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Genotype
Tuesday, October 16, 2001

World Food Day:

Summit Plummets - but there's an Undertaking in the Making

... and none to soon.  As the UN Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) recovers from delays to its World Food Summit at the hands of
Italy's Silvio Berlusconi, the world's agricultural gene banks fret
over GM contamination and government 'biocrats' gird their loins  to
fight for an International Undertaking intended to protect world seed
security.

World Food Day (October 16th) comes this year with little to
celebrate.  After a year of preparation, the UN Food and Agriculture
Organization (Rome, Italy) is about to announce that its Heads of
State meeting - 'The World Food Summit/ Five Years Later' - is going
to be later still.  Following the debacle of the G8 summit in Genoa
in July, Italy's right-wing President Berlusconi got cold feet over a
second summit in his country and tried, in the eleventh hour  - to
push FAO's event across the Mediterranean into Africa.  Now, weeks of
dithering and nickel and diming by the Italian Government have forced
the Summit to be postponed.

Summit Plummet:  This, at a time when famines loom in Central America
and Central Asia; and when the United States and other OECD powers
are revving up for a new WTO round where agriculture and food
security head the menu.  While the South, especially sub-Saharan
Africa, wrestles with food shortages, the North is almost traumatized
with food safety concerns.  2001 began with scandals about illegal
pollen pollution of genetically-modified (GM) maize and canola within
the North's food system.  It went on from there to new revelations
related to Mad Cow disease and then foot and mouth disease.  Producer
and consumer confidence in government biocrats and agribusiness has
never been lower.  If ever there was need for a food summit - despite
and because of the current political meltdown -  it is now.

Genetically-modified 'Fort Knox'?  Prospects for the immediate future
don't look better. In September the Mexican government divulged that
traditional maize crops in the Mexican state of Oaxaca have been
found contaminated with GM traits. The news has sent shock-waves
through farming and scientific communities around the world.  For
years, agronomists and the directors of global crop gene banks (long
term research refrigerators for seeds no longer in large-scale use
that often contain irreplaceable breeding qualities) have told one
another that, for all their concerns about GM biosafety, the real
threat would arise if transgenic traits seep into the centers of
biological diversity for the world's food crops.  Mexico is a
mega-centre of diversity for some of the most vital food species -
including maize.  A GM trait for herbicide-tolerance, for example,
could prove irrelevant for poor farmers who can't afford - or don't
need - herbicides. But biodiversity could be eroded if wild crop
relatives are displaced by crops carrying advantageous transgenes,
and Mexican farmers could experience market disadvantages because of
GM contamination.

Several Mexican civil society organizations (CSOs) meeting yesterday
began wondering about the implications for national and international
gene banks in the region. (See attached box, What to do if your gene
bank is contaminated with GM seeds.)  So far, the Mexican
Government's response, predictably, is to downplay the problem.  But,
it is only a matter of time - perhaps a very short time - before one
of the world's 'Fort Knox's' of seeds discovers that its invaluable
treasures have been polluted.  With that contamination comes a major
threat to food security.

Platform I.U.:  The only good news on the horizon also comes from
FAO.  After almost seven years of painstaking negotiation,
governments will meet in Rome beginning October 25th to complete a
'platform' treaty - a legally-binding convention that scientists
believe is a prerequisite for future agricultural development -
known as the International Undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources for
Food and Agriculture.  If agreed, the 'I.U.' will lay down the rules
of the game for the scientific exchange of crop germplasm - the
genetic material needed to adapt crops to global warming, to counter
new pests and diseases, and to meet the other wants and hopes of a
changing world.

Multinational agribusiness control of crop inputs - including seeds -
and their aggressive pursuit of patents on plant varieties and genes
- has soiled the historically-free exchange of research germplasm
among scientists around the world.  Where scientific seeds once moved
with few constraints,  the flow has now dropped to a trickle as
governments and farmers fear corporate rip-offs.  The proposed
International Undertaking will restore confidence in the scientific
community and allow researchers to swap seed without fear that
someone else will purloin and patent it.   A strong I.U. would also
lay down the law for gene bank management and the handling of GM
contamination. Three major stumbling blocks remain...

Turf tiffs:  First, only a pre-determined list of crops will be
exchanged.  Those not listed will be isolated and the likelihood that
scientists will develop them further is low.  At the moment, Brazil
is refusing to allow groundnuts (for which it is part of the center
of diversity) on the list unless China offers up its diverse
collection of soybeans.  Similarly, Africa and Latin America are
locked in a turf battle over forage grasses and legumes.  Although
they are largely ignored by consumers who only know food by its
labels, forage species are essential for livestock improvement and
critical to the welfare of pastoralists and subsistence farm
families.

I.O.U.:  Second (and related), OECD countries are offering very
little in the way of benefit-sharing for the South. It's a well-kept
secret that most of the world's crop genetic diversity originated in
the South and much of the uncollected diversity remains there.  The
South's germplasm has been the basis for the North's surpluses.  But,
while Europe and even industry have shown reluctant willingness to
increase funding for the conservation and development of agricultural
germplasm, the US is digging in its heels.  As some European
diplomats joke, the US is only prepared to offer the I.U. an I.O.U..
Unless the US 'wises up', diplomats agree, that country will be
outside yet another treaty looking in.

