European countries that have nuclear power have dumped their waste in Africa to reduce costs. Ilaria Alpi was investigating this before being killed in Somalia in 1994 with her cameraman Miran Hrovatin. Furthermore, nuclear power is dangerous with the least accident or abuse in the management of the reactors and storage of waste (which remain deadly for thousands of years), as was tragically demonstrated in Chernobyl.
But to those who make propaganda for nuclear power all this doesn't matter. What matters to large Italian companies is to gain a sea of money with the contracts. The fact that the Italians have rejected nuclear power in a referendum in 1987 and still today, despite the propaganda of the regime, the majority is strongly against it, doesn't have the minimum weight.
And this was the worst news. The bad one is that the law also contains "class action" that is the possibility for citizens to make common cause in court against banks, companies and polluters. It would be a beautiful thing, but is not retroactive, so no common cause against Cirio, Parmalat, Eternit and other scandals that have damaged or killed the Italians. In addition, the law does not enter into force before January 2010, and so they still have time to collapse it. But, we want to be optimistic, if the class action will really become law, in a few years, when we start dying like flies because of radioactive waste and the glorious history of the efficiency that has Italy with regard to waste management, we can sue some polluters. So those who have made billions and swam in gold poisoning the nation will give us peanuts for thousands of deaths. That's the way in which always ends the story in this country.
But to those who make propaganda for nuclear power all this doesn't matter. What matters to large Italian companies is to gain a sea of money with the contracts. The fact that the Italians have rejected nuclear power in a referendum in 1987 and still today, despite the propaganda of the regime, the majority is strongly against it, doesn't have the minimum weight.
And this was the worst news. The bad one is that the law also contains "class action" that is the possibility for citizens to make common cause in court against banks, companies and polluters. It would be a beautiful thing, but is not retroactive, so no common cause against Cirio, Parmalat, Eternit and other scandals that have damaged or killed the Italians. In addition, the law does not enter into force before January 2010, and so they still have time to collapse it. But, we want to be optimistic, if the class action will really become law, in a few years, when we start dying like flies because of radioactive waste and the glorious history of the efficiency that has Italy with regard to waste management, we can sue some polluters. So those who have made billions and swam in gold poisoning the nation will give us peanuts for thousands of deaths. That's the way in which always ends the story in this country.
Francesco Defferrari
Wwf, Nuclear Energy is not a solution
Legambiente, for the climate against nuclear
Greenpeace, the debts of Enel, the recapitalization and the nuclear
List of military nuclear disasters
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