Hunger Strike in Ontario | 2007-Nov-01 |
Mike Nickerson, author of Life, Money & Illusion, writes about his wife, Donna Dillman, member of the Green Party of Canada Federal Council, going on a hunger strike for a moratorium on uranium exploration & mining in Eastern Ontario.
Greetings:
You may have heard that my wife, Donna Dillman, started a hunger strike outside the gate of the uranium mine proposed for up river from Ottawa. Donna stopped eating Thanksgiving morning, October 8, and aims to continue until there is a moratorium placed on uranium exploration and mining, at least for Eastern Ontario.
Needless to say I am concerned about the woman I love shrinking away in a camp on highway 509 without running water or electricity. This story, however, has much more to do with the grandchildren. Donna & I have four, two of which live 30 km. down wind from the proposed site. If drilling and mining were to go ahead, these young people would be subjected to the various radioactive dusts and gasses that inevitable drift up when steel and dynamite, crushers and sorters break up uranium bearing rock.
Bring Gramma Home!
Aged between one and a half and eight years, the grandchildren are oblivious of the problem their grandmother is boldly calling public attention to. They only want her to come home.
You can help. Make a sign that says “Bring Gramma Home” and put it in your window, on your lawn, or wear it on your lapel. When anyone asks what’s up, the conversation is started and you can tell them.
More Than a Family Concern.
While the personal story of grandchildren asking for their grandmother has popular appeal, the stakes of this issue are far more profound.
The danger of radioactive contamination and other environmental degradation is shared by more than a million people who live downwind and downstream from the site (Sharbot Lake to Ottawa). Hundreds of millions more face similar dangers from other such sites around the world.
Sooner or later we are going to have to pay respect to what the Earth and Sun offer on an ongoing basis. Nuclear energy is only tempting us to think that we can ignore this responsibility. Were we to shift our electricity demand to nuclear power, uranium reserves would be depleted in 30 to 40 years. Then, the grandchildren would find themselves saddled with the same problems we are trying to avoid today, except that the problems would be far worse. The resources available for working on solutions would be diminished and there would be quantities of radioactive waste, here, there and about, to haunt them for tens of thousands of years to come.
Both the Earth and the Sun are hugely abundant. Together they have enabled life to thrive for thousands of millions of years. Humans are fully capable of being successful here. By saying yes to living within the natural process of life on Earth, we can avoid freeing the genie of uranium from the rock in which it is trapped. Civilization is now at the height of its possibilities, if this generation cannot meet the challenge of sustainability, how do we expect the grandchildren to do so when it comes to be their turn?
As countless generations have cared to deliver a better world for those who followed, we are responsible to the grandchildren of today.
To stay informed about Donna’s hunger strike, she posts a regular blog at the Community Coalition Against Mining Uranium. For regular updates subscribe to “The Uranium News.” by writing to: uraniumnews@yahoo.ca or by joining on line.
To show your support for this cause please write:
Premier Dalton McGuinty
Main Legislative Building
Room 281, Queens Park
Toronto, ON, M7A 1A1
Tell him that we need a moratorium on Uranium Mining and Exploration!
Posted by Heather
OCT 2007: GRANDMA’S HUNGER STRIKE CONTINUES…
Donna Dillman began her hunger strike outside of the gates of the uranium
protest site near Sharbot Lake, on October 8th at 12pm.
photo by Tammy MacKenzie
NOV 7TH: THE SCIENCE OF URANIUM: INFORMATION EVENING
Dr. Gorden Edwards with be discussing his assessment on the impact that a uranium
mine at Sharbot Lake could have on the City of Ottawa and surrounding regions.
NOV 9TH: ABORIGINAL FILM AND DISCUSSION NIGHT
Ardoch Algonquin First Nation is offering a film series that will take place twice
monthly that will discuss Aboriginal issues, history, culture and spirituality.
NOV 10TH: CLIMB TO STOP THE MINE!
The Boiler Room Climbing Gym in Kingston, will be hosting a fundraiser
for CCAMU and the First Nations.
NOV 21st: UNDERMINING THE FUTURE:
A DISCUSSION ABOUT THE IMPACTS OF MINING
With Joan Kuyek, National Co-ordinator of MiningWatch Canada, and Marilyn Crawford, Community Coalition Against Mining Uranium (CCAMU) and Co-Chair, MiningWatch Canada
NOV 29TH: STRUGGLING AGAINST URANIUM EXPLORATION
AND THE NATURAL RESOURCES REGIME IN ONTARIO
With Paula Sherman, Co-chief, Ardoch Algonquin First Nation, and
Marilyn Crawford, Community Coalition Against Mining Uranium (CCAMU)
and Co-Chair, MiningWatch Canada
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