Farmers' Rights:  Finally, although the North has been keen to
acknowledge Plant Breeders' Rights (a euphemism for plant patents) in
the I.U., they have balked at granting Farmers' Rights.  For many
membership organizations such as Via Campesina (an umbrella body for
small farmers around the world), the legal entrenchment of their
right to save, share, and breed any and all seeds whatever the
origin, is sacrosanct.  Given the ambiguities related to intellectual
property in the Undertaking, the issue of Farmers' Rights might have
to be forwarded, via special resolution, to the UN High Commissioner
for Human Rights for incorporation into the Right to Food.

As bad a year as it has been on the food front, if FAO can pull off
this platform treaty on the handling of genetic resources, the UN
agency will be able to claim a major victory for food security.

  * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


What to do if Your Gene Bank is contaminated with GM Seed...

Its only a matter of time before one or more of the world's major
crop gene banks will report that its invaluable collection of
traditional Farmers' Varieties, and their wild relatives, have been
contaminated by genetically-modified traits.  The traits may have
seeped into the bank through new collections or through the grow-out
(rejuvenation) of some accessions in GM areas.  This is a serious
issue.  Nevertheless, in its usual 'tongue-in-cheek' style, ETC group
(formerly RAFI) offers 12 steps institute directors should NOT
consider for crisis management - and six they should.

The 12 Step Programme (what not to do):

1. Issue a news statement announcing that, after years of unheralded
research, your institute has perfected a way to increase ex situ
genetic diversity.

2. Explain that there is no problem as long as the seed is
rejuvenated under national regulations applying to GM field trials.

3. Describe the contamination as an 'adventitious present' from the
biotech industry, emphasize the access and technology transfer
opening for developing countries receiving gene bank samples -
1) as long as they permit GM crop production; and,
2) as long as they have effective regulatory mechanisms.

4. Write a note to your nursery trial recipients around the world
telling them that you may have good news on the benefit-sharing
front.

5. Announce that you are considering applying Terminator technology
to all bank accessions so that the contamination won't be repeated.

6. Assure farmers that the collection is fully and reliably
'backed-up' at another gene bank.  (Don't mention that its in the USA
or Canada - the world's GM capitals.)

7. Rework the gene bank endowment appeal so that it talks about
perpetual care for the 'gene bank' without reference to the 'seeds' -
and appeal to corporations playing up the market opportunities now
opening up through gene banks.

8. Try to convince the Gene Giants that there is sufficient genetic
distance so that the contaminated accession should not be considered
an infringement of their patented genes or traits.

9. Cross out the intellectual property restriction on gene bank MTAs.

10. Propose a slight adjustment to the FAO Trust Agreement so that
accessions can be held 'in trust' on behalf of Gene Giants.

11. Try to remember what CSO's told you about how most patents don't
apply in most developing countries and write the offending companies
demanding rent.

12. Recalling the 'multifunctionality of agriculture,' announce that
your gene bank  is also available for industry partnerships to
warehouse beer.

A better option:

1. Make public your policies on GM crops and your views on GM contamination.

2. Undertake a study of recent collections and grow-outs of species
that (1) are subjects of significant GM experimentation; and, (2)
were obtained in areas of experimentation or where contamination
might have come through seed aid or food aid.

3. Until rigorous studies are completed, call for a moratorium on the
field testing and commercial use of GM crops in Third World centres
of genetic diversity.

4. Strengthen phytosanitary testing to check incoming material from
nursery trials or other forms of scientific exchange where
contamination would not normally be expected.

5. Keep the public informed of  results and developments.

6. Demand the funding for any extra costs incurred from the polluters.


The Action Group on Erosion, Technology and Concentration, formerly
RAFI, is an international civil society organization headquartered in
Canada. The ETC Group (pronounced Etcetera Group) is dedicated to the
advancement of cultural and ecological diversity and human rights.
Our new web site, www.etcgroup.org is under construction. All RAFI
and ETC Group's publications are currently available at: www.rafi.org

October 16, 2001

Big Victory: Istook Amendment Defeated by a Landslide;
Hart and Vitter Amendments Squelched!

In a tremendous victory, the House of Representatives
overwhelmingly rejected (311 to 106) a controversial
amendment offered by Rep. Ernest Istook (R-OK) to dramatically
increase funding for abstinence-only education. The
lopsided vote came during debate on the fiscal year
2002 Labor-Health and Human Services-Education Appropriations
bill. ZPG also scored another victory when BOTH Reps.
Melissa Hart (R-PA) and David Vitter (R-LA) withdrew
their anti-family planning amendments.  

Thanks so much to those of you who contacted your Representatives
in opposition to these proposals.

----- The ISTOOK amendment would have dramatically
increased funding for abstinence-only education --
a program that has never been shown to be effective
in reducing adolescent sexual activity. Sex education
programs that even mention contraceptives are barred
from receiving any of these funds. The House Labor-Health
and Human Services-Education bill includes $40 million
for this program. Rep. Istook and other conservative
House members had sought to increase that figure to
$73 million. To see how your member voted visit ZPG's
Legislative Action Center website at http://actionnetwork.org/ct/m1qUq8d1uqDk/Istook_Vote_Tally

----- The HART amendment would have barred school based
health clinics from providing access to emergency contraception.
Access to emergency contraception is an important element
in efforts to reduce our nation's staggering rate of
teenage pregnancy. Each year, nearly one million teenagers
become pregnant. The Hart amendment would have done
nothing to address these numbers.  

----- The VITTER amendment would have prohibited any
recipient that receives Title X domestic family planning
funds from providing abortion services to its clients---with
their own, non-federal funds. This restriction is similar
to restrictions placed on the international family
planning program by President Bush earlier this year.
For more than three decades, the Title X family planning
program has been a crucial component of our health
care system, providing contraceptive services and other
preventive health care to millions of Americans each
year, most of whom are low income and uninsured and
otherwise would lack access to such services. If passed,
the Vitter amendment could have endangered the health
of low-income women and teens and place them at risk
of unplanned and unwanted pregnancies.

