Earths.net

2/10/01
1:54:16 PM

WILD ALERT

For the past three years, the oil and gas industry has been fighting to open up nearly 370,000 acres of the Bridger-Teton National Forest, in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, to oil and gas development. But the Forest Service has proposed setting aside that land because of its outstanding wildlife and recreation values. Now the Forest Service needs to hear from you. Take action today at

http://www.wilderness.org/ccc/northrockies/bt.htm .

WORLD FAMOUS HABITAT AT RISK The Bridger-Teton National Forest, bordering Yellowstone National Park in northwest Wyoming, is world famous for its blue ribbon trout streams winding through lush valleys, complete with vast herds of elk. These lands are home to some of the rarest and most vulnerable animals in the lower 48 states, including grizzly bear, gray wolf, and Canada lynx.

In a recent far-sighted move, the U.S. Forest Service has proposed putting one of the last unprotected wild places on the Bridger-Teton, covering 370,000 acres, off limits to oil and gas industrialization. The public overwhelmingly supports this proposal, known as the "No Lease" alternative in the draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for Oil and Gas Development. In fact, 98% of the more than 2,500 comments received during the "scoping" phase of this process supported the "No Lease" alternative.

BIG OIL MOVES IN For the last three years, the oil and gas industry has been fighting hard to open up those lands, larger than neighboring Grand Teton National Park, to oil and gas development. Drill rigs, accompanied by a maze of roads and power lines, already have fractured many of the last best places in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

Now, emboldened by allies in the new Bush administration, Big Oil is working harder than ever to reverse this proposal. The oil and gas industry is putting immense pressure on Senator Craig Thomas (R-WY) to actively oppose the proposal, a role he has chosen not to take in the past.

WHAT'S AT STAKE? The wildlands that industry wants to industrialize include Moccasin Basin, just 35 miles from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, which contains key grizzly bear habitat and crucial big game winter range. Also included are the Hoback Basin, south of Jackson Hole, and the Union Pass and Upper Green River areas, adjacent to both the Gros Ventre and Bridger Wilderness areas. This territory includes several blue ribbon trout streams and four rivers eligible for National Wild and Scenic River designation.

PROPOSAL DESERVES SUPPORT At the end of the last year, the Forest Service released the DEIS, listing several "alternatives," or management possibilities. A comment period runs through February 28th.

This decision -- which you can help shape -- will set a precedent for the future management of our national forests: Will our public lands be managed mainly for industrial-scale resource extraction and production? Or are some places simply more important for wildlife, clean water and recreation?

The Forest Service is trying to protect this last slice of wild country in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. It needs and deserves your support.

TAKE ACTION Only through an emphatic show of support from citizens nationwide for the Forest Service proposal will the "No Lease" proposal hold. Send your comments *by February 28* from

http://www.wilderness.org/ccc/northrockies/bt.htm

or send them directly:

- Tell the Forest Service you support the "No Lease" Alternative #4 in the draft EIS for Oil & Gas Development on the Bridger-Teton National Forest.

- These wildlands are far too valuable as rich wildlife habitat, healthy fisheries, and recreation lands. They deserve to be protected for our children.

Send your comments to: Supervisor Kniffy Hamilton, Bridger-Teton National Forest Attn: Oil & Gas DEIS, P.O. Box 1888, Jackson, WY 83001 EMAIL: mailroom_r4_bridger_teton@fs.fed.us FAX: (307) 739-5010

Also send a copy of your comments to Wyoming Senator Craig Thomas, who needs to hear that the American people want this spectacular place protected: Senator Craig Thomas U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. 20510 EMAIL: craig@thomas.senate.gov FAX: (202) 224-1724

FOR MORE INFORMATION Bridger-Teton National Forest web site: http://www.fs.fed.us/btnf/oilandgas/oil&gas.htm

SAMPLE LETTERS Supervisor Kniffy Hamilton, Bridger-Teton National Forest Attn: Oil & Gas DEIS, P.O. Box 1888, Jackson, WY 83001

Dear Supervisor Hamilton: I support the B-T's proposed "No Lease" alternative #4 in the draft EIS for Oil and Gas Development. These wildlands are far too valuable as rich wildlife habitat, healthy fisheries and recreation lands. Please continue your strong efforts to safeguard these lands for our children by issuing a "No Lease" final decision.

Thank you for your work.

Honorable Craig Thomas U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Senator Thomas: I support the Bridger-Teton National Forest's proposed "No Lease" alternative #4 in the draft EIS for Oil and Gas Development. These wildlands are far too valuable as rich wildlife habitat, healthy fisheries and recreation lands. I urge you to support the B-T in its efforts to safeguard this land for future generations.

Sincerely,

For a full list of Action Items, visit http://www.wilderness.org/whatcan/takeaction.htm

An archive of past WildAlerts can be found at

http://www.wilderness.org/wildalert/wildalerts.htm

2/10/01
1:50:53 PM

Environment Globalization Wiping Out Languages, Natural Links

NAIROBI, Kenya, February 8, 2001 (ENS) - Native farmers high in the Andean mountains grow abundant yields of potatoes and quinoa despite floods, frosts, and droughts. They use a system of terraces, canals and raised fields that evolved over 3,000 years ago.

The Turkana tribe of Kenya plans crop planting around knowledge of the behavior of frogs and birds, such as the ground hornbill, spotted eagle owl and nightjar, which are revered as "prophets of rain."

The Aka pygmies of the Central African Republic use plants to cure many of their most common illnesses. Several plants are known and used to treat the same disease. Because they grow in different types of forest, the pygmies can cure themselves when travelling.

A new report carried out on behalf of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) warns that such indigenous systems for environmentally harmonious living may soon be lost forever as a result of growing globalization.

The study, based on work by hundreds of academics, claims many indigenous languages and cultures are already teetering on the brink of extinction in the face of globalization.

Entitled, "Cultural and Spiritual Values of Biodiversity: A Complementary Contribution to the Global Biodiversity Assessment," it was edited by Professor Darrell Addison Posey of the Federal University of Maranhao, Sao Luis, Brazil, and the Oxford Centre for the Environment, Ethics and Society at Mansfield College, University of Oxford, in Britain.

The study was presented Wednesday at the UNEP Governing Council meeting in Nairobi.

UNEP executive director Klaus Toepfer said, "The freeing up of markets around the world may well be the key to economic growth in rich and poor countries alike. But this must not happen at the expense of the thousands of indigenous cultures and their traditions."

"Indigenous peoples not only have a right to preserve their way of life. But they also hold vital knowledge on the animals and plants with which they live. Enshrined in their cultures and customs are also secrets of how to manage habitats and the land in environmentally friendly, sustainable, ways," he said.

Much of this knowledge is not written down but is passed from generation to generation orally, in art works or in the designs of handicrafts such as baskets. Losing a language and its cultural context is like burning a unique reference book of the natural world.

New sources of medicines are being lost as a result of the decline of indigenous languages, cultures and traditions.

Many indigenous peoples have intimate, local, knowledge of herbs, trees and flowers and parts of animals, and their use as medicines which could give clues to new drugs for humanity. They know the right part of the plant to pick and the season in which to harvest these natural medicines to obtain the maximum amount of benefit.

This knowledge is expressed in ritual, ceremony and magic. Culture, language, religion, psychology and spiritual beliefs are inseparable from their understanding of the natural world.

But as indigenous languages disappear, the environmental wisdom they were used to articulate also disappears.

There are an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 spoken languages in the world with 4,000 to 5,000 of these classed as indigenous. More than 2,500 are in danger of immediate extinction and many more are losing their link with the natural world.

Over 1,000 languages are spoken by between 101 and 1,000 individuals. A further 553 are spoken by fewer than 100 people.

Some researchers estimate that over the next 100 years 90 percent of the world's languages will have become extinct or virtually extinct - 234 have already died out.

Toepfer believes that more urgent action is needed to safeguard indigenous cultures and their knowledge.

There are some international mechanisms in place that could be those safeguards. The World Trade Organization has provisions that allow countries to develop intellectual property rights which may give indigenous peoples new ways to protect plant species they have nurtured from exploitation by bioprospectors.

The Convention on Biological Diversity has recently developed a mechanism which allows signatory nations to address inadequacies in the area of intellectual property rights. It will help develop guidelines on how to create better laws to protect indigenous communities.

Professor Posey's report offers key reasons why the environment will benefit by conserving native cultures, a task he says should be "urgently addressed."

Indigenous peoples' traditional economic systems have a relatively low impact on biological diversity because they tend to utilize a great diversity of species, harvesting small numbers of each of them. "By comparison settlers and commercial harvesters target far fewer species and collect or breed them in vast numbers, changing the structure of ecosystems," the report finds.

This pattern is increasing the threat of crop failures across the globe as the world's major crops become more genetically uniform.

The report cites work by UNEP's World Conservation Monitoring Centre in Cambridge, England, and other researchers on the disappearance of diversity in common crops. For instance, there were 287 varieties of carrot in 1903, but just 21 varieties today - a fall of 92.7 per cent. Nearly 500 varieties of lettuce were catalogued in 1900, but only 36 remain today.

Indigenous peoples try to increase the biological diversity of the territories in which they live, the report documents. They leave a large margin of error in their seasonal forecasts for the abundance of plants and animals, deliberately underestimating the harvestable surplus of each target species.

"Since indigenous knowledge of ecosystems is learned and updated through direct observations on the land, removing the people from the land breaks the generation to generation cycle," the report says.

Publication of the study coincides with the beginning of the United Nations International Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations which aims to highlight the difficulties facing indigenous cultures.

2/10/01
1:49:07 PM

ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE (ENS)

http://ens-news.com

"We Cover the Earth For You"

UNEP AIMS FOR STRONGER GLOBAL ROLE

NAIROBI, Kenya, February 9, 2001 (ENS) - The Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has ended its latest biannual meeting Nairobi with agreement to strengthen the agency with a view to developing it into a global environmental governance body.

