1/5/01
1:29:04 PM

N.Y. Nuclear Plant Restart Violates Regulations

NRC Allows Reactor to Restart Without Emergency Planning Drill

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Consolidated Edison this week restarted the Indian Point 2 nuclear plant in New York in violation of U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulations requiring the company to conduct a biennial emergency drill.

Emergency preparedness is particularly important at Indian Point 2, located 24 miles north of New York City, because it has the highest population within 10, 30 and 50 miles of any nuclear power plant in the U.S. At 50 miles, its population is more than double any other nuclear reactor in the country. Further, in a February 2000 accident, a steam generator tube burst, releasing radiation into the environment and leading to the reactor's shutdown for the rest of the year.

"The NRC's priorities are misplaced," said Wenonah Hauter, director of Public Citizen's Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program. "The restart of Indian Point 2 proves that the NRC treats emergency planning as secondary in importance to electricity production."

In the required emergency drill, plant workers must go through the steps they would take to evacuate nearby towns in the event of a nuclear accident. The last time such a drill was performed at Indian Point 2 was June 1998. NRC regulations require such drills to be done every two years.

In the wake of the February accident, Public Citizen petitioned the NRC to prohibit the restart of the nuclear reactor until Consolidated Edison, the reactor's owner and operator, successfully completed the emergency exercise. The NRC denied the petition, stating that "the licensee will remain in compliance with the biennial requirement until December 31, 2000. . . . Since the licensee plans to restart before December 31, 2000, an emergency preparedness exercise is not required prior to restart of IP2."

"Consolidated Edison has repeatedly bungled emergency planning at Indian Point, and the NRC has done nothing about it," said James Riccio, senior policy analyst for Public Citizen's Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program. "The NRC ignored its own regulations and allowed the reactor to resume operations this week without showing that the public will be protected in the event of another accident."

1/5/01
12:34:12 PM

Ford, Firestone Officials Took Narrow View When Recalling Tires, Ignoring Key Data While Admitting Tires Lacked Strength

Unsafe Firestone Tires Are Still on the Road, Should Be Recalled Immediately

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Ford and Firestone company officials ignored crucial information when deciding which Firestone tires to recall last year, and as a result, potentially dangerous tires are still on the road and should be recalled immediately, according to a report released today by Public Citizen and Safetyforum.com.

Now a top Ford official has admitted in a deposition that the Wilderness AT tires are not "robust," meaning that they are not as strong and durable as they should be, and that they are susceptible to failure with variations in inflation pressure, operating conditions, load and speed.

Last year's recall focused on ATX and ATX II tires and only some Wilderness AT tires -- specifically those 15-inch Wilderness AT tires made in Decatur, Ill. But Wilderness AT tires made elsewhere for the Ford Explorer have the same flawed design that could cause the tread to separate, the report concludes.

In deciding which tires to recall, Ford analyzed only one narrow database and ignored information about tire failures that spawned major litigation claims, consumer complaints and adjustment records that show replacement of equipment under warranty, the report says.

"Ford and Firestone officials are focused on protecting their bottom line instead of the people whose lives are literally riding on these tires," said Public Citizen President Joan Claybrook. "For the sake of highway travelers everywhere, all Firestone Wilderness tires that were made for the Ford Explorer should be recalled from the market, not just those made in Decatur. These tires on Ford Explorers cause catastrophic crashes resulting in horrible injuries and death."

The recall should be expanded to include all Wilderness AT P235/75R15 and P255/70R16, the two groups concluded. If the companies refuse to do it, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) should require it, they said.

"Company officials have no foundation in fact to be claiming that last year's recall has solved the problem and that everything is fine now," said Ralph Hoar, director of Safetyforum.com. "It's not. There are seriously deficient tires still on the road."

As of December 2000, NHTSA's database had consumer reports of 4,308 Firestone tire tread separations or other tire failures. Of the incidents where enough information was available to make a distinction, 1,060 -- or 97 percent of -- incidents of failure involved non-recalled Wilderness tires, and 34 incidents involved recalled tires. "Predictably, that number will increase as Wilderness tires accumulate the exposure that produced the epidemic of ATX and ATX II failures, injuries and deaths," Hoar said.

In a Dec. 21 deposition, Tom Baughman, engineering director for Ford's truck operations, stated that the 15-inch Wilderness AT tires "are not robust against variations and inflation pressure and in operating condition, load and speed."

According to NHTSA, tread separations involving Firestone tires have resulted in 148 deaths and more than 500 injuries. In December, Firestone issued a report citing a variety of reasons for the tread separations, including the design of the Explorer, Ford's recommendation for a relatively low inflation pressure of 26 pounds per square inch, manufacturing problems in Decatur, the tire's design and customer misuse of the tires.

Ford, meanwhile, concluded that the tire's design created stresses in certain areas, and that manufacturing processes in Decatur compounded the problem, allowing cracks to form between the steel belts.

Today's report also notes that the companies narrowed the scope of the recall even before determining the cause for the tread separations.

"It seems odd that Ford and Firestone could be so sure that the problem with Wilderness AT tires was limited to those made in Decatur, when company officials still weren't sure what was causing the problem," Claybrook said.

Although Ford has conceded that non-recalled Wilderness AT tires are susceptible to failure in hot climates, the company has defended the decision to keep the tires on the market.

The report notes that the Wilderness AT tire recall in the U.S. was limited to 15-inch tires, even though NHTSA data show significant failures in 16-inch Wilderness tires, and even though the company recalled 16-inch Wilderness tires in other countries, such as Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador.

1/5/01
12:33:27 PM

A Deal is a Deal: Utilities' Attempts to Break Rate Freeze Should be Blocked

Investor-owned Utilities Want Rewards, Not Risks from Deregulation

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) should reject a request by Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric to rewrite the rules of electric utility deregulation by raising consumers' electric bills as much as 76 percent over the next two years. The PUC is scheduled to rule on the request Thursday.

"California consumers have been lied to," said Wenonah Hauter, director of Public Citizen's Critical Mass Energy & Environment Program. "They were told that their electric rates would go down and that utilities would assume the risks of a free marketplace. This bailout plan shows that the utilities believe in the 'free-market' only when they profit. It is now clear that deregulation is a failure and should be repealed."

When deregulation legislation was sold to the California public in 1996, the rates consumers pay for electricity were frozen at 1996 levels until 2002. Utilities, which supported this rate freeze when they helped draft the law, now seek to end it, claiming that the price they are paying to buy their power from out-of-state suppliers far exceeds the rate cap they are allowed to charge consumers. It remains unclear, however, if the utilities are really strapped for cash.

"While California residents face the possibility of skyrocketing electric bills in the New Year, Edison International (parent of Southern California Edison) and Pacific Gas & Electric have enjoyed over $6 billion in combined after-tax profits since deregulation began," said Tyson Slocum, senior researcher at CMEEP. "Since their shareholders were first in line to benefit from deregulation, they -- not consumers -- should be first to bear the risks."

Public Citizen urges the California Public Utilities Commission, Gov. Gray Davis, and the California Assembly to reject this attempt to stick consumers with deregulation's tab. "The investor-owned utilities whispered promises of lower rates to consumers under competition," Slocum said. "But all deregulation has given ratepayers are power shortages and rate hikes, with no end in sight."

If the utilities cannot find the credit they need after slashing costs at their parent companies and suspending the million-dollar bonuses lavished on their executives, Public Citizen advocates allowing the utilities to declare bankruptcy. "If bankruptcy is declared, the state should acquire the utilities' assets, Hauter said. "Instead of spending billions to line the pockets of CEOs and shareholders, Californians would be making an investment in controlling their own power, as in Los Angeles and 30 other communities."

If the rate freeze is repealed, Public Citizen notes that this wouldn't be the first time consumers have bailed out the utilities. Utilities were allowed to add a surcharge onto electric bills, charging consumers more than $18 billion, to cover debts for the utilities' past investments in nuclear power. This billion-dollar bailout meant consumers have been paying artificially high electric rates. "It's like deja vu all over again," Slocum said. "Any rate freeze repeal must be offset by the $17 billion consumers have already bailed out the utilities for their bad investments in the past."

1/5/01
12:03:37 PM

The Counter-Inauguration

George Bush is forging ahead with Cabinet appointments, policy forums and political pronouncements designed to help him push his agenda quickly through Congress. But the shock troops of the movements for social justice, environmental protection and economic equality are already mobilizing. Civil rights groups and others will take to the streets of Washington and other cities starting on January 15, Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday, and continuing through the inauguration on January 20, to raise questions about the legitimacy of Bush's election, and to press for reforms that will guarantee more representative results in the future.

