8/18/01
9:40:00 PM
October 8th - 7pm - 10pm
Strawberry Fields, Central Park, NYC - LennonTask Event
Join those who have found each other via the LennonTask to unite our diversities for a time of peace and pathway.
October 9th - 6:30 - 9:30pm
NYC Learning Annex
Join May Pang and Fred Seaman for their personal thoughts and memories of John Lennon.
Hope to see you there!!!
Lynn / Toronto
8/18/01
9:35:31 PM
Watch It! Face-It developer claims "we need regulation"
Since police in Tampa, Florida, first used Visionics' FaceIt system to scan the crowd at last January's Super Bowl football game, facial-recognition systems have come under fire from civil-liberties groups and lawmakers who say they invade privacy and create the potential for a Big Brother-like state of constant surveillance.
According to the following AP story, companies involved in development and sales of facial recognition systems are "calling on Congress" to "regulate the use of surveillance systems in public places."
"Watch out! If you just said anything like "good" or "it's about time," you simply do not understand the industry's objective.
Don't believe them!
Whenever an industry asks Congress to "regulate" its activities, rest assured the sole objective is to "legalize" or "authorize" some activity which may otherwise be unlawful or not protected by law. The reason these companies want Congress to get involved now is to secure federal protection for continued sales and use of their products, even in cases where state or federal laws might otherwise prohibit such use.
You must read closely, between the lines, and with great skepticism, what these industry leaders are saying. Then, take into consideration what they are not saying. Rest assured, the best lawyers the industry can buy will craft these "regulations" so that they sound plausible to the public and at the same time protect the industry's interests with regard to the most profitable applications.
Take for example the words of Dr. Joseph Atick, chief executive of Visionics Corp., speaking on behalf of the Security Industry Association: "police departments and others should be limited to only using the system to track convicted criminals, search for fugitives and other specific purposes."
Notice that Atick's comments leave room for all other manner of surveillance of citizens, such as, for example, locating a parent who is delinquent on child support payments; or someone who has failed to pay a parking ticket; or any other "specific purpose."
Be assured also that broad application of these systems will be facilitated through the use of driver license records. Provision for this is already in place under the mis-named, 1993, Driver's Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) which authorizes government agencies to use the now-common digital driver license photos for facial recognition programs and other uses "specifically authorized under the law of the State that holds the record, if such use is related to the operation of a motor vehicle or public safety." The DPPA also authorizes use of digital driver license photos "for use by any government agency ... in carrying out its functions."
A very few so-called "privacy advocacy" organizations, such as EPIC, actually supported the above-mentioned DPPA which authorizes this abuse of driver license photos.
Consider too the following quotes taken from an official booklet published by the US Department of Transportation with help from the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators for the benefit of law enforcement, titled The Highway Safety Deskbook:
"With a central image database of every driver in a state, the public safety community has a ready-made storehouse of photos to be used in criminal investigations. Due to the electronic nature of these images, they can be obtained in seconds via a computer retrieval unit in the department or even faxed or thermal printed directly to the patrol car. These same images can also be brought into a photo array for suspect identification.
"The uses for these images are limited only by the wants and needs : of the public safety community.
"Work is progressing on digital standards (common data elements and compatible records) so that a national and, perhaps, an international network of digitized images can be established."
Watch this soon-coming, proposed legislation very closely. Oppose all such legislation that authorizes public installation of these surveillance systems which can and will be linked to driver license records. The only purpose for these "regulatory" laws is to protect the industry, not individuals.
House Majority Leader Dick Armey seems to truly understand this issue.
There is NO public application of any facial recognition system that is acceptable.
8/18/01
9:28:54 PM
Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2001
http://www.house.gov/kucinich/action/peace.htm
Washington, DC -- Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH-10) today introduced legislation to create a cabinet level agency dedicated to peacemaking and the study of conditions that are conducive to peace.
"The time for peace is now," Congressman Kucinich said. "At the dawn of a new millennium, there is no better time to review age old challenges with new thinking that peace is not only the absence of violence, but the presence of a higher evolution of human awareness with respect, trust and integrity toward humankind. Our founding fathers recognized that peace was one of the highest duties of the newly organized free and independent states. But too often, we have overlooked the long-term solution of peace for instant gratification of war. This continued downward spiral of violence must stop to ensure that future generations will live in peace and harmony."
Kucinich's legislation to create a Department of Peace focuses on individual, group and national responsibilities of holding peace as an organizing principle. The Department of Peace will focus on non-military peaceful conflict resolutions, prevent violence and promote justice and democratic principles to expand human rights. A Peace Academy, similar to the five military service academies, would be created; its graduates dispatched to troubled areas around the globe to promote nonviolent dispute resolutions.
"The challenges inherent in creating a Department of Peace are massive," said Congressman Kucinich. "But the alternatives are worse. Violence at home, in the schools, in the media, and between nations has dragged down humanity. It's time to recognize that traditional, militant objectives for peace are not working, and the only solution is to make peace the goal of a cabinet level agency."
8/18/01
9:24:51 PM
ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE
"We Cover the Earth For You"
MINING COMPANIES INVADE PERU'S ANDEAN CLOUD FORESTS
PIURA, Peru, August 17, 2001 (ENS) - The recent discovery of gold deposits in northwestern Peru has split the population between those who support proposed mineral extraction and those who fear it will cause irreparable ecological damage to human health, agriculture and endangered species.
The minerals have been discovered in the agrarian valley of the Tambo Grande district, Piura state, and its surrounding dry tropical forests, part of the lower Piura River basin.
For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens-news.com/ens/aug2001/2001L-08-17-01.html
LIGHTNING, HIGH WINDS FAN WESTERN WILDFIRES
WASHINGTON, DC, August 17, 2001 (ENS) - More than 22,000 firefighters are now battling wildland blazes across the western U.S., and a new fire forecast released today does not offer much hope for relief in coming weeks. The National Interagency Fire Center declared a Level 5 alert Wednesday - the highest alert level possible - and began talks with several branches of the military to help control the fires that now threaten homes and businesses in dozens of communities.
For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens-news.com/ens/aug2001/2001L-08-17-06.html
QUEBEC PAYS CEMENT KILNS TO BURN TIRES
By Martin Stone
MONTREAL, Quebec, Canada, August 17, 2001 (ENS) - A decision by the province of Quebec to pay two large cement manufacturers to accept scrap tires as fuel for their high temperature kilns has provoked an outcry from environmentalists.
For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens-news.com/ens/aug2001/2001L-08-17-03.html
THAILAND COULD HAVE PREVENTED KILLER LANDSLIDES
BANGKOK, Thailand, August 17, 2001 (ENS) - Flash floods which have killed 147 people in northern Thailand this week demonstrate the need for preventive measures, the chief of a United Nations agency said today.
For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens-news.com/ens/aug2001/2001L-08-17-04.html
ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE AMERISCAN: AUGUST 17, 2001
Georgia Woman Dies From West Nile Virus
Chemical Depots Could Threaten Nearby Residents
Natural Pest Control Requires Careful Planning
Massive Ad Campaign Launched Over ANWR Drilling
Tagged Tuna Reveal Transatlantic Migrations
Columbian Coca Spraying Called Safe for Humans
Report Finds Fault With Trumpeter Swan Hunt
Physicians Group Challenges Animal Testing
EPA Buys Green Power for Ohio Labs
Asbestos and Wheat Do Not Mix
For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens-news.com/ens/aug2001/2001L-08-17-09.html
8/18/01
7:12:07 PM
"A Force More Powerful" video available FREE
"A Force More Powerful" contains six 30-minute segments documenting some of the most powerful nonviolent movements in the 20th century. It is a very effective tool for helping people understand the power of nonviolent action and the potential for peaceful change. The producers have offered to make copies available free of charge to activists and educators who will use the video actively in work in communities and countries around the world in educating and organizing nonviolent movements and working for peaceful change.
If you are interested in getting a set of the videos, please contact: David Hartsough, peaceworkers@igc.apc.org. Send him your name, organization (if any), mailing address, and whether you would like to have the videos in NSTS or PAL format and if you would like it in English or Spanish. Please also write a sentence or two about how you would hope to use the videos. In the subject line, write A Force More Powerful.
If you or your organization can afford it, order it from the distributor at (800) 257-5126 or fax in the USA (609) 275-3767. They cost $29.95 per set.
In some very selected countries where there are crucial nonviolent movements now or developing, if having the video series in English or Spanish will not be able to reach many of the people, the producers are willing to consider translating the videos into other languages and getting that dubbed into the video. So if you feel you fall into that category, let David Hartsough know along with a more in-depth letter about your nonviolent movement and how you would use it, and he will forward that to the producers.
8/17/01
9:25:44 PM
In Unison Governors Call For Energy Conservation
By Environmental News Network
Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack chairs the NGA Natural Resources Committee.
The governors of the 50 states, 3 territories, and 2 commonwealths have adopted a comprehensive national energy policy emphasizing conservation. At the closing session of the 93rd Annual Meeting of the National Governors Association last week in Providence, R.I., the governors sent a message to the White House that state and local authorities must have input into the nation's energy plans.
"The policy sends a clear message that solving our nation's energy problems demand more conservation, especially utilizing renewable fuels like ethanol," said Iowa Gov. Thomas Vilsack, chairman of the association's Committee on Natural Resources.
Ensuring "environmental quality" comes second in the list of 10 principles embodied in the governors' energy plan. Number one is "adequate, affordable energy supplies and services."
"Our goal should always be to assure American families and businesses their energy prices will be stable," Vilsack said.
The new policy is in direct response to the Bush administration's National Energy Policy issued in May, which emphasizes fossil fuel and nuclear power development and consumption, although some conservation and renewables-friendly measures are included.
The governors' policy recognizes that periodic shortages in oil, gas, and electricity can cause hardship for consumers and businesses. Also, these energy and environmental challenges facing the United States could harm the economy and reduce national security.
"The United States' dependence on foreign sources of oil is at an all-time high while demand for energy continues to rise," said Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating, vice chairman of the Committee on Natural Resources and past Chairman of the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission.
In a bid to secure seats for the governors at the the national energy strategy table, Keating said, "Energy issues must be addressed nationally, but state and local authority over energy and environmental matters also needs to be maintained. It would be a mistake to develop a national energy policy without full cooperation and partnership with the states and their governors."
In his speech accepting the NGA chairmanship for the next year, Michigan Gov. John Engler pledged to make the association "a unified voice for bold action that will return power and authority to the states and local government."
Although energy efficiency is projected to continue to improve, both the governors' policy and that of the Bush administration recognize that demand for energy continues to grow. "Even with more conservation, innovation, and new technology," the governors' resolution states, "the United States will need more energy supplies."
"We must expand and upgrade the transmission networks to move energy from the source to the consumer," said North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven. "Improving energy transmission will impact conservation, efficiency, and supply."
Hoeven urged the Environmental Protection Agency to provide flexibility in meeting standards and requirements to encourage use of "innovative strategies in providing energy solutions."
The National Governors Association, founded in 1908, is the body through which the nation's governors collectively influence the development and implementation of national policy and confer on direction of state issues.
http://www.enn.com/news/enn-stories/2001/08/08172001/technologies_44647.asp
8/17/01
9:23:49 PM
Emerging Technologies Raise Ethical Questions
by David Suzuki
I first began talking about the ethical issues raised by cloning human beings back in the 1960s. My colleagues at the time heaped scorn upon me, suggesting that it wouldn't happen for generations. But here we are, faced with that possibility, without the benefit of having used those years to work out an acceptable way for society to deal with the issue. So when an Italian scientist and his supporters announced plans last week to clone a human within a year, it raised both fear and fascination within the public. One of the supporters of the project was a former Virginia politician who had lost his son and "wanted to bring him back." The Raelian Cult, which is also funding the project, says that cloning is the key to "eternal life."
But these are unattainable dreams. Cloning cannot bring people back from the dead or give us eternal life because humans are more than just the sum of our genes. Even genetically identical twins grow up to be very different individuals, in spite of their obvious physical similarities and often a common upbringing.
Imagine a clone of a 70-year-old person. The 70-year-old grew up during the Great Depression, went through World War II, lived through polio and smallpox. A newly born clone will grow up in a society so different that the notion that he or she would be anything like the 70-year-old is absurd.
Reproductive cloning is illegal in Europe, and the scientist attempting it is being threatened with sanctions by Italy's medical association. Rightly so. Cloning for the purposes of reproduction raises many ethical questions, such as what the emotional impact of being a "copy" of another person would have on the clone, which must be resolved first.
And before contemplating actual attempts to clone humans, there are severe technical hurdles that must be overcome. Scientists don't know why, but current methods of reproductive cloning remain highly unreliable.
This is a new technology, and it continues to have unwanted side effects. For example, less than 3 percent of attempts to clone mammals result in a live birth. Many clones who are born are afflicted with serious deformities and die within hours or days. Others appear normal but have genetic abnormalities that are expressed later on. This kind of risk makes the reproductive cloning of human beings completely unacceptable.
But the ethical issues of cloning human beings do not end there. Back in the 1970s, it was suggested that if aging is a matter of organs breaking down and the biggest problem with organ transplantation is rejection, then clones could be used essentially as spare parts for people. The clone's organs would be genetically identical to those of the "original," and therefore, rejection would not be a problem. Of course, clones — as fully sentient human beings — would naturally object to such inhuman treatment.
However, there is a rare birth defect called anencephalus, wherein a baby's brain does not develop properly. Normally, these children die shortly after birth. So some people have argued that if anencephalus could be deliberately triggered in a cloned fetus, then the clone would never develop into a thinking, self-aware person. Meanwhile, its body could be kept alive by freezing or machines, and its organs could be harvested as required by the original.
It's been more than 30 years since people began to discuss seriously the possibility of cloning human beings and five years since the first adult mammal was cloned. Dolly was brought into the world using similar techniques to those now planned by rogue scientists to obtain a human clone.
Although many people were horrified to learn about this plan, we should not have been surprised. It's true that science and technology are advancing at a breathtaking pace and forcing society to play catch-up. But in this case, we saw these issues on the horizon — we just avoided dealing with the difficult questions they raised. In the future, we must be better prepared.
http://www.enn.com/news/enn-stories/2001/08/08172001/technologies_44647.asp
8/17/01
4:33:37 PM
Environmental news from GRIST MAGAZINE
<http://www.gristmagazine.com>
BAHN STORMER
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder kvetched this week that taking steps to protect the environment was causing the cost of highway construction to soar. "I don't have anything against frogs," he said as he inspected a just-completed segment of a long-delayed highway, "but the expenditures we make for protecting the environment while building roads are enormous." Environmentalists succeeded in slowing construction of the Autobahn-20, which runs along the Baltic coast, by raising wildlife and wetlands concerns.
straight to the source: Planet Ark, Reuters, 17 Aug 2001 <http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12044/story.htm>
GIVE A HONK, DON'T POLLUTE
On top of warming up the earth, pollution from burning fossil fuels is killing thousands of people a year, according to a study published in the journal Science. For starters, Devra Lee Davis of Carnegie Mellon University and four coauthors found that if Mexico City, New York, Sao Paulo, and Santiago employed technologies that now exist to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, 64,000 premature deaths and 37 million lost workdays could be prevented over the next 20 years. The current issue of Science also contains several related studies, including one that showed that thousands of cases of chronic bronchitis could be avoided by adopting the technologies. A third found that air pollution from traffic causes more deaths than do traffic accidents. In other words -- reducing emissions of greenhouse gases would do more than slow global warming.
straight to the source: MSNBC.com, 16 Aug 2001 <http://www.msnbc.com/news/614850.asp>
GOING HALFWAY
A group of Canadian natives has been blockading a Petro-Canada well in northeastern British Columbia since Monday to protest against a proposed 13-mile natural gas pipeline through traditional hunting grounds. About 100 protesters, led by members of the Halfway River First Nation, say they will prevent workers and equipment from entering a drilling camp until the Canadian government conducts an environmental impact study of the pipeline. The native tribes involved also say the B.C. government is ignoring a 1899 treaty that guarantees them the right to live off the land. A spokesperson said Petro-Canada was surprised by the blockade, because the company had rerouted portions of the pipeline after consulting with native groups in May.
straight to the source: MSNBC.com, Reuters, 16 Aug 2001 <http://www.msnbc.com/news/614765.asp>
LANDFILL, HO!
Babies born to mothers living near landfills are more likely to suffer minor birth defects, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal. The 11-year study shows that pregnant women living near landfills in the U.K. had a 1 percent higher chance of having a baby with a congenital defect. That risk jumped to 7 percent if the landfill contained hazardous waste. Pat Troop, the country's deputy chief medical officer, said the government would study the issue more closely before changing its advice to pregnant women.
straight to the source: BBC News, 16 Aug 2001 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_1494000/1494567.stm>
DON'T BE A HOG
Factory hog farms, as well as the cattle and poultry industries, are pressuring the U.S. Congress to pass a bill that would use taxpayer dollars to help the farms pay for cleaning up their environmental messes. The U.S. EPA is considering costly regulations to reduce pollution from the livestock operations -- and the industries don't want to get stuck with the bill. The House Agriculture Committee has approved a measure that would lift the cap on the size of livestock operations eligible for federal environmental aid. Even the largest and most profitable operations could receive $200,000 of taxpayer dollars over 10 years. Enviros and small-farm advocates are decrying the measure as corporate welfare.
straight to the source: Washington Post, John Lancaster, 17 Aug 2001 <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21924-2001Aug16.html>
8/17/01
3:50:37 PM
Tell The EPA To Stop Allowing Bt Crops To Be Grown In The USA
Please contact the EPA today and tell the agency to end the registrations for all Bt crops.
We have set up a web page with sample letters and ready to send emails to make it as easy as possible for you to comment directly
http://www.organicconsumers.org/patent/btalertAug01.cfm
Ms. Christine Todd Whitman
Administrator Public Information and Records Integrity Branch Information Resources and Services Division (7502C) Office of Pesticide Programs
Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20460.
The 30 day deadline for comments to the EPA ends Aug. 31, so please send in your comments today. Stop Bt Crops
Despite public opposition from consumers and mounting criticism from scientists, the Bush Administration's Environmental Protection Agency is about to make the decision within the next two weeks to "re-register" or to continue allowing untested and unlabeled genetically engineered Bt crops to be grown on millions of acres across the USA. Genetically engineered Bt corn, cotton, and potatoes have been spliced with bacterial DNA (Bacillus thuringiensis) to produce proteins that are toxic to some insect pests and butterflies. But as mounting evidence indicates Bt crops pose a serious threat to the environment, public health, and organic agriculture and should be taken off the market.
The Organic Consumers Association and two national coalitions of which we are a member, Genetically Engineered Food Alert <www.gefoodalert.org> and the National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture, urge you to send comments to EPA before August 31, 2001.
To date, all commercialized genetically engineered insecticidal plants produce a type of Bt toxin, one of a family of related molecules produced by a soil bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). To develop what are known as Bt crops, a company clones the insecticidal gene from the bacterium and inserts it into a crop plant. The plant then produces the toxin in most, if not all, parts of the plant through all, or most, of a growing season.
For more details, see Sample Letter, below. Please email or mail comments to EPA by August 31. You can put your comments right into the text of your email message. If you choose to send your comments as an attachment to your email message, make sure they are formatted in Word Perfect 6.1/8.0 or as an ASCII file.
IMPORTANT
You must note the reference: Docket Number OPP-00678B in your comments. Put this docket number in the subject line of your message.
Sample letter:
To: EPA Office of Pesticide Programs Re: Docket Number OPP-00678B
Dear EPA Administrator Whitman:
I am writing to express my opposition to the EPA's re-registration of three Bt crops--Bt corn, cotton, and potatoes. There should be a moratorium on all Genetically Engineered (GE) foods until long-term studies show that these crops are safe for human health and the environment. Continued registration of these Bt crops ignores evidence of their potential for serious harm.
Bt crops:
* Pose unacceptable risks to butterflies such as monarchs and the endangered Karner Blue. Monarchs in states such as Minnesota and Iowa are exposed to Bt corn pollen right at the time of their peak migration to Mexico. Insufficient scientific studies have been carried out to show that Bt corn doesn't pose a threat to endangered butterflies like the Karner Blue.
* Threaten human health with the potential to cause allergic reactions. One Bt crop--StarLink corn--has already been withdrawn from the market because of its allergenic potential. New research shows that Bt cotton also contains a protein that affects the immune system. Consumers shouldn't be the guinea pigs to see if Bt corn (in particular Bt sweet corn) is also allergenic.
* Contaminate organic crops as well as conventional non-GE fields. Organic and non-GE corn farmers have lost valuable markets because of contamination. GE corn and non-GE corn cannot coexist in the same region because of the potential for corn pollen to travel in the wind. The EPA's analysis has not considered the significant economic impacts of Bt corn on the organic and non-GE farm sectors.
* Will inevitably lead to the loss of Bt for organic pest control. The resistance management plans EPA is proposing are fatally flawed, because a number of assumptions they rely on are invalid. For example, grower compliance with Bt guidelines is not 100%. In addition, neither Bt cotton nor Bt corn contain a high enough dose to be effective against cotton bollworm/corn earworm.
* Pose other potential environmental consequences for agricultural and natural ecosystems. Bt crops have potential effects on soil organisms and natural enemies of crop pests. Pollen from Bt crops, in particular Bt corn and Bt cotton, can flow to wild and weedy relatives, with potential long-term ecological consequences. The most important of these wild relatives in North America is teosinte, a close relative of corn. Growing of Bt corn in the US poses a significant threat to this important reservoir of corn genetic diversity.
The EPA should act to protect consumers and the environment by denying the re-registration of these crops. Thank you.
Sincerely,
(your name)
Source: http://www.OrganicConsumers.org
8/17/01
1:34:37 PM
UTNE WEB WATCH
The Best of the Alternative Web
A GREENPEACE MEMOIR
by Rex Weyler, Special to Utne Online
-- When a motley crew of hippies and draft dodgers came together in Vancouver in 1972, they had no idea they were lighting the fire of a green revolution.
CUSSING AT COPS
by Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
-- Though swearing at police officers may be disrespectful and ultimately not the best approach, it is not a crime. The federal appeals court recently overturned two convictions on the basis that swearing is criticism, protected by freedom of speech.
RECONCILING ALLAH
by Yas Ahmed, Vital Signs
-- Though fundamentalist Muslims may consider the idea of an Islamic homosexual oxymoronic, Yas Ahmed spotlights queer references in Islamic spiritual texts.
Links to the above articles: http://www.utne.com/webwatch
8/17/01
1:31:50 PM
Cosmic Laws Like Speed Of Light Might Be Changing, A Study Finds
By James Glanz and Dennis Overbye
A Small Change, With Huge Implications
An international team of astrophysicists has discovered that the basic laws of nature as understood today may be changing slightly as the universe ages, a surprising finding that could rewrite physics textbooks and challenge fundamental assumptions about the workings of the cosmos.
