home of the wildlife conservation environmental
and freedom activist
ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION
Alerts for June 16 - June 23, 2001
 
2nd Day - Greenpeace
Oil Rig Occupation
Indigenous Tribes
Threatened by Loggers
More Threats to Parks
by Off-Road Vehicles

Leaked Corporate Free-Trader
Direct Phone/Fax/Emails!!
LCV Weekly Environmental
Update June 19
Stumps Don't Lie

BRIDGES Weekly Trade News
Digest Vol. 5, Number 23
Green Party E-News #7 Kimi Pernia Domico Kidnapped!
Urgent Action Needed!

Stop the FTAA! Contact
Your Representative Now
Dead Coyote Walking
See this on June 26
oppose the Gravina Island
Roadless Timber sale

Support the DeFazio
Amendment on Fee Demo
ACTION ALERT! Defend
the right to protest!
Emergency Climate Alert
Japanese Prime Minister

NRDC Earth
Action Bulletin




from Greenpeace June 17, 2001
Greenpeace Oil Rig Occupation Continues Into Second Day

In response to US President George W. Bush's rejection of the Kyoto Protocol, the international treaty against global warming, Greenpeace has occupied and shut down a North Sea oil rig.

Greenpeace activists have attached a survival pod to the rig and are prepared for a long stay. In addition, they have hung an oil-drenched US flag and painted a bright yellow STOP BUSH sign on the rig.

The North Sea oil rig is owned in part by Gulf Canada which is merging with US oil giant Conoco. Conoco recently sent a letter to Greenpeace supporting President Bush and opposing the Kyoto Protocol.

The activists are posting regular audio updates on the web in MP3 and RealAudio formats.

To read the news release and listen to the audio updates, go to:

http://www.greenpeace.org/~climate/climatecountdown/

To send a letter to the top 5 US oil companies, including Conoco, go to:

http://cybercentre.greenpeace.org/t/s/ams/e?a=BigOil&s=blue2

To discuss this action or to post questions or encouragement to our activists, go to:

http://cybercentre.greenpeace.org/t/s/992782225

To view a photo gallery of recent Greenpeace actions during Bush's visit to Europe, go to:

http://www.greenpeace.org/~climate/climatecountdown/photos.htm

VISIT THE CYBERCENTRE

Please don't forget to visit the Greenpeace Cyberactivist Community at:
http://act.greenpeace.org


from Amazon Alliance June 17, 2001
************
ACTION ALERT
************

URGENT REQUEST: Please fax letters immediately to Peruvian government
officials requesting that they stop hundreds of loggers from invading the
territory of the uncontacted indigenous tribes of Madre de Dios.

June 14, 2001

From: Native Federation of Madre de Dios Rivers and Tributaries
<marinke@terra.com.pe>

Dear Friends:

In these moments, Madre de Dios is living through one of the most chaotic
moments in its history with regards to forest extraction. Hundreds of
loggers who are anxious to extract mahogany (Swetenia macrophylla) have
descended upon the forests in the north of the department, territory of the
indigenous peoples in isolation who are highly vulnerable to common
illnesses and whom we have been working to protect for many years. We have
proposed to the government that it create a territorial reserve or a
protected area for these peoples. Nevertheless, to date we have not
received any response and now with the presence of these loggers, our
indigenous brothers and sisters are facing a great risk of death.

Given the seriousness of these acts, we see the necessity to come before
you again to request your solidarity in demanding that the Peruvian state
protect the life and territory of our indigenous brothers and sisters
living in isolation, before the situation leads to tragedy.
  
Letters should be directed to the following persons:
  
Dr. Valentin Paniagua Curazao
Presidente de la Republica del Peru
Fax: 011 511 426 6770
  
Ing Carlos Amat y Leon
Ministro de Agricultura
Fax: 011 511 431 0035
  
Ing Matias Prieto Celi
Jefe del Instituto Nacional del Recursos Naturales-INRENA
Fax: 011 511 224 3218.
  
Dra. Susana Villaran de La Puente
Ministra de la Mujer
Fax: 011 511 426 3920
  
Dr. Walter Alban Peralta
Defensor del Pueblo
Fax: 011 511 426 7800
  
We have attached the letter we sent to the President of the Republic,
Valentin Paniagua Curazao, denouncing these actions. We thank you for your
continuing support in defense of the indigenous peoples of the Peruvian
Amazon.
  
Sincerely,
  
Antonio Iviche Quique
Presidente de FENAMAD

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

Puerto Maldonado, 12 de junio de 2001

Carta Nº 265- FENAMAD-2001

Doctor Valentin Paniagua Curazao
Presidente de la Republica
Palacio de Gobierno
Lima.-

Asunto: Invasion maderera en territorio de poblaciones
indigenas en aislamiento de Madre de Dios.

De mi consideracion:

Me dirijo a usted con honda preocupacion, para informarle sobre la anarquia
total que reina actualmente en el departamento de Madre de Dios, debido a
la tala indiscriminada de madera que viene siendo efectuada por madereros
que han invadido bosques no autorizados para dicha actividad, los mismos
que forman parte del territorio de las poblaciones indigenas en aislamiento
de Madre de Dios, para quienes nuestra organizacion ha solicitado al
INRENA, el establecimiento de un area protegida.

Decenas de madereros se encuentran extrayendo madera desde hace varios
meses en las cabeceras de los rios Los Amigos y Las Piedras, mientras que
el rio Tahuamanu ha empezado a ser invadido por centenares de madereros
incentivados por unos pocos madereros industriales foraneos que tras haber
contribuido a terminar con la caoba en otros departamentos amazonicos,
vienen exigiendo la concesion de extensas areas empleando la tactica de
"territorios conquistados, territorios concedidos".

Nuestra organizacion, interesada en proteger la vida de las poblaciones
indigenas en aislamiento tambien llamadas "no contactadas" que habitan en
esos bosques, ha presentado las denuncias del caso en forma reiterada a la
Unidad Operativa de INRENA- Madre de Dios y a la Policia Nacional; sin
embargo, la unica vez que dichas instituciones realizaron una inspeccion en
parte de la zona afectada, terminaron devolviendo inmediatamente la
maquinaria y herramientas decomisadas a los madereros, permitiendo asi su
reingreso inmediato.

La presencia de madereros en el territorio de las poblaciones indigenas
aisladas ha venido cobrando sus consecuencias; se han denunciado casos de
madereros desaparecidos, heridos, atacados, mientras que las poblaciones
indigenas viven en permanente estado de peligro. ¿Que esta esperando el
Estado para poner freno a esta situacion? ¿Mas muertes? ¿el genocidio de
uno de los ultimos pueblos indigenas del mundo que viven al margen de la
sociedad?.

El inicio de la estacion de seca, (abril-octubre), fecha en que los
indigenas aislados bajan a las zonas mas accesibles de sus territorios como
son los rios principales para aprovechar los recursos propios de esos
ecosistemas y de la estacion para complementar su dieta alimenticia, frente
al accionar de los madereros, constituye un peligro inminente.

En tal sentido pedimos a usted senor Presidente, poner fin de una vez por
todas a este caos total nunca antes visto en nuestro departamento y cuyo
saldo podria ser el exterminio de nuestros hermanos indigenas aislados,
aparte del grave dano ecologico que ya se esta produciendo.

Atentamente,

Cc.
Ministerio de Agricultura
INRENA
SETAI
Comision de Amazonia, Ambiente y Ecologia del Congreso
Comision de Derechos Humanos del Congreso
Defensoria del Pueblo
AIDESEP
Comision Especial Multisectorial de Comunidades Nativas 

************************************************************
Distribuido por:      Distributed by:
'AMAZON ALLIANCE' FOR INDIGENOUS AND
TRADITIONAL PEOPLES OF THE AMAZON BASIN
1367 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 400
Washington, DC 20036-1860
tel (202)785-3334
fax (202)785-3335
amazon@amazonalliance.org
http://www.amazonalliance.org

Disclaimer: All copyrights belong to original publisher.  
The Amazon Alliance has not verified the accuracy of the forwarded message.
Forwarding this message does not necessarily connote agreement with the
positions stated there-in.

