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Natural Resources Defense Council's
CALIFORNIA ACTIVIST NETWORK ACTION
ALERT
NRDC's California
Activist Network was formed to mobilize and provide
action tools to Californians and others concerned with
protecting the
state's extraordinary wealth of natural
treasures and the health of
its citizens.
April 1, 2002
========================================
In This Issue:
--Action alerts--
1. Tell Mayor Hahn to uphold polluted runoff protections
for Los
Angeles beaches and rivers
2. Reminder -- Last chance to
speak out to prevent Los Padres National
Forest from
being sacrificed to oil drilling
--Updates on Previous alerts--
1. State ballot initiative
2.
Pacific longlines
======================================================
You will also find these alerts in NRDC'S Earth Action
Center, which
includes tools for taking action easily
online, at
http://www.nrdc.org/action
(Please do not reply to this message; see the instructions
below for
how to unsubscribe or contact NRDC with
questions or comments.)
=============
Action alerts
=============
1. Tell Mayor Hahn to uphold polluted runoff protections
for Los
Angeles beaches and rivers
In last month's alert we asked you
to urge the State Water Resources
Control Board to
uphold new rules protecting Los Angeles County from
the
harmful effects of urban runoff. Hundreds of you contacted the
board, which is expected to issue a decision next month.
But the City of Los Angeles is
now appealing the regulations that the
board is
considering (and that local water quality officials
unanimously adopted). The new regulations for the first
time require
meaningful improvements in beach water
quality, which would make the
waters safer for swimmers
and marine life alike.
== What
to do ==
Tell LA mayor James Hahn to immediately
withdraw the city's appeal.
==
Contact information ==
You can send a message to Mayor
Hahn directly from NRDC's Earth Action
Center at http://www.nrdc.org/action. Or use the contact
information
and sample letter below to send your own
message, and feel free to add
your own reasons why you
want to get polluted runoff out of southern
California's waters.
Mayor James Hahn
200 N. Spring
Street, Room 303
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Fax: 213 978-0656
Email: jhahn@mayor.lacity.org
== Sample letter ==
Subject: Withdraw the
city's stormwater permit appeal
Dear Mayor Hahn,
I urge you to withdraw the City of Los Angeles' appeal of
the Los
Angeles County Municipal Storm Water Permit.
The permit includes
strong provisions to make our
beaches and waterways cleaner and safer
for swimming
and other recreation. Challenging the permit is a
foolhardy move and certainly doesn't reflect the views of
your
constituency.
Polluted urban runoff is the biggest source of water
pollution in Los
Angeles. In fact, our beaches are
frequently closed because of
bacteria, sewage and other
toxins that flow through storm drains into
the ocean.
Last year alone, Los Angeles County had 1,266 beach
closures and advisories, most of which were due to elevated
bacteria
caused by urban runoff.
The Los Angeles Regional Water
Quality Control Board, business leaders
and
environmental groups worked for over a year to design effective
stormwater regulations. California's residents and visitors
want clean
beach water and Los Angeles' billion-dollar
tourism economy depends on
it.
Protect our beaches and show your
leadership by immediately
withdrawing the appeal of the
permit.
Sincerely,
[Your name and address]
2. Reminder -- Last chance to
speak out to prevent Los Padres National
Forest from
being sacrificed to oil drilling
Public comments on the Bush administration's proposal to
drill 140,000
acres of California's Los Padres National
Forest are due April 19th.
If you haven't already sent
yours, please do it *today* at
http://www.nrdc.org/action
==========================
Updates
on Previous alerts
==========================
1. STATE BALLOT INITIATIVE
In our previous alerts we asked you to go to the polls on
March 5th
and vote "Yes" on Proposition 40 -- the
California Clean Water, Clean
Air, Coastal Protection
and Safe Neighborhood Parks Bond Act of 2002.
Thanks to
you and other concerned Californians, the measure passed
overwhelmingly, 57-43 percent. One of the largest state
environmental
bond measures in the nation's history,
Prop 40 provides $2.6 billion
to improve safety at
neighborhood parks, plant trees in urban areas,
restore
rivers and streams in cities and protect open space. The
measure also funds environmental education, outdoor
recreation and
after-school programs for youth, as well
as improvements to state park
campsites and trails.
Thanks to everyone who got out and voted!
2. PACIFIC LONGLINES
In our
February alert, we asked you to send messages to the Pacific
Fishery Management Council, urging it to ban deadly
longline fishing
lines in U.S. waters. In response to
the almost 1,700 messages you
sent (wow!), the council
on March 14th recommended the strictest
possible option
to keep longlines out of west coast waters both now
and
in the future. Although the plan won't be finalized until
November, we'll be watching to make sure that, if anything,
the final
plan is even stronger, not weaker. In the
meantime, Thank you! to
everyone who helped persuade
the council to do the right thing.
==================================================
About Our Bulletins/How to Subscribe & Unsubscribe
==================================================
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The CALIFORNIA ACTIVIST NETWORK
ACTION ALERT is distributed monthly to
members of
NRDC's California Activist Network and provides action
tools to Californians and others concerned with protecting
the state's
natural resources and the health of its
citizens.
EARTH ACTION is sent biweekly and calls out urgent
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issues at the national level and from
around the country.
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==========
About NRDC
==========
The Natural Resources Defense
Council is a nonprofit environmental
organization with
over 500,000 members nationwide and a staff of
scientists, attorneys and environmental experts. Our
mission is to
protect the planet's wildlife and wild
places and ensure a safe and
healthy environment for
all living things.
For more
information about NRDC or how to become a member of NRDC,
please contact us at:
Natural Resources Defense Council
40 West 20th Street
New York, NY
10011
212-727-4511 (voice) / 212-727-1773 (fax)
General email: nrdcinfo@nrdc.org
California Activist Network email: wildcalifornia@nrdc.org
http://www.nrdc.org
Also visit:
BioGems -- Saving
Endangered Wild Places
A project of the Natural
Resources Defense Council
http://www.savebiogems.org
To: All Activists
From: Steve
Holmer
Date: April 1, 2002
URGENT ALERT: Forests Threatened by Both Energy and Farm
Bills
When Congress returns on
April 9, we expect action to immediately resume
on both
the Senate Energy bill and the Farm Bill conference committee.
Both bills contain harmful biomass provisions that could
encourage
increased logging on National Forest and BLM
managed lands. The Farm
bill also contains
an extremely dangerous provision to allow the Forest
Service to give an unlimited amount of trees to pay for
projects until
2007.
We know the timber industry is
going all out to build support for these
provisions. So, we need Congress to hear from us
right away that we are
opposed to giving away forests
under the "goods for services" provision.
They also
need to know that we are opposed to using our forests for
energy production and that we are particularly against the
idea of
counting forest biomass as a renewable source
of energy, which would
allow for forest devastation to
take place in the name of environmental
protection.
The Senate Energy bill contains a
provision that would allow forest
biomass to be counted
as a renewable source of energy. This idea
obviously ignores the fact that forests are already being
unsustainable
managed. We hope to see an
amendment offered to strike this provision
from the
bill. We have prepared a factsheet about the
potential
threat of increased biomass presents for our
forests at
http://www.americanlands.org/biomass_threatens_forests.htm
The Energy bill is also
rapidly turning into an anti-environmental
Christmas
tree with no strong pro-environmental provisions. Anna
Aurilio, legislative director of the U.S. Public Interest
Research
Group, said the Senate legislation "started as
a promising bill. But
it's getting hijacked
... by the polluters." We anticipate more bad
amendments including streamlining of NEPA to curtail and
undercut
environmental review, more power to the states
concerning management of
federal lands, expedited
drilling for oil and gas on public lands, and
rollbacks
of fish, wildlife, sacred site, and other safeguards.
The Farm bill contains two serious
problems, a $50 million subsidy for
forest biomass, and
a provision in the House bill to allow for unlimited
trading of National Forest trees to pay for services until
2007. In the
hands of Mark Rey and the
Forest Service under Chief Dale Bosworth, this
"goods
for services" provision would both encourage and pay for a
massive increase in logging on the National
Forests. The Senate bill
caps the number of
new "goods for services" projects, preventing the
agency from gaining this new unlimited
authority. This difference makes
the Senate
version of the bill much preferable to the House bill.
Please contact your Senators at
202/224-3121 and urge them to:
1. Oppose counting biomass using forests as a
renewable source of
energy under the Energy bill.