To encourage these efforts, we've launched the Counter-Inauguration Calendar, which highlights many of the groups organizing the wide range of expected protest activities. Available at:

http://www.thenation.com/special/counterinauguration.mhtml

There are also a number of new editorials, commentaries and articles looking at the quickly-assembling Bush Administration currently at http://www.thenation.com

CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS: Powell's Secret Coup http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20010122&s=hitchens

JESSE JACKSON, JR.: George Bush's Democrats http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20010122&s=jackson

BURT NEUBORN: Block Ashcroft - I http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20010122&s=neuborne

BRUCE SHAPIRO: Block Ashcroft - II http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20010122&s=shapiro

JOHN NICHOLS: Bush's Phony "Bipartisanship" http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20010122&s=nichols

1/5/01
12:01:32 PM

Clinton Moves to Protect Forests

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Clinton is declaring nearly a third of the country's federal forest land off limits to most logging, but some Republicans already are urging incoming President-elect Bush to scuttle the plan. The president, who was announcing the massive forest protection plan Friday, is determined to establish a legacy for protecting public lands as he completes the final weeks of his presidency.

In recent months he has proclaimed a number of new national monuments to further protect federal lands and was expected to designate several more before he leaving office on Jan. 20. But his forest protection rules, covering nearly 60 million acres of roadless forest lands in 38 states, have been even more controversial.

``The president pledged more than a year ago to protect these places, and this action fulfills that commitment,'' White House spokesman Elliott Diringer said. ``It restores balance to our national forests and ensures strong protection of these extraordinary lands for future generations.''

But the forest plan, largely intact from a proposal unveiled in November, has come under intense attack from mostly Republican Western lawmakers, and from energy, timber and mining industries as being too restrictive. Last week, Rep. Jim Hansen, R-Utah, the new chairman of the House Resources Committee, urged Bush to work with Congress to roll back the expected forest regulation.

In a letter to Bush and Vice President-elect Dick Cheney, Hansen called the ban on road building and the logging restrictions ``one of the most egregious abuses by the Clinton administration.'' Hansen also outlined other Clinton-era environmental actions that ought to be overturned - from banning snowmobiles in parks to the president's string of monument designations.

Under the forest plan, the Forest Service will ban road building in 58.5 million acres of federal forests where no roads currently exit, including 9.3 million acres in the Tongass National Forest in Alaska.

The regulations also will limit future logging in those areas to only activities that ``restore and preserve'' the forest, although commercial timber contracts already in the government pipeline will be allowed to go through. In some cases that could amount to continued logging for another six to seven years at today's harvesting rates, officials acknowledged.

Some environmentalists had wanted the timber sales stopped immediately. Still, environmentalists applauded Clinton's decision, while at the same time voicing concern that Bush may blunt its implementation or work with its opponents in Congress to reverse it.

Any efforts to overturn it ``would come with a great deal of political liability for Bush. This has huge public support,'' maintained Kenneth Rait of the Heritage Forest Campaign, an Oregon-based environmental group.

Despite an outcry from some Western lawmakers, Clinton has all along been determined to complete the forest plan before he leaves office. One senior adviser characterized it as largely a question of leaving an environmental legacy.

The vast majority of roadless federal forests are in the West, including parts of Idaho's Bitterroot range and Alaska's Tongass, viewed by environmentalists as North America's rain forest. Smaller sections are scattered across the country from Florida's Apalachicola National Forest and Virginia's George Washington National Forest to New Hampshire's White Mountains.

Clinton advisers have argued that the impact on the timber industry would be minimal because the roadless areas - although 31 percent of all federal forests - account for only a small percentage of all timber taken from government-owned land.

Still, Sen. Frank Murkowski, R-Alaska, called the plan ``fatally flawed'' and predicted it likely will be overturned by the courts. He has complained that the road-building restrictions would prevent the development of large reserves of natural gas, especially in the intermountain West. Timber, mining and energy industries already have threatened lawsuits against the forest plan. Another of the plan's most vocal critics, Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, has promised ``to leave no stone unturned'' to find a way to block the Clinton regulation. Several senators have said they will use a never-been-invoked 1996 law that allows Congress to rescind a regulation within 60 days.

But rescinding the regulation may not be easy. A coalition of Democrats and moderate Republicans increasingly has opposed road-building in federal forests, said Rep. George Miller, D-Calif. As to those who want to overturn Clinton's plan, ``they better bring their lunch to that fight'' because it will be intense, said Miller.

1/5/01
12:00:56 PM

EcoNet Alerts: January 5, 2001

Call on Bush to Unite Nation by Protecting Environment

Call on President-elect George W. Bush to rise above partisan politics and to act as "chief steward of America's environment to protect our air, water and wild lands and wildlife." Read More... http://headlines.igc.apc.org:8080/enalerts/978545995/index_html

Three Activists Block Road to Bison Trap Site; Two Arrested

Buffalo Field Campaign volunteers occupied Forest Service road 610 early this morning, blocking access to a bison capture facility site on the Horse Butte Peninsula. One activist sat in a platform suspended from a tripod while another attached herself to a locking device which was buried in the road. A third perched in a tree and videotaped as law enforcement personnel worked to remove the protesters and dismantle the blockade. Read More... http://headlines.igc.apc.org:8080/enalerts/978666522/index_html

Anti-FTAA Tour and Caravan to the Northeast U.S.

Here is more information about the proposed anti-FTAA awareness-raising and organizing tour of the Northeast USA that will be undertaken by members of the Anti-Capitalist Convergence (CLAC) of Montreal, and the Summit of the Americas Welcoming Committee (CASA) of Quebec City. Read More... http://headlines.igc.apc.org:8080/enalerts/978666903/index_html

NRDC Earth Actions: Cabinet Appointments, Riders, Snowmobiles, Salmon

On December 29, 2000, President-elect George W. Bush announced Gale Norton as his nominee for secretary of the interior. Many environmental organizations (including NRDC) believe this appointment is a slap in the face to the great majority of Americans who, time and time again, have said they want our parks and public lands protected from exploitation by well-financed, politically connected oil companies and other businesses.

Read More... http://headlines.igc.apc.org:8080/enalerts/978667297/index_html

EcoNet Headlines: January 5, 2001

U.S. Energy Demand, Greenhouse Emissions to Rise

As California's electricity grid is stressed by high demand, scant reserves, skyrocketing fuel prices and power shortages, the federal government has issued a 20 year energy forecast warning Americans to brace for more of the same across the country. Read More... http://headlines.igc.apc.org:8080/enheadlines/978663544/index_html

Global Warming May Trigger Greater Cooling of North Atlantic

Buried deep in the last section of a report from the Pew Center on Global Climate Change is a report by Steven Schneider about the possible effects of global warming on the Thermohaline Circulation. Read More... http://headlines.igc.apc.org:8080/enheadlines/978663702/index_html

Russian Forest Update

Russia contains nearly a quarter of the World's remaining forest areas - including massive "frontier forest" wildernesses. The Russian NGOs Forest Club and Socio-Ecological Union Informational Coordination Center put out a regular Russian forest update that you can subscribe to for free. Read More... http://headlines.igc.apc.org:8080/enheadlines/978664292/index_html

Gene-Altered Catfish Raise Environmental, Legal Issues

Some warn that genetically modified plants and animals could move into the wild and breed disruptive traits into local species, similar to the way African "killer bees" escaped a Brazilian research facility in 1957 and spread their aggressive traits. Others fear an opposite scenario: that instead of thriving, the modified plant or animal could interbreed with its natural cousins in ways that would destroy the species entirely. Read More... http://headlines.igc.apc.org:8080/enheadlines/978664655/index_html

Study Shows Pesticide Combination Leads to Parkinson's Disease

A combination of two commonly used agricultural pesticides, when injected into mice, causes the same pattern of brain damage seen in Parkinson's disease, researchers said on Thursday. Read More... http://headlines.igc.apc.org:8080/enheadlines/978664811/index_html

Global Coalition Urges China to Control Sales of Methyl Bromide

Fourteen consumer, health and environmental organizations from around the world have called on the government of the People's Republic of China to end the rapidly increasing production and consumption of the toxic, ozone-depleting pesticide methyl bromide. Read More... http://headlines.igc.apc.org:8080/enheadlines/978665070/index_html

NRDC Expected to Oppose Arsenic-Laced Water Fluoridation Chemicals

At the onset of 2001, many scientists expect the National Resources Defense Council to change their stance and oppose the use of water fluoridation chemicals which contribute significant arsenic levels to the drinking water. Read More... http://headlines.igc.apc.org:8080/enheadlines/978665320/index_html

GATS and the U.S. Position on Energy

It is a neo-liberal article of faith that deregulation increases "choice" and reduces prices. In practice it is doing neither, but when the medicine fails, the prescription is to give even stronger medicine. Read More... http://headlines.igc.apc.org:8080/enheadlines/978665626/index_html

GREEN/Defenders: Critical Pygmy Owl Habitat Under Attack, California Ravens May Be Separate Species

After approving mitigation measures, the USFWS, EPA, and Corps have given developers permits to begin destroying critical habitat for the endangered pygmy owl in southern Arizona's Pima County. Read More... http://headlines.igc.apc.org:8080/enheadlines/978665942/index_html

1/5/01
11:48:46 AM

World Environment News - January 5th, 2001 from Planet Ark

Here are today's Reuters 'World Environment News' headlines, proudly brought to you by Planet Ark.

