By Frank Noakes
LONDON — Reports by environmental groups describe a continuing decline in the quality of life of Britons caused by environmental degradation. Yet the Conservative government continues to treat environmental questions with neglect. An example of this is a 1990 government white paper that states that "rivers have to be used for waste disposal by industry".
And they are. Greenpeace has labelled Britain "the dirty man of Europe" following research showing that British industry pumps more than 5000 tonnes of toxic pollutants into the surrounding seas, destroying rivers in the process, each year. Britain, according to the Greenpeace study, is responsible for 40% of the pollution in the north-east Atlantic. The Tories continue to ignore European agreements signed by their ministers in 1990.
Tim Birch, Greenpeace toxics campaigner, says, "The pollution in Britain's rivers is an issue of national and European embarrassment. The public need to know that the government and the National Rivers Authority are allowing industry to destroy our rivers and seas." River pollution is worsening, rather than improving as the pro-industry NRA claims, Birch told Green Left Weekly.
In Yorkshire, the Guardian newspaper reported, all life in the River Aire will be destroyed by an industrial accident that released a "cocktail of chemicals" from the industrial town of Bradford.
It's estimated that the health of one in three people in England is at risk from road traffic fumes. One in seven children now suffer from asthma. Greenpeace has called on the government to stop building roads and to improve public transport. But the Tory government's philosophical crusade cuts right across such a rational approach.
As public transport is gradually privatised, fares increase, making car travel more attractive. Services that don't return the desired profits are axed, forcing more people to use cars for at least part of their journey.
British roads, which are constantly under repair, are choked with 43 cars per mile. Ninety-four per cent of all passenger journeys are made by road, while a staggering 98% of freight expenditure is on road. There are nearly twice as many vehicles — 25 million — on the road as in 1965.
This deadly combination of too many cars and poor roads results in many road deaths. The British Road Federation, a powerful lobby, uses these figures to argue for more roads to reduce traffic congestion. However, environmentalists say funding an extensive, integrated and cheap public transport system would reduce both the environmental and human costs and be cheaper in the long term. But it looks like d to hold their collective breaths waiting for the Tories to act.
Meanwhile, the Drinking Water Inspectorate has announced that Londoners are drinking the worst privatised water in the country. The H2O, plus chemicals and sewage, is supplied by Thames Water, which has raised the price of the stuff by around 50% since privatisation. The situation is worsening, with 34 reservoirs contaminated this year compared to 12 last. Poor maintenance is held responsible.
The European Court of Justice claimed, earlier this year, that the water industry in Britain had failed to meet the standards on nitrate levels. The Water Services Association, which represents the privatised water companies, launched a nationalist advertising campaign stating, "It is not the first time we have had to defend our water from foreign attack".
The ads went on to claim that their product was the best in Europe and that it met World Health Organisation standards. They had to withdraw the ads after Friends of the Earth complained to the Advertising Standards Authority. The ASA insisted that the companies substantiate their claims — they were unable to do so.
A Friends of the Earth study shows that most of Britain's ports will be hit by severe flooding, and more often, by the year 2030, as global warming causes sea levels to rise. Besides causing massive social and economic dislocation, it will cause more environmental devastation; all 14 of Britain's oil refineries and many industrial plants are situated on the coast.
Meanwhile, Nuclear Electric has been given the green light to continue using its Bradwell reactor, despite it being plagued by safety problems. The reactor, an ageing Magnox type built in 1962, was due for decommissioning this year.