2. Oppose the $50 million in subsidies for
forest biomass included in
the Farm bill.
3. Oppose extending the Forest Service unlimited
"goods for services"
authority in stewardship
contracting as part of the Farm bill.
4. Remind them that stewardship contracting is
still a pilot program,
and that almost none of the
projects have yet been completed, monitored
or
analyzed.
Please contact your
Representative at 202/224-3121 and urge him/her to:
1. Oppose extending the Forest Service unlimited
"goods for services"
authority in stewardship
contracting as part of the Farm bill.
2. Remind them that stewardship contracting is
still a pilot program,
and that almost none of the
projects have yet been completed, monitored
or
analyzed.
3. Oppose the $50 million in
subsidies for forest biomass included in
the Farm bill.
Biomass using forests is based
on the flawed premise that we can
sustainably log our
forests. Also please send any information you have
about unsustainable logging practices or reports about
sustainable
logging in your region to your Rep. and
Senators. Due to continuing
problems
with the mail in DC, please consider faxing or emailing this
information.
For additional information on "goods for services" please
see a
factsheet at http://www.americanlands.org/forestweb/pilot_projects.htm
which details four stewardship pilots. If
you have additional
information about pilot projects in
your area, please contact me.
Thanks.
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
To: All Activists
From: Steve
Holmer
Date: April 1, 2002
Bush Administration & Boise Cascade to Protect All Old
Growth --(April Fool's!)
Sorry, we know that old growth logging is nothing to laugh
about, so we
are happy to report that lots is being
done about it, and that several
old growth protection
campaigns are successfully moving forward. Here
is quick update on some upcoming actions and recent
developments.
Boise Cascade
Day of Action April 4
April 4
marks a national day of action to keep the pressure on Boise
Cascade which recently announced it would phase out old
growth logging
from US public lands within 2
years. However, the old growth definition
used by Boise is so broad it would still allow old growth
to be logged
in the US, and their policy does nothing
to halt the logging of old
growth in Chile, Mexico and
other nations.
The market
campaign to convince college campuses to cancel Boise
contracts and purchase tree-free paper will continue until
Boise
improves its old growth definition, extends its
old growth ban to its
international distribution
operations, ends logging on US public lands
and ends
genetic engineering. For more information about Boise
Cascade's environmental practices, please see
http://www.americanlands.org/boise_myths_&_facts.htm.
To get involved with the April
4 day of action, please see
http://www.americanlands.org/IMF/boise_cascade.htm
Replacement Volume Solution Within Sight
A window of opportunity exists now
to solve the "replacement volume"
timber sale program
controversy which was created by the Salvage Logging
Rider back in 1995. A number of Rider sales in
second growth forests
were canceled due to the presence
of the marbled murellet. Under the
law, the
Forest Service was required to replace these sales with "like
kind and volume" from somewhere else. Instead of
offering second growth
forests, however, the Forest
Service is offering classic old growth.
For
pictures comparing the old growth replacement volume sales to the
second growth please see
http://www.cascwild.org/replace/compare.htm
Activists in the Northwest have
been working overtime to get these sales
stopped. And now we are hearing that some
purchasers want to get out of
the sales, so your calls
and letters are crucial in canceling them over
the next
several weeks.
Please join citizens from around the state EVERY WEDNESDAY
in calling
Regional Forest Service Supervisor Harv
Forsgren and tell him to cancel
the Peak, Brush,
Silver-Sturgis, Buck Point, Father Oak, North Winberry,
Slap, Little River Demo, Felix and Blodgett replacement
volume sales in
the Rogue-Siskiyou, Umpqua &
Willamette National Forests.
Let him know that giving away old-growth as replacement
volume is
breaking the law (Section 2001 (k)(3) of
Public Law 104-19) and a
betrayal of the public's
trust. It is corrupt to trade second-growth
forest for old-growth forest. As a solution, the
Forest Service should
either buy the timber contracts
back from Ford, or else get alternative
volume from
second growth plantations, of which there are plenty in
western Oregon.
Harv Forsgren, Regional Forester
USDA Forest Service Region 6
P.O.
Box 3623
Portland, OR 97208
503-808-2200 (ph)
503-808-2210
(fax)
For more information,
please contact George Sexton, American Lands
Alliance,
mailto:wafc@teleport.com. Thanks.
Economic Review and Opinion Poll Support Protection of Old
Growth and
Mature Forests
Protecting the last remaining old-growth and mature forests
in
Washington and Oregon is sound economic policy
concludes a comprehensive
review signed by 15 of the
top forestry economists in the Pacific
Northwest. The review's conclusion is the result
of the first-ever
detailed economic assessment of the
impact of logging mature and old
growth forests on
public lands in the Northwest. "A hard, dispassionate
look at the numbers confirms that the economic future of
the Northwest
should rest on saving our old trees, not
cutting them down," said
Jasmine Minbashian, campaign
coordinator of the Northwest Old Growth
Campaign, a
coalition of 13 national and regional conservation groups
including American Lands Alliance.
The Northwest Old Growth Campaign,
in parnership with the World Wildlife
Fund and The
Wilderness Society also released new polling data showing
an overwhelming majority of voters (70 percent) in
Washington and Oregon
support an end to logging
old-growth forests on public lands in Oregon
and
Washington. Support for the protection of mature forests was also
strong (65%). Even in the two congressional
districts with the most
remaining unprotected old
growth, residents supported protection over
logging. For copies of the economists letter and
polling information
please see the Northwest Old Growth
Campaign website at
http://www.nwoldgrowth.org/
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
****************************
*
WILDALERT
* Tuesday, April 2, 2002
****************************
After years of study and overwhelming public support to
phase out
snowmobile use on Yellowstone and Grand Teton
National Parks, the
National Park Service has just
released a new analysis of the impact
of snowmobiles
that reaffirms the original decision to phase-out
these
machines. The Park Service urgently needs to hear that it
should uphold its original decision to protect these
national
treasures by phasing out snowmobile use in the
two parks. Contact
the Park Service and ask
them to confirm the original phase out plan
now:
http://www.wilderness.org/takeaction/?step=2&item=1092
BACKGROUND:
In November 2000, after a three-year public process that
included 22
public hearings and over 65,000 public
comments, the National Park
Service issued a decision
to phase out snowmobiles in Yellowstone
and Grand Teton
national parks over a four-year period. The
existing mass transit system would be expanded to ensure
public
access to the parks. The decision - based on a
decade of scientific
studies by university researchers
and government agencies - found
that snowmobiles are
damaging the parks' wildlife, clean air,
natural sounds
and quiet, as well as the unique experiences that
Americans expect to find in their national parks. The
Environmental
Protection Agency described the
underlying science as "among the
most thorough and
substantial base that we have seen supporting a
(National Environmental Policy Act) document."
PROPOSED ALTERNATIVES UNHEALTHY
FOR THE PARKS:
An average of 66,000 snowmobiles each
snowmobile season has traveled
through Yellowstone in
recent years. The best science continues to
show that protecting Yellowstone Park requires a phase out
of
snowmobile use.
However, at the urging of snowmobile industry, Interior
Secretary
Gale Norton directed the Park Service to
reconsider its decision,
claiming that science and
technology had not been adequately studied
in the
original decision. The resulting Supplemental Environmental
Impact Statement [SEIS], released this week, contains no
new
scientific or technological
information. In fact, the SEIS itself
points
out that the snowmobile industry failed to provide the Park
Service with any significant evidence that was not already
part of
the original decision to phase out
snowmobile use in Yellowstone and
Grand Teton national
parks.
In spite of this, only
one of the four management alternatives in the
SEIS
would implement the original Park Service decision. Under the
others, wildlife would continue to be harassed, unhealthy
pollution
would persist and soundscapes would be
disrupted in the parks.
TAKE
ACTION:
The release of the SEIS begins a public comment
period. Public
support for the original Park
Service is the only way it will be
implemented. Please
support the Park Service's decision to phase out
snowmobile use in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national
parks by
sending your comments from our web site:
http://www.wilderness.org/takeaction/?step=2&item=1092
Or tell the Park Service
directly that:
--Americans
want Yellowstone and Grand Teton to remain peaceful
places in winter where bison, elk, and other wildlife are
not
harassed by noisy vehicles.
--Snowmobiles in the two national
parks continue to cause pollution,
make rangers sick,
and prevent visitors from hearing the eruption of
Old
Faithful or enjoying the solitude that Americans expect from
their national parks.