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

Americans relearn how to cope with bitter winter - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9438

FACTBOX - Depleted uranium weapons blamed for post-war deaths - UK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9446

UK salmon farmers hit back at toxin allegations - UK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9447

Sweden posts record high power consumption in 2000 - SWEDEN http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9434

A little seal oil may do you good - researcher - NORWAY http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9436

Nutreco tumbles on salmon dioxin fears - NETHERLANDS http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9441

Italy fishermen worry uranium bombs dumped in sea - ITALY http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9439

Indonesian population rising at slower rate - INDONESIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9432

India to study impact of proposed Bombay airport - INDIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9431

Indian wildlife group alarmed by elephant deaths - INDIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9443

Girl trampled to death by elephants in east India - INDIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9440

Greece asks NATO for information on depleted uranium - GREECE http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9444

Two new German mad cow cases suspected in Bavaria - GERMANY http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9437

German utilities look to move nuke waste in March - GERMANY http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9445

US asked to block Canadian mine on Alaska border - CANADA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9435

Australia had cool, wet La Nina year 2000 - Bureau - AUSTRALIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9442

TO BUSINESS AND ENVIRONMENTAL EDITORS:

International Paper and The Nature Conservancy Announce Historic Conservation Agreement for the Adirondacks

ALBANY, N.Y., Jan. 04, -/E-Wire/-- International Paper (NYSE: IP) and The Nature Conservancy today announced a historic agreement that will conserve the forested character of the Adirondack Park, protect important ecological resources, create significant new outdoor recreation opportunities, and maintain the economic benefits of the region's working forest.

/Web sites: http://www.internationalpaper.com

/Web sites: http://www.tnc.org/

For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Jan01/04Jan0103.html

TO ENVIRONMENTAL EDITORS: Arbor Day Foundation Hosts Vote for America's National Tree

NEBRASKA CITY, NE, Jan. 04, -/E-Wire/-- Now, for the first time, the American public has the opportunity to vote for a national symbol. The National Arbor Day Foundation is hosting a process that makes it possible for people to vote for America's National Tree, either by visiting the Foundation's website, arborday.org, or through the mail.

/CONTACT: Gary Brienzo, Information Coordinator, The National Arbor Day Foundation, (402) 474-5655, gbrienzo@arborday.org/

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

For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Jan01/04Jan0102.html

TO ENVIRONMENTAL EDITORS:

Little Ha-Ha, Ecologically Friendly Children's Book Now Available at Major Book Stores

SANTA MONICA, CA, Jan. 04, -/E-Wire/-- Kissing Deer Press, LLC. Christopher Boyce, author of the Little Ha-Ha series of children's books and read-a-longs announced the distribution of his first title through Ingram Book Distributors, Lavergne, Tennessee. Both the book and the book & CD, featuring Irene Bedard, the voice and visual inspiration for Disney's Pocahontas, will be available.

/CONTACT: Kissing Deer Press, LLC 1223 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 897,Santa Monica, CA 90403-5400 (310)288-1655ph (310)451-5921fx/

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

For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Jan01/04Jan0101.html

1/5/01
11:44:23 AM

Environment Made Headlines Over Past 30 Years

By Cat Lazaroff

WASHINGTON, DC, January 4, 2001 (ENS) - Oil spills, chemical poisons and toxic wastes were among the top environmental stories of the past 30 years, according to a new list compiled by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. But just as newsworthy are the actions taken by the U.S. government to counter these environmental threats, the agency concluded.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) turned 30 years old in 2000. To mark this anniversary, the EPA's Pacific Southwest regional office has compiled a timeline of 30 of the top national environmental news stories of the past 30 years, and 30 of the top regional stories.

Former Senator Gaylord Nelson started the enduring annual tradition of Earth Day, first celebrated in 1970 (Photo courtesy The Wilderness Society)

The stories range from the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970 to the completion in 2000 of a program to destroy chemical weapons stored at the U.S. Army's Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System.

EPA's choices for the top environmental news include oil spills like the 1971 tanker collision beneath the Golden Gate Bridge that spilled 840,000 gallons of oil, a Shell Oil refinery spill that sent 365,000 gallons of crude oil spills into Carquinez Strait in 1988, and the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill that spilled 11 million gallons of crude oil into Alaska's Prince William Sound.

Other environmental disasters made the list along with the new legislation they inspired. For example, the 1984 explosion at a chemical plant in Bhopal, India led to the closure of many U.S. hazardous waste dumps, and to the 1986 passage of the Toxics Right-To-Know Law.

In 1974, scientists learned that certain chemicals can damage the ozone layer. In 1985, a hole in the ozone layer over Antartica was discovered. This image shows the ozone hole as of October 3, 1999 (Photo courtesy NASA)

The 1974 finding that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) damage the earth's stratospheric ozone layer led to several national and international actions, including a 1978 ban on CFCs in aerosol cans, the 1985 discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole, and the 1987 signing of the Montreal Protocol, which orders the phase out of CFCs in the U.S. and 23 other nations.

The 1978 discovery of toxic wastes buried beneath the community of Love Canal, New York, made the list, as did the 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear power plant accident near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

The 1973 passage of the Endangered Species Act provided protections for creatures like the northern spotted owl - and headaches for the timber industry (Photo courtesy U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

Several major legislative actions are on the list, including the 1972 passage of the Clean Water Act, the 1973 passage of the Endangered Species Act, and several updates and strengthenings of the 1955 Clean Air Act. In 1980, the Superfund Law provided new funding for hazardous waste cleanups.

Many wildlife species, including the bald eagle and the peregrine falcon, have made a dramatic recovery since the EPA banned the use of the pesticide DDT in 1972. This long lived chemical, which builds up to toxic levels as it passes up the food chain, continues to poison birds and animals that eat fish from contaminated waters.

A number of the pro-environmental actions that made EPA's list were taken by President Bill Clinton's administration. In 1994, Clinton signed an Environmental Justice executive order, requiring all federal agencies to abolish and prevent policies that led to a disproportionate distribution of environmental hazards to low income communities of color.

The Brownfields Program, which provides funds to remediate and revitalize abandoned industrial sites, was launched by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1994.

Birds like this peregrine falcon benefited from the 1972 ban of the pesticide DDT (Photo by Craig Koppie courtesy USFWS)

In 1996, the Safe Drinking Water Act and Food Quality Protection Act mandated use of stricter new standards to limit contaminants in water and food. That same year, the EPA, eight western governors and four tribal government chairs reached agreement on a 40 year plan to restore clear skies over the Grand Canyon.

The Clinton administration took several actions to clean up the air around the country. In 1997, the EPA adopted stricter health standards for ozone and particulate matter, known popularly as the smog and soot rule. Opponents have delayed implementation of this rule, and the U.S. Supreme Court began hearing challenges to the rule in November 2000.

In December 1999, the EPA ordered tougher emission standards for sport utility vehicles, and just last month, the agency approved new emission standards for new heavy duty trucks and buses, intended to cut their pollution by 95 percent by the year 2010. The rule also requires that cleaner diesel fuel, with 97 percent less sulfur, must be sold by 2006.

An estimated 250,000 seabirds and thousands of other animals were killed when the Exxon Valdez ran aground in 1989, spilling 11 million gallons of crude oil into Alaska's Prince William Sound (Photo courtesy Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council)

The automotive and trucking industries are expected to challenge these rules.

More of the national stories have been posted on EPA's national Web site, at http://www.epa.gov/history/timeline/

The EPA's regional office has posted its summary timeline at: http://www.epa.gov/region09/features/top30/

1/5/01
11:42:31 AM

ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE (ENS) http://ens-news.com

"We Cover the Earth For You"

ENVIRONMENT MADE HEADLINES OVER PAST 30 YEARS

By Cat Lazaroff

WASHINGTON, DC, January 4, 2001 (ENS) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) turned 30 years old in 2000. To mark this anniversary, the EPA's Pacific Southwest regional office has compiled a timeline of 30 of the top national environmental news stories of the past 30 years, and 30 of the top regional stories.

