Tuesday February 9th, 2010
- Last update:13 hours 56 min ago
Last-ditch effort to abandon smelter
Published: 13 Sep 2009
Engineer Reg Potter, from left, economist Mary King and Dr Patrick Watson, with environmentalist Dr Wayne Kublalsingh, during the Economics of Alutrint seminar at St Mary’s College, Port-of-Spain, yesterday. Photo: Shirley Bahadur
A last-ditch effort to force Government to abandon all plans to establish the Alutrint smelter in La Brea has been launched. The decision was taken when leading economists, environmentalists, anti-smelter campaigners and concerned citizens came together for a symposium, chaired by Prof Patrick Watson, head of the Sir Arthur McShine School of Economics and former Central Bank director, at St Mary’s College auditorium in Port-of-Spain yesterday.
It was economist Mary King, a respected energy correspondent, who gave the smelter project a scornful thumbs-down, stressing that it would drive T&T to economic ruin. “I don’t think the country can afford not to shut it down,” King declared. The symposium came up with a resolution to be forwarded to the Government, insisting that it cease all plans to proceed with the smelter. Both King and Watson, as well as engineer Reg Potter, who sat at the head table, stressed it was like pulling teeth to get the Government to level with the populace and publicise a cost-benefit analysis for the project, which all participants agreed had a health risk attached to it hanging over the country.
Environmentalist Prof Julien Kenny and his colleague, Dr Peter Vine, warned that the smelter would be a major carbon dioxide polluter.
King said the smelter was a natural gas guzzler that would deplete T&T’s reserves. She was pessimistic about any major gas finds in the near future to feed the smelter. Participating from the floor, chartered surveyor Afra Raymond equated the smelter project with the CL Financial bailout and the shutting down of BWIA, and being replaced with Caribbean Airlines...None was viable, and they were just drains on the Treasury.
Another participant said T&T was full of crazy people, because Prof Ken Julien had been at the forefront of the ISCOTT project in Point Lisas that was losing millions a day, and now he was in the vanguard with Alutrint, and no one was saying a word. The people of La Brea and further afield were warned to fight the Alutrint smelter with their last, dying breath.
Alutrint building a
Alutrint building a community, more like killing a community.
http://uncnothingyet.ning.com/video/alutrint-building-a-community
Manning when are you going to give up on this Poison plant
http://uncnothingyet.ning.com/video/burning-alutrint-out-of-oour
http://uncnothingyet.ning.com/video/the-a-z-of-aluminium-smelters
Manning you not going to be in power long enough to ever getting this done, never go against the wishes of the people.
Ryan4Party
Disseminate information in a
Disseminate information in a simple form .If knowledgeable people keep information complicated then this infamously controversial smelter is bound to succeed. Any good teacher will tell you that you have to simplify the facts so even the mentally deficient could grasp it. Big words and big terms will not suffice in this instance since they will only be understood by those who wish to ignore them.
For example : When election time comes around we hear the "Brothers and Sisters" speeches with all the green verbs and dialect.The purpose of this language is to permit more listeners to grasp the point the speaker is making. Similarly the larger population needs to be educated at our own level.
Another point is that those who oppose must have a plan for the people who are looking forward to jobs in La Brea.In order to be accepted you must have a healthy workable alternative to "progress".
Let the public hear what is practicable to assist the people in this area please.
Having this Smelter Plant on
Having this Smelter Plant on our soil will be the Sentence we will have to serve in this country, and leave on the heads of our children coming after us; if we do not get up and fight against it now.
It is a positive step for our Experts to have sessions such as this to speak out agaist allowing this gov't to keep their plans for this Smelter Plant.
I support the comments from the previous bloggers.
You must have a plan of action: Get all our respectable experts - young and not so young - together, and have accuracte and straight forward information to give to our people.
Mr. Manning went on his "education" tour recently. You too, as a team, can do the same; but your purpose will be to really educate our people. In most countries, it is the young, college students who take up fights such as this - encourage them to join you. They will be standing up for their future also. Take the advice Gloria provided - use simple every day language for all our peoples to understand exactly what this action is all about. Identify your target groups, and concentrate on them, first. Print flyers and hand them out to the communities - schools students (not on their premises as you will not get permission), churches, and other places of worship, outside sports venues, around the markets and shops, etc. - got my point? Pay particular attention to the southern locations first, then spread your wings.
Explain:-
- What the Smelter Plant really is
- what it will do
- dangers to health - short term and indefinite
- dangers to environment - soil, water, air, fishing industry, etc.
- what resources it will use to run its operation, and how much - gas, electricity, water, etd.
- would their usage put us in danger of shortages, etc.
- fall outs on agriculture
- Cost of operating - read that they would get gas, etc. at reduced rates
- Would we not be loosing out on this deal - income
- If we sold our gas elsewhere how much more will we earn, etc.
- Total cost of this plant - dollar figures
- Where are we getting this money from
- terms and conditions, etc.
- Potential incomes (not financial person but - expenses/incomes
- Exhausting our water, gas, etc.
- Toxic waste from the plant - where will it go
- Those collected - which country has agreed to accept it
- and at what cost
- destruction of community living
- if there is an accident within the plant what could happen ....
The selling point here to get the people, especially those in the area on the side of progress - protecting themselves, their families, their community and their country, When you take away something, and in this case potential employment, you must replace it with another that would be equally profitable and valuable to them.
EMPLOYMENT:- If we are able to stop this plant, do we have alternate source of employment for the people in the area. Who would be willing to open up industries to provide gainful employment for our people in the area. Manufacturing - factories - clothing, furniture, etc.
HEALTH CARE:- Point Fortin and La Brea are way south. Medical facilities - horrible; could you not fight to have a decent hospital, fully staffed and equipped to serve the south: bringing employment to many. Gov't promises are just lame and nothing substantive.
TOURISM:- Pitch Lake - tourist site - get proper operations in place. Train and employ our people. Get our entrepreneurs involved in this area. Hotels to serve tourists, restaurants, souvenir shops, etc to serve the south. We could have people visit without fear for their lives.
Beaches in the area: Tourism, economy, money and employment.
(I am an average citizen lacking in multiple fields - simply brainstorming here.) You know better what is essential at this point, before the gates get shut on us and our demands against this plant taking permanent roots on our soil.
This smelter plant reminds me of the situation in India where old ships go to get stripped. The workers operate with little or no safety equipment and are exposed to all the toxic waste. They are coming down with cancer and many dying. Health care is limited to these poor people, who need employment. When questioned, one of the owners/operators said to the TV reporter - 'well, for about 10 years they will have a job and an income to take care of their families'. What an unconscientionable response.
Mr. Manning is preaching employment and revenue, but the figures don't add up; and our health is in jeopardy.
We in T&T could be in a similar situation as India and other countries with dangerous industries. If we do not act NOW we do not know what is liable to happen to us. If Mr. Manning believes that this plant is so great, then he should take up residence within walking distance of the Smelter Plant. He is an old man and his days are numbered, and it appears that he does not really care about what happens to this country and its people.
Our Mr. Clevon Raphael, Guardian Columnist, raised the question in one of his articles recently 'ARE WE AS A PEOPLE LACKING IN COURAGE?' Some may object to this line of questioning. This should be a wake-up call for us to get involved. We must get up and defend our rights. We must be participants in our country, not on-lookers.
I hope that what I have submitted may cause some to take notice and begin questioning what is actually taking place, and make intelligent decisions to take the appropriate actions necessary. The power lies in our hands, so don't let it slip away. We have freedoms, so please do not let it go to waste. Use it wisely.