We need your help to Stop the Energy Department's rollback of energy-saving
air conditioner standards.

Central air conditioners draw more power than any other household
appliance. They drive up power demand during the hottest days of the year,
when air quality alerts are most common and the risk of power outages is
greatest.

New energy saving standards proposed in 2000 would increase the minimum
energy efficiency standard for all new central air conditioners by 30
percent. Air conditioners that meet and exceed the new standard, which
would become effective in five years, are already common. But the Energy
Department has proposed changing the standard to eliminate about one-third
of the energy savings.

Rolling back the standard would increase the likelihood of future
heat-related power outages, exacerbate summertime air pollution problems
and boost greenhouse gas emissions. It would also increase the need to
build new power plants and drill for natural gas. To add insult to injury,
the extra energy gobbled by air conditioners because of the rollback would
cost consumers more than $1 billion per year.

The Department of Energy is accepting public comments on the proposed
rollback through October 19th. To register your official comment please
visit  www.environet.org/grassroots or click on the "Compose Email" button,
below.

Thanks for your concern

Sincerely,
Andrew Katkin

Web Manager and e-Activist Outreach Coordinator
The National Environmental Trust

Clean Air | Children's Environmental HealthHeritage Forests |
Marine Conservation

he Nature Conservancy's Nature News, October 17, 2001
_____________________________________________

1. My, How We've Grown!
2. A Global Reach for a Global Age

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. My, How We've Grown!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This October is the 50th anniversary of the founding of The Nature Conservancy. Thanks to the support of communities, businesses and people like you, we've made a remarkable effort to save the world's Last Great Places during the last 50 years.

Learn more about our 50th anniversary:
http://www.you-click.net/GoNow/a14464a43898a67074702a5

While it would be impossible to list all our successes, a few numbers stand out:

- We began with no preserves in 1951; today we have 1400, comprising more than 92 million acres in 29 countries around the world.

- Our membership has grown from 554 in 1952 to more than one million today.

But the Conservancy has grown by more than just acres and members. Today, we work not just to preserve the natural environment, but to enable people to live more productively and more sustainably. Our innovative programs, projects and partnerships with conservation groups, businesses, governments and individuals are leading the Earth to a brighter future.

Learn more about our work protecting entire ecosystems:
http://www.you-click.net/GoNow/a14464a43898a67074702a3

===============================================================

Help Us Celebrate!

Thanks to people like you, The Nature Conservancy is celebrating 50 years of saving the world's Last Great Places. You can help ensure another 50 years of conservation successes by supporting The Nature Conservancy today:
http://www.you-click.net/GoNow/a14464a43898a67074702a0

By donating $35 or more you will also receive "Heart of the Land," a compilation of essays about nature.

===============================================================

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. A Global Reach for a Global Age
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Environmental protection is a worldwide issue, and The Nature Conservancy's creative approach to conservation has made us an international organization. An important example of our global reach is in Bolivia's 3.8-million-acre Noel Kempff Mercado National Park, one of the most biologically diverse areas in the entire world.

Home to unique species such as jaguars, giant river otters and nine species of macaw, and encompassing grasslands, rain forest and dry tropical forest, Noel Kempff Mercado National Park has benefited from a myriad of Conservancy programs:

- Beginning in 1990, the Conservancy used its Parks in Peril program to provide funding to a local partner organization -- Fundacion Amigos de la Naturaleza (FAN) -- to equip and train park rangers who were then able to eliminate illegal logging and dramatically reduce poaching.

- The Conservancy negotiated a debt-for-nature swap to finance management of the park in 1995.

- The Nature Conservancy, FAN, the Bolivian government and three private investors in 1996 launched a Climate Action project that added 2.2 million acres in 1998, retired several logging concessions within the park, and has provided $9.5 million over 10 years to protect existing forests, regenerate logged areas and measure how much carbon loss was mitigated.

While we are proud of the scope of these accomplishments, we recognize that there is much more work to be done both at home and around the world. With your continued support, we believe it is possible.

Learn more about our work in Bolivia:
http://www.you-click.net/GoNow/a14464a43898a67074702a4

Or, learn more about our work around the world:
http://www.you-click.net/GoNow/a14464a43898a67074702a6

TO:      All Activists
From:    Daniel Hall
Date     October 17, 2001

News:    Meridian Report Shows Industry Wood Certification Falls Far
Short of Independent Certification

AMERICAN LANDS ALLIANCE
APPALACHIAN MOUNTAIN CLUB
COAST RANGE ASSOCIATION
DEFENDERS OF WILDLIFE
GREENPEACE
NATURAL RESOURCE COUNCIL OF MAINE
SIERRA CLUB
WASHINGTON ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL
THE WILDERNESS SOCIETY

NEWS October 16, 2001

Contact:     Randi Spivak, Executive Director, American Lands,
310-779-4894
Bill Barclay, Greenpeace Forest Campaign, 415-255-9221
Carl Zichella, Regional Staff Director, Sierra Club, 916-557-1100 x104
Catherine Johnson, N. Woods Director, Natural Resource Council of
Maine, 207-622-3101


Not All Wood Is Good

Industry SFI Program Falls Far Short
of Independent FSC Certification Program

Independent Study Just Released

WASHINGTON, DC -- On Tuesday, Oct. 16, the Meridian Institute released a
study of the two major competing systems for “certifying” forest
management -- and found that they differ substantially in nearly all
areas.  The Institute is an independent, DC based think tank.  The study
compared the “Sustainable Forestry Initiative” (SFI) of the American
Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), the wood products industry’s
principal trade association, with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC),
the leading independent, third-party forest certification system.   The
differences found by the study include SFI’s failure to include many of
the FSC’s forest management and conservation standards, and continued
heavy influence over SFI by the AF&PA and the wood products industry.  
By contrast, the FSC is an independent, non-profit organization governed
by a balanced membership of economic, environmental, and social
interests.

