Look before we leap

THE NAME of the Sustainable Agriculture and Communities Alliance (Western District) Pty, from Victoria, Australia, has just been added to the list of scientific, environmental and agricultural organisations asking that we “Look Before We Leap”. This list is being compiled by the ETC Group, which works to expose unsafe substances and technologies.

The members of SACA are extremely concerned about Climate Change. We are also aware that corporations are using this world crisis to promote untested and unsafe technologies, rather than known and proven technologies that will reduce greenhouse gases.

We are concerned about the negative effects that will result from:

An increase in nuclear power and pollution of the biosphere with radioactive gases and radioactive water which are emitted from nuclear power stations on a daily basis;

Genetic engineering, which has 65 documented health risks linked to it, as well as documented damage to beneficial soil organisms and pollinating insects;

Some aspects of still untested nanotechnology, which like genetic engineering may also damage soil organisms and animals – including people. The proliferation of nanoparticles in the environment may pollute water or possibly even affect its quality, its characteristics, and its effects on living beings. Nanoparticles are already making their way into the biosphere and the world’s water circulation. Nobody knows how these new-sized particles will behave in our bodies.

The new industries and emissions now polluting our biosphere have already been shown to be harmful; it may be too late if we wait until more evidence shows up regarding affects on our cells, our biology, our genetic inheritance and our health. Let us heed the lesson we should have learned from the premature release of chlorofluorocarbons that damaged the protective ozone layer above the planet.

Let us work fast using safe and known technologies to reduce our impact on the world’s weather systems. We must act now, but we must not jump out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Yours truly,

Gillian Blair
Secretary, Sustainable Agriculture and Communities Alliance (SACA) Western District
Gillian Blair Secretary, Sustainable Agriculture and Communities Alliance (SACA) Western District