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens-news.com/ens/feb2001/2001L-02-09-02.html

CANADIAN GOVERNMENT FAILS TO PROTECT WILD SALMON

OTTAWA, Canada, February 9, 2001 (ENS) - In a review of British Columbia's salmon farming industry, Canada's auditor general has concluded that the federal government is not protecting the wild salmon population from farmed fish.

For full text and graphics, visit: http://ens.lycos.com/ens/feb2001/2001L-02-09-10.html

BAJA TOWNS STRUGGLE AFTER SAVING WHALE SANCTUARY

MEXICO CITY, Mexico, February 9, 2001 (ENS) - Communities surrounding Laguna San Ignacio in Baja, Mexico, will receive money from environmental groups that helped stop a plan to convert the last undisturbed nursery for the Pacific gray whale into the world's largest industrial salt facility.

For full text and graphics, visit: http://ens.lycos.com/ens/feb2001/2001L-02-09-12.html

RAPTORS BETTER PROTECTED IN UK's NORTH PENNINES

LONDON, United Kingdom, February 9, 2001 (ENS) - The United Kingdom has created its largest Special Protection Area to cover more than 147,000 hectares of internationally important bird habitats in the North Pennine Moors.

For full text and graphics, visit: http://ens.lycos.com/ens/feb2001/2001L-02-09-11.html

ARGENTINA WILL POWER THE FUTURE WITH WIND

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, February 9, 2001 (ENS) - A wind energy production proposal has been presented to the Argentine government by the Spanish companies Endesa and Elecnor. If the proposal is accepted, within a decade, 15 percent of the total Argentine energy needs, some 3,000 megawatts, could be produced by wind power.

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens-news.com/ens/feb2001/2001L-02-09-01.html

ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE AMERISCAN: FEBRUARY 9, 2001

Texas Citizen Suit Settled With Crown Central Petroleum

Scientists Discover New Keys to Arctic Ozone Loss

Energy Efficiency Could Decrease Demand by 40 Percent

California Logging Waste to Be Burned for Power

Los Angeles is Planting Trees to Save Energy

Landfill Gas To Energy Project Earns Award

Missouri Dam Reform Delay Ignores Endangered Species

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens-news.com/ens/feb2001/2001L-02-09-09.html

HEALING OUR WORLD: WEEKLY COMMENT By Jackie Alan Giuliano, Ph.D.

Energy Crisis or Greed Crisis?

Whatever the cause of the current energy crisis, a major goal of the new conservative administration in Washington has been achieved. Air quality controls have been suspended and the stage has been set for massive industrial expansion.

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens-news.com/ens/feb2001/2001L-02-09g.html

SEND NEWS STORY TIPS TO news@ens-news.com

TO FORESTRY AND ENVIRONMENT EDITORS:

Alliance Forest Products Inc. Receives Major National Forest Management Award

MONTREAL, Canada, Feb. 9 -/E-Wire/-- Alliance Forest Products Inc. is pleased to announce that it received the "Forest Stewardship Recognition Award", under the Eastern Canadian companies category, from Wildlife Habitat Canada. The Company earned this award for the extensive application since 1995 of an innovative forest harvesting method known as mosaic cutting.

/CONTACT: Georges Cabana, Senior Vice-President, Human Resources and Public Affairs,(514) 954-2101/

/Web site: http://www.alliance-forest.com /

For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Feb01/09Feb0106.html

TO ENVIRONMENTAL EDITORS:

Without Bears and Wolves to Hunt Them, Yellowstone Moose Have Lost Some Spring in their Step, Study Says

BRONX, NY, Feb. 9 -/E-Wire/-- As people learn to live with grizzly bears and wolves that have recolonized areas around southern Yellowstone National Park after a 50-year absence, so too must moose, which apparently have forgotten to recognize predators, according to a study funded by the Bronx Zoo-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

/CONTACT: STEPHEN SAUTNER (718-220-3682; ssautner@wcs.org; JOHN DELANEY: (718-220-3275; jdelaney@wcs.org)/

/Web site: http://www.wcs.org/

For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Feb01/09Feb0105.html

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, TO ENVIRONMENTAL EDITORS:

Experts Battle Over Global Warming Climate Change Policy Exposes Different Opinions, Approach

WASHINGTON, DC, Feb. 9 -/E-Wire/-- Sharp differences on the direction of climate change policy and the future of a controversial international treaty aimed reducing greenhouse gas emissions were hotly debated yesterday at a National Press Club forum sponsored by Freedom 21. Freedom 21 is a coalition of organizations aimed at advancing the principles of freedom in local communities, Washington, and throughout the world. (www.freedom21.org)

/CONTACT: Maureen O'Brien,(202) 466-7391 ext. 1106 or mobrien@pcgpr.com/

/Web site: http://www.freedom21.org http://www.pcgpr.com/

For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Feb01/09Feb0104.html

TO ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL EDITORS:

Global Survey Finds Wind Energy's Explosive Expansion Continuing Industry Added Enough Generation in 2000 To Supply 1.3 Million California Households

WASHINGTON, DC, Feb. 9 -/E-Wire/-- The worldwide boom in wind energy slowed a bit during the year 2000, but still remained strong, with some 3,500 megawatts (MW) being installed, or enough to supply roughly 1.3 million California households with 3.5 million people, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) said today.

/CONTACT: Tom Gray (802)649-2112, Christine Real de Azua (202) 383-2508/

/Web site: http://www.awea.org/

For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Feb01/09Feb0103.html

TO ENVIRONMENTAL EDITORS:

Conservation Lawsuit Files to Stop Potomac River Projects

WASHINGTON, DC, Feb. 9 -/E-Wire/-- The National Wilderness Institute (NWI), a Washington-based conservation organization filed suit this week against five Federal departments and agencies, charging that they have failed to enforce the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in approving Potomac River projects.

/CONTACT: Rob Gordon or Jim Streeter @ (703) 836-7404, Larry Hart (202) 547-1175/

/Web site: http://www.nwi.org/

For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Feb01/09Feb0102.html

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Advanced Communications Technologies to Acquire US Venture Capital Company -- Beneventure Capital

LOS ANGELES, CA, Feb. 9 -/E-Wire/-- Advanced Communications Technologies Inc. (OTCBB:ADVC - news; ACT-USA) today announced that it had entered into an agreement with Dr. Gil Amelio and Beneventure Capital, LLC to acquire 100% of the stock in Beneventure Capital, LLC.

/CONTACT: Advanced Communications Technologies, Roger May, 011.61.3.9672.8888, CEO (in Australia), Mobile: 011.61.411 189 931, actusa2000@aol.com; Jeremy Norton, 949/622-5566 or 949/500-6288,(Vice President of International Business Development), jeremyn@adcomtech.net/

/Web site: http://www.beneventure.com http://www.act-usa.net/

For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Feb01/09Feb0101.html

SEND YOUR PRESS RELEASE ON E-WIRE -- 1-888-764-NEWS

2/10/01
1:44:02 PM

ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE (ENS)

http://ens-news.com

"We Cover the Earth For You"

BRITISH COLUMBIA BANS GIZZLY HUNT FOR THREE YEARS

By Neville Judd

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Canada, February 8, 2001 (ENS) - British Columbia has announced a three year moratorium on grizzly bear hunting, to allow scientists to establish a definitive count of the grizzlies in the province.

For full text and graphics, visit: http://ens.lycos.com/ens/feb2001/2001L-02-08-11.html

EUROPEAN UNION AGREES TO CLIMATE TALKS DELAY

BRUSSELS, Belgium, February 8, 2001 (ENS) - European Union countries have accepted a demand by the United States and allied countries to push back the date of the next formal attempt to finalize the 1997 UN Kyoto climate protocol from May to July.

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens-news.com/ens/feb2001/2001L-02-08-02.html

GLOBALIZATION WIPING OUT LANGUAGES, NATURAL LINKS

NAIROBI, Kenya, February 8, 2001 (ENS) - Native farmers high in the Andes mountains grow abundant yields of potatoes and quinoa despite floods, frosts, and droughts. They use a system of terraces, canals and raised fields that evolved over 3,000 years ago.

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens-news.com/ens/feb2001/2001L-02-08-01.html

IWC CONSIDERS RESUMING COMMERCIAL WHALE HUNT

MONACO, February 8, 2001 (ENS) - After a 15 year moratorium, commercial whaling could resume under a scheme being considered by the the International Whaling Commission at its inter-sessional meeting in Monaco this week.

For full text and graphics, visit: http://ens.lycos.com/ens/feb2001/2001L-02-08-10.html

GUIDE RANKS GREENEST AND MEANEST VEHICLES OF 2001

By Brian Hansen

WASHINGTON, DC, February 8, 2001 (ENS) - Shopping for a new set of wheels? When it comes to cars and the environment, there are both "green" models" and "mean" models to chose from on dealer showroom floors this year, says a new consumer guidebook unveiled today.

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens-news.com/ens/feb2001/2001L-02-08-15.html

SOOT CALLED MAJOR CAUSE OF GLOBAL WARMING

STANFORD, California, February 8, 2001 (ENS) - Soot, the familiar black residue that coats fireplaces and darkens truck exhaust, may be a leading cause of global warming. A study in the current issue of the journal "Nature" indicates that soot may be the second biggest contributor to global warming - just behind the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens.lycos.com/ens/feb2001/2001L-02-08-06.html

U.S. WILDLIFE REFUGES FACING MAJOR THREATS

By Cat Lazaroff

WASHINGTON, DC, February 8, 2001 (ENS) - The National Wildlife Refuge System is in a state of crisis, warns the National Audubon Society. In a new report, the group warns of dire problems facing refuges around the country, ranging from chemical pollutants to invasive species, and calls for immediate measures to protect these natural oases and the species that rely on them.