“Green labeling can be very confusing,” said Randi Spivak, Director of
American Lands.  “The Meridian study clearly shows that the Forest
Stewardship Council and the AF&PA SFI are fundamentally different.  The
SFI fails to meet very basic criteria that consumers should expect from
certified wood such as protecting old growth, not harming endangered
species and minimizing use of toxic chemicals. The FSC meets those
criteria. I think consumers will want to know this" said Ms. Spivak.

“There’s a reason why many environmental groups support the FSC, but not
SFI,” said Bill Barclay of Greenpeace.  “SFI just represents the
‘Same-old Forest Industry.’  Virtually any timber company could meet
SFI’s weak standards.”

“We commend Home Depot, Lowes, and other major retailers for giving
preference to Forest Stewardship Council certified products and
promising to phase-out other wood over time,” said Carl Zichella,
Regional Staff Director for the Sierra Club.  “This study shows they
made the right choice.”  

The Meridian study notes that the AF&PA SFI often assumes that
environmental and social concerns are addressed by existing laws.   
However, according to forest conservationists, most states’ forestry
rules fail to adequately protect imperiled species, old growth, water
quality, and other values.   Most states fail to require landowners to
use sustainable logging levels.  Many states in the Southeast and other
regions lack forestry rules altogether.   Federal and state laws also do
not ensure that workers are paid competitive wages, or that companies
reinvest in local communities.

The Meridian study also notes that the AF&PA SFI lacks a consistent
“chain of custody” system to ensure that labelled products actually come
from certified forests.  The system also has multiple logos.  As a
result, consumers will have a tough time knowing what they’re getting
with SFI.  

The FSC was created in the early 1990s by environmental and social
groups, foresters and landowners to provide consumers with a rigorous,
independent system for identifying products from ecologically, socially,
and economically well-managed forests.  While 8.3 million acres of
industrial and non-industrial forests have been FSC-certified in the US,
many other timber companies do not yet meet the FSC’s standards.  But
that may change, now that major retailers are beginning to express a
preference for FSC certified products.

The AF&PA responded by forming its “Sustainable Forestry Initiative.”  
The AF&PA SFI was designed to repair the industry’s flagging public
image, and to begin moving companies towards sustainability.   However,
as noted by its critics, the SFI’s standards were designed to be easily
met by most timber companies -- including Pacific Lumber/Maxxam, Boise
Cascade, Interfor, Sierra Pacific Industries, Plum Creek, International
Paper, and others that are logging old growth, harming endangered
species and wetlands, converting more natural forests to impoverished
plantations, using excessive clearcuts and chemicals, and failing even
to limit their timber harvest levels to timber growth levels.

No major forest protection advocacy groups support the AF&PA SFI system.
In contrast, the Forest Stewardship Council’s membership includes a
large number of forest protection advocacy groups, as well as social
interests.

The Meridian study was sponsored jointly by Home Depot, the FSC, and the
AF&PA SFI.  The study  examined the two competing systems’ documentation
and official requirements, but also noted that comparisons of the
systems’ on-the-ground results still need to be conducted.

The Meridian study is available at:  www.fscus.org and www.merid.org.
A factsheet on the Meridian study is available at:  
www.americanlands.org.
A critique of the SFI program and its standards is available at:
www.americanlands.org/forestweb/SFI.htm.  
For information on SFI companies in the Southeast, contact Trevor
Fitzgibbons at 919-672-8226.

###

Steve Holmer
Campaign Coordinator
American Lands
726 7th Street SE
Washington, D.C. 20003
202/547-9105
202/547-9213 fax
mailto:wafcdc@americanlands.org
http://www.americanlands.org

Rainforest Action Network - Monthly Email Newsletter
October 2001

In this post :
   1. ACTION ALERT! Help insure the safety of Ecuadorian Activists
   2. Background on OCP and Citi

For Pictures of the Blockade see :
http://www.ran.org/news/newsitem.php?id=435&area=home


ECUADORIAN ACTIVISTS BLOCKADE OCP PIPELINE CONSTRUCTION

PHONE CALLS NEEDED TO INSURE THEIR SAFETY AND CANCEL THE PROJECT


Beginning October 11, 2001 dozens of women, many accompanied by their
children, began to peacefully blockade construction of the OCP pipeline
through the Mindo-Nambillo Cloud Forest in Ecuador. After months of
exhausting legal options to reroute this environmentally disastrous
pipeline, local activists have escalated their attempts to save this
world renowned cloud forest. The activists from Accion Ecologica and
local impacted communities have placed their bodies in the path of
destruction and say they will maintain a resistance camp in order to
call international attention to their defense of endangered species and
ecosystems. German Bank, West LB, is the financial advisor to the
project. Citigroup is the primary backer of OCP consortium member,
Argentinean oil company Perez Companc.  Perez Compac and Citi are
already set up to benefit from the new oil boom which the pipeline will
facilitate since Perez owns drilling rights to two controversial
drilling blocks within Yasuni National Park. Oil exploration in these
fragile areas is set to begin any time.

TAKE ACTION!

