Canadian Institute for Business and the Environment
Montreal, Quebec,
Canada
Ph. (514) 369-0230, Fax (514)
369-3282
Email cibe@web.net
Vol. 6, No. 33, December 29
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SUV CAR OWNERS IN UNITED STATES GET
TAX BREAK
Business owners of the large
gas-guzzling Sport Utility Vehicles (SUV's) in the United States get a tax break
worth tens of thousands of dollars. While owners of small energy efficient cars
get none. The financial incentive is perverse. Instead of cleaning up the air,
getting off of OPEC oil, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the tax promotes
more air pollution and worse gas mileage for U.S. cars. The tax break allows an
accelerated tax depreciation for businesses, including business individuals,
wherein the person can write off the depreciation from his or her taxes. It was
established 20 years ago for light trucks, so that the farmers that primarily
owned them could get a break. But today the small farmer is almost gone and the
Sport Utility Vehicle SUV has been deemed a "light truck" by the U.S. tax
department. So instead of giving the tax break to the small farmer in 2002, the
majority of tax breaks are going to millions of SUV owners. The law gives people
who qualify an immediate deduction of as much as $24,000 -- which grows to
$25,000 next year -- off the price of an SUV. Plus, until 2004, there's a bonus
deduction of 30% of the rest of the cost of the truck. Both these deductions are
on top of the regular five-year depreciation that would apply to light trucks
bought as business transportation. The only catch: To get all these breaks, you
have to buy a truck that weighs over 6,000 pounds. The Chevy Suburban makes it,
but the Chevy Blazer doesn't. It adds up to a significant price cut. Ford Motor
Co.'s Land Rover Range Rover, for instance, has a list price of $71,865, but the
combined tax breaks effectively knock $21,560 off the price, over the course of
five years, assuming a tax rate of 30%. Source, "SUVs Get Big Tax Break - As
Drivers Seize Loophole," by Jeffrey Ball and Karen Lundegaard, The Wall Street
Journal, December 19, 2002.
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BY 2003 GENERAL ELECTRIC POWER
SYSTEMS INC.. WILL BE USING 85% CLEAN ENERGY
By tapping into the Renewable
Energy markets and finding ways to increase efficiencies of existing
technologies, General Electric Corp. will have approximately 85 percent of GE
Power Systems' total revenues come from cleaner, more efficient or Renewable
Energy solutions, by the end of 2003. This is according to GE's company report
at the recent Power-Gen International 2002 Conference. "From advanced, more
efficient technology for natural gas fired-turbines, boiler optimization and
IGCC, to the promising wind power industry…across all of our business sectors,
we are responding to the fuel efficiency and environmental requirements of our
customers worldwide," said John Rice, president and CEO of GE Power Systems.
Traditional GE technologies now focus on cleaner and more efficient operation
include natural gas-fired turbines and combined-cycle plants, gas turbine
upgrades and service and steam turbine upgrades. Newer areas of development
include network solutions, substation automation, plant optimization and "smart"
sensors. These technology sectors are expected to produce about 79 percent of GE
Power Systems' total sales next year, with the rapidly growing Renewable Energy
segment - wind, small hydro and geothermal - representing six percent of
revenues for the year. "We see tremendous interest in Renewable Energy solutions
around the world," said Rice. "As these technologies continue to improve and
become increasingly cost effective, they will become even more attractive to the
public and to our customers."
One of the newest additions to
the GE technology family, wind energy, offers vast potential, with the global
wind market continuing to show double-digit annual growth. As technology
advances and the installed base of wind turbines grows, the cost of
wind-generated electricity is becoming increasingly competitive with other
energy options. GE Wind Energy, formed after GE's acquisition of Enron Wind,
brings to the wind industry a broad base of advanced technology, experience and
synergies with other GE businesses. The company has developed and/or sold more
than 5,400 wind turbines with a rated capacity exceeding 3,000 MW. Its latest
technology development is the 3.6 MW wind turbine, one of the largest such
machines in the world. GE also is active in the geothermal sector of the
Renewable Energy industry. As a recent example, GE supplied six geothermal steam
turbine-generators for an ENEL repowering project in Italy. GE, along with
ExxonMobil and Stanford University, recently announced a multi-million dollar
collaborative research project to identify and develop alternative and
next-generation energy technologies. This unprecedented effort is an extension
of the research GE already is doing in hydrogen, fuel cells, solar and wind
technologies. Source, SolarAccess.Com, Orlando, Florida, - December 17, 2002.
Visit GE Power Systems website at
http://www.gepower.com/home/index.html
.
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FORD DROPS ITS ELECTRIC CAR
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM: THE TH!INK CAR
Ford Motor Company cancelled its
Th!nk electric car program, currently located in Norway. This is after the
company invested $100 million in developing the environmentally-friendly car.
Ford contends that there is simply no market for the car. More likely it is the
decision by U.S. president George Bush that cars don't have to meet stringent
environmental standards in urbans. EV World.com has learned that the New
York Power Authority was ready to order another 300 electric cars from Ford for
its highly successful station car program. A group in Costa Rica wanted to buy
at least 300 of the cars as well and this is before any effort had been made to
market the vehicle. EV World has received numerous inquiries from interested
buyers all over the world, which they forwarded to the Ford Th!nk
marketing director. There are currently some 300 of the European version of the
car involved in several demonstration programs in California and New
York.
Engineers familiar with the newest model of the Ford Th!nk city, a
two-passenger electric car with rust-free, dent-resistant, recyclable plastic
body panels, privately say Ford decided to cancel the program because it
couldn't come up with an acceptable, low-cost lead-acid battery, over the
objections of its own engineers. The current version of the car uses NiCad
batteries which gives the car a top speed of about 55 mph and a range of about
50-60 miles, depending on driving conditions and terrain. However, sources close
to Th!nk Nordic have revealed that a new battery from Switzerland is now being
tested in the car, which not only improves the car's range to better than 100
miles between charges, but also should have a life expectancy of upwards of 10
years or more, something no lead-acid battery can come close to matching. In
addition, this battery should enable engineers to increase the top speed of the
car to more closely match U.S. freeway driving needs. While the new battery
currently costs about $7,000 per unit, it is thought by those familiar with the
project that this cost can be reduced to about $5,000 per pack. Source, Bill
Moore, publisher and editor-in-chief of Electric Vehicle World, Omaha,
Nebraska, email
editor@evworld.com .