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens-news.com/ens/feb2001/2001L-02-08-07.html

ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE AMERISCAN: FEBRUARY 8, 2001

Human Viruses Found in California Coastal Waters

Washington DC Commuter Bridge Challenged by Lawsuit

Energy Department Seeks Projects To Improve Power Plants

Air Quality Models Need Improvement

Rockies Ecosystem Bill Reintroduced

Turner Foundation Funds Water Protection Projects

Alexander Skutch Honored for Costa Rican Conservation

Website Answers Climate Questions

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens.lycos.com/ens/feb2001/2001L-02-08-09.html

SEND NEWS STORY TIPS TO news@ens-news.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

New Executive Appointment - Dr. Gilbert Amelio -Director/Management Consultant of Advanced Communications Technologies Inc.

New Director Appointed to ACT-Australia and Australon Limited (ASX: AUR)

IRVINE, CA, Feb. 8 -/E-Wire/-- Advanced Communications Technologies, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: ADVC - news; ACT-US) today announced that the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Apple Computer Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL - news), Dr. Gilbert F. Amelio, has agreed to join the board of directors of Advanced Communications Technologies Inc.

/CONTACT: Jeremy Norton, 949-622-5566/

/Web site: http://www.act-usa.net/

For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Feb01/08Feb0105.html

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

PDC Innovative Industries By Request Adds Larger Sterile Box to Product Mix

CORAL SPRINGS, FL, Feb. 8 -/E-Wire/-- PDC Innovative Industries Inc. (The Company) (OTCBB:PDCI - news) announced today it will start immediately to construct a prototype of a larger sterile box 2000 with tailored alternatives as requested by certain medical sites, based on reports from Clearlake Financial Corp., President Ron Epstein at a meeting last Thursday in Coral Springs.

/CONTACT: PDC Innovative Industries Inc., Coral Springs, David Sowers, 954/341-0092/

/Web site: http://www.pdcinnovative.com/

For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Feb01/08Feb0104.html

TO BUSINESS, ENVIRONMENTAL AND ENERGY EDITORS:

Ionic Fuel Technology, Inc. Announces Fiscal Year 2001 Second Quarter and Six Months Results

Revenues Nearly Double From Comparable Periods of Fiscal Year 2000

Positive Contribution from All Revenue Activities Produces Gross Margin of 28 Percent in Fiscal Year 2001 Second Quarter

ESSEX, England, Feb. 8 -/E-Wire/-- Ionic Fuel Technology, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: IFTI) today announced that revenues in the second fiscal quarter ending December 31, 2000 were $332,645 as compared to $167,925 for the same period last year, an increase of 98 percent. The gross profit, defined as revenues less cost of revenues, for the second fiscal quarter of 2001 was $95,002 producing a 28 percent gross margin. This compares to a gross profit of $12,083 reported in the second fiscal quarter last year. All revenue activities, IFT Sales, IFT Rentals and Engineering, made positive gross margin contributions.

/CONTACT: Europe - Tony Garner of Ionic Fuel Technology, 011-44-1268-491409; or North America - Barry Morris of Morris Capital Markets Communications, LLC, 212-687-9707, for Ionic Fuel Technology/

/Web site: http://www.ionicfuel.co.uk/

For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Feb01/08Feb0102.html

TO ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT EDITORS:

California Power Crisis: Impacting the Green Power Market

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, USA, Feb. 8 -/E-Wire/-- A national green power non-profit has pooled industry experts and resources to provide an accurate overview of the California energy crisis and its effect on green power choice in the state. The Center for Resources Solutions in San Francisco has put together a striking summary of facts that affected California's green power market and also has recruited leading energy authorities to document events leading to the California energy crisis.

/CONTACT: The Center for Resources Solutions, Keri Bolding, 415/561-2100, kbolding@resource-solutions.org/

/Web site: http://www.resources-solutions.org/

For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Feb01/08Feb0103.html

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

John Turner Probable Interior Department Choice

WASHINGTON, DC, Feb. 8 -/E-Wire/-- Mr. John "Czar" Turner may be named today Deputy Secretary of the Interior, the department's #2 position and a post from which he is expected to effectively control the Interior Department's operations.

/CONTACT: michael hardiman, lobbyist, American Land Rights Association, 202-251-3473, mike@hardimanconsulting.com/

/Web site: http://www.landrights.org/

For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Feb01/08Feb0101.html

SEND YOUR PRESS RELEASE ON E-WIRE -- 1-888-764-NEWS

2/10/01
1:40:53 PM

FAIR

Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting

Media analysis, critiques and news reports

ACTION ALERT: New York Times Covering for Colombian Death Squads

February 9, 2001

The human rights situation in Colombia is in a state of "alarming degradation," according to United Nations human rights observers (Associated Press, 1/20/01), but you won't learn about it in the New York Times.

According to a joint report from Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), "political violence has markedly increased" since the first installment of the U.S.'s $1.3 billion Plan Colombia aid package was dispersed in August, with the average number of deaths from combat and political violence rising to 14 per day ("Colombia Human Rights Certification II", 1/01).

There were at least 27 massacres in the month of January alone, claiming the lives of as many as 200 civilians. The killings are overwhelmingly the work of right-wing paramilitaries with close ties to the Colombian military, such as the Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC).

Despite the dramatic nature of the attacks and the U.S.'s heavy financial involvement in the war, the New York Times did not report on a single massacre during the month of January. The findings of the human rights groups' "Certification" report, including its recommendation that the U.S. cease military funding to Colombia, also went unmentioned.

Far from documenting the recent wave of paramilitary terror, the Times has told precisely the opposite story. Juan Forero's January 22 dispatch from the city of Barrancabermeja, headlined "Paramilitaries Adjust Attack Strategies," gave a highly distorted version of events.

Forero claims that "the militia members are killing fewer people than the rebels, who have responded to the threat in neighborhoods they long controlled with a furious assault on those they accuse of supporting the paramilitaries," and that the New Granada battalion of the Colombian military "is sending specially trained urban commandos into the neighborhoods to restore order."

The notion that the rebels in Barrancabermeja have been responsible for more killings than the paramilitaries contradicts all available evidence. A recent dispatch from Inter Press Service (1/15/01) reported that "one of the top complaints of human rights groups in the [Barrancabermeja] area is that a leading cause of violence is the attitude of the armed forces, which have facilitated-- by inaction or omission-- the advance of the paramilitaries, who are responsible for 80 percent of the massacres perpetrated in and around the city, according to several reports."

In fact, less than a month before Forero's dispatch, an article (12/26/00) on the New York Times' own op-ed page by Senator Paul Wellstone, who had just returned from a visit to the town, reported that "this year so far, violence in Barranca has killed at least 410 people. According to local human rights groups, most of those killed were the victims of right-wing paramilitary death squads."

Nationwide, Human Rights Watch reported that "paramilitary groups are considered responsible for at least 78 percent of the human rights violations recorded in the six months from October 1999" (annual report, 2001).

Some historical perspective is needed, too: Members of the New Granada battalion were implicated in a grisly massacre in Barrancabermeja on May 16, 1998. It is alleged that nine soldiers waved paramilitary vehicles through an army checkpoint in advance of and after the attack on civilians (see Washington Post, 8/13/98; Amnesty International, 5/99). That sort of relationship between the military and paramilitaries is at the center of the objections raised by countless human rights groups to the U.S. aid to Colombia.

"Instead of mass killings," Forero's January 22 article reported, "the paramilitaries have, for the most part, been selectively killing rebels. Instead of terrorizing residents, the paramilitaries are paying handsomely to rent houses in battleground neighborhoods, as well as for supplies and information that can be used against the rebels."

The assertion that the paramilitaries are "selectively" killing rebels flies in the face of all credible evidence from journalists and human rights observers in Colombia. About two weeks before Forero's article was printed, paramilitaries were suspected of killing 20 civilians in northern Colombia in a matter of days, including eight in Barrancabermeja (Agence France Presse, 1/10/01).

Forero's claim that the death squads are renting houses instead of terrorizing residents is also dubious. In a January 26 action alert, Amnesty International reported a January 20 paramilitary raid in Barrancabermeja. The death squads "reportedly held the local population at gunpoint and told them: 'We have come to stay. We are creating employment... and anyone who doesn't want to work for us, simply won't be forced to, but will be killed.'" The reported raid took place one day before Forero wrote his article. Other human rights monitors have reported similar threats against trade unionists and other civilians.

The Times' distortions come in the midst of an almost surreal silence about Colombia from much of the mainstream press. None of the network news broadcasts did a single story on the war in the month of January, though ABC's Peter Jennings did find time for a light-hearted piece about the "crazy" hijinks of a British man who was kidnapped by guerrillas while visiting Colombia in search of rare orchids (ABC World News Tonight, 2/8/01).

Not all media outlets have done such a poor job of informing the public. The Washington Post, for instance, ran an excellent account (1/28/01) of the AUC's January 17 massacre of two dozen civillians at Chengue, interviewing survivors who had fled the village. The Post raised important questions the New York Times has chosen to ignore, such as why the Colombian security forces took no action to prevent a massacre they had been warned about, and why their intelligence apparatus was apparently unable to either intercept radio traffic in the area (a tactic they have used against the guerrillas) or respond to the massacre in a timely fashion.

Readers of the New York Times, however, would be hard-pressed to know that anything had happened at all.

ACTION: Call on the New York Times to investigate stories of paramilitary massacres. Encourage the Washington Post to print more of its in-depth reporting on the situation. Given the level of U.S. military aid dedicated to Colombia, American citizens deserve a full accounting of the human rights situation there.

