|
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CALIFORNIA OFFSHORE OIL
DRILLING: Bush administration
moves to lift moratorium on oil drilling off California
coast
DENLINES SUBSCRIBERS STAND UP FOR GRIZZLY BEARS:
DEN
helped flood Fish and Wildlife Service with support for Bitterroot
Griz
U.S. TUNA CANNER BACKS "DOLPHIN SAFE" LABEL: Chicken of
the Sea opposes diluting dolphin protections on imported
tuna
COMING ATTRACTIONS: Protections for roadless
areas in our national forests are under fire, but you can make a
difference
ADOPT A WHALE: You can help protect whales from harpoons on the high
seas
| 1. CALIFORNIA OFFSHORE OIL DRILLING: Bush
administration moves to lift moratorium on oil drilling off California
coast
The Bush administration has filed court papers to overturn rules against new oil rigs off California's coast. This action indicates that the White House intends to move aggressively to re-open Pacific waters off California to new oil drilling, despite the threat to the Golden State's beaches and coastal wildlife. "We will be prepared to meet them in court," said Mary Nichols, resources secretary to California Governor Gray Davis. "Californians have a uniform view on this: We have done our share when it comes to producing oil and gas off of our coast. The federal government should not make deals with oil companies without giving California a chance to weigh in on the environmental impact," she told the Los Angeles Times. Both federal and state moratoriums are in place against new leasing for oil and gas drilling off California. But these bans do not apply to 36 offshore tracts that were leased between 1968 and 1984 but never opened. The U.S. District Court has said that California has the right to determine whether new drilling in these tracts is consistent with the state's coastal protection laws. If the White House's court appeal overturns this decision, the State of California and its residents would have no say in whether this new drilling goes ahead off their coast. Oil and gas drilling off California would pose a serious threat to sea otters, marine birds, and the entire coastal ecosystem. 2. DENLINES SUBSCRIBERS STAND UP FOR GRIZZLY BEARS: DEN helped flood Fish and Wildlife Service with support for Bitterroot Griz DENLines subscribers generated more than 12,000 messages of support for a citizen management plan for reintroducing grizzly bears into the wilds of the Selway-Bitterroot wilderness in Idaho. Last June, Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton brushed aside the innovative "citizen management" plan for grizzly reintroduction in Idaho. This plan represented years of hard work by Defenders of Wildlife, other conservationists, representatives of Idaho's timber industry and timber workers, who had hammered out a plan that all involved could support. Despite her warm words for the views of local people, Secretary Norton ignored this model of local citizen input and caved in to the demands of Idaho's governor, who opposes the plan. Eight of the country's leading scientific wildlife organizations also released letters last week supporting grizzly bear reintroduction in the Selway-Bitterroot. While we hope this outpouring of support for grizzly bears will sway the Secretary to reverse her decision, it forms a part of the record that courts will look at when they need to resolve the dispute if she does not. Your messages of support became a part of the official record that will be needed to turn this decision around. 3. U.S. TUNA CANNER BACKS "DOLPHIN SAFE" LABEL: Chicken of the Sea opposes diluting dolphin protections on imported tuna Chicken of the Sea has announced that it opposes moves by Mexico and the U.S. government to weaken labeling rules for "dolphin-safe" tuna sold in the United States. In late July, the U.S. District Court in San Francisco ruled in favor of Defenders of Wildlife and other groups, blocking the U.S. Department of Commerce's attempt to loosen dolphin protection rules on imported tuna. The proposed policy would have allowed tuna caught by the Mexican fishing fleet to be labeled "dolphin-safe," even if caught in huge encircling nets set around dolphins in order to catch the tuna swimming beneath them. This practice has killed millions of dolphins. In an interview with the San Diego Union-Tribune, a spokesman for Chicken of the Sea supported strong U.S. standards that forbid fishing methods that endanger dolphins. 4. COMING ATTRACTIONS: Protections for roadless areas in our national forests are under fire, but you can make a difference Nearly 60 million unspoiled acres of our national forests face a serious threat from logging and other resource extraction if the Bush administration manages to overturn the landmark Roadless Area Conservation Rule. Despite overwhelming support for the roadless rule, the administration has moved to re-open this unspoiled habitat to bulldozers and chainsaws. 5. ADOPT A WHALE: You can help protect whales from harpoons on the high seas Despite an international ban on the commercial hunting of whales, over 10,000 of these great giants have been killed since 1986. Using a loophole that allows for "scientific" hunting, Japan has just killed another 158 whales, 70 more than last year. And in recent international conferences, Japan and Norway have lobbied other nations to reduce whale protections. Defenders of Wildlife is determined to stop this killing. We've set up a special web site at http://www.saveourwhales.org where you can send a message to President Bush, asking him to impose economic sanctions on Japan. You can help provide Defenders with additional financial resources for this uphill fight by "adopting" a whale today. Go to http://www.defenders.org/adopt/whale to become a sponsor!
* FORWARD
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DENlines is a bi-weekly
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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
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denlines@defenders.org and put the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line. Defenders of Wildlife Copyright Defenders of Wildlife 2001 |
****************************
*
WILD ALERT
* Friday, August 24, 2001
****************************
Dear WildAlert Subscriber,
"The Bush administration is trying to craft the nation's
energy
policy largely in secret and with input only
from select, special
interests ... oil and gas
executives and local elected officials
favorable to the
industry."
--Denver Post editorial, 8/19/01
Operating quickly and quietly,
the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is
developing key
elements of a national energy policy that could result
in more taxpayer subsidies for the oil and gas
industry. But instead
of soliciting input
from a cross-section of citizens and industries,
DOE
has excluded all but oil industry interests from "public"
hearings, and is directing other public comments with
questions that
appear to have pre-determined,
pro-oil-subsidy answers.
Your
comments are needed, because, as the Denver Post points
out, "Bush needs to listen to more people than just his oil
business
buddies." Send your comments from
http://www.wilderness.org/takeaction/?step=2&item=603
SECRETIVE PROCESS
In the period of just a few weeks, the Bush administration,
through
the U.S. Department of Energy, is developing
critical energy policies
that will impact the country
and its taxpayers for decades. DOE is
trying
to determine if and by how much the government should increase
subsidies to the oil and gas industry.
But DOE has designed the public
comment process to minimize, if not
exclude, comments
from the general public. A schedule of so-
called "public meetings" was announced 2 days before the
first
hearing in Denver on August 8th, which,
conveniently, was scheduled
at the end of a big oil
industry conference in Denver.
But even if members of the public attended, they would not
have been
allowed to speak at the "public"
hearings. Only oil and gas company
executives and local politicians supportive of the industry
were
allowed to speak. The same format was
applied in the other two
hearings in Pittsburgh (Aug.
13) and Houston (Aug. 14). Ordinary
citizens
can only submit written comments (by Aug. 30), and only in
response to specific questions.
As the Denver Post editorialized,
"These points deserve repeating: DOE held some of the
most important
energy policy meetings of the year, with
very little advanced public
notice and only a select
crowd allowed to give meaningful comment."
MASSIVE SUBSIDIES POSSBILE
The
oil, gas, and coal industries recently moved closer to getting
more than $35 billion in subsidies because of the energy
bill passed
by the House of Representatives last month
(HR 4). The Senate is
expected to consider
its version of energy legislation in the fall.
Two years ago, energy industries received a $4 billion
government
bailout when gas prices were low (Petroleum
Emergency Act of 1999).
Now the Bush
administration wants to hand them *more* subsidies, even
though they're enjoying massive profits because of high oil
prices.