Visit the website at http://www.evworld.com/
.
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LETTERS TO THE
EDITOR
Dear Editor: RE: GHG Emissions
Trading Done Right, Can Work,
The magnitude of Enron corruption
has been just mind-boggling as details have come out. That this kind of
scamming was trickling over into emission trading was no surprise, and points to
the simple truth that where games can be played, games will be played with
emissions trading. That it paints the hundreds, thousands and tens of
thousands of decent and honest enterprises with the same brush is an injustice
that is never corrected. In most enterprises or systems, enforceable (and
enforced) rules are very much needed to keep the pickpockets at bay. And this is
just as necessary in emission trading systems as it is in most other walks of
life. Whether in a cap and trade program where paper can be printed and moved,
and can come into question If nobody checks the paper. Or, in a project-based
emission credit trading program, where just because somebody says they made an
emission reduction doesn't make it so. When companies report their annual
emissions to government for compliance purposes, no regulator with any integrity
would just accept that data without some sort of quality assurance backdrop to
support the veracity of the data.
Similarly, when people in an
emission reduction credit trading system report their emission changes (i.e.
emission improvements), surely that data needs to have the same kind of
quality/verification backdrop as the emission data reported to regulators?
Exact measurement or estimation methods may differ between companies or actions,
but key elements of quality assurance and verification systems must be
there. An emission reduction is an abstract thing to look at or to
touch. The quality and verifiability of the before and after information
is what makes it tangible, what makes it real.
A regulatory agency that
implements an emission trading system, that does not routinely require the same
type of data quality assurance/verification backdrop as typical of regulatory
reporting, is just being sloppy. This has absolutely nothing to do with
emission trading, and everything to do with regulatory negligence. An emission
trading system with no credibility would be a system with no purpose nor
longevity. Who would benefit and for how long? It would forever
paint the concepts of emission trading with tar and feathers. Surely such a
system would be dead-on- arrival. I wonder what were the New Jersey
regulators thinking -- there is no quicker way to cause a program to fail than
to launch it, and then just walk away and wash your hands of it. There is
a nice saying that goes: "Never attribute to malice what can be explained by
stupidity." I'm hoping the folks at the New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection (NJDEP) were just plain dumb.
Those of us who have worked with
so many industries, environmentalists, governments, international agencies, and
visionaries for so many years towards the design and implementation of credible
and practical emission reduction trading systems, believe that there does not
have to be an 'either-or' choice between the economy and the environment; jobs
or the environment; business, or the environment; standard-of-living, or the
environment. There doesn't even have to be a choice between cap-and trade
or emission reduction credit trading or older regulatory approaches --
imagine.
As example -- with practical and credible emission trading systems -- that
can reach out of the box into the broadest emissions inventory and into the full
breadth of the economy -- those who invest/transact in actions, activities,
technologies that have the effect of reducing or offsetting emissions will save
money or make money. A dynamic market will be created where private
sector money naturally flows towards innovation, economic benefits, emission
reductions. This happens for the simple reason that the act of reducing
real emissions will have monetary value in the marketplace. Reducing
emissions, no longer just a cost, becomes something with tradable
monetary value -- something "other people" want to invest in and can make money
doing so. The profit motive cleans the air. Sincerely, Brian Jantzi,
Managing Director, Natsource LLC, Suite 400, 154 University Avenue, Toronto,
Ontario M5H 3Y9, tel: (416) 204-1102, fax: (416) 709-4162, email:
bjantzi@natsource.com
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Dear Editor: RE: Generation of
Computer Waste,
As usual, your view of the future does not take into account the changes in
technology that help to solve the problem of information technology waste.
In this case, technology is already available that allows different operating
systems to communicate with each other and allows old software to work with new
software. The impact of these technologies should be to extend the lives
of existing software and hardware until it no longer functions, rather than
until it is superceded and replaced by the latest hardware. If any of your
readers are interested in learning more, I would be happy to tell them about it.
Sincerely, Kendall Carey, email
careyfawcett@sympatico.ca
.
*******************************************************************
Dear Editor: RE: Using Forests As
Carbon Sinks May Work:
Just a note in response to the latest Gallon letter. Only an idiot would
have thought that cutting down an old, stable forest and replacing it with a new
forest would create a carbon sink. What it does, on the long run, is provide us
with a harvest of reduced carbon, which we can burn without adding new carbon to
the atmosphere. However, if we plant trees on abandoned farm land, such as hay
fields, on suitable soils, we do create a carbon sink for some 50-100 years,
until the forest becomes an old, stable one. Obviously, there are interesting
complications, including time delays and feedbacks, but planting young forests
on suitable open land does work. I have done so, and have no doubt about its
effectiveness. Sincerely, Dr. Dolf Harmsen, Biology Department, Queen's
University, Kingston, Ontario, email
harmsenr@queensu.ca
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ILLEGAL LOGGING RUINING INDONESIAN
FORESTS
According to research by the
University of Tanjungpura in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, once known as part of
the world's lungs for its tropical forests, will turn into a vast barren desert
in 2037 due to forest fires and rampant illegal logging. Over the last two
years, the university's research team collected data that shows the province has
lost an average of 165,631 hectares (ha) of forest annually and, under such a
condition, the province's remaining 6.3 million hectares of forest will likely
vanish within the next 35 years. "The main problems are the rampant illegal
logging, by both locals and holders of forest concessions, and the forest fires
during the annual dry season," researcher Gusti Hardiansyah said in a seminar to
reveal their research results here recently. According to data at the local
forestry office, from 1977 to 1985, the province lost 22 percent of its forest
area, from 8.7 million ha to 6.7 million ha. Hardiansyah further said that his
team, comprised of environmental experts and activists, found that many forest
concession holders were supplying illegal logs to middlemen for export to
Singapore, Malaysia, China, Japan and Taiwan.
