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Environment Action
Alerts for
March 16 - March 23, 2001
from Union of Concerned Scientists March 16, 2001
TELL YOUR SENATOR TO SUPPORT
RENEWABLE ENERGY
TODAY
ISSUE:
Democrats in the US Senate, led by Senator Bingaman
(NM), are preparing a comprehensive energy bill for
introduction as
early as next week. UCS recently learned
that the bill no longer includes a
Renewables Portfolio
Standard (RPS)
ACTION:
Please call your
Democratic Senator immediately. You can
reach them by calling 202-224-3121.
If that number is busy, try 202-224-4691
or 202-224-8541 and ask to be
transferred to
the appropriate Senate office
you can also visit:
http://www.senate.gov
If you are in
Oregon, Washington, New York, California,
North Dakota or South Dakota
please make this your next
call. Democratic Senators in those states are
particularly supportive and most likely to push Bingaman
to put the RPS
back in the bill. If you are in New
Mexico your calls to Senator Bingaman
are especially
important. If you are in a state without Democratic
representation in the Senate, you can call Senator
Daschle, the Senate
Minority Leader at (202) 224-2321.
from Environmental Defense March 16, 2001
You can take action on this alert either by email
or
preferably on the web at:
http://actionnetwork.org/take-action.tcl?key=419220A18228B0316092734C241
Alert expires on March 25, 2001
Here's what this alert is about:
Help Farmers Help the Environment
----------------------
Take Action! Tell your Senators to reward farmers
who
improve water quality and restore wildlife habitat.
***************************
Action Network from
Environmental Defense.
Finding the ways that work. Funded
by members like you.
***************************
Congress will decide this month whether to boost federal
incentives
for farmers, ranchers and other private
landowner to reduce polluted
runoff, protect food and
drinking water supplies,
retire environmentally-sensitive
land, or provide
habitat for rare species.
What's At Stake:
Because farmland
and ranchland cover 55% of the landscape,
agriculture
dramatically impacts water quality, food
safety,
wildlife habitat, and the pace of sprawl. Fortunately,
many farmers and ranchers are implementing better land
use practices. For example, nearly half of America's
farmers have changed the way they plow to reduce polluted
runoff into nearby streams.
But, most farmers and ranchers
seeking federal assistance
to improve water quality,
combat sprawl, or protect
rare wildlife species are
rejected. Every day, thousands
of farmers and ranchers
seeking federal financial and
technical assistance to
meet many of the nation's pressing
environmental
challenges are turned away due to inadequate
federal
funding.
This month, Congress
will pass a budget resolution
- a blueprint for federal
spending for the next ten
years. Tell your Senator to
join the "Reed-Jeffords-Leahy"
letter to the Senate
Budget Committee" to help boost
funding for USDA
conservation assistance programs.
The budget resolution provides a
rare chance to reward
private landowners
who:
COMBAT
SPRAWL: Farmers and ranchers serve as the frontline
against sprawl, but more than 2 million acres of farm,
ranch, and forest lands are developed every year. Federal
aid to purchase development rights can protect
high-quality
farmland and ranchland from sprawl.
REDCUE POLLUTED RUNOFF: While
agriculture is a leading
source of water pollution,
many farmers want to adopt
practices that reduce
fertilizer and pesticide use,
and restore wetlands and
streamside buffers to filter
runoff. These practices
will help keep drinking water
treatment
clean.
PROTECT
ENDANGERED SPECIES: Most imperiled species
rely on
private lands. Unfortunately, many conventional
farming
practices threaten 1/3 of imperiled species
by
eliminating woodlands and grasslands, using too
much
water, or applying excessive amounts of nutrients
and
chemicals. Many farmers are willing to adopt practices
that protect and restore wildlife habitat, such as
retiring sensitive lands, irrigating more efficiently,
or adopting harvest practices that protect birds.
COMBAT CLIMATE CHANGE: Many of the
same practices that
reduce polluted runoff or enhance
wildlife habitat
also help stem global warming. Many
farmers are willing
to adopt practices that reduce
nitrous oxide and methane
emission, sequester carbon,
and reduce demand for fossil
fuels.
Read more about USDA conservation
assistance programs
by visiting http://www.environmentaldefense.org/pubs/NewsReleases/2001/Mar/a_farmers.html
View the
Reed-Jeffords-Leahy letter at http://www.environmentaldefense.org/senateletter
Spread the word about this alert
by visiting http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/farm/forward
----------------------
INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPOND VIA THE
WEB:
If you have access to a web browser, you can take
action
on this alert by going to the following URL:
http://actionnetwork.org/take-action.tcl?key=419220A18228B0316092734C241
INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPOND VIA
EMAIL:
Just choose the "reply to sender" option on your
email
program, and edit the letter below as you
wish. You
must include the whole letter in
your response including
"-YOU MAY EDIT THE LETTER
BELOW-" and "-END OF LETTER-".
Please do not add your
name and address to your letter.
Action Network
automatically does this for you.
We STRONGLY encourage you to make edits directly to
our sample letter below, and put the alert talking
points into your own words. An individualized letter
is worth ten computer generated letters. Of course,
hundreds of unedited letters will still create a large
impact, so please reply even if you don't have time
to personalize the letter.
Your letter will be addressed and sent to:
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
Senator Charles Schumer
-------YOU MAY EDIT THE LETTER
BELOW---------
I urge you join
the Reed-Jefford-Leahy letter to the
Senate Budget
Committee to reward farmers who improve
water quality
and habitat for wildlife.
Most farmers, ranchers and landowners seeking federal
help to improve water quality, combat sprawl, or help
rare species are rejected due to inadequate funding.
To help meet these pressing environmental challenges,
Congress must increase funding for USDA conservation
assistance programs in the budget resolution.
Farmers and ranchers are
willing to do their part.
But, too little funding is
available to provide basic
technical information on
buffer strips and other practices
that reduce polluted
runoff. Three-out-of-four farmers
seeking financial
help to retire sensitive lands, use
water more
efficiently, or restore lost wetlands are
rejected.
I urge you to help farmers and ranchers meet these
environmental challenges by joining the Reed-Jefford-Leahy
letter to the Senate Budget Committee.
-------END OF
LETTER-------------------------
from Amazon Alliance March 16, 2001
**************
ACTION ALERT
**************
URGENT REQUEST: Please fax letters to Peruvian government
officials
requesting immediate action to protect
uncontacted indigenous tribes from
contact with loggers
and missionaries who have entered into their territory.
Dear Friends,
The uncontacted indigenous tribes
of the states of Madre de Dios and
Ucayali, Peru,
referred to as the Mascho-Piro, are being threatened by the
presence of loggers and missionaries in their territory.
These tribes live
in voluntary isolation to avoid the
persecution and sickness their peoples
experienced in
recent history following confrontations with outsiders. The
invasion of loggers and missionaries in their lands is
forcing them to
migrate into areas populated by other
native communities and this has led
to increasing
conflict. On Febrary 12th of this year, several members of a
tribe of uncontacted peoples were wounded and killed by
gunshot in a
violent encounter with a local community.
The Native Federation of the
Madre de Dios River and Tributaries (FENAMAD)
has been
working intensively to safeguard the territory of the uncontacted
peoples. Progress was made last July, 2000 when the
government created a
temporary Reserve Zone that
included some of the uncontacted peoples'
territory and
banned logging concessions in that area. However, much of
their lands still remain outside of this temporary
protected area.
To
ensure the survival of these peoples, the government must act
immediately to prohibit the entrance of loggers and other
outsiders into
their territory and advance efforts to
establish permanent legal protection
for the territory
of the uncontacted peoples.
Please take the time to send a letter to Peruvian
government officials
requesting action NOW to protect
the lives of the uncontacted peoples.
Below you will find fax numbers, a sample letter, and a
public declaration
from FENAMAD. A detailed
article in Spanish regarding the conflict has
also been
sent to you in a separate email. For more information or pictures
of the uncontacted peoples, please contact the Alliance
coordinating office
at betsy@amazonalliance.org or
1-202-785-3334 or email FENAMAD directly at
marinke@terra.com.pe.
Thank you for your active support.
Sincerely,
Betsy Boatner
---------------------------------------------
Index
1.
Fax Numbers for Peruvian government officials
2. Model Letter Regarding Uncontacted Peoples (English and
Spanish)
3. Declaration from
FENAMAD concerning the recent conflict with uncontacted
peoples. (English and Spanish)
----------------------------------------------
1. FAX NUMBERS FOR GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
Please send a copy of your letter
to FENAMAD at 51-84-572-499
or email it to <marinke@terra.com.pe>.
(If faxing from the United
States, dial 011 prior to the number.)
Dr. Valentín Paniagua Curazao
Presidente de la Republica del Perú
Fax: 51-14-266-770
Ing Carlos Amat y Leon
Ministro de Agricultura
Fax:
51-14-310-035
Ing
Matias Prieto Celi
Jefe del Instituto Nacional del
Recursos Naturales-INRENA
Fax: 51-12-243-218.
Mr. Javier Perez de
Cuellar
Presidente del Consejo de Ministros
51-14-475-728
Dra. Susana Villarán de La Puente
Ministra de la Mujer
Fax:
51-14-263-920
Dr.
Walter Alban Peralta
Defensor del Pueblo
Fax: 51-14-267-800
-----------------------------------------------
2. MODEL LETTER
Washington, DC
March XX, 2001
Dr. Valentin Paniagua Curazao,
President of the Republic of Peru
Mr. Carlos Amat y
Leon, Minister of Agriculture
Mr. Matias Prieto Celi,
Director of the National Institute of Natural
Resources, INRENA
Mr. Javier Perez
de Cuellar, President of the Council of Ministries
Dr.