Meanwhile, the White
House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)
announced
two days ago that it wants to expedite permitting for
energy projects, like new oil wells and
pipelines. While simplifying
a permitting
process is not in itself bad, it must not be at the
expense of environmental protection and
safety. Given the direction
the Bush
Administration has taken on energy, that's exactly what we
fear will happen. (More on this in an upcoming
WildAlert.)
ALTERNATIVES
NEEDED
Investments for conservation and renewable
energies contained in HR 4
and the Bush energy plan
pale in comparison to what the oil, gas,
coal, and
nuclear industries would receive. Instead of pushing for
yet another giveaway to the profit-rich energy industry,
DOE needs to
stimulate emerging markets in renewable
energy, conservation, and
energy efficiency.
TAKE ACTION
It's time to let the Department of Energy know that more
subsidies to
the oil and gas industry are
unwarranted. Send your comments to DOE
by
AUGUST 30 from
http://www.wilderness.org/takeaction/?step=2&item=603,
or tell DOE directly, in response to its questions:
** Is Federal financial support
needed in all sectors of the oil and
gas industry? **
No. There is no need to
subsidize corporations that are raking in
record
profits. Those huge profits should allow them to invest in
oil and gas research without a government handout.
** What actions should be taken to
promote global competitiveness? **
Investing more in conservation and energy
efficiency. For every
dollar's worth of
goods and services produced in the U.S., the U.S.
consumes 40% more energy than other industrialized
nations. If the
U.S. economy operated as
efficiently as those of Europe and Japan,
American
energy consumption would fall by about 30%, making us more
competitive.
** Are there research areas not being addressed? **
Instead of propping up mature industries
like oil and gas,
investing in renewable energy,
conservation, and energy efficiency
research would help
create and support emerging markets, and would be
a
more efficient use of tax dollars. Investing in this research will
generate significant public benefits, including lower
energy bills
for families, less pollution and a cleaner
environment, and less
reliance on imported
oil. Government investment in conservation and
efficiency is warranted because oil and gas companies have
little
incentive to conduct this research
themselves. Finally, research and
monitoring
of environmental impacts associated with past and future
oil and gas exploration, including water issues, habitat
fragmentation, erosion, etc., is needed.
Send your comments to:
EMAIL: OilGasReview@hq.doe.gov
MAIL: Office of Natural Gas and Petroleum Technology, FE-30
attn: Strategic Review, US Dept of Energy, Wash,
DC 20585
MORE INFO
Dept. of Energy announcement of comment period and
comment questions
http://www.energy.gov/HQPress/releases01/augpr/pr01134.htm
Full Denver Post Editorial
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1002,417%257E107956,00.html
Accompanying Denver Post
cartoon from Mike O'Keefe
http://www.denverpost.com/media/paper36/August2001/PER19KEEFE.jpg
***************************************************************
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
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to forward Wildalerts to all those
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Founded in 1935,
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pristine forests, rivers, deserts and
mountains provide. To take
action on behalf of
wildlands today, visit our website at
http://www.wilderness.org
To: All Student Forest Activists
From: Dave Westman, Sierra Student Coalition
Date: August 27, 2001
Subject: New Campaign for Student Forest Activists
The Sierra Student Coalition is
proud to announce that on September 1,
2001 we will be
launching our newest campaign to protect and restore our
National Forests (just in time for the new academic
year). But in order
for it to be as
successful as we know it can be, we need students like
yourself to come on board and help us win!
In an effort to fight both the
corporations that have degraded the
world's forests and
President Bush's commitment to double the cut on our
National Forests, the SSC's Forest Protection and
Restoration Campaign
presents a holistic approach to
forest activism that students from all
across the
country can take part in.
By
taking action against corporations, students can effectively
influence the purchasing policies of large corporations,
and thus
decrease the demand for National Forest and
old-growth timber. But by
also targeting
legislative & forest planning issues, students can work
the other side of the fence by ensuring that our forests
are protected
from the corporations clamoring to get in
and "get the cut."
Throughout
the year the Sierra Student Coalition will work in
cooperation with other forest groups across the country to
coordinate,
educate and empower students to take charge
over forestry practices and
purchasing
policies. We will do this by providing students with the
tools to:
1.) Educate students on the forest destruction that is
occurring within
our country;
2.) Participate in pre-existing national boycott campaigns
(Staples &
Boise Cascade); and
3.) Get involved in Forest Service-level and National
legislation that
comes through congress.
If you are a student, and would be
interested in working with your
campus and community
groups on this campaign, please talk to Dave
Westman,
the SSC's Public Lands Conservation Director. He can be
reached at: mailto:dave.westman@sierraclub.org (or)
888-JOIN-SSC
We appreciate
your taking the time to read this email, and we look
forward to an exciting year of dynamite forest
activism. Please feel
free to foward this
email to any other lists or friends who might be
interested.
Dave Westman, Public Lands Conservation Director, Sierra
Student
Coalition, PO Box 2402, Providence, RI 02906,
888-JOIN-SSC, Fax:
401-861-8241,
dave.westman@sierraclub.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
Public meeting on Widewaters plan
http://www.tcgreens.org/gl/articles/20010828055855212.html
Chemical Weapons
Incinerator endangers Farmers
http://www.tcgreens.org/gl/articles/20010825073537501.html
Genetically Modified
Organisms in Agriculture
http://www.tcgreens.org/gl/articles/20010827052734511.html
Greens say Democrats are
complicit with Bush's reckless Agenda
http://www.tcgreens.org/gl/articles/20010826151417129.html
Amy Goodman suspended
without pay
http://www.tcgreens.org/gl/articles/20010824072301848.html
Bob Ornelas, City Council,
Arcata CA
http://www.tcgreens.org/gl/articles/20010823122418436.html
Corporate Globalization
and the Poor
http://www.tcgreens.org/gl/articles/20010822120657869.html
---------
Public meeting on Widewaters plan
PUBLIC MEETING:
City of Ithaca Planning Board, Tuedsay August 28, 6:00 PM
at Ithaca's
City Hall
Sign the electronic petition at:
http://www.petitionpetition.com/cgi/petition.cgi?id=2359
Widewaters is going for
broke to persuade the City Planning Board to
give them
approval for their new site plan for their shopping center
across from Buttermilk Falls. This 8/28 meeting is shaping
up to be
pivotal in this drama that is now two years
old. The future of the
southwest end of Ithaca will
likely be determined by what happens this
fall.
Widewaters recently won its
lawsuit against the City of Ithaca
eliminating the
requirement that it pay for the costs to accomodate
greatly increased traffic from its proposed Target shopping
center
across from Buttermilk Falls. But because of
their sleazy, deceptive,
strong-arm tactics, Widewaters
is losing public support. By winning its
suit,
Widewaters has cut the knees out of the city's justification for
promoting the shopping center at the expense of the quality
of city and
state parklands surrounding the site. Any
municipal tax revenues from
the stores will be reduced
by costs incurred by the public to accomodate
the
shopping center's traffic on Route 13 and other roads.
http://www.tcgreens.org/gl/articles/20010828055855212.html
---------
Chemical Weapons Incinerator
endangers Farmers
July 12,
2001 Avondale, Colorado
In the
United States, rural areas are becoming a front line for the
conflicts of economic liberalization, democracy, and
limiting
unaccountable private or public power.
Southern Colorado is a prime
example of this conflict
with the emergence of a number of polluting
industries
and prisons along the Arkansas Valley. Below is an interview
that I recently had with one of the activists in the area
trying to
organize in resistance to these exploitive
policies.