CONTACT: New York Times 229 West 43rd St. New York, NY 10036-3959 mailto:nytnews@nytimes.com Toll free comment line: 1-888-NYT-NEWS

Washington Post Foreign Desk mailto:foreign@washpost.com

Read the Washington Post's "Chronicle of a Massacre Foretold" at:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56760-2001Jan27.html=

2/10/01
1:37:46 PM

The Nation

http://www.thenation.com

MARC COOPER: Chile and the End of Pinochet

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20010226&s=cooper

FRANCES FOX PIVEN: Thompson's Easy Ride

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20010226&s=piven

ERIC ALTERMAN: Sorry, Wrong President

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20010226&s=alterman

MARK CROMER: Porn's Compassionate Conservatism

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20010226&s=cromer

NATION EDITORS: Ashcroft's Brand of Justice

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20010226&s=editors

BOB FILNER: Mexico's US Problem - WEB ONLY

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=special&s=filner20010207

And still available is Vincent Bugliosi's explosive report, "None Dare Call It Treason," published recently in the pages of The Nation and sparking controversy coast to coast. Available only at:

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20010205&s=bugliosi

You can also take advantage of our online activist tools to make your voice heard against the practice of capital punishment and to help convince Nike to adhere to its own "Code of Conduct" in factories that manufacture its merchandise.

DEATH ROW ROLL CALL

http://www.thenation.com/deathrow/

ACTNOW! - Protest Nike

http://www.thenation.com/alert/actnow/

MAKING EVERY VOTE COUNT

As The New York Times reported recently, "In the shadow of...the inaugural celebration, a nascent movement began taking shape to seek ways to translate disgust with the election" into a concerted effort at electoral reform. To support, encourage and highlight these reform efforts, we've established an electoral reform page. You'll find links to many of the groups organizing around the issue, many of which offer significant springboards for activism; a collection of relevant Nation articles; a Reader's Forum and a constantly updated set of media resources. And we'll soon be adding calendar listings, among many other resources. So please let us know what you think should be included by emailing to info@thenation.com. And, of course, check the page out at:

http://www.thenation.com/special/2001electoralreform.mhtml

THE NATION DIRECTORY

The Nation Directory, a voluminous database of political material, is a growing collection of links to organizations, agencies, think-tanks, political parties, groups and individuals. It can be used as both a stand-alone research tool and as an activist resource, as well as a means to garner further information relating to each Nation article we post on the site. We need your help to make the Directory grow. So, please send your suggestions for new links to directory@thenation.com. You can find the directory at:

http://www.thenation.com/directory

2/10/01
1:34:41 PM

"There's nothing left in the world to prove. All that's worth doing is to love one another, using whatever means are available to serve."

http://www.wellnow.com

2/10/01
1:10:25 PM

WAYS TO GIVE

A Partial List of Relief Organizations Helping Indian Quake Victims

American Friends Service Committee 1501 Cheery St. Philadelphia 19102 Web Site: www.afsc.org Phone: (888) 588-2372, Ext. 1

American Jewish World Service 989 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10018 Web Site: www.ajws.org Phone: (800) 889-7146

American Red Cross P.O. Box 37243 Washington, DC 20013 Web Site: www.redcross.org Phone: (800) HELP NOW

CARE 151 Ellis St. N.E. Atlanta, GA 30303 Web Site: www.care.org Phone: (800) 521-CARE

Doctors Without Borders P.O. Box 2247 New York, NY 10116 Web Site: www.doctorswithoutborders.org Phone: (888) 392-0392

International Relief Teams 3547 Camino Del Rio South San Diego, CA 92108 Web Site: www.irteams.org Phone: (619) 284-7979

Relief International 11965 Venice Blvd., Suite 405 Los Angeles, CA 90066 Web Site: www.ri.org Phone: (310) 572-7770

Salvation Army World Service Office 615 Slaters Lane Alexandria, Va. 22313 Web Site: www.salvationarmy.org Phone: (703) 684-5528

Save the Children P.O. Box 975 Westport, Conn. 06881 Web Site: www.savethechildren.org Phone: (800) 728-3843

US Fund for UNICEF 333 E. 38th St. New York, NY 10016 Web Site: www.unicefusa.org Phone: (800) FOR-KIDS

United Way International 701 N. Fairfax St. Alexandria, Va. 22314 Web Site: www.uwint.org Phone: (703) 519-0092

World Relief P.O. Box WRC Wheaton, Ill., 60189 Web Site: www.worldrelief.org Phone: (800) 535-5433

2/10/01
1:01:39 PM

All life on Earth could be destroyed by genetically modified bacteria, a scientist has told the Royal Commission on Genetic Modification.

Four scientists gave evidence for the Green Party at the hearing this week via video link from the United States. Soil ecologist Elaine Ingham spoke about a plant-killing GM bacteria that her Oregon State University research team prevented from being released into the environment. Dr Ingham said the alcohol-producing bacteria had been approved for field trials when her team discovered its lethal effects.

She believed the widespread plant deaths caused by the bacteria would in turn affect all life on Earth. The GM klebsiella planticola produced alcohol from post-harvest crop residue. The leftover organic sludge, containing the bacteria, would be returned to fields as fertiliser.

Dr Ingham said she had independently tested the bacteria on plants, which the regulatory authority had failed to do. "After seven days, all wheat plants turned into slime." This example showed the need for better risk assessment of ecological impact.

Green Party co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons said the risks of GM organisms to the environment were currently unknown. Outdoor field trials of GM crops should never be allowed under these circumstances.

http://www.egroups.com/group/terminatorseedwatch

2/10/01
12:48:50 PM

House the Homeless

"Homelessness and poverty are tightly linked. People who are living in poverty often must choose between food, shelter and other basic needs. For the poor, an accident, a medical crisis, a lost paycheck can all translate into not having a place to call home next week.

It has been said that every human being has a primary and fundamental right to adequate food and shelter. Yet so many people in our world are deprived of this basic right. This right of feeling a warm bed at night, in a place called home."

http://www.freedonation.com/homeless

2/10/01
12:46:18 PM

Homeless People's Network

The reports are coming in. From Canada. From the US. From Australia, Japan, India, the UK- A global portrait of increasing homelessness is emerging due to a combination of low-paying jobs and lack of affordable housing. Every day people are literally being sent out onto the streets. So many people are at the poverty level, that it doesn't take much to go that one step further into homelessness. Want an example?

http://aspin.asu.edu/hpn/

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html

2/10/01
12:23:28 PM

Also for those of you who are concerned by the direction now taken by the Bush administration regarding the Executive Orders banning political assassination which are being lifted as mentioned in a recent compilation, you *must* review "Assassination to be Legalized by House Bill in process" posted at http://www.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=19541

Here is how it begins...

"House Bill on floor currently reverses three anti-assassination executive orders - theoretically opening you and I, brothers and sisters, to legally sanctioned govermental murder without trial."

And yet another article from the UK confirming that Bush lost: "Florida 'recounts' make Gore winner"

http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/US_election_race/Story/0,2763,430306,00.html

Any such news reports in the US?

2/10/01
12:14:01 PM

THE COURIER-JOURNAL Louisville, Kentucky

BUSINESS 2001 General Assembly

[Photo: Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Billy Ray Smith, left, and state Rep. Joe Barrows, D-Versailles, kicked off the latest attempt to move to legalize the growing of industrial hemp.]

Hemp bill passes House committee Commission would orchestrate research on marketability

By Al Cross

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- The latest attempt to pave the way for legal growing of industrial hemp in Kentucky got under way yesterday, with more official encouragement than ever.

"There's no question we can successfully raise this product," Agriculture Commissioner Billy Ray Smith told the House Agriculture and Small Business Committee shortly before it approved House Bill 100.

"This is a mainstream issue now," the bill's sponsor, Rep. Joe Barrows, D-Versailles, told the committee, noting recent endorsements of hemp research by the Farm Bureau and legislatures of other states and the "active proselytizing" by former Gov. Louie B. Nunn for the crop.

The bill would authorize industrial-hemp research at one or more state universities under permits from the federal government, which currently makes no distinction between hemp and its hallucinogenic form, marijuana.

Making a distinction has been the big obstacle to legalization of industrial hemp. After police objections last year, the House largely gutted a committee-approved bill that would have set up a regulatory program for industrial hemp and replaced it with a research bill similar to the one approved yesterday.

That bill died in the Republican-controlled Senate late in the legislative session, but Barrows said it would have passed if the session had lasted two more days. Yesterday, four of the seven Republican members of the committee voted for the new bill.

"I'm convinced we don't even need to do the study," said Rep. Ken Upchurch, R-Monticello. "I'm convinced the markets are out there."

Upchurch said industrial hemp could hamper marijuana cultivation, which he said is heavy in his home Wayne County, by pollinating marijuana plants and making them less hallucinogenic. "It's high time we forget about . . . the backlash some fear back home," he said.

Voting against the bill were Democratic Rep. Phillip Childers of Garner in Knott County and Republican Reps. Sheldon Baugh of Russellville, Gary Tapp of Shelbyville and Tommy Turner of Somerset.

Turner said afterward that police say they have no way to distinguish between hemp and marijuana, and "we should respect what they say. I think we're sending the wrong message to our children."

State and local police and county sheriffs would each have a seat on a 17-member hemp commission to monitor research and make recommendations for "the proper legal growing, management, use and marketing" of hemp.

Barrows said the research should determine hemp's economic viability "or whether it's a law-enforcement issue."

The bill has no funding for research but would create a fund that could receive public and private grants.

http://www.courier-journal.com/business/news2001/02/09/biz_hemp.html

2/10/01
12:07:32 PM

Environmental news from GRIST MAGAZINE

<http://www.gristmagazine.com>

1. DUNG: CRY OUT LOUD North America and Europe lead the world in releasing greenhouse gases and other forms of pollution, but India and Southeast Asia are catching up, according to a study published today in the journal Science. Biofuels like dung, wood, and agricultural waste are one of the main reasons why. The study focuses on how the biofuels -- commonly used for heating homes and cooking -- are leading to pollution problems over the Indian Ocean.

2. BARTON FINK Republicans in the U.S. House have reconfigured the House Energy and Power Subcommittee into the House Energy and Air Quality Subcommittee so that power production issues receive more weight when environmental protections are being considered. The panel chair, Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), hasn't been shy in showing his true colors. Yesterday, he urged President Bush to submit the Kyoto treaty on climate change to the Senate for ratification -- so that the treaty would be voted down and rejected by the U.S. once and for all. Meanwhile, a scientific report published today in the U.K. warns that global warming could increase gales and floods and even bring about the return of malaria as the country heats up this century.

straight to the source: USA Today, Jonathan Weisman, 09 Feb 2001 <http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20010209/3056778s.htm>

straight to the source: Planet Ark, Reuters, 09 Feb 2001 <http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9770>

straight to the source: BBC News, 09 Feb 2001 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_1161000/1161895.stm>

3. SURVIVOR III Global warming may have snuffed Zed's species, but it's getting his TV career off to a great start. See how timing is everything in Hollywood with Zed, last of his species, in "Vast Wasteland to the Max."

catch it only in Grist Magazine: Zed, the comic adventures of the last of his species <http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/zed/>

4. THEM'S THE (TAX) BREAKS U.S. Sen. Frank Murkowski (R-Alaska) will introduce legislation next week to increase domestic energy production dramatically and permit oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The bill will contain billions of dollars in tax breaks and incentives for energy exploration. The nuclear power industry -- already in the midst of something of a renaissance -- would also get a boost from the bill. Meanwhile, the Energy Department is offering $95 million in matching grants to coal-powered electricity plants. The program aims to get more electricity from the plants and cut down on pollution per unit of electricity. The Clean Air Trust, an environmental group, has expressed skepticism about the program's environmental benefits.

straight to the source: Washington Post, Eric Pianin and Peter Behr, 09 Feb 2001 <http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A46971-2001Feb8.html>

straight to the source: Los Angeles Times, Terry McDermott, 09 Feb 2001 <http://www.latimes.com/news/state/20010209/t000011929.html>

5. THERE'S A RAGE IN THE CAGE Plans are underway in the U.S. to test the first genetically engineered insect in the wild. Researchers are trying to manipulate the genes of the pink bollworm moth -- an insect known for destroying cotton crops around the world -- so that it eventually eradicates itself. U.S. regulators are expected to give the green light to field tests this summer in Arizona. Enviros will probably protest the experiment, but the researchers say they will take precautions to keep the moths in cages to prevent them from escaping and breeding with wild populations.

straight to the source: BBC News, Helen Briggs, 09 Feb 2001 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1150000/1150796.stm>

Also in GRIST MAGAZINE today:

Something in the water -- a day in the life of Susan Davis, WaterPartners International <http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/week/davis020801.stm>

Polar bare naked -- climate change threatens Arctic critters -- by Donella Meadows <http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/citizen/citizen020501.stm>

A snowblower's chance in hell -- a cartoon by Suzy Becker <http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/ha/ha020501.stm>

2/9/01
11:35:22 AM

Fuel Cells May Redistribute Power

Fuel cells were invented in the 19th century. But most Americans had never heard of them until a faulty one blew a hole in Apollo 13 in 1970, scuttling what would have been the third moon landing and nearly costing three astronauts their lives. Fuel cells remain an essential part of the space program, reliably powering the space shuttle. Utilities, investors and government planners are now starting to pay close attention to some down-to-Earth uses for a technology that converts the most abundant element in the universe - hydrogen - into electricity and water.

Fuel cell technology was transformed during the last decade from a cottage industry into one of the most rapidly expanding high-tech businesses in the world, partly due to the automotive industry's suddenly keen interest in hybrid electric motors. As 2001 began, it was reported that Exxon Mobil Corp. planned to join Toyota and General Motors in an alliance to develop environmentally friendly fuel cell vehicles. Ford and Daimler-Chrysler also have fuel cell projects in the works.

In the 1960s and 1970s, utilities were interested in building big fuel cell plants capable of producing one to three megawatts as part of a central power supply. But the long-range goals have shifted to a smaller scale: putting a washing machine-sized fuel cell in every home, or smaller units in every car and truck. And that's attracted a broader range of companies and investors. Motorola, for example, is working with the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico to miniaturize fuel cells for handheld electronic devices like cell phones.

At the Portland sewage treatment plant on the peninsula formed by the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, the city is generating electricity from only the third commercial fuel cell of its kind in the nation to use waste "biogas." The fuel cell began operating in July 1999. It's such a success that the Environmental Protection Agency gave the city a "clean air excellence" award for converting waste gas from sewage into 200 kilowatts of electricity. David Tooze, energy program manager for Portland, said the city needed to pull together several grants to cover the $1.3 million cost of the fuel cell. But it has proved to be more than worth the investment by producing electricity at 8 cents per kilowatt hour, at a time when the deregulated spot market easily pushes the price to 20 cents per kilowatt hour.

Fuel cells could be a way to take the load off the central power grid and create a system of residential generators that could power homes and even provide a surplus to the grid. But fuel cells are still too expensive. For example, a Boise-based company called Idacorp has joined the BPA to test for home use fuel cells that are in the $25,000 range. The company hopes the cost per unit eventually will drop to the $5,000 to $7,000 range.

2/9/01
11:30:56 AM

In the California Energy Crisis, Conservation is the Obvious Answer!

The headlines continue to blaze in California about the energy mess. Politicians continue to posture with crazy ideas to create more power plants. The oil and gas industries continue to use this crisis as an excuse to drill in Alaska, to develop "clean coal" (an oxymoron if I ever heard one), and to bring nuclear power back on the table. But the answer is so simple! CONSERVATION and Solar Energy can easily save us. At Real Goods Renewables (1.800.919.2400) our phones continue to ring off the hook with new folks interested in solarizing every day. We've had over 4 media interviews every day over the past several weeks including CBS and NBC national news and the NY Times.

Fact: There are 1,000 power plants in California putting out 53 mW on average for a total combined output of 53,204 mW. With 24 hours in a day, thus, the average California power plant can put out 1.3 gWh (gigawatt is 1000 mW) per day.

There are 34 million people in California and 15 million households.

If every household in California replaced 4 (average 100 watt) incandescent light bulbs with 4 (equivalent 27 watt) compact fluorescent light bulbs, burning on average 5 hours per day, we would save 22 gWh per day - or enough energy saved to shut down 17 power plants.

If the State bought these lamps for every household at $2 each, total cost would be $120 million. Could we build the same 17 power plants for $120 million? Not by a long shot!

If every household in California replaced 1 average-flow showerhead with an energy saving showerhead we would save 1.3 kWh per day per household or 19.2 gWh per day - or enough energy saved to shut down another 15 power plants.

If the State bought these low flow showerheads for every household at $1 each, total cost would be $15 million. Could we build the same 15 power plants for $1 million each? Hardly!

If every household in California installed a solar hot water heater, which saves 5.8 kWh/day, we would cumulatively save 87 gWh/day - or enough energy saved to shut down another 67 power plants.

Conclusion: These very simple conservation measures would enable the State of California to shut down 100 average sized power plants out of the 1,000 we currently have, or better yet, leave them running and eliminate any need to construct new ones for years! For a mere cost of $135 million, the state could pretty much solve this "crisis!"

Fact: With over $250 million available in rebates for solar-electric (photovoltaic) systems in California (and much in other states as well), the payback time for an average home solar system is now only 10 years and falling rapidly as electric rates continue to skyrocket. Solar energy is now a GREAT investment!

WHEN WILL OUR GOVERNMENT COME TO ITS SENSES?

The time for Solar is now and Conservation will solve this energy crisis!

Energy facts were derived from California Energy Commission's website:

http://www.energy.ca.gov.

2/9/01
11:17:14 AM

ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE (ENS)

http://ens-news.com

"We Cover the Earth For You"

BRITISH COLUMBIA BANS GIZZLY HUNT FOR THREE YEARS

By Neville Judd

For full text and graphics, visit: http://ens.lycos.com/ens/feb2001/2001L-02-08-11.html

EUROPEAN UNION AGREES TO CLIMATE TALKS DELAY

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens-news.com/ens/feb2001/2001L-02-08-02.html

GLOBALIZATION WIPING OUT LANGUAGES, NATURAL LINKS

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens-news.com/ens/feb2001/2001L-02-08-01.html

IWC CONSIDERS RESUMING COMMERCIAL WHALE HUNT

For full text and graphics, visit: http://ens.lycos.com/ens/feb2001/2001L-02-08-10.html

GUIDE RANKS GREENEST AND MEANEST VEHICLES OF 2001

By Brian Hansen

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens-news.com/ens/feb2001/2001L-02-08-15.html

SOOT CALLED MAJOR CAUSE OF GLOBAL WARMING

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens.lycos.com/ens/feb2001/2001L-02-08-06.html

U.S. WILDLIFE REFUGES FACING MAJOR THREATS

By Cat Lazaroff

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens-news.com/ens/feb2001/2001L-02-08-07.html

ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE AMERISCAN: FEBRUARY 8, 2001

Human Viruses Found in California Coastal Waters

Washington DC Commuter Bridge Challenged by Lawsuit

Energy Department Seeks Projects To Improve Power Plants

Air Quality Models Need Improvement

Rockies Ecosystem Bill Reintroduced

Turner Foundation Funds Water Protection Projects

Alexander Skutch Honored for Costa Rican Conservation

Website Answers Climate Questions

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens.lycos.com/ens/feb2001/2001L-02-08-09.html

SEND NEWS STORY TIPS TO news@ens-news.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

New Executive Appointment - Dr. Gilbert Amelio -Director/Management Consultant of Advanced Communications Technologies Inc.