The researchers used the world's largest single telescope to study the behavior of metallic atoms in gas clouds as far away from Earth as 12 billion light years. The observations revealed patterns of light absorption that the team could not explain without assuming a change in a basic constant of nature involving the strength of the attraction between electrically charged particles.
If confirmed, the finding could mean that other constants regarded as immutable, like the speed of light, might also have changed over the history of the cosmos.
The work was conducted by scientists in the United States, Australia and Britain and was led by Dr. John K. Webb of the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. It is to be published on Aug. 27 in the field's most prestigious journal, Physical Review Letters.
Scientists who have examined the paper have not been able to find any obvious flaws. But because the consequences for science would be so far-reaching and because the differences from the expected measurements are so subtle, many scientists are expressing skepticism that the discovery will stand the test of time, and say they will wait for independent evidence before deciding whether the finding is true.
On the other hand, the finding would fit with some theorists' new views of the universe, particularly the prediction that previously unknown dimensions might exist in the fabric of space.
Even scientists on the project have been deliberately cautious in presenting their result. Describing the implications of what his team observed, Dr. Webb said, "It's possible that there is a time evolution of the laws of physics."
Dr. Webb added, "If it's correct, it's the result of a lifetime."
Dr. Rocky Kolb, an astrophysicist at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory who was not involved in the work, said the finding could not only force revisions in cosmology, the science of how the universe began and later evolved, but also add credence to an unproven theory of physics called string theory, which predicts that extra dimensions exist.
"The implication, if it is true, would just be so enormous that it's something people should look at and take seriously," Dr. Kolb said. "This would upset the apple cart."
The magnitude of the change apparently observed by the group is minute, amounting to just 1 part in 100,000 in a number called the fine structure constant over 12 billion years. That constant, also referred to as alpha, is defined in terms of more familiar quantities like the speed of light and the strength of electronic attractions within atoms.
But even that small change would rock physics and cosmology, said Dr. Sheldon Glashow of Boston University, who received a Nobel Prize in physics in 1979. The importance of such a discovery, Dr. Glashow said, would rank "10 on a scale of 1 to 10."
Considering the unexpected nature of the finding, both Dr. Glashow and Dr. Kolb said the chances were high that some more mundane explanation for the results would turn up.
Dr. John Bahcall, an astrophysicist at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J., said the complicated analysis that was required to infer the tiny changes from the observations could - in principle, at least - be obscuring possible errors.
"The effect does not scream out at you from the data," Dr. Bahcall said. "You have to get down on all fours and claw through the details to see such a small effect."
But others said that the team had been very careful and that any unknown source of error would have to be extremely subtle to be missed.
"If they were claiming anything less dramatic, probably most people would find their work very careful and believable," said Dr. Massimo Stiavelli, an astrophysicist at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore.
"Exceptional results deserve extraordinary proof," Dr. Stiavelli said, adding that he was reserving judgment until further evidence became available.
The work relied on observations of light from distant beacons called quasars, which shine with a brightness equivalent to billions of suns. The light is probably emitted by matter torn from young galaxies by the powerful gravity of a black hole.
Besides Dr. Webb, the team included three other scientists at the University of New South Wales, Michael T. Murphy, Dr. Victor V. Flambaum, and Dr. Vladimir A. Dzuba; and one physicist at Cambridge University in Britain, Dr. John D. Barrow. Three American astronomers who are experts on quasars were also members of the team: Dr. Christopher W. Churchill of Pennsylvania State University; Dr. Jason X. Prochaska of the Carnegie Observatories; and Dr. Arthur M. Wolfe of the University of California at San Diego.
The observations, made by the 30- foot-wide Keck Telescope on Mauna Kea, in Hawaii, looked in detail at the absorption of quasar light by gas clouds in deep space between Earth and the quasars. Metal atoms like zinc and aluminum are often present in trace amounts in the clouds.
The absorption of light by such atoms creates dark spikes at various wavelengths in the quasar's spectrum, with a pattern so well defined that it is often likened to a fingerprint. The value of those wavelengths is directly related to the value of the fine structure constant.
But the fingerprint seemed to change in time, Mr. Murphy said, indicating that the constant grows larger as one goes nearer to the present and was not really constant.
"What we have found is that, statistically, there is a difference between the fine structure constant a long time ago and here on earth," he said.
Far from being of interest only in understanding atomic behavior, said Dr. Barrow of Cambridge University, the effect would be important "because it gives you such a feedback into fundamental physics."
String theory, for example, could accommodate changes in quantities that accepted physics theory considers immutable. String theorists postulate that space contains tiny, unseen dimensions. Any change in the size of those dimensions - much like the expansion of the universe in the space we are familiar with - could change quantities like the fine structure constant, said Dr. Paul Steinhardt, a physicist at Princeton University.
Dr. Steinhardt said most theorists would have expected those changes to have occurred in the first seconds of the universe's life and be virtually unobservable by astronomers today. Still, he pointed out that several years ago, other astronomers unexpectedly found that the present universe is apparently filled with a mysterious kind of energy that counteracts gravity on large scales. Perhaps the two effects are somehow related, Dr. Steinhardt said.
Other scientists pointed out that geologic processes, like naturally occurring nuclear fission, have been used to determine that the fine structure constant has probably changed little over the past two billion years on Earth. But researchers on the new paper point out that their results reach back much farther in time, and that interpreting the geological results is also a complicated matter.
But a few physicists, like Dr. Jacob D. Bekenstein of Hebrew University in Israel, noted that some theories have long been predicting a change in some of nature's apparent constants. Dr. Bekenstein called the findings "potentially revolutionary" and said he was inclined to believe them.
"After much thinking about this issue," Dr. Bekenstein said, "I think the quasar observations may have found the real variation."
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/15/science/15PHYS.h tml?searchpv=day02
8/17/01
1:28:01 PM
ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE
"We Cover the Earth For You"
NEW FEARS OVER HEALTH IMPACTS OF LANDFILLS
LONDON, United Kingdom, August 16, 2001 (ENS) - British politicians and environmental groups today called for urgent action to reduce waste landfilling and increase recycling following release of an epidemiological study showing an excess of birth defects in populations living close to landfills.
For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens-news.com/ens/aug2001/2001L-08-16-03.html
ROUNDUP READY SOYBEANS CONTAIN UNIDENTIFIED DNA
AMSTERDAM, Belgium, August 16, 2001 (ENS) - Belgian scientists have found DNA from an unknown source in Roundup Ready soybeans, a genetically engineered crop produced by U.S. based biotechnology giant Monsanto. The announcement comes as the Bush administration places increasing pressure on other nations to relax food safety laws seen as threatening U.S. economic interests.
For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens-news.com/ens/aug2001/2001L-08-16-06.html
RADIOACTIVE RUSSIAN WATERS WORRY CHELYABINSK GOVERNOR
MOSCOW, Russia, August 16, 2001 (ENS) - The governor of Russia's Chelyabinsk region, Petr Sumin, has warned that water in his district is contaminated with radioactivity from the Mayak nuclear reprocessing plant.
For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens-news.com/ens/aug2001/2001L-08-16-02.html
AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT FUNDS BACKYARD BIODIVERSITY
CANBERRA, Australia, August 16, 2001 (ENS) - Australians are about to begin building backyard havens for the continent's unique birds, butterflies, frogs and lizards by putting in attractive plants and creating the right habitat.
For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens-news.com/ens/aug2001/2001L-08-16-01.html
ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE AMERISCAN: AUGUST 16, 2001
Labeling Loophole Hampers Efforts to Reduce Toxic Exposures
$40 Million Pledged Toward Fox River Cleanup
Transportation Grants Target Air Pollution
Fisheries Symposium Examines Environmental Lawsuits
Chicken Cloning Could Redefine Factory Farming
Chip Groat Remains USGS Director
Land Exchange Fills Holes in Yukon Delta Refuge
Fuel Cell Grant Could Help Clean Houston's Air
Buffalo Returning to Fort Peck Reservation
$28.8 Million Will Renovate Urban Parks
For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens-news.com/ens/aug2001/2001L-08-16-09.html
8/17/01
11:04:06 AM
The Next Gas Crisis,
By ANDREW NIKIFORUK
If, like the vast majority of Canadians, you are dependent on natural gas to heat your home, ponder this thermostat-shattering truth for a moment. The largest natural gas find in Western Canada in the past 25 years is now playing out in a marshy area of northeastern BC near the Alberta border. Some analysts expect the Ladyfern field to gush about a trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas, which to a layman's ear might sound like a lot of burning power. But Ladyfern probably contains just enough fuel to heat all the gas-fired homes in Canada for a year or two at most. And it's a clear freak of nature. A typical new gas well, in fact, produces barely enough gas to heat 90,000 homes for a year.
Now add some more disturbing math to this natural gas picture. Canada now produces 6.2 tcf of gas a year, which just barely meets domestic and export demand. That represents about one-fifth of North America's gas consumption, which is still growing by 2% a year thanks to gas-fired electrical generation. "We need 6.2 Ladyferns a year to just keep up with gas consumption and stand still," explains Rob Woronuk, 60, a veteran Calgary gas analyst and one of the nation's independent natural gas watchdogs. "The really scary part is that we are finding a Ladyfern only every 25 years."
Just how tenuous this math has become was driven home last month by the staid provincial regulator, the Alberta Energy and Utility Board (EUB). Its supply outlook for 2001 to 2010 predicted that conventional natural gas production in Alberta, Canada's key producer, would peak by 2003 at 5.3 tcf and therefore decline by 2% a year for the next five years. Over the next decade, Alberta will have exported or burned up about three-quarters of its potential gas reserves. It's a case of going, going, gone.
8/16/01
7:02:47 PM
Planet Ark World Environment News
US soybean industry seeks break in China GMO rules - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12039/story.htm
New Jersey DEP to decide on trash transfer station - paper - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12047/story.htm
NZ moves to protect endangered Hector dolphin - NEW ZEALAND http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12042/story.htm
Dutch city cradle of European diaper recycling - NETHERLANDS http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12049/story.htm
Pacific islands urged to join anti-globalisation fight - NAURU http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12043/story.htm
Eight elephants found dead in Indian sanctuary - INDIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12046/story.htm
RWE says Biblis fuel rod safely retrieved - GERMANY http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12041/story.htm
Schroeder complains frogs make German roads dear - GERMANY http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12044/story.htm
Germany clears way for draft law on CHP generation - GERMANY http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12048/story.htm
Fire destroys 3,300 acres of forest in Brazil - BRAZIL http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12050/story.htm
Australia GM crop field trials vital - farm lobby - AUSTRALIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12040/story.htm
Australia on alert for "Mad Snake Disease" - AUSTRALIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12045/story.htm
8/16/01
6:57:52 PM
Unknown DNA In Monsanto's Genetically Engineered Soya
15 August 2001: Recently published information by a team of Belgian scientists in the European Journal of Food Research Technology shows unknown DNA in genetically engineered (GE) Soya patented and sold by US multinational Monsanto (1).
This is the second time the team of researchers observed embarrassing inaccuracies in Monsanto's description of its best selling Genetically Modified Organism (GMO): "Roundup Ready" (RR) Soya (2).
"From a legal point of view, the only adequate reaction regulatory bodies could have is suspend the GMO approval and re-evaluate its environmental and health impact," said Lindsay Keenan of Greenpeace International.
Monsanto's Soya represents more than 50 percent of all GE crops in the world. GE Soya is only grown in the US, Argentina and Canada but it is sold all over the world and used in proceeded food products like chocolate, baby-food, bread, pizzas, ice-cream and as animal feed.
"To ask the company who did not inform the relevant authorities about this DNA in the first place to now confirm it is not significant is certainly not what you would call a sound scientific approach," commented Keenan, "and it is certainly not what consumers would call appropriate measures to protect their safety." In past years some "side effects" of RR Soya have been observed but never explained conclusively. These include phytoestrogen levels different from the levels of natural Soya, increased lignin content which made RR Soya plants brittle in hot temperatures, and reduced yields (3).
This is the first time a peer reviewed scientific journal publishes an independent scientific analysis of pivotal data submitted by a company for GMO approval. In most cases government authorities neither have the means nor the ambition to countercheck the accuracy of the GMO descriptions and rely entirely on the data submitted by the companies themselves.
"If Monsanto did not even get this most basic information right, what should we then think about the validity of all their safety tests and experiments, which are based upon these data?" asked Lindsay Keenan.
As the size of the newly revealed "unknown DNA" is large enough to generate unexpected changes in plant protein chemistry and because its origin and function appears to be unknown both to Monsanto and to the competent authorities, Greenpeace published its sequence on the web-site (link to ANNEX of RRsoylettDNA.doc) and invites the international scientific community to help identify its nature and possible consequences.
Source: http://www.Greenpeace.org
8/16/01
6:50:30 PM
'Green Power' Gets Second Wind
by Patrick McMahon, USA TODAY
WALLULA, Wash. -- Blue-gray windmills 242 feet tall are sprouting almost daily across 50 square miles of clipped wheat fields and grazing lands near the Columbia River.
Here in Walla Walla County, once best known for its sweet onions and the state penitentiary, the Stateline Wind Energy Project is taking shape. By late fall, the project straddling the Washington-Oregon border will unleash the electricity generated by 396 turbines.
With the wind blowing here at an average 17 mph, the farm at its peak will generate 261 megawatts of electricity. On an average day, the farm will be able to power 60,000 homes. It is the largest wind-power project in this drought-plagued and energy-hungry region, which is leading a national drive to harness a renewable resource.
''The Pacific Northwest is well on its way to becoming the wind capital of the U.S.,'' says Tom Gray, deputy director of the American Wind Energy Association in Washington, D.C.
Wind generates barely 0.1% of the nation's electricity, but that share is growing fast.
A record 1,500 megawatts of wind-power capacity is expected to go on line this year across the country. One megawatt powers about 1,000 homes, but windmills rarely operate at full capacity. The new operations will be enough to power more than 300,000 homes.
In 1999, the federal government set a goal of making wind power 5% of the nation's electricity output by 2020. In peak demand periods, that could mean the difference between lights and rolling blackouts.
''Wind has arrived,'' says David Garman, assistant U.S. Energy secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy. ''Wind is competitive with other power sources, and that's the important thing.''
More than a fad
The resurgence of wind power coincides with tightening energy supplies and increasing demand. The combination has rekindled public interest and investment potential in renewable energy sources, making wind power more than a fad in the land of flannel shirts and espresso drinks:
* The nation's first offshore wind farm is being considered for Nantucket Sound, anchored in the seabed 5 miles off Cape Cod in Massachusetts. The envisioned wind farm would produce 420 megawatts to serve Cape Cod and the Northeast.
* A 3,000-megawatt wind plant called Rolling Thunder is in development on 350 square miles in central South Dakota. Owners of the plant, more than 10 times the size of Stateline in Washington state, hope to deliver wind power to the Chicago area as early as 2006.
* The Tennessee Valley Authority, the nation's largest public power producer, plans to expand its first wind park, near Oliver Springs, Tenn., from 2 megawatts to 20.
''Every utility in the United States is looking at wind right now as a generating option,'' says industry consultant Karen Conover of Bellevue, Wash.
But Glenn Schleede, an energy consultant from Reston, Va., and a former utility company executive, says wind power is an inefficient, unreliable, unsightly and overblown source of electricity -- one buoyed by wasteful government subsidies.
''Look at California,'' Schleede says. A single new gas-fired power plant that opened last month in Pittsburg, Calif., will generate more electricity ''than all the state's 13,000-plus windmills produced in 1999,'' he says. ''The California situation illustrates dramatically the small amount of electricity produced by large windmills and the small role wind energy can play in supplying U.S. requirements.''
An energy source for centuries, windmills dotted the American West in the late 1800s and early 1900s. They pumped water and provided power before cheap electricity arrived. Europeans have been proponents of harnessing wind energy since the 1500s, when windmills became an icon in Holland. Last year, European countries led by Germany installed 3,200 megawatts of wind power, compared with 53 megawatts in the USA.
Wind power made a comeback in the USA during the energy crisis of the 1970s, when wind farms were built along California freeways between Los Angeles and Palm Springs and east of San Francisco. But the incentive for renewable energy faded in the 1980s when power plant construction put electricity supplies ahead of demand.
The wind projects now underway in the Northwest represent the next major production spurt.
''It's a region with good wind,'' says Gray of the wind trade group. ''The projects slated for the next two years will easily surpass the California wind rush of 1981 to 1985.''
Today's windmills are sleek, sophisticated wind catchers. At Stateline --selected for its windy location -- turbines with 77-foot blades sit atop towers. With the help of wind sensors, the blades shift, rotate and change direction automatically to capture the most wind. The blades start to turn and the turbines begin generating power at wind speeds of 8 mph. The turbines shut down automatically when wind gusts reach 55 mph.
The electricity generated is sent to the bottom of the towers, where it travels underground to a substation and joins the regional power grid crisscrossing the Northwest.
Quieter, less threatening to birds and more efficient, today's windmills still require federal tax subsidies to be profitable, proponents acknowledge. A 5-year extension of tax credits for wind production is part of President Bush's energy package that passed the House last month.
With those subsidies, the per-kilowatt-hour cost of wind-generated electricity is more competitive with other fuels, energy official Garman says. That makes it even more attractive in today's topsy-turvy energy market.
Last month, the Bonneville Power Administration, a federal agency based in Portland, Ore., announced plans to buy 830 megawatts of wind power from seven plants -- five to be built in Washington and two in Oregon. BPA, already the nation's biggest supplier of hydroelectric power, will be the largest wind energy supplier.
''By aggressively pursuing this resource for electricity, we hope to be able to meet the demand for energy with a clean, economical, non-polluting resource,'' says Steve Wright, BPA acting administrator.
Wind has its problems
Wind power faces two principal hurdles. Sometimes, the wind stops. When that happens, so do the turbines, meaning that wind is not a guaranteed source of 24-hour power. Also, places such as the Dakotas, the nation's windiest region, will need huge investments in transmission lines to export the region's vast wind resources effectively.
As a result, power-marketing companies are looking at ways to package wind power with other sources of electricity to make wind a consistent part of the energy mix. More than 85 utilities in 29 states also give consumers the option of paying extra for ''green power.'' About 350,000 households have joined these programs nationwide, says the federal National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo.
Major utilities and energy companies also are pursuing wind power. FPL Energy, sister company of Florida Power and Light, which serves densely populated South Florida, is the largest owner of wind farms. Enron Wind, a division of the Texas natural-gas giant, is the largest U.S maker of wind turbines. Last month, Shell Oil bought its first U.S. wind farm, a project under construction in Wyoming. Stateline is owned and being built by FPL Energy, which has sold all the plant's output for 25 years to an affiliate of PacifiCorp of Portland.
Although a few residents have expressed concern about birds flying into the turbines and the effect on scenic vistas, the wind farm seems to have broad local support, Walla Walla City Council member Barbara Clark says. Construction has created 150-plus jobs. Farmers are leasing their land for wind turbines.
If more power plants must be built for increased consumption, Clark says she favors green power over fossil fuels: ''It's better than pollution.''
Source: http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20010816/3548612s.htm
8/16/01
6:45:45 PM
Environmental news from GRIST MAGAZINE
<http://www.gristmagazine.com>
GOING WITH THE WIND
"The Pacific Northwest is well on its way to becoming the wind capital of the U.S.," says Tom Gray of the American Wind Energy Association. For example, the new Stateline Wind Energy Project on the Washington-Oregon border will begin operations this fall with 396, 242-foot turbines, together capable of powering 60,000 homes. Wind power generates only 0.1 percent of the nation's electricity, but new wind projects coming on line across the country this year will be enough to power 300,000 homes. The Clinton administration in 1999 set the goal of having wind power generate 5 percent of the nation's electricity by 2020.
straight to the source: USA Today, Patrick McMahon, 16 Aug 2001 <http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20010816/3548612s.htm>
read it only in Grist Magazine: There's something in the wind -- farmers are reaping rewards from wind energy -- by Lester Brown <http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/imho/imho082100.stm?source=daily>
ON DE LOOSE
Greenpeace U.K. is in a tizzy because of mysterious DNA found in Monsanto's Roundup Ready soybeans, the world's most widely grown genetically engineered crop. The unexpected string of DNA, which was found by Belgian government and university scientists, is located next to the corn's inserted gene, provoking the enviro group to accuse Monsanto of not knowing as much about its product as it should. Greenpeace scientist Janet Cotter-Howells said, "I don't think you can come out and say it's unsafe. You can just say it's unknown whether it's safe or not." One of the Belgian scientists, Marc De Loose from the Center for Agricultural Research, said there was no evidence that the unknown DNA could lead to harmful effects.
straight to the source: New York Times, Andrew Pollack, 16 Aug 2001 <http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/16/health/genetics/16CROP.html>
straight to the source: BBC News, Alex Kirby, 15 Aug 2001 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1492000/1492939.stm>
straight to the source: ABCNews.com, Reuters, 16 Aug 2001 <http://abcnews.go.com/wire/SciTech/reuters20010816_188.html>
RESIDON'TS
Nearly half the fruit and vegetables sold in U.K. supermarkets since 1998 contained pesticide residues, according to an analysis of government pesticide data by Friends of the Earth. The group said most of the residues were within legal limits, but it raised concerns that the individual chemicals could be dangerous in combination, especially for unborn children and young children. It called for the government to improve its research into the effects of chemical combination and to develop a plan to reduce pesticide use. A supermarket spokesperson said the group was misrepresenting the government data.
straight to the source: BBC News, Alex Kirby, 16 Aug 2001 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1494000/1494284.stm>
GOLDY LAX
Nevada's gold-mining industry is eagerly awaiting the Bush administration's expected decision to scrap Clinton-era rules designed to reduce the environmental impact of mining on public lands. One of the rules gives the federal government the right to block mining that is likely to cause "substantial irreparable harm" to public lands. The mining industry and enviros also expect the administration to stop imposing a strict limit on how much public land can be used for dumping by mining operations. The No. 2 official at the U.S. Interior Department, J. Steven Griles, is a former lobbyist for the mining industry.
straight to the source: New York Times, Douglas Jehl, 16 Aug 2001 <http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/16/politics/16MINI.html>
8/16/01
6:40:43 PM
ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE
"We Cover the Earth For You"
SCIENTISTS BLOCK PRIONS THAT CAUSE MAD COW DISEASE
LA JOLLA, California, August 15, 2001 (ENS) - Scientists working at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) and at the University of California, San Francisco, have found a promising treatment for the dreaded mad cow disease and one form of the same disease in humans, called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. Researchers are in the final stages of developing a clinical trial for a prion antibody.