--The original, science-based phase out decision should
remain in
place because it is the only way to
adequately protect the nation's
first national park and
nearby Grand Teton national park.
Address comments to:
Winter Use
Draft SEIS Comments
Grand Teton and Yellowstone
National Parks
PO Box 352
Moose, Wyoming 83002
E-mail:
grte_winter_use_seis@nps.gov
To be considered, comments must be in writing or by e-mail
and must
include the name and return address of the
writer. Comments must be
received no later than
midnight, Mountain Time, May 29, 2002.
***************************************************************
For a full list of Action Items, visit
http://www.wilderness.org/whatcan/takeaction.htm
***************************************************************
An archive of past Wildalerts can be found at
http://www.wilderness.org/wildalert/wildalerts.htm
***************************************************************
To make a gift online to The Wilderness Society, click
here
https://secure-net.com/tws/join.asp
***************************************************************
WildAlert is an email action alert system brought to
you by The
Wilderness Society to keep you apprised of
threats to our wildlands -
-
in the field and in Washington. WildAlert
messages include updates
along with clear, concise
actions you can take to protect America's
last wild
places. You are welcome to forward Wildalerts to all
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FEEDBACK: If you need to get in
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subject line and your
email address in the body of the
message.
Founded in 1935, The
Wilderness Society works to protect America's
wilderness and to develop a nation-wide network of wild
lands
through public education, scientific analysis and
advocacy. Our goal is to
ensure that future
generations will enjoy the clean air and water,
wildlife, beauty and opportunities for recreation and
renewal that
pristine forests, rivers, deserts and
mountains provide. To take
action on behalf of
wildlands today, visit our website at
http://www.wilderness.org
|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Action features important steps YOU
can quickly take to help make the world greener. Please
take action on this urgent alert from Americans For
National Parks, American Rivers and Care2.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. NATIONAL PARKS NEED OUR
PROTECTION!
The National Park Service has failed to
keep pace with
burgeoning pressures from increased
visitation, overdevelopment,
motorized use, and air and
water pollution. Consequently, plant
and wildlife
species are disappearing, the environment of these
natural retreats is endangered, important museum artifacts
are
not being preserved and irreplaceable historic
structures are
crumbling.
Congress annually increases funding for the Parks Service,
but it has not kept pace with the increases in costs.
The
cost of upkeep for these important national parks
exceeds their
budget by over $600,000 each year. Simply
put, unless the parks
receive greater support, our
national parks will continue to
fall into disrepair!
Americans for National Parks
is encouraging Congress and the
administration to
address the full needs of the National Park
System. And
they need your help.
Sign this
free petition and help protect the National Park System
for future generations to enjoy!
Click Here! http://www.care2.com/go/redirect/2/3806
2. UPHOLD THE ROADLESS
CONSERVATION RULE
Last year the Bush Administration
promised to uphold one of the
most significant forest
conservation measures in decades. Known
as the Roadless
Area Conservation Rule, this policy would
protect 58.5
million acres of undeveloped national forest land
from
logging, mining, and drilling.
Among the benefits of the Conservation Rule are clean
drinking
water for 60 million Americans; protection of
critical habitat
for more than 1,600 threatened
wildlife; and unlimited recreation
for hikers, hunters,
and anglers.
The Bush
Administration, despite its promise to uphold the rule,
continues to put core protections in jeopardy through a
litany
of obscure rollbacks which will:
**Abolish requirements to conduct
environmental and public
reviews before logging,
mining, and drilling can begin in
protected areas;
**Exclude more than a dozen of
America's most magnificent
national forests from
critical protection;
**Eliminate a moratorium on logging, mining, and drilling
in
areas of national forests critical to wildlife
habitat
protection.
Urge the Bush Administration to keep its promise and
protect
America's last wild forests. Please sign this
Free letter to
President Bush.
Click Here: http://www.care2.com/go/redirect/2/3809
3. ACTIVIST TIPS
** Leave Nothing Behind! When spending time in nature, it
is
important to pack out everything that you pack in.
Even
an apple core can sensitize wildlife to the human
scent in
an unfavorable way.
** Catch and Release: If you are a
fisherman, throw the fish
back! You don't have to take
them home for people to believe
that you caught a 12
pounder! That way, fish resources are
not unnecessarily
depleted.
4. INSPIRATIONAL
QUOTE:
"In the end, our society will be defined not
only by what we
create, but by what we refuse to
destroy."
--John C. Sawhill, The Nature
Conservancy
Greenpeace Activist News, Vol. 2, No. 2
3 April 2002
In this issue, the crucial Convention on Biodiversity (CBD)
meeting in The Hague, Netherlands, a joint action alert with Amnesty
International, nukes in Europe, the Japanese fisheries agency targets endangered
whales, help stop seed contamination, world leaders prepare for the World Summit
on Sustainable Development, and the Greenpeace Cybercentre has been retuned.
SAVE OR DELETE?
Every two seconds an area of ancient forest the size of a
soccer pitch is destroyed. These forests are home to tigers, forest elephants,
gorillas, bears and jaguars. They are a source of livelihood for traditional
communities and indigenous cultures. Yet these ancient forests are being
destroyed to make furniture, plywood and toilet paper.
Next week, governments from
around the world will meet at a United Nations meeting in The Hague to decide
the fate of these forests. This is a last chance for forests and a last chance
for world governments to make the right choice and SAVE the world's remaining
ancient forests.
Take action
today and tell your head of government to save ancient forests and the creatures
and people that depend on them:
http://act.greenpeace.org/aas/e?a=cbd1&s=fst
You can also send e-cards to your
friends. Show them what forest animals really think of ancient forest
destruction:
http://act.greenpeace.org/ecs/s2?i=376&sk=std&la=en
To read more about the
Greenpeace forest campaign, including ship diaries, please visit:
http://www.greenpeace.org/saveordelete
Coming next week to the
saveordelete site - a new forest flash E-card, find out what bureaucrats really
do at international political meetings, send a personal message to your
delegation and continuing coverage of Greenpeace's efforts to keep ancient
forest destruction out of Europe and activities in the ancient forests.
FREE GRIGORY PASKO
Grigory Pasko is a Russian
environmental journalist who exposed the dumping of radioactive waste in the Sea
of Japan. For his courageous actions to protect the environment he has been
sentenced to four years in a high security prison. Greenpeace and Amnesty
International have launched a joint cyberaction in his support. Please write to
President Putin asking him to free Grigory Pasko from the action alert we have
set up at:
http://act.greenpeace.org/aas/e?a=pasko&s=blue2s
DIRTY ENERGY COMMISSIONER
Loyola de Palacio is the
European Commission's Energy Commissioner and Vice President and she has a major
problem. She cannot decide whether to serve the interests of the European public
or to serve the interests of big dirty energy companies - especially the nuclear
industry.
Greenpeace has
prepared two letters and asked De Palacio to sign one. In the first, De Palacio
would drop her support for dirty energy and support clean, renewable energy
sources such as wind and solar instead. In the second letter, De Palacio would
resign her position in favour of a candidate that supports the clean energy
preferences of the European public.
If you are a European resident, please send a message to De
Palacio asking her to sign one of these letters.
You can find the action alert and links to the two letters
here:
http://act.greenpeace.org/ams/e?a=eu_energy&s=blue2
FISHERIES AGENCY TARGETS
ENDANGERED WHALES
The
Fisheries Agency of Japan intends to further escalate its whaling activities by
targeting a new species - sei whales - in the North Pacific. Sei whales in the
North Pacific were heavily exploited in the last century and are now classified
as an endangered species by the International Union for the Conservation of
Nature. The Fisheries Agency is also planning to take a further 50 minke whales
as part of this so-called 'scientific' programme.
Please write to Hiroyuki Kinoshita, the Director-General of
the Fisheries Agency of Japan, and ask him to halt this so-called "scientific"
whaling program from:
http://act.greenpeace.org/ams/e?a=faj&s=whl
Please visit
http://whales.greenpeace.org/act.html
to find more things you can do to
oppose the pro-whaling campaign of the Fisheries Agency of Japan, including
sending whale e-cards to your friends and colleagues.