Dan Hobbs operates
an organic farm on the river bluffs of the Arkansas
River just south of the town of Avondale. Across the river
valley, on
the opposite bluffs, sits the Pueblo
Chemical Depot, a constant visual
reminder to Mr. Hobbs
and all residents of the area of the economic and
environmental challenges that face them in upcoming years.
http://www.tcgreens.org/gl/articles/20010825073537501.html
---------
Genetically Modified Organisms in
Agriculture
Genetically
Modified Organisms in Agriculture illuminates the greatest
technological controversy of the day, combining research
information
about the most common genetically
engineered crops, Bt corn and cotton
and
glyphosate-resistant soybeans with a diverse range of opinion
pieces. It represents the range of debate by bringing
together essays by
employees of Monsanto, Consumer's
Union and a British grocery chain as
well as
anti-globalization activist Vananda Shiva and Dennis Avery,
author of "Saving the Planet with Plastic and Pesticides."
After reading
it, I discovered that the benefits of
genetically engineered crops are
currently small and
that the risks, like that of nuclear power, depend
on
fine details of biochemistry and ecology. I reccomend this book to
anyone who's interested in the science, economics and
politics of this
controversial technology.
http://www.tcgreens.org/gl/articles/20010827052734511.html
---------
Greens say Democrats are complicit
with Bush's reckless Agenda
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Green Party organizers and activists
call the
policies of the Bush Administration
irresponsible and reckless, and warn
of severe damage
to the world environment, to the U.S. economy, and to
the role of the U.S. in international relations. But Greens
say that the
lack of a strong, unified response from
Democrats in Congress on many of
these policies -- and
Democratic collusion in their introduction and
passage
-- shows the urgent need for a progressive third party.
"When Clinton adopted the
Republican Party's rhetoric about 'big
government,' it
gave Republicans an excuse to call for even more
deregulation and privatization," said Jo Chamberlain,
member of the
steering committee of the Green Party of
the United States and a
California Green. "These
extremes come out of the Bush White House on a
daily
basis, schemes like the privatization of Social Security and the
halt on federal prosecutions for violations of the Clean
Air Act."
"How much can
Americans trust the Democrats to put up a fight against
Bush's destructive and regressive White House policies?,"
asked Jo
Chamberlain. "36 Democratic members of the
House joined with Republicans
to allow Bush to open
Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil
drilling. Democrats in Congress blocked Bush's proposed
$1.6 billion tax
break that benefits the rich and which
will cut the safety net for the
poor -- by okaying a
$1.35 billion tax break, which is already erasing
the
budget surplus and threatening to dip into Social Security funds.
Sen. Hillary Clinton, the darling of liberals, voted for a
bankruptcy
bill that enriches credit card companies and
hurts Americans in a
financial crisis because of job
loss or medical bills. Sen. Russ
Feingold, who's
considering a White House run in 2004 as a progressive,
helped Bush install John Ashcroft and Gail Norton."
http://www.tcgreens.org/gl/articles/20010826151417129.html
---------
Amy Goodman suspended without pay
The crisis with Pacifica's
flagship national news show, Democracy Now!,
has gotten
worse. Pacifica management has now suspended Amy Goodman
without pay. Incredibly, the Democracy Now! team found this
out in the
morning newspapers.
As you will remember, Amy and the
Democracy Now! staff last Tuesday,
August 14, moved
production from Pacifica station WBAI in New York to an
alternate studio in downtown Manhattan because they feared
for their
safety. At WBAI, they had been physically and
verbally attacked by
interim station manager Utrice
Leid and her loyalists. When Pacifica
senior management
ignored repeated written requests that something be
done about the atmosphere of intimidation and threats at
the station,
they felt they had no choice but to
fashion some interim solution and
find a safe and
secure workplace.
But instead
of taking steps to investigate the assault on Amy, and to
ensure a violence- and harassment-free workplace, it is Amy
and the
Democracy Now! team that are now being
disciplined by Pacifica Executive
Director Bessie Wash.
For more than a week, Pacifica management has
refused
to broadcast live editions of Democracy Now! that Amy and her
staff have been producing from Downtown Community
Television (DCTV).
This is despite the fact that other
shows at WBAI are produced from
alternate sites and fed
to the station by ISDN line.
http://www.tcgreens.org/gl/articles/20010824072301848.html
---------
Bob Ornelas, City Council, Arcata
CA
Becoming the first
California Green to be elected to three 4-year terms,
Bob Ornelas won re-election to the Arcata City Council in
November,
finishing third out of seven candidates for
three seats.
The 47-year-old
business owner of a local brewery, Ornelas stated his
reasons for running for a third term in his official ballot
statement.
Citing his love of the community, Ornelas
detailed "a long history of
successful efforts to
provide for affordable housing, senior housing,
support
for the creation of new businesses, environmental protection,
sustainable forestry, educational opportunities, a low
crime rate and
safe parks and great recreational
programs."
Ornelas was the
first California Green ever elected to a city council,
back in 1990. He stepped down after one term, and fellow
Green Jason
Kirkpatrick ran and took his place in 1994.
Then in 1996, Ornelas and
Green Jennifer Hanan were
both elected, joining Kirkpatrick to form the
first
Green Party city council majority in U.S history. The three
received national and even global attention over the next
two years,
providing an exceptional opportunity to
publicize Green approaches to
governance.
http://www.tcgreens.org/gl/articles/20010823122418436.html
---------
Corporate Globalization and the
Poor
By Russell Mokhiber and
Robert Weissman
100,000 or
more activists could converge in Washington, DC this
September for the annual meetings of the World Bank and
IMF. See
http://www.abolishthebank.org/ and http://www.globalizethis.org/
George Bush has thrown down the
gauntlet, issuing a public challenge to
the
anti-corporate globalization movement. When hundreds of thousands
last month demonstrated against the G-8 meeting of rich
country leaders
in Genoa, Italy, George Bush decried
the activists, saying it was the
advocates of corporate
globalization who genuinely are seeking to
advance the
interests of the world's poor.
It's not enough to mock Bush's pretension of being a
defender of the
poor by pointing out that, through his
giant tax cut, the president has
overseen one of the
history's great transfers of wealth to the rich in
U.S.
history. Critics must respond to his claims.
Unfortunately, that turns out to be a remarkably easy
challenge to meet.
The last 20 years of corporate
globalization, even measured by the
preferred
indicators of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World
Bank, have been a disaster for the world's poor.
http://www.tcgreens.org/gl/articles/20010822120657869.html
DEN Alert:
Speak Out for Our
Remaining Wild Forests
Nearly
60 million acres of unspoiled national forests -- some of
our country's last remaining wildlife sanctuaries -- are
threatened
by bulldozers and chainsaws. Under pressure
from special interests,
the Bush administration is
trying to undo one of the most important
conservation
measures in our nation's history -- the Roadless Area
Conservation Rule. Adopted after more than 600 public
hearings and
a record-breaking 1.6 million public
comments -- virtually all in
support -- this historic
measure protects our last wild forests
from mining,
drilling and road-building. These wilderness areas are
home to more than 200 threatened or endangered species, as
well as
1,930 species whose numbers are diminishing.
Bald eagles, bears,
wolves, moose, otters, salmon and
migratory song birds -- they all
need wild, pristine
land to flourish.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Speak out against the special-interest assault on these
prized
forests. Send a free e-mail telling the U.S.
Forest Service to
honor the will of the American people
by protecting these few
remaining untouched forests as
critical habitat for threatened
wildlife and as an
important natural legacy for future generations.
The
deadline for comments is SEPTEMBER 10, so please send your
message TODAY. Together, we can save our national forests!
INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPOND VIA
THE WEB:
If you have access to
the web, simply click on the link below which
will take
you to DEN's "Help Save the Forests" web site:
http://www.saveforest.org
If you don't have access to the Internet, please mail your
letter
to U.S. Forest Chief Dale Bosworth at:
USDA-Forest Service-CAT,
Attention: Roadless ANPR
Comments, P.O. Box 221090, Salt Lake City,
UT 84122 or
via fax at: 801-296-4090 or via e-mail at:
roadless_anpr@fs.fed.us
Sample Letter:
Dear Chief Bosworth:
I strongly support the historic Roadless Area Conservation
Rule to
protect 58.5 million acres of our national
forests. This rule was
adopted after more than 600
public hearings over three years across
the country.