CALL Citi's investor relations :
1-888-250-3985 and dial 0 until you reach a human operator.  Tell them
to use their influence to halt this destructive project and to stop
funding destructive activities such as fossil fuel development and
logging.

CALL/FAX the Ecuadorian Embassy in DC :
Tel. 202-2347200 Fax 202-667-3482
Let them know that the world is watching to insure that these activists
are allowed to voice their dissent in safety. Tell them that you are a
potential eco-tourist who doesn't want to see Ecuador's spectacular
forest reserves like the Mindo-Nambillo Cloud Forest threatened by the
OCP pipeline.

Call the NY offices of German bank West LB at 212-852-6000 Tell them to
cancel the project and redirect their investments towards renewable
energy development that will help the people of Ecuador without
threatening biological and cultural diversity.

ORGANIZE SOLIDARITY DEMONSTRATIONS at you local Ecuadorian consulate.
The locations of all Ecuadorian consulates in North America are at
http://www.ecuador.org/visa.html#ConsulatesofEcuador

For a full background info on OCP and oil development's destructive
legacy in Ecuador See Amazon Watch's Report "The New Heavy Crude
Pipeline in Ecuador: Fueling a Second Oil Boom in the Amazon" at
www.amazonwatch.org

For more resources and assistance in organize against Citigroup in your
community check out  www.ran.org.

Background:

CITIGROUP FUNDS PROPOSED ECUADORIAN PIPELINE WHICH THREATENS FRAGILE
ECOSYSTEMS AND COMMUNITIES

To See RAN's case study on Citigroup and OCP check out :
http://www.ran.org/ran_campaigns/citigroup/cs_ocp.html


Ignoring the devastating toll thirty years of reckless oil development
has taken on the country of Ecuador - particularly on the Amazon and its
people - the government and a consortium of multinational oil companies
are poised to make the same irreversible mistake by moving ahead with a
controversial new oil pipeline project known as the OCP (Oleoducto de
Crudo Pesado).   Among the consortium's main funders is Citigroup - the
world's most destructive bank.  As the number one funder of oil
pipelines around the world it is no surprise to find Citi playing a
central role with yet another massive, destructive fossil fuel project.

Financially backed by Citigroup, J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, and Deutsche
Bank, the OCP consortium is comprised of Alberta Energy (Canada), Kerr
McGee (USA), Occidental Petroleum (USA) - notorious for their invasion
of the U'wa people's land in Colombia, AGIP (Italy), Perez Companc
(Argentina), Repsol-YPF (Spain) and Techint (Argentina).  The pipeline
would transport heavy crude from the country's eastern rainforest region
to the Pacific Coast, placing fragile ecosystems and dozens of
communities along the 300-mile route in jeopardy.

The pipeline route chosen by the OCP consortium affects 11 protected
areas, and cuts through the middle of the Mindo Nambillo Cloudforest
Reserve and the surrounding ecologically sensitive forests.  This area
is home to more than 450 species of birds---46 of which arethreatened by
extinction --and has been designated the first  "Important Bird Area" of
South America by Birdlife International.  The pipeline also represents a
threat to the area's burgeoning eco-tourism industry, which is expected
to bring in $600 million over the next 20 years.

In order to fill the new pipeline, Ecuador would have to double its
current oil production, setting off an unprecedented boom in new oil
exploration that could lead to the irreversible loss and destruction of
some the country 's last remaining old growth rainforest and territories
of isolated indigenous peoples.  Hundreds of new oil wells and flow
lines would be built from existing oil concessions along with facilities
necessary to process and refine the heavy crude for transport across the
country.  These activities threaten protected areas such as Yasuni
National Park, Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve, and the Limoncocha and
Panacocha Biological Reserves.  This project would also fuel the search
for additional oil reserves covering 2.4 million hectares of frontier
forest, the majority of which falls on the ancestral territories of
Achuar, Shuar, Huaorani, Quichua, Shiwiar, and Zapara indigenous
communities.  Many of these communities have vowed to never permit oil
development on their land.

Prominent Ecuadorian and international environmental and human rights
organizations are calling for the cancellation of the OCP project and a
moratorium on all new oil exploration in the country's Amazon region.  
CONAIE, the powerful national indigenous organization whose non-violent
uprisings have led to the ousting of two presidents in the last five
years, is joining environmental groups and local communities in filing
for a legal injunction in the coming weeks to void the OCP contract with
the government.

The Ecuadorian government, the OCP consortium, and the financiers have
failed to fully assess or disclose the long-term impacts of the new OCP
pipeline on ecologically and culturally sensitive areas in the Amazon
region or the coast.  The government squashed all public debate on these
concerns by closing the public review process a mere three weeks after
the release of the 1,500-page Environmental Impact Assessment and fast
tracking licensing.

Ecuador's oil exports are primarily destined for consumption in the
United States, particularly in California.  Not only does this pipeline
threaten fragile areas and local communities, it further increases our
reliance on oil - the main fossil fuel responsible for climate change.  
We must call on the involved financial institutions to stop bankrolling
destruction of the Amazon and environmental injustice and urge them to
invest in renewable energy alternatives - not Amazon crude!

_________________________________________________________
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Rainforest Action Network
221 Pine Street, Suite 500
San Francisco, CA  94104
tel: 415-398-4404
fax: 415-398-2732
URL: http://www.ran.org/

Positive Energy
October 15-21, 2001
v1.17

As long as the sun keeps shining the
"Positive Energy" keeps flowing...
Time for the highlight of your week -
Greenpeace's Clean Energy Now Weekly Update.