STOP SEED CONTAMINATION
Genetic contamination poses an
unacceptable risk to the environment. Yet proposed new European legislation
would legalise genetic contamination, instead of preventing it. The new
directive would allow 0.3 to 0.7 percent genetically modified contamination of
conventional seeds. Please write the EU commissioners and tell them there must
be "zero tolerance" for genetically modified contamination. You can send your
letter from:
http://act.greenpeace.org/ams/e?a=eu_seeds&s=blue2
JOHANNESBURG EARTH SUMMIT
A global war is raging against
the planet, where nature and people are the victims. At this year's Earth Summit
in Johannesburg, South Africa (26 August - 4 September), Greenpeace will make
sure that world governments don't get away with ignoring their commitments to
the environment. In the lead up to the summit, Greenpeace is taking action
globally to highlight what governments need to do, click here to find out more.
http://www.greenpeace.org/earthsummit/index.html
CYBERCENTRE UPGRADE
At the end of December, we put the
sign-up form for cyberactivists on the front page of http://greenpeace.org.
As a result, we are now
signing up 400 new cyberactivists a day. This is wonderful, but it put a
tremendous burden on our Cybercentre and it often became unbearably slow.
We have recently made a number of
changes to make the Cybercentre much faster. The most recent was to install a
new database server so that the Cybercentre now runs across three different
computers.
Please take a few
moments to visit the newly improved Cybercentre and take part in the
discussions.
Any new software
may introduce new bugs, so if you have noticed any problems, you can report tham
at:
http://act.greenpeace.org/1017250066
VISIT THE CYBERCENTRE
Please don't forget to visit the
Greenpeace Cyberactivist Community at:
http://act.greenpeace.org
Rainforest Action Network - Monthly Email Newsletter
April 2002
Welcome! Thank you for
being a partner in Rainforest Action Network's
campaigns. Read on to get the latest news and
learn how you can help
save the world's rainforests.
In this post:
1. Turning Point
in Old Growth Campaign
2. Tree Free
Paper Campaign Day of Action: April 4th
3. Citigroup Shareholders Call for Board
to Preserve Old Growth
_________________________________________________________________
Turning Point in Old Growth
Campaign
Modern society no
longer supports such barbaric practices as killing
elephants for ivory or hunting whales to extinction. Now,
we may be on
verge of ending another outdated practice
logging and trading wood
products from magnificent old
growth forests.
Last year,
Rainforest Action Network began a dialogue with customers of
logging giant Boise Cascade, now renamed "Boise". The May
28, 2002,
Associated Press and New York Times articles
(below) outline how several
Boise customers have since
severed ties with the company. Under pressure
for its
controversial operations, Boise has altered its public
positioning on the old growth issue. This is a notable
departure from
Boise's previous statements, but as the
company readily admits, will
result in little change on
the ground.
Sustainable
logging and old growth forest protection is within reach.
We will continue our public campaign against Boise until
the company:
- Extends its old
growth ban to its international distribution
operations.
- Eliminates logging
on U.S. public lands.
- Ends genetic engineering and
planting genetically modified trees.
- Adopts
responsible logging practices monitored by the Forest
Stewardship Council (FSC), including implementing a chain
of custody
linking forest and paper products to
sustainable logging on the ground.
Read the articles and learn more:
NY Times Article
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/27/national/27TIMB.html
Associated Press
http://www.ran.org/news/newsitem.php?id=500&area=home
RAN's Statement on Boise
Policy
http://www.ran.org/news/newsitem.php?id=493
_______________________________________________________________
Tree
Free Paper Campaign Day of Action: Tomorrow April 4th
National Event Calls for Schools
to Stop Buying Forest Destruction
Students from all over the nation are gearing up to take
part in this
year's Tree Free Paper Campaign Day of
Action. Schools across the
country will be organizing
to encourage their administrations to make
the
transition to use ecologically sound paper, and cancel contracts
with Boise Office Solutions.
Boise is not only one of the nation's largest suppliers of
paper to
college campuses, but also one of the world's
most destructive logging
companies. Boise is a top
logger of old growth forests on U.S. public
lands,
imports ancient forest products from Brazil, Chile, Russia and
Canada, and continually seeks new forests to exploit.
Several schools, including Indiana
University, the University of North
Carolina and
Maine's College of the Atlantic, will celebrate their
recent decision to kick companies like Boise off their
campuses and
switch to 100% post consumer,
chlorine-free recycled paper.
Because of our nation's senseless waste of paper, companies
like Boise
reap huge profits while thousand year old
trees die every day. But
because Boise needs customers
to survive, we have the power and the
responsibility to
stop their destructive logging!
Two years ago, Rainforest Action Network, American Lands
Alliance, Free
the Planet, Student environment action
Coalition, ReThink Paper,
National Forest Protection
Alliance, and Forest Ethics joined forces to
support
students across America in their work to drive Boise and other
old growth predators off our nation's campuses. Many more
school
administrators across the country are heeding
the call, and beginning to
act.
Join in solidarity with others
around the nation as we tell Boise: STOP
LOGGING OLD
GROWTH FORESTS!!
Send a clear
message to Boise tomorrow, a national day of action:
http://action.ran.org/action_center.jsp
To take part in more, contact
Martin Stephan (mstephan@ran.org).
___________________________________________________________________
Momentum Builds in Citi
Campaign
Citigroup shareholders call for board to preserve old
growth forests and
address climate change.
The U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission recently rejected a request
by
Citigroup (Citi) to omit from its proxy statement a shareholders
resolution proposing that Citigroup's Board of Directors
issue a report
that reflects its economic and
environmental commitment to confronting
climate change.
This is the first time shareholders of a financial
company have filed a resolution addressing climate change.
The resolution expresses
shareholders' concern that Citigroup's (Citi)
continued
funding of environmentally and socially destructive fossil
fuel projects around the world poses a risk to the
company's business
and reputation. Citigroup has come
under increasingly intense criticism
for failing to
join European Bank ABN/AMRO in instituting a policy that
prohibits investments that degrade primary forests.
Citi is currently one of the
world's top funders of fossil fuel and
logging
industries, both of which play central roles in the global
warming crisis. According to Bloomberg
Analytics, Citi's loans and
corporate bond underwriting
secured its position as the number one
financier of
both the coal industry and the fossil fuel industry in the
year 2001. Citi's investments in fossil fuels
require financial
relationships in politically unstable
and biodiverse forest regions
including Peru, Ecuador,
Venezuela, Chad and Indonesia. Fearing loss of
their lives and livelihoods, local and indigenous groups
are resisting
many of the projects, such as the Camisea
Gas Project in Peru and the
Chad-Cameroon pipeline.
Specifically, the resolution
requests that the report include:
· A publicly
available audit of the carbon liability of Citi's
projects.
· A feasibility study
and timeline for replacing projects that endanger
ecosystems and negatively impact resident indigenous people
with
projects that advance renewable energy and
sustainable development
· An itemization of the
replacement projects
In its
request to the SEC, Citi claims that the proposal should be
omitted based on Rule 14a-8(I)(7) - that it falls within
the description
of ordinary business and, "aims to
micro-manage" the financial giant's
risk evaluation
process. Citi maintains that the proposal allows
shareholders to probe too deeply into complex matters about
which they
are not in a position to make an informed
judgement.
Citi has
recommended the board reject the proposal, claiming that the
process would be burdensome and would add little benefit to
existing
practices. According to Citi a
carbon audit would be complex and
prohibitively
expensive. Citi also denies that it has the power to stop
or replace environmentally and socially destructive
projects it funds.
European
banks have already begun to put policies in place to address
the global warming crisis. Dutch bank ABN/AMRO
instituted a policy last
October that prohibits the
financing of extractive industries and
projects that
clear or degrade old growth forests. This is a major
first step toward shifting the world's financial sector
toward
ecological sustainability. The policy
addresses all industries that
clear or degrade old
growth forests, helping to prevent large-scale
forest
fires and the devastation of local communities.
Citi is the target of an ongoing international campaign to
transform the
funding practices of the corporate
financial system. Through lending,
underwriting, mutual
funds and funding government polities, Citi profits
from projects that destroy fragile ecosystems, violate
human rights and
displace communities.
The campaign is calling on Citi to
join Europe's top banks in
instituting policies that
protect the world's remaining old growth
forests. The campaign has included hundreds of
demonstrations, a
boycott of Citibank credit cards and
non-violent direct actions.
Global warming is one of the most significant environmental
problems
facing the planet. The
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC), a
United Nations panel of 2,000 of the world's top climate
scientists, agree that human activities are changing the
climate. In
1998 alone, the hottest year in
the last 1,200 years, "extreme weather"
events killed
an estimated 32,000 people, displaced 300 million people,
and caused $89 billion in damages.
