Last night at the Climate Justice Convergence Centre, indigenous activist John Lewis Jobe described the impacts of the uranium mining industry upon his people. Lewis described the infamous Uranium City located in northwest Saskatchewan that was the centre of the nuclear boom in the 50s. Now an abandoned town, the surrounding area is a wasteland where nothing grows and where wildlife is contaminated. His people suffer from cancers and other illnesses as a result of drinking the water and eating the local animals. Uranium mining and nuclear waste dumping disproportionately affects indigenous communities all over the globe, making this a serious environmental justice issue. At the same time the nuclear industry is busy reinventing itself as a solution to climate change in the official UN talks, giving out free beer and replica uranium pellets in toy-like packets. The industry are also armed with glossy leaflets that quote environmentalists who are beginning to support nuclear as an option, such as James Lovelock and co-founder of Greenpeace Patrick Moore. Lewis is outraged by this development and his final words are “We have to put a face to the problems of the nuclear industry. They are killing my people.”

For more on climate justice and indigenous peoples see www.ienearth.org
by: ProfMKD @ 6:13 pm