New Director Appointed to ACT-Australia and Australon Limited (ASX: AUR)

/CONTACT: Jeremy Norton, 949-622-5566/

/Web site: http://www.act-usa.net/

For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Feb01/08Feb0105.html

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

PDC Innovative Industries By Request Adds Larger Sterile Box to Product Mix

/CONTACT: PDC Innovative Industries Inc., Coral Springs, David Sowers, 954/341-0092/

/Web site: http://www.pdcinnovative.com/

For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Feb01/08Feb0104.html

TO BUSINESS, ENVIRONMENTAL AND ENERGY EDITORS:

Ionic Fuel Technology, Inc. Announces Fiscal Year 2001 Second Quarter and Six Months Results

Revenues Nearly Double From Comparable Periods of Fiscal Year 2000

Positive Contribution from All Revenue Activities Produces Gross Margin of 28 Percent in Fiscal Year 2001 Second Quarter

/CONTACT: Europe - Tony Garner of Ionic Fuel Technology, 011-44-1268-491409; or North America - Barry Morris of Morris Capital Markets Communications, LLC, 212-687-9707, for Ionic Fuel Technology/

/Web site: http://www.ionicfuel.co.uk/

For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Feb01/08Feb0102.html

TO ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT EDITORS:

California Power Crisis: Impacting the Green Power Market

/CONTACT: The Center for Resources Solutions, Keri Bolding, 415/561-2100,

kbolding@resource-solutions.org/

/Web site: http://www.resources-solutions.org/

For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Feb01/08Feb0103.html

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

John Turner Probable Interior Department Choice

/CONTACT: michael hardiman, lobbyist, American Land Rights Association, 202-251-3473, mike@hardimanconsulting.com/

/Web site: http://www.landrights.org/

For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Feb01/08Feb0101.html

SEND YOUR PRESS RELEASE ON E-WIRE -- 1-888-764-NEWS

2/9/01
11:07:10 AM

World Environment News from Planet Ark

Doing environmental research? Search our news archives at: http://www.planetark.org/searchhome.cfm

US lawmaker wants Senate vote on climate treaty - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9770

US states seek laws to limit new biotech wheat - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9758

StarLink protesters give US EPA chief a corny welcome - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9764

Los Angeles airports in noise/pollution pact with Inglewood - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9769

FEATURE - Stranded Alaska natural gas waits for buyers - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9760

UPDATE - Noxious fumes force US Treasury Dept evacuation - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9771

Wolf-free moose relearn survival instincts - study - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9766

They gave us the Bronze Age, the Industrial Revolution,... - UK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9753

Catalytic convertors contribute to pollution-magazine - UK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9772

Soot a big factor in global warming-US scientists - UK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9773

GM crops unlikey to turn into superweeds - study - UK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9762

EU proposes to meet US demand to delay climate talks - SWEDEN http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9765

FEATURE - South Africa to weed out invasive plants - SOUTH AFRICA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9752

Mexico warns US over risks to Colorado river - MEXICO http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9751

UN warns global warming is melting Arctic soil - KENYA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9750

UPDATE - Two major Japanese companies in environmental JV - JAPAN http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9748

Italians will pay a little extra for quality coffee - ITALY http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9763

Dazed cows wander aimlessly in quake-hit India - INDIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9761

Poachers kill tiger in southern Indian reserve - INDIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9749

Olympics - Nature groups blast Athens Games environment record - GREECE http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9759

UPDATE - Frenchman Bove on trial for wrecking GM rice - FRANCE http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9756

EU says other sectors should face scrap take-back - EU http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9757

EU vanguard may set pace on green tax-commissioner - EU http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9767

Austrians warn of new Temelin N-plant border block - CZECH REPUBLIC http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9754

Snows kill herders, threaten wildlife in NW China - CHINA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9768

Bulgaria to start new nuclear waste processing unit - BULGARIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9755

2/9/01
10:55:29 AM

Environmental news from GRIST MAGAZINE

<http://www.gristmagazine.com>

1. DOUBLE, DOUBLE, SOIL AND TROUBLE The Arctic's permafrost is melting in places, causing soil that is no longer frozen to release greenhouse gases and potentially speed global warming, according to U.N. scientists. The implications could be huge for the planet -- about 14 percent of the world's carbon is stored in the frozen soil. In light of all the recent scary reports about global warming, the silence from the Bush White House has been deafening. David Gergen, a former advisor to Bush the Elder and Bill Clinton, wrote this month, "The world is now looking to George W. Bush for personal leadership." Read more on the Grist Magazine website.

read it only in Grist Magazine: This Just In -- in our Heat Beat section <http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/heatbeat/thisjustin020801.stm>

2. HUNTERS STEW In a move enviros are cheering, British Columbia Premier Ujjal Dosanjh has decided to ban grizzly bear hunting in the province for the next three years while scientists determine just how many of the bears are left. Rick Smith of the International Fund for Animal Welfare gushed that "the government has stood up for good science and good conservation." But hunter groups are infuriated, saying the moratorium will hurt the ability of outfitters to make a living. Conservationists estimate the remaining grizzly population in B.C. to be as low as 4,000; hunters put the number at closer to 16,000.

straight to the source: Vancouver Sun, Nicholas Read, 08 Feb 2001 <http://www.vancouversun.com/newsite/news/010208/5139043.html>

straight to the source: Vancouver Province, Greg Middleton, 08 Feb 2001 <http://www.vancouverprovince.com/newsite/news/010208/5139814.html>

catch it only in Grist Magazine: The simple bear necessities -- a cartoon by Suzy Becker <http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/ha/ha090800.stm>

3. KILLER TOMATOES UNLIKELY TO ATTACK Genetically modified crops aren't likely to harm the environment or turn into super-weeds that survive longer in the wild than conventional plants, according to a study published today in the journal Nature. The study, which was financed by biotech companies like Monsanto and conducted in Britain, looked at canola, potatoes, corn, and sugar beets that had been engineered to resist insects and herbicides. The study didn't examine whether the genetically engineered crops could transfer genes to conventional crops and wild relatives through cross-pollination, a possibility that concerns environmentalists.

straight to the source: BBC News, Ivan Noble, 07 Feb 2001 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1158000/1158515.stm>

do good: Take action against unlabelled genetically engineered foods <http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/dogood/food.stm>

4. CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY The greenest cars sold in the U.S. are both made by Honda, says the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy in its annual guide to cars and trucks. The groups ranked more than 1,000 vehicles in the model year 2001 and found that the Honda Civic GX, which runs on compressed natural gas, and the Honda Insight, a gas-electric hybrid, were the most environmental on the road. The hybrid Toyota Prius came in third. The GMC Sierra, Dodge Ram Pickup, and the Ford Excursion, as well as a Ferrari sports car, brought up the rear.

straight to the source: CNN.com, Natalie Pawelski, 08 Feb 200 <http://www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/science/02/08/green.cars/index.html>

read it only in Grist Magazine: A troika of articles on what not to like about cars <http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/imho/imho012601.stm>

catch it only in Grist Magazine: Drive the friendly skies -- a cartoon by Suzy Becker <http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/ha/ha120800.stm>

5. REFUGE-NIX The National Wildlife Refuge System in the U.S. is in trouble, with an operations and maintenance backlog of $1.6 billion, says the National Audubon Society. In a press conference with friendly lawmakers yesterday, the group drew particular attention to 10 refuges threatened by water pollution and invasive species. Rep. Wayne Gilchrest (R-Md.), an important player on the House Resources Committee, described the situation as a "crisis." The refuge system -- more than 500 refuges covering an overall area greater than Montana -- has usually gotten short shrift, competing with national parks and forests for money and attention.

straight to the source: San Francisco Chronicle, John Heilprin, 07 Feb 2001 <http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2001/02/ 07/national1818EST0800.DTL>

straight to the source: Washington Post, Michael Grunwald, 07 Feb 2001 <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15186-2001Feb1.html>

Also in GRIST MAGAZINE today:

The green house effect -- how to make your home an eco-friendly haven -- two reviews in Books Unbound <http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/books/books040700.stm>

Bottoms up or tops down? -- should locals be more involved in public lands decisions? -- by Rocky Barker <http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/imho/imho011701.stm>

Oh, baby, baby, it's a dry world -- and other gems from assorted magazines in our Best of the Rest section <http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/best/best012601.stm#dry>

2/8/01
1:30:32 PM

The Prophets Conference

RIANE EISLER joins The Prophets Conference ~ New York City at the legendary Cathedral of Saint John the Divine (synod hall), May 18-20, 2001. She will be part of an unprecedented faculty made up of Ram Dass, Dr. Huston Smith, Gregg Braden, Gabrielle Roth, Dr. Ralph Metzner, Dr. Stanislav Grof, Dr. Michio Kaku, Dr. John Mack, Oriah Mountain Dreamer, Dr. Robert Anton Wilson, and Russell Targ.

http://www.greatmystery.org/nyconference.html

Riane Eisler is best known for her international bestseller The Chalice and The Blade: Our History, Our Future (Harper Row), hailed by novelist Isabel Allende as "one of those magnificent key books that can transform us" and by anthropologist Ashley Montagu as "the most important book since Darwin's Origin of Species."

As preview to her presentation at The Prophets Conference - New York City, Riane Eisler submitted the following significant and powerful article. . PARTNERSHIP SPIRITUALITY: REIMAGING AND RECONFIGURING REALITY

RIANE EISLER

When I think of spirituality I think of love, not in some abstract sense but in action. I think of the spiritual insight that what matters is our deep impulse to reach out to others, to help others, to challenge injustice - not out of hate, but out of love. When I think of the divine, I do not think of it as "out there" rather than here. I think of our own most evolved qualities: our profound human capacity for empathy, for love, our striving for justice, our hunger for beauty, our yearning to create. I think being spiritual means being ethical and, in the true sense of the word, moral.

At the core of all the major religious traditions - be they Hindu, Muslim, Hebrew, Christian, or Confucian - are the values of sensitivity, empathy, caring, and nonviolence. But overlaying this core are teachings of insensitivity, cruelty, violence, and oppression, all in the name of divine commands. Once we become aware of these two very different themes in religion, we can distinguish between two basic kinds of spirituality and morality.