Eighty percent of illegal logs
are exported while the remaining 20 percent are supplied to the local market. He
said that according to field investigations, the province produces around
864,000 cubic meters of illegal logs and timber annually, of which the majority
are exported to Malaysia. "The illegal logs are smuggled through Entikong in
Sanggau regency, Badau in Kapuas Hulu regency and Jagoi Babang in Bengkayang
regency. "About half of the hotel occupants in Ketapang are usually timber
businessmen from Malaysia, who come here to purchase illegal logs and timber,"
he said. The kinds of wood available in the province were those with high
economic value, for example, belian (eusideroxylon zwageri), meranti
(dipterocarpa) and bedaru (cantleya corniculata). He said the illegal logs were
supplied through middlemen to the sawmills operating illegally in forest areas
in the province. So far, there are 433,250 sawmills in the province and most of
them have operated without any official permission or documentation from
relevant authorities. Sr. Comr. Wayan T. Budhijaja, chief of the special
operation center at the provincial police, said it was very difficult to stop
the illegal logging because of the government's lack of political will to do so.
The illegal logging could be stopped only if relevant authorities, including the
police and the military, were not involved in the scam and those supplying
illegal logs and timber were punished severely, he said. Source, "West
Kalimantan to become desert in 2037," by Bambang Bider, The Jakarta Post,
December 2, 2002.
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CELL SI CO, INC., NEW SOLAR
PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS AVAILABLE
CellSiCo, Inc. has started producing high-efficacy (14,5%-16,5%) Solar
Cells with applying vacuum deposition technologies on the new manufacturing
facilities in Russia, called mono-crystal silicone solar cells. It has developed
two methods of manufacturing cheaper photovoltaic solar cells: RF-magnetron
evaporation for deposition of light-transparence electro-conductive layer; and,
DC-magnetron evaporation for deposition of ultra-thin multi-layers greed and
bus-bar on the front surface. For more information contact CellSiCo, Inc., P.O.
Box 425, Southampton, Pennsylvania 18966, email
info@cellsico.com .
Visit their website at
http://www.cellsico.com
.
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THE NETHERLANDS ANNOUNCES FOUR JI GHG REDUCTION
PROJECTS IN EASTERN EUROPE
The Netherlands' Minister of Foreign Trade, Joop Wijn, signed several
contracts within the framework of "Joint Implementation" on December 18, 2002.
The contracts result from the second Emission Reduction Unit Procurement Tender
(ERUPT) that Senter is implementing on behalf of the Netherlands Ministry of
Economic Affairs. The four projects are located in Romania (2), Slovakia and
Hungary and represent over 5 million tonnes of CO2e reductions for a total
contract value of EUR 25 million. The average price of the carbon credits from
the four projects is EUR 4.78 per tonne CO2e. For more information, please go to
http://www.senter.nl/asp/page.asp?id=i001329&alias=erupt
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WIND ENERGY IN ENGLAND WAS DOUBLED
IN 2002
The British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) reported that 525 megawatts of
wind energy farms were approved in 2002. This amount is almost exactly the total
amount of wind energy built in England during the previous eleven years put
together. "2002 will be remembered as the year that wind energy became the
technology of choice," commented BWEA Chief Executive Nick Goodall. "In a
volatile year for established generators with the nuclear industry struggling,
gas prices doubling and the effects of climate change never more obvious, energy
companies, politicians and the public have turned to the simplest and most
bountiful resource of all - the wind." Across the UK, even in Wales, where
critics have said that wind energy isn't a winner, planning success have been
mirrored by spectacular growth. Two offshore wind farms won planning consent and
the Government has revealed plans for a further 4000MW of offshore wind. The
first wind turbine manufacturing plant in the UK for 20 years was established in
Scotland, at Machrihanish by the world's leading turbine manufacturer, Vestas.
Wind powers' contribution to the supply mix in England now stands at 552.195MW,
generating 1.45TWh of clean green electricity, equivalent to the annual
electricity needs of well over 350,000 households, or every home in Norfolk.
Visit British Wind Energy Association website at
http://www.bwea.com .
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WORLD POPULATION TO REACH 9.2
BILLION PEOPLE BY THE YEAR 2050: THREATENS EARTH'S HUMAN LIFE SUPPORT
SYSTEMS
Global population is projected to increase from 6.28 billion today to 9.2
billion by 2050, according to "The State of World Population 2002," a report by
the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The least developed countries have
the highest fertility and population growth, and their populations are expected
to triple in the next 50 years, from 600 million to 1.8 billion, the UN agency
predicts. This year's edition entitled "People, Poverty and Possibilities:
Making Development Work for the Poor," demonstrates that smaller families,
slower population growth and higher productivity occur in developing countries
that invested in education and health, including family planning. On the other
hand, inadequate efforts to provide reproductive health services and combat
gender inequality result in continued high fertility among the poor,
perpetuating poverty and inequality within households and nations. Pointing to a
"population effect" on economic growth, the report cites new data showing that
since 1970, developing countries with lower fertility and slower population
growth have registered faster economic growth. Family planning programs and
population assistance were responsible for almost one third of the global
decline in fertility from 1972 to 1994, the UNFPA report states. There is a
clear connection between population growth and every environmental challenge
facing our planet, most environmental organizations recognize. As populations
grow, pressure on freshwater resources increases, forested land is converted to
fields to feed more people, and wildlife habitat shrinks. More people use more
natural resources and the produce more wastes. The number of people on Earth,
where they live, and how they live all affect the condition of the environment,
according to Jonathan Nash and Roger-Mark De Souza in their July 2002 paper for
the Population Reference Bureau, a Washington, DC based nonprofit organization
that also issues an annual report on population. Nash and De Souza write,
"Consumption patterns, development choices, wealth and land distribution,
government policies, and technology can mediate or exacerbate the effects of
demographics on the environment." Source, "World Population Headed for 9.2
Billion by 2050," Environmental News Service (ENS), New York, December 3,
2002. For the full story go to
http://ens-news.com/ens/dec2002/2002-12-03-03.asp .
Visit the UNFPA website at
http://www.unfpa.org/ .
.
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PRESIDENT BUSH WITHHOLDS FUNDING FOR
UN POPULATION PROGRAMS
U.S. President George Bush and the radical Right have equated population
control programs worldwide with the abortion rights fight in the United States.
