please help to stop nuclear power in Finland

["For Mother Earth -Katri Silvonen" <katri at motherearth.org>]

!! PLEASE HELP US TO STOP NUCLEAR POWER IN FINLAND !!

Dear friends,

As you might already have heard, Finland has plans to build more
nuclear power. The government has already given their go-ahead for the
construction of the 5th nuclear reactor, but the permission still needs
an approval by the Finnish Parliament. They will vote about it in the
end of May, and at the moment it seems that a slight majority is in
favour of nuclear power.

Finland has a reputation of being a high technology country, and a
decision to build more nuclear power instead of investing in renewable
energy and energy efficiency would encourage other countries
(especially in the Eastern Europe) to do the same in the future.

Below you see the “European Anti-Nuclear Platform” text. So far 123
NGO’s have signed it, and more are needed to show the Finnish
Parliament that nuclear power is not only a national issue, and that
people all around Europe want a nuclear free future. Please e-mail the
signature and contact details of your organisation to me
<katri at motherearth.org> as soon as possible. A delegation of the
platform will visit the Finnish Parliament in Helsinki to hand in a
list of all member organisations on Friday 3rd May.



Love,

Katri Silvonen

For Mother Earth
Maria Hendrikaplein 5-6
9000 Gent, Belgium

http://www.motherearth.org

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The European Anti-Nuclear Platform

For a new energy policy and phase-out of nuclear energy in Europe


We, the undersigned organisations, have joined together under the
title “The European Anti-Nuclear Platform” to call for all European
countries to undertake the following steps to protect our
environment and health:

To adopt sustainable energy policies that promote the use of renewable
sources of energy, energy efficiency and energy saving;

To reject any plans to build new nuclear power plants or research
reactors;

To stop all reprocessing of spent fuel and production of plutonium;

To ban the use of highly-enriched uranium in reactors;

To phase-out nuclear energy as a matter of urgency;

To stop the unretrievable burial of nuclear waste under ground;

To encourage and support research into the health effects of low-level
radiation exposure from the nuclear fuel cycle.


Europe-wide Phase-Out

The trend since the Chernobyl catastrophe has been to stop building
nuclear power plants and to reconsider the economic, health and
environmental implications of the continuing use of nuclear power.
Several European countries have begun plans to phase-out nuclear energy
and to adopt sustainable energy policies. At the same time, there are
European countries that are debating the idea of, or have even begun,
constructing new nuclear power plants. The nuclear industry is lobbying
hard for new contracts, both in Europe and in the “developing” world.


The energy question cannot be solved on a national basis

It is imperative that European countries understand that the energy
question cannot be solved purely on a national basis, since energy is
marketed across borders. If nuclear power is to be phased out, then it
needs to be done across Europe, so that companies are not able to dump
their nuclear power on markets in other countries. This requires
changes in energy policies in all of the countries of Europe.


Early warning system

Organisations in The European Anti-Nuclear Platform will work together
to inform each other of attempts by the nuclear industry or the
government in their countries to change the current trend towards phase-
out. They will inform the media of the problem and the impact it will
have on Europe as a whole, as a part of their national campaigning
work. In this way, organisations in one country can ring an “alarm
bell” by sending media advisories and background information to
organisations in the Platform and achieve wider media attention in
other countries for their problem.
Possible examples: plans to construct a nuclear installation, cutting
of financial resources for renewable energy, suppression of information
of effects of nuclear energy, persecution of scientists by the nuclear
lobby, decisions to revamp old power stations to extend their life,
nuclear transports, and so on.

Name of the organisation:
Contact person:
Address:
Phone number:
E-mail:
Website: