We all need ECOperestroika, “ecological change”: drastic changes are needed at both local and global levels of our attitude to nature and other people.

Only changes of life style, our merits, and attitude to the environment may prevent future catastrophes. ECOperestroika means for us a process of ecologization of the society. This process has already begun, and everyone should be involved.

The Chernobyl catastrophe was not limited by state borders. The world, which had earlier been always enlarging by geographical discovers and other human activites, started to become smaller. The symbol of this narrowing, taking out of use, is the Chernobyl zone, radioactively contaminated lands in 15 regions of Russia, and dangerous contaminated lands everywhere in the world. People still live in such places, having no opportunities to sell the house and leave.

Global climate change can make vast areas of the world uninhabited and empty. Such challenges can be dealt with only hand in hand, all together.

By some estimates, oil extraction was at its peak at the beginning of this century. Later on, despite technological development, the limited character of oil resources will result only in decline of oil extraction. Sooner or later the humankind may find itself in the situation when new scientific and technical inventions would be useless and unable to be practically implemented due to the depletion of resources.

We need alternative, ecological, decentralized ways of getting energy, not nuclear and hydrocarbon industries. Instead of wasting natural resources we all should care how to save and conserve them.

In this century there is a high probability of wars because of the lack of natural resources including drinking water. Wars lead to deterioration of living conditions, to ecological catastrophes, and that in return result in even more severe fight for resources. In order to break this closed circle, the society has to refuse from wars and even from threats of violence. “ECOperestroika” opposes wars, militarization of society. We stand for total elimination of nuclear weapons.

We are against the use of nuclear energy: nuclear waste problem has not been solved anywhere in the world. Reprocessing of nuclear waste is the the most dangerous, technologically faulty and unjustifiable phase of the fuel cycle. We oppose nuclear power also because there is clear relation between civilian nuclear use and atomic bombs production. Mining and enrichment of uranium, activities of nuclear power plants and nuclear waste transports pose very high risks for people and the environment.

We favor individual responsibility: the amount of modern people’s needs require much more resources than we possess. Everyone should understand that the future of our planet and all living beings depends on him. We should care, there is no one else for that.

We find cruelty towards animals unacceptable. Animals like people have the rights: for life, for protection against suffering, for freedom and for natural habitat.

We stand for public discussion and solution of ecological and social problems. We stand for public activity like the one that had place at the end of the 1980s in our country. We stand for biological diversity, for diversity of ideas and human activities. We are against destruction of species by other species, we are against complete unanimity and conformism, against mono towns, where all the inhabitants depend on one old and dangerous plant.

We stand for people, not for institutions.

We struggle to ensure that green rights – rights for safe environment, repeated so many times in the laws and conventions – should not be violated.

“ECOperestroika” is only one of the groups, however, we are a part of the force that works for the new thinking and ecological consciousness.

Contacts:

Rashid Alimov. Environmental activist, for a long time editor of the environmental news web site Bellona.Ru and Environment and Rights magazine. Editor of the book "Chernobyl: consequences of the catastrophy for humankind and nature" (2007, in Russian); editor of brochure "How to protect your right for favourable environment?" (2007, in Russian). Laureate of journalism contest "Ecology of Russia - 2002. From century to century", member of the Association of ecological journalists of the St Petersburg Union of Journalists. Campaigning against imports to Russia of West-European nuclear waste since 2006.

rashid@ecoperestroika.ru

+7 921 995 61 18

Vera Ponomareva. Activist of public local initiative "Save Yuntolovo" (St Petersburg). Specialist in decision making process of international bank institutions. One of the authors of the international report "Never mind the balance sheet - the dangers posed by public-private partnerships in central and eastern Europe" (2008), brochure «Protecting rights and interests of citizens in the implementation of road construction projects in St. Petersburg. Activist Guide »(2008).

vera@ecoperestroika.ru

+7 921 772 70 42

Olga Krivonos. A lawyer on ecological rights, represented interests of St. Petersburg inhabitants in the courts (cases of infill construction, lack of openness of public hearings, lack of access to environmental information concerning construction of Leningrad nuclear power plant-2), defends environmental activists. Olga is the author of the brochure «Green rights» (2007, in Russian), co-author of the brochure «Energy Future» (2008, in Russian).

olga@ecoperestroika.ru

Christian Rinkevich. Since 2005, organizes periodic forest regeneration activities in the Kirov district of Leningrad region. In early 2008, was one of the initiators of the campaign against the construction of large Evenk hydroelectric power plant in Siberia, one of the most destructive projects. In collaboration with the St. Petersburg office of Greenpeace Russia participated in the design of several specially protected natural territories of the Leningrad region and the introduction of system of separate collection of home waste in St Petersburg.

kris@ecoperestroika.ru