As a result, he has instructed the U.S. Government to withhold money for
population programs, if there is a hint of abortion associated in even a minor
part with the programs. The United States is unwilling to support family
planning services overseas if abortions are offered. On July 22, President
George W. Bush officially announced that he will withhold $34 million in funds
for the UNFPA. Bush's decision was based on claims that the UNFPA supports
forced abortions in China. Bush held to this decision despite a report from the
administration's own fact finding team that found no evidence that the UN
organization "has knowingly supported or participated in the management of a
program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization in China." The result
is a 13 percent cut in funding for the UNFPA's international family planning
programs. The $34 million will be distributed to the U.S. Agency for
International Development (AID), the world's single largest donor for population
research which the Bush administration says is working to expand the range of
available contraceptive choices. The Bush administration threatened in late
October to back out of a United Nations population policy ratified by 179
nations at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development if
the terms "reproductive rights" and "reproductive health services" were not
removed from the language of the agreement, because they imply a right to
abortion. The American delegation to the Asian and Pacific Population Conference
delivered this threat to the surprised attendees at a population conference in
Bangkok. On November 7, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher clarified the
U.S. position, stating that, "Our support for the International Conference on
Population and Development's goals, however, in no way implies U.S. promotion of
abortion. We will continue to take this position at future international
meetings on population issues, including the upcoming Fifth Asia and Pacific
Conference on Population in December." The conference, Population and Poverty in
Asia and the Pacific, was held in Bangkok, Thailand from December 11 to
17, 2002. Source, "World Population Headed for 9.2 Billion by 2050,"
Environmental News Service (ENS), New York, December 3, 2002. For
the full story go to
http://ens-news.com/ens/dec2002/2002-12-03-03.asp.
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NEW YORK TIMES SAYS GEORGE TAKES
ANOTHER STEP BACKWARDS ON ENVIRONMENT
The New York Times Editorial entitled, "Retreat on Clean Air," reports that
"the Bush administration has taken another step backward in the fight against
air pollution. Last week, it joined the automobile industry in a lawsuit
charging that a California program encouraging manufacturers to sell cleaner,
more fuel-efficient "hybrid" vehicles — cars powered by a combination of
gasoline and electricity — usurped federal authority." The NY Times reports
that, "the suit is a direct challenge to California's longstanding authority to
set emission standards tougher than the federal government's. More broadly, it
is further evidence of President Bush's unwillingness to offend his political
allies by pushing the industry to develop cleaner cars and thus lessen urban
smog and the dangers of global warming. At immediate issue is California's right
to set its own emission standards. The Clean Air Act gave California this power
partly because its pollution problems were uniquely severe." Over the years, the
state has used it to drive industry to develop cleaner cars and cleaner fuels,
thus benefiting not only California but the whole country. As part of this
effort, California decreed several years ago that 10 percent of the vehicles
sold in the state between the 2003 and 2008 model years must be "zero emission"
vehicles, meaning electric cars. But since there is no viable commercial market
for electric cars, California said that Detroit could meet part of its quota
with hybrids. The auto industry, which opposes quotas of any kind, resisted even
this overture and went to court claiming that the California plan pre-empted the
federal government's authority to set fuel-economy standards. It's a dubious
argument. Hybrids do get more miles to the gallon than conventional cars, and
for that reason create fewer of the gases that cause smog and climate change.
California's interest, however, lies not in setting nationwide fuel standards,
but simply in getting a cleaner car for California. It is to be hoped that the
United States Court of Appeals in San Francisco, which will decide the case,
appreciates this distinction. At a time when both industry and the federal
government seem content with the status quo, California should be allowed to
pursue its useful role as an advocate for technological change and cleaner air.
See the full story at
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/14/opinion/14MON3.html
.
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SENATOR JAMES JEFFORDS CALLS ON BUSH
TO REVERSE HIS BACKDOWN ON ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Previously a Republican, the Vermont independent Senator, James Jeffords,
Chairman of the Senate Environment Panel, criticized President Bush for moving
backward on the environment, saying he is putting special interests above clean
air, clean water and public health. Jeffords, who will give up the gavel of the
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee when Republicans take over the
Senate in January, said Bush is rolling back protections for clean air and
water, cutting Superfund site cleanups and clearing new oil and gas drilling on
national lands. "Unfortunately, on environmental issues our president is moving
us backward instead of leading us forward," Jeffords said, delivering the weekly
radio address on behalf of Democrats. Jeffords also said provisions in the new
law creating a Homeland Security Department will make it harder for people to
learn of dangerous chemicals near their homes. Bush policies allowing power
plants to avoid installing simple anti-pollution equipment when they modernize
will lead to so many extra premature deaths from plant pollution that it would
be like enduring the the equivalent of a "Pearl Harbor every 30 days," Jeffords
said. Bush's "departure from the Clean Air Act will prolong the life of
out-of-date power plants belching out pollution, not only contributing to
growing rates of childhood asthma, but also to the unsightly haze that taints
the beauty of our magnificent parks and scenic vistas," Jeffords said. Jeffords
said the environment had not always been a partisan issue, and he noted that he
had worked with Bush's father, former President George Bush, to toughen clean
air legislation. For the full story see the website
http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/18865/story.htm
.
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ENVIRONMENTALISTS SUE TO STOP BUSH
FROM ALLOWING SNOWMOBILING BACK IN YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK
A coalition of environmental and employee organizations filed suit December
3, 2002, to prevent the Bush Administration from delaying a phase-out of
snowmobile use in Yellowstone National Park. The Ecology Center, Inc. in
Missoula, Montana, joined with the Public Employees for Environmental
Responsibility (PEER), Fund for Animals, the Bluewater Network and others to
file the suit in U.S. District Court to block a Bush administration rule, issued
November 18, 2002, that would prevent changes to snowmobile usage in the Park.
