Orkney will soon be at war

This has been cross-posted from another board, with the permission of the author - ME! Up here, we are facing the ruination of our little green islands. Please read on, it's very important, as it could happen tp YOU very soon!




This pic was taken from my bathroom window. In the middle distance, you may be able to see a small island with a lighthouse on top. This is the Orkney island of Copinsay, and, obviously, not far from Snorri Mansions. In fact, the lighthouse flashes illuminate our kitchen, late at night.



In the centre of this pic is the island of Swona, inhabited only by a few feral cows. It's close enough to be visible from the end of our road.

And the ruination? It has emerged that the agency NIREX have listed both these islands as potential nuclear waste dumps. Apparently, they haven't made the top of the list yet, but are very likely to be listed for the next round of dump site consideration (basically, when NIREX lowers the safety standards in order to make more sites eligible).

If the two islands were to be selected, we could be looking forward to considerable ruination of the local fishing industry (who wants to eat fish that glow in the dark?). Orkney's biggest industry is tourism (worth many millions) - are we going to advertise our own special suntans?

On top of this, there's the risk of totally unsightly concrete construction. Copinsay, though uninhabited, is a lovely island, with deep caves that you can explore by boat, to see the stalactites that have grown over the centuries. Its grazing for sheep will go and no doubt there will be exclusion zones around for local boats.

The island of Swona lies directly on the ferry routes which come here: no doubt they'll have to be re-routed, too. It's also very close to the unsightly Flotta oil terminal (you may remember that the remains of the Piper Alpha platform were taken here when it blew up some years ago..

I don't want to sound like a NIMBY, but let me ask if you'd want this **** on your doorstep? I'm sorry if you are one of those who think that nuclear power is a neat idea, but consider what you might think of someone who went round lighting fires, with no idea of how to put them out, or how to dispose of the ash and embers!

Altogether, NIREX have found 15 potential dump sites in Orkney, some are actually under villages - I just haven't got any pics of them (yet) to show what a travesty this is. There would be a hell of a fuss if they selected bits of (e.g.) Essex - why should we in Orkney be treated any differently? We get cr*p services from Southern businesses anyway - enough is enough!

Snorri

(It's bad enough that a Scottish/Norwegian combo is trying to cover the place in windfarms already - there's a huge turbine only 5 miles from here already, with more seeking planning consent)

Argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm sorry about all this Snorri.. And its so annoying that you cant really do anything about it...

But why they want to destroy wildlife and tourism is beyond me

No No NO !!!! they can't be allowed to do this.....
we must try to save what we have left of our unspoild lands!!!
we have spoilt too much already!!

Terrible, try a petition try anything.\
An idea, we could all come and stage a sit in, who is up for it?
You cant let them destroy it Snorri, u just cant, we hate these people!

That's disgusting!

Well, the Council will have to give planning permission (and I suspect that, if they do, they'll all be out of office pretty damn quick), so we can start by pressuring them a bit

They want to do it so that peeps "doon sooth" can go on having so-called "cheap" electricity (have you seen your bills go down? Thought not) without the consequences, and, of course, let the power companies make more profit. Both these islands have a great number of moderately-rare birds. Copinsay is rife with puffins, guillemots and cormorants which, though not particularly rare, are a wonderful sight. But, of course, all this counts for nothing when there's a buck to be made.

Is it to be good for the environment? There's NOTHING environmentally-friendly about nuclear power or its waste, or else, they'd dump the lot in London.

My cousin was at school in Cumbria when they did an experimental release of waste, to see what would happen (Yep, they got rid of Windscale, by calling it Sellafield). From her class, over 50% are now dead from cancer, and most have had miscarriages (including my cousin). Bad enough that we have Dounreay fast-breeder reactor just over the water, now they want to put the s*** right in our middle.

Note for NIREX inspectors - there are some nice lighthouse-keepers' cottages on Copinsay - why don't you come and live in them? I DARE YOU!

Snorri
(fuming)

Why the h**l can't they just leave things alone!!!

This type of thing really makes me angry

Snorri are you organizing some sort of petition or anything?

Put some pressure on them! Good luck

That's disgusting, Snorri, try and get in touch with Greenpeace and the conservation people, it might not do much but is always worth a try.

Ian

that is shocking Snorri. I hope something can be done to stop it.