Todos los derechos de autor pertenecen al autor originario.
La Alianza Amazonica no ha verificado la veracidad de este
mensaje.  Enviar este mensaje no necesariamente significa que
la Alianza Amazonica este de acuerdo con el contenido.

La Alianza Amazonica para los Pueblos Indigenas y Tradicionales de la
Cuenca Amazonica es una iniciativa nacida de la alianza entre los pueblos
indigenas y tradicionales de la Amazonia y grupos e individuos que
comparten sus preocupaciones por el futuro de la Amazonía y sus pueblos.
Las ochenta organizaciones del norte y del sur activas en la Alianza
Amazonica creen que el futuro de la Amazonia depende de sus pueblos y el
estado de su medio ambiente.

The Amazon Alliance for Indigenous and Traditional Peoples of the Amazon
Basin is an initiative born out of the partnership between indigenous and
traditional peoples of the Amazon and groups and individuals who share
their concerns for the future of the Amazon and its peoples. The eighty
non-governmental organizations from the North and South active in the
Alliance believe that the future of the Amazon depends on its peoples and
the state of their environment.


from Wilderness Society June 18, 2001
****************************
* WILD ALERT
* Monday, June 18, 2001
****************************

Dear WildAlert Subscriber,

The Bush Administration is rolling back protections that will
safeguard our National Parks from the damage caused by jet skis,
snowmobiles, and other off-road vehicles.  These actions overturn the
decisions made by the experts in the National Park Service, decisions
based on years of scientific study, public input, and the overriding
legal obligation to protect park resources from damage.  Take action
today: http://www.wilderness.org/takeaction/?step=2&item=474

PARK SERVICE PROTECTIONS
In response to increasing evidence of the damage caused by jet skis,
snowmobiles, and other off-road vehicles to our country's national
parks, the National Park Service (NPS) has been working to control or
stop the problems.  Most notably:

- YELLOWSTONE: NPS developed a balanced policy to gradually phase out
snowmobiles from Yellowstone National Park while maintaining public
access in the winter through safe, quiet, and more environmentally
friendly snow coaches.

- BIG CYPRESS: NPS has moved to protect Big Cypress National Preserve
in Florida, including the critically endangered Florida panther, by
reducing dramatically the number of swamp buggy and other off-road
vehicle routes, but still giving swamp buggies ample opportunity to
recreate there.

- JET SKIS IN OUR PARKS: NPS will completely eliminate jet ski use in
parks over the next 18 months unless local park managers conclude that
continued use will not damage resources or threaten public safety.  

- DENALI: NPS has preserved Denali's two million acre core as pristine
Wilderness since 1917.  As part of this effort, it has never allowed
snowmobile use in this region.  

BUSH ADMINISTRATION ROLL BACKS
These common-sense protections are under attack by the Bush
Administration.  In public, President Bush and Interior Secretary
Norton are talking much about the need to protect America's National
Parks.  But at the same time, the Administration is working behind the
scenes with off-road vehicle industries to effectively negate the
protections the Park Service has put in place.

In Yellowstone, the Administration is holding closed-door settlement
negotiations with the snowmobile industry which could overturn the NPS
decision to phase-out snowmobiles from the Park.  In Big Cypress, the
Administration is again negotiating behind closed doors with the swamp
buggy users, which could allow continued widespread swamp buggy use in
this Preserve.  Elsewhere, the Administration has put a stop to
efforts by local park managers to protect aquatic resources and public
safety from the threats posed by jet skis.  Finally in Denali,
following favorable talks with the Bush Administration, the snowmobile
industry is about to go to Congress to request policy changes that
would allow snowmobile use in hundreds of thousands of acres of the
Park's pristine Wilderness core.

TAKE ACTION
Send a clear message to President Bush that he should walk the talk
when it comes to protecting National Parks.  Contact your Senators
from http://www.wilderness.org/takeaction/?step=2&item=474 or ask them
directly to tell President Bush to protect our Parks from the damage
caused by off-road vehicles:

- Our National Parks are some of the last remaining places where
Americans can enjoy natural quiet and experience wild places.

- But jet skis, snowmobiles, and other off-road vehicles are
threatening these resources and values -- for instance, at
Yellowstone, Big Cypress, Denali, and across our Park system
waterways.

- The National Park Service has taken reasonable and balanced steps to
address these problems, but the Bush Administration is clearly
undermining those efforts, by quietly negotiating with off-road
vehicle industries to weaken or roll back these vital protections.

- Finally, ask your Senators to do all they can in Congress to protect
our National Parks from off-road vehicles, in addition to contacting
President Bush.

Send your messages to both your Senators:
WRITE: Sen. ____, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC  20510
PHONE: Capitol Hill switchboard: (202) 224-3121
EMAIL: go to http://www.senate.gov/contacting/index.cfm

***************************************************************
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

***************************************************************
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 those
interested in saving America's wildlands.

FEEDBACK: If you need to get in contact with the owner of the list,
(if you have trouble unsubscribing, or have questions about the list
itself) send email to <action@tws.org>.

TO SUBSCRIBE: If you have been forwarded this message and would like
to subscribe to the list, visit
http://www.wilderness.org/forms/subscribe.htm or send a message to
wildalert@tws.org with 'SUBSCRIBE' in the subject line.

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


from Ken Gould June 20, 2001

FORWARD WIDELY!  FORWARD TO FREE-TRADE/GLOBALIZATION LISTS!

June 19, 2001 over 250 giant corporations from across the country came
together in the Ronald Reagan International Trade Building in Washington DC
to announce a new business coalition, USTrade, that will work to push the
Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), a new round of the WTO, and
especially FAST TRACK in the U.S. Congress.  A preliminary analysis of those
present at the meeting indicates large numbers of wealthy Caucasian males
wearing expensive suits.

A Sierra Student Coalition operative, disguising himself as an elite,
infiltrated the meeting and emerged with important documents, including a
contact list with direct phone, fax, and emails for the 30 or so members of
"steering committee" of the coalition from groups like the American
Chemistry Council (chemical industry, also biotech), National Association of
Manufacturers, Coalition of Service Industries, and more.

The steering committee contact list is attached in Microsoft Word format, as
well as a list of all the corporations that are members of USTrade.  It is
also pasted below.

While the Sierra Student Coalition offers this information to you only as a
public service, a little birdie has told us that this list could be used to
send large numbers of emails, faxes, and phone calls to these corporate
free-traders.  The little birdie thinks that blasting faxes, emails, and
phone calls to these people 9AM to 5PM EST the WEEK OF JUNE 25, 2001 asking
them about their true intentions with their trade policies might
inconvenience them a whole lot.

USTrade is an enormous business coalition - almost as big as our movement is
broad.  They're taking a page from our playbook in doing this.  This is an
unprecedented step for business groups to take, but they know they will have
to face us - the new anti-globalization movement - in these fights to get
what they want.  But don't underestimate this business coalition.  They have
a lot of money and a lot of power on Capitol Hill.

They are pushing Fast Track hard, and the Fast Track situation is heating
up.  The Republican leadership is pushing for a vote on Fast Track in the
House of Reps. as early as July. After you fax and email these corporate
free-traders, FAX AND CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS.  Fast Track
would vastly increase the odds that Bush will be able to ram a new WTO round
and the FTAA through Congress - it too must be stopped!

Tell your REPRESENTATIVE TO OPPOSE FREE TRADE and the FAST TRACK PROPOSAL
PUT FORTH BY REP. CRANE!!!  Call the Capitol switchboard at 202.224.3121,
ask to be connected to your representative (look it up at www.congress.org),
ask to speak with the aide that deals with trade, and TELL THEM
UNEQUIVOCABLY THAT THEY SHOULD REJECT FAST TRACK!!!  Also set up a meeting
or protest during the July 4 recess when your member of Congress is in their
home district!