Thousands of Yellowstone bison have died in recent years after using the groomed
trail system -- created by using machines to pack 25-foot-wide snowroads -- to
leave the park and enter Montana, where they have been slaughtered by federal
and state officials. Since 985, more than 3,200 Yellowstone bison have been
gunned down or trucked to slaughterhouses. The Ecology Center, the Fund for
Animals and others sued the government in 1997, resulting in a settlement
agreement that forced the agencies to prepare an environmental study of winter
use impacts and led to the planned phase-out of snowmobiles. In addition, the
suit argues that snowmobiles have adverse impacts on air and water quality and
wildlife in Yellowstone, including endangered and threatened species such as
grizzly bears, gray wolves, Canada lynx, and bald eagles. According to Park
Service Documents, the 80,000 snowmobiles in Yellowstone each winter produce
more total air pollution than the cars and trucks used by the three million
other visitors to the park and the roar of snowmobiles can be heard as much as
95 percent of the time in the park's most popular spots. For more information
contact: Jim Coefield, The Ecology Center, Inc., 801 Sherwood, Suite B,
Missoula, Montana 59802, ph. 406-728-5733 A copy of the 34-page complaint
filed today is available at
http://www.wildrockies.org/teci/winter-use/Winter-Use_Complaint.pdf
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GREEN PARTY MAKES ADVANCES IN
AUSTRALIA
The Green Party of Australia
scored a whopping 9.2% of the vote across Victoria, Australia in the November
30, 2002, state election. This was just the latest in a string of successes that
began with a better than expected result in the Western Australian elections in
early 2001. Since then, the Greens have won 570,000 votes in the 2001 federal
election and won their first federal lower-house seat in the Cunningham
by-election. Gemma Pinnell won 27% of the vote as a Greens candidate for the
seat of Richmond in the November 30, 2002 election. The Greens' success has come
on the back of an increasing political convergence between the ALP and Liberals,
at a state and federal level. "On the key issues, the [Victorian] government had
failed to perform", Pinnell said. "There has been disappointment with the ALP,
its failure to invest in health and education, its closeness to big business,
letting developments go ahead, such that there's almost no difference [with the
Coalition]." Hale also cited the ALP's shift to the right as a factor in growing
support for the Greens. "People are now seeing the Greens as a viable
alternative government", Pinnell agreed. According to Luntz, the increased votes
for the Greens is not coming from a different demographic than their previous
support base. "It's the same sort of people", he said, "just more of them".
Source, "Behind the Greens' Increased Vote," by Alison Dellit, Green Left
Weekly, December 11, 2002.
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PRESSURE ON SCIENTISTS NOT TO STUDY
OR REPORT ON HARMFUL IMPACTS OF LARGE FARMING OPERATIONS
University and government
scientists studying health threats associated with agricultural pollution say
they are harassed by farmers and trade groups and silenced by government and
university superiors afraid to offend the powerful farm industry. The heat comes
from individual farmers, commodity groups and the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, which finances and controls much of the research. And the pressure
is growing, some scientists say. "It's rampant," said JoAnn Burkholder, an
acclaimed aquatic botanist trained at Iowa State University who received death
threats after warning North Carolina parents not to let their children wade in a
manure- polluted stream. Scientists in Iowa and other states say that the US
Department of Agriculture (USDA) kills controversial research by forcing it
through an extended approval process. The agency also keeps researchers from
publicizing sensitive findings in scientific journals and at public meetings and
cooperates with industry groups to suppress research results that don't meet the
groups' satisfaction, they charge. Burkholder, said, "I have seen some very sad
practices in this country. Industry has a stranglehold on environmental issues
to the point that this muzzling goes on all the time." Those brave enough to
speak out usually have secure jobs at universities or, like Zahn, leave the
public arena. James Zahn (a former federal swine researcher in Ames, Iowa) said
his superiors wouldn't let him submit for publication perhaps one of his most
important findings - that the air emitted by hog confinements contained
potentially health-threatening antibiotic-resistant bacteria- and several times
refused invitations for him to speak about his findings. Zahn also was
uncomfortable that an "advisory panel" of hog farmers, assembled by the USDA,
watched over the lab's work. In fact, national pork groups have at times had
offices in the same government buildings as the USDA labs. "No other government
agency ever had this hand-holding relationship with a livestock group," Zahn
said after he quit the USDA job. "Your career could be over," he said. Source,
"Ag Scientists Feel the Heat," by Perry Beeman, The Register, Ames, Iowa,
December 1, 2002.
******************************************************************
SASKATCHEWAN ANNOUNCES THREE NEW
ETHANOL MANUFACTURING PLANTS TO USE AS FUEL ENHANCEMENT TO REDUCFE
GHG'S
Saskatchewan Premier Lorne
Calvert announced the construction of the first of three ethanol plants in
Saskatchewan, the hopes it can become the forerunner in a Kyoto friendly
industry. "We will see jobs in construction, jobs in operations . . . we will
see the introduction of a cleaner burning fuel for our province," the
Saskatchewan Premier said. The $55 million Belle Plaine plant is expected to
open in the spring of 2004 and produce 80 million litres of ethanol. The two
other plants are planned for Tisdale and the Melville-Yorkton areas. The project
is being spearheaded by the Broe Companies with an investment by Saskatchewan's
Crown Investments Corp. The Denver-based company has a 60 per cent interest in
the plant while the Saskatchewan government holds 40 per cent through its Crown
Investments Corp. Saskatchewan's total investment in the plant is expected to be
less than $20 million. Dwight Johnson of the Broe Companies said his firm
wouldn't have invested money without government involvement. Broe holds a wide
portfolio of companies including in health care, real estate and OmniTRAX Inc.,
the U.S. short-line railway operator which owns more than 1,000 kilometre of
track in Manitoba's north. Reports have suggested the federal government is
aiming to ensure that by 2010 half of Canada's gasoline supply contains 10 per
cent ethanol. Gerry Scott, Director of the David Suzuki Foundation's campaign on
climate change, praised Saskatchewan's efforts to mandate ethanol in gasoline,
but added federal action was needed for greater change. "It's exciting that
Saskatchewan is moving forward and these are the kinds of changes that we need
as part of the whole climate change response," Scott said. In March, the
provincial government made Saskatchewan the first province in Canada to
introduce legislation that will mandate ethanol-blended gasoline and provide tax
breaks for the industry. Ethanol-blended gasoline has a higher oxygen content
which allows the fuel to burn cleaner. When ethanol is blended at 10 per cent
with traditional fuels, it can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 30
per cent. The bill removed the 15 cent a litre fuel tax from ethanol produced
and consumed in Saskatchewan and will eventually set a minimum ethanol content
for gasoline. By doing so the government hopes to create an increased demand by
wholesalers for ethanol. Ethanol is made from fermented sugar or converted
starch found in wheat, straw and wood by-products. Production plants also
produce a grain byproduct that can be fed to cattle. There is currently one
ethanol plant in Saskatchewan - Pound-Maker Ag Ventures, east of Saskatoon in
Lanigan - which produces 12.5 million litres annually. Source, "Saskatchewan
government to build 3 ethanol plants creating jobs, clean fuel," by Craig Wong,
Belle Plaine, Saskatchewan, Canadian Press, November 10, 2002.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Copyright (c) 2002
Canadian Institute for Business and the
Environment, Montreal &
Toronto
All rights
reserved.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
from the Green Party January 3, 2003
Green Party of New York State E-News Vol. 3,
No. 1, January 2003
Greetings from E-News.