The world's forests, which act as
giant reservoirs of carbon, are the
planet's only
natural line of defense against global warming. Only 22
percent of the Earth's original great forests remain
intact. These old
growth forests are home to over 50
percent of the planet's plant and
animal species and
three-quarters of the world's traditional indigenous
peoples. As the world's forests are destroyed,
vast amounts of carbon
are released into the air and
the planet's ability to absorb carbon
disappears.
Send an email through our action
center at the link below.
http://action.ran.org/action_center.jsp
If you
are a Citi stockholder, write your fund manager or send us your
proxy. Contact Michael Brune (mbrune@ran.org) or
Ilyse Hogue
(ihogue@ran.org) or call 415-398-4404.
__________________________________________________________________
Support these dynamic
campaigns. Donate to Rainforest Action Network.
https://action.ran.org/donate.jsp
*****
AOL links:
<a href="www.ran.org
">RAN's website</a>
<a
href="http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/27/national/27TIMB.html">NYTimes</a>
<a href=" http://www.ran.org/news/newsitem.php?id=500&area=home">
AP
article</a>
<a
href=" http://www.ran.org/news/newsitem.php?id=493">RAN
statement</a>
<a href=" http://action.ran.org/action_center.jsp"> action
center</a>
<a href="
https://action.ran.org/donate.jsp"> donate</a>
*******
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Rainforest Action Network
221 Pine
Street, Suite 500
San Francisco, CA 94104
tel: 415-398-4404
fax:
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URL: http://www.ran.org/
| OIL AND WILDLIFE DON'T MIX: Scientists contradict claims by Norton on Arctic drilling |
| FAILING GRADES: How the Senate energy bill fails to secure a new energy future |
| ONE SWEET WHIRLED: Eat ice cream, fight global warming |
| THREAT TO
WOLVES: Feds ready to end
endangered species protections |
| SHOOTING FISH IN A BARREL: Developers on rampage against endangered species |
| ANCIENT FORESTS: Defenders fights to stop shipments of Amazon mahogany |
| SUCCESS STORIES: Apache tribe welcomes El Lobo |
| ADOPT AN ANIMAL: Help save wildlife for Mother's Day |
| 1. OIL AND WILDLIFE DON'T MIX:
Scientists contradict claims by Norton on Arctic drilling
Caribou, musk oxen, snow geese and polar bears would
all be seriously threatened by oil drilling in the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge, according to a new report by scientists at the U.S.
Geological Survey. That contradicts claims by Interior Secretary Gale
Norton and other Big Oil allies. The report, based on 12 years of
research, was only released by Norton, who oversees the USGS, after it
leaked to the news media and senators demanded to see it. Not pleased by
the report's findings, the administration now is telling USGS to redo the
study. 2. FAILING GRADES: How the Senate energy bill fails to secure a new energy future
3. ONE SWEET WHIRLED: Eat ice cream, fight global warming The Dave Matthews Band and Ben & Jerry's are teaming up with a coalition of environmental groups including Defenders of Wildlife to fight global warming. Help us let the world know about the incredibly simple, do-able changes we all can make in our lives to help. Drive your car just a little less, set your thermostat just a few degrees lower in the winter, recycle a little garbage -- these are just a few of the things you can do to reduce your personal production of carbon dioxide, a main cause of global warming. Ben & Jerry's is making a new flavor ice cream called One Sweet Whirled, and part of every sale will go to support the fight against global warming. The inspiration for the name came from the Dave Matthews Band's environmental hit single, "One Sweet World." To take the pledge to reduce your personal carbon dioxide emissions and to send a message to Congress, visit http://www.Onesweetwhirled.org 4. THREAT TO WOLVES: Feds ready to end endangered species protections
5. SHOOTING FISH IN A BARREL: Developers on rampage against endangered species Thanks to Secretary
Norton, real-estate developers appear to be 6. ANCIENT FORESTS: Defenders fights to stop shipments of Amazon mahogany Defenders of Wildlife is demanding that the U.S. government stop shipments of mahogany that have just arrived from the Brazilian Amazon at ports from Baltimore to Houston. Defenders believes that the mahogany, worth more than $10 million, was logged in violation of laws protecting the rapidly disappearing Amazon rainforest. Known as "green gold," mahogany is made into luxury products that are sold to the wealthy around the globe. But the ruthless logging of these magnificent trees is leading to the destruction of precious forests that are critical to the survival of wildlife such as the jaguar. 7. SUCCESS STORIES: Apache tribe welcomes El Lobo There's good news for our efforts to restore endangered Mexican gray wolves to the Southwest. White Mountain Apaches have agreed to let as many as six packs of wolves roam over 1.5 million acres of tribe land. "The reservation provides a much-needed sanctuary for wolves that are having a difficult time surviving," said Craig Miller, regional director of Defenders of Wildlife. "Humans are shooting these wolves. The reservation has far fewer humans and fewer chances for conflict." El Lobo once roamed freely through the oak woodlands, mountain forests, grasslands and shrublands of Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Mexico. But today, it's the rarest subspecies of the gray wolf in North America, and its recovery is a top priority of conservationists worldwide. 8. ADOPT AN ANIMAL: Help save wildlife for Mother's Day
GREAT TRAVEL BENEFIT! Defenders'
Platinum Plus Visa(R) credit card allows you to fly worldwide on major
U.S. airlines with NO BLACKOUT DATES. Everyday shopping earns you Plus
Rewards Miles. Earn 1 Mile for each $1 in purchases. With each purchase
made with the card, MBNA will make a contribution to Defenders of
Wildlife, at no extra cost to you. As a thank you, you'll receive a
Defenders of Wildlife floppy hat after making qualifying transaction(s)
totaling at least $25 (see application for details by clinking on the link
below). You can select one of 11 exciting images to grace your card. http://www.applyonlinenow.com/emus/MS69-A0000001AD/index.html for information about the terms and costs of the cards or to apply online. Please mention priority code M269. JAVA IN THE SHADE An easy way to help save wildlife is to drink
shade-grown coffee.
DENlines is a bi-weekly update of Defenders of
Wildlife, a leading national conservation organization recognized as one
of the nation's most progressive advocates for wildlife and its habitat.
It is known for its effective leadership on endangered species issues,
particularly predators such as brown bears and gray wolves. Defenders also
advocates new approaches to wildlife conservation that protect species
before they become endangered. Founded in 1947, Defenders is a nonprofit
501(c)(3) organization with more than 480,000 members and supporters. To
unsubscribe, send an e-mail to denlines@defenders.org and put
the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line. Defenders of Wildlife Copyright Defenders of Wildlife 2002 |
To: All Activists
From: Steve
Holmer & Faith Campbell, Ph.D.
Date: April 4, 2002
Subject: Sudden Oak Death
Comments Needed by April 14
American Lands has drafted a sample comment letter to APHIS
concerning
new regulations on Sudden Oak Death, which
is threatening forests on the
West Coast and that has
the potential to devastate forests in other
regions as
well. If you would like to sign on your organization to this
letter, please contact Faith Campbell,
mailto:phytodoer@aol.com by April
11. Individual activists can cut an paste
the letter and email it to
APHIS by clicking the
weblink listed below. Thanks.
Comments can be sent via U.S. Mail: send four copies (an
original and
three copies) to: Docket No. 01-054-1,
Regulatory Analysis and
Development, PPD, APHIS,
Station 3C71, 4700 River Road Unit 118,
Riverdale, MD
20737-1238. Please state that our comment refers to Docket
No. 01-054-1.
Or electronically: visit http://comments.aphis.usda.gov and follow the
instructions.
Deadline: 14 April, 2002
______________________________________________________
RE: Docket No. 01-054-1.
Dear APHIS,
American Lands Alliance (American Lands) appreciates this
opportunity to
comment on the USDA Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service (APHIS)'
interim regulation
restricting movement of plants and other materials
that
might transmit the Sudden Oak Death pathogen (Phytophthora
ramorum). Preventing the spread of this highly damaging
pathogen
throughout the United States is of the highest
importance to protect
both natural and horticultural
resources.
We
understand that an unusually wide variety of plant types found in
eight families are known to be vulnerable to Phytophthora
ramorum.