Susana Villaran de La Puente, Minister of the Ministry of Woman
Dr. Walter Alban Peralta, Public Defender
Dear Sirs:
We are deeply disturbed to hear of
the conflict between a band of nomadic
uncontacted
peoples and the Native Amahuaca Community of Santa Cruz in the
Province of Purus, on February 12th, 2001, which resulted
in the wounding
and death of several members of the
uncontacted tribe, denominated Mascho
Piro. We recognize that this conflict has
resulted from the presence of
loggers and missionaries
in lands inhabited by the uncontacted peoples
which has
provoked their displacement and led to increased contact between
the uncontacted peoples and nearby indigenous
populations.
The
presence of any outsiders in the lands inhabited by the uncontacted
peoples represents a severe threat to their
survival. We strongly urge the
Peruvian
government to take immediate action to prohibit all logging
operations in the territory of the uncontacted peoples and
advance efforts
to establish permanent legal protection
for their territory banning all
commercial natural
resource exploitation.
We
recognize efforts taken by Peruvian authorities to stop the operations
of illegal loggers in the area inhabited by the uncontacted
peoples in the
Department of Madre de Dios in March
2000. We also commend the Peruvian
government for advances in support of indigenous
territorial rights that
followed the agreement signed
by regional authorities of Madre de Dios and
representatives of the native communities affiliated with
the Native
Federation of the Madre de Dios River and
Tributaries (FENAMAD) on July
20th, 2000.
In light of this progress, we
understand that the Peruvian government seeks
to
mitigate the enormous threat that contact with outsiders and the
transmission of germs represents to the lives and cultures
of the
uncontacted peoples. With this
awareness, we ask the Peruvian government
to take
immediate action to prohibit loggers from entering into territories
of the isolated indigenous tribes in the Departments of
Madre de Dios and
Ucayali; to prohibit the South
American Mission and other religious groups
from
contacting the isolated indigenous tribes; and to adopt permanent
measures for the effective protection of the uncontacted
peoples. Their
territory is in every sense,
their life, and must be actively safeguarded
for their
physical and cultural survival.
Sincerely,
XXXXXXXXXXX
CARTA MODELO
Washington, DC,
xx de marzo del
2001
Sr. Dr. Valentin Paniagua
Curazao,
Excelentisimo Presidente de la Republica del
Peru
Ing. Carlos Amat y Leon
Ministro de Agricultura
Ing.
Matias Prieto Celi
Jefe del Instituto Nacional de
Recursos Naturales, INRENA
Sr. Javier Perez de Cuellar
Presidente del Consejo de Ministros
Dra. Susana Villaran de La Puente
Ministra de la Mujer
Dr. Walter
Alban Peralta
Defensor del Pueblo
Estimados senores:
Estamos profundamente consternados
al informarnos sobre el conflicto entre
un grupo de
indigenas no contactados y la poblacion indigena amahuaca de la
comunidad de Santa Cruz, en la provincia de Purus, el 12 de
febrero del
2001, el cual tuvo un saldo de heridos y de
muertos entre el grupo de los
indigenas no contactados
denominado Mashco Piro.
Nosotros sabemos que este conflicto ha resultado por la
presencia de
madereros y misioneros en tierras
habitadas por la poblacion indigena no
contactada, que
ha provocado su desplazamiento y el incremento del contacto
entre la poblacion no contactada y las poblaciones
indigenas cercanas.
La
presencia de cualquier persona en las tierras habitadas por los pueblos
no contactados representa un severo riesgo a su
supervivencia. Urgimos
fuertemente al Gobierno peruano
tomar accion inmediata para prohibir todas
las
operaciones madereras en el territorio habitado por los pueblos no
contactados, y avanzar en los esfuerzos para el
establecimiento de la
proteccion legal permanente de su
territorio que prohiba toda explotacion
comercial de
los recursos naturales en la zona.
Conocemos los esfuerzos tomados por las autoridades
peruanas para frenar
las operaciones madereras ilegales
en marzo del 2000. Tambien expresamos
nuestra
satisfaccion al Gobierno peruano por los avances en la defensa de
los derechos territoriales que resultaron del acuerdo
suscrito por las
autoridades regionales de Madre de
Dios y los representantes de las
comunidades nativas
afiliadas en la Federacion de Comunidades Nativas del
Rio Madre de Dios y Afluentes, (FENAMAD) el 20 de julio del
2000.
A la luz de estos
progresos, nosotros reconocemos que el Gobierno peruano
anhela mitigar la enorme amenaza que el contacto con
foraneos y la
transmision de germenes representa para
la vida y la cultura de los pueblos
no contactados.
En ese sentido, pedimos al
Gobierno peruano tomar accion inmediata para
prohibir
el ingreso de madereros hacia los territorios habitados por las
poblaciones indigenas aisladas en el departamento de Madre
de Dios y
Ucayali, prohibir a la Mision de Sud America
(SAM) y a otros grupos
religiosos, el contacto con los
pueblos indigenas aislados, y que se
adopten medidas
permanentes para la efectiva proteccion de estos pueblos.
Su territorio es en todo sentido, su vida, y debe ser
activamente
salvaguardada por su sobrevivencia fisica y
cultural.
Sinceramente,
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
----------------------------------
3. Summary in English of the
Declaration from FENAMAD "Regarding the Attack
on a
Group of Isolated Indigenous Peoples from Alto Purus" See below for
Declaration in Spanish.
On February 12th, 2001, a group of isolated indigenous
peoples that had
migrated towards the headwaters of the
Purus River, entered the Native
Amahuaca Community of
Santa Cruz, located on this river in the district of
Purus, Province of Purus, Department of Ucayali. A violent
conflict
resulted with the local population and a
number of isolated indigenous
peoples were wounded from
gunshots and possibly seven were killed,
according to
credible sources that have not yet been confirmed.
Given the gravity of the situation, at this moment members
of our
institution are investigating the case.
Nevertheless, we consider it
important to make public
the following information:
1.-
The headwaters of the Purus River, located in the Department of
Ucayali, constitute part of the migratory circuit in which
indigenous
peoples living in voluntary isolation pass
through. This has been
recognized by the
Peruvian government in a Directoral Resolution issued by
the Regional Agrarian Directorate of Ucayali in 1997 that
created a
territorial reserve for the indigenous
peoples in isolation. This reserve
was included in the
Alto Purus Reserve Zone created by Supreme Decree on
July 7, 2000.
2.- Despite the existence of these reserves established in
protection of
the indigenous peoples in isolation,
logging companies have continued to
enter into the zone
from different points, with the purpose of extracting
high value timber species.
3.- The untimely presence of the isolated indigenous
peoples in the Native
Community of Santa Cruz was
caused by pressure exerted by loggers on their
territories, provoking forced displacement and consequently
generating
conflict with nearby indigenous populations.
4.- At the same time, a group
of missionaries from the evangelical church,
South
American Mission (SAM), called "Pioneers", has created a community
within the area inhabited by the indigenous peoples in
isolation, with the
purpose of evangelizing them,
leading to dangerous contact between the
groups. In
other previous cases in the Amazon, these religous groups have
been responsible for the transmission of sicknesses and the
extermination
of indigenous peoples in isolation.
For this reason, we request that
the Peruvian government urgently:
* Carry out an exhaustive investigation to determine those
responsible for
the criminal acts against the
indigenous peoples in isolation in Altu Purus.
* Evict the loggers that are working inside the territorial
reserves for
the indigenous peoples in isolation in
Altu Purus.
* Prohibit the
evangelical church, South American Mission, from carrying
out missionary actions with the indigenous peoples in
isolation.
* Apply effective
measures for the control of the reserve zone in Alto Purus.
Puerto Maldonado, February 19,
2001
The Steering Council of FENAMAD
(LA JUNTA DIRECTIVA)
Declaration sent to:
Dr. Valentin Paniagua, Presidente de la Republica
Dr. Javier Perez de Cuellar, Presidente del Consejo de
Ministros
Dra. Susana Villaran, Ministra de Promocion
de la Mujer
Ingº Carlos Amat y Leon, Ministro de
Agricultura.
Ingº Matias Prieto Celi, Jefe del
Instituto Nacional de Recursos Naturales
Dr. Jaime
Urrutia, Secretario Tecnico de Asuntos Indigenas
Sr.
Gil Inoach Shawit, Presidente de AIDESEP
Dr. Walter
Alban Peralta, Defensoria del Pueblo
-------------------------------------------------------
PRONUNCIAMIENTO
SOBRE ATAQUE A GRUPO DE INDIGENAS
AISLADOS DEL ALTO PURUS
La Federacion Nativa del rio Madre de Dios y afluentes -
FENAMAD-, comunica
a las autoridades locales y
nacionales y a la opinion publica lo siguiente :
El dia lunes 12 de febrero del presente ano, un grupo de
indigenas aislados
que se desplazan por las cabeceras
del rio Purus, ingreso sorpresivamente a
la Comunidad
Nativa Amahuaca Santa Cruz, ubicada en dicho rio, distrito de
Purus, provincia de Purus, departamento de Ucayali, a raiz
de lo cual se
produjo un violento enfrentamiento con
los pobladores de la comunidad
dejando como saldo un
numero considerable de indigenas aislados heridos por
el impacto de los cartuchos e inclusive, segun informacion
de fuentes
confiables, pero no confirmada, la muerte de
siete miembros del mismo grupo.
Dada la gravedad de los acontecimientos, en estos momentos
miembros de
nuestra institucion se encuentran en el
lugar de los hechos realizando las
investigaciones del
caso. Sin embargo consideramos de especial importancia
hacer publico lo siguiente:
1.- Las cabeceras del rio Purus, ubicadas en el
departamento de Ucayali
constituye parte del circuito
migratorio a traves del cual se desplazan
poblaciones
indigenas en situacion de aislamiento. Este hecho ha sido
reconocido por el Estado peruano, que a traves de la
Resolucion Directoral
Nº 000190-97-CTARU/IRA de la
Direccion Regional Agraria de Ucayali emitida
en el ano
1997, creo la Reserva territorial a favor de las poblaciones
indigenas en aislamiento mencionadas, la misma que ha sido
incluida en la
Zona Reservada Alto Purus, creada por
Decreto Supremo Nº030-2000-AG del 7
de julio del ano
2000.
2.- A pesar de la
existencia de estas Reservas territoriales establecidas
en proteccion de las poblaciones indigenas en aislamiento,
empresas
madereras han continuado ingresando a la zona
desde diferentes puntos, con
la finalidad de extraer
especies maderables de alto valor.
3.- La intempestiva presencia de indigenas aislados en la
comunidad Nativa
Santa Cruz se debe a la presion que
vienen ejerciendo los madereros sobre
sus territorios,
provocando desplazamientos forzados y generandose en
consecuencia enfrentamientos con las poblaciones indigenas
cercanas.
4.- paralelamente,
un grupo de misioneros la iglesia evangelica South
American Mission (Mision SAM), denominada "Pioneros" ha
creado una
comunidad dentro del area de desplazamiento
de las poblaciones indigenas en
aislamiento afectadas,
con el expreso fin de evangelizarlas, emprendiendo
para
ello peligrosas acciones de contacto. En otros casos anteriores
vividos en la Amazonia, han sido justamente estos grupos
religiosos los
responsables de la propagacion de
enfermedades y la aniquilacion de pueblos
indigenas en
aislamiento.
En tal sentido,
nos dirigimos al Estado peruano y a sus instituciones con
la finalidad de solicitar de manera urgente:
§
INVESTIGACION EXHAUSTIVA DE LOS HECHOS QUE CONDUZCAN A UNA DETERMINACION
DE LAS RESPONSABILIDADES INTELECTUALES Y MATERIALES DE LA
AGRESION CRIMINAL
CONTRA LOS INDIGENAS EN AISLAMIENTO
DEL ALTO PURUS.
§ EXPULSION DE
MADEREROS QUE SE ENCUENTREN TRABAJANDO DENTRO DE LAS
RESERVAS TERRITORIALES A FAVOR DE POBLACIONES INDIGENAS EN
AISLAMIENTO EN
EL ALTO PURUS
§ IMPEDIR QUE LA IGLESIA
EVANGELICA SOUTH AMERICAM MISSION CONTINUE
REALIZANDO
ACCIONES MISIONALES CON POBLACIONES INDIGENAS EN AISLAMIENTO.
§ APLICACION DE MEDIDAS EFECTIVAS
PARA EL CONTROL DE LA ZONA RESERVADA DEL
ALTO PURUS.
Puerto Maldonado, 19 de
febrero del 2001
LA JUNTA
DIRECTIVA
Pronunciamiento
enviado a :
Dr. Valentin
Paniagua, Presidente de la Republica
Dr. Javier Perez
de Cuellar, Presidente del Consejo de Ministros
Dra.
Susana Villaran, Ministra de Promocion de la Mujer
Ingº
Carlos Amat y Leon, Ministro de Agricultura.
Ingº
Matias Prieto Celi, Jefe del Instituto Nacional de Recursos Naturales
Dr. Jaime Urrutia, Secretario Tecnico de Asuntos Indigenas
Sr. Gil Inoach Shawit, Presidente de AIDESEP
Dr. Walter Alban Peralta, Defensoria del Pueblo
from Environment News Service March 16, 2001
ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE
(ENS) http://ens-news.com
"We
Cover the Earth For You"
************************************************************
EUROPE SPOOKED BY BUSH'S
U-TURN ON CO2 LIMITS
COPENHAGEN, Denmark, March 16, 2001 (ENS) - U.S. President
George W. Bush
has spread gloom through Europe's
climate change community by abandoning an
election
campaign promise to limit the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from
fossil fueled utilities and reiterating his opposition to
the United Nations
Kyoto Protocol.
For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens-news.com/ens/mar2001/2001L-03-16-01.html
************************************************************
EPA CUTS COST OF GAS BY
ALLOWING HIGHER EMISSIONS
WASHINGTON, DC, March 16, 2001 (ENS) - Gas prices for
Chicago and Milwaukee
drivers will be less likely to
skyrocket this summer because of a rule
change by the
Environmental Protection Agency that will allow a greater
amount of volatic organic compounds (VOCs) to be emitted
from exhaust pipes.
For full
text and graphics visit:
http://ens-news.com/ens/mar2001/2001L-03-16-03.html
************************************************************
MISSING PELTS LEAD TO
QUESTIONS OVER CANADIAN SEAL HUNT
By Neville Judd
OTTAWA, Canada, March 15, 2001 (ENS) - A new report claims
that Canada
exported only half of the almost two
million pelts from seals killed
between 1982 and 1999.
An animal welfare group wants to know, where did the
other million pelts go?
For full text and graphics, visit:
http://ens.lycos.com/ens/mar2001/2001L-03-16-11.html
************************************************************
AUSTRALIA DECLARES BIOLOGICAL
WAR ON THE CANE TOAD
CANBERRA,
Australia, March 16, 2001 (ENS) - They are said to attack
anything that moves and will eat anything that can fit in
their mouths.
Since being introduced to Australia from
Venezuela in 1935, the cane toad
has proved to be the
most durable of invasive species, resistant to all
attempts at extermination. This week they spread to a world
heritage site
and moved politicians to act.
For full text and graphics, visit:
http://ens.lycos.com/ens/mar2001/2001L-03-16-10.html
***********************************************************
ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE
AMERISCAN: MARCH 16, 2001
Foot-and-Mouth Disease Hotline Now Open
Silicon Valley City Hosts Energy
Summit
Kellogg's Recalls Gene
Altered Corn Foods
Texaco
Refinery Fined $4 Million for Waste Violations
One Enviro Rep OK'd for Industry Chemicals Trade Panel
Waterworks, Dams Need Dollars to
Halt Decay
Clean Coal
Technology Catches On
Bay Area
Frog, Snake Get Reprieve from Development
Public Asked to Help Locate HazWaste Truck
For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens-news.com/ens/mar2001/2001L-03-16-09.html
************************************************************
HEALING OUR WORLD: WEEKLY
COMMENT
By Jackie Alan
Giuliano, Ph.D.
Every hour of
every day, children die all over the world because of short
sighted political choices that keep toxic substances
steadily flowing into
our air, water, and food and keep
the world's water supplies clouded with
human waste.
You don't hear about them on the evening news, all these dead
children. They are just considered the necessary
consequences of progress
and the unequal distribution
of wealth in our world.
For
full text and graphics visit:
http://ens-news.com/ens/mar2001/2001L-03-16g.html
************************************************************
Copyright Environment News
Service (ENS) 2000 All Rights Reserved.
************************************************************
SEND
NEWS STORY TIPS TO news@ens-news.com
***********************************************************************
E-WIRE PRESS RELEASE E-WIRE PRESS RELEASE E-WIRE PRESS
RELEASE
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TO BUSINESS AND ENVIRONMENTAL
EDITORS:
DFW
Airport Hosts Airport Environmental Conference
Will
Announce Two Environmental Firsts and Support for a
Proposed
Airport Environmental Review Process
Measures Pave the Way
for Improving Environmental Performance While
Expediting
Expansion at the Nation's Airports
DFW INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT, TX, Mar. 16 -/E-Wire/-- DFW International Airport, the American
Association of Airport Executives (AAAE)
and the Air
Transport Association of America, Inc. (ATA) will announce
first-of-their-kind, multi-party agreements that may serve
as a model for
improving environmental performance at
the nation's airports as measures are
enacted to speed
the review of airport infrastructure projects.
/CONTACT: media, Tina Sharp of DFW International
Airport, 972-574-8018,
or mobile, 214-213-2419/
/Web site: http:////
For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Mar01/16Mar0103.html
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E-WIRE PRESS RELEASE E-WIRE PRESS RELEASE E-WIRE PRESS
RELEASE
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CEC
Consultants' Recommendations for Legionella Prevention
Cleveland Auto Plant Closes
Legionella in Cooling Towers Suspected
CLEVELAND, OH, USA, Mar. 15
-/E-Wire/-- Legionella outbreaks and its incidence are somewhat common.
Legionella bacteria has always been around. Hopefully increasing the public's
awareness will now minimize the chances of this bacteria continuing to plague us
all. Legionella is almost everywhere in water and soils. The good news is that
it's ability to thrive, multiply, be aerosolized (made into droplets), and
disseminated can be controlled.
/CONTACT: CEC Consultants, Inc., John R. Puskar,
P.E., 216/749-2992/
/Web
site: http://www.cec-consultants.com/
For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Mar01/16Mar0103.html
***********************************************************************
E-WIRE PRESS RELEASE E-WIRE PRESS RELEASE E-WIRE PRESS
RELEASE
***********************************************************************
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Ford
Motor Company and National Geographic Name Christina Figueres "Hero of the
Planet"
Figueres calls for a National
Town Hall Meeting on Climate Change
WASHINGTON, DC, Mar. 16
-/E-Wire/-- Signaling the importance of private and public partnerships to
address global climate change, the Ford Motor Company and the National
Geographic have selected Christiana Figueres, Executive Director of the Center
for Sustainable Development in the Americas (CSDA), as "Hero of the
Planet." In a full page acknowledgment in the March edition of
National Geographic, Ms. Figueres was honored for her dedication to "a global
energy revolution" (available on website: csda@csdanet.org).
/CONTACT: Cristiam Rodriguez, 1700 Connecticut
Ave, NW, Suite 403
,Washington, DC 20009, Tel:
202-588-0155, Fax: 202-588-0756, rodriguez@csdanet.org/
/Web site: http://www.csdanet.org
http://www.cdmonline.org/
For Full Text
Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Mar01/16Mar0101.html
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E-WIRE PRESS RELEASE E-WIRE PRESS RELEASE E-WIRE PRESS
RELEASE
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Jeffords Legislation Wrong
Approach
WASHINGTON, DC, Mar. 16
-/E-Wire/-- The Global Climate Coalition said today new
legislation introduced by a bipartisan group of
northeastern Senators
regulating carbon dioxide
emissions power plants is wrongheaded in light of
America's current energy woes.
/CONTACT: Frank Maisano, (202) 628-3622/
/Web site: http://www.globalclimate.org/
For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Mar01/16Mar0102.html
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E-WIRE PRESS RELEASE E-WIRE PRESS RELEASE E-WIRE PRESS
RELEASE
***********************************************************************
TO BUSINESS AND ENERGY
EDITORS:
California's Energy Crisis
Affects Entire Country
BROOMFIELD, CO, Mar. 16
-/E-Wire/-- California is the sixth
largest economic
center of the world, producing 13% of America's gross
domestic product. The rolling blackouts that
recently occurred in northern
California affect the
entire country, but there are measures you can take to
protect yourself. Many national consequences
have resulted from the
California energy crisis.
/CONTACT: Lisa Elia for Gaiam, Inc.,
818-986-4524, lisaeliapr@aol.com/
/Web site: http://www.gaiam.com/
For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Mar01/16Mar0101.html
************************************************************
SEND YOUR PRESS RELEASE ON E-WIRE --
1-888-764-NEWS
************************************************************
from the Wildnerness Society March 16, 2001
****************************
*
WILD ALERT
* Friday, March 16, 2001
****************************
If you had any doubts about what
will happen to your public lands under
George Bush and
Gale Norton, you only have to look at what they said in
the last week:
1. GEORGE BUSH: "We'll be looking at all
public lands" for oil and gas
development.
2. GALE NORTON: Said she will consider
rolling back protections for
National Monuments
designated by the Clinton Administration.
Read all about it at http://www.wilderness.org/eyewash/bush0316.htm, where
you can send a message to the Administration that their
policies to undo
protections of our public lands are
just plain wrong.
***************************************************************
1. BUSH SAYS ALL PUBLIC LANDS COULD BE OPENED TO
DEVELOPMENT
In an interview with several reporters this
week, Pres. Bush made clear
that his administration
will consider oil and gas drilling on "all public
lands."
"We're dismayed that Pres. Bush wants to turn the oil and
gas industry
loose on virtually all the lands in our
national forests, national
wildlife refuges, and other
public systems," said Wilderness Society Bill
Meadows. "We're beginning to wonder if James
Watt is whispering in his
ear," he said, referring to
the Reagan-era Interior Secretary who urged
drilling in
Wilderness areas.
A phenomenal
amount of federal land is already available to oil and gas
drilling, including 95% of the lands administered by the
Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) in Colorado, New
Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, and Montana. And
under the Clinton Administration, oil and gas leases were
granted on over
26 million acres of federal lands. In
fact, there are nearly 50,000
producing oil and gas
wells on public lands, and last year alone the BLM
issued 3,400 new drilling permits for new wells on federal
lands.
Bush's statement comes
on the heels of a White House announcement that
energy
industry lobbyist J. Steven Griles will become the second in
command at the Department of Interior, with broad authority
over national
parks, national monuments, wildlife
refuges, and BLM lands. Griles, a
former Assistant
Secretary of the Interior in the Reagan Administration,
was hailed by the oil, gas and coal industry, which
ironically
characterized the appointment as "a breath
of fresh air." Another
candidate, Conservation Fund
President John Turner, had been widely
expected to gain
the job. But Interior Secretary Gale Norton pushed for
Griles, and a major campaign mounted by property rights
advocates
succeeded in swaying the White House's
decision.
***************************************************************
2. GALE NORTON TAKES AIM AT NATIONAL MONUMENTS
Interior Secretary Gale Norton last week said she intends
to consider
rolling back protections of national
monuments designated by the Clinton
Administration, in
an apparent reversal of what Sec. Norton had led the
American public to believe.
Instead of seeking to undo national monument designations,
which were very
popular across the western U.S. where
most of the monuments were
designated, Sec. Norton
appears to be focusing on eliminating protections
for
the new monuments, such as changing boundaries and allowing new
destructive practices -- in effect, allowing the monuments
to exist in
name only.
In response, the Denver Post editorialized against her on
March 12th,
stating: "Interior Secretary Norton should
not undermine ... new national
monuments. ... Unfortunately, the
Bush team may be hearing only from a
vocal faction
opposed to any effort to update the stewardship of our
public lands. Norton, who promised to administer
her department as a
moderate, should listen to many
voices, not just a few die-hard whiners."
Some of our greatest national parks were first protected as
national
monuments. If Gale Norton had been Interior
Secretary 90 years ago, after
many of those monuments
were designated, national parks like Grand Canyon,
Olympic, and Zion, among others, might be oil fields and
mining pits, not
the treasured places they are today.
TAKE ACTION
George Bush's and Gale Norton's strategy to undermine
(literally!) our
country's public lands is just plain
wrong. Send them a message today
from http://www.wilderness.org/eyewash/bush0316.htm or tell
them directly:
- Rolling back
protections of our national monuments and other public
lands is not what the American people want from those who
are supposed to
be stewards of our natural
heritage. I call on you to protect our public
lands, including our newest national monuments.
- 95% of BLM lands in the Rocky
Mountain states are already open to oil
and gas
development. Opening up what little is left of our public lands
will unnecessarily destroy the few remaining wild
landscapes of our
nation's natural resource heritage.
Send your comments to:
Interior Secretary Gale Norton
U.S. Dept. of Interior, 1849 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20240
Email: Gale_Norton@ios.doi.gov
and
Pres.
George W. Bush
The White House, Wash,
DC 20500
FAX: (202) 456-2461
Email: president@whitehouse.gov
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Latest from the Bush Administration:
http://www.wilderness.org/eyewash/
National Monuments:
http://www.wilderness.org/standbylands/national_monuments.htm
***************************************************************
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: Please send your comments to <action@tws.org>. If
you simply hit "reply" to
this message, please include
your email address in the body of the
message.
TO SUBSCRIBE: If you have been
forwarded this message and would like to
subscribe to
the list, send the following message to
<lyris@lists.wilderness.org>:
"subscribe wilderness-alert" (inserted in the body of the message,
without quotes).
Founded in 1935, The Wilderness Society works to protect
America's
wilderness and to develop a nation-wide
network of wild lands through
public education,
scientific analysis and advocacy. Our goal is to ensure
that future generations will enjoy the clean air and water,
wildlife,
beauty and opportunities for recreation and
renewal that pristine forests,
rivers, deserts and
mountains provide. To take action on behalf of
wildlands today, visit our website at http://www.wilderness.org
***************************************************************
from League of Conservation Voters March 16, 2001
WASHINGTON - The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) today
applauded a
bipartisan group of environmental leaders
for introducing legislation to
set emissions limits for
carbon dioxide and other pollutants that
substantially
contribute to global warming and pose a risk to public
health. U.S. Senators James Jeffords (R-Vt.), Joseph
Lieberman (D-Conn.),
Susan Collins (R-Maine), Charles
Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Hillary Rodham
Clinton (D-N.Y.)
joined with U.S. Representatives Sherwood Boehlert
(R-N.Y.) and Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) to unveil "The Clean
Power Act of
2001," a cost-effective, commonsense
approach to dramatically cut power
plant emissions of
four major pollutants - nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide,
mercury, and carbon dioxide - by 2007. On Tuesday,
President George W.
Bush broke a campaign pledge when
he declared that his administration
would not regulate
emissions of carbon dioxide.
Read the full release on the web at:
http://lcv.org/news/031501_emissions.html
___Support LCV_____
http://lcv.org/join
from EarthNet News March 16, 2001
EarthNet News
...a project of the
Center for Environmental Citizenship
March 16, 2001
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
This week, demand action on global warming and plan a
protest at your local
Staples store. Also,
Boston students organize for environmental justice
and
chemical companies are exposed in an upcoming PBS special. We're
accepting applications now for our Environmental Journalism
and
Environmental Justice Summer Training Academies at
http://www.envirocitizen.org.
--Amy Lesser, EarthNet editor
mailto:earthnet@envirocitizen.org
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Shadow Congress: Bush's Back-Pedaling
2. Quote of the Week
3. Corporate Corner: Staples Protests
4. Eco-Campus: Boston Enviros
5. Websites of the Week
6. Eco-Exposure: Trade Secrets
7. Environmental Justice Summer Training Academy
8. Jobs, Conferences and Gatherings
9. Activist Phone Book & EarthNet News Info
SHADOW CONGRESS
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bush shocked everyone last fall when he pledged to
regulate carbon dioxide
emissions, the main
human-related cause of global warming. Enviros
rejoiced, and Gore lost a valuable campaign
issue. This week, however,
Bush bowed to
industry pressure and announced that he changed his
mind. EPA Director Christine Whitman and
Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill
were caught off-guard
after they both publicly stated that the U.S. was
ready
to act as a responsible global citizen. Apparently, oil and gas
interests hold more influence in the Bush administration
than Cabinet
members.
TAKE ACTION NOW: Use the EarthNet Action Center
(http://www.envirocitizen.org/enet) to demand that
President Bush take
action on global warming now, or our
generation will be forced to deal with
the consequences
of his irresponsibility. We cannot afford to wait.
FOR MORE INFO: http://www.greenpeaceusa.org/climate/safety.htm;
http://www.ucsusa.org/environment/0warming.html
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The dissident does not ... seek power. He has no desire
for office and
does not gather votes. He does not
attempt to charm the public, he offers
nothing and
promises nothing. He can offer, if anything, only his own
skinand he offers it solely because he has no other way of
affirming the
truth he stands for. His actions simply
articulate his dignity as a
citizen, regardless of the
cost."