Green Party E-News is a web-based newsletter that can be viewed in full (including archives) at
http://www.gpnys.org/enews/
Send your news, events, alerts and letters to the editor for the next
issue to Ann Link at
eastst@hotmail.com. Or, Login to our website
(see above) and submit your story on-line. Deadline for submissions to
next issue: November 22, 2002. Comments and suggestions on e-news content
and format are welcome, as are volunteers to help with writing, editing,
photography, etc. Contact Masada Disenhouse at 718-855-2263 or
masada@gpnys.orgto volunteer. Comments and suggestions should be
posted on-line.
To subscribe or unsubscribe, please email Masada
masada@gpnys.org
*****************************************************************************
The following stories are posted at the E-News website just click
on the links below to view the complete story. Please read down to
see:
·
Stories
·
Events
·
New
Poll / Survey
*****************************************************************************
STORIES
NY Green Party Wins Temporary Restraining
Order
http://www.gpnys.org/enews/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=138&mode=&order=0
Green Party of New York State -- Media Release 12/13
Brooklyn -- The Green Party won a Temporary Restraining Order against the
New York State Board of Elections today in federal district court in
Brooklyn. The Board of Elections was barred from deleting any voters as
Greens until at least the next hearing in the federal District Court in
Brooklyn on January 16th. Voters can also continue to enroll in the Green
Party. More than 30,000 New Yorkers are presently enrolled in the Green
Party.
Tompkins County Green Party Gears Up For Local
Elections
http://www.gpnys.org/enews/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=137&mode=&order=0
The Tompkins County Green Party is preparing for a new set of
elections. Member Dave Breeden reports, "It's a big year for us, as
redistricting means that, for the first time, all 10 Common Council seats
and the mayor's seat are open." Party members are considering
possible candidates for these offices.
Greens Open New Office In Manhattan
http://www.gpnys.org/enews/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=136&mode=&order=0
by Jerry Kann
While the Green Party suffered a setback on November 5, losing its
official place on the New York State ballot, it seems to have bounced
back in one respect Greens will now have use of a centrally located
office in Manhattan.
Greens See Red
http://www.gpnys.org/enews/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=135&mode=&order=0
Metroland - by Travis Durfee
Green Party of New York sues the state elections board to allow voters to
register in the party of their choice
Green Legislator Eder Says UN Weapons Inspection
Process Will Not Deter Bush
http://www.gpnys.org/enews/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=133&mode=&order=0
Green Party of the U.S. Media Release - December 6, 2002
John Eder, recently elected Green Party Representative for District 31 in
Maine, said today that the Bush Administration is headed for war
regardless of what happens with UN weapons inspections. "The war on
Iraq is set to proceed," said Eder. "While the Bush
Administration insists Iraq has a hidden agenda, it is the U.S. that is
making a farce of the weapons inspection process. Bush will find or twist
any information he can to discredit the inspections as proof that we must
go to war. This Administration is using both Americans and Iraqis as
pawns in the quest for U.S. military and oil dominance."
The Bogeyman Of Neo-Fascism
http://www.gpnys.org/enews/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=132&mode=&order=0
In These Times, Jan. 6, 2003, By Steven Hill, Senior Analyst,
Center for Voting and Democracy
Several months ago, American media outlets were sounding shrill alarms
over the rise of the far right in Europe. But recent election results in
Germany, Sweden, Austria and elsewhere reveal that the panic button was
pushed prematurely.
How I'll Overhaul Nigeria - Olisa Agbakoba
http://www.gpnys.org/enews/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=131&mode=&order=0
Africa News, Weekend Vanguard, December 7, 2002
Constitutional lawyer and presidential aspirant on the platform of the
just registered Green Party of Nigeria (GPN), Mr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN)
has said that his desire to change the Nigerian present system on
assumption of office as president of Nigeria in 2003 was borne out of his
experience as a human rights activist. The lawyer is the 15th aspirant
that Weekend Vanguard brings to you in our special package, the
Presidential Interview Series. He speaks, thus, on his agenda to overhaul
the Nigerian system.
Grammy Winner Is Brazil's Culture Minister
http://www.gpnys.org/enews/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=130&mode=&order=0
The Associated Press, The Hamilton Spectator, December 19,
2002
Sao Paulo, Brazil -- Gilberto Gil, Brazil's popular Grammy-winning pop
star, has accepted an offer from President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da
Silva to become the country's next culture minister.
MTA/TWU Contract Talks: The TWU Local 100
Take
http://www.gpnys.org/enews/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=129&mode=&order=0
On September 11, 2001, the men and women who move New York
were there for our City when the twin towers fell. We provided all of the
heavy equipment to move debris and allow the firemen and police officers
to do their jobs.
*****************************************************************************
UPCOMING EVENTS
Click on an event title to visit Enews site for complete
listing
EVERY Saturday Jan 4th, Jan 11, Jan 18, Jan 25 - Various
locations/times in the Hudson Valley
Weekly Pro-Peace Rally
http://www.gpnys.org/enews/modules.php?op=modload&name=PostCalendar&file=index&type=view&eid=37
Tuesday Jan 7th 7-9 PM - NYC Office - 35 East 1st Street at
Second Ave
Workshop on Green Party v. Board of
Elections
http://www.gpnys.org/enews/modules.php?op=modload&name=PostCalendar&file=index&type=view&eid=41
Friday Jan 10th Mon Jan 13th - NYACK
Courage, Not War: Activism Conference
(Weekend)
http://www.gpnys.org/enews/modules.php?op=modload&name=PostCalendar&file=index&type=view&eid=38
Saturday Jan 11th 9 AM 5 PM TROY - 1915 Fifth
Avenue
Nonviolent Direct Action: The Basics
http://www.gpnys.org/enews/modules.php?op=modload&name=PostCalendar&file=index&type=view&eid=45
Sunday Jan 12th 2 3:30 PM ALBANY - Albany Public
Library, Conference room 2
Albany County Greens Public Transit Committee
Meeting
http://www.gpnys.org/enews/modules.php?op=modload&name=PostCalendar&file=index&type=view&eid=46
Thursday Jan 16th 9:30 - 11:30 AM BROOKLYN - US District
Court, 225 Cadman Plaza
Preliminary Injunction Hearing for Green Party
v. Board of Elections
http://www.gpnys.org/enews/modules.php?op=modload&name=PostCalendar&file=index&Date=01/1/modules.php?op=modload&name=PostCalendar&file=index&type=view&eid=40
Thursday Jan 16th 7 9 PM NYC OFFICE - 35 East 1st
Street at Second Ave
Planning Meeting on Electoral Reform, IRV
http://www.gpnys.org/enews/modules.php?op=modload&name=PostCalendar&file=index&type=view&eid=39
Saturday Jan 18 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM WASHINGTON DC
Peace March on the White House!