Both the Sierra Student Coalition and the little birdie agree that we CANNOT
let those wealthy white men from USTrade win this fight!  Don't let them
forget that we are living in a post-Seattle, post-Quebec world - don't let
them or Congress ignore our movement!  We beat Fast Track in '97 and '98.  
Let's do it again.

Go to www.ssc.org for more info on Fast Track.


*********************************************************************

USTrade Coalition
Steering Committee Contact List

Courtesy of the Sierra Student Coalition's "Student Action on the Global
Economy" campaign.
Contact: 1.888.JOIN.SSC / www.ssc.org

The majority of these numbers appear to be direct.  USTrade is a new
business coalition formed in order to facilitate corporate efforts to push
Fast Track, the FTAA, and a new round of the WTO.  One interesting note -
the McGraw-Hill Companies, whose CEO chaired their press conference, is a
educational materials corporation that is presumably into trade for the
potential privatization of education.

Have fun.

NAME                COMPANY                            TELEPHONE  FAX        
            EMAIL

William Lane Capterpillar Inc 202.466.0672 no fax Lane_william@cat.com

Bob Vastine Coalition of Service
Industries 202.289.7460 202.775.1726f Vastine@uscsi.org

Cal Cohen ECAT 202.659.5147 202.659.1347f Cchoen@ecattrade.com

Linda Menghetti ECAT 202.659.5147 202.659.1347f Lmenghetti@ecattrade.com

Chris Padilla Eastman Kodak
Co. 202.857.3463 202.857.3401f Chris.padilla@kodak.com

Scott Shearer Farmland
Industries 202.783.5330 202.783.4381f Psshearer@farmland.com

Peter Iovino Ford Motor Co. 202.962.5361 202.336.7223f Piovino@ford.com

Kitty Brims NAM 202.637.3143 202.637.3182f Kbrims@nam.org

Bill Primosch NAM 202.637.3145 202.637.3182f
Brimosch@nam.org

Frank Vargo NAM 202.637.3144 202.637.3182f Kvargo@nam.org

Mary A. Irace National Foreign Trade
Council 202.887.0278 202.452.8160f m.irace@nftc.org

Erik Autor National Retail
Federation 202.626.8104 202.626.8197f Autore@nrf.org

Cynthia K. Johnson Texas Instruments
Inc 202.662.2469 202.628.2980f Ckjohnson@ti.com

Meggan E.
Abboud Boeing 703.465.3228 202.465.3045f Meggan.e.abboud@boeing.com

Theodore
Austell Boeing 703.465.3876 703.465.3018f Ted.austell-III@pss.boeing.com

Brigitte Gwyn The Business
Roundtable 202.467.3258 202.466.3509f Bgwyn@brt.org

Johanna Schneider The Business Roundtable 202.467.5263
202.466.3509f Jschneid@brtable.org

Cynthia Braddon The Mcgraw-Hill Companies 202.383.3701 202.383.3718f
Cindy_braddon@mcgraw-hill.com

William Jordan The Mcgraw-Hill
Companies 202.383.3404 202.383.3718f William_jordan@mcgraw-hill.com

Scott Miller Procter & Gamble 202.393.3404 202.393.4606f Miller.rs.@pg.com

William Workman U.S. Chamber of
Commerce 202.463.5455 202.463.3114f Wworkman@uschamber.com

Timothy Deal U.S. Council for Int't
Business 202.371.1316 202.371.8249f Tdeal@uscib-dc.org

Scott Shearer Agriculture Trade
Coalition 202.783.5330 202.783.4381f Psshearer@farmland.com

Claude Boudrias American Chemistry
Council 703.741.5915 703.741.6070f Claude.boudrias@americanchemistry.com

Bill Pryce Council of the
Americas 202.639.0724 202.639.0794f Wpryce@as-coa.org

Patrick Killbride Council of the
Americas 202.639.0724 202.639.0794f Pkilbride@as-coa.org

Mary Sophos Grocery
Mnfts..Assn. 202.337.9400 202.337.4508f Mcs@gmabrands.com

Gary Blumenthal World
Perspectives 202.785.3345 202.659.6891f Garyblum@agrilink.com

NAM - National Association of Manufacturers
ECAT - Emergency Council on American Trade

USTrade Info:
1331 Pennnsylvania Ave NW
Suite 600
Washington, DC 20004
202.637.3074
202.637.3182 fax
ustrade@nam.org
www.us-trade.org

Member Corporations of USTrade:

          3M
                                    A.J. Antunes & Co.
                                    ABB, Inc
                                    Accenture
                                    Advanced Medical Technology Association
                                    Aerospace Industries Ass'n of America
                                    Agilent Technologies, Inc.
                                    AJ Autunes & Co.
                                    Alcoa, Inc
                                    Alliance Management Group
                                    Aluminum Association
                                    Am. Chamber of Commerce for Brazil/Rio
de Janeiro
                                    American Chamber of Commerce and Ind. of
Panama
                                    American Chamber of Commerce for Brazil/
Sao Paulo
                                    American Chamber of Commerce in
Guatemala
                                    American Chamber of Commerce Mexico
                                    American Chamber of Commerce of Bolivia
                                    American Chamber of Commerce of El
Salvador
                                    American Chamber of Commerce of Jamaica
                                    American Chamber of Commerce of
Nicaragua
                                    American Chamber of Commerce of Peru
                                    American Chamber of Commerce of the Dom.
Rep.
                                    American Chamber of Commerce of Trinidad
& Tobago
                                    American Chemistry Council
                                    American Council of Life Insurance
                                    American Electronics Association
                                    American Forest & Paper Association
                                    American Hardware Manufacturers
Association
                                    American International Group Inc.
                                    American Meat Institute
                                    American Petroleum Institute
                                    AMT- The Assn. For Manufacturing
Technology
                                    AOL-Time Warner
                                    APL Limited
                                    Armstrong World Industries, Inc.
                                    Assn. of American Chambers of Commerce
                                    Associated Industries of Massachusetts
                                    Association of Intl Automobile
Manufacturers
                                    AT&T Corp.
                                    Automotive Trade Policy Council
                                    BASF Corporation
                                    Bechtel Corporation
                                    Bergner, Boyette, Bockorny & Cloughs
                                    Biotechnology Industry Organization
                                    C & M International
                                    Cargill Incorporated
                                    Caribbean/Latin American Action
                                    CaseNewHolland Inc.
                                    Caterpillar Inc.
                                    Cato Institute
                                    Chamber of Commerce of the US in
Argentina
                                    Chamber of Commerce Uruguay-U.S.A.
                                    Chilean-American Chamber of Commerce
                                    Citigroup Citizens for a Sound Economy
                                    Cleveland- Cliffs Incorporated
                                    Coalition of Service Industries
                                    Colombian-American Chamber of Commerce
                                    Compaq Computer Corporation
                                    Construction Industry Manufacturers
Association
                                    Coors Brewing Company
                                    Costa Rican-American Chamber of Commerce
                                    Council of the Americas
                                    DaimlerChrysler Corporation
                                    Deere & Co
                                    Distilled Spirits Council of the US
                                    Domestic Petroleum Council
                                    Dow Corning Corporation
                                    DTB Associates, LLP
                                    Duberstein Group
                                    DuPont
                                    Dykema Gossett
                                    Eastman Chemical Company
                                    Eastman Kodak Company
                                    Eaton Corporation
                                    Ecuadorian-American Chamber of Commerce/
Guayaquil
                                    Ecuadorian-American Chamber of
Commerce/Quito
                                    EDS
                                    Emerson
                                    Electronic Industries Alliance
                                    Emergency Council for American Trade
(ECAT)
                                    ENRON
                                    Equipment Manufacturers Institute
                                    Excel Foundry and Machine, Inc.
                                    ExxonMobil Corporation
                                    Farmland Industries Inc.
                                    Flour Corporation
                                    FMC Corporation
                                    Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.
                                    French & Company
                                    General Electric Company
                                    General Motors Corporation
                                    Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
                                    Glass Packaging Institute
                                    Global Trade Information Services
                                    GPC International
                                    Griffin Johnson
                                    Grocery Manufacturers of America
                                    Guardian Industries Corp.
                                    Haitian-American Chamber of Commerce
                                    Halliburton Company
                                    Hasbro Inc.
                                    Hewlett-Packard Company
                                    Honduran-American Chamber of Commerce
                                    Honeywell Inc.
                                    IBFI
                                    Information Technology Association of
America
                                    Information Technology Industry Council
                                    International Assn. of Drilling
Contractors
                                    International Business Machines
                                    International Housewares Association
                                    International Mass Retail Association
                                    International Paper
                                    IPC
                                    ITT
                                    Jefferson Waterman International
                                    John B. Shlaes & Associates
                                    Johnson & Johnson
                                    Lunde & Burger
                                    Manchester Trade
                                    Manufacturing Jewelers & Suppliers of
America
                                    Marlock, Inc.
                                    Matsushita Electric Corporation of
America
                                    Motor and Equipment Manufacturers
Association
                                    Motorola Inc
                                    National Association of Manufacturers
                                    National Electrical Manufacturers
Association
                                    National Food Processors Association
                                    National Foreign Trade Council
                                    New York Life Insurance Company
                                    Nike Inc.
                                    Nortel Networks
                                    NPES
                                    O'Melveney and Myers
                                    OBC Group
                                    Pacific Basin Economic Committee
                                    Packaging Machinery Manufactures
Institute
                                    Paraguayan-American Chamber of Commerce
                                    Pepsico Inc
                                    Pet Food Institute
                                    Pharmaceutical Research and
Manufacturers of America
                                    Philippi-Hagenbuch, Inc.
                                    Phillip Morris Companies
                                    Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc.
                                    PolicyComm
                                    Prosper International Prudential
                                    R A Pearson Company
                                    Raytheon Company
                                    Reebok International
                                    Rockwell Automation
                                    Rockwell Collins
                                    Rohm and Haas Company
                                    Rolls-Royce North America Inc.
                                    Salt Institute
                                    SBC Communications, Inc.
                                    Schering-Plough Corporation
                                    Sears, Roebuck and Company
                                    Secondary Materials and Recycled
Textiles
                                    Semiconductor Equipment and Materials
International
                                    Service Tool & Die Two, Inc.
                                    Shelby Industries, Inc
                                    Siemens
                                    Small Business Exporters Association
                                    Solutia Corp
                                    St. Maxens Company
                                    StorageTek
                                    Sun Microsystems, Inc
                                    Target, Inc
                                    Spiegel Group
                                    Telecommunications Industry Association
                                    Texas Instruments, Inc
                                    Textron
                                    The Boeing Company
                                    The Bretton Woods Committee
                                    The Business Roundtable
                                    The Chubb Corporation
                                    The Dow Chemical Company
                                    The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
                                    The McGraw-Hill Companies
                                    The Motion Picture Association of
America
                                    The Port Authority of NY & NJ
                                    The Procter & Gamble Company
                                    The Quaker Oats Company
                                    The Rushford Report
                                    The Wexler Group
                                    Tooling and Manufacturing Association
                                    Toy Industry Association
                                    TradeCom International, Inc
                                    TRW Inc.
                                    U.S Wheat Associates
                                    U.S. Chamber of Commerce
                                    U.S. Council for International Business
                                    Unisys Corporation
                                    United Parcel Service
                                    United States Council for International
Business
                                    United Technologies Cooperation
                                    UNOVE, Inc.
                                    Venezuelan-American Chamber of Commerce
                                    Wainwright Industries, Inc.
                                    Warnaco Inc
                                    Waste Equipment Technology Association
                                    Westvaco Corporation
                                    Wheat Export Trade Education Committee
                                    Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce
                                    World Perspectives, Inc.
                                    Xerox Corporation
___________________________________________________________

Nathan Wyeth
Coordinator - SAGE [Student Action on the Global Economy]
Sierra Student Coalition
301.656.8773
nathan.wyeth@ssc.org
www.ssc.org


from League of Conservation Voters June 19, 2001
======================================
LCV WEEKLY ENVIRONMENTAL UPDATE
June 18, 2001
======================================

The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) continues to monitor Congressional
and Administration activity and highlight lawmakers for their actions on
important environmental issues. For a concise look at current events on
Capitol Hill and beyond click below.

=====================================
Congress Watch
=====================================

· Appropriations bills continue to move in the House with Agriculture
heading to the floor this week without funding for major land conservation
programs. In the Senate, EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman took
some heat for the administration's proposed budget cuts, and debates on
energy continue in both the House and Senate.

· Plus, see this week's schedule of events and learn more about what
members of Congress are doing on the environment.

· Get the details at Congress Watch:
http://www.lcv.org/actioncenter/weekly_update/6_19_01.html


=====================================
Eye on the Administration
=====================================

· Bienvenidos a Europa, Sr. Presidente! Beginning his trip in Spain, Bush
got a cool reception from our European allies and attracted crowds of
protesters for his opposition to the Kyoto Protocol on global warming.

· Plus, the administration denied California's request for a waiver on the
mandatory use of oxygenated fuels. The state will now have to begin using
corn-based ethanol for their reformulated gas, the benefits of which are
debatable.

· Find out more by visiting Eye on the Administration:
http://www.lcv.org/presidential/index.htm
====================================================================
The LCV Environmental Update is brought to you by the League of
Conservation Voters, the nonprofit political voice of the environmental
community. LCV is the only national organization dedicated full-time to
informing the public about the environmental records of federally elected
officials and candidates.

Committee hearing schedules and floor votes in this update are retrieved
from "Greensheets" at www.greensheets.com and "Environment and Energy
Daily" at www.eenews.net.

LCV publishes annually the National Environmental Scorecard, which rates
members of Congress on the most critical environmental votes cast during
that year.

WHAT YOU CAN DO!

*Add your voice to the tens of thousands of citizens across the country
already holding elected officials accountable for their votes on the
environment and helping to elect a pro-environment Congress! Join LCV in
its fight to prevent the hard-won progress of the last 30 years from being
dismantled. Click https://secure3.nmpinc.com/lcvlink/forms/join_new.htm

*Check out our website at http://www.lcv.org !

*If this update has been forwarded to you and you would like to receive
your own updates, send the following command via email to:
lyris@client-mail.com  subscribe lcv-update

*Any questions or comments about lcv-update can be sent to lcv@lcv.org

League of Conservation Voters
1920 L Street, NW Suite 800
Washington, DC 20036
202-785-8683 Fax: 202-835-0491
Email: lcv@lcv.org
=====================================================================

from Earth Island Institute June 19, 2001
 
Getting burned by logging
by Chad Hanson

San Francisco Chronicle, Monday, June 19, 2001
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2001/06/19/ED
130966.DTL

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

THE PROBLEM with Western national forests, timber industry representatives
tell us, is that there are too many trees.

Logging corporations conveniently propose to remedy this through a massive
"thinning" program across tens of millions of acres of federal lands,
ostensibly to protect both forests and nearby homes from severe forest
fires.

As with all good deceptions, this one contains some grains of truth.

Most experts believe, for example, that in some areas excessively high
levels of undergrowth can cause unnaturally severe fires, and that reducing
these hazardous fuels is warranted.

Environmentalists agree.

However, as U.S. Forest Service chief fire specialist Denny Truesdale said
in a recent interview, the woody materials that need to be reduced are
shrubs, twigs, and saplings less than 3 inches in diameter -- not mature
trees.

Unfortunately, there is a cognitive disconnect between the Forest Service's
scientists and its timber sale planners, whose budgets are dependent upon
selling valuable mature timber.

The result of this bureaucratic schizophrenia is that hundreds of large
thinning timber sales are being executed right now on Western national
forests under the guise of "fire risk reduction." Nearly all focus primarily
on the removal of mature and old-growth trees between 10 and 30 inches in
diameter, resulting in 300,000 acres of deforestation annually.

Ironically, this very type of logging, experts inform us, is likely to
increase, not decrease, the frequency and severity of wildland fires.