>> LA Community Colleges Shine With Prospect Of Solar Energy!!!
In Spring 2001, the voters of Los Angeles County allocated
over $1.2 billion dollars to the LA Community College
Board of Trustees for renovations and new building construction
on its nine campuses. This is an incredible opportunity for
the District to charter the way towards a clean energy future
by placing clean renewable solar energy and 'green' efficient
buildings on their campuses.

This week, LACCD and Proposition Bond A team will be
conducting Sustainability "Green" Building Public
Forums. The goal of the forums is to hear comments on the
bond program master design criteria for sustainability
and greening.

Please attend one of the public forums, and urge the LACCD
to become world leaders by installing solar and constructing
sustainable buildings.


Saturday, October 20, 2001, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Los Angeles Harbor College, 1111 Figueroa Place, Wilmington

For more information, go to:
http://www.cleanenergynow.org/california/lasolaryes.html

>>  Rolling Sunlight Rolls Through Sacramento
    And Davis This Week!!!

The Rolling Sunlight, Greenpeace's demonstration and
educational vehicle showcasing clean energy technologies,
features 256 square feet of solar photovoltaic (PV)
panels and supplies enough energy to power three
energy efficient homes!  This energy can be used to
power concerts, events, meetings  (and movies), without
creating any pollution. The truck itself runs on biodiesel,
a fuel created from vegetable oils like used fry grease.

Your help is appreciated in spreading the word. If you would
like the Rolling Sunlight to make a stop at your location
please contact CD at 415-255-9221 x313.


>>  The Final Push For Solar Revolution In SF!!!

Volunteer with the Greenpeace Solar Yes! campaign. We now
have less than 3 weeks to win Propositions B and H on the
November ballot. Join with us and turn San Francisco into
a solar city.

Volunteer Opportunities Include:

Group Phonebanks:
We are phone-calling voters each evening (
Sunday to Thursday, 6-9pm) to tell them about the
solar propositions on the November ballot.

Locations:
United Educators, 655 14th St (at Market)
Greenpeace, 75 Arkansas (at 17th)

Schedule: 6-9 pm
Sunday, October 21- United Educators
Monday, October 22- United Educators
Tuesday, October 23- United Educators
Wednesday, October 24- Greenpeace
Thursday, October 25- Greenpeace

Save The Date:

Saturday, October 27th
Mobilization to put up posters in our precincts.  Meet,
get psyched and take Solar Yes to the streets.
10:30 am: Greenpeace office, 75 Arkansas (at 17th).


Sunday, October 28th
Rock the vote: solar powered concert for the campaign at
UN Plaza, Market St Civic Center. We need people to help
with the event. 9am-noon


Week of October 29th- November 1st
Phone calling every night to GET OUT THE VOTE
Driving around during the days with the solar truck to make
solar visible throughout the city.

November 3rd
Mobilization to put out door hangings in
Hayes Valley/ North mission districts.

Meet, get psyched and take solar yes to the streets.
10.30am: Green party office, 1901 Mission (at 15th)


November 4th
Rock the vote concert in Dolores Park 12-5pm

November 5th and 6th
All day phone calling and poll watching.
Let's make sure that people get to the polls!

For more information, go to:
http://www.cleanenergynow.org/california/sfsolaryes.html
or call 415-642-6406.

Want to do more? Become a Greenpeace member today!
http://www.greenpeaceusa.org/join2/cen.htm

If you would like to subscribe or unsubscibe to any Greenpeace e-mail list, you can do so at:
http://www.greenpeaceusa.org/sc

Dear Members of Global Response's "Quick Response Network:"

We are saddened and outraged to learn of the murder of Digna Ochoa in Mexico
City.
Digna was for many years a fearless human rights lawyer; she had received
many death threats because of her work.  She was currently working on the
case of Rodolfo Montiel and Teodoro Cabrera, two environmental defenders
imprisoned in Mexico. Global Response members have been supporting the cause
of Montiel and Cabrera since their incarceration two years ago.

Below is the press release issued by Amnesty International, and photo of
Digna. Please see the call for action, below, and send letters of protest to
Mexican authorities.

(See attached file: Digna AI2)


                Network No:AMR-HRD 0/02

HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS NETWORK ACTION

Date:                20 October 2001
Duration:        30 November 2001

MEXICO: Human rights defender killed

On Friday 19 October, Digna Ochoa y Plácido, a leading  human rights lawyer
who had won international awards in recognition of her human rights work,
was found shot at her office in the centre of Mexico City. The killers left
a death threat warning  human rights defenders of the PRODH that  they could
meet a similiar fate.

A catalogue of threats and attacks preceded the killing of  Digna Ochoa who
had worked for many years with the Centro de Derechos Humanos "Miguel
Agustín Pro Juárez" (PRODH), Human Rights Centre "Miguel Agustín Pro
Juárez".

In August 1999, Digna Ochoa was forced into a car in Mexico City by two
unknown men and punched in the stomach. She was later released, but warned
she would be killed if she reported the attack. In September 1999, PRODH
received three separate letters containing death threats. Attached to one of
the threats was one of Digna Ochoa's
business cards, supposedly stolen when she was abducted. On 28 October 1999,
three unidentified men entered Digna Ochoa's house, blindfolded her and
interrogated her for several hours about members of the PRODH and members of
armed opposition groups operating in Guerrero and Chiapas. The men tied
Digna Ochoa to her bed and locked
her in a room with an open gas canister. After they left she managed to set
herself free. The same night the offices of the PRODH were broken into and
searched. Another threat was left behind.