http://www.gpnys.org/enews/modules.php?op=modload&name=PostCalendar&file=index&Date=01/1/modules.php?op=modload&name=PostCalendar&file=index&type=view&eid=44
Saturday Jan 25 Sun Jan 26 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM -
ALBANY
Conference: Celebrating Organic Community
http://www.gpnys.org/enews/modules.php?op=modload&name=PostCalendar&file=index&Date=01/1/modules.php?op=modload&name=PostCalendar&file=index&type=view&eid=43
*****************************************************************************
SURVEY / POLL VISIT ENEWS TO VOTE TODAY!
What should the Green Party focus on in 2003?
·
Issues:
peace, health care, environment, etc.
·
Elections:
town board, city council, etc.
·
Building
the Green Party
·
Planning
for the 2004 Presidential Election
·
All
of the above
·
None
of the above
from 20/20 Vision January 7, 2003
Strengthen Regulations On Growing Drugs In Food Crops!
--------------------------
20/20 Vision
1828 Jefferson Place, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036
Phone: (202)833-2020
Fax: (202)833-5307
Web: http://www.2020vision.org
"20 Minutes a Month to Save the Planet"
Visit our web site at http://www.2020vision.org to learn more.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
WHAT¹S AT STAKE:
Food crops are being genetically engineered to ³grow² pharmaceuticals, like
insulin, hormones, and industrial chemicals. But almost no regulation exists
to keep these out of the food supply.
In less than two weeks, the Food and Drug Agency will finish rules on how
much effort the biotech industry must take to ensure that these ³biopharm²
products do not contaminate nearby food and seed crops of the same
type‹usually corn. Unfortunately the FDA recommendations as they stand will
be wholly voluntary.
Remember the StarLink corn fiasco, when more than 300 products were recalled
because engineered corn‹not approved as fit for human consumption‹had been
mixed with corn used for Tacos? Now it¹s happened for the first time with a
³biopharm² product. A biotech company called ProdiGene was the culprit, and
their genetically engineered (GE) corn, leftover from a previous harvest,
sprouted in a soybean field and contaminated 500,000 bushels of soybeans.
The contaminated crops were found and quarantined before they entered the
food supply, but the problem was discovered mostly by luck.
These incidents highlight the inadequacy of the US regulatory system in
ensuring that GE products do not contaminate the food supply. Escape and
contamination from these crops could have serious health and environmental
effects. Once an engineered variant is released to the native environment,
scientists say it will be almost impossible to get it out.
20/20 Vision has campaigned extensively to require labeling of GE foods and
ban new GE products (such as the ³super-salmon²) until adequate testing has
been completed. Help us strengthen the current FDA policy on field tests of
³biopharm² crops. What happens in the next two weeks on ³biopharm crops²
will be the rule for a long time.
TAKE ACTION:
We need as many members, food coop customers, and environmental groups as
possible to write to the FDA docket. Make these points in your letter:
* We need a total ban on open-field testing of all ³biopharm² crops.
* Alternatively, the guidance should be strengthened and made mandatory.
* Greater distances, no less than 20 miles, should be required to isolate
such crops from the food supply.
The public comment period closes on January 10th, so send your comments in
right away!
WRITE: [Docket No. 02D-0324]
Dockets Management Branch (HFA-305)
Food and Drug Administration
5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061
Rockville, MD 20852
OR go to the FDA website and submit your comments directly:
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/oc/dockets/comments/CommentsMain.cfm?D
ocketNum=02D-0324&SUBMIT='CONTINUE'
Visit our web site at http://www.2020vision.org to learn more.
from US PIRG January 7, 2003
Dear U.S. PIRG supporter,
On Friday, November 22, in its most significant post-election action on the environment, the Bush Administration finalized the first phase of its regulatory changes to the Clean Air Act's New Source Review program. These changes will allow major energy corporations to increase air pollution dramatically.
Let your senators know that you oppose efforts to weaken the Clean Air Act and instead support the Clean Power Act, which would finally clean up old and dirty power plants. Follow the link below to go to a web page where you can e-mail your senators.
http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=9&id4=ES
BACKGROUND
The White House's changes to the Clean Air Act's New Source Review program were promised last year after an intense industry lobbying push led by the coal, oil and electric industries. The move will allow older power plants, refineries and other facilities in nearly every state in the nation to operate without modern pollution controls, even when they are making significant modifications to the facilities. Pollution from old, coal-burning power plants across the nation trigger an estimated 30,000 premature deaths and hundreds of thousands of asthma attacks annually.
Electric utilities pushed for weakening the NSR rules during the 1999 Presidential campaign and in the early months of the Bush administration. Earlier this year, documents emerged showing that the Cheney Energy Task Force met and exchanged memos with Southern Company executives on the issue. The Bush energy plan issued last spring included a mandate to review the regulations as well as dozens of ongoing enforcement actions. A subsequent comment period drew comments from 130,000 concerned citizens opposing any move to weaken clean air rules.
It's difficult to imagine a more aggressive assault on our clean air protections. Far too many people will suffer unnecessarily from heart and lung disease, and a log of environmental damage will occur.