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens.lycos.com/ens/jan2001/2001L-01-04-06.html

ENVIRONMENTALISTS HAIL SETTLEMENT IN MANATEE LAWSUIT

By Brian Hansen

WASHINGTON, DC, January 4, 2000 (ENS) - A coalition of environmental groups today announced a landmark legal settlement that could help to pull back the imperiled Florida manatee from the brink of extinction.

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2001/2001L-01-04-15.html

EUROPE TO LAUNCH NEW EARTH MONITORING SATELLITES

GENEVA, Switzerland, January 4, 2001 (ENS) - A powerful new European weather satellite to be launched early next year will strengthen environmental monitoring in Europe and 45 African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2001/2001L-01-04-03.html

NORWAY TURNS ITS BACK ON HYDROPOWER

OSLO, Norway, January 4, 2001 (ENS) - Norwegian prime minister Jens Stoltenberg has created a mini-sensation in Norway by declaring in his traditional New Year's Eve national address that "the era of large-scale new hydropower development is over" and that several big hydro projects are to be abandoned.

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2001/2001L-01-04-02.html

ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE AMERISCAN: JANUARY 4, 2001

Coast Guard Violated Oil Pollution Act, Judge Rules

California Governor Calls Special Legislative Session on Energy

Solar Energy to be Standard Feature in New Homes

4000+ Communities Targeted for Enhanced Fire Protection

Limits Placed on Crab Fishing Vessels in Bering Sea

California Poachers Busted in Colorado

Energy Secretary Names Head of Office of River Protection

Washington State Seeks Public Input on Water Quality

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens.lycos.com/ens/jan2001/2001L-01-04-09.html

TO CITY, BUSINESS AND ENVIRONMENTAL EDITORS:

John Elkington and Paul Gilding to Headline 'GEMI 2001: An Odyssey to Environmental Excellence'

WASHINGTON, DC Jan. 04, -/E-Wire/-- The Global Environmental Management Initiative (GEMI) today announced two of its key speakers for its Annual Conference that will take place March 19-20, 2001 at the Renaissance Harborplace Hotel in Baltimore, MD.

/CONTACT: Amy Goldman of the Global Environmental Management Initiative, 202-296-7449/

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

For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Jan01/04Jan0105.html

TO CITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL EDITORS:

Chester County Watershed Protection Forum Announced by the Delaware River Basin Commission and Chester County Water Resources Authority

WEST CHESTER, Pa., Jan. 4 -/E-Wire/-- A discussion on integrating water resources protection in land use planning will take place January 8 in West Chester, Pa.

/CONTACT: Clarke Rupert of the DRBC, 609-883-9500, ext. 260, or crupert@drbc.state.nj.us/

/Web site: http://www.chesco.org/water / /Web site: http://www.state.nj.us/drbc /

For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Jan01/04Jan0104.html

1/5/01
11:32:33 AM

Blessings

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness...... you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.

If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation....... you are ahead of 1 billion people in the world.

If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death..…. you are more blessed than 3 billion people in the world.

If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead, and a place to sleep...... you are richer than 75% of the world.

If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace...... you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.

If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful...... you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not.

If you can hold someone's hand, hug them or even touch them on the shoulder...... you are blessed because you can offer God's healing touch and give love to someone.

If you can read this message...... you just received a double blessing in that someone was thinking of you, and furthermore, you are more blessed than the 3 billion people in the world that cannot read at all.

Have a good day, count your blessings, and pass this along to remind everyone else how blessed we all are.

1/5/01
11:29:04 AM

EAT, DRINK, AND BE MERRY After a decade of debate, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released final standards for labeling organic foods last month, siding with environmentalists and the organic farming industry on nearly every contentious issue. The standards, which will become fully effective in 2002, ban the use of irradiation, biotechnology, and sewer-sludge fertilizer for any food labeled organic. All three methods would have been allowed under the standards proposed by the USDA in 1997, but the department did an about-face after receiving nearly 300,000 public comments protesting their inclusion. The final standards also ban the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers in growing organic foods, and the use of antibiotics in organic meats. Sales of organic foods in the U.S. have increased by 20 percent each year since 1990, reaching $6 billion in 1999.

New York Times, Marian Burros, 21 Dec 2000 http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/21/science/21ORGA.html

BALKAN DEATH GRIP Italy on Wednesday became the latest European country to ask NATO to be more open about the depleted uranium weapons used in past Balkan conflicts. Six Italian soldiers who served in the Balkans have died of leukemia, leaving some wondering whether the deaths might be tied to exposure to the DU ammunition. France, Spain, Portugal, Finland, and Belgium have also begun looking into the matter, and European Commission President Romano Prodi has also expressed his concerns. The DU weapons are made of low-level nuclear waste material and leave toxic and radioactive debris. DU bullets were used for the first time against Iraqi tanks in 1991, but their use in the Balkans is thought to be the first time they've been employed in a populated area.

BBC News, Alex Kirby, 03 Jan 2001 http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_1098000/1098858.stm

BBC News, 04 Jan 2001 http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_1100000/1100332.stm

Check also "Euro-scare grows over NATO uranium projectiles and cancer" at: http://asia.dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/world/article.html?s=asia/headline s/010104/world/afp/Euro-scare_grows_over_NATO_uranium_projectiles_and_cancer .html

AND ANOTHER RELATED 30 YEAR OLD HORROR STORY FROM EAST GERMANY

"Spies trailed with radioactive spray" at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,417688,00.html

1/5/01
11:23:00 AM

Impeach George W. Bush Petition

The link below is a petition to impeach George W. Bush for usurping democratic processes. Please sign

http://www.petitiononline.com/ddc12/petition.html

1/5/01
11:22:10 AM

Election Anger Fuels Inaugural Protesters

Washington Post Thursday, December 21, 2000; Page A10

The raw wounds left by the presidential election finale have created enough irritation to unleash one of the largest inauguration protests in years, according to veteran organizers and police officials.

"This will be by far the biggest counter-inauguration since the 1973 Nixon counter-inauguration," predicted Brian Becker, co-director of the International Action Center in New York, who has demonstrated at numerous presidential swearing-in events. "We organize protests not infrequently, and we know when something has legs and when it doesn't have legs. This one does."

At the second inauguration of President Richard M. Nixon, police estimated there were 25,000 to 100,000 demonstrators, including some who threw fruit and stones at Nixon's car. The total crowd was about 300,000.

D.C. police are expecting about 750,000 people on Jan. 20 when President-elect Bush is sworn in, and they said they think many demonstrators will be content to voice their displeasure peacefully.

Becker's group, like several others hoping to flood parts of the city on Inauguration Day, had been planning to be in Washington no matter who won the election. But enough people think the outcome was illegitimate, he said, that it has cranked up protest passion. Within hours of the Dec. 12 U.S. Supreme Court decision blocking Vice President Gore's effort to recount votes in Florida, Becker and other organizers said, their Web sites were deluged with inquiries.

"There's a tremendous amount of spontaneous organizing going on," said Becker, 48.

A rainbow of left-leaning groups had planned to rally on the Mall to vent outrage at a variety of demons [notice how Washington Post usees the term 'demons' to put down what are actually injustices and outrages -ed], including racism, the death penalty and the corporate influence on politics. But complaints that some Florida votes were not counted, including those of many African Americans, have given demonstrators powerful common issues.

Unlike the street protests against the World Bank in April, no civil disobedience has been planned, organizers say. They said the demonstrations will feature signs, chants, giant puppets, skits and a squad of radical stilt walkers being trained in Philadelphia.

"We are not planning to shut down the inauguration," Becker said. "We are planning to make it plain that the inaugural route is not the private property of those who support the death penalty, so we're going to be well-represented on that parade route."

D.C. police aren't taking any chances with protesters' intentions, according to Executive Assistant Chief Terrance W. Gainer. He said he expects fewer than 5,000 unruly demonstrators might try to disrupt the inauguration, along with thousands of peaceful demonstrators.

In addition to the D.C. force, thousands of suburban and federal officers will participate in what officials described as an unprecedented level of security.

CLIP

On Monday, several dozen people attended a Justice Action Movement meeting. Most were students or young members of progressive organizations and unions, but several were old enough to have protested Nixon's inauguration. Justice Action Movement has dubbed Jan. 20 the "InaugurAuction," a reference to members' belief that the major parties buy the White House with corporate funds. [More like, the White House is being auctioned off to corporations.. but Washignton Post couldn't allow itself to undertsand that not just the two Parties, but corporations themselves, are being criticized, given that Post itself is a large corporation -ed]

"Because of a corrupt political system, we now have a president who is going to be threatening the lives of many innocent people because of his support for the death penalty, military policies abroad and free trade," said Adam Eidinger, 27, a movement organizer.

At the meeting, the group voted not to use violence, vandalism, weapons, alcohol or drugs. They also decided to remain in small groups scattered all over the Mall, employing creative visual effects and stilt walkers to make their points.

