TRASHED

Dioxins cause deformaties in fetuses/babies.

There is a very lively, and sometimes acrimonious and bitter, debate going on in Ireland at the moment on the subject of abortion.

While the debate usually takes place between parties calling themselves by the non-exclusive categories "pro-life" and "pro-choice", there is a deafening silence on another "pro-life/pro-choice" issue which affects a much larger number of people.

This is the heedless and irresponsible disposal of trash which is destroying vital parts of the eco-system on which all human life depends.

The new landscape - a trash mountain.

The quantites of trash being disposed of have reached gargantuan proportions. Land, air and sea are wilting under the strain. The traditional disposal method has been landfills. These are now not only full but wildly toxic and are contaminating watertables, plants and the like. Next we had dumping at sea. This great sink is now rapidly filling up with materials which are not biodegradable, or only so to a limited extent. And that great space saver and energy producer, incineration, is now shown to be pumping toxic dioxins into the atmosphere at a rate of knots. The effects of dioxins on fetal development was most graphically illustrated in the effects of Agent Orange in Cambodia, which is where the above baby photos, featured in the film, come from.

Apocalypse Now.

So what do we do?

Viewing the film "Trashed", from which these stills are taken, would be a start.

The film has recently been brought to the attention of the Minister for Education and the Lord Mayor of Dublin, both of whom seemed interested.

The model of cooperation in the Arts between the Departments of Education and Arts, launched recently as a much hyped "Charter", might be applied in the case of the Departments of Education and Environment, to sensitise innocent children to the current destruction of the environment in which they will have to live their lives.

The Minister for Arts, himself, recently opened the inaugural World Actors Forum in Dublin, at which the film was shown. Hopefully he either watched it or took away a DVD and will alert his Cabinet colleagues to how little time we have left to take action.

And then we get rid of 90% of packaging, and such packaging as is needed should be 100% recyclable. Remember the recyclable milk bottle or the redeemable jam jar. Anyway, most packaging these days is just a marketing con.

And we go back to fixing things rather than throwing them out when a bit of them breaks. That used to be the old way. Remember the valve radio. Throw out the valve, keep the radio. We don't have to go back to AM mono, but the principle is still valid.

Dioxins cause deformaties in fetuses/babies.