In the Forest Service's own National Fire Plan, agency scientists warned
against the use of commercial logging to address fire management. The report
found that "the removal of large, merchantable trees from forests does not
reduce fire risk and may, in fact, increase such risk."

Commercial thinning operations leave behind dry twigs and limbs, cause rapid
growth of flammable shrubs and weeds, and reduce forest canopy closure,
creating hotter, drier conditions on the ground.

Likewise, while the timber industry's claims about dangers to homes near
national forests are true, their proposal to do intensive logging deep into
the forest -- far from any home -- is likely to put homes at greater risk of
burning.

The Forest Service's expert on this issue, Jack Cohen, has produced recent
reports, which clearly state that if the goal is to protect homes from
fires, logging on national forest lands isn't the answer. Cohen's research
reveals that the only way to protect homes effectively is to reduce the
flammability of the homes themselves and their immediate surroundings within
44 yards.

The timber industry also claims that last year's fire season was the "worst
in 50 years." Again, there is a grain of truth: More than 7 million acres
burned in 2000 -- more than in any year since the 1940s. However,the annual
average over the past 50 years was about 5 million acres, and the average
over the past century was 13.9 million acres per year.

In light of this, last year's fire season is hardly remarkable.

The truth is that Western forests burn. This can't and shouldn't be stopped.

Fire is an essential, natural and necessary part of Western fire ecology.
Many species of trees can only reproduce after fires occur. Wildland fires
burn underbrush and return important nutrients to the soil.

Even in extreme circumstances in which all trees are killed, the forest
ecosystem still thrives and rejuvenates if left alone, as we learned from
the 1998 Yellowstone fire.

In the end, we as a society must decide whom we trust more to implement fire
management on our national forest system: logging corporations or
scientists.

We can end all commercial logging on our national forests and shift to a
true, science-based ecological restoration program, as HR1494, the National
Forest Protection and Restoration Act, would do.

Or, we can continue to allow the timber industry to destroy ecosystems and
increase severe fires on federal lands -- at taxpayer expense.

The choice is ours.

Chad Hanson is the executive director of the John Muir Project of Earth
Island Institute. He is also the national director of the Sierra Club. For
information on HP1494, please go to: http://thomas.loc.gov/.

**********************

René Voss
726 7th Street, SE
Washington, DC  20003
Office Phone:  (202)547-9124
Office Fax: (202)547-9210
rene.voss@mindspring.com

____________________________________________________________
To subscribe to WALL-List send a blank email to:
mailto:wall-list-subscribe@igc.topica.com
Complaints?  Comments?  Need HELP!?  Send mailto:owner-wall-list@bigfoot.com


from the Green Party June 20, 2001

Green Party of New York State E-News Vol. 1, No. 7, June 20, 2001

In this issue:

1. Introduction

2. Action and Activity alerts (AAAs)
-                       Rally at NYC Stock Exchange: Oppose $1.1B Public
Subsidy for new Trading Floor, June 21, New York City
-       Dioxin/Cancer Protest, Thursday, June 21st, 2001, Syracuse,
NY;  NYS Dioxin Work Group Forming
-       Roll Your Own Blackout  June 21st 7-10 PM anywhere
-       Celebrate Reopening of Manhattan Bridge Bike Path, June 29, New
York City
-       Reminder: State Committee Seats Are Vacant!
-       New web site for Green Party of New York State: http://www.gpnys.org/
-                       Tell Ford To Publicly Support the Kyoto Treaty to
Stop Global Warming


  3. Meetings and Events:
-                       Cool Not Cruel Show and Benefit, Tuesday, June 19,
6:00 p.m, New York City
-       Stop Global Aids Now -- March and Rally June 23, New York City
-       Rally for Rockefeller Drug Laws Reform, Harlem, New York City, June 30
-                       Campus Greens Founding Convention  August 9 -
August 12, University of Illinois, Chicago
4. Featured Local: Bay Ridge Greens



5. News, News Links, Resources
News
-                       Getting turned on over a turn-off, By Carrie Peyton
-       Instant Runoff Voting Makes Good Sense for Democracy
-       German Government And Energy Bosses To Sign Nuclear Deal Monday
-       Schenectady Greens rally for civilian review, Daily Gazette
Newslinks
-                       WINDPOWER - A New Crop for Farmers
-       Seeds Of Discontent: Farmers - And The Public - May Soon Learn
There's No Turning Back On Genetically Modified Foods. . . ."


1.      INTRODUCTION

Welcome to another issue of the Green Party of New York State's
E-News!  Our goal is to update Greens across the state about important
issues, news, events, and resources. We hope you will find E-News
informative and entertaining. We welcome your comments, contributions and
assistance. Send your news, events, and Alerts for the next issue to Cathy
Sadell at csadell@prodigy.net and let us know if you would like to help
write the next issue.  Special thanks to Ann Link, who is now coordinating
the News and Featured Local sections. Note that E-News will print letters
to the editor from Greens, Nader supporters, and people with something
interesting to say. Deadline for submissions to next issue: Friday, July
20, 2001. If you would prefer not to receive the newsletter, please notify
Masada Disenhouse at masada@akula.com. To learn more about green issues
work in New York or to contact your local Green chapter please visit
www.greens.org/ny. For information about green party electoral work in New
York, including state committee news and elections, please visit
http://www.gpnys.org/.

2. ACTION AND ACTIVITY alerts ( AAAs)

RALLY AT STOCK EXCHANGE TO OPPOSE $1.1 BILLION PUBLIC SUBSIDY FOR NEW
TRADING FLOOR
Thursday, June 21, New York City

The Campaign for Corporate Accountability will hold a rally on the steps of
Federal Hall at Broad and Wall Streets on Thursday, June 21 from 4:00 to
5:00 P.M. to call upon the Governor and Mayor to eliminate the proposed
$1.1 billion public subsidy to construct a new trading for the New York
Stock Exchange.

A growing number of community organizations are opposing the largest
corporate welfare deal in the City's history as a waste of taxpayer monies,
particularly when the City has major unmet needs in the areas of education,
health care, hunger, homelessness, infrastructure maintenance, genuine
community development, mass transit and the environment. The groups are
also calling for the State Legislature to enact the Corporate Disclosure
and Taxpayer Protection Act (A7291 - Luster) to require standardized
disclosure, reporting and performance standards for such economic
development projects. Speakers at the rally will include Rabbi Michael
Feinberg, Executive Director of the NYS Labor-Religion Coalition; Jonathan
Bowles, Center for an Urban Future, who handled corporate welfare issues
for former State Senator Franz Leichter; Samara Swanstrom, Watch Person
Project (Brooklyn), a leader of the environmental justice movement; Kwong
Hui, a City Council candidate and organizer on immigrant workers' rights;
Barbara Whittie, Community Voices Heard (welfare rights group); Steve
DiBrienza, City Council Member; Ray Fleischhacker, an attorney and
representative of the tenants at 45 Wall Street who will be evicted by the
project; and Ray Rogers, Director of Corporate Campaigns Inc.  Critics note
that it is hard to imagine a less deserving candidate for a government
subsidy than the New York Stock Exchange, the world wide symbol of
free-market capitalism. Last year the 1,366 member companies of NYSE had
gross revenues of $245 billion and after-tax profits of $13 billion - a 30%
increase from the prior year. If in fact the NYSE needs a new facility, it
should have no trouble raising funds to construct one, or drawing on the
immense wealth of its member and listed firms. Some of the groups opposing
the proposed $1.1 billion subsidy include City Project, Community Voices
Heard, NYC Labor-Religion Coalition, West Side Campaign Against Hunger,
Citizens Environmental Coalition, Save the Earth, Brooklyn Greens, Lower
East Side Greens, United for a Fair Economy, Center for an Urban Future,
Urban Justice Center, National Employment Law Project, Fifth Avenue
Committee, Community Food Resource Center, Alliance for Democracy, NYS
Greens, North American Coalition for Christianity and Ecology, Jews for
Racial & Economic Justice, The Third Wave, Association for Neighborhood and
Housing Development, Metropolitan Council on Housing, Goddard Riverside
Community Center, Bronx Greens, LI Progressive Coalition, Corporate
Campaigns Inc., Mt. Vernon United Tenants.


