17 Governments Ask Japanese
to Stop Antarctic Whaling |
Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, along with 13 other countries, have presented a formal diplomatic representation to the Japanese government urging it to stop its Antarctic whaling program. A written statement notes that Japan is now killing more whales every year in the Antarctic alone than it killed for scientific research in the 31 years prior to the introduction of the moratorium on commercial whaling in 1986. full story |
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Senate Puts Arctic Drilling on Ice |
The U.S. Senate Wednesday blocked a rider to a $453 billion military spending bill that would permit oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). The vote is a bitter defeat for drilling proponents who hoped to open the refuge by adding the provision to a defense appropriations bill that lawmakers are loathe to delay. "This was a vote of conscience," said Senator John Kerry. full story |
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F.B.I. Watched Activist Groups, New Files Show |
Counterterrorism agents at the F.B.I. have conducted numerous surveillance and intelligence-gathering ops that involved groups active in causes as diverse as the environment, animal cruelty and poverty relief agency records show. But the documents, coming after the Bush's confirmation that he had authorized spying without warrants in fighting terrorism, prompted charges that the govt. had improperly blurred the line between terrorism and acts of civil disobedience and lawful protest. full story |
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Polar Bears Living on Thin Ice
after Record Temperatures |
This could be the hottest year ever recorded, posing a threat to Arctic wildlife including polar bears, ice-dwelling seals and several forms of vegetation, according to UN scientists collating data from across the world. "This year is currently the second warmest on record, and could end up being the warmest once all the figures are in. It has certainly been exceptional in the intensity of its storms," said Michel Jarraud of the UN's World Meteorological Organisation. full story |
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Brazil's New National Park
Protects Vanishing Savannah |
The government of Brazil has created a new national park that protects 160,000 hectares of open savannah grasslands, Environment Minister Marina Silva announced Tues. on the closing of the 2nd. National Conference on the Environment. Creation of the park is part of the federal govt's plan to increase the protected area in the savannah region, called the Cerrado where some 935 species of birds and nearly 300 mammals, some endangered species, inhabit the region. full story |
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It's in Us All |
One year ago, Michele and Jeremiah Holland, sat together contemplating some frightening lab results for their two children. Their son, a toddler, had some of the highest levels of flame retardants in his blood of anyone measured on Earth. And their daughter, a 5-year-old, was close behind. Scientists suspect synthetic chemicals plastic, flame retardants, pesticides, even the chemical precursors for nonstick frying pans taint the blood of everyone alive today. full story |
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150,000 Deaths Blamed on Climate Change |
The numbers are no longer theoretical computer projections of the toll of climate change on human health at some far-off time in the future. Instead they're real victims, estimates of the people who died around the world in 2000 because global warming triggered heat waves, floods or droughts, or made worse some infectious disease. That number is conservatively put at 150,000 in a detailed study carried out for the World Health Organization. full story |
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Spotted Owl Crisis Prompts First Legal
Test of Canada's Species Law |
Only 23 spotted owls remain in British Columbia, and Tuesday environmental groups filed the first legal action of its kind under Canada’s Species at Risk Act, seeking federal government intervention to protect the critically endangered bird. “We will not sit on the sidelines and watch the B.C. govt. log the spotted owl’s habitat until this creature disappears from Canada,” said Joe Foy of the Western Canada Wilderness Committee. full story |
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In Peru, a Poisoned Town, a Driven Man |
The massive metallurgical complex owned by St. Louis-based Doe Run is the biggest employer and the biggest source of pollution in the community, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. A study conducted by Doe Run and the Ministry of Health a year ago showed that virtually all of the children tested in La Oroya had lead poisoning. full story |
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Thousands of Firms Could Stop Reporting Emissions |
Thousands of companies throughout the nation would no longer have to provide the public with details of toxic chemicals they release into the environment under a Bush proposal to streamline the nation's environmental right-to-know law. For nearly 20 years, the national Toxics Release Inventory has allowed people to access detailed data about chemicals that are used and released in their neighborhoods. full story |
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