These include several oaks in the
family Fagaceae; rhododendrons and
azaleas, at least
one species of huckleberry (Vaccinium ovatum),
manzanita (Arctostaphylos manzanita), and madrone (Arbutus
menziesii),
all in the family Ericaceae; California
buckeye (Aesculus californica)
in the family
Hippocastanaceae; bay laurel (Umbellularia californica) in
the family Lauraceae; California coffeeberry (Rhamnus
californica) in
the family Rhamnaceae; Toyon
(Heteromeles arbutifolia) in the family
Rosaceae;
California honeysuckle (Lonicera hispidula) and Viburnum x
bondnantense in the family Caprifoliaceae; and Bigleaf
maple (Acer
macrophyllum) in the family
Aceraceae. Species in these families
constitute important components of forest ecosystems across
the
continent.
Additional species have been shown to be vulnerable in
laboratory tests,
although we understand that APHIS
awaits confirmation as to whether
these species might
become infested in "natural" conditions. Among the
species shown by initial laboratory screening to be
potentially
vulnerable to the SOD pathogen are northern
red oaks and pin oaks —
trees which occupy a combined
range stretching from northern Texas to
Nova
Scotia. It is likely that even more species might also prove
vulnerable to Phytophthora
ramorum. Our natural and agricultural
systems deserve the strongest possible protection from this
pathogen,
which we believe poses a risk of truly
catastrophic proportions.
The
pathogen has already proved its ability to move significant
distances by unknown pathways: it has been confirmed as
present in both
Europe and the Western United States;
it was found in Curry County,
Oregon, which is 500
miles or more from the center of infestation in
California; and preliminary data indicate that it is also
present in
Placer County, California, across the
Central Valley from the coastal
counties where the
principal infestation is found. Given this history,
and the high levels of damage that the pathogen is known to
cause, it is
essential that all possible pathways be
interdicted.
For these
reasons, American Lands welcomes the agency's action in
imposing restrictions on the movement of potentially
infested material.
We concur that APHIS should have the
flexibility quickly to add new host
species or new
geographic regions when it learns they pose a risk.
Unfortunately, however, the
interim regulation falls short of assuring
the
appropriate level of protection for the wild flora of the United
States.
The principal weakness is the absence of any reference to
the risk that
infested material might be imported from
Europe, where the disease is
also
found. Current regulations read as follows:
Sec. 319.37-8 Growing
media.
(e) (2) (ix) For Rhododendron species only, the
plants must be
propagated from mother plants that have
been visually inspected by an
APHIS inspector or an
inspector of the plant protection service of the
exporting country and found free of evidence of diseases
caused by the
following pathogens: Chrysomyxa ledi var.
rhododendri, Erysiphe
cruciferarum, Erysiphe
rhododendri, Exobasidium vaccinnum and vaccinum
var.
japonicum, and Phomopsis theae;
Since the enumerated disease pathogens do not
includePhytophthora
ramorum, APHIS inspectors operating
pursuant to the current regulations
lack authority to
reject plants for shipment that show symptoms of SOD
during pre-shipment inspection. APHIS inspectors
also lack authority to
prohibit all exports to the
United States from nurseries found to
contain plants
infested with Phytophthora ramorum While it is true
that APHIS inspectors at U.S. ports can seize shipments if
they detect
Phytophthora ramorum, American Lands
considers port-of-entry inspections
inadequate because
of the widely acknowledge difficulty in detecting
pathogens during such inspections. Consequently,
we conclude that
current regulations do not provide an
adequate level of protection to
prevent introduction to
additional parts of the United States of Sudden
Oak
Death vectored by imports of rhododendrons, azaleas, or other plants
from Europe. American Lands urges APHIS to amend
the interim regulation
to apply to host plants shipped
from Europe the same safeguards as it
now applies to
nurseries in California.
According to the Foreign Agriculture Service, Americans
imported more
than $220 million worth of plants and
bulbs from Germany and the
Netherlands in 2001; we do
not know how many of these imports were
rhododendrons
and azaleas. While a quarantine on movement of potentially
infested material from California and Oregon is absolutely
essential,
regulations are rendered almost ineffective
in the absence of similar
restrictions on imports from
Europe.
A second major
weakness concerns the treatment of materials that might
be vectors of Phytophthora ramorum, but the science is not
yet
definitive. Examples of such possible
but unproven vectors include soil
and certain plant
species that have been infected through laboratory
experiments but have not yet been observed as hosts in more
natural
settings.
At least some experts on risk assessment and management
procedures,
e.g., the Royal Society of Canada, contend
that when the hazard is
catastrophic in magnitude, even
extremely low probabilities of
occurrence are not
acceptable [see The Royal Society of Canada 2001.
Elements of Precaution: Recommendations for the Regulation
of Food
Biotechnology in Canada An Expert Panel Report
on the Future of Food
Biotechnology January
2001]. We argue that, under these circumstances,
in which the potential harm to the environment is
irreversible,
irremediable, and catastrophic, it is
obligatory to prohibit the
movement of any potential
vector of the pathogen while pursuing
scientific
studies to clarify which vectors are actually utilized by the
organism. It is true that this "guilty
until proven innocent" approach
might prevent
interstate movement of some commodity unnecessarily --
that is, further study might later determine that the
suspect commodity
is not a vector. However,
it is preferable, in these circumstances, to
risk such
an erroneous -- though temporary -- loss of the potential
benefit from the movement of the greens, plants, or soil in
order to
avoid the potential harm that would be caused
by spreading the SOD
pathogen to new parts of the
country.
At present, the
pathways by which the SOD pathogen is transmitted have
not yet been fully identified. However, it
appears likely that the
pathogen could be transported
in soil or on plants, stems, or leaves.
Under the appropriately stringent safeguards outlined
above, it is
crucial to regulate movement of these and
any other potentially infested
materials.
However, the interim regulation
falls short in several respects.
We understand that scientists do not yet know whether this
Phytophthora
can be transmitted in soil (as can many
other Phytophthora species).
However, the consequences
of introduction of this pathogen to a new area
are so
severe that APHIS must seek the highest possible level of
protection. Any other course exposes the rest of
the country to an
unacceptable risk.
The interim regulations do not
seek the highest possible level of
protection,
however. Instead, they exempt from treatment soil that has
not been in direct physical contact with any article
infected with the
pathogen. American Lands
believes that APHIS will find it cannot ensure
that
this exemption does not become a broad loophole through which
infested soil is moved. Instead, APHIS should
require that all
shipments of soil from the affected
counties be heated to a temperature
of at least 180
degrees F for 30 minutes in the presence of an
inspector.
We learned during the public hearing on 27 March 2002 that
APHIS may no
longer be enforcing this section of the
interim regulations, although
the agency has not yet
amended the regulation itself. According to the
Frequently Asked Questions document, 2nd Edition - March
27, 2002,
distributed at that meeting, soil may be
moved out of quarantined areas
if it is free of
duff. In other words, APHIS is no longer regulating
the movement of soil per se. American Lands
considers this to be
unwise; movement of soil should be
regulated until scientists
demonstrate that
Phytophthora ramorum cannot be transmitted by this
potential vector.
APHIS has taken a similar stance with regard to various
plant species
that might harbor the
pathogen. Scientists employing invasive
laboratory techniques have successfully infected several
plant species,
including pin and northern red
oak. To date, these plants have not been
observed to be infected through more "natural"
exposure. Some redwood
seedlings or root
sprouts have also tested positive for the pathogen.
APHIS is awaiting more data before deciding whether to list
these
species as hosts; as a consequence, it is not
regulating movement of
either plants or greens
belonging to these species. American Lands
believes APHIS should recognize that two questions are at
play here.
The question of greatest
relevance to implementation of a quarantine
program is
whether these plant species could harbor the disease, thus
serving as vectors for its spread. The second
question concerns the
level of damage that the pathogen
could cause to naturally occurring or
horticultural
populations of these plant species. This second question
is important in determining the hazard level, but it is
separate from
the question of
vectors. American Lands is cognizant of the flexibility
APHIS enjoys under the regulations quickly to designate new
regulated
hosts. Nevertheless, we believe
that failure to include putative hosts
immediately
exposes the rest of the country to great danger. American
Lands asks APHIS to regulate shipments of redwood greens as
well as
nursery stock of redwoods and pin and northern
red oak until scientists
demonstrate that Phytophthora
ramorum cannot be transmitted by this
potential vector.
American Lands is concerned
about the provision allowing businesses that
ship
greens or firewood to "self-certify" that their materials have
been treated. Huge quantities of foliage
products -- wreathes, etc. --
are shipped in the
interstate floral trade from California and Oregon
each
year. In 2000, this amounted to 177 tons of foliage. Such
shipments often include branches of both known and
possible vector
plants such as tanoak, huckleberry and
madrone. American Lands is not
convinced
that "self-certification" by commercial entities shipping
these goods will ensure adequate protection.