DIOXIN/CANCER PROTEST -- GREEN ACTIVISM BATTLING CANCER CAUSING POLLUTION
AND GOVERNMENT INACTION IN NEW YORK STATE, THURSDAY, JUNE 21ST, 2001, 10:00 AM

Where: Federal Building, 100 S. Clinton St., Syracuse, NY

Industry, agribusiness and the federal government must stop deceiving the
american public about the cancer risk imposed by dioxin emissions. Release
the final draft of the dioxin reassessment now.
Syracuse greens, st. Lawrence river valley greens acting in unison.

Our federal government must move forward quickly with measures aimed at
reducing dioxin emissions and informing the public upon how to avoid
exposures to these chemical carcinogens. Americans who consume moderate to
heavy quantities of animal fats have a 1 in 100 excess risk of developing
cancer due to the dioxin, furan and dioxin-like PCB contaminants in such
foods as dairy products, beef and fish.

In "Exposure and Human Health Reassessment of 2,3,7,8-Tetrachloro-
dibenzo-p-Dioxin (TCDD) and Related Compounds", the US EPA quantifies what
is clearly a major cause of cancer in the United States. Breast cancer and
colorectal cancer are highly associated with animal fat consumption. To
what degree are these cancers caused by the dioxin contaminants and other
carcinogenic persistent organic pollutants in animal fats?

The US Senate Environment and Health Committee held hearings on breast
cancer and pollution at Adelphi College, Garden City, on June 11th, 2001.
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton presided at four hours of testimony from
environmental health experts. Now that US EPA's dioxin reassessment is in
the hands of Administrator Whitman, final draft release should occur before
summer's end. Events such as these bring America ever closer to a
revolutionary viewpoint change on carcinogens, manufacturing processes,
waste disposal and cancer prevention.

This is a powerful time for Green Movement building. Greens interested in
the cancer/pollution connection are requested to participate in a series of
activist events at the federal buildings across New York State. We can take
a dominant role to the other political parties in these matters. Democrats
and Republicans are seriously weakened by the lobbying pressures of the
Chlorine Chemistry Council, and agribusiness groups such as Farm Bureau and
the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, when it comes to cancer
prevention via pollution elimination. Contact the St. Lawrence River Valley
Greens at: canceraction@hotmail.com or 315 393-1975. In Nature, Donald L.
Hassig, St. Lawrence River Valley Greens

JOIN NYS DIOXIN WORK GROUP
Now that the assembly has endorsed the concept of Greens working together
across NY to eliminate open waste burning, incineration and the burning of
tires, creosoted wood and plastics in electric generation facilities, we
propose that a Greens working group on dioxins be established. Any NY State
Green interested in participating is asked to contact Donald L. Hassig, St.
Lawrence River Valley Greens, canceraction@hotmail.com The pace of dioxin
activism is rapidly accelerating with imminent release of the dioxin
reassessment to be followed by the first draft of the CROSS-MEDIA DIOXIN
STRATEGY. These advances should occur by no later than
September.  Ratification effort on the Stockholm Convention/ Persistent
Organic Pollutants Treaty serve to further maintain the dioxin focus.
Senator Charles Schumer has promised a supporting vote. A great amount of
latitude exists in the treaty, allowing each nation to decide just how
serious its efforts will be to reduce dioxin pollution. Strong grassroots
support for virtual elimination will pressure the Bush administration to
accomplish significant abatement of dioxin creation, via both combustion
and PVC production changes.

For Further Information: Donald L. Hassig, St. Lawrence River Valley
Greens, canceraction@hotmail.com or 315-393-1975.

************************************************************************************************************************************

ROLL YOUR OWN BLACK OUT for THE FIRST DAY OF SUMMER, Thurs. June 21st 7-10pm:
In protest of George W. Bush's energy policies and lack of emphasis on
efficiency, conservation and alternative fuels, there will be a voluntary
rolling blackout on the first day of summer, 7-10pm in any time zone (this
will roll it across the
planet). Its a simple protest and a symbolic act. Turn out your lights from
7pm-10pm on June 21. Unplug whatever you can unplug in your house. Light a
candle and do something instead of watching television, have fun in the
dark. Forward this email as widely as possible, to your government
representatives and environmental contacts. Let them know we want global
education, participation and funding in conservation, efficiency and
alternative fuel efforts -- and an end to over exploitation and misuse of
the earth's resources.  See article in News section, below.


CELEBRATE REOPENING OF MANHATTAN BRIDGE BIKE PATH, June 29, New York City
New York Time's Up!, the direct action environmental group announces the
Manhattan Bridge Opening Celebration taking place June 29 at approximately
8:00 p.m. at the Manhattan side of the bridge to celebrate the planned
opening of the renovated and long overdue Manhattan Bridge pedestrian and
bike path linking Chinatown and Lower Manhattan with D.U.M.B.O. and other
neighborhoods of Brooklyn. Hundreds of participants are expected. Call
(212) 802-8222 for more info.


REMINDER: STATE COMMITTEE SEATS ARE VACANT!
The State Committee is the elected green body that develops bylaws for
green electoral process, nominates state-wide candidates, considers
authorizations and interfaces with the Board of Elections. We are looking
to fill vacancies on the State Committee, especially in counties where
there is no representation currently. Only enrolled Greens are eligible to
run for a seat on the State Committee. Duties consist of up to 4 meetings
per year generally held in the Hudson Valley region.  If you are an
enrolled Green in New York State and want to learn more about running for
State Committee, please contact Dan Schaffer at 718-499-6527 or Mark Dunlea
at 518 286-3411.


NEW WEB SITE FOR GREEN PARTY OF NEW YORK STATE: HTTP://WWW.GPNYS.ORG/
The Green Party of New York State announces a new website to keep greens in
New York state updated about electoral issues. It will provide information
about: who your state committee representatives are; the schedule for
petitioning and elections from the Board of Election; information on
existing green campaigns and how to run your own, and much more. It will
also soon provide a web-based version of THIS E-NEWS, including back
issues! Information on the New York State Greens Assembly, including
information regarding local green chapters and non-electoral issues that
greens are pursuing may still be found at: www.greens.org/ny. Please note
that the web site is new and many links are still inactive, but will
hopefully be working very soon so bookmark today! For more information or
to help out with the web page, please contact Rachel Treichler at:
718-623-2698 or treichler@ecobooks.com.


TELL FORD TO PUBLICLY SUPPORT THE KYOTO TREATY TO STOP GLOBAL WARMING
On May 8, the Ford Motor Company spent an estimated $200,000 on
advertisements in USA Today, the New York Times, and the Financial Times
professing its concern about global warming. Yet, Ford has said directly:
it doesn't
support the treaty. That's greenwashing.

The Ford Motor Company is also part of an industry lobbying group - the
U.S. Council of International Business - which is backing President Bush's
move to derail the only international effort to stop global warming - the
Kyoto Treaty. Tell Ford to replace rhetoric with action and publicly
support the Kyoto Treaty!
Act Now:
http://www.greenpeaceusa.org/takeaction/ford.htm
Learn More:
http://www.greenpeaceusa.org/save/alerts/ford.htm
http://www.greenpeaceusa.org/features/fortune100.htm


3. MEETINGS AND EVENTS

COLL NOT CRUEL SHOW AND BENEFIT
Tuesday, June 19, 6:00 p.m., Session 73 - First Avenue at 73rd Street -
Manhattan, New York, NY
Contact :  Sara Cross, 646-221-6363
coolnotcruel is pleased to invite you to a special sale and party to
benefit NYCAP. Styling the world of change, changing the world of style,
coolnotcruel caters to the urban chic, fashion conscious, socially and
environmentally responsible consumer. New York Coalition for Alternatives
to Pesticides (NYCAP) is a non-profit, grass-roots organization committed
to the elimination of pesticide hazards through education and outreach.
Clothing for both men and women, made from such materials as organic
cotton, hemp, alpaca wool and organic wool, in a range of sizes and
colours, will be sold at wholesale prices. 10% of sales will be donated to
NYCAP. Cash and checks only, no credit cards. Raffle prizes donated by
environmental companies will be drawn and awarded at 8:30pm. Drinks will
include organic wine.



