Garry Stannus
Hi Lorna,

Re: coal being exempted from EPA regulation in the states – we have something similiar in Tasmania.

The Tasmanian Forestry Corporation (semi-govt) conducts huge burn-offs of the left-overs from logging, every spring and autumn. The smoke can spread for miles. It poses particular problems for asthmatics, who are advised to remain indoors on controlled-burn days. And yet there is no way of keeping the smoke out of a house completely. I have a friend who last year, as a result of these ‘controlled-burns’ ended up in emergency at the local hospital, with what became chronic asthma and thromboses in the leg. His case has been brought to the attention of politicians and bureaucrats who repeat the standard prescriptions, such as ‘burning is necesary for public safety’, it’s a part of a ‘best-practice’ regime, burning is only done ‘in appropriate weather conditions’ etc …

Last year a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed between our EPA and our Forestry Corp to the effect that our EPA will not investigate any pollution incidents related to Forestry operations. Instead the MOU agrees that any such incidents will be investigated by Forestry itself – the EPA will not involve itself in the mass pollution of our Tasmanian air.

The fires are huge. They use napalm dropped from helicopters to start huge blazes. They can be seen all over the island – huge mushrooming clouds that look like the sort of cumulus clouds that rise on calm days when surface temperatures climb. Then they smudge and drift. Last year, the smoke from a number of burns drifted up the Tamar River Estuary and during the night, converged over Launceston – a town of c. 100,000 people. It did not clear on the following day. Hobart was covered for days in smoke. We are supposedly a civilized, educated society, here in Tasmania.

Notwithstanding the MOU, we have legislation here which deems such smoke is NOT AIR POLLUTION, if it is from a forestry operation. If it’s smoke from a resident’s backyard it’s air pollution. If it’s from Forestry it’s not! You can do wonders with legislation. Orwell called it Newspeak. We Tasmanians sympathise with you, re the ‘Markey-Waxman bill’ (American Clean Energy & Security Act of 2009) and understand what an obscenity it is to have the major polluters exempted from the law that applies to everyone else.

PS We are still fighting to stop them (the corrupt state Labor govt and Gunns Ltd) from building the world’s largest pulpmill on our lovely, populated, tourist and winery-focused, Tamar River, northern Tasmania. Like you in the States, we have an electorate which is fixated on the major parties, in your case Republicans and Democrats, in our case Labor (supposedly for the workers) and Liberals (for the business community – not to be confused with ‘small l’ liberalism).

Any chance you chaps would like a ‘world’s biggest’, ‘world best-practice’ stinking, rotten, forest-consuming Gunns Pulpmill somewhere on Long Island. How about the Bronx? – it’ll be good for employment. Need any corrupt politicians? We can help you with that … what’s that? … a shortage of greedy, selfish businessmen? … yes, we can send you one or two. Clean air? No, we’re out of that at the moment … you’ll have to take a rain check on that, same goes for the forests, we’re nearly all out of forests, … hang on, we do have some in reserves … which we’ve been keeping for a rainy day …

Have a happy holiday,
Bye for now,
Garry.

PS If you have time, have a look at our online newpaper ‘Tasmanian Times.’ It’s open to all to post articles.
Read it at: http://oldtt.pixelkey.biz/
and post items to it by emailing to [email protected]

[Lorna Salzman: a long career in environmental campaigning, including working with Friends of the Earth, co-founded the New York Greens in 1985; writer, speaker, activist, she is a member of the New York Academy of Sciences, and in 2000 she received the international Earth Day Award from the Earth Society Foundation for her environmental writing and activism.]