More than 1.6 million people submitted comments, the
vast majority of which were in support of strong
protections for
our last remaining untouched forests.
Local communities to these
forests have already voiced
their support for protection.
I oppose any attempts to weaken protections for this land
or to
allow forest-by-forest decisions on whether to
log or build roads
in these special places. The
Roadless Rule already provides
exceptions that allow
road-building and logging when needed to
address
concerns about wildfires and forest health and to protect
public health and safety.
I urge you to abide by the will of the American people and
fully
implement the Roadless Rule as it is written. We
expect immediate
protection for our last untouched
wildlife sanctuaries.
Sincerely,
====================================================================
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Defenders of Wildlife is a leading national
conservation organization
recognized as one of the
nation's most progressive advocates for
wildlife and
its habitat and known for its effective leadership on
saving endangered species such as brown bears and gray
wolves, Defenders
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 420,000 members and
supporters.
Defenders
of Wildlife
1101
14th Street, NW, Suite 1400
Washington,
DC 20005
http://www.defenders.org
http://www.kidsplanet.org
Dear WWF Conservation Action Network Activist:
Would you be willing to spend
a few cents more for a postage stamp and
encourage your
friends to do so as well if you knew the proceeds would
protect rhinos, tigers, elephants, great apes, and certain
threatened
migratory birds? Please go to
http://takeaction.worldwildlife.org/forms/uspsquery.html
and take a two-minute confidential online survey to
let us know.
Please act now; we need the results by
this Thursday, August 30, to
help us convince the U.S.
Postal Service to offer such a stamp.
This Friday, World Wildlife Fund and other conservation
groups will
submit a proposal urging the Postal Service
to offer the "Vanishing
Wildlife"
stamp. Similar to the highly successful breast cancer
research stamp, it would sell for 6 to 8 cents higher than
the first
class rate. The proceeds would
fund grants for antipoaching, habitat
preservation,
interdiction of illegal wildlife trade, education, field
surveys, and other measures to conserve these highly
threatened species.
At present, conservation of these species is woefully
underfunded,
and countries within whose borders these
species live desperately need
our help. The
stamp sheet would feature all the species and would be
available for sale throughout the United States for two
years. We
estimate it would raise close to
$8 million each year.
Thanks
for your help
To: All forest activists
From:
Jason Tockman, American Lands Alliance
Date: August 28,
2001
ORGANIZATIONAL SIGN-ON
LETTER TO WORLD BANK:
DON'T WEAKEN FOREST PROTECTIONS
As the World Bank — provider
of loans and financier of development
projects
worldwide — prepares for its annual meeting in Washington next
month, the Bank is considering weakening its policies for
safeguarding
old growth tropical forests. The shift
would reverse a 1991 policy
adopted by the World Bank,
and would allow the direct funding of
commercial timber
projects in ancient tropical forests. You can join us
in opposing this rollback by signing your organization on
to letter
below, insisting that measures to prevent
deforestation should be
enhanced, not rolled back.
This letter is for ORGANIZATIONAL
sign-ons only; we will not be
including the names of
individuals. Please send organizational
endorsements to Jason Tockman at
mailto:tockman@americanlands.org by
September 4th at
the latest.
The letter should
be mostly self explanatory. For more information,
contact Jason at the e-mail address above, or by phone:
740-594-5441.
Thank you.
Dear World Bank officials,
We, the undersigned organizations, write
in objection to the "Revised
Forest Strategy for the
World Bank Group." Overall, the proposal to lift
the
ban on the financing of commercial logging in "primary tropical
moist forests" is likely to increase the harmful
exploitation and
destruction of these forests on a
global scale.
The proposed new Strategy would:
Authorize the World Bank to
finance potentially extensive commercial
logging in
primary forests and forests of high ecological value;
Require no pre-conditions for World Bank funding of such
activities
(other than a promise to develop standards
and establish a monitoring
process); and
Rely on existing World Bank ‘safeguard' policies which are
insufficient
to protect areas of high ecological value
and to prevent conversion of
natural forests.
The draft
Strategy proposes that certification of forestry activities
can counter the risks associated with Bank involvement in
commercial
logging. Certification can be an important
tool for improving forest
management—when it is based
on stringent standards and broad, democratic
participation procedures. However, the proposed Bank policy
would be
linked to an undefined certification program.
This certification could
be based on a wide range of
possible standards of varying quality and
legitimacy,
including certification systems which lack any substantive
forest management and protection standards. Regardless of
the standards,
certification of actual forest
management performance would not be a
pre-condition for
Bank financing under the new Strategy. Even if a
credible certification scheme were to be adopted by the
World Bank,
certification is not a substitute for
clear, consistent national forest
protection policies.
Certification is a voluntary process that not all
landowners, forest managers, and timber purchases do or
will engage in,
and even the best international
certification standards do not always
sufficiently
protect primary forests from intensive logging.
Based on these concerns, we recommend
that the Bank not become
involved in commercial timber
harvesting activities in forests of high
conservation
value, including all primary forests. The risks are too
great, and there is insufficient evidence that the World
Bank managers
have the environmental sensitivities to
ensure the legitimate protection
of forest resources.
Most of the
other activities proposed in the draft Strategy, and
indeed most of those contained in the Bank's existing
Operational Policy
(OP) on Forestry (OP 4.36,
Sept.1993), are fully compatible with the
Bank's goals
of poverty alleviation and improved forest management.
Provisions to tackle illegal logging activities, reform
timber
concession and subsidy policies, and ensure the
rights of forest-
dependent people and communities,
would all have a positive impact in
many countries. As
for actual forestry activities, the Bank can have a
strong positive impact by funding the rehabilitation and
reforestation
of the vast amount of seriously degraded
lands that currently exist in
Bank client countries.
In the
Strategy document the Bank argues that the existing OP "does
not address the issue of temperate forests…" and that the
overall
constraints of the policy have resulted in the
Bank's "non- engagement"
in the forest sector,
preventing the Bank from helping to improve the
management of the world's forests. In fact, nothing in the
OP restricts
its application to any specific forest
type, nor does it focus on any
particular forest type
to the exclusion of any other. There is only one
reference to a very specific forest type – primary,
tropical, moist –
and that is for the purpose of
limiting the project financing the Bank
can do in that
particular forest type.
Furthermore, the existing OP specifically
authorizes the Bank to
engage in a broad range of
activities, including forest-related
conservation and
development planning; facilitating social, economic,
and environmental assessments related to the commercial use
of forests;
and encouraging the establishment of
protected areas. It is clear that
these activities -
which are already authorized - are important to
improving the management and protection of the world's
forests and that
many of them can be directly applied
to poverty alleviation. The World
Bank can do plenty to
improve management in the forest sector without
directly financing commercial logging operations.
As the draft
Strategy itself indicates, forest projects have often
been perceived by both borrower governments and Bank
country teams and
managers to entail too many
"transaction" costs and too many "external
relations"
burdens to be considered worth the effort. Furthermore, the
Bank's own survey of staff and operations (OED Review,
2000) identified
several problems that plague the
forest sector in general, regardless of
what type of
forest policy the Bank adopts. The Bank also failed to
provide country managers and other Bank personnel with a
clear enough
interpretation of the Forestry OP to
enable them to fully understand the
existing policy and
to pursue the many forest-related activities that
are
available. Any so-called "chilling effect" of the World Bank's
existing forest policy has been more attributable to issues
of
implementation/staff compliance, problems inherent
in the forest sector
itself, and the Bank's
relationship with borrower countries.