STOP GLOBAL AIDS NOW  -- MARCH AND RALLY JUNE 23, NYC

Add your voice to speakers from South Africa, Thailand, Uganda, Brazil,
Kenya, Ghana in demanding action to STOP GLOBAL AIDS NOW.

Meet 11am Washington Square Park and March to Bryant Park (Permit
Pending).  The rally at Bryant Park will be hosted by a number of speakers
will including people living with HIV and activists from grass-roots
movements from the Global South issuing calls to action.

Before world leaders discuss HIV/AIDS at the United Nations and before the
G8 Summit in Genoa, Italy WE WILL BE IN THE STREETS DEMANDING ACTION FROM
OUR POLICY MAKERS:

Dollars: We call on the U.S. and other wealthy countries to invest multiple
billions in grants to the Global AIDS FUND and to national AIDS plans in
developing countries.

Debt: We call on the World Bank and IMF to cancel 100% of the odious
international debt owed to them by all impoverished countries heavily
impacted by HIV/AIDS.

Drugs: We call on the U.S. and other wealthy countries to ensure access to
lifesaving AIDS medications, including generically manufactured drugs, at
the lowest cost.

FOR INFO:
vmail 212-208-4533
email  info@stopglobalaidsnow.org
For a list of endorsers, campaign materials and info go to:
www.stopglobalaidsnow.org
For background information go to: www.globaltreatmentaccess.org


RALLY FOR ROCKEFELLER DRUG LAWS REFORM, HARLEM, NYC, JUNE 30
Come to a rally hosted by the Interfaith Partnership for Criminal Justice
in NY City (IFP) on the Rockefeller Drug Laws, June 30, at 12-3 p.m.  We
will march from 116th St and Adam Clayton Powell Blvd. to 125th and Malcolm
X Blvd, and will rally on Malcolm X Blvd.  The rally is co-sponsored by the
New York City Greens.

The IFP is the local organizing vehicle of JusticeWorks' national
organizing campaign, Mothers in Prison, Children in Crisis. This campaign
seeks mandatory alternatives for women convicted of non-violent offences
beginning with mothers and their children. The IFP is actively organizing
and mobilizing faith based and progressive groups in New York City, and in
particular the seven neighborhoods most impacted by the Rockefeller Drug Laws.

IFP has invited state legislators who will speak to the Rockefeller Drug
Laws and its impact on communities and families. At this Rally we will hear
from ex-prisoners, family and friends of the incarcerated and members of
the larger community.

In preparation for the Rally, IFP will be conducting an organizers'
training on June 9 at St. Aloysius Church in Harlem to provide individuals
with organizing skills. For information, contact Jessica Dias at
JusticeWorks Community at 718 499 6704, or visit www.justiceworks.org


CAMPUS GREENS FOUNDING CONVENTION, Thurs. 8/9  Sun. 8/12, 2001, University
of Illinois-Chicago

The Campus Greens, a democratic organization that seeks to unite the Green
and progressive third-party groups based on academic campuses nationwide,
will hold its founding convention August 9 through 12 at U. Illinois-Chicago.

The convention will include a plenary session in which delegates will
ratify bylaws, elect leadership, and determine national organizing strategy
for the year to come.

To affiliate your college chapter with the Campus Greens and get full
voting rights at the convention, contact: corey@campusgreenparties.org, or
download our chapter registration form at www.campusgreenparties.org.

EVENTS
From late afternoon of August 9, through the late morning of August 12,
the Campus Greens will pack a schedule chock-full of events for you to
attend --including a Super Rally in the style of the Nader2000 campaign.

The main goal of our convention is for everyone who attends to leave a more
enlightened, and empowered activist than they were when they came. To this
end, we will schedule skills, issues, and identity workshops, and panel
discussions designed to explore the dynamics of being a successful radical
organizer.

Convention will include:
Skills Workshops
Issues Workshops
Identity Workshops
Panel Discussions
Caucus Meetings
Committee Meetings
Plenary Session
SUPER RALLY (Friday, August 10)

For further information on attending, volunteering, signing up your school,
transportation, housing and registration contact:
corey@campusgreenparties.org right away!!!


4. FEATURED LOCAL: BAY RIDGE GREENS

The Bay Ridge Greens were formed in December 2000, so we are one of the
newest locals in New York. We are also a relatively small local, averaging
eight to ten people per meeting. We believe that is good, since most of our
members are new to the Green party, and new to activism. This allows every
member to have input into what the local will do, and how best to make it
grow.

There are several issues that we are working on as a local. One is the lack
of documents provided by the City translated into Arabic. There is a
sizable contingent of Arabs in Bay Ridge, and the services they receive are
meager. We have translated the "Parent's Bill of Rights," which explains
all rights and obligations expected of parents of children attending public
school. We hope to distribute this to public schools in the area, then to
schools throughout the city.

We are also focusing on transportation in Bay Ridge. We are underserved in
this community as far as public transit goes. There is no regular bus
service into Manhattan except for the express buses, and they both run
infrequently, and are unsafe "tour style" buses, with only one exit, narrow
aisles, and handrails that are too high for average passengers to reach. We
are fighting for more and better service in Bay Ridge.

The Bay Ridge Greens are also trying to get more people participating in
the Recycling program, and we'd also like to start exploring ways in which
it could be expanded to include more materials to be recycled.

Tying all this together, we are also running a candidate for City Council.
Michael Emperor is running in the 43rd district. He hopes to highlight what
the bay Ridge Greens have been working on and make them part of his platform.

Although the Bay Ridge Greens are a small and new local, we believe the
seeds are in place to grow a strong and diverse local that participates
strongly in improving the quality of life for ordinary citizens. For
further information, please contact Michael Emperor at (212) 334-9435 or
BrooklynEmperor@aol.com.


5. NEWS, NEWS LINKS, RESOURCES

GETTING TURNED ON OVER A TURN-OFF
By Carrie Peyton, Sacramento Bee (California) Staff Writer (Published June
14, 2001)

Political action doesn't get much easier than this: Pull a plug. Flip a switch.

If you dislike utilities, like the environment or know anyone who does you
might already have received an e-mail call to "Roll Your Own Blackout" for
three hours next week on the day of the summer solstice.

Flocks of anonymous e-mails have been swooping across the Internet for
weeks promoting the hand-rolled, voluntary blackout aimed at fostering
conservation.

It is a phenomenon that points out just how deeply energy issues have
wormed into the national consciousness, as well as how much the Internet
has become the world's water cooler and its bulletin board.

The messages urge people everywhere to turn out their lights and unplug
what they can from 7 to 10 p.m. Thursday, creating a dip in energy use that
would roll across time zones -- part protest and part party.

"Talk to your kids. Watch the stars come out. Cuddle. Pretend the TV's
broken. Think what can happen when tens of thousands join this peaceful
protest against price-gouging and environmental irresponsibility," exhorts
a Web page devoted to the idea.

Marilyn Nyborg of Grass Valley says she's thinking about flipping a circuit
breaker to cut off all power to her house Thursday night, but at the very
least her lights and television will be off.

"It's beautiful outside now. It's nice to sit on the porch. As it gets
darker I don't mind using a flashlight to read and spend some time with my
partner and our new kitties," she said.

Nyborg, 62, a high-tech recruiter who calls herself a "quiet activist,"
said she'll be taking part to demonstrate that people can come together to
conserve.

"I take great offense at (President) Bush's comment that it's our right as
Americans to waste fuel. I don't think it is. We're also stewards of the
planet," she said.