More than $6 million worth of
rhododendrons and other plants are also
shipped from
nurseries in the affected region. American Lands strongly
supports the requirement in the regulation that such plants
be inspected
both in the nursery and prior to
shipment. We oppose any suggestion
that the
agency amend the regulation to allow self-certification for
shipments of plants.
Thank you for considering our views. We look
forward to working with
APHIS to minimize the threat
exotic species pose to our nation's biota.
Sincerely yours,
Faith Thompson Campbell, Ph.D.
Invasive Species Program
American
Lands Alliance
mailto:phytodoer@aol.com
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
News Release:
Thursday, April 4th, 2002
Still More on the Mexican GM Maize
Scandal:
Conquering
Nature! ...and Sidestepping the Debate over Biotech and
Biodiversity
Nature magazine's flip-flop today over the testing
protocols involved in determining GM maize contamination in Mexico - the Centre
of Genetic Diversity for the vital food crop - is just the latest in
a string of absurdities as the scientific community struggles over
what to do as genetically-modified germplasm invades the genetic
homelands of the world's food supply.
De-naturing Nature: Nature magazine - arguably
one of the world's most influential peer-reviewed science publications - in an
editorial note today, states that contrary to its report of November 29th, 2001,
"...the evidence available is not sufficient to justify the publication of the
original paper." In other words, farmers' fields in Oaxaca and Puebla
have not proven to be contaminated with GM maize. The current issue
of Nature contains two articles by scientists refuting the original
contamination claims and a reply from the two scientists who authored the
original peer-reviewed report. David Quist and Ignacio Chapela of the
University of California at Berkeley stand by their study and add that other
studies by the Mexican Government confirm their findings.
Blind-siding
Biodiversity: Nature's double take couldn't have come at a better
time for the biotech industry. Next Monday, more than 150 governments
and equal numbers of civil society organizations will gather in The Hague,
Netherlands for the tenth anniversary meeting of the UN Convention on Biological
Diversity (CBD - April 8 - 26). A moratorium on Terminator
technology, the protection of forests, and discussions around a just-completed
treaty on plant genetic resources are all on the agenda. The case of GM
contamination in Mexico was bound to be on the minds of many
delegations. The final week of meetings is set aside to review
progress on the Cartagena Biosafety Protocol adopted two years
ago. The elements of that protocol and its crucial Precautionary
Principle would bring the Mexican scandal to the fore as well. "If
the CBD can't act on the Mexican situation, if governments cannot agree that the
Precautionary Principle
applies in this case," says
Silvia Ribeiro of ETC, "then there is little hope that this ten-year old
Convention serves any useful purpose." Nature's editorial could have
the effect of de-fusing and confusing governmental
concern.
Withholding Evidence? The scientific battle
raging since at least last September has been over the efficacy of the testing
processes. There has been almost no substantive discussion of the
likelihood or the implications of GM contamination. In fact, most
maize scientists agree that contamination is highly likely and
inevitable given the breeding habits of the crop.
Meanwhile, Mexican farmers and
other civil society organizations are impatiently awaiting two overdue new
reports on the situation commissioned by the Mexican Government. It
now appears that political pressure is being applied within the Government to
delay publication until after the international conference in The Hague.
Although the Secretary of Environment of Mexico, through its Institute of
Ecology (INE) contracted two institutions to undertake new tests, the results
have been excessively delayed. According to CSOs in Mexico City, the
testing done to date all confirms the original Berkeley study.
Precautionary
Practices: Civil Society Organizations gathered at the World Social
Forum in Brazil wrote on February 6th to both the Consultative Group on
International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and to the UN Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) asking them to take action with respect to Mexican maize
contamination. The CGIAR's flagship institute, the International Maize and Wheat
Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) is just outside Mexico City and is deeply embroiled
in the transgenic contamination debate.
In
a reply dated February 13th, CGIAR expressed concern but declined to take any
specific steps. The global network of public research institutes is
partly funded by the U.S. Government and is negotiating a number of technology
licensing agreements with the biotech industry. "One official told us
that the issue was just too hot politically for the CGIAR to get involved," Pat
Mooney of ETC group notes.
FAO
has been more forthcoming. In a letter dated March 22nd, FAO
acknowledged that the situation was serious and reported that the UN
agency - in contrast to CGIAR - has requested CIMMYT to investigate
the implications for genetic diversity in Mexico and any possible consequences
for CIMMYT's maize gene bank. The world's most important
international maize collection is held in trust by CIMMYT under the auspices of
FAO. FAO expects CIMMYT to report on the situation when its
intergovernmental commission meets in Rome this October. Further, FAO
is developing a Code of Conduct on Biotechnology and the issues of GM
contamination in Centres of Crop Genetic Diversity will now be part of the
agenda.
Biodiversity's Bottom
line: "The whole debate in Nature is an obfuscation of the real
issue," Hope Shand of ETC group says, "Maize breeders and geneticists all know
that GM introgression with traditional farmers' maize varieties in Mexico is
inevitable and most are convinced that it has already taken
place. Whatever the status of the various studies, the reality is
that a Centre of Crop Genetic Diversity has been contaminated and no one is
doing anything about it. We realize that some scientists do not
consider the contamination to be a problem. We
disagree. Regardless, we all agree - even CIMMYT - that rigorous
study of the implications is needed. In the meantime however, there must be a
complete moratorium. The CGIAR should stop stalling and get with the
programme!"
For further information:
Pat Roy
Mooney: etc@etcgroup.org (204) 453-5259 CST - Winnipeg
Hope
Shand: hope@etcgroup.org (919) 960-5223 EST - North Carolina
Silvia
Ribeiro: silvia@etcgroup.org (52) 5555-63-26-64 CST - Mexico
City
The Action Group on
Erosion, Technology and Concentration, formerly RAFI, is an international civil
society organization headquartered in Canada. The ETC group is dedicated to the
advancement of cultural and ecological diversity and human
rights. www.etcgroup.org
March 30 - April 4
Keeping the Positive Energy flowing!
+++ ACTION UPDATE +++
GET EDISON OUT OF BO NOK!
Irvine, CA, April 4, 2002 — Two
Greenpeace activists
were arrested today during the
second day of protests
against Edison Mission Energy’s
plans to build a coal-fired
power plant in Thailand.
The protest, which began Wednesday
morning in Irvine,
CA and continued through the night,
escalated this
morning when Greenpeace activists moved a
school bus
transformed into a massive, smoking coal power plant
to
block a portion of the employee parking lot on
Edison’s
corporate campus.
The struggle
over the proposed power plant is one
of the most
controversial political issues in Thailand.
Over the
last eight years, the people of Bo Nok, Thailand
have
told Edison and its partners that they don’t want
the
power plant. The community of Bo Nok believes it
is
time for Edison to respect their rights and withdraw
from the proposed power plant.
The Prime Minister of Thailand recently visited
the site of the proposed coal-fired power plant
in January and was met by 20,000 protestors. Under
pressure, he has promised to decide once and for
all whether or not to cancel the plants and will
announce his decision by April 13th – the Thai
new year. Members of the Los Angeles’ area Thai
community and Greenpeace supporters came out to
today’s demonstration to show solidarity with
communities in Thailand fighting Edison.
Thanks to all of you who have
already taken action, if you
haven't, please join us in
sending a message to Edison. Tell them
you want them to
abandon their plans to build a dirty,
coal-fired power
plant in Bo Nok, and instead, invest in
renewable
energy.
http://www.cleanenergynow.org/bin/takeaction.fpl?action_id=116
The "Positive Energy"
newsletter and our website,
http://www.cleanenergynow.org, will give you good
news about ways to achieve clean air, climate justice, and
renewable energy solutions to our ongoing energy
crisis.
CONTENTS:
1. Kyoto
Protocol - ratification update
http://panda.org/news/press/news.cfm?id=2835
2. Antarctic ice shelf collapse
http://panda.org/news/press/news.cfm?id=2799
3. Global warming - what can YOU do about it?
http://www.panda.org/goforkyoto/help.cfm
WWF,
ONLINE AND ON THE GROUND - AROUND THE WORLD
http://www.panda.org
==================================================
Dear climate campaigner,
Thanks to everyone who has taken
part in our Go For Kyoto
Campaign. As of 19 March, 50
countries have ratified the
Kyoto Climate Treaty which
means that we are well on the
way to seeing this
crucial treaty become international law.