Rather than undoing the logging ban, we
encourage the World Bank to:
1) Expand the prohibition on funding commercial harvesting
to include
primary forests and forests of high
ecological value— whether boreal,
temperate, and
tropical forests—in all client countries;
2) Clearly
define "commercial harvesting" by listing all prohibited
activities in addition to logging,
e.g., conversion of native forests
to
plantations, road-building, logging equipment purchase, timber
inventory;
3) Pursue the many
positive actions identified in the Strategy, such as
building capacity for improved governance and addressing
the problem of
illegal logging. In this way the World
Bank can be a leader in promoting
policies that are
good for forests and forest peoples; and
4) Encourage
countries to adopt strong, consistent forest protection
policies as part of the overall strategy.
Sincerely,
[YOUR ORGANIZATION HERE]
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: Lisa Dix,
American Lands Campaign
Date: August 29, 2001
UPDATE: Farm Bill
Provisions Threaten Massive Forest Giveaway
The House Committee on Agriculture has completed its
consideration of
"The Farm Security Act of 2001," H.R.
2646 (also called the Combest bill
or the Farm
bill). It is likely that the bill will be brought to the
floor in mid-September for a vote by the full
House. It is also likely
that there will be
several amendments offered to improve the bill.
American Lands is hopeful that several provisions in H.R.
2646 will be
amended due to their harmful impacts on
National Forests.
Stewardship
Contracting: The New Logging Subsidy
Title VIII Sec. 806 of the Farm bill authorizes long-term
forest
stewardship contracts. This language
allows for contracts for hazardous
fuels removal and
implementation of the National Fire Plan by giving the
Secretary of Agriculture the authority to enter into
stewardship end
result contracts until
2007. One of the stewardship contracting
authorities, "goods for services" allows the Forest Service
to trade an
unlimited amounts of trees on the National
Forests to pay for fuels
reduction under the National
Fire Plan and restoration projects. The
"goods for
services" authority allows the Forest Service to treat
National Forest trees as liquid assets that can be used to
pay for any
contracted activities. This type
of stewardship contract encourages
timber extraction,
which harms the environment and actually increases
fire
risk and the amount of restoration needed.
The 1999 Interior Appropriations bill (Public Law 105-277)
initially
authorized Forest Service stewardship
contracting authorities on a pilot
basis. Currently, the Forest Service is allowed
fifty-six pilot
projects to test these new
authorities. This year's Senate version of
the Interior Appropriations bill allows the Forest Service
twenty-eight
additional pilot projects even though none
of the original 56 have been
completed or analyzed and
some are being litigated. Although "goods for
services" is only one of several kinds of authorities the
Forest Service
can employ, it has used the authority on
every single project. Some of
these "goods
for services" projects plan to log millions of board feet
for "restoration" purposes such as a massive clearcutting
proposal in
Idaho to restore elk
habitat. Goods for services is a huge subsidy for
the timber industry, the timber industry gets the goods
(i.e. trees) for
providing their services (i.e.
clearcutting). The farm bill would
permanently authorize "goods for services" contracting
until 2007.
The Farm bill
Authorizes Hazardous Fuels to Energy Program
In yet another subsidy to the timber industry, Title IX
Section 911 of
the Farm bill authorizes "hazardous fuel
reduction grants to prevent
wildfire disasters and
transform hazardous fuels to electric energy,
useful
heat, or transportation fuels." The bill funds this program at
$50,000,000 per year in grants, which will go to biomass
plant operators
based on their planned purchases of
"hazardous fuels and the level of
anticipated benefits
to reduced wildfire risk." According to the bill,
the
grant amounts "shall be equal to at least $5 per ton of hazardous
fuels delivered, but not to exceed $10 per ton of hazardous
fuels
delivered, based on the distance of the hazardous
fuels from the
biomass-to-energy facility." The
Secretary of Agriculture will make the
grant
determinations.
This section
also defines hazardous fuels as "any unnaturally excessive
accumulation of organic material, particularly in areas
designated as
condition class 2 or condition class 3,
on Forest Service lands that the
Secretary concerned
determines poses a substantial present or potential
hazard to forest ecosystems, wildlife, human, community, or
firefighter
safety in the case of a wildfire,
particularly a wildfire in a drought
year." The definition comes from the October 13,
2000 Forest Service
report Protecting People and
Sustainable Resources in Fire-Adapted
Ecosystems, which
the National Fire Plan is based. Unfortunately, the
National Fire Plan does not set a guideline for tree
diameter nor does
it preclude logging in old growth,
roadless, and riparian areas, and
threatened and
endangered species habitat. Moreover, according to a
recent General Accounting Office's (GAO) testimony before
Congress, the
federal land management agencies have
failed to adequately define the
criteria by which
threatened communities should be identified in fuels
reduction projects.
Without adequate criteria to
select communities at risk for wildfire,
there can be
no effective strategy in targeting fuels reduction projects
to protect these communities. According to the
GAO "the National Fire
Plan will become little more
than a funding source…and will not ensure
that
federally appropriated funds are being spent in those
wildland-urban interface communities at the highest risk of
wildland
fire." The GAO charged that the
Forest Service and the Bureau of Land
Management were
misspending their fuels reduction funds by conducting
fuels reduction projects in areas that face little if any
threat of
wildfire. At the same hearing the
agencies admitted that although one
hundred percent of
last years emergency fuels reduction money was
supposed
to be spent treating the wildlands-urban interface for
community protection, only twenty-five percent of the acres
treated are
actually in the interface.
With the Forest Service's poor
fuels reduction record this year and poor
environmental
record in general it is unwise to open the door to the
industrialization of National Forests with a substantial
increase in
biomass plant construction fed by trees
from fuels reduction projects.
This new
subsidy will encourage excessive logging to feed the mills. At
an April 3, 2001 House Resources Committee hearing on
biomass energy,
industry witnesses testified that
without massive subsidies, trees and
other organic
material from fuels reduction projects is not a viable
energy industry. Furthermore, because the Forest
Service currently has
no criteria or safeguards on the
diameter of trees that could be logged
and where they
could be logged forest ecosystems will continue to be
further degraded. In short, without additional
analysis, development of
criteria and environmental
safeguards, forest ecosystems will be put at
risk by
the mechanical fuels reduction projects that are intended to
feed the biomass plants.
Biomass Power Generation
The use of trees to generate electricity poses many
environmental
problems. Biomass proposals
that involve the degradation of forest or
other natural
ecosystems should be opposed. Moreover, the growth of
biomass for power generation should not result in harm to
intact,
recovering, or potentially recoverable natural
ecosystems.
If biomass plants
are constructed with the intention of using forests
as
the primary feedstock, critical questions must be answered to ensure
forest ecosystems are not harmed. For example:
1. How can the public be
assured that the biomass plants will not lead
to
unsustainable logging levels?
2. Will
cumulative impacts analysis be completed showing the impact on
forest ecosystems over the lifetime of the plant, and other
plants that
are located in the same sources area?
3. Will biomass be dependent on continuous
thinning of the National
Forest, or rely solely on
material from the wildlands-urban interface?
There is much concern about the potential impacts of this
technology for
overcutting the National
Forests. Rather than perpetually thinning the
forest, natural fire regimes should be allowed to take
over. While
there is still debate about
whether thinning is always necessary before
prescribed
burning, much of the science suggests that the thinning
should take place only once, and then burning should be the
permanent
prescription.
The only general exception to that
is in the wildlands-urban interface
zone where the
reintroduction of natural fire processes and prescribed
burns will be much more difficult or impossible in many
places.