David Aragon, a Berkeley engineer who says he coined the phrase "Roll Your
Own Blackout" online for a similar protest, said the idea had its roots in
politics but is nonpartisan.

He said he just learned this week that Los Angeles artist Monica Rex was
the one who expanded his notion, scheduled it for the first day of summer
and sent it out into the world.

Rex said she e-mailed a few paragraphs to about 50 friends in mid-April and
posted them on a handful of Web sites to make people aware that they have
the power over how energy is used.

She thought so little of it at the time that she didn't keep a copy.

"I didn't know it would get anywhere, actually," she said. But it took off.

By mid-May, multiple copies were landing in e-mail boxes of nearly everyone
with environmental or energy interests. An organic farming public relations
firm publicized it further, saying "millions" of people had been alerted.
Newspapers from Seattle to Denver began writing about the anonymous
upswelling. Web pages sprang up dedicated to it.

"Everyone I know has seen it. This has swept the globe," said Jeff Softley,
a West Hollywood bartender and longtime environmentalist who has tried for
more than a decade to promote the idea of an "Energy Fast" on Earth Day.

Softley, who knows a little about stirring up community action, was so
struck by how quickly the message moved that he speculated a big
environmental group was probably behind it, trying to appear grass roots.

"I just think it caught people's imagination," said Rex. "I am just amazed
at how things move around the Internet." She theorizes that her name was
stripped off early in the forwarding process, making it appear anonymous
when she had no particular interest in either hiding from the idea or in
promoting it.

It really doesn't take much to bring a single idea to millions of people,
said David Goff, a University of Southern Mississippi professor who
co-edited the book "Understanding the Web."

"When you get it in the hands of like-minded people, it doesn't take long
for that multiplier effect to operate, and it will go very far very fast,"
he said.

E-mail- and Web-driven protests have triggered fuel boycotts in Great
Britain and Internet boycotts in France, Goff said, and "we're in the early
stages of this."

The whimsical blackout message -- circulated in several versions -- calls
on people turn off what they can, then "light a candle to the sun god, kiss
and tell, make love, tell ghost stories, do something instead of watching
television, have fun in the dark."

Many versions say the voluntary blackout -- "a simple protest and a
symbolic act" -- is being held to protest Bush's disdain for conservation,
energy efficiency and alternative fuels.

Some variants direct people to books on alternative energy and energy
efficiency. Some say the candle should burn for the sun goddess. Some add a
gentle caution, to unplug only what can be "safely" dispensed with.

Michael Straus of Point Reyes said he plans to take part by having a
candlelight dinner with his parents. Straus, whose "Beyond Organic" PR firm
helped tout the idea, said he put the message out over a public interest
and academic news wire after it kept landing in his mailbox.

The message has zinged from state to state and reportedly reached Europe
and Asia. It has hit e-mail lists devoted to everything from feminism to
used-book sellers. A Texas newspaper credited it to a river protection
group called American Rivers, something the flattered but bemused
organization denied.

Millions of people would have to be involved for their efforts to show up
on the computers of the California Independent System Operator in Folsom,
which constantly monitors electricity use to match demand with supply.

If 10 million households turned off a single 100 watt light bulb at once,
100 megawatts would drop off the state's electric grid -- probably not
noticeable amid 30,000 or so megawatts of early evening demand, said Jim
Detmers, an ISO vice president.

But 200 to 300 megawatts of reduced demand might be detectable under the
right conditions, if sudden changes in wind or temperatures or cloud cover
don't obscure the effect, he said.

Computer engineer Aragon said he has no idea how many people will turn off
and tune out June 21.

"That's almost like speculating on the spot price of electricity," he said.
"I wouldn't touch it." ''

*********************************************************************************************************************************

INSTANT RUNOFF VOTING MAKES GOOD SENSE FOR DEMOCRACY
editorial by Xander Patterson, co-chairman of the Pacific Green Party, The
Oregonian, June 8, 2001

The Oregonian's editorial attacking instant runoff voting ("Don't dilute
meaning of vote," June 4) insults not only voters' intelligence but
fundamental American values, including democracy itself. Instant runoff
enhances rather than "dilutes" the meaning of our votes.

First, instant runoff voting, called IRV, is not too complicated for
Oregonians to understand and to use. IRV has been in use in Australia,
Ireland, Malta, and Cambridge, Mass., for many decades, and was recently
adopted to elect the mayor of London. Unlike The Oregonian, Greens have
confidence that Oregonians are just as capable of filling out a ballot as
these voters. And we trust our election officials are as capable of
counting them.

IRV is a modified form of the runoff election process currently used for
many local offices, including Portland's City Council. The difference
between "instant" runoff elections and the runoffs we are used to is that
voters are able to express their second choice in one trip to the polls
instead of two. This saves time and money.

IRV works like this: When voters fill out their ballots, they rank their
preference in candidates, rather than pick just one. (Example: 1st Perot,
2nd Bush Sr., 3rd Clinton). If no candidate receives a clear majority of
first-choice votes, the lowest vote-getter is eliminated and his or her
votes are transferred to the next choice marked on each ballot. The process
continues until a candidate obtains a clear majority.

Second, your editorial suggests that allowing voters to express their
preferences would somehow dilute the meaning of our votes. By that logic, a
menu with more than two choices makes eating less meaningful. IRV simply
says that if I order meatloaf, but the restaurant is out, I can still get
ameal.

Freedom of choice is one of the most fundamental American values. We
guarantee free speech and extol free markets to ensure that we will have a
full range of ideas and products to choose from. Many Oregonians want more
choices on the ballot. In 1950, only 1.5 percent of voters were registered
in minor parties or as Independents. Today, 24 percent are.

Even old party stalwarts such as Vermont's Sen. Jim Jeffords are abandoning
the major parties. As he left the Republican Party to become an independent
this week, so did Oregon's State Rep. Jan Lee. The Republicans and
Democrats maintain their "duopoly" on political power not because they are
doing such a great job or because they so completely represent the full
diversity of American political opinion.

We are stuck with them because our first-by-the-post electoral system robs
us of full and free political choice as effectively as if other parties
were banned altogether. Minor party supporters aren't hauled off to jail.
Instead, their votes are "thrown away" or twisted to have the opposite
effect of the voters' intent ("a vote for Nader is a vote for Bush").
That's what you call a meaningful vote?

Third, you dismiss IRV as if it were some frivolous indulgence. Tell that
to the ever-whimsical Alan Greenspan and the Federal Reserve Banks. They
use a variation on IRV to elect their board of directors. So does the
American Political Science Association. IRV is supported by groups as
diverse as Common Cause and the Alaskan Republicans, who are tired of
having Libertarians cost them elections.

In 1908, Oregonians passed a ballot measure to amend the state constitution
to explicitly permit IRV. We should now implement IRV simply because it is
more democratic than our current system. It eliminates the spoiler dilemma
and the wasted-vote syndrome. It ensures that the candidates preferred by a
majority of voters will win.

Above all, IRV allows voters to use their ballots to express their
political views loudly, clearly and sincerely.

Now that's a meaningful vote. Got the message?

*********************************************************************************************************************************

GERMAN GOVERNMENT AND ENERGY BOSSES TO SIGN NUCLEAR DEAL MONDAY
by Michael Adler, Agence France Presse, June 11

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder was Monday to sign what the government
has called a "historic" agreement with executives from the country's top
energy firms to phase out nuclear energy there.

The agreement, which will open the way for a parliamentary debate on the
issue, will formalise an accord reached one year ago that stipulates an
average working life of 32 years for each of Germany's 19 nuclear power plants.

That would mean most of the plants will be phased out by around 2018.

The agreement would also ban as of 2005 Germany's highly controversial
export of nuclear waste.

"It is a historic moment," Trittin, a member of the Greens party, said in
an interview published Monday in the Berlin newspaper Tagespiegel.

"Overseas in particular it is considered as such, as Germany is committing
itself to a complete ecological programme that contrasts with those in
other countries.

"It is not a question of the end of a particular technology, but of
creating a durable alternative, by the development of renewable energies
and the boosting of ec