The dirt on Northern Ireland

If I were a real journalist, I’d write something like this:

In 2007, all parties in Northern Ireland but one supported appointing an independent environmental regulator. The environmental secretary at the time, Arlene Foster, prevented the necessary motion from coming up for a vote. (Arlene is in deep doo doo right now for approving a heavily subsidised boiler scheme that enriched many relatives of and donors to party officials).

Since then, developers have been given approval to:
frack near a reservoir
destroy ancient forests (Rostrevor and Prehen)
dredge Lough Neagh--a protected unique ecosystem
mine in the Sperrins, complete with an arsenic processing plant and holding ponds
build a large interpretive centre on the banks of the protected, and flood-prone, Faughan River

and
the largest illegal dump in Europe took shape on the River Faughan.

Northern Ireland faces legal challenge costs, clean up costs, and fines for each of these. I would love for a real reporter to add up these sums and compare it to the salary of an environmental regulator. I’m not sure how you also value the loss of biodiversity and the degradation of the land.

It also came to light this week that emissions tests on diesel vehicles have not been carried out during annual car inspections in Northern Ireland for 12 years, unlike the rest of the UK. There are potentially tens of thousands of diesel cars with illegal emissions on the road in Northern Ireland.

Since the Good Friday Agreement, NI leaders have cared about one thing: economic development. Their complete disregard of environmental standards have left NI on a par with third world countries, easily exploited by extractive industry, developers, and other greed mongers.
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