None of these incidents were properly investigated. Amnesty International
believes that if the previous and current Mexican authorities had taken the
appropriate action to ensure an exhaustive and independent investigation of
these incidents the killing of Digna Ochoa could have been averted.

However, the investigation by the Offices of the Attorney General, which is
responsible for all judicial investigations in Mexico, was unduly slow and
cumbersome. Although the authorities provided police protection for Digna
Ochoa and
members of the PRODH, they failed in their responsibility to bring those
responsible to justice and to send a clear message that such attacks on
those who defend human rights would not be tolerated.

Digna Ochoa and members of the PRODH have worked on cases of serious human
rights violations in which public officials have been implicated, including
members of the Offices of the Attorney General and the military. The threat
left by Digna Ochoa's killers leaves no doubt that Digna Ochoa was killed
because of her human rights work. Her killing is the act of those seeking to
evade prosecution by silencing human rights defenders who expose the
perpetrators of human rights violations and insist that the authorities
ensure they are brought to justice.

RECOMMENDED ACTION BY HUMAN RIGHTS
DEFENDERS NETWORK:

1. Write to the President of Mexico and to the Offices of the Attorney
General:

- deploring the killing of human rights lawyer Digna Ochoa on 19 October in
Mexico City;

- insisting that the authorities initiate an exhaustive and independent
investigation, taking all the necessary measures to ensure the preservation
of vital evidence that could lead to the identification of those responsible
for the
killing of Digna Ochoa;

- expressing your concern for the safety of members of the PRODH and human
rights lawyers who worked with Digna Ochoa and urging the authorities to
adopt the necessary protection measures in accordance with the wishes of
human rights defenders;

- informing the authorities that the international community will be closely
monitoring progress on the judicial investigation into the killing of Digna
Ochoa to ensure that the investigation is conducted in accordance with
principles
stipulated in international human rights standards, to ensure those
responsible are brought to justice, and that comprehensive steps are taken
to end attacks and harrassment of human rights defenders in Mexico.

2. Please also raise this case in meetings with Mexican diplomatic
representatives in your country or your Ministry of Foreign Relations.

3. Please use the photograph of Digna Ochoa to publicise this case as widely
as possible including on websites etc.

President of the Republic
Lic. Vicente Fox Quesada
Presidente de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos
Residencia Oficial de "Los Pinos"
Col. San Miguel Chapultepec
México D.F., C.P. 11850, MÉXICO
Fax: +52 5522 4117 (confirm on tel. 5522 7600) / 5516 9537

Attorney General of the Republic
General Rafael Marcial Macedo de la Concha
Procurador General de la Republica
Procuraduría General de la República
Reforma Norte esq.Violeta 75
Col. Guerrero, Delegación Cuauhtémoc
México D.F., C.P. 06300, MEXICO
Fax:(+52 5) 346 0983 / 626 4419 / 346 0906  / 626 4426 /
346 2776

Attorney General of the Federal District
Mtro. Bernardo Bátiz Vázquez
Procurador General del Distrito Federal
Gabriel Hernández # 56, 5º piso,
col. Doctores,
México D.F. 06720, MÉXICO
Faxes: (+52 5) 345 5529

In case of any doubts or queries regarding this action please contact:
Human Rights Defenders Program (Americas), Amnesty
International,         International Secretariat, 1 Easton Street,
London WC1X 0DW, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 20 7413 5952/5537; Fax: +44 20 7956 1157, E-
mail: tmackenz@amnesty.org
uan@aiusa.org

News Release:
Tuesday, October 23, 2001

HyPEing the Human Genome:
The Dissent Disease

For fun and profit, the Genomics industry is devising a New Genomics Agenda
to make well people even better.  For power and control, their
pharmaceutical industry masters also want to target the 'different' and
manage dissent.

A new report by ETC Group (formerly RAFI) argues that the pharmaceutical
industry's major interest in "The Book of Life" and parallel advances in
neurosciences lies in the development of new drugs and therapies that target
"well people" rather than the ill.  The study also shows that company
strategies focusing on parents could eliminate the "different" in the human
species in favour of a monocultural "norm." In addition, industry and
government are exploring the potential to use the new genomics to monitor
and control dissent.

The new 20 page ETC Communiqué (September/October #72), entitled "The New
Genomics Agenda - A Political Epilogue to the Book of Life: Update on
Pharmaceutical Multinationals and the Human Genome"  can be found, in full,
on the ETC group website: http://www.rafi.org (until our website changes to
www.etcgroup.org).


Cloning - a lamb in wolf's clothing?  The new genomics agenda has very
little interest in human cloning.  Ever since "Dolly" the cloned sheep
appeared on our television screens almost five years ago, the public's
concern about genetic engineering in medicine has been riveted to the moral
and technical implications of what the drug companies have always seen as -
at best - a tiny niche market.  Meanwhile, advances in mapping the human
genome have spawned vastly more lucrative markets much more immediate and
less controversial than either cloning or stem cell research.  The companies
have a whole new genomics agenda.

Crotch to cranium genomics: The new genomics agenda runs the gamut from
human reproduction to neural manipulations - from crotch to cranium. Of
particular concern are the new Human Performance Enhancement (HyPE) drugs
and therapies aimed at improving the performance of individuals in all areas
of life.  Yet the same HyPE technologies meant to enhance human capabilities
could be manipulated to provide the reverse effect on perceived enemies or
civil dissenters. Where should concerned governments and activists stand in
this changed political environment?

