A letter from Ohio

Tamara Sands Zanesville, Ohio, United States of America
So, I implore you to continue researching the decision your administration is charged with governing with all eyes, ears and conscious minds open when considering Gunn’s continued efforts to site this mill. The decision your administration is faced with has far reaching impacts for not only the local community, whose residents will live with that decision day in-day out both aesthetically, economically and health wise, but the global marketplace that will feel the effects long term from the contamination of the world’s oceans and its inhabitants. The world has enough pollution contaminating our seas effecting the viability of fisheries and world health without adding more to the load.
From: tsands1@columbus.rr.com
To: david.bartlett@parliament.tas.gov.au
Subject: END GUNN’S ATTEMPT TO DESTROY TASMANIA
Date: Sat, 8 Nov 2008 07:37:36 -0500

Dear Premier Bartlett –

You may think this strange that an individual who lives half a world away is interested in the political, economic, and environmental well being of Tasmania. However, let me assure you that many individuals far from Tasmania are extremely concerned about the potential impacts the decisions made by the Tasmanian governmental bodies will have both locally and globally.

As an ex-EPA inspector I can speak with firsthand knowledge of the destruction and damage a mill such as Gunn’s will generate. Destruction and damage that will be far reaching based on the location that has been proposed by the corporation and, presently, sanctioned by your administration. Destruction and damage that cause irreversible changes in the environment, habitat, and long term impacts on local commercial enterprises due to soil, water and air contamination which prevents the sustainability of saleable products – you can’t raise for resale any vegetables, fruits, products made from those plants or graze animals on forage grown in contaminated soils because of the bioaccumulation of toxins generated by the emissions of the pulp mill.

Since the location proposed is along the Tamar River which flows directly to the Bass Strait of the Indian Ocean it will have far reaching effects on a global nature. Fishing, habitat, tourism, etc. will all be affected by the decision made by your administration to site this type of facility.

Even though decisions are made with the ‘big picture’ in mind, as you and I both know, considerations of the ‘big picture’ don’t always include a complete and well thought out consideration of how the impact of those decisions will play out long term.

Please consider ALL aspects of the issues that are present in the decision to continue the permitting of the proposed Gunn’s Pulp mill in Tasmania.

I, for one, wish to visit my Tasmanian friends and enjoy its local wines, fresh produce, spend time inside the awesomeness of the old growth forests that are listed among the oldest on earth WITHOUT having to deal with the stench, pollution and contamination that are generated by the pulping processes. Believe me when I say that the stench generated by the pulping process is NOT an attractant for tourism. It is NOT the bouquet of clean, fresh, welcoming scents that tourists want to enjoy to spend their hard earned monies experiencing.

I spent many years sampling soils, streams and the ambient air quality in areas where pulping processes were in operation. Now, twenty years later, these areas are still considered sterile, unproductive, unattractive vistas even AFTER the pulping companies were fined, cited and forced to change their contaminating processes to those of lesser impacts. These areas have no other commercial enterprises to support the economy of the community. So, when the pulping industry decides it needs to move to be closer to their raw material sources, the communities whose environments they have contaminated will go the way of the old coal mining company towns – they will dry up and die.

So, I implore you to continue researching the decision your administration is charged with governing with all eyes, ears and conscious minds open when considering Gunn’s continued efforts to site this mill. The decision your administration is faced with has far reaching impacts for not only the local community, whose residents will live with that decision day in-day out both aesthetically, economically and health wise, but the global marketplace that will feel the effects long term from the contamination of the world’s oceans and its inhabitants. The world has enough pollution contaminating our seas effecting the viability of fisheries and world health without adding more to the load.

Not to mention the air emissions that will generate more greenhouse gases which effect the atmosphere’s ozone content, as well as, its ability to protect and sustain living organisms.

Sincerely,

Tamara Sands

Zanesville, Ohio, United States of America