-- Václav Havel, Czech
playwright, president, in "Living in Truth"
CORPORATE CORNER
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ever had trouble finding recycled or tree-free
paper? Maybe it's because
the major office
supply stores simply won't sell it. Instead, stores like
Staples insist on selling virgin paper from U.S. public and
private
lands. Some stats:
-- less than 4% of U.S. old-growth forests remain,
-- 1/3 of U.S. national forests are being pulped for paper,
and
-- more than half the paper in the U.S. comes from
Southern forests, the
region containing the greatest
biodiversity in the continental U.S.
TAKE ACTION NOW: On March 28, demonstrations at Staples
stores are being
planned across the
country. Join in with creative protests -- hang banners
("Stumples"), plan guerilla theater with chainsaws, or build
a giant
stapler. Find your nearest Staples
store at http://www.staples.com.
FOR MORE INFO: Contact Michelle at
michelle@freetheplanet.org or
202.547.3656 for an
"action pack" and postcards. Sign up for the national
listserv by sending an email to
endangered-forests-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
UPDATE: A new website about the toxic legacy of GE on the
Hudson River (EN
03/01/01) has been launched at http://www.cleanhudson.org. For more info,
call David Higby, Environmental Advocates, 518.462.5526,
ext. 239.
ECO-CAMPUS
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Boston Area Student Environmental Coalition (BASEC),
a coalition of
thirteen campus environmental groups,
formed last fall. BASEC's goals are
to
coordinate student environmental efforts in the Boston area, improve
networking between campus groups, and develop the
environmental leadership
skills of Boston-area
students. This spring, BASEC is planning a lobby day
to demand support from Mass. representatives for a bill on
environmental
justice.
FOR MORE INFO: Email kaitlin@envirocitizen.com
for info about joining
BASEC. For guidance on
how to create a similar program in your area,
contact
Amy Fisher, our Northeast Organizer, at amyfisher@envirocitizen.org.
WEBSITES of THE WEEK
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Need environmental and activist news
24/7? Here are a few of our favorite
alternatives.
Grist Magazine (www.gristmagazine.com) -- an online magazine
billing itself
as "a beacon in the smog;" get your daily
dose of "gloom and doom with a
sense of humor" with the
Daily Grist delivered to your email box each morning.
WireTap Magazine
(www.wiretapmag.org) -- alternative news zine for and by
"youth in search of the dirty truth."
Common Dreams News Center
(www.commondreams.org)-- all the news a
progressive can
use, plus columns by dozens of talking heads.
ECO-EXPOSURE
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
On Monday, March 26, PBS will air "Trade Secrets," Bill
Moyer's
groundbreaking report on the chemical
industry. A network of groups,
called Coming
Clean, is organizing events around the show that highlight
corporate environmental irresponsibility in the
U.S. Organize a viewing
party on campus or
with your friends (check out http://www.pbs.org for you
local
show time). Order info packets from http://www.comeclean.org.
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE SUMMER
TRAINING ACADEMY
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's time to build political power and make your voice
heard! Learn how at
the 2001 Environmental
Justice Summer Training Academy (EJ STA). Join
other community and student organizers who are leading the
charge to make
environmental justice a priority in the
2001 elections and beyond. The EJ
STA is an intensive
6-day program that trains young people of color in
political skills to protect our communities.
The 2001 Environmental Justice
Summer Training Academy will be held at
Catholic
University in Washington, DC from June 9-14. $50 includes
housing, food, and training. Rolling admissions
-- APPLY NOW at
http://www.ejnow.org. Pass the word along!
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Got something to
say? Send your letters to earthnet@envirocitizen.org. We
reserve the right to edit for length, clarity, and
purpose.
JOBS AND INTERNSHIPS
------------------------------
These are a sampling of the over 180 environmental and
activist jobs and
internships listed at
www.envirocitizen.org/enet/jobs/index.asp!
The Environmental Leadership Program is seeking a Program
Associate in
Cambridge, MA. Find the job
description at
http://www.envirocitizen.org/enet/jobs/detail.asp?id=2470.
The World Wildlife Fund is
seeking a Junior Research Assistant in
Washington,
DC. Find the job description at
http://www.envirocitizen.org/enet/jobs/detail.asp?id=2450.
The Greenbelt Alliance is
seeking a Solano-Napa Field Representative in
Fairfield,
CA. Find the job description at
http://www.envirocitizen.org/enet/jobs/detail.asp?id=2473.
The Earthwatch Institute is
seeking an Conservation Education Manager in
Maynard,
MA. Find the job description at
http://www.envirocitizen.org/enet/jobs/detail.asp?id=2454.
CONFERENCES AND GATHERINGS
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
All events listed at http://www.envirocitizen.org/enet/events/index.asp.
WHAT: 7th Annual Public Interest
Environmental Conference
WHERE: University of Florida,
Gainesville, FL
WHEN: March 22-24, 2001
FOR MORE INFO: http://www.envirocitizen.org/enet/events/detail.asp?id=714
WHAT: Coalition for
Environmentally Responsible Companies (CERES) Conference
WHERE: Atlanta, GA
WHEN: April 5-6, 2001
FOR
MORE INFO: http://www.envirocitizen.org/enet/events/detail.asp?id=704
WHAT: Equity and Global
Climate Change Conference
WHERE: Washington, DC
WHEN: April 17-18, 2001
FOR MORE INFO: http://www.envirocitizen.org/enet/events/detail.asp?id=688
ACTIVIST PHONE BOOK
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. Capitol Switchboard: 202.224.3121
White House Comment Line: 202.456.1111
EarthNet Action Center: http://congress.nw.dc.us/cec
White House Address: 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington, DC
20500
Senate Address: US Senate, Washington, DC 20510
House Address: US House of Representatives, Washington,
DC 20515
**Look up e-mail addresses in a comprehensive
congressional directory at
http://congress.nw.dc.us/cec/congdir.html or http://www.vote-smart.org/ce
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Write your own short articles for submission to
EarthNet. We are
particularly interested in articles
about student activism on your campus.
The email
accounts for EarthNet News are:
For general comments:
mailto:earthnet@envirocitizen.org
For article
submissions or ideas: mailto:submissions@envirocitizen.org
Submit Jobs/Internships/Volunteer listings at
http://www.envirocitizen.org/enet/jobs/add.asp.
Submit Events at http://www.envirocitizen.org/enet/events/add.asp.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
To subscribe to our listserv, EarthNet News, go to
http://www.envirocitizen.org/subscribe.html, or send an
email to
mailto:earthnet-request@earthsystems.org with
the subject subscribe. To
unsubscribe, send an email to
mailto:earthnet-request@earthsystems.org with
the
subject unsubscribe.
from Save Our Environment Action Center March 19, 2001
SAVE OUR ENVIRONMENT ACTION CENTER UPDATE
By using the Save Our Environment
Action Center
[http://www.saveourenvironment.org], you are working
together with the nation's most influential environmental
advocacy groups in the crucial battles to protect our
air
and water, forests and oceans, climate, wilderness,
and
wildlife.
March 19, 2001
************************************************************
After years of fighting for a clean-up, the EPA has
called
for General Electric to dredge the Hudson of over
100,000
pounds of toxic PCBs it has discharged into the
river. But
GE is fighting back, and the Bush
administration now holds
the key to the future of one of
our most cherished
waterways.
To send a free email to EPA
administrator Whitman on this
issue, just reply to this
email.
************************************************************
For 30 years ending in 1977, two
General Electric plants
dumped an estimated 1.3 million
pounds of highly toxic
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
into the Hudson River, all
but destroying the Hudson's
once-thriving commercial
fishing industry and posing a
significant health threat to
wildlife and subsistence
fishermen who depend on the river
for food. In response,
the Environmental Protection Agency
declared 200 miles
of the river a federal Superfund site
(the largest
Superfund site in the country) and identified
PCB
contamination in river sediments as an ongoing threat to
the entire river ecosystem. Every day, one to three pounds
of PCBs from highly-contaminated "hot spots" wash
downstream
and are ingested by fish, wildlife, and
people who eat fish
from the river.
In December 2000, after more than a
decade of study, the
EPA issued a preliminary
recommendation that GE remove
contaminated sediment
containing over 100,000 pounds of
PCBs from the upper
Hudson River using environmental
dredging techniques.
But GE is waging an aggressive campaign
to oppose the
clean-up. In addition to employing a team of
Washington,
DC lobbyists and filing a lawsuit over the very
constitutionality of the federal Superfund program, GE has
launched an unprecedented public relations campaign to
turn
public opinion against the proposed clean-up. The
company
has inundated Hudson River communities with
nightly
television commercials, full-page newspaper and
magazine
ads, and bus signs and billboards, spending an
estimated
two million dollars per week.
The EPA's final decision on the
Hudson River PCB Superfund
site will be one of the first
major environmental decisions
facing the new Bush
administration, and a significant test
of its commitment
to environmental clean-ups versus the
influence of big
business. The public comment period for
the EPA's
proposed plan ends April 17, 2001.
Please send a message to EPA administrator Christie Whitman
in support of the Hudson River PCB clean-up. We've made
it
easy for you -- just reply to this email and we'll
automatically send the message below to Administrator
Whitman. Or, if you prefer to send your own message, the
email address for comments is
hudsoncomment.region2@epa.gov.
Once again, thanks for being part of the Save Our
Environment activist network and for taking action to help
preserve and protect the Earth's natural treasures and
quality of life. Remember, you can increase the impact
of
your support by encouraging your family and friends
to
visit the Save Our Environment Action Center as well.
We've
made it easy for you with our "Tell a Friend"
feature which
allows you to send an electronic postcard
right from the
site.
