World Environment Day actions
By Wendy Robertson
June 5 is World Environment Day, and the Environmental Youth Alliance is organising activities in most centres to get people together and active under the theme of "Environmental Justice For All!". The popular national radio station Triple J is co-sponsoring WED activities.
World Environment Day was initiated by the United Nations Conference on Human Environment in Stockholm in 1972. This was a similar gathering to the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). Unfortunately, this produced similar results — a lot of talk and not enough action.
Amanda Lowell, a Melbourne EYA activist, commented on the importance of World Environment Day this year, "Our public transport system is being destroyed, Aboriginal people are still denied land rights, and the government's main priority is guaranteeing developers access to our forests and natural reserves. It is now one year after UNCED, the conference that was going to find the solutions to the crisis we face, but no substantial action has been taken."
Stella Pericleous, an EYA high school member in Footscray, a western suburb of Melbourne, is preparing to go into battle against Mobil's plan to build a liquid petroleum container opposite her home. She said, "World Environment Day will be a day that people from everywhere can come and show their concern about the many aspects of the environmental crisis."
Activities planned will be taking up such issues as the lack of public transport, the nuclear industry, mining and the environment, and the presence of nuclear warships at Jervis Bay on the NSW south coast.
EYA is encouraging everyone to get involved in its activities. For more information about what is happening in your area, see the notice on page 7.