Let your senators know that you oppose efforts to weaken the Clean Air Act and instead support the Clean Power Act, which would finally clean up old and dirty power plants. Follow the link below to go to a web page where you can e-mail your senators.
http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=9&id4=ES
Sincerely,
Gene Karpinski
U.S. PIRG Executive Director
http://www.USPIRG.org
from National Parks January 15, 2003
NPCA RELEASES AMERICA'S TEN MOST ENDANGERED NATIONAL PARKS LIST
http://www.npca.org/endangeredparks
Dear National Park Advocate:
Air pollution, abusive use of motorized vehicles, years of inadequate funding, damaging development on lands adjacent to parks, and harmful Bush Administration policies are among the troubles besetting national parks named to the National Parks Conservation Association's fifth annual "America's Ten Most Endangered National Parks List." Released yesterday, the list includes five new parks and five that have appeared on the list before. By highlighting the ten national parks most in need of immediate attention, we aim to draw attention to problems facing all 387 of America's national parks.
TAKE ACTION!
Please help us remove these national parks from the endangered list. Learn about the parks and what you can do to help at: http://www.npca.org/across_the_nation/ten_most_endangered/take_action.asp .
The Ten Most Endangered National Parks for 2003, in alphabetical order, are:
Big Thicket National Preserve (Texas)
Big Thicket protects a diverse collection of wildlife and wild lands in 15 small, mostly unconnected sections. Nearly 1.5 million acres of surrounding forest is for sale, and timber-company owners seem unwilling to sell smaller portions of the areas needed to protect the land and waters of the park.
Denali National Park and Preserve (Alaska)
Home to America's highest mountain peak, 20,320-foot Mount McKinley, Denali National Park and Preserve features spectacular landscapes, rugged peaks, and abundant wildlife. A proposed road or railroad would harm wildlife and damage pristine wilderness.
Everglades National Park (Florida)
One of the last remnants of the original Everglades, the park is home to 15 endangered species, including the rare Florida panther. The restoration project, already under way, needs continued funding as well as regulatory changes to ensure that it focuses on ecological needs.
Glacier National Park (Montana)
Part of the world's first international peace park, Glacier National Park protects spectacular mountain terrain, including dozens of glaciers. Park wildlife is jeopardized by threats ranging from proposed road and highway construction to haphazard commercial and residential development in important habitat adjacent to the park. In addition, invasive plants and fish, as well as years of insufficient funding, compound problems.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park (North Carolina and Tennessee)
With 10 million visitors annually, Great Smoky is the most visited park in the National Park System. Air pollution threatens the park, and inadequate funding continues to jeopardize operations designed to protect park natural resources, historic structures, and visitors. The park is on the list for the fifth consecutive year.
Joshua Tree National Park (California)
Lands just outside this vulnerable desert park could soon host a new city, complete with 12 golf courses, adding more pollution to the park's already damaged air quality and taxing the water supply.
Ocmulgee National Monument (Georgia)
Precious treasures of historic civilizations of the southeastern United States comprise the second-largest museum collection in the National Park System, but insufficient funding means the park has no curator to monitor the artifacts. Adding to park threats, the Georgia Department of Transportation could soon build a highway in biologically and culturally sensitive land adjacent to the park.
Shenandoah National Park (Virginia)
Shenandoah's grand vistas, highly prized Appalachian brook trout, and forests are under siege from air pollution. A sooty haze has reduced visibility from an annual average range of about 100 miles in the 1940s to 10 miles or less on many summer days in the present. Acid rain, caused by nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide released into the air from power plants and other sources, pollutes park streams and reduces the acid-neutralizing capacity of sensitive watersheds.
Virgin Islands National Park (U.S. Virgin Islands)
Habitat loss, both from a proposed luxury resort development and from current illegal uses, threatens critical migratory bird habitat, mangrove shoreline, and fragile coral reefs. Years of insufficient funding impairs the ability of park staff to enforce regulations regarding overfishing and careless boating as well as control the spread of disease in vulnerable coral reefs.
Yellowstone National Park (Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming)
America's first national park is under attack from snowmobile-industry lobbyists who have pressured the National Park Service to ignore public opinion and years of scientific study and keep noisy, polluting machines in the park. In addition, America's last wild bison herd faces danger from all around the park under the terms of a joint-management plan accepted by the State of Montana and the park that allows Montana officials to slaughter bison that wander off park lands.
We bring you this special edition of Park Lines to ask you to help protect the parks today. We will return next week.
Thank you for taking action to help us bring attention to the threats facing America's National Park System,
Gaby
NPCA Grassroots Staff
http://www.npca.org/endangeredparks
* Please forward this to your friends. *
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
National Park Lines is a publication of the National Parks Conservation Association's Park Action Network. Comments? Suggestions? Tell us how we can improve. Learn how you and your friends can become more involved in national park advocacy. Contact our grassroots staff at TakeAction@npca.org.
Learn more about NPCA at http://www.npca.org.
from Marine Fish Conservation Network January 27, 2003
 |
The Marine
Fish Conservation Network
''To Protect, Restore, and
Conserve Marine Fish'' |
|
 On September 30, 2002, the Congressional moratorium on
the creation of new Individual Fishing Quota programs (IFQs)
expired. IFQs give fishermen an exclusive claim to a certain
percentage of the fish in a fishery before the fish are caught. As
it now stands, any fishery management council can carve up a fishery
into IFQs without establishing common sense standards to ensure that
conservation is enhanced and the interests of fishermen and fishing
communities are considered and protected.
Click on the link
below (or cut and paste the link into your
browser)
and send a message to Congress
http://www.politicaloutreach.com/outreach/conservefish/default.asp
Why are
such national standards so critical? Without standards that protect
conservation-minded fishermen, promote better conservation of the
resource, and require regular review to ensure compliance, our fish
resources could simply fall into the hands of a few with little
benefit to the marine environment. Some argue that the regional
fishery management councils themselves could address these concerns.
However, the councils are made up of industry representatives that
are often not looking out for the long-term health of fish
populations and the public interest as much as they are their own
bottom-lines. Why should Congress gamble that the councils will do
the right thing? National legislative standards will eliminate these
risks by putting all fishermen on a level playing field and
requiring that IFQ programs promote conservation.
Congress
recognized the potential adverse impacts of IFQ programs on both
fishermen and the marine environment when it established a
moratorium on new IFQ programs in 1996. Unfortunately, that
moratorium expired without Congressional action on IFQ standards.
Congress must adopt standards that adequately address these issues
immediately; if not, it must reinstate the IFQ moratorium.
Congress needs to hear your voice now. To learn more about
IFQs and to send a message to your representatives in Congress,
visit the Network's action center, www.conservefish.org | |