For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens-news.com/ens/aug2001/2001L-08-15-01.html
PHILIPPINE HOUSE APPROVES PRISON TERM FOR GMO LABELING VIOLATORS
By Michael Bengwayan
MANILA, Philippines, August 15, 2001 (ENS) - If you are selling a product that contains genetically modified organisms (GMO) in the Phillippines you may soon have to label it "genetically engineered" or go to prison. Up to 12 years in jail plus a $2,000 fine is the penalty for failing to label that was passed bys the Philippine Congress Tuesday. The bill requires the labeling of GMO derived food and food products.
For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens-news.com/ens/aug2001/2001L-08-15-02.html
GERMANY, UK SPAIN LAY DOWN CAR RECYCLING REGS
LONDON, United Kingdom, August 15, 2001 (ENS) - Car manufacturers are being forced into the position of assuming responsibility for dealing with vehicles that have reached the end of their days on the roads of the European Union. The British and German governments have simultaneously put forward plans to implement the European Union's 2000 end-of-life vehicles (ELV) directive ahead of deadline.
For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens-news.com/ens/aug2001/2001L-08-15-03.html
EPA DELAYS DECISION ON CLEAN AIR RULE
WASHINGTON, DC, August 15, 2001 (ENS) - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christie Whitman announced Tuesday that the agency will delay its decision on revisions to a controversial program to reduce air pollution from aging industrial facilities. Proposed revisions will now be included in a new comprehensive strategy to reduce air pollution and protect public health that will be released in September.
For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens-news.com/ens/aug2001/2001L-08-15-06.html
ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE AMERISCAN: AUGUST 15, 2001
Bush Calls for Forest Thinning During Colorado Trip
EPA Sued Over MTBE Requirements in California
Central Park Lake Contaminated by Power Plan Mercury
Fabricant Becomes New EPA General Counsel
Watercraft Projects to be Scrutinized for Manatee Impacts
Camping Barred to Protect California Desert Tortoises
Airport Expansion Halted to Allow Further Environmental Study
Corporate Manager to Serve as Deputy Interior Secretary
Snowy Plover Recovery Plan Available for Review
Computing Grants Fund Climate, Energy Research
For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens-news.com/ens/aug2001/2001L-08-15-09.html
8/16/01
6:33:24 PM
Public Citizen
Public Citizen Protests DOE Plan To Recycle Radioactive Metals
Flawed Hearing Process Indicates Nuclear Waste Recycling is a Foregone Conclusion
ARLINGTON, Va. - The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is stacking the deck against the public in an effort to do the nuclear industry's bidding and ultimately authorize the recycling of radioactive waste into consumer products, Public Citizen said at a hearing today.
Even though there is virtually no public support for the recycling of radioactive waste, the agency has embarked on the process necessary to authorize it, Public Citizen said. As part of this process, the DOE is holding two public hearings today in Arlington. But the public was given just a month's notice - not enough time to study what is a complex issue and prepare comments, particularly during a time when so many people are away. The DOE is required to take public comments into account in determining the scope of its Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS).
The DOE - under heavy pressure from the nuclear industry - is developing a program to dump vast quantities of radioactive scrap metal into municipal landfills or to recycle it into everyday household products and industrial materials. Currently, some radioactive wastes and materials - except some metals - can be released from DOE nuclear weapons sites without restrictions. The DOE, in January and July 2000, banned the release of some radioactive metals, but the policy being discussed in the hearings would replace those bans. The DOE's process to authorize the release of radioactive metals begins with the PEIS being discussed at today's hearings.
The PEIS process has not had a promising start. The DOE initially contracted with San Diego-based Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) to perform an environmental review of the recycling plan. But SAIC would profit from radioactive recycling at a nuclear waste site in Tennessee - a clear conflict of interest. In late July, Public Citizen and others pointed out the conflict to the DOE, and the agency revoked the contract. A similar conflict involving radioactive recycling led to the termination last year of an SAIC contract with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
"Today's hearings should have been postponed until another contractor was chosen," said Wenonah Hauter, director of Public Citizen's Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program. "The agency should make all documents relevant to contractor selection available for review well in advance of any hearing. Evaluating the contractor is a crucial part of an open process."
Another flaw in the process was revealed this week. For a similar Cincinnati public hearing on Tuesday, a telephone conference was quietly set up to allow "interested DOE/contractor staff and stakeholders at Paducah and Portsmouth to participate," according to a DOE employee's e-mail. But members of the public who have expressed an interest in being kept up to date on issue and the PEIS process and who are on the PEIS distribution e-mail list were never notified or invited to participate by teleconference.
"It has become clear that the DOE really wants to hear only from its own employees and contractors who support this ludicrous plan," said Public Citizen policy analyst David Ritter. "When special notification regarding this issue is sent out to DOE staff, but not to those on the PEIS distribution list, it indicates the degree to which DOE wants to stack the deck at these hearings."
Yet another flaw in the process is evident in the DOE's choice of hearing facilitator: Holmes Brown, a longtime employee of Afton Associates, Inc. Afton Associates is a paid advocate for the interests of radioactive waste producers and has received funding indirectly from the DOE to promote nuclear programs. Public interest groups are requesting information from the DOE about Brown and about the conflict of interest in the now-cancelled SAIC contract.
"The hiring of a nuclear industry lobbyist to facilitate these so-called public hearings is clear evidence that the DOE is trying to push this plan through no matter what," Hauter said. "The DOE wants to help the industry follow the polluter's golden rule: The solution to pollution is dilution."
The DOE also has failed to make available to the public records indicating what radioactive materials have been and are currently being dispersed without restrictions or recycled into everyday products. Public Citizen is urging the agency to stop dispersing radioactive materials and to strengthen and expand its current bans on recycling radioactive metal.
The DOE hearings are to be held today from 2-5 p.m. and 8-11 p.m. at the Hilton Crystal City, 2399 Jefferson Davis Highway, in Arlington, Va. Public Citizen representatives will be available to consult with the public and the media at both sessions.
Public Citizen is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C.
For more information, please visit http://www.Citizen.org
8/16/01
6:31:21 PM
Federal Hatchery Develops Technology For Imperiled Fish
by Craig Springer
The grasslands of southeast New Mexico, known for cattle and crops and an occasional UFO crash, seems an unlikely place for leading-edge biotechnology. The little town of Dexter, essentially a service center for ranchers and farmers, is also host to a state-of-the-art National Fish Hatchery & Technology Center. The Dexter hatchery is no newcomer; good water led to its founding in 1931, and game fishes were then the focus. But the focus shifted in 1990 toward technology development for managing critically imperiled fishes such as the bonytail chub.
Scientists believe the endangered bonytail chub may be the most imperiled vertebrate in North America. The not-so-gentle hand of nature has shaped its body over eons to fit its environment. It is a testament to meeting the challenges of nature. A keel on its nape and a tightly fusiform body have allowed it to prevail in the harshest of conditions: turbulent and turbid water — water warmed by intense Southwestern sun.
But all the specialization for survival was no match in the face of dams that altered stream flows, nor the stocking of predatory nonnative fish that also compete with the bonytail for food and space. Built for survival where life is a struggle, it's incongruous that this species struggles to hang on.
But hang on it does, if only by a thread. That thread is a lifeline cast at the technology center. Scientists there have developed a brood stock, a captive population of adults, that produce offspring that ultimately make their way to the wilds of the Colorado River and many large tributaries, the fish's native habitat.
"With so few adults left in the world, it is of paramount importance that scientific principles guide bonytail chub management," said U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service geneticist, Connie Keeler-Foster.
Toward that end, Foster has employed leading-edge technology to manage the bonytail chub stock on the genetic level. The center's laboratory was recently equipped with a DNA sequencer, an apparatus that allows Foster to identify individual fish by their genes.
Foster likens her work to fingerprinting. Knowing the genetic makeup of the entire brood stock, essentially having a pedigree chart, permits the center scientists to selectively pair up males and females for mating. And therein lies the crux for survival, the strands in the thread. Picking mates that are most genetically divergent produces offspring that are more fit to face the rigors of life in the wild.
"Mates well suited for each other may produce young that are less prone to disease and just better fit for survival," said Foster. "They themselves are more likely to reach adulthood and produce their own young in the wild. And that's what we want."
The end product, a reproducing population in the wild, is far removed from the technology center. But science is the first step in conserving a species staring at extinction.
The Dexter National Fish Hatchery & Technology Center is unique. It's one of 70 national fish hatcheries operated by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service around the country, but is the only one dedicated entirely to endangered fish conservation.
Springer is a biologist and writer for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in Albuquerque, N.M.
http://www.enn.com/news/enn-stories/2001/08/08162001/hatchery_44663.asp
8/16/01
6:10:00 PM
TomPaine.com
JUSTICE'S DOUBLE STANDARD
Sara Lee Gets Off Easy
by Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman
Why do individual criminals get the death penalty when they kill people but corporate criminals get off easy when they do the same?
http://www.tompaine.com/opinion/2001/07/26/index.html
Economics Reporting Review
THE NEGLECTED FACTS
by Dean Baker
The administrative expenses of the public Social Security system in the U.S. are less than one tenth as large as the administrative costs of privatized systems in the United Kingdom or Chile.
http://www.tompaine.com/news/2001/08/13/index.html
SPINNING SCIENCE INTO GOLD
How Industry's Public-Relations Campaigns Stifle Debate Over Biotechnology
by Karen Charman
In the pursuit of profit, the biotech industry is manipulating more than genes.
From SIERRA MAGAZINE.
http://www.tompaine.com/opinion/2001/08/02/index.html
SAVE OUR LAND, SAVE OUR TOWNS
by Jane Holtz Kay
Portraying the good (small-town Fourth of July parades) and the bad (the destruction of farmland in his home state), author Tom Hylton introduces new possibilities in the fight against sprawl.
TomPaine.commentary -- AUDIO and TEXT -- produced by Sharon Basco.
http://www.tompaine.com/opinion/2001/07/24/index.html
IS THE CORPORATION OBSOLETE?
Corporate Irresponsibility? Predatory Behavior? Blame the Charter -- and Rewrite it by Jonathan Rowe
It is time for the corporation to grow up. If it is to keep the legal status of a person, then it should accept the responsibilities that we expect of persons as they mature.
From THE WASHINGTON MONTHLY.
http://www.tompaine.com/opinion/2001/07/12/3.html
8/16/01
6:07:08 PM
Groups Protest Government Plan To Resume "Recycling" Radioactive Metals From Weapons
Flawed DOE Hearing Process Indicates Nuclear Waste "Rad-Recycling" is a Foregone Conclusion
ARLINGTON, VA - Public Citizen, Sierra Club, Alliance for Nuclear Accountability, Nuclear Information and Resource Service, and other public interest groups, along with representatives of the metals industries, will be speaking out tomorrow at Department of Energy (DOE) hearings against a plan to allow radioactive metals to be "recycled" into consumer products.
Despite adamant public opposition to this scheme, the DOE appears determined to disperse its nuclear energy and weapons wastes into commercial products and regular trash. The "scoping" hearings, which were announced with scant public notice, are required to get public comments on the process and content of a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) on dispersing nuclear waste into commercial products and disposal as regular trash.
The Department of Energy wants to resume and expand its program to unload vast quantities of radioactive scrap metal into municipal landfills and to "recycle" or discharge it into everyday household products and industrial materials. Currently, many kinds of radioactive wastes and materials -with the exception of some metals - are being released from DOE nuclear weapons sites to commercial recyclers to be made into common household items or dumped as non-radioactive trash. In 2000, DOE put bans on recycling some radioactive metals, but the policy under consideration could overturn those bans.
The PEIS process is flawed. The DOE initially contracted with Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) to perform environmental review, but SAIC is one of the companies that stands to profit from radioactive "recycling" at a major DOE nuclear site depending on the outcome of the review. SAIC's history of conflicts of interest on radioactive recycling led to the forced termination of its Nuclear Regulatory Commission contract. In late July, after environmental groups and others pointed out these conflicts, DOE cancelled its SAIC contract to do this PEIS.
"To make these hearings really meaningful, the public should be able to see, through documentation, how the DOE came to the original decision to hire SAIC as the contractor to perform the PEIS," said Wenonah Hauter, Director of Public Citizen's Energy & Environment Program. "Further, all scoping meetings should have been postponed until another contractor was chosen and all documents relevant to contractor selection are publicly available well in advance of any hearing. Evaluating the contractor is a crucial part of an open process."
"It's become clear as this process transpires that the DOE really only wants to hear from its own employees and contractors who support this ludicrous plan that would allow nuclear waste to be recycled into household and industrial products, and dumped into municipal landfills," said David Ritter, policy analyst at Public Citizen's Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program.
Some members of the Paducah Citizen Advisory Board, a group watchdogging the site in the country with the most radioactive metal, were given just a few hours notice that DOE was connecting them by speaker phone to the Cincinnati hearing. Mark Donham, a board member said that such short notice "is completely absurd and an insult to our intelligence and sensibility." Members of the public who previously joined the DOE's PEIS e-mail list to be kept up-to-date on the issue and process, were never notified or invited to participate by teleconference or telephone.
"The public hearings on the release of radioactive materials into public commerce should be extended and broadened to engage as many individuals as possible on this national issue," said Trisha Christopher, program assistant for Alliance for Nuclear Accountability. "The locations of the public hearings should accurately reflect those communities that will be affected, which could be everywhere."
"The overwhelming input at the DOE hearings has been against nuclear waste getting into our forks, zippers, toasters, playgrounds and more," reported Diane D'Arrigo, radioactive waste project director at Nuclear Information and Resource Service. "The call has been for DOE to expand the ban on nuclear metal recycling and to prevent any other atomic materials from getting into regular recycling or trash."
"If the DOE can get away with it, they are going to follow the polluter's golden rule: the solution to pollution is dilution," said Hauter. "That's the reason they have selected a seasoned nuclear lobbyist to facilitate the so-called public hearings."
Holmes Brown, hired to facilitate the DOE's PEIS hearings, has been a paid advocate for the interests of radioactive waste producers for well over a decade, receiving funding indirectly from the DOE to promote nuclear programs. Information on the contracts and conflicts-of-interest for Brown, ATL International, and SAIC have been requested by the public interest.
"DOE has also failed to supply records of what radioactive materials have been and are currently being dumped into unregulated disposal and 'recycled' into everyday products," stated Ritter. "We are urging the Department of Energy to stop dispersing any radioactive materials - such as concrete, soil, asphalt, plastics, wood, metals and more - into municipal landfills and the open marketplace, and to strengthen and expand its current bans on 'recycling' radioactive metal."
The DOE hearings are at 2-5 PM and 8-11 PM at the Hilton Crystal City, 2399 Jefferson Davis Highway, in Arlington, Virginia. Public Citizen and NIRS representatives will be available to consult with the public and the media at both sessions.
MOTHERSALERT HOME PAGE: http://www.mothersalert.org
"Vision 2020": http://www.af.mil/vision/
RPHP: http://www.radiation.org
Public Citizen http://www.citizen.org
Nuclear Information and Resource Service http://www.nirs.org
For Immediate Release: August 15, 2001
Contacts: David Ritter, PC 202-454-5176
Wenonah Hauter, PC 202 454-5150
Diane D'Arrigo, NIRS 202 328-0002 ext 16
Bob Schaeffer, ANA 941 395 6773
8/16/01
6:02:40 PM
AlterNet Headlines
BUSH'S TEXAS-SIZED SUMMER VACATION (AND YOUR RHODE ISLAND-SIZED ONE)
Tamara Straus, AlterNet
An irony of the 2001 summer is that our CEO-style President is enjoying a 31-day, European-sized vacation, while most Americans eke out a mere nine or 10 days off.
IN THE CITY, POT HELPS ADDICTS KICK CRACK
Maia Szalavitz, AlterNet
A generation of crack users are beating their addictions by switching to marijuana, but cops still attack pot operations, driving up prices and steering users towards harder drugs.
* In DrugReporter: http://www.alternet.org/?IssueAreaID=17
MICROSOFT GOES MCCARTHY IN WAR AGAINST LINUX
Omar J. Pahati, AlterNet
Microsoft is coming down hard on Linux, its #1 competitor, calling it "un-American" and "a cancer." Its fear? That Linux can't be bought or sold -- and that big names like IBM and Compaq are lining up behind it. Welcome to the geek wars.
BUSH INC. RELEASES QUARTERLY EARNINGS REPORT
Daniel Kurtzman, AlterNet
The stock of old economy stalwart Bush Inc. rises after beating analysts' low expectations months after a hostile takeover of the competition.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=11309
EXTREME PORN CRACKDOWN
Susannah Breslin, Salon
The LAPD is targeting a new wave of kinky XXX films. But if porn legends like Seymore Butts have their way, "bukkake" will become a household name.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=11316
JOHN CUSACK IN 2004?
Alicia Rebensdorf, AlterNet
A grassroots campaign to get John Cusack to run for president -- no kidding -- illustrates the escalating affair between Hollywood and the White House.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=11324
I WANT MY DEMOCRACY NOW!
Laura Flanders, WorkingForChange.com The crisis at Pacifica Radio has come to a head, now that Amy Goodman, host of Democracy Now!, has been forced off the air by intimidation and threats from managers at WBAI.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=11334
A NEW ROUND OF WHITE DENIAL: DRUGS AND RACE IN THE 'BURBS Tim Wise, AlterNet
Last Sunday, yet another story of white suburban crime hit the headlines, and everyone acted amazed. When will whites and the media admit that most killers look like them?
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=11330
MY SUMMER CRANIOTOMY
Catherine Atkins, Reno News & Review One day I was a healthy, active, young writer. The next I was having seizures, MRIs, CT scans and EEGs. How I coped with a tumor the size of a walnut in my brain.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=11333
THE GAY MARRIAGE BOMB
Richard Goldstein, Village Voice The proposed 28th Amendment would not only define marriage as a bond between a man and a woman, but deny "the legal incidents" of marriage to anyone else.
* In HumanRightsUSA: http://www.alternet.org/?IssueAreaID=22
ICELAND'S VISIONARY ENERGY POLICY
David Case, TomPaine.com
Iceland intends to be the world's first hydrogen-based economy, eliminating fossil fuels and the greenhouse gas emissions they produce.
* In EnviroHealth: http://www.alternet.org/?IssueAreaID=18
AUDACITY ON TRIAL
Joann Wypijewski, The Nation
The only thing stronger than racism in South Carolina is the hatred of unions. So the Charleston Five -- black Longshoremen arrested on trumped up charges -- need all the help they can get.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=11332
THE BLOODY DETAILS OF GENOA'S COP RIOT
Yaroslav Trofimov and Ian Johnson, Wall Street Journal The July 21 police raid on G-8 protesters in Genoa resulted in such egregious violents and civil rights violations that the mainstream is now reporting the story.
* In Globalization: http://www.alternet.org/?IssueAreaID=21
SPINNING A WAR
Maggy Zanger, TomPaine.com
For most U.S. news organizations, "objective" coverage of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians has long meant "pro-Israeli."
* In MediaCulture: http://www.alternet.org/?IssueAreaID=19
CORN: A BUY-BACK PLAN FOR BILL CLINTON
David Corn, AlterNet
'Tis the season of image-rebuilding, as Bush tries to move centrist and Gore returns -- with a beard! -- to teach campaign strategy. But with his $10 million book advance, B ill Clinton could attempt the biggest makeover of them all.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=11306
GARCIA: THE DEMOCRAT'S HISPANIC OUTREACH COUNTEROFFENSIVE
James E. Garcia, PoliticoMagazine.com
Given closeness of last year's presidential election, both parties are looking hard at Hispanics as a critical swing vote for 2004 and beyond.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=11326
TECHSPLOITATION: GEEK UNDERWORLD
Annalee Newitz, Metro Silicon Valley
The geeky, sexy world of author Cecilia Tan comes to light in her latest sci-fi/erotica novel, "The Velderet."
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=11307
DRUG WAR BRIEFS: BETTER LIVING THROUGH FUMIGATION
Kevin Nelson, AlterNet
The U.S. resumes spraying Roundup Ultra over Colombia, the home of a Scottish MS patient/marijuana user is raided by four narcotics agents, and Nevada resists its own medical pot program.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=11317
HIGHTOWER: AND NOW ... FRANKENPIGS!
Jim Hightower, AlterNet
Corporate pig producers say they're developing a genetically-altered porker that produces a more environmentally-friendly manure. They call it Enviropig. I call in Frankenpig.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=11318
SOLOMON: CLINTON MEMOIRS: REFLECTING ON THE MEDIA WARS
Norman Solomon, AlterNet
News of Bill Clinton's lucrative book deal has created quite a buzz. There's no telling what juicy tidbits will be revealed in the former president's memoirs.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=11320
GONSALVES: EDUCATION NOT INCARCERATION
Sean Gonsalves, AlterNet
The U.S. has locked up prisoner two million in an epidemic of incarceration, thanks to the war on drugs. What would an alternative drug policy look like -- one based on expanded social conciousness?
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=11303
REICH: FISCAL IRRESPONSIBILITY
Robert B. Reich, American Prospect
In the name of fiscal responsibility, the Democrats won't commit to repealing the tax cut, perhaps leading the way to more cuts.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=11331
8/15/01
8:50:40 PM
FAIR
Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting
Media analysis, critiques and news reports
ACTION ALERT: New CNN Chief Trying to Please GOP Elite
August 15, 2001
Early this month, new CNN chairman Walter Isaacson met with top Republican lawmakers in Washington, D.C. to discuss how to improve relations between the cable news network and conservative Republicans.
According to a report in Roll Call magazine (8/6/01), Isaacson met with Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.), House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), Rep. J.C. Watts (R- Okla.), Rep. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.). Isaacson also intends to meet with House Whip Tom DeLay (R.-Texas), who has ridiculed CNN as the "Clinton News Network" and the "Communist News Network," and has suggested a conservative boycott of the channel. Isaacson also sought meetings with White House officials.
While Isaacson claims he "definitely did not say, 'How do we attract the conservative viewer?,'" his account suggests that concerns about CNN's alleged bias against conservatives were preeminent: "I was trying to reach out to a lot of Republicans who feel that CNN has not been as open to covering Republicans, and I wanted to hear their concerns" (Roll Call, 8/6/01). One GOP aide told Roll Call that Isaacson "said, 'Give us some guidance on how to attract conservatives.' He said he 'wanted to change the culture' at CNN" (Roll Call, 8/6/01).
CNN's outreach effort is likely due to the ratings success of Fox News Channel. While still in fewer homes than CNN, Fox draws nearly the same number of viewers on average, and Fox shows like The O'Reilly Factor regularly beat their CNN competition in the ratings. It should be remembered, however, that CNN and Fox combined reach a tiny percentage of U.S. TV viewers.
