[CPEO-MEF] A dirty game which the US must play fair

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

United Kingdom
THE JOURNAL
A dirty game which the US must play fair
Jul 29 2003

In a world where environmental issues are increasingly high on the
political agenda, the case of 13 ageing United States Navy ships sums up
all the practical problems.

Disposing of them in the North-East will create 200 jobs on Teesside -
but also raises the question of why the richest nation on earth cannot
deal with its own environmental problems.

It also highlights the fact that - like it or not - these ships exist
and have to be dealt with as safely as possible.

Able UK has the expertise and  facilities to deal with this particular
project and we must respect that.

It is far better for a reputable British business to dispose of these
ships than simply have them broken up on a Third World beach or scuttled
in the middle of the Atlantic.

That said, America has a poor environmental record and must be made to
realise that the world's leading industrial and economic powers have a
responsibility to clean up their own mess.

At the moment, the United States tends towards "buying" its
environmental freedom - paying other countries to cut emissions while
burning fossil fuels at a massive rate.

That stance is unsustainable and smacks of environmental colonialism.

It is good that these ships will be disposed of as "cleanly" as
possible. It is good that a local firm has the ability to do the work.
It is also good that the USA has chosen this "safe" route.

It is not good that a country which could undoubtedly do the job itself
chooses to send its environmental problems to the other side of the
Atlantic to be dealt with.

This article can be viewed at:
http://icnewcastle.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/thejournal/page.cfm?objectid=13231472&method=full&siteid=50081

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CPEO: A DECADE OF SUCCESS.  Your generous support will ensure that our important work on military and environmental issues will continue.  Please consider one of our donation options.  Thank you.
www.groundspring.org/donate/index.cfm?ID=2086-0|721-0