After the meeting, several organizers said they suspected a police infiltrator was in their midst. A man with a goatee looked just like a plainclothes officer who figured prominently in confrontations with World Bank demonstrators, according to organizers who said they have videotapes.

Before ending a brief telephone interview with The Washington Post, the man denied he was an undercover officer. A police spokesman said there is no one on the force with the name the man used at the meeting. Gainer confirmed that the police have infiltrated the protesters, but he didn't identify anyone.

"They're looking for excuses to shut us down," Eidinger said.

This week, a few members of Justice Action Movement held a practice InaugurAuction in front of the White House, offering to auction the building for $10 to carpenters building bleachers for the parade.

"I don't feel this particular election demonstrates ideally what the presidency is for this country," said Elizabeth Croyden, 30, an actress and film producer who participated. "It exposes a lot of flaws in the system, and I'm upset about it. If you don't get involved, how can you make a difference?"

1/5/01
11:14:32 AM

DIFFICULT TO UNITE BEHIND NATION'S CHIEF EXECUTIONER

Despite calls for unity by national leaders, it will be difficult for many Americans to support George W. Bush as President.

It isn't just that Al Gore won the national popular vote and probably would have become President if Bush and company had not prevented all the votes in Florida from being counted.

Nor is it just because Bush is backed by right-wing interests that care little for the poor, minorities, the environment, or even democracy.

No, many people will have a difficult time supporting Bush because he is the nation's Chief Executioner with over 150 notches on his belt since he became Governor of Texas in 1995. Personally, he reminds me of some South American dictators who are now on trial for human rights abuses.

Although Bush has claimed that he was merely carrying out Texas laws, it is very clear that he embraced the death penalty with fervor.

* He supported bills to shorten the appeals process and speed up executions.

* He supported the execution of mentally-ill and mentally-retarded people.

* He supported the execution of youthful offenders who had been horribly abused and neglected as children.

* He vetoed a bill that would have improved the legal defense for the poor.

* He did not intervene in executions even when it was clear that a defendant's legal defense was inadequate and flawed, when international treaties and laws were violated, when a prisoner was clearly rehabilitated, or even when there were strong indications of innocence.

Bush did not tell the truth when he said that the death penalty "saves lives". The death penalty has no deterrent value and Bush knows that.

He did not tell the truth when he asserted that the criminal justice system in Texas was fair to all defendants and that an innocent person had never been executed. Numerous studies have shown this to be not true.

He also did not tell the truth when he asserted that he could do nothing to intervene in an execution unless he received a recommendation from the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. Bush appointed this Board and could have his way with it any time he wanted.

Would other civilized nations elect their Chief Executioner to their highest office as has happened in the USA? Hopefully not, but of course most civilized nations no longer execute their citizens.

David Atwood Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty December 15, 2000

1/5/01
10:59:51 AM

A GOVENMENT PLOT AGAINST HERBS

02 January 2001

Thanks to Jacques Allrich, Jr., a terrible scheme has been brought to our attention.

A bill is being drawn up which will be appended to a complicated HMO bill which WILL NOT SEEM to be controversial. Both sides of the aisle want to reign in some of the abuses of the HMO's. So far, so good. However, if this bill slips through, the F.D.A. will then be empowered to regulate natural (herbal) products. Thus you would need a prescription to get your Echinacea, Vital Nutrition, etc.

It would devastate the health food industry while lining the pockets of physicians.

The email addresses of all of the Senators and Congressmen are currently available. Also, some unique software has been written which can send an email to each legislator. The email appears to have come from you. It is tempting to just go ahead and use it but, without your permission, that would be deceptive and downright unethical. With our large subscriber base we can probably stop this outrage in it's tracks. Imagine a legislator receiving 30+ thousand emails demanding that this nefarious appendage be removed from what is otherwise a good bill!

WILL YOU SPEND 30 SECONDS TO HAVE YOUR VOICE HEARD?!

If you share our conviction that herbs remain unregulated then all you must do is:

1: Send an email to jon5454@yahoo.com

2: Type "Herbs - A prescription item?" in the subject box.

3: Type "OK" in the text box. The OK will give John your permission to send an email to all senators and congressmen asking them to remove the clause in the new bill that will require us to have a prescription to buy herbs.

If you will take a few minutes and forward this to your friends, or post it on a news/discussion group we will gain thousands of new voices.

The alternative for not responding would be to resign yourself to paying $50 or more for your favorite herbal remedy. Not to mention a visit to the doctor every time you need anything and of course obtaining his or her permission to purchase the herbs.

Thank you,

Ron Radstrom, Founder Health Freedom Resources, Inc. 611 - South Myrtle Ave, Clearwater Fl 33755 Ph: (727) 443-7711 Fax: (727) 442-4139 healthfree@healthfree.com

TIRJAH ALSO SENT THIS:

Subject: Codex Petition Here - The FDA Only Gives To 1-16-01 To File Comments http://www.sightings.com/general6/vomm.htm

1/5/01
10:49:29 AM

http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2001/2001L-01-03-15.html Environment [ENS -- Environment News Service]

U.S. Agencies Seek to Turn Radioactive Metals into Consumer Items

By Brian Hansen

WASHINGTON, DC, January 3, 2001 (ENS) - The manufacture of consumer products out of radioactively contaminated materials discarded from commercial nuclear power plants and government bomb factories could become a fact of American life. In an extraordinary move, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission today asked the National Academy of Sciences to sanction the controversial practice.

Dr. Richard Meserve, chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), made the request during the public portion of a special National Academy of Sciences committee meeting in Washington.

[Meserve] Dr. Richard Meserve(Photo courtesy NRC) Meserve asked the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) panel to examine the practice of releasing radioactively contaminated solid waste materials into everyday commerce. He said this type of recycling is necessary to insure the continued viability of the commercial nuclear power plant industry and the Cold War decommissioning activities of the U.S. Department of Energy.

"There has basically been no guidance as to how those problems should be addressed," Meserve said to the panel of NAS scientists. "It is our hope that we will get your findings and recommendations as to how we should proceed in a timely manner."

Meserve's request of the NAS panel is the latest development in a long standing government and industry led effort to establish a consistent system governing the release of solid materials from NRC licensed facilities.

The nuclear power industry and the Department of Energy (DOE) are currently saddled with tens of thousands of tons of solid materials contaminated with low levels of radioactivity, which they once disposed of in specially designed nuclear waste disposal facilities.

That practice changed beginning in the 1970s, when the NRC, its licensees, and the DOE began searching for a more cost effective method of disposing of the enormous volume of steel girders, pallets, machinery and other solid materials tainted with tiny amounts of radioactivity.

The NRC and the DOE now allow their licensees and contractors to recycle some solid materials, but there is currently no national health based standard or generallyapplicable criteria governing the release of solid materials from commercialnuclear power plants or government nuclear weapons facilities.

[waste] Radioactive scrap ready for sale (Photo courtesy Environmental Assessment Division Argonne National Laboratory U.S. Department of Energy) Meserve said that the current "ad-hoc" recycling system is not sufficient for the NRC and its licensees, which he noted must spend large amounts of money to dispose of their low level solid wastes.

Meserve said that the DOE has encountered the same costly solid waste disposal problem "in spades" as it proceeds with decommissioning a number of Cold War nuclear weapons facilities.

"That's why we're here - to seek your advice on these matters," Meserve told the NAS panel.

At the NRC's request, the National Academy of Sciences' panel has agreed to examine the question of whether or not there are sufficient technical bases to establish a consistent system for controlling the release of what it is terming "slightly contaminated" solid materials.

The panel is expected to evaluate a number of factors in making its recommendations regarding the release of these materials, including studies of critical groups, exposurepathways and scenarios, and individual and collective doses.

Meserve asked the panel to consider a number of other factors in reaching its conclusion, including rulemaking actions taken by federal agencies, states, and the European Union.

Meserve outlined four conclusions that he said the NAS panel could reasonably reach.

Permitting the release of radioactively contaminated solid materials if the potential dose is less than a specified level. Restricting the release of such materials for only certain authorized uses, which could prohibit recycling. Prohibiting the release of materials that were stored in areas where radioactive materials were present. Segregating reused materials for public and nonpublic use.

Meserve added that his list of alternatives was not intended to "constrain [the NAS panel] from being more inventive" in its recommendations.

Meserve acknowledged the controversial nature of the solid waste recycling initiative, which environmental and public health groups have vehemently criticized.

[processing] Processing radioactive materials (Photo courtesy Manufacturing Sciences Corporation) "This is a difficult issue where the emotional currents run strong," he said.

Still, Meserve implored the NAS panel to resist putting a "spin" on its findings to address - or to avoid - the controversial nature of the NRC's solid waste recycling initiative.