But Fox News Channel's clear appeal to a conservative audience has apparently convinced some at CNN-- including the new chief-- that CNN must not be accommodating enough to conservatives. In fact, CNN may even be thinking about producing a Rush Limbaugh television program (USA Today, 8/13/01), another sign that the network's plan seems to involve amplifying conservative voices on the channel.
Of course, there has never been any shortage of conservative hosts and commentators on CNN, including people like Bob Novak, Kate O'Beirne, Tucker Carlson, Mary Matalin, John Sununu and Lynne Cheney-- not to mention Pat Buchanan, who launched three presidential campaigns from his perch at CNN.
Charges about liberal media bias are nothing new: Republicans have long complained about the supposed left-wing bias of the mainstream media, and CNN has been one of the targets of this criticism over the years. At times, Republican strategists have explained the tactical wisdom of accusing media of liberal bias. As Republican Party chair Rich Bond said, "There is some strategy to it. I'm a coach of kids' basketball and Little League teams. If you watch any great coach, what they try to do is 'work the refs.' Maybe the ref will cut you a little slack on the next one." (Washington Post, 8/20/92)
Actually proving the charge, though, is much more difficult than making it. FAIR's recent study of Fox News Channel, for example, included an comparative analysis of CNN's "Wolf Blitzer Reports." On that program's one-on-one interview segment, FAIR found a slight tilt towards Republican guests-- about a 4-3 ratio
(see http://www.fair.org/extra/0108/sources.html).
It's normal, and even commendable, for journalists to meet with people affected by news coverage to hear their concerns about bias. But CNN seeking out the advice of senior government officials in shaping its news coverage is another matter entirely. Powerful politicians should be the subject of media coverage, not partners in producing it.
ACTION: Please contact CNN and voice your concerns about the network's pandering to conservative politicians and their groundless concerns about liberal bias at CNN. Demand that CNN maintain a journalistic relationship to Washington politicians as subjects of news coverage and not as collaborators in re-shaping a more conservative-friendly media outlet.
CONTACT: Eason Jordan
CNN Chief News Executive and President, Newsgathering
Fax: 404-827-3134
Feel free to respond to FAIR ( fair@fair.org ). We can't reply to everything, but we will look at each message. We especially appreciate documented example of media bias or censorship. And please send copies of your email correspondence with media outlets, including any responses, to us at: fair@fair.org.
8/15/01
8:47:55 PM
Planet Ark World Environment News
The Helios comes down to Earth - a winner - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12034/story.htm
Chiefs, Petro-Canada hope to resolve blockade - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12036/story.htm
White House confident Senate will okay Alaska drilling - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12037/story.htm
Swedish N-reactor B2 halts production - Vattenfall - NORWAY http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12032/story.htm
Lithuanian nuclear closure depends on EU funds - PM - LITHUANIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12031/story.htm
Italy to use satellites to spot forest fires - ITALY http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12029/story.htm
Voltwerk builds Germany's biggest solar plant - GERMANY http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12033/story.htm
Violent storms sweep France, lightning kills man - FRANCE http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12038/story.htm
China investigating East China Sea fish deaths - CHINA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12030/story.htm
China to see soybean crunch with fuzzy GMO rules - CHINA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12035/story.htm
Slow but steady progress on British Columbia forest fire - CANADA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12028/story.htm
8/15/01
6:43:57 PM
Re: NBC Dateline last night (August 14th, 2001) on Three Mile Island
To Whom It May Concern (all of us):
Besides the problems brought up below by "Jym", posted on an environmental forum -- comments which I believe are entirely valid -- the worst part of NBC's Dateline show last night on the Three Mile Island nuclear accident was the summation remarks about how we supposedly now have better regulatory control and better this and better that, so stop worrying and please watch what's coming on next.
For example, they said that now there are on-site Nuclear Regulatory Commission inspectors at each plant. That's not entirely true. At our local pair of nuclear power plants (San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station), two inspectors work somewhat different shifts, but they do NOT provide 24-hour coverage for the two operational units. As the report showed, seconds matter when something goes wrong at a nuke.
The show's ending comments described the TMI incident as a death-blow to the industry, pointing out that no new nukes have come on line since that accident. (It then pointed out that Babybush would like to change all that.) But unmentioned is the fact that most of the nukes that had come on line prior to the accident are still operating, still spewing out the occasional puff or bucket-full of radioactive waste, still constantly dribbling rad waste out in quantities the lapdog Nuclear Regulatory Commission allows (the regulatory philosophy being known as ALARA, or As Low As Reasonably Achievable, which is nothing more than a license to murder). Still risking a meltdown.
Each nuclear power plant generates about 250 pounds per day of high level radioactive waste, and we have no idea what to do with that waste -- leave it for our children to worry about. And die from. Right now it just piles up at the plants, mostly, in dangerous Spent Fuel Pools, in insane Dry Casks, and in the reactors themselves. NBC didn't mention this growing problem with no solution. They also didn't mention the clean alternative energy solutions. And not one of the reporters or government people interviewed, who complained about not being able to get good information, tied that historic fact to the current fact that we still can't get good information. Just try to get a Curie quantity from your local nuclear power plant the next time they have a release. It's always just "too low to cause any harm" but that's THEIR opinion. It might not be yours, but you never get the facts to decide for yourself.
The report seemed like it was about showing people that the worry is over. But for an industry which suffered a death-blow in 1979, it sure has been writhing for a long time.
Still, let's not be too hard on NBC. That report alone might have done the industry more harm than all the protests in past few years -- than anything since Chernobyl. Protesting sure has been hard, what with infiltrators, agent-provocateurs, spies, etc., all working to turn our voice into mumbo-jumbo on this issue. Maybe NBC did a half-assed job, but it's still good to see something said at all in the mainstream media, and they did let a few people say some pretty damning things.
Smiling Harold Denton, by the way, and Jimmy Carter too, and several others involved in the cover-up of what happened at Three Mile Island, especially plant officials, should all be thrown in jail. Justice has not been served to the Nuclear Mafia, but some day yet justice might see the light of day on this issue.
Russell Hoffman Carlsbad, CA Anti-nuke since the 60's...
At 12:13 PM 8/15/01 , Jym wrote: =v= Well, I read it. The "meltdown" angle makes for exciting teevee, but they sure left a lot of important facts out. One gets the notion that a castrophe was averted but no clue that radioactive releases *did* occur, so large that they exceeded the upper limits of the gauges. Nor does one learn of the drama that followed, in which a wave of infant mortalities in the path of the releases were retroactively removed from the official statistics. That's not a tabloid-teevee-friendly drama, you see.
<_Jym_>
8/15/01
5:27:17 PM
The Nation
Imagine A Floating "Think Tank."
That's one way to picture the MS Sea Princess when it sets out from Los Angeles this December, with numerous Nation luminaries on board for The Nation's fourth annual Seminar Cruise to Mexico. Included will be publisher Victor Navasky; editor Katrina vanden Heuvel; columnists Christopher Hitchens, Patricia J. Williams, Eric Alterman and Alexander Cockburn and contributing editor and LA Times columnist Robert Scheer--along with ex-head of the ACLU Ira Glasser and Pulitzer Prize winning-cultural critic Margo Jefferson.
The Nation launched its seminar cruise series in 1998 in order to raise necessary funds to help offset the magazine's chronic annual deficit. It's quickly grown into a popular excurison. We know cruises aren't for everyone, but if they appeal to you or anyone you know, please consider joining us on our next nautical adventure. Many of our past cruisers tell us that they had never before considered hitting the high seas for a vacation but that the Nation seminars tempted them into it; and they have no regrets about going.
You'll meet and converse with other like-minded Nation readers as we engage in stimulating debates led by our roster of guest speakers--all while we sail along the sunny Mexican coast, with port stops at Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta.
The seminar topics are broad, allowing ample room for discussion. Past topics have run the gamut: "The Left Media: Is Anyone Listening?" was moderated by Katha Pollitt; "Are Humans An Endangered Species?: Globalization and the Environment" featured Tom Hayden and Barbara Kingsolver; "The Politics of Hollywood: Race, Violence & Religion" was enlivened by Patricia Williams and Calvin Trillin.
Every day and night you'll mingle with Nation comrades. And we'll be sure to arrange dinner seating so that everyone will have a chance to dine with the guest speakers. There is also ample opportunity on board for informal group sessions beyond the featured seminars, with topics generated by the cruisers themselves.
So plan to take a break from the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. Join The Nation this December 8-15, for a week you'll never forget.
You can book cabins and receive further information regarding the cruise at 1-888-833-4339. Or go to:
http://www.tcacruise.com/nation01/
Thanks for considering, and please pass this letter on to anyone you know who may be interested in the cruise.
Best Regards,
Teresa Stack
8/15/01
4:42:31 PM
Anticipated Protests Lead World Bank, IMF Plan To Curtail Big Annual Meeting
by Edward Epstein, San Francisco Chronicle, Washington Bureau
Washington -- Admitting that mass protests have become too disruptive, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have cut their annual meeting to two days, a move that organizers of the big demonstrations say is designed to stifle dissent.
Like other recent meetings of international economic leaders, the annual Washington session of the two organizations has become a lightning rod for anti-globalization protesters. In April 2000, local police and federal authorities arrested about 600 people, closed big chunks of the city center and clashed with some demonstrators.
The meetings were scheduled to run from Sept. 25 to Oct. 2, but at the urging of District of Columbia police and the federal government, the IMF and World Bank said the meeting that attracts delegates from 183 nations would be only Sept. 29 and 30.
To protest organizers, the statement was an omen of heavy-handed police tactics, which they charged yesterday had been responsible for the troubles that marred international economic meetings in recent years in Seattle; Gothenburg, Sweden; and last month in Genoa, Italy.
One demonstrator was killed in Genoa as he was apparently involved in attacking a police vehicle. Police have been widely criticized for violent tactics during the Genoa summit of leaders of the world's eight leading economic powers.
Washington police have said they will use much of the same strategy they used in April 2000 and during President Bush's inaugural last January to try to limit violence and property damage. These tactics included closing off streets around the White House and nearby World-IMF headquarters and enlisting police reinforcements from federal agencies and East Coast cities.
Estimates of the number of expected demonstrators range up to 50,000.
To protest leaders, the reduced schedule is an unfair attempt to paint the demonstrators as the bad guys. "The police are attempting to create a climate of fear and demonize the protesters while they spend millions to promote violence," said Teresa Gutierrez of the International Action Center, an umbrella organization for groups that use the IMF-World Bank meeting to protest a host of ills.
She and several other protest planners who spoke at a press conference said the police plans and the truncated meeting schedule wouldn't deter them from demonstrating next month. They also said the decision to shorten the annual meeting was a victory of sorts for the protest movement.
"We recognize it to some extent as a victory," said Matt Smucker of the Mobilization for Global Justice. "We're pleased to see that the IMF and World Bank are feeling the pressure."
"But what matters is these institutions' policies," he added. "We'll double our efforts to make sure they do not escape from public scrutiny."
email Edward Epstein at eepstein@sfchronicle.com
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2001/08/14/MN197192.DTL
8/15/01
4:31:44 PM
Environmental news from GRIST MAGAZINE
<http://www.gristmagazine.com>
MIGHTY MORPHIN' POWER REARRANGERS
Not wanting to provoke another attack from environmentalists, the Bush administration said yesterday that it would delay announcing its plan for overhauling regulation of aging power plants and instead include the plan as part of a more comprehensive package of clean-air policy options in September. President Bush had ordered the U.S. EPA to reassess the "new source review" program by this Friday. The program requires the installation of the latest pollution-control equipment when power plants and refineries are built or significantly upgraded. The U.S. Justice Department under former President Clinton sued dozens of older power plants for failing to improve pollution controls when they modernized their facilities.
straight to the source: New York Times, Joseph Kahn, 15 Aug 2001 <http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/15/politics/15POLL.html>
straight to the source: Wall Street Journal, John J. Fialka, 15 Aug 2001 (access ain't free) <http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/15/politics/15POLL.html>
HUMPTY DUMPTY SAT ON THE GREAT WALL
Claims by China that it has significantly reduced its greenhouse gas emissions may be a bunch of hooey. A Japanese scientist funded by the World Bank found that coal production hasn't gone down nearly as much as represented by China. Other researchers assert that oil consumption is increasing in the country at a faster clip than reported. Although vehicle traffic in Chinese cities has been doubling about every five years, official data show oil consumption rising only 11.4 percent from 1996 to 1999. A separate World Bank report released last week warned that economic growth in China is overwhelming investment in environmental protection.
straight to the source: Washington Post, John Pomfret, 15 Aug 2001 <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/world/A10645-2001Aug14.html>
ROCKY MOUNTAIN LOW
Hoping to give himself a green sheen, President Bush traveled to Rocky Mountain National Park yesterday to engage in trail work for a few minutes and talk about character. "There's a grand vision embodied in these mountains," he said. "And the vision is that we can teach our children right from wrong." He also criticized environmentalists who are concerned that fire management plans might be used by the Bush administration to boost logging levels on federal lands. Bush said, "I know there are some in our country who want to just, you know, let the forests fall apart. We're not going to let that happen in this administration." More than 125 protesters greeted Bush, waving signs calling for more wilderness protection and no drilling the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.
straight to the source: Washington Post, Dana Milbank, 15 Aug 2001 <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11214-2001Aug14.html>
WORLD BUNKER
Citing the disruptiveness of protests and a fear of violence, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have decided to cram their annual meetings into two days next month in Washington, D.C., instead of a week. When the meetings last occurred, in April 2000, police arrested more than 600 protesters. Just to make sure that the delegates from 183 nations are safely tucked away from scary, nasty demonstrators, the IMF and World Bank have moved portions of the meetings from a suburban Washington-area hotel to the organizations' headquarters, about a mile from the White House. Protesters say the changes are designed to stifle dissent, and they plan to launch a lawsuit challenging police plans to erect barriers to keep them away from the meetings.
straight to the source: San Francisco Chronicle, Edward Epstein, 14 Aug 2001 <http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2001/08/14/MN197192.DTL>
BUG BANG BOOM
A California appeals court ruled yesterday that pesticide companies can be sued over concerns that home bug sprays are making people sick. The court in Los Angeles rejected arguments by Dow Chemical and other chemical manufacturers that they were protected from suits covering chemicals approved by the U.S. EPA for residential use. It said the EPA-approved warning labels could not be challenged, but a jury could still decide that a chemical's dangers to human health outweighed its benefits. The case involves a couple who believe that ant spray used by their landlord caused brain damage to an unborn daughter and sickened a baby daughter.
straight to the source: San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko, 15 Aug 2001 <http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2001/08/15/MN182665.DTL>
Also in GRIST MAGAZINE today:
Whose land is it anyway? -- a day in the life of Edward Sullivan, New Mexico Wilderness Alliance <http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/week/sullivan081401.asp?source=daily>
Spin the bottle -- Perrier didn't reckon on an angry citizenry when it looked to expand into the Midwest -- in our Main Dish section <http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/maindish/ness052101.stm?source=daily>
A room with a view -- a chiropractor builds a house but does no harm -- in our Out on a Limb column <http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/limb/limb072399.stm?source=daily>
8/15/01
4:17:24 PM
Gateway independence: Only Skin Deep?
New documents and anti-corruption claim cast doubts on new foundation.
The World Bank has made much of the fact that its Development Gateway internet project will be 'independent'. Because of the sensitive nature of the issues it will cover, and its claims to represent all views – including those of civil society groups – the Bank has repeatedly said it is establishing a Foundation to run the Gateway and will not be running it in-house. This was first announced last July to civil society organisations discussing a possible committee to help steer the creation of the Gateway (these talks eventually broke down), and then restated to the official e-consultation last November. The World Bank President on 11th November stated that the Bank would create: “a new structure in which the Gateway will be financed and controlled in a public-private partnership outside the World Bank and with a separate and totally independent Editorial Board with broad representation from all sections of the development community.”
It has been known for some time that the only certain way to get onto the Gateway Foundation's board was to contribute 5 million dollars. But leaked Bank documents prepared for today's Board meeting demonstrate that the Gateway Foundation is “merely an appendix of the World Bank”. These are the words used in an anti-corruption claim filed yesterday by two prominent Uruguayan civil society members. The claim, filed to the Bank's Fraud and Corruption Hotline, alleges “serious irregularities” in the way the Gateway Foundation has been established.
It points out that the World Bank will provide up to three directors to the Foundation, and that the Foundation will contract back to the Bank the running of the internet portal, its main output. As the Foundation will be situated in the Bank, was entirely designed by the Bank and the Bank has made the key outside appointments, the claimants argue that “donors and perhaps even the American authorities that granted it legal status as a non-profit organization, may have been deceived in their good faith to accept a non-existing independence." The Bank's documents recognise that conflicts of interest exist, but proposes two very insufficient measures to deal with them. It will: "establish a timetable to phase out the management contracts", and "in the course of the first year will locate the Foundation Secretariat outside of Bank premises." Nothing about competitive tendering for the services or proper separation of functions.
The claim was filed by Roberto Bissio, coordinator of Social Watch and Latin American secretary of Third World Network and Dr Carlos Abin, Executive Director of the Instituto del Tercer Mundo. They are both closely involved with a number of internet initiatives, and have clearly stated during consultations that the Gateway appears to represent unwarranted competition with existing country- and topic- focussed portals which are genuinely independent.
They, as others involved in such existing initiatives, will be probably be outraged by some of the claims in the Gateway team's June 2001 report to the Bank's Board. The Gateway Business Plan (28 June 2001) mentions other initiatives and organisations in the field, such as the DOT Force, ECOSOC's ICT Taskforce, IICD, Bellanet, Benton Foundation, Eldis and Oneworld. Then it goes on to claim that: "The Foundation adds the following unique and complementary elements in the fight to bridge the digital divide: 1) Independence. As a non-profit organization with broad stakeholder representation, the Foundation will maintain its independence and act as an honest broker in the development community. 2) Global reach with local roots. 3) Catalytic approach. 4) Inclusiveness." It is hard to see that the Gateway is really richer in these qualities than the other schemes mentioned. Or that it represents "the next logical step in the efforts of the private and public donor community to organize and coordinate" on ICT for development issues.
It seems then that the Bank is not content with keeping control of the initial site design, staffing and appointment of outside editors for the site. It wants to maintain a tight grip of its day to day management. One person working with the Gateway commented to the Bretton Woods Project yesterday: “the Foundation is a nice idea, but it does seem like a front for Bank employees to keep their Bank jobs with all the traditional trappings.” It seems ironic that a site which will cover topics including good governance and corruption is built on such shaky foundations. Once this is more widely known, the Gateway will have an even harder time drumming up civil society engagement in the scheme.
Source: http://www.mediachannel.org
8/15/01
3:50:57 PM
DAILY MEDIA NEWS
http://www.mediachannel.org/news/today/
WORLD BANK WEB SITE: A CASE OF CORRUPTION?
The World Bank claims its $9 million "Development Gateway" is an independent online project. But critics are demanding an investigation. (From Bretton Woods Project)
NO DEMOCRACY (NOW!) AT PACIFICA
Laura Flanders turned to Amy Goodman's award-winning radio program for perspectives on the Israel-Palestine conflict. But "Democracy Now!" wasn't on the air. (From NewsForChange)
http://www.mediachannel.org/front.shtml#laura
SLAM POETS SLAM HIP HOP
Hip hop is more than a multibillion dollar, monopolized, payola- ridden industry - it's the voice of an international youth rebellion. (From Mother Jones online, Guerrilla News Network)
http://www.mediachannel.org/front.shtml#hiphop
VIVA PUBLIC BROADCASTING!?
Latin America needs a home for democracy and cultural creativity that's beyond the "tight embrace" of government and business. (From OpenDemocracy)
http://www.mediachannel.org/front.shtml#la
NEWS DISSECTOR: CALLING OPRAH
Back in 1990, when Danny Schechter and "South Africa Now" went on the top TV talk show in the world, it was not what they expected.
http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/oprah.shtml
8/15/01
2:07:52 PM
Public Citizen
Use of Cadaver Brain Tissue Threatens Safety of Brain Surgery Patients
Public Citizen Calls on FDA to Ban Material That Risks Transmission of Creutzfeldt- Jakob Disease
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The continued use of cadaveric dura mater - a membrane surrounding the brain - for transplantation in neurosurgical patients unnecessarily exposes them to Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) and variant CJD, the human version of mad cow disease, Public Citizen told a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) official today.
In a petition filed with the FDA, Public Citizen called on the agency to ban the sale of all human cadaveric dura mater and recall all such tissue not yet used in surgery because the tissue has caused at least 114 cases of always-fatal CJD. Great Britain banned the material 12 years ago and Japan did so four years ago, without any subsequent evidence of harm to patients. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends against its use. A copy of Public Citizen's petition is available at http://www.citizen.org/hrg/publications/1587.htm.
The FDA's unwillingness to ban cadaveric dura mater is unacceptable in light of the availability of acceptable substitutes, Public Citizen said. Several synthetic dura mater grafts have been approved by the FDA for marketing in the United States. Tissue from the side of a patient's own leg or implants from animals also are widely accepted alternatives to cadaveric dura mater.
"The FDA must act now to completely ban this material from future use," said Dr. Peter Lurie, deputy director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group. "CJD is a fatal disease, and there is no need to expose patients to it when clearly there are safer alternatives."
Lurie sits on the FDA Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSE) Advisory Committee. CJD, variant CJD and mad cow disease are all considered TSEs. CJD and variant CJD are similar conditions, but CJD is not known to be related to the consumption of contaminated meat. Existing procedures to decontaminate the dura mater and screen patients for the risk of CJD transmission are inadequate, Lurie said.
Cadaveric dura mater is obtained from deceased persons and has been used for decades in transplant operations for patients who undergo neurosurgery for conditions such as brain cancer and trauma. Of the approximately 20,000 neurosurgery grafts that take place in the United States each year, roughly 5,000 to 10,000 involve cadaveric dura mater.
However, the safety of dura mater was called into question in Japan beginning in the mid-1980s, when at least 65 patients developed CJD following receipt of a dura mater graft. The first of three U.S. cases of CJD caused by cadaveric dura mater implants was recorded in 1987, in a 28-year old woman. Cases of CJD from already-implanted dura mater are likely to continue because the incubation period of CJD can be as long as 18 years.
Following the initial case in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated that the use of human cadaveric dura mater increases the risk of contracting CJD, and emphasized that alternatives to dura mater were available.
Further, when the WHO responded to the dura-associated CJD epidemic in Japan in 1997, it recommended that "cadaveric dura mater no longer be used, especially for neurosurgery, unless no other alternative is available."
However, the FDA has not followed the guidelines set by the WHO. In 1997, the TSE advisory committee discussed the issue of CJD transmission from dura mater and concluded that cadaveric dura mater was not necessary in any surgical procedure. Nevertheless, the committee fell short of banning the material, voting instead to recommend that the use of cadaveric dura mater be avoided whenever possible, but that the operating neurosurgeon should decide whether to use it. In 1999, the FDA issued a voluntary guideline that formalized this approach.