Save Our Environment Action Center --
http://www.saveourenvironment.org/
************************************************************
Email message -- just reply to this email (send to:<actioncenter@saveourenvironment.org)
and we'll send this message to EPA administrator Whitman.
Subject: Require GE
to clean up Hudson River PCBs
Dear Administrator Whitman,
I urge the Environmental Protection Agency to proceed as
quickly as possible with requiring General Electric to
clean up the mess it has made in the Hudson River. Last
December, after more than a decade of exhaustive,
peer-reviewed study, the EPA proposed a comprehensive plan
for targeted dredging of PCB-contaminated hot spots in
the
upper Hudson River. This recommendation was based on
a
thorough analysis of the science and a recognition
that the
technology exists to safely and effectively
remove
PCB-contaminated sediments from the bottom of the
Hudson.
Every day, pounds of
these potentially cancer-causing
chemicals wash
downstream from the hot spots and are
ingested by fish,
wildlife, and people who eat fish from
the river. Every
day dredging is delayed is another day more
people and
wildlife will be harmed by these toxic sediments.
The Hudson River PCB decision will be one of the first
Superfund decisions facing the new Bush administration.
People all around the country will be watching closely to
see whether the EPA bows to industry pressure and shifts
course from its preliminary action plan for the Hudson.
Sound science, not politics,
must prevail. I urge you to
keep the EPA on track and
issue a final Hudson River action
plan by August 2001
that requires GE to aggressively
remove, treat, and
properly dispose of PCB-contaminated
sediments from the
Hudson River.
Sincerely,
from Sierra Club March 19, 2001
SC-ACTION Vol. III, #30
DEFENDING
THE ENVIRONMENTAL AGENDA
Friday, March 16, 2001
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The QUOTE OF THE DAY: "You can
call this 'second thought week' for the Bush
administration. The more second thoughts they have, the more
second
thoughts I've got." - Senate Minority Leader Tom
Daschle, S.D., regarding
the administration's reversal
on carbon dioxide emissions and potential
increases in
the proposed $1.6 trillion tax-cut package
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table of Contents:
1. Featured Action: Protect the
Arctic Refuge from oil drilling
2. Protect and restore
National Forests
3. Hold President Bush to his campaign
promise
4. Speak out against international family
planning restrictions
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Urge your Senators to Protect
the Arctic Refuge from Oil Drilling
The debate over the fate of the Arctic Refuge is once again
a hot issue in
the press and before
Congress. Using the country's recent energy problems,
the Oil industry and its allies in Congress are pushing
various bills to
open the coastal plain of the Arctic
Refuge to oil drilling.
A major
threat is a broad energy bill introduced by Senator Murkowski which
contains Arctic drilling as its
centerpiece. There will be a long series
of hearings on his bill but no major action is expected
until at least May.
A more immediate threat to the
Arctic is through the Federal Budget Bill
process. President Bush's budget contains an
assumption of revenue from
potential Arctic
drilling. Though the Budget Bill itself cannot authorize
drilling, it creates the expectation that Congress will pass
legislation to
open the Refuge for development.
We faced this vote last year and
narrowly lost the effort on the Senate
floor to strip
the drilling revenues from the bill by a vote of 49-51.
Though we ultimately won the battle when the provision was
deleted in
conference, we have an excellent shot to win
this vote on the Senate floor.
The Senate is a "greener"
body as a result of the elections, but it will
take
tremendous constituent pressure to overcome the influence of the
powerful Alaska delegation and the oil industry lobby.
Please call your Senators and urge
them to vote to protect the Arctic
Refuge from oil
drilling. We expect a vote on the Senate floor the first
week of April. Arctic drilling is not the answer
to our country's energy
needs. We should not
sacrifice this national treasure for less than
six-month
supply of oil.
2. Protect and
Restore Our National Forests - Commercial logging destroys
wildlife habitat, degrades recreation opportunities, impacts
our clean
water sources and wastes taxpayer
money. It is time to stop the subsidies
of
forest destruction and invest in forest restoration. Please call your
Representative and Senators through the Capitol
switchboard at (202)
224-3121 and ask them to support
full protection of our National Forests
from logging and
road building. Urge your friends and neighbors to do the
same! You can more information on the Sierra Club
website at
www.sierraclub.org/logging
For more information call Mitzi
Emrich at (202) 547-1141.
3. Tell President George W. Bush to follow through on his
Campaign Pledge
to Regulate
Carbon Dioxide Pollution.
President George W. Bush yesterday broke his campaign
promise to curb
carbon dioxide
pollution, the primary gas causing global warming. In a
Sept. 29, 2000 campaign speech in
Saginaw, Michigan, Bush pledged to curb
carbon dioxide pollution. President Bush rejected
the advice of EPA
Administrator
Christie Whitman and Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill to keep
his campaign pledge and consider the
long-term consequences. Carbon
dioxide accounts for about 70% of the global warming
problem. The U.S. is
the world's biggest global warming polluter, spewing 25% of
the planet's
global warming
pollution; one-third of our emissions come from power
plants. So the
President's refusal to impose mandatory carbon dioxide
cuts
will have severe consequences on our nation and the world.
Take
Action:
Send a message to
President Bush. Tell him to reconsider his decision not
to regulate carbon
dioxide. Go to:
http://whistler.sierraclub.org:8080/takeaction/globalwarming/index.jsp
For
further information, please contact Alex Veitch, Sierra Club Global
Warming & Energy Program, Tel:
202 547-1141, alex.veitch@sierraclub.org
4. Urge Bush to Reinstate Support
for International Family Planning
Only two days after his inaugural
address, President Bush dealt a blow to
international family planning programs by reinstating the
global gag rule.
The global gag
rule restricts international family planning organizations
that receive U.S. funds. When
couples have access to unrestricted,
comprehensive family planning services, they tend to choose
to have
smaller, healthier
families. By having smaller families, we can ease the
demand for water and arable land,
preserve biodiversity and vital habitat,
and limit pollution - improving the prospects for a healthy
environment.
Tell President Bush you disagree and
ask him to fully support these
programs in the future. For more information, go to:
http://www.sierraclub/takeaction/population/index.asp
For
further information, contact Laurie Mignone, Global Population and
Environment Program, 202-547-1141,
laurie.mignone@sierraclub.org
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sierra Club Legislative Hotline
- 202-675-2394
Sierra Club
National Headquarters - 415-977-5500
Sierra Club World Wide Web - http://www.sierraclub.org
Sierra Club Vote Watch
Website - http://www.sierraclub.org/votewatch/
White House Comment Line -
202-456-1111
White House Fax
Line - 202-456-2461
George W.
Bush's e-mail - president@whitehouse.gov
Dick Cheney's e-mail -
vice-president@whitehouse.gov
White House Address - 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington, DC
20500
US Capitol Switchboard -
202-224-3121
To contact your
senators - http://www.senate.gov/contacting/index.cfm
To contact your representative - http://www.house.gov/writerep
from Environment News Service March 19, 2001
ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE
(ENS) http://ens-news.com
"We
Cover the Earth For You"
************************************************************
BRAZILIAN OIL GIANT TRIES TO
SAVE SINKING RIG
RIO DE JANEIRO,
Brazil, March 19, 2001 (ENS) - The world's largest oil rig,
located 130 kilometers (80.7 miles) off the northeastern
coast of Brazil,
continued to sink today, despite
salvage attempts by its owner the
Brazilian state oil
company Petrobras.
For full text
and graphics, visit:
http://ens.lycos.com/ens/mar2001/2001L-03-19-12.html
************************************************************
BEYOND EARTH'S DYING CORAL REEFS
WASHINGTON, DC, March 19, 2001
(ENS) - A pioneering project aimed at
reversing the
decline of the world's coral reefs today received the largest
grant ever given by the United Nations Foundation.
For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens-news.com/ens/mar2001/2001L-03-19-01.html
************************************************************
SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS ATTEMPT
TO OUTLAW HAZE
KUALA LUMPUR,
Malaysia, March 19, 2001 (ENS) - It is partly cloudy in Kuala
Lumpur today with a high temperature of 93 degrees and
humidity of 93
percent. There are scattered hot spots
and a small area of slight haze over
central Sumatra,
Indonesia - nothing to worry about, and Southeast Asian
countries would like to keep it that way.
For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens-news.com/ens/mar2001/2001L-03-19-02.html
************************************************************
RECYCLING REACHES CANADA'S NORTH
- FINALLY
IQALUIT, Nunavut,
Canada, March 19, 2001 (ENS) - Nunavut's capital Iqaluit
is finally doing what almost every other North American city
does: recycling. Last
week, Iqaluit Mayor
John Matthews launched a paper recycling program
for the
town. The program is a partnership between municipal, territorial
and federal agencies.
For full text and graphics, visit:
http://ens.lycos.com/ens/mar2001/2001L-03-19-11.html
***********************************************************
AUSTRALIA'S ARMED FORCES PLEDGE
TO CUT EMISSIONS
CANBERRA,
Australia, March 19, 2001 (ENS) - The Commonwealth's largest
department, biggest user of energy, and major emitter of
greenhouse gases,
The Department of Defence, has joined
the Greenhouse Challenge, a voluntary
government program
to limit emissions.
For full
text and graphics visit:
http://ens-news.com/ens/mar2001/2001L-03-19-05.html
************************************************************
KENYA'S FOREST PLAN ROUSES
OPPOSITION
NAIROBI, Kenya, March
19, 2001 (ENS) - Opposition is growing to the Kenyan
government's plan to clear more than 67,000 hectares
(165,560 acres) of
forest. The plan is to
resettle landless people, largely at the foot of Mount
Kenya. The Kenyan government says most of the land is
already settled and
now needs to be formally managed.
For full text and graphics,
visit:
http://ens.lycos.com/ens/mar2001/2001L-03-19-10.html
************************************************************
TRADING KEEPS HALONS OUT OF THE
OZONE
PARIS, France, March 19,
2001 (ENS) - The United Nations Environment
Programme
(UNEP) has launched a web portal to help implement a key
environmental treaty on protecting the ozone layer, the
Montreal Protcol.