One is appropriate for relations based on domination and control. It comes from a time when morality was used to maintain rigid rankings of domination -- whether man over woman, man over man, nation over nation, or man over nature. The other is a partnership spirituality and morality appropriate for relations based on reciprocity and caring. This is a spirituality with ancient prehistoric roots, a spirituality in which the power to give and nurture life was a major theme. It does not just direct us to an afterlife for better things or instills in us fear of angry deities, but recognizes the divine in that which makes us fully human: our great capacity to love and to create. It is a spirituality that inspires us with the courage to work for a better life for all here on earth.

It is not coincidental that during our time of strong partnership resurgence the image of the divine in female form should again come to the fore. Nor is it coincidental that this conception of the divine or spiritual as female again adds to love an immanent, erotic or bodily, element - that is, that in this "new" spirituality love is no longer abstract. And it is not judgmental love, but a love that is accepting and inclusive of all.

We urgently need to identify, and support, the partnership core of our world's religious traditions, at the same time that we identify, and reject, their dominator overlays. We can then more effectively counter those who continue to use religion to perpetuate cruelty, violence, and pain, as well as those who would indiscriminately discard all spiritual teachings, or accept anything and everything as the manifestation of a divine will. Once we trust our inner wisdom of caring and love, and have the spiritual courage to challenge traditions of domination in all spheres of life and thought, we will move toward a future guided by a partnership spirituality of love, caring, and oneness with all the best that we and our world can be.

COMMENTS ON RIANE EISLER AND THE CHALICE AND THE BLADE

"The Chalice and The Blade may be the most significant work published in all our lifetimes. Read The Chalice and The Blade...it may make the future possible." L.A. Weekly

"To read Eisler is to glimpse new vistas of human possibilities." New Woman

"Eisler's visionary, passionate scholarship is a revealing psychosexual exploration of love and power relations." Publisher's Weekly

Dr. Eisler was recently honored as the only woman among twenty great thinkers including Vico, Hegel, Spengler, Adam Smith, Marx, and Toynbee featured in Macrohistory and Macrohistorians, in recognition of the lasting importance of her work.

Call toll-free 1-888-777-5981 for information and registration for The Prophets Conference - New York City. Enjoy a significant early registration fee of $285 by registering now for this history making three days.

http://www.greatmystery.org/nyconference.html

For information about The Prophets Conference - Palm Springs Audio and Video Tapes, please visit

http://www.greatmystery.org/pstapes.html

2/8/01
1:18:33 PM

World Environment News from Planet Ark

Doing environmental research? Search our news archives at: http://www.planetark.org/searchhome.cfm

Calif. seeks court order to keep power flowing - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9731

INTERVIEW - Colombia plans bumper year for oil contracts - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9746

Clinton panel makes no recommendations on bio-foods - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9738

StarLink, biotech to dominate US grain meeting - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9737

California power crisis hits Valentine's flower growers - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9732

FEATURE - Stranded Alaska natural gas waits for buyers - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9729

US Senate energy bill delayed until next week - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9726

Siemens opens plant in Los Angeles to make solar power systems - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9725

UK, Italy urge clear meat, animal foodstuff labels - UK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9735

BNFL says talking with EdF about nuclear contracts - UK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9745

Bring out the cat bells again, Mammal group says - UK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9719

Taiwan govt, cabinet deadlocked over nuclear plant - TAIWAN http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9723

Taiwan government under fire over oil spill delay - TAIWAN http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9739

Hopes to end Taiwan's political stand-off fade - TAIWAN http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9720

EU proposes to meet US demand to delay climate talks - SWEDEN http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9728

FEATURE - South Africa to weed out invasive plants SOUTH AFRICA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9717

Mexico warns US over risks to Colorado river - MEXICO http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9716

Jailed Mexico ecologist receives Sierra Club award - MEXICO http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9730

Rare salt-water camel may be separate species - UN - KENYA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9734

FEATURE - Kazakh eagles take flight as tradition returns - KAZAKHSTAN http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9740

Italy environmentalists urge EU ban on GM soybeans - ITALY http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9733

German farmers say mad cow controls above EU norms - GERMANY http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9747

German govt, energy industry set for new CHP talks - GERMANY http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9743

German Greens aim to heal split on nuke waste in March - GERMANY http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9744

Sunways IPO set for hot debut amid sector appeal - GERMANY http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9727

Bayer regrets France extended pesticide suspension - FRANCE http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9741

INTERVIEW - Danish cellphone study shows no cancer link - DENMARK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9742

Scientists tell Canada to be more cautious on GM food - CANADA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9736

Bulgaria to start new nuclear waste processing unit - BULGARIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9721

Ford sees dawn of pollution-free hydrogen cars - BELGIUM http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9718

Australian Victoria state eyes high-risk power day - AUSTRALIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9722

Endesa, Elecnor to invest $2.25 bln in Argentine wind power - ARGENTINA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9724

2/8/01
1:11:59 PM

ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE (ENS)

http://ens-news.com

"We Cover the Earth For You"

MELTING ARCTIC PERMAFROST MAY ACCELERATE GLOBAL WARMING

NAIROBI, Kenya, February 7, 2001 (ENS) - Global warming may be set to accelerate as rising temperatures in the Arctic melt the permafrost causing it to release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, a United Nations scientist warned today. An estimated 14 per cent of the world's carbon is stored in Arctic lands.

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens-news.com/ens/feb2001/2001L-02-07-06.html

NEW CURBS ON GREAT LAKES WATER EXPORTS

OTTAWA, Canada, February 7, 2001 (ENS) - Governments on both sides of the Great Lakes are acting to prevent or limit bulk water removal from the cross border waterways.

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens.lycos.com/ens/feb2001/2001L-02-07-11.html

NORWAY LICENSES WOLF CULL

OSLO, Norway, February 7, 2001 (ENS) - Bowing to pressure from sheep farmers, the Norwegian government has approved a wolf cull amid a hail of protest from environmental groups.

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens-news.com/ens/feb2001/2001L-02-07-10.html

ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE AMERISCAN: FEBRUARY 7, 2001

Delaware Bay Waters Closed to Horseshoe Crab Fishing

New EPA Head Finds Genetic Food Fight Waiting

Bear Protection Act Introduced in House

Tropical Forest Restoration: A Tall Order

Connecticut Plans Record Open Space Acquisition

California Governor Wins Conservation Award

Biocleansers a Hit with U.S. Navy

Northern Owls Heading South for the Winter

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens.lycos.com/ens/feb2001/2001L-02-07-09.html

SEND NEWS STORY TIPS TO news@ens-news.com

E-WIRE PRESS RELEASE E-WIRE PRESS RELEASE E-WIRE PRESS RELEASE TO BUSINESS AND ENVIRONMENTAL EDITORS: THIS RELEASE IS NEW TO E-WIRE ON FEB. 7TH, FASC WANTED THE DATELINE TO READ JAN. 11TH.

First American Scientific Corp. receives pesticide device and establishment registration from Environmental Protection Agency

VANCOUVER, BC, Canada, Jan. 11 -/E-Wire/-- C.L. Kantonen, President of FASC (FASC-OTC, BB) is pleased to announce that the United States Environmental Protection Agency has registered the patented KDS MicronexT System as a pesticide device under establishment number 73753 CAN - 001. This allows for manufacturing and distribution of the KDS MicronexT for destroying any pests in compliance with EPA regulations.

/CONTACT: Investor Relations: Toll Free (800) 561- 8656/

/Web site: http://www.fasc.net/

http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Feb01/07Feb0101.html

SEND YOUR PRESS RELEASE ON E-WIRE -- 1-888-764-NEWS

2/8/01
1:05:47 PM

The prime goal of the NESARA bill - The National Economic Stabilization and Recovery Act - is to replace current monetary and fiscal policy with systems that benefit all, not just a favored few.

The proposers need at least one US representative to sponsor the bill in the new US Congress and *you* may be instrumental in helping make this happen...

http://www.nesara.com

2/8/01
12:49:09 PM

The Nation

As Mexican president Vicente Fox begins his historic administration, the most challenging issue that he'll be forced to confront in his developing relations with the US is the continuing flow of migration north of the Mexican border.

The issue is particularly difficult to address, insists California Congressman Bob Filner in an exclusive report just posted on The Nation's website, because of the rarely questioned assumption in this country that the US itself has played no part in creating the conditions that have led to the large flow of Mexican workers surging across the border.

As Filner writes, "There is something profoundly wrong with a US foreign policy that allows us to energetically recommend and endorse an economic strategy for Mexico that clearly creates powerful economic incentives for migration to the US and then turn around and refuse to accept any responsibility for the immigration that results." Read this stimulating special report in its entirety only at:

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=special&s=filner20010207

And don't miss recent articles from the pages of The Nation by Vincent Bugliosi, Gregory Palast, Ellen Willis, Jesse Jackson, Jr., Paul Wellstone, Christopher Hitchens, Katha Pollitt, Michael Eric Dyson, Gore Vidal and JoAnn Wypijewski, among many others. All available at:

http://www.thenation.com

2/8/01
12:40:22 PM

FAIR

Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting

Media analysis, critiques and news reports

ACTION ALERT:

Stossel's Shoddy Reporting on Government Waste:

ABC's Free-Market Booster Needs Some Competition

It was hard to miss the theme of John Stossel's January 27 ABC News special, "Mr. Stossel Goes to Washington." Taxes are too high, the government squanders much of the money, and the "free market" provides the best alternative to the "central planning" of Washington bureaucracy.

The report is produced by ABC's news division, but it would be a stretch to call it journalism. Instead, Stossel strings together a collection of anecdotes and interviews with conservative journalists to support his overarching theme of the horrors of government waste and taxation.

First, Stossel tries to establish the fact that Americans are overtaxed, using some of the most widely debunked "facts" about the tax code. His expert source, conservative Wall Street Journal columnist Amity Shlaes, explains that "Americans pay more in taxes than we do in food, clothing and shelter combined." Then Stossel himself adds that workers work until the month of May just to pay off their taxes.