Public Citizen's petition was also signed by Dr. John A. Jane, chairman of neurological surgery at the University of Virginia and editor of the Journal of Neurosurgery. Dr. Jane indicated that cadaveric dura mater is no longer used in his department.
Dr. Sidney Wolfe, director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group, used to sit on the FDA TSE Advisory Committee and voted against the FDA guideline.
"Leaving this critical decision in the hands of neurosurgeons is a woefully inadequate step in protecting patients," Wolfe said.
Public Citizen is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C.
For more information, please visit www.citizen.org.
8/15/01
1:56:57 PM
A die-off of lobsters in the New England area has many fishermen thinking this may be their worst year yet.
The season ends this month and fishermen can already predict that this will be the fourth year of decline for lobster fishing because of the poor catches that have come in so far.
The Hartford Courant reports that close to 1,300 lobstermen from Connecticut and New York have lost up to 100 percent of their income due to the die-off.
The lobster catches in Connecticut went from 3.7 million pounds in 1998 to 1.5 million in 2000. Lobstermen say they think pollution started the die-off.
8/15/01
1:51:08 PM
UTNE WEB WATCH
The Best of the Alternative Web
U.S. GOVERNMENT REWARDS CHANNEL FOR ANTI-DRUG CONTENT
by Daniel Forbes, originally appearing on Salon
-- Are American tax dollars being used to deliver anti-drug messages to school kids via notorious Channel One, and what does this say about the free press?
THE FRANK AND FRITZY SHOW
Web site review by Al Paulson
-- What do you do when stereotypes come to life and beg your attention? Just listen and laugh to the FBI recordings of these two classic wise guys.
CAMCORDERS IN ACTIVISTS' HANDS: TOOLS FOR CHANGE
MediaRights.org
-- Lights! Camera! Activism! In recent years activists have used the camcorder as a protective shield, to gather evidence, to prevent harassment by the police, and to give leverage to victims of violence. In the process they are attracting inspiring new people to their ranks and using their own form of media to bring about change.
Links to the above articles: http://www.utne.com/webwatch
8/15/01
1:35:25 PM
Pressure Rising On World's Fresh Water Supply
STOCKHOLM, Sweden, August 14, 2001 (ENS) - All of the more than 1,000 water experts meeting here at the 2001 Stockholm Water Symposium and World Water Week are focused on the fact that the world population will increase by up to three billion in the next 25 years, and each person will need a daily supply of fresh water.
By 2025, about 2.7 billion people, nearly one-third of the projected population, will live in regions facing severe water scarcity, says a new study by the International Water Management Institute. Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, with some of the most heavily populated and poorest regions of the world, will be most affected.
Hosted by the Stockholm International Water Institute, 33 national and international organizations, representing hundreds of thousands of people and all regions, have gathered to find solutions to the world's water problems. One serious difficulty is the water conflict between agriculture and the environment.
Environmental scientists report that water consumption must be reduced by at least 10 percent in order to protect floods, lakes and wetlands. Agricultural scientists say that water usage within agriculture must increase by 20 percent in order to maintain food supplies and avoid catastrophic starvation.
"The truth is that both sides have a point," said Holland's Crown Prince Willem Alexander, keynote speaker on Monday, at the official opening of World Water Week.
The prince launched the five year long "Dialogue on Water, Food and Environment," an international scientific and policy coalition created to resolve the dilemma between agricultural production and environmental protection.
"Increasing scarcity, competition and arguments over water in the first quarter of the 21st century will dramatically change the way we value and use water and the way we mobilize and manage water resources," said the prince. "Innovative ways of using this precious commodity have to be found to protect ecosystems and ensure food for the billions on this planet."
The Consortium for Dialogue on Water, Food and Environment, involves eight international groups such as the World Conservation Union and the World Water Council, and the Water Associations Worldwide, comprised of 10 professional water societies such as the Australian Water Association and the European Water Association.
"If current trends continue, the shortage of water will extend well beyond the semiarid and arid regions," says Professor Frank Rijsberman, director-general of the International Water Management Institute headquartered in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
"In developing countries, irrigation today accounts for over 80 percent of the water consumed, so that the debate among agriculturists and environmentalists on how to manage water for agriculture is of paramount importance to the very poor," says William Cosgrove, vice president of the World Water Council.
Rijsberman, who chairs the Dialogue coalition, says, "This is truly a global challenge. We need to grow more food with less water, meet the growing needs in cities and industry, protect ecosystems for their important role in the water cycle, and so on. It is a question of daunting complexity, but one that has to be answered in the coming years."
World Water Week will be filled with celebrations as well as deliberations. On Friday, The Stockholm Water Prize will be presented by HM King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden on behalf of the Stockholm Water Foundation to Professor Takashi Asano, a water reuse expert from the University of California at Davis. The award is presented annually for outstanding contributions on behalf of the world's water resources.
The Stockholm Junior Water Prize was awarded today, and went for the first time to Swedish students. Youths from 18 countries participated with projects on water and the water environment. Magnus Isacson, Johan Nilvebrant, and Rasmus Öman from Stockholm and the Bromma High School won the prize.
Stockholm Junior Water Prize winners
The students from Bromma, a part of greater Stockholm, recieved the prize and the US$5,000 scholarship for their project, "Removal of Metal Ions from Leachate" The Jury's said it was "an innovative and relevant research project on the use of natural materials for the removal of metals in leachate in landfills."
"The Prize has established itself as The World Championship' on water research for youth," said Dr. Johan Rockström of IHE-Delft, The Netherlands, chairman of the international nominating committee. "This is a great achievement, but more importantly it is filling an enormous gap. There are simply far too few arenas for tribute of young excellence in managing our finite and precious natural resources, such as water."
Source: http://ens-news.com/ens/aug2001/2001L-08-14-02.html
8/15/01
1:31:44 PM
Historic Overfishing Led To Modern Ocean Problems
By Cat Lazaroff
WASHINGTON, DC, August 14, 2001 (ENS) - A new study identifies overfishing as the cause, historically and currently, of many of the problems facing coastal ecosystems today. Researchers linked the ecological extinctions of marine megafauna - vast populations of whales, manatees, dugongs, monk seals, sea turtles, swordfish, sharks, giant codfish and rays - to overfishing at a global scale never before realized.
Recognition of what has been lost, however, also shows what could be gained. The scientists claim this revolutionary historical perspective is essential to wildlife management because historic data provide a framework for restoration that is otherwise invisible.
"Successful management and restoration of coastal marine ecosystems has failed in part because of a lack of understanding the deeper historical causes of collapses in these ecosystems," said Dr. Jim Estes, a U.S. Geological Survey research ecologist with the Western Ecological Research Center, one of the authors of the article.
"Every marine ecosystem I have ever studied during my entire 30 year career looks unrecognizably different from the way it used to be, and I wanted to know why," added Dr. Jeremy Jackson of Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego. Jackson, a renowned marine ecologist, instigated the two year study of human impacts on oceans over time.
Jackson convened an international team of 19 leading marine researchers at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) in Santa Barbara, California. Drawing on paleoecological, archeological and historical data, the scientists uncovered past evidence of seas teeming with large animals as well as abundances of oysters and shellfish so vast they posed hazards to navigation.
The scientists examined records from marine sediments dating from about 125,000 years ago; archaeological records from human coastal settlements occupied after about 10,000 years ago; historical records from documents of the first European trade based colonial expansion in the Americas and South Pacific in the 15th century to the present; and ecological studies from the past century to help calibrate the other records.
They found that the three cultural stages they examined -aboriginal, colonial and global -occurred at different and distinct times in the Americas, New Zealand and Australia. This enabled the scientists to distinguish fishing in these locations by cultural stages.
The scientists also were able to determine whether changes occurred due to human impacts or changing climate. They compared the function and structure of kelp forests, coral reefs and estuaries before and after fishing occurred.
The scientists found that as human disturbance occurred over time, ecosystem structures and functions changed in response to overfishing. While few species like the Steller's sea cow of the North Pacific and the sea mink of the Gulf of Maine were fished to extinction, many became ecologically extinct like the sea otter, which did not make a comeback from intense exploitation until afforded protection in the 20th century.
"Ecological extinction caused by overfishing precedes all other pervasive human disturbance to coastal ecosystems," begins the study, published in the July 27 issue of the journal "Science."
The scientists also found when multiple species occupied similar niches in an ecosystem's structure and could fill a similar function of an overfished species, signs of overfishing could be masked for long periods of time.
"Comparing the magnitude of the mass ecological extinctions in the ocean to those on land may not be enough," said study coauthor Dr. Roger Bradbury of the Australian National University in Canberra Australia. "On the land, as we killed off the giant mammals and destroyed the ancient forests, we replaced them with a new suite of farmed species. In the coastal seas, we took out animals and replaced them with nothing."
The new data also show that historical overkill of this marine life triggered current ecological collapses - many of which have been mistakenly attributed to pollution.
"We started out to study everything that people had ever done to oceans historically and were astounded to discover that in each case we examined, overfishing was the primary driver of ecosystem collapse," said Jackson.
The data demonstrate that overfishing triggered changes in ecosystem structure and function as early as the late aboriginal and early colonial stages. The scientists show that grinding down marine food webs is responsible for many of the problems faced by marine fisheries today.
Removal of key predators and entire layers of the food chain set off sequences of events that are now culminating in toxic algal blooms, dead zones, outbreaks of diseases and other symptoms of ecological instability.
LIVING EXAMPLES
One example of the negative chain reaction brought on by overfishing is the Chesapeake Bay, which is now an impoverished ecosystem dominated by bacteria. Historically, oysters filtered the entire water column of microscopic bacteria and debris every three days. Records describe a lost cannon, "clearly visible in over 30 feet of water."
Increased runoff from farms and urban areas have been blamed for many of the Cheseapeake Bay's problems. But the new research blames instead the mechanized extraction of the vast oyster reefs.
Overfishing the oysters removed the top down control of phytoplankton. Grey whales - now extinct in the Atlantic - dolphins, manatees, river otters, sea turtles, alligators, giant sturgeon and hammerhead sharks were all once abundant inhabitants of Chesapeake Bay, but are now virtually eliminated.
Other examples include the overfishing of large fish, which has led to overgrowth of algae on coral reefs, smothering the reefs and jeopardizing the approximately three million species that they harbor.
The recent die off of turtlegrass beds in Florida Bay can be attributed to the ecological extinction of green sea turtles. Overkill of the green sea turtle and other seagrass grazers such as dugongs and manatees has contributed to outbreaks of disease and die offs in seagrasses.
Scientists have also long suspected that overfishing has caused the well publicized collapse of sea lion and sea otter populations in the Bering Sea. New research suggests that vast depletion of the great whales by humans has also contributed to this collapse.
Whaling and overfishing forced killer whales to switch prey from the great whales to sea lions and most recently to sea otters. Without sea otters to prey on sea urchins, populations of sea urchins have boomed, destroying kelp forests and other marine habitats.
The researchers warn that responding only to current events on a case by case basis cannot solve the ocean's problems because impacts of human disturbance are synergistic and have deep historical roots. Ecological extinctions make ecosystems more vulnerable to other natural and human disturbances such as pollution, disease and climate change.
Instead, the scientists say, problems need to be addressed by a series of bold experiments to test the success of integrated management on the scale of entire ecosystems. With few exceptions, such as the Steller's sea cow, and Caribbean monk seal, most species that are ecologically extinct probably still survive in sufficient numbers for successful restoration with proper management.
This optimism is in stark contrast to the situation in many terrestrial ecosystems, where many or most large animals are already extinct.
CORRECTING HISTORY
Rod Moore, executive director of the West Coast Seafood Processors Association, questioned the interpretation of the new data by some researchers, who blame marine fishing for many modern marine problems.
"Every naysayer and prophet of doom needs a scapegoat," Moore said. "The villain du jour seems to be 'overfishing' with the American fisherman as the star evildoer."
"There have to be some questions raised before we all don our hard hats to avoid the falling sky," added Moore. "But maybe this latest study is right, so what we ought to do is stop fishing. Period. And while we're at it, save the grasslands by stopping ranching, and save the suckers and the natural flora by stopping farming. I hear that insects are very nutritious. Ant souffle, anyone?"
But the scientists advocate major changes to management practices, such as calling for massive restoration of the once vast oyster reefs of Chesapeake Bay. This would result not only in cleaner water but in an economic mainstay. Current plans for remediation of eutrophication of estuaries are still based on the belief that it is caused only by increased nutrients without regard to overfishing of suspension feeders such as shellfish.
"Clearly we have allowed too much fertilizer to enter bay waters, but we have also removed the major biological filters in the bay to only one percent of historical levels in the Chesapeake Bay and North Carolina's Pamlico Sound system," said Charles Peterson of the University of North Carolina. "Oysters filter and clarify bay waters. Oyster reefs provide habitat for blue crabs, rockfish and many other valued fishery resources."
Other recommendations include the restoration of coral reefs and seagrass beds by protection of fishes, sharks, turtles and sirenians in very large reserves on the scale of all of Florida Bay and the Florida Keys. The potential for reducing diseases of corals and turtlegrass by restoring natural levels of grazing is unproven but consistent with historical evidence.
Historical data not only help clarify underlying cause and rates of ecological change, but they also demonstrate achievable goals for restoration, management and exploitation of coastal ecosystems.
"The many tens of millions of sea turtles in the Caribbean before Columbus easily exceeded the abundance and biomass of large animals in East Africa," said Jackson. "All we do today is micromanage remnants of once vast populations."
The scientists state that fisheries regulators and marine managers need to move beyond their fixation on quotas and boundaries and devise ways to restore the productivity and function of coastal seas.
"We need to change the way we think about our coastal seas: not pristine, but damaged, and equally not hopeless, but salvageable," explained Bradbury. "Our research points the way."
Source: http://ens-news.com/ens/aug2001/2001L-08-14-06.html
8/15/01
1:26:05 PM
ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE
"We Cover the Earth For You"
HISTORIC OVERFISHING LED TO MODERN OCEAN PROBLEMS
WASHINGTON, DC, August 14, 2001 (ENS) - A new study identifies overfishing as the cause, historically and currently, of many of the problems facing coastal ecosystems today. Researchers linked the ecological extinctions of marine megafauna - vast populations of whales, manatees, dugongs, monk seals, sea turtles, swordfish, sharks, giant codfish and rays - to overfishing at a global scale never before realized.
For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens-news.com/ens/aug2001/2001L-08-14-06.html
PRESSURE RISING ON WORLD'S FRESH WATER SUPPLY
STOCKHOLM, Sweden, August 14, 2001 (ENS) - All of the more than 1,000 water experts meeting here at the 2001 Stockholm Water Symposium and World Water Week are focused on the fact that the world population will increase by up to three billion in the next 25 years, and each person will need a daily supply of fresh water.
For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens-news.com/ens/aug2001/2001L-08-14-02.html
GHANA'S DUMPING OF ABANDONED BOATS DRAWS ENVIRONMENTAL BLAME
By Emmanuel Kojo Kwarteng
ACCRA, Ghana, August 14, 2001 (ENS) - The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) has defied protests and warnings from environmental groups and activists by dumping abandoned fishing vessels from the Tema fishing harbor on the high seas.
For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens-news.com/ens/aug2001/2001L-08-14-01.html
TOOTHFISH VANISH INTO ILLEGAL FISHING BOATS
SYDNEY, Australia, August 14, 2001 (ENS) - An investigation into global trade in the Southern Ocean's "white gold," Patagonian toothfish, has revealed it is running at twice the level previously thought, and much of this catch is illegal. The Patagonian toothfish appears on the restaurant menus of North America as Chilean sea bass, a delectable dish that brings a high price.
For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens-news.com/ens/aug2001/2001L-08-14-03.html
ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE AMERISCAN: AUGUST 14, 2001
Army Corps Revises Wetland Fill Permit Program
Fuel Efficient Vehicle Program Needs Revamping
University Seeks to Protect Access to Stem Cell Lines
Solar Powered Craft Sets Altitude Record
South Carolina Threatens to Block Plutonium Shipments
Natural Gas Facility Agrees to Control Odors
Judge Bars Federal-Private Land Exchange
Reforestation Project Wins Award
Gene for Metal Loving Plants Discovered
For full text and graphics visit:
http://www.ens-news.com/ens/aug2001/2001L-08-14-09.html
8/15/01
1:21:05 PM
MOTHERS ALERT HOME PAGE: http://www.mothersalert.org
"Vision 2020": http://www.af.mil/vision/
PRESS-RELEASE Moscow, August 15, 2001 (Wednesday) For more information and copy of letter call: 2784642, 7766281 Vladimir Slivyak, ECODEFENSE!
NUCLEAR DISASTER IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN, OFFICIAL SAYS Greens discloses the letter from Chelyabinsk governor to Russian prime minister on the threat of nuclear catastrophe
International environment group ECODEFENSE! disclosed today the letter to Russian prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov written by the governor of Chelyabinsk region Petr Sumin, who said his region is on the treshold of new nuclear disaster. Chelyabinsk governor demanded immediate action to solve the problem of radioactive pollution in water. This is consequence of the operation of "Mayak" nuclear reprocessing plant, which dumped its radioactive waste into rivers over last 40 years. Letter sent on July 10, 2001, it never appeared in mass-media.
"It is no doubt that such letter must be disclosed because it contains information on serious threat to millions of Russian citizens," said Vladimir Slivyak, co-chairman of ECODEFENSE!, environmental group working to stop dangerous nuclear power projects in Russia. "There is one more important part in this letter. Instead of working to solve the problem of nuclear waste, governor Sumin wants to build another disastrous giant -South-Ural nuclear plant. Bringing situation to final absurd, Mr. Sumin says new nuclear plant will solve existing environmental problems".
The Sumin' letter says: "It becomes more and more dangerous to use the Techa river' cascade, serving to "Mayak" facility of Minatom (Ministry of atomic power). Open water reservoirs contains about 400 million cubic meter of radioactively contaminated water; level of this waters is about to become dangerous". Another part of letter says: ". building of the South-Ural nuclear power plant allows to solve this problem effectively".
Presently, amount of high-level radioactive waste, such as spent nuclear fuel, accumulated at Russian nuclear plants estimated at 14,000 ton. Amount of medium- and low-level radioactive waste just can not be calculated across the country because it's large and not all of locations are known. Instead of working to get rid of 400 million c/m of radioactive waste, Chelyabinsk authority proposes the plan that will increase the amount of nuclear waste in the region as a result of new nuclear plant operation.
Earlier in 2001 federal government decided to open the national border for foreign spent nuclear fuel to be stored or reprocessed in Russia. "Mayak" is the only reprocessing facility operating in Russia, its reprocessing line was started in 1970s. Capacity of the plant is 400 ton per year, but through 1990s plant was reprocessing no more than 150 ton of spent nuclear fuel annually. According to the plant source, it needs modernization that costs about $ 600 million. Large territory near "Mayak" facility is still contaminated as a result of 1957 accident which comparable to Chernobyl. On September 29, 1957, the tank containing radioactive waste exploded, releasing several millions of Ci of radioactivity into the atmosphere. Thousands of people were resettled, thousands of square kilometers were polluted. There is special federal program to rehabilitate this territory exist in Russian budget, but it's not clear what kind of programs implemented in its framework.
"Mayak" must be shut down as soon as possible; just nothing can be compared to this facility by the level of danger it presents. Amount of radioactive waste stored at "Mayak" is equal to 8 Chernobyl releases", said Vladimir Slivyak. "More it operates - more plutonium will be generated out of spent fuel reprocessing. Russia doesn't need this plutonium, it already have more than enough, so it's unlikely that this material will ever be properly watched and protected".
8/15/01
1:20:17 PM
Sedona Ecofest 2001
Sedona Ecofest announced today that the first recipient of the Sedona Ecofest Environmental Steward Award is Julia Butterfly Hill. Hailed "Joan of Arc of the Redwoods" By musician Mickey Hart, Hill came to worldwide attention when she lived in the canopy of a 1000-year-old redwood tree named Luna for 738 days.
Hills vigil began in December 1997 when she ascended 180ft in what was supposed to be a 9-day tree sit to protest logging of the ancient redwood forests. On the end Hill resolved not to come down until Pacific Lumber agreed to protect it, and a 200-foot-buffer zone around it. She made this resolution knowing that no tree-sit had ever been successful. No activist had lasted more that 90 days in a tree, let alone stopped a lumber company.
During her 738-day stand Hill received international acclaim. Her story was covered by every major news outlet including Time Magazine, People Magazine, The Oprah Winfrey Show and all three major Television networks Nightly News Shows. George Magazine named her one of the "Twenty Most Interesting Women In Politics" and a Good Housekeeping Magazine reader's poll voted her "Most Admired Woman" in 1998. Bonnie Raitt, Joan Baez and Woody Harrelson were among the celebrities that visited her perch that was home.
Along the way, Pacific Lumber Company sold the two largest privately owned groves of redwoods to the state of California. Hill also drew attention to the fact that out of what was originally a two million acre virgin forest only 3 percent remains. Recently, Harper Collins published The Legacy Of Luna which was lauded as "timely and inspiring" by People Magazine.
Julia's goal is to transform her two-year tree sit into a lifetime of activism on the ground. While still in Luna's branches she founded the Circle of Life Foundation to build upon the tremendous outreach begun in the tree. The Circle of Life Foundation strives to inspire, support, and network individuals, organizations and communities so together environmental and social solutions can be created to the problems facing humanity and the planet. In addition to receiving the award, Hill will also appear at the 2001 Sedona Ecofest.
Sedona Ecofest is part of the Benefest Foundation whose mission is to create awareness for charitable and non-profit organizations that focus on improving the environmental and human condition. Sponsors of the Benefest Foundation include National Geographic, Earth Share and the World Survival Foundation.
The Second Annual Sedona Ecofest takes place on September 15th 2001 at the Sedona Cultural Park's Georgia Frontiere Pavilion. Also Appearing are Blues Traveler, Yonder Mountain String Band, Third World, and Merl Saunders.
Contact Info:
Mindy Mendelsohn
Press Coordinator Sedona Ecofest 2001
520 649.6117
info@.sedonaecofest.com
8/14/01
11:10:14 PM
FAIR
Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting
Media analysis, critiques and news reports
ACTION ALERT: PACIFICA REFUSES TO DISTRIBUTE DEMOCRACY NOW!
Harassment of Host Amy Goodman Continues
August 14, 2001
This morning, the Pacifica Radio Network refused to distribute the regularly scheduled broadcast of Amy Goodman's award-winning news show, Democracy Now! Instead, most listeners heard an old show with no explanation for the irregularity.