For full text
and graphics visit:
http://ens-news.com/ens/mar2001/2001L-03-19-03.html
************************************************************
ECO-TRAIN TO ROLL THROUGH TOKYO
TOKYO, Japan, March 19, 2001
(ENS) - A special eco-train will be running
through
downtown Tokyo beginning Wednesday to showcase recycling, energy
efficiency and noise reduction.
For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens-news.com/ens/mar2001/2001L-03-19-04.html
************************************************************
ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE
AMERISCAN: MARCH 19, 2001
Whitman Supports Bush on Carbon Dioxide Emissions
Endangered Hyena Skull Lands Iowa
Man in Jail
Weeds May Provide
Medicinal Treasures
Revamped
Conservation Program Could Aid Grassland Birds
$3 Million Gift Endows Professorships at Duke
Tongass National Forest Gains 155
Acres
ExxonMobil Wins Award for
Tiger Conservation Efforts
Plant
Trees Online to Aid Siberian Tigers
For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens.lycos.com/ens/mar2001/2001L-03-19-09.html
Copyright Environment News Service
(ENS) 2000 All Rights Reserved.
************************************************************
SEND
NEWS STORY TIPS TO news@ens-news.com
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TO NATIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL
EDITORS:
U.S.Government Sponsored
Religion Killing Eagles
DENVER, CO, Mar. 19
-/E-Wire/-- We have spent the past two decades educating
children and adults about the instrinsic value and beauty of
eagles and other
raptors. We have worked hard with
limited resources, and have been rewarded
with successes
such as the recovery of the bald eagle and the peregrine falcon.
We are not alone in this mission. All of us work within the
guidelines of the
rules, regulations, and laws
established by Congress, which are administered
and
enforced by the Department of the Interior.
/CONTACT: Peter Reshetniak, President, Raptor
Education Foundation 303-680-8500,
raptor2@usaref.org/
/Web site: http://www.usaref.org/
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TO BUSINESS AND ENVIRONMENTAL
EDITORS:
EARTH Signs Milestone Contract
with Ultramar
MONTREAL, Canada, Mar. 19
-/E-Wire/-- EARTH (Canada) Corporation (CDNX: EAR)
is
pleased to announce the company has been awarded a contract to supply Ultramar
Canada, a
division of Ultramar Diamond Shamrock (NYSE:
UDS), with a TORRÔ solution for remediation
of oily
water contained in its remote bulk storage tank terminals.
/CONTACT: Investor Relations, 514/522-5550 or
l-877-4RPA-TEC
Email: investor@earthcanada.com/
/Web site: http://www.earthcanada.com/
For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Mar01/19Mar0107.html
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TO
ENVIRONMENTAL EDITORS:
AndEarth.com Helps Protect
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
MONTEREY, CA, Mar. 19
-/E-Wire/-- AndEarth.com has partnered with Save Our Shores to raise
funds to support the clean-up of the Monterey Bay National
Marine Sanctuary beaches. Save Our Shores is
an environmental group located in Santa Cruz that is
dedicated to the preservation and health of the coastal
environment of Monterey Bay. They were chosen as
an important environmental project by
AndEarth.com, and
featured on the AndEarthToday email newsletter. The newsletter, which
is published
twice a week, uses advertising revenue to
pay for environmental projects all over the world. Subscription is
free, and anyone can join at www.andearth.com.
/CONTACT: Richard Gill richgill@andearth.com
650-473-0443/
/Web
site: http://www.andearth.com
http://www.andearth.com/currentproject.html/
For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Mar01/19Mar0106.html
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TO BUSINESS AND ENERGY EDITORS:
Siemens Solar Supplies Modules
for Largest Roof Installation in the World
19,000 Solar Modules Will Be
Used at Exhibition Site in Amsterdam
CAMARILLO, CA, Mar. 19
-/E-Wire/-- Siemens Solar Industries L.P. announced today that Siemens
Nederland N.V., The Hague, will be supplying the largest
solar roof installation in the world.
Approximately 19,000 solar modules with a cumulative peak
power of 2.3 megawatts will be provided for
the Floriade
2002 international horticultural exhibition in Amsterdam.
/CONTACT: Tina Nickerson of Siemens Solar
Industries L.P., 805-388-6519,
or
Tina.Nickerson@solar.siemens.com, or Jillian Guadagno of Siemens
Corporation, 732-906-3808, or
jillian.guadagno@sc.siemens.com/
/Web site: http://www.siemenssolar.com/
For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Mar01/19Mar0105.html
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TO NATIONAL, ENVIRONMENTAL AND
SCIENCE EDITORS:
Ten of World's Leading Ocean
Champions Named Pew
Marine
Conservation Fellows
$1.5 Million Conferred in
World's Only Award Dedicated
to
Preservation of the Sea
BOSTON, MA, Mar. 19
-/E-Wire/-- An Italian biologist investigating the
cause
of mysterious dolphin deaths in the Mediterranean, an American fisheries
extension specialist determined to protect the environment
from the dangers of
genetically modified marine
organisms, and a Russian lawyer challenging oil
and gas
development threatening biodiversity in the Caspian Sea are among ten
guardians of the oceans selected as 2001 Pew Marine
Conservation Fellows.
/CONTACT: Cynthia Robinson of the Pew Fellows
Program in Marine
Conservation, 617-720-5100, or
crobinson@neaq.org/
/Web
site: http://www.pewmarine.org/
For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Mar01/19Mar0104.html
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-- WITH PHOTO -- TO BUSINESS AND
ENERGY EDITORS:
Reliant
Energy Announces Clean-Coal Power Plant for Pennsylvania
HOUSTON AND ARMAGH, PA, Mar.
19 -/E-Wire/-- Reliant Energy Seward
LLC, an unregulated
unit of Reliant Energy's Wholesale Group, today announced
it is planning to build a power generation plant in western
Pennsylvania using
the latest clean-coal technology.
/CONTACT: media, Richard Wheatley, Houston,
713-207-5881, or Cindy Abram,
Johnstown, Pa.,
814-533-8450, or investors, Dennis Barber, 713-207-3042, all
of Reliant Energy/
/Web site: http://reliantenergy.com/
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TO NATIONAL, ENVIRONMENTAL AND
SCIENCE EDITORS:
Irrigation's Contribution to
Conservation in Focus on World Water Day
FALLS CHURCH, VA, Mar. 19
-/E-Wire/-- Next time you take a bite of
an apple,
consider this: That juicy fruit probably grew on some of the driest
land in the United States.
/CONTACT: Tom Kimmell of the Irrigation
Association, 703-536-7080/
/Web
site: http://www.irrigation.org/
For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Mar01/19Mar0102.html
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TO FOREIGN, NATIONAL AND
ENVIRONMENTAL EDITORS:
'GEMI 2001: An Odyssey to
Environmental Excellence'
Opens With
Presentations by Paul Gilding and John Elkington
BALTIMORE, MD, Mar. 19
-/E-Wire/-- The Global Environmental Management
Initiative (GEMI) today opened its Annual Conference at the
Renaissance
Harborplace Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland.
/CONTACT: Amy Goldman, 202-296-7449, for GEMI/
/Web site: http://www.gemi.org/
For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Mar01/19Mar0101.html
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from Rural Advancement Foundtion International March 20, 2001
3/20/2001
News Releases
Bracing for 'El Nuna'
Andean Groups Hopping Mad About Popping-Bean Patent
R A F
I
Rural Advancement Foundation International
http://www.rafi.org/ rafi@rafi.org
Bracing for
El Nuna
Andean Groups Hopping Mad About Popping -Bean
Patent
Tales from a Tribunal:
The nuna bean is part of the Andean heritage. It is our treasure. For a company
to patent a nuna cross, claiming the bean-nut popping bean as an invention with
absolute world novelty is immoral and violates the rights of all indigenous
groups, said Elias Carreno, Coordinator of the Stop Biopiracy in the Andes
Campaign of the Associacion Kechua-Aymara for Sustainable Livelihoods, ANDES
(translated from Spanish).
Indigenous elders from six Andean communities that grow nuna
beans met in late February for a traditional Quechua tribunal to deliberate on
US Patent No. 6,040,503 on the bean-nut popping bean awarded to a US food
processor, Appropriate Engineering and Manufacturing. The popping bean trait is
found only in the Andean nuna bean, which the inventors claim in their patent.
After hearing testimony from expert witnesses, the tribunal rendered their
decision. Their verdict was unflinching in its criticism of intellectual
property monopolies that are predatory on the knowledge, rights and resources of
indigenous people.
Ayahuasca,
quinoa, and now nuna, said Carreno, referring to controversial US patent claims
on traditional Andean medicinal plants and food crops. (The ayahuasca and quinoa
patents were subsequently overturned or abandoned due to the protests of
indigenous peoples). These plants represent the collective heritage and
knowledge of our people, and we won t sit back and allow our popping-bean to be
appropriated by a monopoly patent.
The tribunal issued a strongly worded public declaration
promising to fight the popping bean patent, and demanded that CIAT - The
International Center for Tropical Agriculture based in Cali, Colombia uphold its
obligation under a United Nations trust agreement to keep farmer-bred bean
varieties in the public domain and off-limits to intellectual property.
CIAT challenged the patent on Mexico
s yellow bean late last year, and we are asking them to defend our rights by
taking similar action on the nuna patent, said Moises Quispe Quispe of the Nuna
Farmers Federation of Cusco, Peru.