"Call it the way you see it - we'll worry about the political fallout," Meserve said. "We want your best advice - give it to us straight."

Some members of the NAS panel did just that, as they wasted little time in peppering the NCR chairman with a host of probing questions.

Dr. Robert Budnitz, president of the California based Future Resources Associates, wanted to know why the NRC had requested the panel's recommendations at all.

"Where did this come from? What's going on?" Budnitz asked Meserve.

Budnitz, a former NRC official, said he suspects the request came about because the agency could no longer deal with the myriad individual recycling cases that it is currently juggling.

Meserve acknowledged the point, saying that "it's a licensee need," and that it is "extraordinarily expensive" for nuclear power plant operators to dispose of their radioactively contaminated solid materials through other means.

[pallet] Radioactive metal pallets (Photo courtesy DOE Oakridge Operations) Meserve added that, "There's a lot of decommissioning underway [at DOE nuclear weapons facilities] that we need to deal with somehow."

Bunditz pressed the point, asking Meserve if the Energy Department has "formally or informally" approached the NRC about pushing for a national standard for the recycling of contaminated solid materials.

"Is that part of this or not?" Bunditz asked.

Meserve acknowledged that he did "personally meet" with Energy Secretary Bill Richardson about this problem, and that Richardson had encouraged the National Academy of Sciences' involvement in the matter.

Andrew Wallo, director of the DOE radiation division's office of environment, safety and health, was on hand Wednesday to report the agency's perspective on the contaminated solid materials disposal problem.

Wallo noted that there are hundreds of tons of metals and other slightly contaminated materials at DOE nuclear weapons facilities that must be removed if the sites are to be cleaned up and closed down.

"It's a valuable commodity excepting the radioactivity in it," Wallo said of the materials.

Wallo told the panel that most of the scrap metal that has been released from DOE facilities is either not contaminated at all, or has surface contamination well below the agency's current standard. However, the pubic and the steel industry has not been accepting of those very low exposure risks, Wallo acknowledged.

Wallo recalled the furor that erupted when the DOE allowed contractor British Nuclear Fuels Limited (BNFL) to release 110,000 tons of radioactive metals - including 6,000 tons of volumetrically contaminated nickel - from the DOE's K-25 nuclear weapons plant at Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

Public health and environmental groups vehemently objected to the contract, saying that there was no law prevent the metals from being used to make silverware, orthodontic braces, hip joint replacements, and even intrauterine devices.

The steel industry also opposed the release of the contaminated scrap metal, saying that it would erode public confidence in the industry and cost steel companies tens of million of dollars should radioactive materials somehow find their way into production furnaces.

[Richardson] Energy Secretary Bill Richardson (Photo courtesy DOE) The public outcry forced Energy Secretary Richardson to block the sale of the radioactive nickel. Richardson later issued a moratorium restricting the release of such materials until a national policy could be devised.

Gary Visscher, vice president of the American Iron and Steel Institute, watched with interest on Wednesday as the NRC and the DOE asked the National Academy of Sciences to sanction the practice of recycling radioactively contaminated metals.

"Anything that diminishes the public's confidence in the safeness of steel is going to hurt our companies," Visscher told ENS.

Lisa Gue, a policy analyst with the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, was also on hand on Wednesday to keep tabs on the two federal agencies and their industry contractors.

"We have an ongoing concern with federal agencies that appease industry by setting rules that facilitate the release of radionuclides into the environment," Gue said. "If the nuclear industry cannot afford to protect the public and the environment from its waste products, then it's not a viable industry."

Gue and other observers said they are concerned with the large block oftime that was devoted to closed sessions during the three day meeting. According to the official agenda, a total of 12 and a half hours of meeting sessions are to be closed to the public, though officials pledged to post a summary of the private sessions on the Internet.

For more information on this week's meeting, log on to: http://www4.nas.edu/cp.nsf/Projects+_by+_PIN/BEES-J-00-02-A?OpenDocument

1/5/01
10:39:40 AM

Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting

Media analysis, critiques and news reports

ACTIVISM UPDATE: Turmoil at WBAI Attracts Media Attention

January 4, 2001

New York Pacifica station WBAI 99.5 FM has been the subject of some media scrutiny since FAIR's December 26 action alert (http://www.fair.org/activism/wbai-lockout.html ). Stories about the lockout and firings have appeared in the New York Times (12/28/00), New York Daily News (1/3/01, 12/29/00, 12/27/00, 12/24/00), Long Island Newsday (1/4/01, 12/24/00) and on the Associated Press wire (1/4/01).

To stay up-to-date on this story, please visit: http://www.savepacifica.net http://www.fair.org/activism/pacifica-history.html

The e-mail address FAIR provided for Pacifica executive director Bessie Wash is apparently no longer accepting mail. A better address is:

Bessie Wash, Executive Director Pacifica Foundation 2390 Champlain Street N.W. Washington, DC 20009 phone: (toll free) 888-770-4944 x348 mailto:bmwpacifica@aol.com

Should this address stop accepting mail, please check Save Pacifica's list of contact information for the best way to reach Wash: http://www.savepacifica.net/addresses.html

1/4/01
1:48:31 PM

Shadow of 'Illegitimacy' Stalks US President-Elect USA, Florida - Trailing his opponent by nearly a half-million popular votes in the national election, US president-elect George Bush is poised to move into a White House whose foundation may prove to be quicksand. As mounting evidence from a media sponsored vote recount in Florida indicates that Bush also failed to win the popular vote there, question marks continue to pile up. Full Story: http://www.savesite.net/gvnr/articles/010100_1.html

US Doctor Champions Humor & Love In New Medical Model USA, West Virginia - Patch Adams was initially the subject of ridicule and excommunication by the medical establishment, followed by praise and ultimately a popular movie based on his life. His affinity for unbridled humor & humanness set him on an early collision course with the traditionally stuffy medical school curriculum that taught that you should always maintain a professional distance from patients. Full Story: http://www.savesite.net/gvnr/articles/010100_2.html

Three Hundred Attend First International Youth Parliament Australia - "And A Little Child Shall Lead Them." The words of the prophet seemed to find fulfillment in the recent gathering in Sydney, Australia of more than 300 young delegates, age 14 to 28, from 150 countries who came together for the first International Youth Parliament. Full Story: http://www.savesite.net/gvnr/articles/010100_3.html

Monetary Experiment Challenges Debt-Based Banking Italy - Guardiagrele, a town in central Italy, recently gained worldwide attention by issuing it's own currency as a move toward implementing the bold economic theories of local resident and retired law professor, Giacinto Auriti. Auriti contends that Italy's Central banks have been robbing the public by fostering a debt-based economy which decreases spending value by at least half. Full Story: http://www.savesite.net/gvnr/articles/010100_4.html

US Congress Passes "One Day In Peace' Resolution USA, Washington, D.C. - In the midst of the election turmoil which gripped the USA in late October, a resolution was quietly, and unanimously passed by the US Congress, declaring the first of January each year as "One Day In Peace." Co-sponsored by 8 senators and 27 members of the House Of Representatives, Senate Resolution 138 brings into focus the growing concern that many Americans feel for peace. Full Story: http://www.savesite.net/gvnr/articles/010100_5.html

Two Million Russians Call For Environmental Referendum Russia - On October 24th the final procedure for launching a nationwide environmental referendum was completed with the collection of 2,561,268 signatures. The move signaled a new era of citizen participation in the 'New Russia' democratic process. Full Story: http://www.savesite.net/gvnr/articles/010100_6.html

Arizona Donors Tackle Social Change USA, Arizona - On a recent Sunday in Phoenix, about 100 philanthropists and community leaders gathered at an elegant home on the north side of the city to celebrate 'Possibility Sunday,' an event sponsored by the Arizona Social Change Fund and held on each month that includes a fifth Sunday. Full Story: http://www.savesite.net/gvnr/articles/010100_7.html

Summit Launches Earth Charter For New Millennium Netherlands - After eight years of deliberation with more than 100,000 people in 51 countries, the Earth Charter has been launched at a ceremony at the Peace Palace in The Hague.