These figures come from a famously debunked "study" by the conservative Tax Foundation, a Washington think tank (see Washington Post, 4/25/96, Extra!Update, 10/96). The foundation simply assumed that almost all federal, state and local taxes are paid by median-income families at the same rate as the national "average." So if the corporate profits tax equals 5% of national income, the foundation assumed it also takes up 5% of a median family's income-- even though families do not pay corporate profits taxes. The same was true of gift, estate, and business payroll taxes-- none of which are paid by most families.

If Stossel were trying to be fair, he could have cited measures that show a decline in the median federal tax payment over the past 20 years, with increases coming from a slim portion of the population paying more taxes on their sharply rising incomes (Washington Post, 2/21/99).

Stossel also makes this claim: "America now spends about $ 40,000 a year on every family of four below the poverty line.... You could just cut them a check for that and they'd be out of poverty." As with most of Stossel's "facts," the source for this claim is not mentioned. When FAIR called ABC on February 2 to get clarification on this fact, we were told that all the producers who worked on Stossel's special were on vacation for several weeks.

But it appears the statistic comes from Heritage Foundation welfare analyst Robert Rector, whose numbers Stossel has cited in previous specials. In a 1995 book, Rector calculated that the government spent $324 billion on "welfare." When that number was divided by the number of families then below the poverty line, the result was about $40,000. The problem is that Rector's welfare number included vast amounts of spending that go to non-poor families as well as poor ones-- things like Pell grants, reduced-price school lunches, and health benefits like Medicare and Medicaid-- yet it was only divided by the number of families *below* the poverty line.

Throughout the rest of the report, Stossel's method is simple: document examples of government waste and neglect, and demonstrate how privatized, market-based solutions are more efficient.

Glaringly absent from Stossel's report is any mention of one of the biggest regulation-related stories of the year-- California's deregulation-induced energy crisis. Citizens who live in California towns with publicly owned utilities have been largely unaffected by the rolling blackouts and soaring rates that have crippled the rest of the state. Stossel's selective attention to the details is nothing new-- a few years ago, two producers quit working with him after being pressured to ignore research findings that undermined Stossel's claims (Extra! Update, 6/94).

Stossel's examples sometimes border on the absurd, like his suggestion to alleviate delays at airports: "Look at the sky. Even over an airport, there's lots of room. Why can't they fly more planes in this empty space?" At one point, he laments that a woman running a private charity providing food to the needy was forced to abide by health codes in her kitchen. Protecting people from food-borne illnesses may sound reasonable, but not to Stossel, who complains that the government "wouldn't leave her alone."

Stossel closes with these thoughts: "As Thomas Jefferson warned, the natural progress of things is for government to gain and liberty to yield. The choice is up to you." For viewers of ABC News, however, there's very little choice: Stossel's reports are often distorted, one-sided attacks from a right-wing libertarian perspective. Stossel himself does not claim to be balanced: In an ABCNews.com on-line chat (1/29/01), Stossel responded to viewer questions with comments like "I clearly do have a point of view" and "I also admit my report was one-sided." Taking Stossel at his word, it sounds like his ABC News reports should be labeled as commentaries.

Which leaves one question for ABC News: If the competition of the marketplace is what makes things work better, why don't they apply that principle to their programming, and provide some competition for Stossel's one-sided, factually challenged reporting?

ACTION: Tell ABC to provide John Stossel with some of the competition that he professes to admire so much. If he is allowed to openly and consistently advocate for his laissez-faire point of view, ABC should also provide comparable airtime to a critic of laissez-faire policies-- preferably one who does not have Stossel's extensive record of inaccuracies.

CONTACT: David Westin, ABC News 47 W. 66th Street New York, NY 10023

Phone: 212-456-7777 (ABC News general number) Fax: 212-456-4297 mailto:netaudr@abc.com (ABC News)

John Stossel mailto:stossel@abc.com

As always, please remember that your comments will be more effective if you maintain a polite tone.

Please cc fair@fair.org with your correspondence.

2/8/01
12:35:13 PM

Public Citizen

Irate Airline Passenger Can Keep Web Site Critical of Airline

Alitalia Drops Suit Against Man Whose Lost Luggage Prompted Him To Establish

www.alitaliasucks.com

WASHINGTON, D.C. ¯ In a victory for First Amendment rights on the Internet, Alitalia has dropped its lawsuit against an irate airline passenger whose lost luggage complaint prompted him to set up a Web site critical of the airline, www.alitaliasucks.com.

The airline sued in December, accusing the passenger of violating a 1999 anti- cybersquatting law.

The airline had asked the court to order passenger William Porta to dismantle his site and prohibit him from using the Alitalia name in any Internet domain name or registering such a domain name with any search engines. Public Citizen intervened in the case because of its long interest in defending people's First Amendment rights.

"Alitalia brought this case assuming that it could push an individual consumer around," said Paul Alan Levy, the attorney with Public Citizen Litigation Group who defended the passenger. "This man initially felt intimidated and probably would have dropped the matter. Once we stepped in, though, the airline apparently realized it had no case and cut its losses. I'm pleased that we taught a very big company not to mess around with the First Amendment."

Added Porta, the New York state business owner who launched the Web site, "This great country was founded so that the liberties of common patriotic citizens like me could not be steam-rolled by a bunch of thugs with money and power. I will continue to examine the rules and assert myself vigorously until I am satisfied that enough people are aware of what Alitalia has done."

The case began when Porta, who runs a gift delivery business, traveled to India last year to be best man in a friend's wedding. When en route, however, Alitalia lost a bag containing his clothes. Porta attended a black tie event in the two-day old casual clothes he traveled in, and his hosts had to scramble right before their wedding to find suitable attire for him. Porta sent a letter of complaint to the airline in October, but the airline failed to live up to its promises for compensation, he said. In fact, to this day, Porta has not been paid for his lost luggage.

In December, Porta established "www.alitaliasucks.com," on which he posted a copy of his letter. The airline then sued Porta in U.S. District Court, the Southern District of New York, alleging that he was violating trademark law and the 1999 Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, passed in response to a rash of people snapping up Internet domain names using trademarked names of companies and organizations.

Trademark infringements occur when a company's name is used in a misleading way to profit from consumer confusion about whether the company has sponsored the message. This clearly didn't apply in this case, Public Citizen told the court. Porta's site carries no advertising, sells no goods and doesn't link to any commercial sites. And Alitalia's claim that Porta broke the anti-cybersquatting law also was misguided, Public Citizen said. When they wrote the law, congressional lawmakers specifically noted that they did not intend to enable companies to sue people who establish Web sites for the purpose of commenting on companies.

"The law is quite clear about the First Amendment rights of consumers," Levy said. "In fact, the law specifically protects the information Mr. Porta posted."

On a recent Minnesota Public Radio show, an Alitalia spokesperson admitted that the suit was brought to prevent customers from finding Porta's site through search engines. At a recent hearing, the judge indicated the company ought to consider settling. The company, however, made no settlement offer. Late last week, Judge Richard Berman told both sides he wanted them to return to court and demanded that a top company official, such as the president, show up and explain why the company brought the case. Late Tuesday, before the hearing could be held, Alitalia dismissed the suit.

Porta was also represented by Nina Morrison and John Cuti of Emery Cuti Brinckerhoff & Abady PC in New York City.

To read Public Citizen's brief in this case, please visit

http://www.citizen.org/litigation/briefs/portapiopp.htm

Public Citizen has been involved in a number of other Internet privacy suits, including several in which companies have gone to court to learn the identities of people who anonymously post messages critical of companies on message boards. For more information about those suits, please visit

http://www.citizen.org/litigation/briefs/internet.htm

2/7/01
4:10:53 PM

Public Citizen

Mexican Truck Inspection Program Sorely Lacking, Allows Trucks With Faulty Brakes, Leaky Fuel Lines to Stay on Road

Lack of Rules Is Worrisome in Light of NAFTA Panel Order for U.S. to Give Mexican Trucks Access to All U.S. Roads

WASHINGTON, D.C. ¯ Mexico's truck inspection system, instituted in response to the United States' concerns about dangerous rigs, is riddled with holes that allow vehicles with major safety defects to stay on the road, a Public Citizen analysis has found.

Mexico's program is particularly critical in light of a ruling issued Tuesday ordering the U.S. to permit Mexican trucks to have access to all U.S. roads. If the Bush administration as expected complies with the panel's order ¯ rather than pay trade sanctions ¯ U.S. highways may soon be flooded with trucks from Mexico.

Under Mexico's new program, which is voluntary for the first year, safety defects that merely incur a fine and a request that the problem be fixed within 20 days would cause a truck in the U.S. to be removed from the road. These defects include improperly stored hazardous materials, missing fuses, worn or exposed wires, a lack of windshield wipers, a shattered windshield, damaged tires, broken wheel rims, leaky fuel lines, worn or cracked load securement chains, loose steering wheels, cracked brake drums and inoperative brake linings. Public Citizen's analysis is available at

http://www.citzien.org/Press/truckregs.htm

"We can't afford to invite trucks with balding tires, slipshod brakes, leaky exhaust systems, and bad steering wheels to roam freely on our roads," said Joan Claybrook, Public Citizen president and former administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. "Mexico has made an effort to begin addressing these issues, but it falls way short of the mark. Until the country has a stringent set of standards that are enforced, we shouldn't allow these trucks to have unlimited access to our highways."

On Tuesday, a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) tribunal found the U.S. has been violating NAFTA because it has limited access of Mexican trucks to a narrow 20-mile commercial zone along the border. NAFTA, which took effect in 1994, required the U.S. to allow Mexican trucks access to all border-state roads starting in 1995, and to drive anywhere in the country by January 2000. The Clinton administration recognized the danger the trucks posed and for seven years refused to expand their access beyond a 20-mile radius from the border.

According to the panel, the U.S. may enforce its own standards on any trucks traveling in the U.S. But doing so effectively would require a legion of federal and state