However, the amount of material
from thinning generated in this zone is
not likely to
be sufficient to meet the biomass needs of a large plant
or many plants dispersed throughout the United States.
The best analogy for the potential
negative impacts of introduction of
large-scale biomass
production across the West, is the introduction of
chip
mills across the South and Southeast. What was sold as a promising
new technology that would allow utilization of second
growth forests and
plantations has led to the
overcutting of southern forests. According
to Forest Service data softwood extraction already exceeds
growth and by
the end of the decade the same will be
true for hardwoods. We are
deforesting the
South due to this technology.
Like chip mills, biomass plants can utilize all size trees,
encouraging
clearcutting and the use of heavy machinery
which damages forest soils
and removes the canopy upon
which numerous plants and animals rely on
for their
survival. Reducing canopy closure also creates hotter, drier
conditions on the ground, increasing the risk of
fires. Other impacts
of logging include
depletion of nutrients in the soil, simplification of
terrestrial ecosystems, increased season flooding levels
and events,
increased water pollution, loss of
groundwater quality and quantity,
loss of habitats for
fish and wildlife, and economic disruptions for
communities and workers dependent on recreation or
non-timber uses of
the forest.
Biomass plants could lead to the
same kind of overcutting in the West
that chip mills
have caused in the East. The National Fire Plan has
only been in effect for one year and has so far failed to
meet many of
the requirements set by
Congress. The continuation of funding for this
program is questionable and new programs should not be
authorized until
the Forest Service and Bureau of Land
Management can meet these
requirements. There is also no indication that
the Forest Service has
had success reducing fuel loads
around communities at risk in the
wildlands-urban
interface because the majority of the projects are
outside this area where fuels reduction is not
necessary. The National
Fire Plan mixed with
the incentive and the subsidies to increase logging
to
feed biomass plants and the lack of any environmental safeguards to
insure that only very small diameter trees are only being
thinned in the
wildlands-urban interface spells
disaster. Thus, the Farm bill should
not
authorize funding to build an infrastructure for this technology.
We are hopeful that amendments
will be offered on the House floor to
strike these
harmful provisions. Stay Tuned!
For more information please contact Lisa Dix, American
Lands Campaign at
202-547-9267, ldix@americanlands.org
or Steve Holmer, American Lands
Alliance at
202-547-9105, wafcdc@americanlands.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
Positive Energy
August 27 -
September 2, 2001
v1.10
Back again with another issue of Greenpeace's
Clean Energy Now Campaign Weekly Good News
update - "Positive Energy"
>> Demand California Power Authority Schedule
State Wide Public Hearings!
The appointed representatives of
newly created California Consumer
Power and
Conservation Financing Authority held their first meeting
on Friday August 24 at the California EPA Building. The
Authority
has a prime opportunity to bring some sanity
into the business of
California's energy supply through
their "Energy Resource
Investment Plan". By law, the
Authority has 180 days to develop
the plan, but it has
become more and more apparent that the "plan"
has
already been set. We are worried that natural gas interests
have pulled a fast one, locking California into a future of
more
local air pollution problems, more climate change
and, an even
greater energy crisis in the
making.
Before it
is too late and the California Energy Plan becomes just
another Fossil Fool Plan, demand that the Authority
1) has an open planning process that includes scheduled
statewide
public hearings and
2) invests at least $2 billion
from the $5 billion bond revenues
in
clean energy.
Take Action Now
to demand sunshine planning and clean energy:
http://www.cleanenergynow.org/takeaction/cpa-hearings.html
>> Greenpeace Exposes PG&E's Destructive Impacts
On August 28, 2001 twelve
Greenpeace activists scaled a
massive coal pile at the
Salem Harbor PG&E Power Plant to
focus attention on
the Bush Energy Plan's destructive impacts
on
Massachusetts and New England.
Join Greenpeace and Global Exchange and stand in solidarity
with the people of Salem, Mass. by calling on the
company to
halt the burning of coal that threatens
community health from
Salem to Bayview and demand that
PG&E stop buying coal from
mines in Colombia, which
violently displace hundreds of
innocent people.
There will be a spirited action on
Thursday, August 30th at
12:00 Noon on the corner of
Market and Beale in downtown
San Francisco.
For more information contact Marla
Ruzicka, Global Exchange
510-551-1148 or e-mail: marla@globalexchange.org
Check out a photogallery from the
Greenpeace Salem action:
http://www.greenpeaceusa.org/features/salem.htm
>> Lobby Day!!!
Join ACORN, Global Exchange,
Greenaction, and Greenpeace,
on September 9th from 2:00
to 6:00 pm at the California S
tate Capitol Building in
Sacramento for Powershift:
a festive rally for clean,
affordable, public power.
Stay
overnight to lobby on Monday, September 10 and demand
that the long-term gas contracts are canceled and the
California Power Authority invest $2 billion in
Clean Energy Now!
For more information on how to get a ride to and from
Sacramento and places to stay on Sunday night,
visit our website at:
http://www.cleanenergynow.org/powershift
For directions to the rally visit:
http://www.powertothepeople.org/powershift/directions.html
The "Positive Energy"
newsletter and the web site,
http://www.cleanenergynow.org , will give you good news
about ways to achieve clean air, climate justice and
renewable energy solutions to our current energy
crisis.
Want to do more?
Become a Greenpeace member today!
http://www.greenpeaceusa.org/join2/cen.htm
If you would like to subscribe or
unsubscibe to any Greenpeace e-mail list, you can do so at:
http://www.greenpeaceusa.org/sc
Dear Members of Global Response's "Quick Response Network:"
As an affiliate in the
JustEarth! Network, Global Response asks you to join
in
this emergency letter-writing campaign:
Professor Yury Bandazhevsky, a Belarus scientist and
environmental defender
was recently sentenced to eight
years imprisonment on trumped up charges of
bribery in
a legal processing fraught with irregularities. The real reason
for Professor Bandazhevsky's arrest and
conviction appears to be his
scientific work on the
effects of radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl
nuclear reactor disaster of 1986. Amnesty
International on August 24,
2001,
declared Professor Bandazhevsky a Prisoner of Conscience demanding
his immediate and unconditional
release. Please join us in taking action
to
secure the release of this defender. Thank you for defending those
who
give the earth a voice!
In
Solidarity,
Amnesty International USA
Just Earth! Program Team
==================================================
Environmental researcher Yury Bandazhevsky declared
Prisoner of Conscience
? Take action to demand his
release
On June 18, 2001
Professor Yury Bandazhevsky was sentenced to eight years
of imprisonment in Minsk, Belarus and prohibited from
assuming any
managerial and political functions for the
first five years after his
release. Amnesty
International believes that he was convicted because of
his research related to the Chernobyl nuclear reactor
catastrophe of 1986
and his criticism of state
authorities. Amnesty has declared Professor
Bandazhevsky a Prisoner of Conscience and is calling for
his immediate and
unconditional release. Professor
Bandazhevsky is one of a number of
Prisoners of
Conscience Amnesty has adopted in the last four years in
reaction to the conviction and imprisonment of government
critics.
Professor
Bandazhevsky's conviction came after a four month trial in front
of the Military Board of the Belarusian Supreme
Court. He was found guilty
of allegedly
taking bribes from students seeking admission to the Gomel
Medical Institute of which he is the former
rector. From the beginning
Professor
Bandazhevsky has adamantly denied the charges and expressed fear
that he was being targeted by the state authorities on
account of his
scientific work.
The conditions of his arrest and
trial raise a number of concerns. After
his
arrest on July 13, 1999, he was held for four weeks before being
officially charged ? a violation of obligations
under the International
Convention on Civil and
Political Rights. In addition, he was not given
immediate access to a lawyer as required by various UN
principles designed
to deter ill-treatment of
detainees. Bandazhevsky was also temporarily
transferred to a prison 140km away in Mogilov without his
lawyer being
informed. When his lawyer did
try to visit him, he was denied access
because
Professor Bandazhevsky had been placed in an isolation cell.