The not-so-novel Nuna: The subject of the patent that has
shocked bean breeders, indigenous peoples, and other civil society groups is an
Andean bean that 'hops when it pops' and 'flies when it fries. The nuna bean
(pronounced noonya ) is nutritious - with a faintly peanuty taste. More
importantly for farming communities in the arid Andes, cooking nuna requires
little fuelwood. The bean is roasted not boiled. A few minutes over the fire and
the beans literally pop out of their shells ready to munch.
Alejandro Argumedo, a Quechua of the
Peruvian Andes and coordinator of the Indigenous Peoples Biodiversity Network
(IPBN), was astonished to learn that a US company had patented the bean he has
enjoyed since childhood. The bean has everything -- except novelty, says
Argumedo. My mother used to roast them for us, Argumedo recalls, They were a
favourite. I can't believe that anyone could pretend they invented a popping
bean! While virtually unknown to the snack addicted US market, the bean is an
important part of Andean culture and a widely cultivated staple food in many
regions.
Patently Ridiculous:
The US patent was granted one year ago this week on March 21st, 2000 to
Appropriate Engineering and Manufacturing through 'inventors' Mark Sterner and
Jeffrey Ehlers of California. The inventors have also received what is known as
a WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) patent (WO99/11115) under the
Patent Cooperation Treaty and have indicated that they will apply for patents in
as many as 121 countries. The patent gives Ehlers and Sterner exclusive monopoly
ownership over nuna crosses with characteristics allowing it to grow outside the
Andes. The patent encompasses crosses involving at least 33 Andean nuna
varieties traditionally bred and developed for centuries in Peru, Bolivia,
Ecuador, and Colombia. Continued development of the nuna bean in the Andes and
elsewhere is threatened by this patent observes Luc a Gallardo of Accion
Ecologia in Quito, Ecuador, Giving a US company this much control over an Andean
resource is absurd!
Breeding
concern: The patent is not only outraging the Andean indigenous and farming
community. Bean breeders are also concerned about the patent. Carl Jones, a
graduate student in Plant Breeding and Genetics at Oregon State University who
has worked extensively with Andean crops, believes that the patent is a serious
threat to bean breeding. The patented claim is really just an attempt to patent
the nuna characteristic which has been developed and preserved by the Andean
peoples for centuries. The claim severely limits improvements in this crop; many
of these changes could be useful to the Andean peoples from which it comes.
Jim Myers, a bean breeder at Oregon
State University, has been working on adapting nunas for many years.
Technically, the patent prevents any research [in countries where the patent has
been accepted] on the nunas without permission from the 'inventors.' If I make
available any of the varieties I have been working on, and someone else develops
a commercial use for them, there would have to be concern about possible patent
infringement, he notes. Of course, it is unlikely that the inventors would
actively prevent research, since any research that helps to develop new uses for
the bean could be of great economic benefit to them. Myers told RAFI that he is
hoping to work something out with the 'inventors' so that he can get his
varieties to the public without infringing the patent, but he observed that the
patent will certainly have a dampening effect on any research related to this
bean.
If the patent dampens
research on nuna, it could have negative consequences for developing countries
in particular. Toasting nunas uses less fuel than boiling beans, a feature
important to economic and environmental conditions in areas of the world where
fuel is scarce. Bean breeders at Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical
(CIAT), one of the 16 international research centres under the auspices of the
Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) - believe that
the nuna bean could contribute to economic development in the region. Last year,
USDA officials forwarded to RAFI email correspondence from a senior CIAT
scientist expressing his concerns about the patent. We hoped that popping beans
grown in the Andes could be a good substitute for illicit crops, and indeed that
was part of the rationale on which USDA supported [work on the bean]. With large
acreages planted in the USA with that variety, how will Peruvian farmers produce
nunas for export? He !
also worried that the patent
could restrict bean breeding in developing countries. The business of bean
breeding, considering the United States first, would be at risk in my view if
other bean breeders cannot produce other popping beans using other original
Peruvian or Bolivian landraces and US varieties already adapted to northern
latitudes. My concern is about the limitations to bean breeding and the benefits
to society at large, for instance, farmers and rural inhabitants of Africa.
An Obvious Claim?: Some bean
breeders have also argued that the patent should be rejected because the method
used by the breeders was 'obvious' -- which should have excluded it from
patentability. Improving a variety involves crossing the parents to bring
together different traits and then selecting the progeny having the combination
of desirable traits. In the case of the nuna bean, the crosses were obvious to
any one skilled in the art of bean breeding. While the inventors may have done
painstaking breeding work, the results are not necessarily inventive. Bean
breeders had, in fact, already written about the nuna bean suggesting how to
adapt the breed. The patent does exactly what we recommended in some of our
publications, wrote Dr Dan Debouck, Head of the Genetic Resources Unit at CIAT.
Experts acknowledge that Ehlers and Sterner did serious breeding work on this
bean, however, many people question whether or not the bean meets the criteria
of a patentable invention.
Breach of Trust : The patent is particularly offensive to
Andean farmers and indigenous people because it extends to crosses involving at
least 33 Andean nuna varieties traditionally bred and developed over centuries
in Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia. US Patent 6,040,503 lists all 33
accessions of nuna bean held in the USDA s national germplasm collection. All of
the nuna bean varieties listed in the patent were freely provided by Andean
farming communities, who allowed their bean varieties to be put into the public
realm in order to ensure the continued maintenance of the world's seed
biodiversity. In 1994, mounting concern over public collections being privatized
led the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to declare
designated germplasm in CGIAR gene banks to be in trust, meaning that the
germplasm cannot be restricted by monopoly patents. Of the 33 nuna bean
varieties listed in the patent, nine are also held in CIAT s international bean
collection.!
All are designated in-trust accessions and
all are farmers varieties collected in Peru.
Although CGIAR has not taken a public position on the
popping bean patent, CGIAR officials expressed concern about the popping bean
patent at the Global Forum on Agricultural Research in Dresden in May 2000.
Repeat Offender: One of the nuna's two 'inventors' is not
new to RAFI. In 1996 Jeffery Ehlers won a US plant variety protection
certificate (plant breeders rights) on Kunde Zulu, a cowpea variety he said he
developed from breeding research he initially undertook as an employee of the
International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA - CIAT's sister institute
in Nigeria) using African cowpea germplasm. Although this claim conflicted with
the institute's trust agreement with FAO, to RAFI s knowledge, IITA has not
challenged the claim. IITA s failure to challenge the claim constitutes a breach
of the trust agreement. This time Ehlers has a broad utility patent, and he has
teamed up with Mark Sterner who owns a company that can really bring the bean to
market, says Julie Delahanty of RAFI, who has been tracking the case, Inland
Empire Foods, owned by Sterner, is a food processor concentrating on dehydrated
legumes for the natural foods market in the US. Clearly, they hope to !
turn the popping bean patent into a commercial product with
a novel taste and an interesting history.
High Nuna: Not if Alejandro Argumedo of IPBN, Lucia Gallardo
of Acci n Ecol gia, and the other Andean organizations who have vowed to
challenge the patent have their way.(1) Groups in Latin America are also anxious
to challenge the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) for their part
in this case. WIPO is allowing this patent to go for adoption in other patent
offices around the world. Yet WIPO says it wants to support the conservation and
development of indigenous knowledge. Its time to put up or shut up, Gallardo
states.
Ehlers and Sterner
believe they have done everything legal in the eyes of the US PTO and WIPO and
that they have not violated any international agreements. Even if that were
true, this patent would remain morally unacceptable, says Pat Mooney, Executive
Director of RAFI. The patent usurps the genius of Andean farmers for the
commercial gain of a US company. Taking the genius of Andean farmers without
compensation is bad enough, but the patent also makes it difficult or impossible
for Andean farmers to develop a potentially lucrative export crop for the world
market -- a crop which belongs to the people of the Andes. Indigenous groups in
the region agree. This is a fight the people of the Andes are going to win,
Argumedo concludes.
The
following table gives further information on nine of the accessions listed in
the patent that are held in CIAT s international bean collection. All are
designated in-trust accessions. All are farmers varieties collected in Peru.
Source: CGIAR Systemwide Information System for Genetic Resources (SINGER)
database (http://singer.cgiar.org) and personal correspondence
with CIAT staff.
Name/ USDA#/
CGIAR#/ Origin/ FAO Trust?
1. Nuna 2/ PI 298 820/ G18
897/ Peru/ Yes
2. Nuna Ploma/ PI 577 677/ G12 575/ Peru/
Yes
3. Nuna Aroma/ PI 577 678/ G12 578/ Peru/ Yes
4. Nuna Mani Roja/ PI 577 679/ G12 582/ Per/ Yes
5. Nuna Frontina Negra/ PI 577 680/ G12 585/ Peru/ Yes
6. Nuna Condorcita/ PI 577 682/ G19645/ Peru/ Yes
7. Nuna Pava/ W6 4296/ G19646/ Peru/ Yes
8. Nuna Limona/ W6 4297/ G19673/ Peru/ Yes
9. Nuna Blanca Pequena/ W6 4298/ G19716/ Peru/ Yes
For further comment and viewpoint,
contact:
Alejandro Argumedo,
IPBN, Peru, ibpn@web.net, 51 84 246020
Luc a Gallardo,
Accion Ecologia, Ecuador, diverso@hoy.net, (593-2) 230-676
Julie Delahanty, RAFI, Canada, julie@rafi.org, (819) 827-
9949
1) Organizations opposing
the patent include among others: Asociacion Regional de Productores Ecologicos
del Cusco (ARPEC); Asociacion Nacional de Productores Ecologicos (ANPE);
Municipalidad Distrital de Maras; Municipalidad Provincial de Chumbivilcas;
Instituto Nacional de Investigaci n Agraria (INIA); Programa Nacional de
Cultivos Andinos; the Peruvian Society for Environmental Law (SPDA); and the
Asociacion Qechua Aymara para la Conservacion de la Naturaleza y el Desarrollo
Sostenible (ANDES).
from World Wildlife March 20, 2001
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