For over a year, Goodman has faced continuing harassment-- including racist and sexist slurs and physical intimidation-- at WBAI, the New York station Democracy Now! usually broadcasts from. Goodman and the Democracy Now! team showed remarkable dedication in continuing to produce their high-quality show in such a hostile environment, but over the last few weeks the harassment intensified to the point where it became impossible for them to continue working in WBAI's studios.
Accordingly, Goodman arranged to do the show from the studios of Downtown Community Television in lower Manhattan until Pacifica management could provide her a safe working environment. Democracy Now! was available for broadcast as usual, but Pacifica chose not to distribute it, though a few individual stations-- including Pacifica's KPFA in Berkeley and Pacifica affiliate WMNF in Tampa-- did pick up the show on their own initiative.
The crisis at Pacifica is ongoing, but this most recent interference with Democracy Now! began on August 2 when Pacifica's director of national programming, Steve Yasko, ordered Goodman to stop ending the show with the sign-off she has used since last year's "Christmas Coup" firings at WBAI: "From the embattled studios of WBAI, from the studios of the banned and the fired, from the studios of our listeners, I'm Amy Goodman. Thanks for listening to another edition of Democracy Now!"
When Goodman asserted her journalistic integrity and continued to use the sign-off, Yasko accused her in writing of "deliberate insubordination." Shortly thereafter, WBAI Interim General Manager Utrice Leid ordered the Democracy Now! staff out of the station's main studio, forcing them to produce the technically complex, live program from a poorly equipped sub-studio.
On August 10, according to the listeners' group Pacifica Campaign, Leid's harassment of Goodman escalated and became physical. The group reports that "according to eyewitnesses, Amy came upon two WBAI staffers rifling through the personal possessions of fired WBAI Program Director Bernard White." Goodman asked them to stop, and when they refused, Goodman got her camera and began taking photos to document the incident.
Leid arrived at that point, reports Pacifica Campaign, and "ripped the camera out of Amy's hands and stalked into an adjacent office." When Goodman demanded her camera back, Leid reportedly "laughed in Amy's face" and told her she would have the film developed herself. Leid then "physically shoved Amy out of the way and marched down the hallway to her own office" and shut the door. Goodman remained outside Leid's office until Leid returned the camera.
Pacifica Campaign also reports that due to an expensive new security and surveillance system installed by Leid, "the work environment at WBAI today more resembles the Pentagon and the CIA than a radical, community radio station." Every employee now needs a card key to enter the building; at Leid's discretion, each key can be programmed to provide only for approved time periods, such as one hour before a show begins and one hour after it concludes.
Pacifica Radio is precious because for most of its 50-year history, it has been one of the progressive community's most vital and vibrant resources, a listener-sponsored free speech radio network. Recently, however, a self-selected board majority has put that tradition at risk by disempowering listeners and local station workers and watering down the network's tradition of critical, independent programming.
FAIR is appalled by Pacifica and WBAI's harassment of Goodman and the Democracy Now! team, and we support the efforts being made by listener groups, as well as staff at some stations, to make Pacifica into a democratic, accountable and diverse network. As we have stated before, FAIR calls for Pacifica's National Board to resign in order to make way for positive change.
ACTION: There are many ways to help.
1) Rallies in support of Democracy Now! are scheduled in several cities: Los Angeles: Wednesday, August 15, 7-10 AM at KPFK, 3729 Cahuenga Blvd., North Hollywood. New York City: Wednesday, August 15, 7 - 10 AM, at WBAI, 120 Wall Street. Washington D.C.: Wednesday, August 15, 9:00 AM, at WPFW, 2390 Champlain St. NW. (See http:www.wpfw.net for more information about WPFW organizing.)
2) Listeners across the country are supporting Democracy Now! by calling and writing to Pacifica. If you listen to one of the five main Pacifica stations, you can contact your local station directly and urge them to air current broadcasts of Democracy Now! (Berkeley's KPFA: 510-848-6767; Houston's KPFT: 713-526-4000; Los Angeles' KPFK: 818-985-2711; New York City's WBAI: 212-209-2800; Washington, D.C.'s WPFW: 202-588-0999).
3) You can also contact Utrice Leid, along with members of Pacifica's National Board (see below).
As always, please remember that your comments are taken more seriously if you maintain a polite tone.
Please cc fair@fair.org with your correspondence.
CONTACT:
Utrice Leid, WBAI Interim General Manager
Tel: 212-209-2800/2820; Fax: 212-747-1698
Bessie Wash, Pacifica Executive Director
Tel: 202-588-0999 x 348 or 888-770-4944 x348; Fax: 202-588-0561
Ken Ford, Pacifica Board Vice Chair
Tel: 202-822-0228; Fax: 202-822-0369
mailto:kenfordpacifica@aol.com
Valrie Chambers, Pacifica Board member
Tel: 361-825-6012; Fax: 281-655-0266
mailto:Valrie.Chambers@mail.tamucc.edu
Wendell L. Johns, Pacifica Board member
Tel: 202-752-5355; Fax: 202-752-4281
mailto:wendell_L_johns@fanniemae.com
For convenience, you can cut and paste these email addresses into your message:
uleid@escape.com, bmwpacifica@aol.com, kenfordpacifica@aol.com, Valrie.Chambers@mail.tamucc.edu, wendell_L_johns@fanniemae.com; fair@fair.org
For more information on the Pacifica crisis, please visit: FAIR's Pacifica resources,
http://www.fair.org/activism/pacifica-history.html
The Pacifica Campaign, http://www.pacificacampaign.org
To listen to Democracy Now! online, tune in to:
WBAI Radio in Exile, http://www.wbix.org
8/14/01
10:45:02 PM
FAIR
Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting
Media analysis, critiques and news reports
ACTION ALERT: NPR REPORTER URGES ISRAELI RETALIATION
Says Israel has "no choice" but to continue violence
August 14, 2001
In a report about the August 9 terrorist bombing in west Jerusalem, National Public Radio correspondent Linda Gradstein openly advised the Israeli government to retaliate against the Palestinians (NPR Morning Edition, 8/9/01):
NPR HOST RENEE MONTAIGNE: "Is Israel likely to retaliate?"
LINDA GRADSTEIN: "I think Israel has to retaliate. Israel has been saying from now on it will retaliate for every attack. This is the second largest attack in the last ten months of violence--18 dead including six children. I think Israel has no choice but to respond."
Gradstein's comment was startling. Coverage of acts of violence in the Middle East is often accompanied by media speculation about whether the other side will retaliate, but Gradstein's matter-of-fact announcement that retaliation is the Israeli government's only option was beyond the bounds of responsible reporting.
Military retaliation is not Israel's only choice. It has any number of options, from appealing for international help to withdrawing from the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
It is hard to imagine Gradstein-- or any other U.S. reporter-- reporting that the Palestinians have "no choice" but to retaliate against an Israeli attack, although 464 Palestinians have been killed in the "last ten months of violence," along with 129 Israelis. Nor would such a stance be appropriate or helpful to public understanding.
Gradstein's comment seems to be another indication of U.S. reporters' difficulty in seeing the Middle East conflict through the eyes of both Israelis and Palestinians.
ACTION: Please contact NPR and respond to correspondent Linda Gradstein advising Israel to retaliate against the Palestinians.
CONTACT:
NPR Ombudsman
Jeffrey Dvorkin
As always, please remember that your comments are taken more seriously if you maintain a polite tone.
Please cc fair@fair.org with your correspondence.
8/14/01
10:32:26 PM
Planet Ark World Environment News
UPDATE - EPA delays review of power plant pollution rules - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12019/story.htm
UPDATE - Panel says 80-mpg sedan not likely by 2004 - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12020/story.htm
BP says favors national US oxygenate policy - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12022/story.htm
Blount says ammunition unit faces $255,400 EPA fine - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12025/story.htm
Nigeria demands safety report on oil pipelines - NIGERIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12026/story.htm
More genetically modified crops trashed in France - FRANCE http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12027/story.htm
POLL - Czechs support Temelin n-plant despite failures - CZECH REPUBLIC http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12023/story.htm
China GMO rules weigh on domestic soybean futures - CHINA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12017/story.htm
Iran team stops oil leak from sunken Gulf ship - BAHRAIN http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12024/story.htm
UPDATE - AES aims for mid-2002 Australia plant start - AUSTRALIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12018/story.htm
FEATURE - Australian Museum sees giant leap for 'roo food - AUSTRALIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12021/story.htm
8/14/01
10:30:05 PM
Cloning Of Metal-Eating Plants Could Clean Up Contamination
By Environmental News Network
A wild mustard plant that grows only in the Austrian Alps naturally accumulates large amounts of metals in its tissues. This tiny plant may be the key to cleaning up large areas contaminated by heavy metals from industrial production.
The plant's genes involved in metal accumulation have been identified and cloned by David Salt, professor of plant molecular physiology at Purdue University.
The plant, Thlaspi goesingense, is similar to the nonmetal-accumulating plant Arabidopsis thaliana, the first plant to have its genome sequence completed, in December 2000.
Salt says his work is expected to lead to new transgenic crop plants with genes from the wild mustard that can clean up industrial contamination by absorbing metals from the soil.
"This is really one of the first tools that we've got to manipulate this process of metal hyperaccumulation," Salt says. "So what we're going to do now is to start expressing these genes in nonaccumulating plants to see if we can turn them into metal-accumulating plants."
Scientists are interested in using metal hyperaccumulating plants to clean up contaminated brownfield sites. Researchers believe that soil polluted with heavy metal or radioactive materials could be cleaned up by using crop plants to absorb the material, a process called phytoremediation.
Salt says more than 350 species of plants are known to accumulate metal such as nickel, zinc, copper, cadmium, selenium or manganese in high levels.
"The plant species that we're interested in can accumulate one percent of their dry biomass as nickel. In a normal plant you might expect to find 10 to 100 parts per million of nickel in their tissue, and these plants can accumulate 10,000 parts per million," he says.
Salt says, "They do this in the wild without any interference from man. They just do this for a living."
Hyperaccumulating plants store the metal in microscopic structures in their cells called vacuoles. The vacuoles are membrane-lined structures that protect the rest of the cell from the toxic effects of the metal. The protective membranes that surround the vacuoles closely resemble cell membranes in the human liver that serve a similar function.
Scientists aren't completely sure why some rare plants try to grab as much metal as they can, but studies indicate that they do this to stop insects and other creatures from eating them.
Just as people hate to bite down on a piece of aluminum foil, insects tend to avoid eating plants that taste like metal.
"You can imagine if you're a bug and you bite down on a plant and it's got 10,000 parts per million of nickel in its leaf, it's not going to taste too good," Salt says.
Scientists around the world worked on phytoremediation techniques throughout the 1990s. Cultivating plants that take up metal on industrial waste sites can provide a clean, cheap alternative to the current "suck, muck and truck" approach to cleaning heavy metal contaminated soils. Small scale field trials with such plants, collected from naturally contaminated soils, have demonstrated the feasibility of the phytoremediation approach, says a paper presented at Environment97, an conference and exhibition organised by the Institution of Chemical Engineers on behalf of the UK Engineering Council.
"Imagine if you have a site contaminated with cadmium. Right now your options are to put a fence around it and put a sign up telling people to stay out, build a parking lot over it, or dig up all of the soil and truck it to a landfill, which is very expensive," Salt says.
"You could essentially farm the metal out of the ground. Over five or 10 years, by growing crop rotations there, you could remove the metal from the site. The nice thing is that it's cheap, and you're left with a soil at the end of it which could be used for other things," he says.
The metal hyperaccumulating plants found in nature would not be used for phytoremediation because they are all small and slow growing. Instead, scientists could move the genes Salt and his colleagues have identified into fast growing, large plants, such as grasses.
Researchers are already planning to build on Salt's work to genetically engineer foods to contain micronutrients missing from diets in certain areas. Metals are essential nutrients in small doses, but some regions of the world lack foods that contain enough of these metals for optimum human health. Using the genetic tools Salt and his colleagues have identified, scientists could begin to bioengineer foods that contain these essential micronutrients.
The research could also be applied to improved crop nutrition. "Instead of adding zinc to the soil because you live in a zinc-deficient region, why not have the wheat plant itself be more zinc-efficient so that you can reduce agricultural inputs?" Salt asks.
Salt's research is published in the August 14 issue of the "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."
http://www.enn.com/news/enn-stories/2001/08/08142001/metal_44629.asp
8/14/01
5:07:25 PM
Environmental news from GRIST MAGAZINE
<http://www.gristmagazine.com>
UN-HAPPY MEAL
In a meaty piece of investigative journalism, Eric Schlosser traces the history of the fast food industry, revealing how assembly-line production techniques and factory-created flavors have transformed eating patterns and roadsides in America. Find out why French fries taste good and a strawberry shake contains as much real fruit as a hamburger in a review of Schlosser's book, "Fast Food Nation," on the Grist Magazine website.
read it only in Grist Magazine: A review of "Fast Food Nation" -- in our Books Unbound section <http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/books/books081001.asp>
SPREADING LIKE WILDFIRE
The Bush administration and governors from Western states agreed yesterday to the outlines of a 10-year plan to reduce the risk of wildfire, but postponed until next spring discussion on how the plan would be implemented. In the past, fire authorities focused on suppressing fires that had already begun. The new plan focuses on better collaboration among federal, state, and local governments in preventing major fires from starting in the first place by thinning underbrush and minimizing risks to private property. Enviros are concerned that the timber industry will try to use the plan to boost logging levels on federal lands.
straight to the source: USA Today, Tom Kenworthy, 13 Aug 2001 <http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2001/08/14/wildfire-plan.htm>
straight to the source: Denver Post, Jim Hughes, 14 Aug 2001 <http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1002,53%7E101680,00.html>
HODGE PODGE
South Carolina Gov. Jim Hodges (D) said last week that he would do "whatever it takes" to keep plutonium shipments from coming to the Savannah River Site, a nuclear-processing complex run by the U.S. Energy Department near Aiken, S.C. Hodges says the Bush administration has gone back on a plan he worked out with the Clinton administration, under which plutonium at the Savannah River Site would be taken from the state after it was converted to power-plant fuel or encased in glass. With no guarantee that processed plutonium will leave the state, Hodges fears the site could become a de facto permanent storage site for plutonium in the country. He is considering a lawsuit to block the shipments and has ordered the state Highway Patrol to draw up plans to block the state's borders to federal trucks carrying plutonium.
straight to the source: New York Times, David Firestone, 11 Aug 2001 <http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/11/national/11PLUT.html>
straight to the source: Columbia State, Lee Bandy, 10 Aug 2001 <http://web.thestate.com/content/columbia/2001/08/10/front/websrs10.htm>
Also in GRIST MAGAZINE today:
Sum dum gai -- in the wake of Bonn, Bush's isolationism takes a page from China -- satire in our opinions section <http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/imho/imho080601.asp?source=daily>
Washing down the washed-up blues -- the latest in the comic adventures of Zed, last of his species <http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/zed/zed072001.asp?source=daily>
Cabbage patch kid -- one man taxes his way to a healthy relationship with the earth -- in our Out on Limb column <http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/limb/limb101900.stm?source=daily>
8/14/01
2:20:20 PM
Beach Closings Soar Following Better Testing and Reporting
'The more you look, the more you find,' says NRDC's annual report
WASHINGTON (August 8, 2001) - There were nearly twice as many beach closings and advisories last year than there were in 1999, compelling evidence that the nation's beaches have a major water pollution problem.
That and other unpleasant news about the status of U.S. beaches was announced by NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), which today released its 11th annual report, "Testing the Waters: A Guide to Beach Water Quality at Vacation Beaches." Although some states experienced heavy rainfall, prompting more closings and advisories, most of the increase in closings and advisories followed increased monitoring, better testing standards for bacteria and other pathogens, and more complete reporting. There were 11,270 closings and advisories in 2000 compared to 6,160 beach closings and advisories in 1999.
This year's report also found another disturbing trend: The number of beaches reporting pollution problems from an unknown source jumped from 40 percent in 1999 to 56 percent in 2000.
"We're seeing a much more realistic picture of the beach water pollution problem now that more states are monitoring and reporting, but we haven't turned the corner on identifying the sources of pollution and preventing them in the first place," said Sarah Chasis, an NRDC senior attorney and director of the organization's water and coastal program. "It's outrageous that more than half of the time local authorities didn't know where all the pollution was coming from when they had to close a beach or post an advisory."
States doing better job of monitoring
Over the 11 years since NRDC began publishing the annual report, coastal states have improved their monitoring, testing, and notification practices -- especially states that NRDC labeled "beach bums" for poor monitoring and notification practices. Eleven states have initiated or expanded monitoring programs: Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas. Additionally, California, Massachusetts and Florida have passed "beach bills" that mandate more regular beach monitoring and public notification.
Last year, several states increased the number of beaches they monitor. Alabama, Mississippi, California, Texas, Massachusetts, South Carolina and Florida all reported monitoring more sites. Meanwhile, Guam -- a U.S. territory that had not reported on its beach water quality since 1997 -- reported 1,691 closings and advisories.
NRDC also found that the number of state agencies that have adopted at least one of the Environmental Protection Agency's recommended health standards for swimmer safety increased from 51 in 1999 to 77 in 2000. But better standards and more frequent monitoring have revealed that beach pollution is more extensive than we realized. Elevated bacteria counts that exceeded swimmer safety standards accounted for 85 percent of the monitored beaches' closings and advisories. NRDC predicts that high bacteria counts will prove to be a growing problem as more states adopt the stricter EPA testing standards.
The most frequent cause of closures and advisories continues to be stormwater runoff, leading to more than 4,102 closures or advisories last year. Breaks in pipelines or sewage treatment plant failures prompted more than 2,208 closings and advisories. Six percent of the closings and advisories last year were precautionary, due to rainfall known to carry pollution into beach water, chemical spills, red tides or strong waves.
No uniform nationwide monitoring, testing and notification
While more states are monitoring their beaches, there is still no uniform, regular monitoring across the nation, leaving some beach goers ignorant about water quality at their favorite beach. Oregon, for example, doesn't regularly monitor beach water for swimmer safety. Louisiana monitors a few beaches but has no statewide monitoring program. Washington also has no formal monitoring statewide program and leaves it to individual communities to voluntarily monitor their local beaches.
The standards authorities use for testing water quality, especially for detecting bacteria and pathogens, also vary across the country. Of the 130 agencies with marine water standards, 32 in eight states and Guam have adopted both of the EPA's recommended enterococcus standards for swimmer safety.
Finally, states and municipalities are inconsistent in the way they issue closings and advisories or notify the public when there is a pollution problem. Even if a state regularly tests water quality at its beaches, it may not close a beach when a health standard is exceeded. For example, some towns and counties in Connecticut, Florida, Maine, Michigan, New York, Virginia and Wisconsin do not always close beaches or issue an advisory when their water violates health standards.
A new national law encourages states to establish monitoring programs for water quality on their beaches and to promptly warn the public if harmful bacteria levels exceed acceptable health standards. States have to meet EPA standards under the law to receive federal funding for their beach monitoring and public notification programs. The law also requires all coastal states to adopt, within three years, health standards for beach water quality that are consistent with EPA's criteria under the Clean Water Act.
"NRDC's beach report has pressured states and localities to adopt better monitoring and notification practices and adopt the EPA testing standards, but more still needs to be done," said Mark Dorfman, the report's author. "EPA and the states need to effectively implement the new national BEACH Act, and Congress needs to fully fund it. And more needs to be done to clean up the known and unknown pollution sources causing beach closings."
Beach bums and buddies
NRDC annually releases a list of beach bums -- those beaches (or entire states) lacking regular monitoring and/or proper public notification programs -- and beach buddies --beaches or states that monitor regularly, use EPA's recommended health standards, and notify the public when those standards are exceeded.
Last year, NRDC strengthened its criteria for beach buddy status. Now beach buddies must monitor their beach water at least once a week, use EPA's recommended bacteria standard, always close or issue an advisory after initial sampling or after prompt resampling if the EPA standard is exceeded, and have few, if any, advisories or closings. Few beaches met this standard. This year's beach buddies include
East Haven Town Beach, Connecticut Hammonasset Beach State Park, Connecticut Old Saybrook Town Beach, Connecticut Waterford Town Beach, Connecticut Brewster Beach, Massachusetts Good Harbor Creek Beach, Massachusetts Niles Beach in Gloucestor, Massachusetts Pavillion Beach in Gloucester, Massachusetts
Beach bums for the year 2000 are:
Louisiana Oregon
Neither state had a regular monitoring or public notification program.
Source: http://www.nrdc.org/media/pressreleases/010808.asp
8/14/01
2:12:24 PM
ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE
"We Cover the Earth For You"
U.S. BEACH CLOSINGS SOAR FOLLOWING BETTER TESTING
WASHINGTON, DC, August 13, 2001 (ENS) - There were nearly twice as many beach closings and advisories last year than there were in 1999, compelling evidence that the nation's beaches have a major water pollution problem. That and other unpleasant news about the status of U.S. beaches is outlined by the Natural Resources Defense Council in its 11th annual report, "Testing the Waters: A Guide to Beach Water Quality at Vacation Beaches."
For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens-news.com/ens/aug2001/2001L-08-13-06.html
CHINA AND WORLD BANK COLLABORATE ON SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
WASHINGTON, DC, August 13, 2001 (ENS) - The last 20 years have brought swift economic growth to China and have taken a heavy environmental toll, but a new report issued by the World Bank says if the Chinese government changes its development strategy, an environmentally sustainable future is possible.
For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens-news.com/ens/aug2001/2001L-08-13-03.html
ELECTRONICS MAKERS PLAN FOR LEAD FREE PRODUCTS
BRUSSELS, Belgium, August 13, 2001 (ENS) - Electronics assembly firms have made a global alliance to plan an early transition to the use of lead free solders in electrical and electronic equipment. Organizers say half of manufacturing in major electronics sectors could be lead free by the end of 2003, well before a proposed European Union phase-out date.
For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens-news.com/ens/aug2001/2001L-08-13-04.html
KENYAN ENVIRONMENTALIST WANTS LENDERS TO INSIST ON CONSERVATION
By Tom Osanjo
NAIROBI, Kenya August 13, 2001 (ENS) - Already under close donor scrutiny, the government of Kenya may have more trouble ahead if lenders adopt an environmental group's proposal that commitments to conservation be part of the conditions for any loan.