Born out of the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, the Earth Charter was hammered out over the past two years by committees in more than 40 countries. It contains 216 main principles and 59 supporting principles that outline an integrated vision for human rights and sustainable development. Full Story: http://www.savesite.net/gvnr/articles/010100_8.html

Four Hundred Attend Iberian-American Light Conference Mexico - Monterrey, Mexico recently hosted the first IberAmerican network gathering of Spanish & Portuguese speaking 'lightworkers' from Spain and Latin America. The two-day meeting took place in the picturesque ashram of the 'Gran Fraternidad Universal' in suburban Monterrey, and included a host of activities that ranged from meditations, ceremonies, lectures, exhibits and performances. Full Story: http://www.savesite.net/gvnr/articles/010100_9.html

Intentional Community Hosts European Peace Initiative Portugal - "Possibilities of Global Peace Work" was the theme of a twelve day conference held last August under the auspices of The Institute for Global Peace Work in Tamera, Portugal. Tamara, which is both an intentional community and a conference center, was founded five years ago on a site of 330 acres in southern Portugal. Full Story: http://www.savesite.net/gvnr/articles/010100_10.html

'Heart Flame' Circles Globe With Message Of Peace United Kingdom - In 1945 the US bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan brought the pacific theater of World War II to a close and ushered in the nuclear age. As the story goes, a young man who had lost most of his family in the inferno, lit a flame from the burning embers. To him it was a symbol of his hatred for America for perpetrating such a terrible act. But to his grandmother it was a flame of love through which she remembered her deceased son. Fifty fives years later it has become internationally known as 'The Peace Flame." Full Story: http://www.savesite.net/gvnr/articles/010100_11.html

Dutch Apologize To Jews, Gypsies & Indonesians Netherlands - In a bold and - some would say - long overdue move last spring, the Dutch government apologized to Jews, Indonesians and Romas (Gypsies) for its initial "chilly Response" to claims for restitution of property seized during World War II. The apology carried an offer of $300 million in compensation. Full Story: http://www.savesite.net/gvnr/articles/010100_12.html

Global Resources

Click Here To See A Brief Description Of Each Listing http://www.savesite.net/gvnr/articles/010100_13.html

Animal Rights Animals Agenda Magazine http://www.animalsagenda.org/

Business Home Business Central http://www.home-business-central.com/

Communities Zegg Center For Experimental Cultural Design http://www.zegg.de/

Consciousness Solara & 11:11 http://www.nvisible.com/

Earth Mysteries Sacred Sites Of The World http://www.sacredsites.com/explore.html

Environment & Ecology Perelandra Center For Nature Research http://www.perelandra-ltd.com/

Lifestyles Center for the new American Dream http://www.newdream.org/

Peace The Peace Room http://www.peaceroom.org/

Science & Technology The Institute for Appropriate Technology http://www.i4at.org/

Spiritual Dance Of The Soul http://www.danceofthesoul.com/

Youth & Elders Psychic Kids http://www.psykids.net/

Editorial Guest Editorial By The Israeli Women of 'Bat Shalom.'

'Let The Women Speak!!!'

Click Here for full text http://www.savesite.net/gvnr/articles/010100_14.html

1/4/01
1:37:53 PM

ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE (ENS) http://ens-news.com

"We Cover the Earth For You"

U.S. AGENCIES SEEK TO TURN RADIOACTIVE METALS INTO CONSUMER ITEMS

By Brian Hansen

WASHINGTON, DC, January 3, 2001 (ENS) - The manufacture of consumer products out of radioactively contaminated materials discarded from commercial nuclear power plants and government bomb factories could become a fact of American life. In an extraordinary move, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission today asked the National Academy of Sciences to sanction the controversial practice.

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2001/2001L-01-03-15.html

COMBINATION OF PESTICIDES LINKED TO PARKINSON'S DISEASE

ROCHESTER, New York, January 3, 2001 (ENS) - A combination of two widely used agricultural pesticides - but neither one alone - creates in mice the exact pattern of brain damage that doctors see in patients with Parkinson's disease. The research offers the most compelling evidence yet that everyday environmental factors may play a role in the development of the disease.

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2001/2001L-01-03-06.html

SOUTH AFRICA TO SET EMERGENCY FISHING LIMITS

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, January 3, 2001 (ENS) - The severe depletion of at least 20 species of fish has been recognized by the South African government. Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister Valli Moosa will soon announce "emergency measures" aimed at rebuilding the numbers of these fishes, a government spokesman said today.

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2001/2001L-01-03-03.html

COURT SINKS FRENCH ENERGY TAX PLAN

PARIS, France, January 3, 2001 (ENS) - The French government's program of ecological tax reform was dealt a serious blow on December 28 when the country's constitutional court rejected a planned industrial energy tax that was due to take effect on January 1.

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2001/2001L-01-03-02.html

ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE AMERISCAN: JANUARY 3, 2001

EPA Sets Water Quality Criteria for Nutrients, Methylmercury

Ancient Underground Fractures May Threaten Ground Water Supplies

Mercury Research Strategy Unveiled

Clinton Bounces Japan Whaling Issue to Bush

Sierra Club Calls on Bush to Protect Environment

South Pole Snowpack Reveals Century's Air Quality

Critical Habitat Proposed for 32 Hawaiian Plants

EPA Issues Guidelines for Environmental Economics

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2001/2001L-01-03-09.html

TO BUSINESS AND ENVIRONMENTAL EDITORS:

Thermal Oxidizer Removes VOCs from Process Exhaust. . . Heat Recovery Adds Even Greater Efficiency

PATERSON, NJ, Jan. 03, -/E-Wire/-- This direct fired recuperative thermal oxidizer, designed and manufactured by Glenro Inc., is being used to clean a manufacturing exhaust stream that contains organic hydrocarbon contaminants. The oxidizer system not only processes 21,000 scfm of exhaust, but also uses primary and secondary heat recovery subsystems to recapture a large amount of heat energy for reuse in the process.

/CONTACT:Jim Alimena Glenro, Inc. jimva@glenro.com or info@glenro.com Voice: 1-888-GLENRO1 (1-888-453-6761)/

/Web site: www.glenro.com/

For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Jan01/03Jan0105.html

TO BUSINESS AND ENVIRONMENTAL EDITORS:

EarthCare Completes Acquisition of Solid Waste Company

DALLAS, TX, Jan. 03, -/E-Wire/-- EarthCare Company (Nasdaq: ECCO) announced today that it has completed the acquisition of EarthCare Florida (formerly Liberty Waste, Inc.). EarthCare Florida is located in Tampa, and owns a construction and demolition landfill in Ruskin, Florida, near Tampa, and has transfer stations in Clearwater and Tampa. Currently, EarthCare Florida has annual revenues of approximately $19 million and services commercial, industrial and residential customers in the Tampa area. There are also plans to expand its operations into other cities in Florida. EarthCare Company issued approximately 490,100 shares of its common stock to acquire the remaining 56% interest in EarthCare Florida it did not previously own.

/CONTACT: Lew Nevins, Vice President, Investor Relations of EarthCare Company, 972-858-6025/

For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Jan01/03Jan0106.html

TO MEDICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL EDITORS:

Aethlon Medical Confirms HIV Treatment Presentation

SAN DIEGO, CA, Jan. 03, -/E-Wire/-- Aethlon Medical, Inc., (OTCBB: AEMD) confirmed today that it has accepted an invitation to present its HIV-Hemopurifier(TM) treatment technology at Cambridge Healthtech Institute's Seventh Annual Blood Product Safety Conference on Tuesday, February 6, 2001.

/CONTACT: Investors: The Investor Relations Group, Inc., New York Dian Griesel, Ph.D., 212/736-2650 or Corporate Contact: James A. Joyce, Chairman, 858/456-5777 jimjoyce@aethlonmedical.com/

For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Jan01/03Jan0104.html

TO ENVIRONMENTAL EDITORS:

The Copano Institute Announces an Agricultural Breakthrough

AUSTIN, TX, Jan. 3, -/E-Wire/-- Mr. Guy McGowen, President of Biozome, (an agricultural research and development company founded in 1998), is please to announce a breakthrough in a revolutionary new way of helping plants grow.

/CONTACT: Guy V. Mcgowen, Phone: (512) 282-2087

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

For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Jan01/03Jan0103.html

TO NATIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL EDITORS:

Environmental and Animal Protection Groups to Make Major Announcement on Federal Manatee Protection Lawsuit

WASHINGTON, DC, Jan. 03, -/E-Wire/-- PRESS CONFERENCE:

WHO: Helen Spivey, co-chair, Save the Manatee Club (SMC) Eric Glitzenstein, attorney, Meyer & Glitzenstein Patrick Rose, director of governmental affairs, SMC Dr. Naomi Rose, marine mammal scientist, Humane Society of the U.S., and representatives from 19 national environmental and animal protection groups

/CONTACT: Howard White/Humane Society of U.S.: (301) 258-3072 D'Arcy Kemnitz/Wildlife Advocacy Project: (202) 588-5206 Judith Vallee/Save the Manatee Club: (407) 539-0990/

For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Jan01/03Jan0102.html

TO POLITICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL EDITORS:

Environmental Issues in the Bush Administration Website offers resources, background on urgent issues

WASHINGTON, DC, Jan. 03, -/E-Wire/-- Reporters covering President-elect Bush's environmental policy and appointees should make http://www.EMS.org their first stop for background, analysis and links to additional information.