Read the full update at:
http://panda.org/news/press/news.cfm?id=2835
The Campaign continues right up to
the World Summit on
Sustainable Development - if you
haven't taken part yet,
you can join now and help WWF
convince world leaders to
make the right decisions. Go
to:
http://www.panda.org/goforkyoto/
=====================================================
ANTARCTIC ICE SHELF COLLAPSE
Last month's break up of a 500 billion tonne Antarctic
ice shelf got the scientists worried. See WWF's response:
http://panda.org/news/press/news.cfm?id=2799
And read more about the ice shelf
collapse at these sites:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1880000/1880566.stm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/flash/0,5860,671405,00.html
[the Guardian site uses Flash animation, but it is
worth the wait!]
Warning signs? ENN news story from
1999:
http://www.enn.com/enn-news-archive/1999/04/040999/iceretreat_2583.asp
Other effects of global
warming can be seen in melting glaciers
and bleached
coral reefs, and in the extreme weather events that
we
experience around the world. Read more about the effects of
climate change at:
http://www.panda.org/goforkyoto/whycare.cfm
=====================================================
GLOBAL WARMING - WHAT CAN *YOU* DO TO HELP?
In your own life, make a few small
changes that will make
a great big difference. See what
you can do at:
http://www.panda.org/goforkyoto/help.cfm
Thanks for everything that you do
to help turn down
the heat!
With best wishes from,
Sarah Bladen
Online Campaign Officer
WWF
International
---
Any
questions?
Please use the enquiry facility on our
website at http://questions.panda.org/
ETC group
5 April 2002
http://www.etcgroup.org
BAN TERMINATOR BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE
A UNITED NATIONS conference in the
Hague next week offers the UN a
critical opportunity to
ban 'Terminator' seeds before they are
commercialised
in farmers' fields, warns an alliance of campaign
groups.
The ETC group, Berne Declaration and ActionAid are among
many groups
urging delegates at the UN Convention on
Biological Diversity (CBD)
'COP6' conference to heed
global opinion and ban the
commercialisation of crops
modified to produce sterile seeds - known
as 'suicide
seeds' or 'Terminator technology'.
The alliance warns CBD delegates that seed giants such as
Delta &
Pine Land intend to commercialise
terminator crops and that the
world's largest
agrochemical and seed corporations continue to work
on
and win patents on terminator technology and closely related
techniques to chemically control plant fertility and/or
seed
germination.
Terminator plants are modified to prevent farmers from
re-using
harvested seed, forcing farmers to buy new
seeds from multinationals
every year.
This is seen as immoral because
over 1.4 billion people, mainly poor
farmers in poor
countries, depend on farm-saved seeds.
Terminator has been universally condemned by civil society
groups and
farmers movements that consider it an
assault on farmers and the well
being of all rural
people; it has been banned by agricultural
research
institutes and censured by UN bodies - including Dr Jacques
Diouf, Director General of the UN Food and Agriculture
Organisation.
India, Pakistan, Ghana and Panama have
taken steps to ban terminator.
"The CBD must terminate Terminator before it's planted in
open
fields," says Hope Shand, research director for
ETC group.
"Terminator is an anti-farmer technology and
clearly isn't dead yet.
The CBD must ban it urgently in
the Hague and protect farmers' rights
and global food
security."
Monsanto and
Syngenta vowed not to commercialise terminator after
widespread public opposition. "The multinational Gene
Giants,
however, have been refining the technology and
Syngenta filed the
latest terminator patent application
on 13 September 2001," says
Francois Meienberg, from
the Berne Declaration (see their new
research at http://www.evb.ch/index.cfm?page_id=1275 ). DuPont won
its newest Terminator patent on 2 October 2001.
Civil society and farmers'
organizations dismiss arguments that
terminator has a
role to play in controlling the escape of engineered
genes from GM crops to related plants (known as 'gene
flow').
"Terminator as a biosafety tool is a spurious
argument," says Hope
Shand. "The ultimate goal of seed
sterility is neither biosafety nor
agronomic benefits,
but bioserfdom."
The groups
also urge the CBD to uphold and strengthen its moratorium
on 'Traitor technology' - 'Genetic Use Restriction
Technologies' -
which are GM crops with traits - such
as flowering, sprouting, or
immune deficiency - which
can be switched on and off by applying
special
chemicals to the plant. "Terminator and traitor crops smash
open the idea that GM crops are intended to feed the poor,"
says Alex
Wijeratna, campaign coordinator from
ActionAid.
More information:
Hope Shand, ETC group, Tel: + 919 960 5223
hope@etcgroup.org
François Meienberg, Berne
Declaration, Tel: + 41 1 277 70 04 (w) or
41 79 478 91
94 (m)
Alex Wijeratna, ActionAid, Tel: + 44 207 561
7634 (w) or 0773 649 7412 (m).
Notes to Editor:
1) COP6: The
Sixth Conference of the Parties (and 10th anniversary)
of the Convention on Biological Diversity in the Hague from
8-19
April will consider, inter alia, GM contamination,
Terminator
technology and new guidelines on access and
benefit sharing.
2) See ETC
group's new brochure on Terminator technology at
http://www.etcgroup.org/documents/terminatorbrochure02.pdf
and new
DuPont and Syngenta patents:
http://www.etcgroup.org/documents/new_termpatent_jan2002.pdf
3) See a new report by the
Executive Secretary of the CBD on the
impact of 'GURTs'
http://www.biodiv.org/doc/meetings/cop/cop-06/official/cop-06-11-add1-en.pdf
EarthNet News
... a project of the Center for
Environmental Citizenship
http://www.envirocitizen.org
----------------------------------------------------------------------
April 5, 2002
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This week in EarthNet, read about how yucky the plan
to turn Yucca
Mountain into a waste dump is. And learn
more about our oceans in a new
documentary featured
in GREEN SCREENING.
There's also a cool
opportunity for you to learn how
to cover the environmental beat in the YOU
DO section.
Or click here to find our more http://actionnetwork.org/ct/h1qAAaF1jP-j/EJA
Plus, how'd you like to organize students to change
the world
and get paid for it? Yes, you could work
for us -- the Center for
Environmental Citizenship.
Check out our JOBS section for more details.
--Zachariah Silk, EarthNet Editor
mailto:earthnet@envirocitizen.org
----------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTENT
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Shadow Congress: Yucky Yucca
2. Quote of the Week
3. You Do:
You've Got the Beat
4. Green Screening: Watching the Tide Roll Away
5.
Mercy, Mercy Me: What Fuels These Mortals Be
6. Jobs and Internships
7.
Conferences and Gatherings
8. Activist Phone Book & EarthNet News
Info
----------------------------------------------------------------------
SHADOW CONGRESS
----------------------------------------------------------------------
YUCKY YUCCA
CLICK HERE to tell your Representative to stop
nuclear
waste in its tracks.
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/y1qAAaF1jP-W/YUCCA
Secretary of Energy Abraham recently endorsed a dangerous
plan for
Nevada's Yucca Mountain. He's urging us to
turn Yucca Mountain into a
nuclear waste dump that
will threaten the health and safety of Americans
nationwide.
The problem isn't just storing this radioactive gunk
-- it's
also how we are going to get the stuff to the
dump. Approving the Yucca
Mountain storage facility
will launch the largest nuclear waste shipment
plan
ever undertaken. We're talking 100,000 shipments of
highly
irradiated nuclear waste hitting
With key votes still to come on energy
policy, Defenders of Wildlife and our allies have released a report
scolding senators for failing so far to forge a path toward a clean energy
future. The "energy report card" highlighted a number of
anti-environmental provisions in the bill now before the Senate.
"Unfortunately, the polluting industries with a financial interest in the
status quo have plundered this bill and won numerous amendments that will
lead to more drilling, more spilling, more pollution and more radioactive
waste," the report states. 
Wolves are making a comeback in the Northern Rocky
Mountains, but if Secretary Norton gets her way, that won't last long.
Norton's underlings at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have announced
that in 2003, they hope to strip gray wolves in the Rockies of their
protections under the Endangered Species Act. That would turn the fate of
these magnificent animals over to states like Idaho, where extremist
legislators already have voted to remove wolves "by whatever means
necessary." Hunting seasons on wolves could resume. "By late 2003, the
Fish and Wildlife Service could be out of it," said Ed Bangs, the agency's
wolf recovery coordinator. 
