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FOE cries foul over Delimara ad campaign Environmentalist NGO Friends of the Earth has taken issue with the Broadcasting Authority over the publicly-funded advertising campaign, currently airing on all local television stations at a cost of €34,000, to promote the ‘environmental benefits’ of the controversial Delimara power station extension.Chairman Martin Galea Degiovanni confirmed on Friday that FOE would be writing to the BA to complain about the one-sided use of public funds, and to demand similar funding for an alternative campaign of its own. “We are in the process of drafting a letter to the BA to this effect,” Galea Degiovanni told MaltaToday. “If public money is being used to finance a campaign promoting the ‘benefits’ of the project, then I guess it is only fair that the same amount of money is used for a campaign to highlight its disadvantages.” According to FOE, the bulk of these disadvantages concern the choice of heavy fuel oil over less pollutant alternatives such as gasoil. In a press statement issued with five other environmentalist NGOs on April 30, FOE slammed the decision to go for heavy fuel oil as ‘irresponsible’. “This technology demands that there be strict monitoring of the operation of the pollution control equipment requiring the added complication and major expense of disposing of the hazardous waste. This prospect is even more alarming given the Auditor General’s revelation that the decision to go ahead with this project was taken in the absence of a contract for the export of the hazardous waste to be produced by the Delimara Power Station extension.” Environmental groups also expressed concern that Malta would export hazardous waste to third countries, possibly exposing their inhabitants to toxic effects due to the lack of safety standards. The government campaign, entrusted to production company 24th Frame, has already run into numerous teething problems since its inception last month. Four of the celebrities originally approached to front the TV ads – namely Miriam Dalli, John Bundy, Joseph Chetcuti and Alfred Zammit – all turned the offer down; and the only two who accepted, Claire Agius and Pablo Micallef, were later forced to concede that they had no idea about the environmental controversies surrounding the project. The adverts themselves have separately attracted criticism for comparing the new, untested technology only to the existing turbines at the Marsa power station: some of which have been operational since 1953. No comparison was made with existing plants run on any of the alternative fuels recommended by environmentalists. Any comments? |
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Managing editor Saviour Balzan | Tel. ++356 21382741 | Fax: ++356 21385075 | Email
Managing editor Saviour Balzan | Tel. ++356 21382741 | Fax: ++356 21385075 | Email