Target practice: The new genomics agenda targets the different and the
dissenters.  Indigenous peoples in remote regions are targets because their
cell lines may contain patentable variations that could be used to diagnose
or "cure" genetic disorders.  Similarly, disease or disability populations
are viewed by industry as both "cure" and "customer." The genetic variation
of these populations must be studied in order to produce commercial gene
therapies and these same genetically "different" groups - or their parents -
are also the end-buyers of the research.   The poor are also targets of
research.  Genomics companies have focused on populations in China, for
example, because they are too weak, politically and economically, to resist.
As always, it is the women within disadvantaged groups that are the primary
focus for study and experimentation.

Never "better" clients: Most disturbing of all, perhaps, is the
pharmaceutical industry's new emphasis on "well" as opposed to "sick"
people.  Healthy people are simply better customers.  They remain employed,
they don't die easily or elicit much sympathy over the high cost of their
medications, and best of all, they never really get "better."  HyPE
medications play to "well" people and to their employers.  A poor work
environment - causing stress or physical strain - can be medicated away with
the costs borne by the employee and not the employer.  The Communiqué gives
a series of examples of company research underway on HyPEs and on its
military applications.  HyPEs can be used to enable friendly troops or to
disable the enemy.  Many of the new developments in genomics and
neurosciences come under the category of "non-lethal weapons" that could be
used to pacify protesters and maintain crowd control at times of urban
unrest.

UN action needed: To date, the World Health Organization (WHO) has
sidestepped these issues.  WHO's Assembly has taken the tried and trite path
of condemning reproductive cloning but it has failed to survey the whole
horizon of new genomics technologies.  In addition, the Convention on
Biological Diversity (CBD) has failed to resolve the unfinished business
arising from the Rio Earth Summit almost ten years ago to address the
political placement of human genetic diversity. Though UNESCO adopted a weak
Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights in 1997, the document does
not address serious issues such as intellectual property and is the wrong
place for such an important document. The document should be transferred to
the UN Human Rights Commission and developed into a legally binding
convention. Following debate at Rio+10 in South Africa in September 2002,
the UN should hold a Special Session of the General Assembly on Genomics and
Genetic Resources (human and other) in order to address unresolved issues
and assign institutional responsibilities.


The Action Group on Erosion, Technology and Concentration (ETC Group),
formerly RAFI, is releasing a series of new reports in 2001. This paper is
the second in the series that also includes the following issues of The ETC
Communiqué available on our web site from September to December:
* Globalization, Inc. Concentration in Corporate Power: The Unmentioned
Agenda
* "New Enclosures: Alternative Mechanisms to Enhance Corporate Monopoly and
BioSerfdom in the 21st Century"
* "Nanotechnology - Spiraling down from Genomes to Atoms"

The Action Group on Erosion, Technology and Concentration, formerly RAFI, is
an international civil society organization headquartered in Canada. The ETC
Group (pronounced Etcetera Group) is dedicated to the advancement of
cultural and ecological diversity and human rights. Our new web site,
www.etcgroup.org is under construction. All RAFI and ETC Group's
publications are available at: www.rafi.org

Dear Members of Global Response's Quick Response Network:"

The JustEarth network is providing a model letter (below) to send to
Mexico's President Fox, demanding a full investigation into the murder of
Digna Ochoa (see our Emergency Action, sent yesterday).  Please participate
in this international cry for human rights in Mexico.

Below the model letter I am copying several articles about Digna Ochoa's
work and her death, FYI. --Paula Palmer

=====================================================
Lic. Vicente Fox Quesada
Presidente de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos
Residencia Oficial de "Los Pinos"
Col. San Miguel Chapultepec
México D.F., C.P. 11850
MÉXICO

Dear President Fox:

I am saddened and outraged to learn of the death of human rights activist
Digna Ochoa y Plácido, who had been threatened on numerous occasions in
relation to her work as a human rights lawyer.  She was found murdered on
October 19, 2001, in her office in Mexico City.  A note left with her body
warned that more assassinations of human rights defenders could follow.

Digna Ochoa had worked for many years with the human rights organization
Centro de Derechos Humano "Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez" (PRODH).  In August
1999, she was seized by two men, beaten and threatened with death.  A month
later, PRODH received three separate letters containing death threats.  In
October 1999, three men entered Ms. Ochoa's house, blindfolded her and
interrogated her for several hours about members of PRODH.  They bound her
to her bed and locked her in a room with an open gas canister.
Fortunately, she managed to escape.  According to Amnesty International,
none of these incidents were properly investigated.  Had they been, perhaps
the killing of Digna Ochoa could have been prevented.

Your administration has repeatedly declared its commitment to the
protection of human rights, and yet it has done little to translate these
fine words into action.  By murdering a prominent defender like Digna
Ochoa, the opponents of human rights in Mexico display their disregard for
the government's rhetoric of human rights and reveal a confidence that they
and their activities are beyond the law.  Their actions are the consequence
of a culture of impunity that has thrived for too long in Mexico.

Mr. President, now is the time to transform your administration's human
rights ideals into concrete actions.  If Digna Ochoa y Plácido can be
murdered in broad daylight, then no human rights defender is safe in
Mexico.  The killers of Ms. Ochoa must be found and brought to justice.  I
urge you to take immediate steps to make this happen.  I further urge you
to take swift action to protect other human rights defenders, especially
those at PRODH.

I thank you in advance for your efforts, and I look forward to hearing from
you about the actions your government is taking to end the violence against
human rights defenders in Mexico. 

Sincerely,

copy to:
Ambassador Juan José Bremer Martino
Embassy of Mexico
1911 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W.
Washington, D.C.  20006
(fax: 202-728-1698)