International and domestic trial
observers concluded that Professor
Bandazhevsky's right
to a fair trial had been repeatedly violated. The
violations included the denial to a right to defense after
he was not given
access to legal counsel during his
pre-trial detention, improper evidence
collection,
failure to produce any material evidence, and failure to name
the circumstances around the alleged
crime. Witnesses, who had made public
statements against Professor Bandazhevsky, proved during
the trial to be
unreliable or were forced to speak out
under duress. In the past, Amnesty
has
raised concerns regarding the independence of the judiciary in Belarus.
The real reason behind Professor
Bandazhevsky's arrest and conviction
appears to be his
scientific work examining the effects of the radioactive
fallout of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor disaster of 1986
on people living
in the region of Gomel. He
has been an outspoken critic of the reaction of
Belarusian authorities to the impact of the disaster on the
population's
health. Prior to his arrest, he
had written a report criticizing the
research being
conducted on the Chernobyl catastrophe by an institute
within the Belarusian Ministry of Health. In his
report, he proposed an
immediate revision of scientific
programs related to the alleviation of the
accident's
consequences. When he was arrested, the authorities confiscated
his research materials.
During his six months in pre-trial detention in 1999,
Professor
Bandazhevsky's health deteriorated
drastically, resulting in his
hospitalization for
stomach ulcers and depression. Amnesty fears that his
health will continue to deteriorate during his imprisonment
at the penal
colony in Minsk. Amnesty
International considers Professor Yury
Bandazhevsky a
Prisoner of Conscience, imprisoned for exercising his right
to freedom of expression, and is calling for his immediate
and
unconditional release.
Write to Belarusian authorities. Express concern
regarding the
circumstances of Professor Bandazhevsky's
arrest and imprisonment. Mention
your
concern for Dr. Bandazhevsky's well being and the conditions of his
detention. Urge the authorities to ensure that he
receive adequate medical
attention. Demand
that as a Prisoner of Conscience he be immediately and
unconditionally released.
Send appeals to:
Alexander Lukashenka
Alyaksandr G.
Lukashenka
President of the Republic of Belarus
220016 g. Minsk
Karl Marx Street,
38
Minsk, 220016
Administratsia Prezidenta
Presidential Administration
Republic of Belarus
Fax: +375
(172) 26 06 10
Email: infogrp@president.gov.by
Gennady Varantsov
Minister of Justice of the Republic of Belarus
220084 g. Minsk
Kollectornaya
Street, 10
Ul. Kollectornaya 10
Minsk, 220084
Minsterstvo
yustitsii Respubliiki
Republic of Belarus
Ambassador Valery Viliamovich
Tsepkalo
Embassy of the Republic of Belarus
1619 New Hampshire Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20009
Tel: (202) 986-1606
Fax: (202)
986-1805
e-mail: embassy@capu.net
****************************
*
WILD ALERT
* Thursday, August 30, 2001
****************************
Dear WildAlert Subscriber,
It's usually quiet in August. Not this year:
1. ROADLESS RULE -- More comments needed;
please attend an event
near you.
2. SQUIRREL MEADOWS -- Judge stops
controversial land swap
***************************************************************
1. PROTECT WILD FORESTS
Thousands of activists and other citizens have sent in
comments on the
Bush Administration's attempt to undo
the Roadless Area Conservation
Rule. Thank
you!!
If you
haven't sent them in already, your comments are *urgently*
needed! And don't forget to ask your family and
friends to send in
theirs as well. Time is
running out to make our voices heard -- the
deadline is
September 10th. We've said it before and we'll say it
again: don't allow the sell-out of our wild
forests!
http://www.wilderness.org/takeaction/?step=2&item=584
BACKGROUND
Soon after taking office, the Bush Administration quickly
decided to
undo the Roadless Area Conservation Rule,
because it doesn't fit with
its agenda to open up
public lands to Big Oil and other industrial
development. In the process, the Administration
chose to ignore the
comments of 1+ million Americans
who want to see the last remaining 58
million acres of
wild places on our national forests protected. Now
in a matter of months, the Administration wants to reverse
the
roadless rule, which was developed in a
three-year-long public
process.
TAKE ACTION
Attend a roadless event (see below). Send your
comments from
http://www.wilderness.org/takeaction/?step=2&item=584
or tell the Forest Service directly that the Roadless
Area
Conservation Rule should stand as it was
originally developed, and
should not be relaxed in any
way.
You can send
your comments to:
USDA-Forest Service-CAT
Attention: Roadless ANPR Comments
P.O. Box 221090, Salt Lake City, Utah 84122-1090
EMAIL: roadless_anpr@fs.fed.us
ATTEND A ROADLESS EVENT
Once
you've sent in your comments and you've forwarded this message to
everyone you can think of, turn out for one of the events
being
organized around the country. By
showing up, you'll help create a
buzz around this
issue. Events are planned in various locations
nationwide -- see list below. For more info on speakers,
etc, visit
http://www.wilderness.org/standbylands/roadless/events.htm
Seattle, WA -- Sept. 4,
12:30 pm
Westlake Mall, 400 Pine St., downtown
Contact: The Wilderness Society, 206/624-6430
Juneau, AK -- Sept. 5, Noon
Federal Building, downtown
Contact: Corrie Bosman, Alaska Rainforest Campaign,
907/747-8292
Portland, OR --
Sept. 5, Noon
Forest Service Region 6 Headquarters,
corner of SW 2nd & Oak
Contact: Susan Ash, Oregon
Natural Resources Council, 503/283-6343
San Francisco, CA -- Sept. 5, Noon
Justin Herman Plaza, corner of Market & Embarcadero
Contact: Carrie Sandstedt, Cal. Wilderness Coalition,
530/758-0380
Albuquerque, NM
-- Sept. 5, 11:00 am (time may change)
Forest Service
SW Reg'l Headquarters, 333 Broadway (Broadway & Silver)
Contact: Steve Capra, NM Wilderness Alliance, 505/843-8696
Lakewood, CO -- Sept. 5, 11:00
am
Forest Service Reg'l Headquarters, 740 Simms Street
Contact: Carrie Doyle, Southern Rockies Forest Network,
303/455-2966
Milwaukee, WI --
Sept. 5, time & location to be determined
Contact:
Megan Fitzgerald, WISPIRG, 608-251-5354
Laconia, NH -- Sept. 5, 10:00 am
White Mountain Nat'l Forest Supervisor's Office, 719 Main
St.
Contact: Jeremy Sheaffer, The Wilderness Society,
617/350-8866
Atlanta, GA --
Sept. 5, 11:00 am
Forest Service SE Reg'l Office, 1720
Peachtree Rd, NW
Contact: Jennifer McCabe, The
Wilderness Society, 404-872-9453
Missoula, MT -- Sept. 10, 11:00 am
Forest Service Reg'l Headquarters, Broadway & Pattee
Contact: Mary Anne Peine, Ecology Center, 406/728-5733;
or email
Katherine Postelli at kpostelli@hotmail.com
***************************************************************
2. SQUIRREL MEADOWS LAND SWAP BLOCKED
A land swap that would have given the Grand Targhee ski
resort
millions of dollars worth of Forest Service land
at a fraction of
market value was blocked this month by
a federal judge.
The Forest
Service sought to give 120 acres of prime real estate at
the base of Grand Targhee ski resort near Jackson, WY, to
George
Gillett, the resort's owner, in exchange for 400
acres of grizzly bear
habitat just south of Yellowstone
National Park, referred to as
Squirrel
Meadows. Both areas are important for wildlife.