For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens-news.com/ens/aug2001/2001L-08-13-01.html
ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE AMERISCAN: AUGUST 13, 2001
Aerosols Cool Earth's Surface, Warm the Atmosphere
Birds, Salmon Both Win in Columbia River Case
Genes Passed from Crops to Weeds Persist for Generations
U.S. Repeats Call for Japan to Halt Lethal Whaling Program
Research Program Could Safeguard Coastal Ecosystems
Orca Declines Warrant Federal Review
Hurricanes Could Sweep Away Beach Mice
Restoring Wetlands More Than Just Add Water
Energy Grants Fund Efficient Buildings
For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens-news.com/ens/aug2001/2001L-08-13-09.html
8/14/01
1:20:03 PM
MOTHERSALERT HOME PAGE: http://www.mothersalert.org
"Vision 2020": http://www.af.mil/vision/
"An accident at a U.S. nuclear power plant could kill more people than were killed by the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki (Japan)," the UCS report declares. "
http://www.mothersalert.org/nrcprocessflawed.html
Environment News Service
NRC's Process of Calculating Risks, Seriously Flawed
by Brian Hansen
ROCKVILLE, Maryland, October 5, 2000 (ENS) - The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's new process to calculate and limit the environmental and public health risks posed by America's nuclear power plants is "seriously flawed," an environmental watchdog group charged today.
David Lochbaum, a nuclear safety engineer at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), outlined the argument this morning at a meeting of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards.
According to Lochbaum, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's power plant risk assessments cannot be trusted because they are based, in part, on "biased" information compiled by plant owners and operators. Moreover, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is analyzing the industry supplied information using a number of unrealistic assumptions, Lochbaum said.
"The NRC is guessing when it makes safety decisions using the results from incomplete and inaccurate [information]," Lochbaum said.
The nuclear power industry catalogs the information it supplies to the NRC in documents known as probabilistic risk assessments, or PRAs. These assessments are designed to give the Nuclear Regulatory Commission an analytical means with which to evaluate the severity of an accident that might occur at a nuclear power plant.
However, the risk assessments that the Commission draws up from those PRAs are necessarily inaccurate, Lochbaum said, because the NRC relies on a number of unfounded assumptions in the course of analyzing them.
Those assumptions, which are spelled out in official Nuclear Regulatory Commission documents, were outlined in an UCS report released earlier this summer. According to the report, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission drafts risk assessments for nuclear power plants assuming that:
* Nuclear power plant reactor pressure vessels never fail.
* Nuclear power plant workers make few serious mistakes.
* Nuclear power plant design and construction are completely adequate.
* Nuclear power plants operate within technical specifications and other regulatory requirements.
* Risk at nuclear power plants is limited to reactor core damage.
* Equipment at nuclear power plants fails at a constant rate.
"History shows there is a greater probability of a flipped coin landing on its edge than of these assumptions being realistic," Lochbaum concluded in the UCS report. "In computer programming parlance, 'garbage in, garbage out.'"
But beyond that list of unfounded assumptions, one of the most serious problems with the NRC's nuclear power plant oversight program is that there are no objective standards that plant owners must follow in compiling their probabilistic risk assessments, Lochbaum said.
Lochbaum cited the case of the Wolf Creek nuclear reactor in Kansas and the Callaway nuclear reactor in Missouri to make his point. Although the two facilities were built using the exact same blueprints and the exact same materials, their PRA results - and their resultant NRC risk assessments - are "as different as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide," Lochbaum said.
"The numbers make it look like Wolf Creek is the good twin and Callaway is the bad twin," Lochbaum wrote in the UCS report. "In reality, these risk assessments cannot be used to decide this sibling rivalry, [because] they were developed using different methods and different assumptions.
"It is therefore no surprise that their results differ so radically," Lochbaum said. "The data do not allow the safety levels of these identical plants to be evaluated, even on a relative basis."
Lochbaum also cited cases where nuclear power plants built to significantly different design and operational specifications were declared by the NRC to have the same exact risk factors.
For Lochbaum, those types of findings indicate that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is not capable - or not interested - in determining which plants are safe, and which are not.
"Apparently, the NRC views being the same as OK, and being different as OK, too," he said. "That's curious."
George Apostolakis, the vice chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission committee, challenged Lochbaum on that point. Apostolakis acknowledged that nuclear power plant owners have been known to submit inaccurate or inconsistent information to the NRC, but he denied that those reports would result in the drafting of misguided risk assessments.
"It's a private industry, and if they want to use optimistic numbers, it's up to them," Apostolakis said. "But when they try to use them here, that's a different story."
According to Apostolakis, nuclear power plant risk assessments are based on far more criteria than simply the "optimistic" PRAs provided by the nuclear power industry.
"You give the impression that our decisions rely on PRAs," said Apostolakis, who also serves as a professor of nuclear engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "You use the word 'rely' too much."
Lochbaum, asked if he thought he put too much emphasis on the industry's contribution to the nuclear regulatory process, said, "I think I underestimated it."
Apostolakis acknowledged Lochbaum's point, but the NRC committee member would not admit that nuclear power plant risk assessments have been compromised as a result.
"I grant you that there may have been situations where people have misused the process," Apostolakis said. "It would be interesting to find out why these things are happening - whether it's just judgment, or accounting."
But Apostolakis would not concede Lochbaum's point that "all possible" measures should be taken to prevent and mitigate every risk posed by the construction and operation of nuclear power plants.
"Are you seriously proposing that all possible measures be taken?" said Apostolakis, whose research interests include mathematical methods for risk and reliability assessment of complex technological systems. "Is that an exaggeration to make a point, or are you asking us to take you literally?"
Apostolakis noted that no activity is risk free, and that many endeavors - such as automobile and airplane travel - have been regulated to pose certain levels of risk.
As a matter of policy, the NRC attempts to limit risks associated with nuclear power plant operations to less than one percent of the risks that the public faces from other types of accidents.
However, current NRC risk assessments consider only the probability of an accident happening -not the associated consequences. When consequences are very high - as they are from nuclear plant accidents - prudent risk management strategies dictate that probabilities be kept very low, the Union of Concerned Scientists argues.
"An accident at a U.S. nuclear power plant could kill more people than were killed by the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki (Japan)," the UCS report declares. "
The Union of Concerned Scientists has called on the Commission to abandon its "unrealistic" risk assessment program in favor of one with objective and verifiable standards.
The group has also appealed to Congress to provide the NRC with the budget it needs to "restore the safety margins" at America's nuclear power plants.
The Reactor Oversight Process and Plant Assessment Results are available on the Nuclear Regulatory Committee website at:
http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/index.html
The Union of Concerned Scientists website is:
8/14/01
1:08:10 PM
To: Editor, The New York Times
From: Russell D. Hoffman, Concerned Citizen
Re: Requested correction to particulars in your article
Date: August 13th, 2001
To The Editor:
I'd be willing to bet the article shown below is factually incorrect when it states that "now the only plutonium manufactured there [in Savannah River] is used as batteries for space probes".
That would be Pu 238, which is the major element that NASA uses for their Radioactive Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs) for their deep space probes. The last one launched was called Cassini, launched in 1997 amidst strong protest which even The New York Times was unable to completely ignore. The next planned plutonium mission was cancelled for "budgetary reasons". Hopefully they all will be.
RTGs are also called Radioactive Power Sources (RPSs), Radioactive Thermal Generators (old terminology), and a variety of other names. We got the idea from the Russians in the 1950s.
Plutonium-238 has a relatively short half-life (87.75 years, according to NASA documents I've seen). This short half-life has the desired effect that if you purify a large quantity of plutonium 238 it will not only be "hot" as in, radioactive (giving off alpha particles), but also "hot" as in, it will burn your finger if you touch it. And if you attach a thermocouple to it, you can get a modest amount of electricity.
In an "RTG" the plutonium is in solid chunks of plutonium dioxide, unless a space probe with them on board reenters Earth's atmosphere. In that case, you are fairly likely to get fine particles of plutonium, according to NASA's data, about 10 microns in size, which is also the "ideal" size for particles to lodge permanently in the human lung. Plutonium causes cancer, leukemia, and birth defects.
All this was unmentioned in your article, or the fact that environmentalists around the world have stridently protested this use of plutonium. But what was almost surely factually wrong is that there are several other uses for plutonium from Savannah River, which coincide with the use you mentioned, but should not be ignored or forgotten or brushed aside, if, indeed, that's what has happened here.
These uses include one that is quite obvious if you look at NASA documents on the subject of radioactive launches in space (e.g., in the 1995 Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Cassini Mission). In addition to RTGs, plutonium is used for "Radioactive Heater Units" (RHUs) for space probes. Cassini, for example, had 130 RHUs on board. True, they are much smaller than the RTGs; 2.7 grams each (about 36 Curies each) of plutonium dioxide, versus nearly 25 pounds each (about 133,000 Curies each) for the RTGs that Cassini used. But far more missions carry them, and Cassini, for example, carried about 3/4ths of a pound of plutonium in the form or RHUs.
NASA predicted that for many reentry scenarios, 100% of the RHUs would ablate in a reentry accident. The RTG's, NASA calculated, would (they felt) probably (if they were lucky) survive (maybe), but the RHUs were liable to fully vaporize their contents in a typical reentry. Just one month after Cassini did a "gravitational flyby" of Earth (1999), NASA flubbed a similar maneuver near Mars and crashed a $100,000,000 probe into that planet. And their next mission to Mars also failed, a few months later.
In a reentry accident, the RTGs on Cassini are designed to break away from the probe, then they will be slowed down as their fins melt away, and then they will release their internal containers of plutonium (54 of them -- 18 each), which would often (according to NASA's calculations) release THEIR internal containers (108 of them, which would, surprise surprise, sometimes release their pellets of plutonium, a total of 216 pellets, each nearly a hundred times the size of an RHU.
An RHU contains nearly 30,000,000 lethal doses of plutonium. What that means is if you were to vaporize the plutonium from one RHU and then get 30,000,000 people to each inhale an equal portion of the plutonium, they would all die. Obviously not many people would willingly inhale plutonium.
That's deadly stuff, and your little oversight helps excuse a major crime against humanity.
In addition to NASA's multiple uses of plutonium the U.S. Air Force probably uses RTGs and RHUs for military satellites. And the U.S. Navy probably uses these sorts of devices for unmanned undersea listening posts scattered throughout the oceans, especially near enemy harbors. (America might be sued by other countries for this environmental damage some day.) Other uses might include producing electricity for remote military outposts, such as at the north and south poles.
Of course, it's possible that only RTGs for space probes are made at Savannah River, and all other plutonium which NASA and everyone else uses (for RHUs and for whatever else that the public doesn't know about) is manufactured elsewhere, but as I said, I bet not.
I hope a correction will be made soon.
Sincerely,
Russell D. Hoffman
Concerned Citizen
P.O. Box 1936
Carlsbad, CA 92018
(760) 720-7261
8/14/01
1:07:04 PM
GOVERNOR THREATENS TO BAR U.S. PLUTONIUM SHIPMENTS
New York Times -- August 11, 2001
by David Firestone
Atlanta, Aug. 10. --_ Charging that a large shipment of plutonium from nuclear weapons may be on its way to permanent storage in his state rather than to the temporary stay needed for processing, Gov. Jim Hodges has ordered the South Carolina Highway Patrol to draw up plans for blocking the state's borders to federal trucks bearing it.
Mr. Hodges says the Bush administration has reneged on a plan worked out by the Clinton administration to move the plutonium out of the Savannah River Site, near Aiken, S.C., after it is converted to power- plant fuel or encased in glass. Without a guarantee that the radioactive material will eventually be moved out of the state, he said in an interview today, he will "do whatever it takes" to keep it from coming in.
"I'll stand squarely in front of the trucks, if that's what it takes to protect the health and safety of our people," he said. "In the meantime, we've got a range of options, including roadblocks. We are not going to be stuck with permanent storage of plutonium in our state." In a memorandum released by his office, Mr. Hodges ordered B. Boykin Rose, the state's public safety director, to evaluate options for highway roadblocks, a step that recalls Gov. Cecil D. Andrus's use of the Idaho state police in 1988 to block shipments of nuclear waste from the Navy to a processing plant in his state. Mr. Hodges said a federal lawsuit was another option being considered.
The Energy Department, which operates the Savannah River Site, a nuclear processing and disposal complex, said it hoped to continue discussing the issue with South Carolina officials to prevent confrontations at the border. Joe Davis, a spokesman for the department, said Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham promised on a visit to the complex this week that the plutonium would not be permanently stored in South Carolina.
"We're committed to making sure that the materials that come into the state leave the state," Mr. Davis quoted Mr. Abraham as saying. But Mr. Hodges said that he was not satisfied with vague assurances and that he had not been given a detailed plan on how the waste will be removed.
If the government moves to South Carolina all the plutonium that requires processing, he said, it will leave the state isolated, because no other state will want the material back.
"We will be left holding the proverbial bag," the governor wrote in his memorandum.
The two sides cannot even agree on when the first shipment of more than 50 tons of plutonium, from Rocky Flats, the shuttered Colorado nuclear weapons complex, will enter South Carolina on its way to the Savannah River Site, about 20 miles downstream from Augusta, Ga. Mr. Hodges said he believed that the trucks would begin coming in two weeks, but Mr. Davis said there would be no shipments until this fall. The plutonium at issue was left over from the production of nuclear weapons. In 1996, the United States and Russia agreed to take equal amounts out of their nuclear stockpiles and either convert it to fuel for nuclear power plants or encase it in radioactive glass to keep it from being stolen.
But in May, citing budget pressures, the Bush administration said it would not yet begin the expensive process of stabilizing the plutonium and encasing it in glass. Instead, officials said, waste will be stored in containers at the South Carolina complex while the issue is studied further.
That infuriated Mr. Hodges, who said the state had contributed enough to the nation's nuclear program by allowing Savannah River to manufacture plutonium and tritium gas for bombs as far back as 1952. The state has no intention of being the storage site for warhead waste, he said, suggesting that it be stored instead in a state with many remote locations, like Nevada.
The end of the cold war allowed the government to shut down the original five reactors at the 310-square- mile Savannah River complex, and now the only plutonium manufactured there is used as batteries for space probes. But the site still plays an important role in storing and processing spent fuel and other waste.
The cost of processing the plutonium has grown sharply, however, precisely at a time when the Bush administration is looking for ways to cut the budget of most agencies, including the Energy Department. A confidential report from the department, made public on Thursday by the private Nuclear Control Institute, said the cost of the 22-year plutonium disposal program that resulted from the agreement with the Russians had now risen to $6.6 billion -- a 50 percent increase over a 1999 estimate.
Mr. Hodges, a Democrat, said politics did not play a role in his stand, and added that he did not believe his state was being made a target for waste because he is a Democrat at a time when Republicans are in the White House. This afternoon, in fact, one of his most bitter political enemies, State Attorney General Charlie Condon, a Republican, issued a strong statement of support for his position, pledging to work with him to keep the government from forcing the state to accept nuclear waste.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/11/national/11PLUT.html?todaysheadlines
8/14/01
12:58:54 PM
8th Annual Drums Around the World
August 26th is the 8th annual Drums Around the World. At 3-5pm New York time, 42 countries including Israelis & Palestinians in Israel will play for peace & unity. This event corresponds to the birth of the White Buffalo in 94 and many other happenings. We are asking you to promote to everyone on your email list immediately!!
Also there is a world gathering of drummers at the Dome of the Rock/Temple Mount in October organized by Israeli & Palestinian youth. It is time to stop talking and let the ancient & healing power of the drum unify all with no specific agenda. This can & will create spiritual miracles. NOW IS TIME FOR THE FOLLOWERS TO LEAD!!!!!
Michael DiMartino
Director, Global Alliance for Intelligent Arts
Peace Drum Ambassador, United Nations Peace Educators
http://www.global-alliance.com
8/13/01
10:23:32 PM
Human Population Growth Already Slowing
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL -- Human population growth has turned "a very sharp corner" and is now slowing, on its way to leveling off in the next century, according to a study by University of Minnesota ecologist Clarence Lehman. He used new equations that take into account the accelerating effect population density has on per capita population growth at certain points in history--what is termed "positive feedback." The new equations show that the long-increasing human population growth rate began an abrupt decline in the 1970s, and these equations agree with recent work by demographers, Lehman said. He presented his work Monday, Aug. 6, at the Ecological Society of America meeting in Madison, Wis.
Beginning with Charles Darwin, ecological theorists have predicted that population growth will be affected by previous growth in different ways during the course of a species' existence, Lehman said. Early on, when the species is small in numbers, its population may grow rapidly as it spreads out in a new habitat and previous growth may have no effect. Later, as crowding sets in, more growth leads to depletion of resources, squabbles and other events that slow the rate of growth. What has been missing from classical ecological equations is the phenomenon of per capita birth rates rising with increasing population, said Lehman. For example, meerkats may reproduce faster when numbers are high enough to allow bands of scouts to stand watch for each other. Similar effects have happened to humans.
"As human populations grew, jobs became specialized, and this led to more comfortable lives, the rise of medicine and other things that allowed birth rates to rise faster as populations got more crowded," Lehman said. "This went on for thousands of years, but it ended in the 1970s. Now we're in a period of negative feedback. In the developed world, it's largely due to voluntary controls on birth rates. It's also due to such factors as the spread of disease associated with travel, dense concentrations of people and other aspects of modern society. Now that our growth rate is slowing, we're finally following all the classical ecological population equations, which we had flouted for millennia.
"Even so, we still are facing a near doubling of the population, and this will greatly increase the strain on our planet's ecosystems."
Equations of population ecology that include positive feedback between population density and per capita growth rate fit well with actual human population data, said Lehman. The equations predict a levelling off of world population at 10 billion-12 billion around the year 2100. The fact that the current figure of around six billion is expected to no more than double is due to the dramatic slowing in the rate of increase that has been going on for at least 25 years already. This projection is also coming from demographers.
"I work with ecological equations, but three researchers working with human demographic data just published a similar finding in Nature," Lehman said. "It appears our work corroborates each other."
Souirce: Source: University Of Minnesota http://www.umn.edu
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/08/010807080055.htm
8/13/01
10:06:19 PM
Planet Ark World Environment News
Castro watches as Venezuela, Brazil open power link - VENEZUELA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12014
UPDATE - NY confirms first human West Nile case of summer - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12009
Wildfires pose growing threat to US West - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12013
US oil industry pushes for easing of gasoline rules - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12015
UPDATE - Verdict on San Jose, Calif. plant seen in September - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12016
Thailand counts cost of devastating flash floods - THAILAND http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12004
World water crisis will threaten one in three - UN - SWEDEN http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12012
Ethiopia pesticide cleanup under way, needs funds - ITALY http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12010
FEATURE - Israel's shrinking Sea of Galilee needs miracle - ISRAEL http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12007
German power prices drop 1995-2000, gas soars - GERMANY http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12003
Czech Temelin N-plant resumes testing operations - CZECH REPUBLIC http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12006
Baby boom ahead for China's pandas, experts say - CHINA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12008
New crews called in for British Columbia forest fire - CANADA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12011
FEATURE - Organic labels leave European consumers in the dark - BELGIUM http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12005
8/13/01
10:02:32 PM
Coalition Launches Campaign To Save California's Old-Growth Forests
SACRAMENTO -- A coalition of business, civic, religious and conservation organizations announced today the submission of a California State ballot initiative aimed at preserving California's remaining ancient and old-growth trees. Trees alive before the year California became a state (1850) would be spared if the initiative becomes law.
"This initiative is our last best hope to preserve what remains of the unprotected old-growth forests of California," said Dan Hamburg, former north coast congressman and executive director of V.O.T.E. (Voice Of The Environment) Action Committee, one of the initiative's sponsors. In so doing, we are not only saving trees. We are saving a bit of our humanity by taking responsibility as stewards of God's creation."
Polls conducted by the coalition show that 65% of Californians favor preserving what is left of the state's ancient forest heritage. "These trees are part of our heritage, not only as a state, but also as a nation and a planet," said Julia Butterfly Hill. "Our government should be protecting this heritage, but because they've failed, we, the people, have decided to protect the last of this living legacy," she added.
A growing number of business leaders favor saving the last of the old-growth. Warren Linney, chairman of the board of Broadlink Communications in Santa Rosa and owner of a Sonoma County wood products company, remarked, "As a businessman and firewood cutter, I value the heritage and living ecosystem of an old-growth forest. Old-growth is important for the tourist economy of our state and serves as a living museum for our communities and families. I urge Californians to place this initiative on the ballot and vote for it."
The initiative applies to all old-growth trees and stands on California's non-federal forestlands. Forestlands are defined as lands capable of growing a crop of trees of any commercial value, including state-owned forests and private property. It is estimated that less than 3% of the native forests of California are still standing. Most of this is already protected in state parks. This initiative would put the rest off limits for logging operations and other activities that could damage old-growth trees and stands.
Religious organizations around the state have rallied to support this initiative. "God gave us a variety of free ecosystem services of which trees play a major role," said The Reverend Sally Bingham, chair of the Commission on the Environment for the Episcopal Diocese of California. "Trees are essential for our survival and the older the tree, the more valuable for the health of our planet. It is our responsibility as people of faith to preserve these irreplaceable trees for generations to come."
The Central Conference of American Rabbis recently passed a resolution calling for "the safeguarding of the patchwork of remnant old-growth forests that remain." Dr. Barak Gale, OD, Walnut Creek optician and chair of the Bay Area chapter of the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life, said, "Trees are like the air we breathe in the Jewish tradition." Further, "Our Torah is called the Tree of Life and we are taught that if not for the trees, there could be no human life. Yet we continue to ravage our forests for decking, trim, and toilet paper."
Groups supporting the initiative include: Voice of the Environment, the Religious Campaign for Forest Conservation, the Green Party of California, the Episcopal Church Diocese of California, Rainforest Action Network, Ancient Forest International, Friends of the Eel River, the Southern California Ecumenical Council's Eco-Task Force, the Bay Area Chapter of the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life, the World Stewardship Institute, Christians Caring for Creation, the Environmental Ministries of Southern California, and V.O.T.E. Action Committee.
Dr. Gordon Lebedz, Chair of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club and Medea Benjamin, founder of Global Exchange and recent Green Party U.S. Senate candidate have endorsed the initiative as have several prominent entertainers including Bonnie Raitt and Woody Harrelson. Martin Litton, a leading preservationist of giant sequoias, helped write the initiative.
Other quotes and notes: The Campaign to save California's remaining old growth trees will be launced with a press conference at 11:30 AM, Tuesday, July 24th, on the North Steps of the State Capitol in Sacramento, California. Fred Krueger, a campaign coordinator of the initiative, in Santa Rosa, California, says the issue of saving our remaining ancient trees is a moral and religious issue. "To people of faith, the ability to save our last ancient trees relates directly to our ability to honor our Creator and to proserve and protect the good of the larger community -- as opposed to the financial profit of a few. At heart forest conservation issues are first moral and ethical issues. Only secondarily are they business or ecological issues."
Less than 3% of California's original ancient forest remains, most of it in parks. About 0.6% of our forest heritage still stands on private lands, most of it subject to logging.
Pacific Lumber Co., a major owner of the remaining old growth forests, says it will liquidate its remaining old growth in the next two or three years. The ancient forest behaves differently than second growth forests. Old growth trees are champions at metabolizing carbon dioxide and retaining the carbon while releasing oxygen.
