April 2011 - Centre for Civil Society - University of KwaZulu-Natal

committed around $40 million to DNDi. It demanded a board position, but
DNDi refused.
But such instances of refusing to bow to big philanthropy are rare. "It's a
crisis of accountability today," says Shiva. "It's no more accountability of
corporations or philanthropists alone; the government too has a lot to
answer.".
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George Monbiot's nuclear mistakes
Jim Green Sunday 28 March 2011
Children are scanned for radiation exposure outside Fukushima, March 12.
Prominent British columnist George Monbiot announced in the British
Guardian on March 21 that he now supports nuclear power. That isn't a
huge surprise ? having previously opposed nuclear power, he announced
himself ?nuclear-neutral? in 2009.
As recently as March 16, Monbiot declared himself neutral while saying
that he would not oppose nuclear power if four conditions were met:
1. Its total emissions from mine to dump are taken into account, and
demonstrate that it is a genuinely low-carbon option.
2. We know exactly how and where the waste is to be buried.
3. We know how much this will cost and who will pay.
4. There is a legal guarantee that no civil nuclear materials will be
diverted for military purposes.
See also: Clean and green ... or nuclear?
Along with renewables, nuclear meets the first condition it is a low-carbon
energy source.
The other three conditions have not been met. No country has established
a burial site for high-level nuclear waste and it is not
clear how much waste disposal programs will cost nor who will pay.
And there is no meaningful legal guarantee against diversion of materials
from peaceful nuclear programs to weapons programs.
So Monbiot's position hasn't changed as a result of his four conditions being
met. Indeed there is no mention of them in his March
21 column. Instead, Monbiot has become a nuclear supporter as a result of
the Fukushima nuclear accidents.
He said on March 21: A crappy old plant with inadequate safety features
was hit by a monster earthquake and a vast tsunami. The
electricity supply failed, knocking out the cooling system. The reactors