When we first featured this in a
WildAlert nearly two years ago, local
residents and
environmental activists had already been fighting the
proposed swap for years. They argued that
privatizing Forest Service
land at the base of the ski
resort would only accelerate rampant
growth in the
Teton Valley, leading to more loss of agricultural land
and open space, and increasing taxes to maintain
over-burdened county
services. Conservationists want to see Squirrel
Meadows preserved,
but not at the expense of another
part of the ecosystem.
After
the Forest Service approved the swap in December 2000,
EarthJustice Legal Defense Fund sued the Forest Service on
behalf of
several organizations. The suit
claimed the Forest Service overstated
the amount of
development that would occur on Squirrel Meadows if the
trade did not go through, and failed to assess the impact
on
development around Grand Targhee. The
judge agreed, blocking the land
swap. Forest
Service attorneys are deciding whether to appeal the
ruling.
***************************************************************
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
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http://www.wilderness.org/forms/subscribe.htm or send a
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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
Care2's alerts newsletter features important steps YOU
can quickly take to help make the world greener. We're
pleased to share with you a special action opportunity
from Care2's nonprofit partner, Earthjustice.
I. NEW ALERT: Protect Pristine
Forest By Sept. 10!
The Roadless Area Conservation Rule
is one of the most
important conservation initiatives
ever undertaken.
Finalized by the Forest Service in
January 2001, it
calls for protecting 58.5 million
acres of the wildest
remaining national forest lands.
Now, working with
industry friends, key officials of
the Bush
administration are actively moving to
eliminate the
rule and its protections.
During the first set of public
hearings, over 95%
of the Americans who made up the 1.6
million comments
and attended the 600 public hearings
on the Roadless
Area Conservation Policy, supported the
policy as
published in the Federal Register on January
12, 2001
with no modification, exemptions or deletions.
Urge the forest service to
abandon their efforts to
weaken this landmark
conservation achievement and
immediately implement the
original policy on all
national forests, including
Alaska's Tongass Rainforest.
Roadless areas are too
important as vital sources for
clean water, quality
recreation and premier fish and
wildlife habitat to
allow this rule to be changed. You
can help
protect your forests by making a public comment
on this
important issue through Earthjustice today. The
deadline is quickly approaching. Please sign now!
http://www.care2.com/go/redirect/2/2362
II. ACTIVIST TIPS
** Save money on air conditioning by planting trees
around your home. Trees provide shade in summer and can
reduce home air conditionning needs by 10 to 50 percent.
Well maintained trees will also filter out air
pollution
for as long as 60 years!
** Read your labels! If what
you're throwing away is
hazardous, dispose of it
properly. Just one drop of oil
can contaminate up to 25
litres of water.
III.
INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE
"The assumption that animals are
without rights and the
illusion that our treatment of
them has no moral significance
is a positively
outrageous example of Western crudity and
barbarity.
Universal compassion is the only guarantee of
morality."
-- Arthur Schopenhauer
(1788-1860)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
To SUBSCRIBE,
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RAFI (Rural Advancement
Foundation International)
www.rafi.org | rafi@rafi.org
News Release - 31
August 2001
Terminator Takeover?
Will financial troubles put Delta
& Pine Land Inc. on the auction block?
Delta & Pine Land, the
maverick seed company that vows to commercialize
the notorious Terminator
technology, is in trouble. Delta & Pine Land
announced earlier this week
that its president is
quitting, the company will eliminate seven percent of
its work force,
and they are shutting down a facility in Arizona.
The Mississippi-based cotton seed company, the ninth largest seed
business in the world, is the only company to publicly announce its
intention to commercialize Terminator seeds - a technology that
genetically modifies plants to produce sterile seeds, forcing farmers
to
return to the commercial seed market every year. The USDA and Delta &
Pine Land jointly own three patents on genetic seed sterilization. On
August 1 the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that it had
concluded negotiations to license the Terminator
technology to Delta
& Pine Land. (See RAFI News Release, "USDA Says
Yes to Terminator," 3
August 2001, www.rafi.org)
Will
financial hard times put Delta & Pine Land (D&PL) on the auction
block? Which Gene Giant will risk acquiring Terminator technology
next?
Is Terminator an asset or a liability?
Financial Advice for
D&PL: "USDA's recent announcement on the
licensing of
Terminator technology is perceived internationally as a
'declaration of war'
against Third World farmers," explains Julie
Delahanty of RAFI. An estimated
three-quarters of the world's farmers
routinely save seed from their harvest
to re-plant the following
season.
"The stigma of 'suicide seeds' is
a noose around the company's neck,"
adds RAFI's Hope Shand, "Delta &
Pine Land can cut its losses now,
simply by abandoning Terminator seed
technology."
Takeover Target? With the economy in a free
fall, Delta & Pine Land
becomes an attractive takeover target, once
again, for a handful of
Gene Giants looking to acquire major market share in
the seed business.
The company controls approximately three-quarters of the
U.S. cotton
seed market, and has extensive foreign operations. Delta &
Pine Land
proved that it was willing to be acquired back in 1998, when
Monsanto
announced that it would buy Delta & Pine Land for a
stunning $1.8 billion. The deal collapsed, partly because of
overwhelming public opposition to Terminator technology and
Monsanto's
burgeoning debt load.
Who could afford to acquire D&PL? Monsanto
(now owned by Pharmacia),
DuPont, Dow, Syngenta, Bayer, and BASF are all
possible suitors. Bayer
is in the midst of negotiating a deal to acquire
Aventis's seed and
agrochemical division. Monsanto already has a joint
venture with D&PL.
BASF is looking to extend its position in ag biotech.
Take Action on Terminator: Civil society organizations (CSOs) around
the world will take the anti-Terminator campaign to the World Food
Summit Five Years Later, 5-9 November 2001.
Citizens should contact
their Ministers of Agriculture now. Urge your
government to endorse a formal
ban on Terminator technology at the
World Food Summit in November. There is
no doubt that D&PL seeks to
deploy Terminator seeds in the South. Murray
Robinson, the company's
new president, told a U.S. seed trade journal in
1998 that D&PL's seed
sterilizing technology could be used on over 405
million hectares
worldwide (an area the size of South Asia), and that it
could
generate revenues for his company in excess of $1 billion per annum.
Robinson said that the newly patented technique will provide seed
companies with a "safe avenue" for introducing their new proprietary
technologies into giant, untapped seed markets such as China, India, and
Pakistan.
Concerned citizens, farmers, and civil society
organizations can also
send a message directly to Delta & Pine Land's
new president, and
current CEO, Murray Robinson. Let D&PL know that
Terminator is
anti-farmer, dangerous for the environment, and disastrous for
world
food security. Terminator technology is also bad for business!
F. Murray Robinson, President and CEO
Delta & Pine Land Inc.
One Cotton Row
Scott, Mississippi 38772
USA
Tel: 662 742-4000
Fax: 662 742-3795
Email should be sent via: harry.b.collins@deltaandpine.com
For a complete list of Delta & Pine Land's subsidiaries and
joint
ventures, see the PDF version of this news release on RAFI's web
site: http://www.rafi.org
Endnotes:
1. Robinson was interviewed by Bill Freiberg, "Is
Delta and Pine
Land's Terminator Gene a Billion Dollar Discovery?" Seeds and
Crop
Digest, May/June, 1998.
For more information, contact:
Hope Shand, RAFI: hope@rafi.org
Julie Delahanty, RAFI: julie@rafi.org
RAFI is an
international civil society organization based in Canada.
We are dedicated
to the conservation and sustainable use of
biodiversity and to the socially
responsible development of
technologies useful to rural societies.