There is also an inspirational quality to old growth forests that does not exist with newer trees. Religious leaders compare the presence which an ancient forests emanates to that of a "council of elders" in contrast to the presence of second growth which is more like that of a day care center.
Forests are part of the natural services of a healthy environment that provide society with clean water, clean air, plus habitat for fish and wildlife. Forests regulate climate, they hold hillsides in place and prevent erosion and landslides.
In contrast logging of any type increases fire risks -- because it removes the cooling shade of trees, thereby warming the forest and leaving dry flammable debris. Cutting changes both local and global climate; it reduces rainfall levels and even has an impact on energy bills because drier climate reduces rainfall and thus the amount of water available for hydroelectric power. Studies at the University of Montana indicate that California's energy problems are exacerbated by logging because reduced moisture levels because of excessive coastal logging results in less rainfall inland and therefore lower river levels and lower levels of hydroelectric power generation in the Pacific Northwest. Logging also diminishes water quality because of the sediment and debris added to streams by inevitable hillside erosion. Logging generally degrades fishing, hunting, hiking and other recreational uses of the forest. Connie Hanson, President, Christians Caring for Creation in Pasadena, CA, says, "We should not be logging any ancient forests! Those trees were planted by the Lord; they are His treasures, His temple, and our inheritance which we should leave as a legacy to future generations (cf. Acts 17:24, NIV). "The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands."
The emergence of strong religious support for forest conservation represents a new development in the forest conservation discussion. In California, the United Methodist Church, the Episcopal Church, the evangelical Christian Environmental Council and the Bay Area chapter of the Jewish Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) have all made strong statements urging the protection of all remaining old growth forests. National organizations such as the National Council of Churches and the Central Conference of American Rabbis have also issued strong declarations in support of preserving all remaining old growth forests.
Pope John Paul II earlier this year called Catholics to "ecological conversion." Patriarch Bartholomew of the Eastern Orthodox Churches has called for forest conservation and said that clearcutting of forests, water pollution and degradation of the environment, "these things are sins." Former Chief of the U.S. Forest Service Jack Ward Thomas remarks, "Not only are forest ecosystems more complex than we think; they are more complex than we can think!"
"If we would honor the Creator, we will also honor creation."
8/13/01
10:00:02 PM
Environmental news from GRIST MAGAZINE
<http://www.gristmagazine.com>
SMACKED DOWN
The World Wildlife Fund won a legal battle on Friday to limit the World Wrestling Federation's use of the initials WWF. A High Court judge in London ruled that the federation broke a 1994 agreement with the enviro group, under which the wrestlers agreed to restrict their use of the initials in promoting their, um, "sport." In particular, the enviro group says the court victory means the wrestlers will have to stop using www.wwf.com as their website address.
straight to the source: London Independent, Matthew Beard, 11 Aug 2001 <http://www.independent.co.uk/story.jsp?story=88196>
OH BABY, BABY, IT'S DRY WORLD
Some 450 million people in the world are now confronting water-shortage problems. That's grim enough -- but experts meeting this week in Stockholm to discuss water scarcity say the number could grow to 2.7 billion within 25 years. North Africa, the Middle East, Pakistan, and parts of India and China, as well as areas in southern Europe, are most hurt by current shortages. Parts of the U.S., however, aren't far behind. Warmer temperatures, the loss of wetlands to sprawl, and the growing demands of agriculture are accelerating shortages across the U.S. Major U.S. cities could go dry in 10 to 20 years.
straight to the source: New York Times, Timothy Egan, 12 Aug 2001 <http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/12/national/12WATE.html>
IN FOR A PENNY, IN FOR A POUND
Assets of socially responsible funds grew five times faster than those of other funds over the past three decades, according to a report released last week by Pax World Funds. The funds focus on different issues, screening out companies with poor records in areas like the environment, diversity, and health. Pax World said the assets in the funds reached $103 billion by mid-2001, up from $150 million in 1971. Pax World President Thomas Grant said, "We have busted the underperformance myth that is associated with many socially responsible mutual funds."
straight to the source: Long Island Newsday, Tania Padgett, 09 Aug 2001 <http://www.newsday.com/business/printedition/ny-bzgree092290978aug09.story>
Also in GRIST MAGAZINE today:
The other day, I met a bear -- a cartoon by Suzy Becker <http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/ha/ha080601.asp>
Parental guidance suggested -- Bush should listen to his inner dad on climate change -- in our Global Citizen section <http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/citizen/citizen080301.asp>
8/13/01
9:30:41 PM
The Nation Endorses Mark Green For Mayor Of NYC
"For progressives, the mayoral race in New York City could be the most significant electoral test since the 2000 presidential election, one with broad national implications. That's because of the candidacy of Mark Green. He far surpasses his rivals in the upcoming Democratic primary in his ability to articulate a progressive vision for New York City in the twenty-first century. He is something unusual in this city's politics--a classy, smart, articulate public servant, seasoned and tested. Quite simply, he's the best-qualified person for the job."
Read the full endorsement from the August 20/27 issue of The Nation. Exclusively available electronically at:
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20010820&s=editors
8/13/01
9:28:49 PM
CARNEGIE MELLON'S SOLAR POWERED ROBOT DEMONSTRATES CONCEPT THAT COULD LEAD TO LONG-TERM EXPLORATION OF PLANETS AND MOONS
A prototype, solar-powered robot, developed with support from NASA by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute, has demonstrated a concept that could pave the way for future long-term robotic exploration of distant planets and moons.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/08/010803083944.htm
WAVE OF THE FUTURE? DAMS AS RIVER RESTORATION
For many years, society viewed dams as the wave of the future, providing hydroelectric power, water reserves and controlling floods. Now their removal, especially of older dams, appears to be the new trend. As dams are removed however, new issues begin to emerge, especially concerning the health of the river and all those affected upstream and downstream.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/08/010806074412.htm
SCIENTISTS FIND DRASTIC UNDERESTIMATIONS OF MALARIA MORBIDITY, MORTALITY, AND ECONOMIC BURDEN
Challenging long-standing beliefs about the international burden of malaria, scientists have presented new information about the severity of malaria morbidity, mortality, and its economic toll in a supplement to The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/08/010806074841.htm
CHEMISTS PREDICT SILVER-FLUORINE SUPERCONDUCTIVITY
Two researchers at Cornell University are predicting that high-temperature superconductivity could exist in a class of exotic materials containing silver and fluorine. However, none of the materials has yet been made.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/08/010806074605.htm
MICROCHANNEL TECHNOLOGY BODES WELL FOR AMMONIA AS REFRIGERANT
Modern microchannel tube technology widely used in the automotive industry for heat exchangers offers an excellent opportunity to rethink the use of ammonia as a refrigerant, say scientists at the University of Illinois.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/08/010802081044.htm
HUMAN POPULATION GROWTH ALREADY SLOWING
Human population growth has turned "a very sharp corner" and is now slowing, on its way to leveling off in the next century, according to a study by University of Minnesota ecologist Clarence Lehman. He used new equations that take into account the accelerating effect population density has on per capita population growth at certain points in history--what is termed "positive feedback." The new equations show that the long-increasing human population growth rate began an abrupt decline in the 1970s, and these equations agree with recent work by demographers, Lehman said.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/08/010807080055.htm
ETHANOL FUEL FROM CORN FAULTED AS "UNSUSTAINABLE SUBSIDIZED FOOD BURNING" IN ANALYSIS BY CORNELL SCIENTIST
Neither increases in government subsidies to corn-based ethanol fuel nor hikes in the price of petroleum can overcome what one Cornell University agricultural scientist calls a fundamental input-yield problem: It takes more energy to make ethanol from grain than the combustion of ethanol produces.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/08/010808135444.htm
RESTORING WETLANDS MUCH MORE THAN "JUST ADD WATER"
Wetlands lost to agricultural development can be reflooded with relative ease, but they won't regain their former flora and fauna without a huge effort, according to research at the University of Minnesota. In what may be the largest study of wetlands restored in agricultural landscapes, Susan Galatowitsch, an associate professor of horticulture, and John Mulhouse, an assistant scientist in applied ecology, found that restored prairie potholes in southwest Minnesota, southeast South Dakota and northern Iowa were quickly colonized by waterfowl-dispersed plants but were slow to acquire a diverse plant community resembling the original wetlands.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/08/010808134428.htm
8/13/01
8:14:47 PM
The Case Of The Missing H-Bomb
by Jeffery St. Clair
Things go missing. It's to be expected. Even at the Pentagon. Last October, the Pentagon's inspector general reported that the military's accountants had misplaced a destroyer, several tanks and armored personnel carriers, hundreds of machine guns, rounds of ammo, grenade launchers and some surface-to-air missiles. In all, nearly $8 billion in weapons were AWOL.
Those anomalies are bad enough. But what's truly chilling is the fact that the Pentagon has lost track of the mother of all weapons, a hydrogen bomb. The thermonuclear weapon, designed to incinerate Moscow, has been sitting somewhere off the coast of Savannah, Georgia for the past 40 years. The Air Force has gone to greater lengths to conceal the mishap than to locate the bomb and secure it.
On the night of February 5, 1958 a B-47 Stratojet bomber carrying a hydrogen bomb on a night training flight off the Georgia coast collided with an F-86 Saberjet fighter at 36,000 feet. The collision destroyed the fighter and severely damaged a wing of the bomber, leaving one of its engines partially dislodged. The bomber's pilot, Maj. Howard Richardson, was instructed to jettison the H-bomb before attempting a landing. Richardson dropped the bomb into the shallow waters of Warsaw Sound, near the mouth of the Savannah River, a few miles from the city of Tybee Island, where he believed the bomb would be swiftly recovered.
The Pentagon recorded the incident in a top secret memo to the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission. The memo has been partially declassified: "A B-47 aircraft with a [word redacted] nuclear weapon aboard was damaged in a collision with an F-86 aircraft near Sylvania, Georgia, on February 5, 1958. The B-47 aircraft attempted three times unsuccessfully to land with the weapon. The weapon was then jettisoned visually over water off the mouth of the Savannah River. No detonation was observed."
Soon search and rescue teams were sent to the site. Warsaw Sound was mysteriously cordoned off by Air Force troops. For six weeks, the Air Force looked for the bomb without success. Underwater divers scoured the depths, troops tromped through nearby salt marshes, and a blimp hovered over the area attempting to spot a hole or crater in the beach or swamp. Then just a month later, the search was abruptly halted. The Air Force sent its forces to Florence, South Carolina, where another H-bomb had been accidentally dropped by a B-47. The bomb's 200 pounds of TNT exploded on impact, sending radioactive debris across the landscape. The explosion caused extensive property damage and several injuries on the ground. Fortunately, the nuke itself didn't detonate.
The search teams never returned to Tybee Island, and the affair of the missing H-bomb was discreetly covered up. The end of the search was noted in a partially declassified memo from the Pentagon to the AEC, in which the Air Force politely requested a new H-bomb to replace the one it had lost. "The search for this weapon was discontinued on 4-16-58 and the weapon is considered irretrievably lost. It is requested that one [phrase redacted] weapon be made available for release to the DOD as a replacement."
There was a big problem, of course, and the Pentagon knew it. In the first three months of 1958 alone, the Air Force had four major accidents involving H-bombs. (Since 1945, the United States has lost 11 nuclear weapons.) The Tybee Island bomb remained a threat, as the AEC acknowledged in a June 10, 1958 classified memo to Congress: "There exists the possibility of accidental discovery of the unrecovered weapon through dredging or construction in the probable impact area. ... The Department of Defense has been requested to monitor all dredging and construction activities."
But the wizards of Armageddon saw it less as a security, safety or ecological problem, than a potential public relations disaster that could turn an already paranoid population against their ambitious nuclear project. The Pentagon and the AEC tried to squelch media interest in the issue by a doling out a morsel of candor and a lot of misdirection. In a joint statement to the press, the Defense Department and the AEC admitted that radioactivity could be "scattered" by the detonation of the high explosives in the H-bombs. But the letter downplayed possibility of that ever happening: "The likelihood that a particular accident would involve a nuclear weapon is extremely limited."
In fact, that scenario had already occurred and would occur again.
That's where the matter stood for more than 42 years until a deep sea salvage company, run by former Air Force personnel and a CIA agent, disclosed the existence of the bomb and offered to locate it for a million dollars. Along with recently declassified documents, the disclosure prompted fear and outrage among coastal residents and calls for a congressional investigation into the incident itself and why the Pentagon had stopped looking for the missing bomb. "We're horrified because some of that information has been covered up for years," says Rep. Jack Kingston, a Georgia Republican.
The cover-up continues. The Air Force, however, has told local residents and the congressional delegation that there was nothing to worry about. "We've looked into this particular issue from all angles and we're very comfortable," says Major Gen. Franklin J. "Judd" Blaisdell, deputy chief of staff for air and space operations at Air Force headquarters in Washington. "Our biggest concern is that of localized heavy metal contamination."
The Air Force even has suggested that the bomb itself was not armed with a plutonium trigger. But this contention is disputed by a number of factors. Howard Dixon, a former Air Force sergeant who specialized in loading nuclear weapons onto planes, said that in his 31 years of experience he never once remembered a bomb being put on a plane that wasn't fully armed. Moreover, a newly declassified 1966 congressional testimony of W.J. Howard, then assistant secretary of defense, describes the Tybee Island bomb as a "complete weapon, a bomb with a nuclear capsule." Howard said that the Tybee Island bomb was one of two weapons lost up to that time that contained a plutonium trigger.
Recently declassified documents show that the jettisoned bomb was an "Mk-15, Mod O" hydrogen bomb, weighing four tons and packing more than 100 times the explosive punch of the one that incinerated Hiroshima. This was the first thermonuclear weapon deployed by the Air Force and featured the relatively primitive design created by that evil genius Edward Teller. The only fail-safe for this weapon was the physical separation of the plutonium capsule (or pit) from the weapon.
In addition to the primary nuclear capsule, the bomb also harbored a secondary nuclear explosive, or sparkplug, designed to make it go thermo. This is a hollow plug about an inch in diameter made of either plutonium or highly enriched uranium (the Pentagon has never said which) that is filled with fusion fuel, most likely lithium-6 deuteride. Lithium is highly reactive in water. The plutonium in the bomb was manufactured at the Hanford Nuclear Site in Washington State and would be the oldest in the United States. That's bad news: Plutonium gets more dangerous as it ages. In addition, the bomb would contain other radioactive materials, such as uranium and beryllium.
The bomb is also charged with 400 pounds of TNT, designed to cause the plutonium trigger to implode and thus start the nuclear explosion. As the years go by, those high explosives are becoming flaky, brittle and sensitive. The bomb is most likely now buried in 5 to 15 feet of sand and slowly leaking radioactivity into the rich crabbing grounds of the Warsaw Sound. If the Pentagon can't find the Tybee Island bomb, others might. That's the conclusion of Bert Soleau, a former CIA officer who now works with ASSURE, the salvage company. Soleau, a chemical engineer, says that it wouldn't be hard for terrorists to locate the weapon and recover the lithium, beryllium and enriched uranium, "the essential building blocks of nuclear weapons." What to do? Coastal residents want the weapon located and removed. "Plutonium is a nightmare and their own people know it," says Pam O'Brien, an anti-nuke organizer from Douglassville, Georgia. "It can get in everything--your eyes, your bones, your gonads. You never get over it. They need to get that thing out of there."
The situation is reminiscent of the Palomares incident. On January 16, 1966, a B-52 bomber, carrying four hydrogen bombs, crashed while attempting to refuel in mid-air above the Spanish coast. Three of the H-bombs landed near the coastal farming village of Palomares. One of the bombs landed in a dry creek bed and was recovered, battered but relatively intact. But the TNT in two of the bombs exploded, gouging 10-foot holes in the ground and showering uranium and plutonium over a vast area. Over the next three months, more than 1,400 tons of radioactive soil and vegetation was scooped up, placed in barrels and, ironically enough, shipped back to the Savannah River Nuclear Weapons Lab, where it remains. The tomato fields near the craters were burned and buried. But there's no question that due to strong winds and other factors much of the contaminated soil was simply left in the area. "The total extent of the spread will never be known," concluded a 1975 report by the Defense Nuclear Agency.
The cleanup was a joint operation between Air Force personnel and members of the Spanish civil guard. The U.S. workers wore protective clothing and were monitored for radiation exposure, but similar precautions weren't taken for their Spanish counterparts. "The Air Force was unprepared to provide adequate detection and monitoring for personnel when an aircraft accident occurred involving plutonium weapons in a remote area of a foreign country," the Air Force commander in charge of the cleanup later testified to Congress.
The fourth bomb landed eight miles offshore and was missing for several months. It was eventually located by a mini-submarine in 2,850 feet of water, where it rests to this day.
Two years later, on January 21, 1968, a similar accident occurred when a B-52 caught fire in flight above Greenland and crashed in ice-covered North Star Bay near the Thule Air Base. The impact detonated the explosives in all four of the plane's H-bombs, which scattered uranium, tritium and plutonium over a 2,000-foot radius. The intense fire melted a hole in the ice, which then refroze, encapsulating much of the debris, including the thermonuclear assembly from one of the bombs. The recovery operation, conducted in near total darkness at temperatures that plunged to minus-70 degrees, was known as Project Crested Ice. But the work crews called it "Dr. Freezelove."
More than 10,000 tons of snow and ice were cut away, put into barrels and transported to Savannah River and Oak Ridge for disposal. Other radioactive debris was simply left on site, to melt into the bay after the spring thaws. More than 3,000 workers helped in the Thule recovery effort, many of them Danish soldiers. As at Palomares, most of the American workers were offered some protective gear, but not the Danes, who did much of the most dangerous work, including filling the barrels with the debris, often by hand. The decontamination procedures were primitive to say the least. An Air Force report noted that they were cleansed "by simply brushing the snow from garments and vehicles."
Even though more than 38 Navy ships were called to assist in the recovery operation, and it was an open secret that the bombs had been lost, the Pentagon continued to lie about the situation. In one contentious exchange with the press, a Pentagon spokesman uttered this classic bit of military doublespeak: "I don't know of any missing bomb, but we have not positively identified what I think you are looking for."
When Danish workers at Thule began to get sick from a slate of illnesses, ranging from rare cancers to blood disorders, the Pentagon refused to help. Even after a 1987 epidemiological study by a Danish medical institute showed that Thule workers were 50 percent more likely to develop cancers than other members of the Danish military, the Pentagon still refused to cooperate. Later that year, 200 of the workers sued the United States under the Foreign Military Claims Act. The lawsuit was dismissed, but the discovery process revealed thousands of pages of secret documents about the incident, including the fact that Air Force workers at the site, unlike the Danes, have not been subject to long-term health monitoring. Even so, the Pentagon continues to keep most of the material on the Thule incident secret, including any information on the extent of the radioactive (and other toxic) contamination.
These recovery efforts don't inspire much confidence. But the Tybee Island bomb presents an even touchier situation. The presence of the unstable lithium deuteride and the deteriorating high explosives make retrieval of the bomb a very dangerous proposition--so dangerous, in fact, that even some environmentalists and anti-nuke activists argue that it might present less of a risk to leave the bomb wherever it is.
In short, there aren't any easy answers. The problem is exacerbated by the Pentagon's failure to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the situation and reluctance to fully disclose what it knows. "I believe the plutonium capsule is in the bomb, but that a nuclear detonation is improbable because the neutron generators used back then were polonium-beryllium, which has a very short half-life," says Don Moniak, a nuclear weapons expert with the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League in Aiken, South Carolina. "Without neutrons, weapons grade plutonium won't blow. However, there could be a fission or criticality event if the plutonium was somehow put in an incorrect configuration. There could be a major inferno if the high explosives went off and the lithium deuteride reacted as expected. Or there could just be an explosion that scattered uranium and plutonium all over hell."
Oops, You May Be Glowing
It hasn't been an easy couple of years for the Department of Energy: contaminated workers, nuclear fuel rods misplaced (or lost), Hanford continuing to leak its immortal poison into the Columbia River, the Wen Ho Lee debacle, embarrassing contempt citations for the cover-up at Colorado's Rocky Flats, campaign finance scandals, contractors screwing things up royally then declaring bankruptcy and on and on. So for the past few months, the agency, anxious to be at the center of the Bush nuclear project, which runs the gamut from new nuclear power plants to another round of underground nuclear weapons testing, has been in full image-polishing mode.
As part of this new PR rehab program, the DOE is allowing the public and the press into places that previously had been as difficult to access as Area 51. But when the secretive Savannah River nuclear site opened its gates for a public tour on July 9, things didn't quite turn out as planned.
Savannah River, the big DOE waste dump/weapons complex in South Carolina, has had its own share of problems, including a massive spill of highly radioactive tritium into the Savannah River in 1991. Plant managers are trying to ease public anxiety enough so that the DOE can go forward with a Clinton-era plan to build a mixed-oxide fuel fabrication plant, a ludicrously dangerous scheme that involves the reprocessing of 36 tons of weapons-grade plutonium into fuel for commercial nuclear reactors.
The 25-person tour of the site included reporters, environmentalists and neighbors of the plant. The tour was supposed to highlight the DOE's newly tightened operations. But it turned out to reveal just how dangerously slipshod the agency remains. After the tour group left the site's F-Area "tank farm," where the most highly radioactive waste is stored in underground tanks, Savannah River workers failed to monitor the group for radiation exposure. "This was an appalling breach of safety standards," says Tom Clements, head of the Nuclear Control Institute, who was on the tour.
Savannah River managers admit the mistake, but blame it on a logistical screw-up. "We never intended for them to get off the bus there," says Rick Ford, a spokesman for the DOE.
This is refreshingly candid, but far from reassuring. JSC
Source: http://www.inthesetimes.com/web2519/stclair2519.html
8/13/01
7:54:24 PM
UTNE WEB WATCH
The Best of the Alternative Web
THE CASE OF THE MISSING H – BOMB
by Jeffrey St. Clair, In These Times.com
-- Oops! The Pentagon lost a hydrogen bomb off the coast of Georgia. But don't worry, it's only 100 times as powerful as the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, and we have plenty more where that came from.
RESEARCHERS TO HAVE THE FINAL SAY
Associate Press hosted on InteliHealth
-- Concerned about the power drug companies wield over the content of the studies they fund, top medical journals are about to turn the reins back over to the researchers.
RADIO FREE BELGRADE
book review of This Is Serbia Calling, by Joshua Kucera, Freezerbox
-- As the Balkan states erupted into a ghastly inferno of ethnic cleansing, war, greed, and power struggles, one Serbian radio station stood independent amid the rule of a notorious war criminal.
Links to the above articles: http://www.utne.com/webwatch
8/13/01
7:52:28 PM
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