/CONTACT: Jan Vertefeuille at EMS, 202/463-6670,

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

For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Jan01/03Jan0101.html

1/3/01
7:51:40 PM

World Environment News - January 4th, 2001 from Planet Ark

Here are today's Reuters 'World Environment News' headlines, proudly brought to you by Planet Ark.

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

Metuchen, N.J. sues to stop trash transfer station - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9428

Stop plundering earth-Canterbury Archbishop plea - UK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9430

Sweden says EU mass killing to combat BSE wasteful - PORTUGAL http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9426

Sweden says cannot burn all suspect animal waste - PORTUGAL http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9427

Rice output must keep pace with population - FAO - ITALY http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9429

German farmers protest to save condemned cows - GERMANY http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9425

Elyo wins $57 mln power deal in New Caledonia - FRANCE http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9424

Woodside buys 5 pct of US wave power firm - AUSTRALIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9423

1/3/01
7:50:24 PM

World Environment News - January 3rd, 2001 from Planet Ark

Here are today's Reuters 'World Environment News' headlines, proudly brought to you by Planet Ark.

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

S.Africa plans emergency measures to save linefish - SOUTH AFRICA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9422

INTERVIEW - Statkraft frustrated as Norway PM says no more hydro - NORWAY http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9418

POLL - Most Greeks would gladly pay a green tax - GREECE http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9420

German opposition campaigns against "ecology" tax - GERMANY http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9421

Renewable energy a hot sector for Australia stocks - AUSTRALIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9419

1/3/01
7:49:24 PM

Sen. Frank Murkowski had a column in last Sunday's Outlook Section of The Washington Post, calling for opening up the glorious Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration. Bush says this is going to be one of his priorities.

Even though Clinton is president for only a few more weeks, he can still designate the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to be a National Monument which would forever protect that pristine wilderness from oil drilling and other commercial development. Bush has already stated that he will turn the Refuge over to big oil. Clinton is on his way out and is sympathetic to this cause and has already protected more wildlands since Teddy Roosevelt was president. All he needs is a push from the public.

Call the White House hotline at (202) 456-1111 press "0" when prompted from 8:30-5:00 EST and tell the comments-line operator that you want President Clinton to declare the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to be a National Monument as the last great environmental act of his presidency. This one action may result in the protection of more animals than almost anything else you can do.

You may also send the president an email at: president@whitehouse.gov

or

fax: 202-456-2461

Your message or phone call can simply say:

Dear Mr. President,

As the last environmental act of your presidency, I am asking you to designate the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to be a National Monument.

Please culminate your presidency with this great environmental legacy.

Thank you, (your name)

Please send this message along!

1/3/01
7:46:51 PM

BUSH'S ENERGY SECRETARY CALLED AN ENVIRONMENTAL ZERO

WASHINGTON, DC, January 2, 2001 (ENS) - Spencer Abraham, an Arab-American, has been nominated as Secretary of Energy by President-elect George W. Bush, immediately drawing objections from environmental leaders. Abraham was elected to the U.S. Senate to represent Michigan in 1994 and was defeated in his November re-election bid. Regarding energy policy, Abraham said there are vast resources in the United States that are crucial to the nation's security. "We can make good use of them while at the same time, I believe, meeting our responsibilities as good stewards of the land, the air, and the water. This is the duty of the next Secretary of Energy and I am very eager to take up the task," he said.

But Friends of the Earth president Brent Blackwelder said the nomination is a disaster for the environment. Abraham's record is entirely composed of anti-environmental votes in the last congress, particularly in the area of energy, Blackwelder said. Abraham voted to increase special subsidies to the oil industry, and took positions against renewable energy and fuel efficiency standards. Consistently siding with the oil and coal industries, Abraham voted to open up the Arctic National Wildlife refuge to oil exploration and to continue mining mountains for coal in ways that Blackwelder said were in violation of the Clean Water Act. "The Bush cabinet is shaping up as a jobs program for recently defeated anti-environmental zealots and recycled Reagan and Bush era industry friendly operatives," Blackwelder said. "We are stunned by President-elect Bush's appointment of Abraham, a member of LCV's 2000 Dirty Dozen list, and our number one target for defeat last year," said League of Conservation Voters president Deb Callahan. "He even co-sponsored a bill to abolish the very department he's been nominated to lead," she said.

1/3/01
7:42:44 PM

ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE (ENS) http://ens-news.com

"We Cover the Earth For You"

U.S. Energy Demand, Greenhouse Emissions to Rise

WASHINGTON, DC, January 2, 2001 (ENS) - As California's electricity grid is stressed by high demand, scant reserves, skyrocketing fuel prices and power shortages, the federal government has issued a 20 year energy forecast warning Americans to brace for more of the same across the country.

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2001/2001L-01-02-01.html

China to Create First National Tiger Reserve

CHANGCHUN, China, January 2, 2001 (ENS) - A Chinese nature reserve that is inhabited by four to six Siberian tigers is about to be upgraded to a national park, according to the Chinese state information service.

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2001/2001L-01-02-02.html

Surf Videos Could Help Fight Erosion

COLUMBUS, Ohio, January 2, 2001 (ENS) - Researchers at Ohio State University have developed a new way to map the ocean currents that erode beaches, cost coastal towns millions of dollars in annual property losses, and threaten a tourist industry worth billions of dollars.

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2001/2001L-01-02-04.html

ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE: AMERISCAN JANUARY 2, 2001

Bush's Energy Secretary Called an Environmental Zero

Buffalo Protectors Rally at Inauguration of Montana's Governor

Ford Presents Hollywood Stars on National Geographic Telecast

New York to Assess Impact of Mosquito Control Pesticides

Vieques Bombing Protesters Rip Down Navy Fence

Four New Long Island Homes Destroyed by Arson

Apply Now for Environmental Justice Small Grants

California University First to be Designed to Green Standards

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2001/2001L-01-02-09.html

1/3/01
7:40:30 PM

The Butterfly Effect

by John H. Lienhard

http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi652.htm">www.uh.edu/engines/epi652.htm

Today, our notion of cause and effect changes forever. The University of Houston's College of Engineering presents this series about the machines that make our civilization run, and the people whose ingenuity created them.

Author James Gleick tells about MIT meteorologist Edward Lorenz. In 1960 Lorenz tried to model the weather. He wrote simplified equations and solved them on a primitive computer. Sure enough, his output did behave a lot like real weather. His colleagues watched over his shoulder. They were fascinated.

One day, Lorenz tried to continue a run he'd done the day before. He restarted it halfway through. He put in a number from the first run. The output started out just the way it had the day before. Then it began to diverge, crazily.

The equations were the same. The starting point was the same. But the results diverged. Lorenz checked his computer. He checked his arithmetic. Nothing had changed. Same equations, but on subsequent days the results diverged.

There was one difference, but how could it matter? Lorenz rounded off the fourth decimal place of the starting number on the second day. So he stopped to consider. All weather predictions do what his program just did. You can predict the weather for the day after tomorrow. Stretch that to a week, and your prediction always departs from reality.

The implication was staggering. We've always presumed that if you barely change a cause, you'll barely change the effect. Suddenly, Lorenz saw that the weather would change utterly if you started things out just a little differently.

No wonder real weather is so unpredictable! Weather obeys physical laws. But if you change one breath of air, those laws will spin out in a wholly differen story.

Meteorologists began talking about something they called the Butterfly Effect. The idea was that if a butterfly chances to flap his wings in Beijing in March, then, by August, hurricane patterns in the Atlantic will be completely different.

Not long after that day in 1960, the scientific world began changing. Perhaps all kinds of nasty problems we can't solve are nasty just because we can never state them accurately enough.

Lorenz had taken the first step on the road to showing that our world is far more chaotic than we dreamed. For generations engineers and scientists have been predicting things. But we've only predicted those things that are predictable - the breaking load on beams - the thrust of a rocket.

And weather, of course, is just one face of the larger thing we all want to know, but which we never shall predict. Somewhere in the world, a butterfly will always flap its wings and thwart our age-old craving to predict -- our own future.

I'm John Lienhard, at the University of Houston, where we're interested in the way inventive minds work.

Gleick, J., CHAOS: Making a New Science. New York: Penguin Books, 1987.

1/3/01
7:37:39 PM

Imagine- A Post Election Reflection

1. Imagine that we read of an election occurring anywhere in the third world in which the self-declared winner was the son of the former prime minister and that former prime minister was himself the former head of that nation's secret police (CIA).

2. Imagine that the self-declared winner lost the popular vote but won based on some old colonial holdover (electoral college) from the nation's pre-democracy past.

3. Imagine that the self-declared winner's 'victory' turned on disputed votes cast in a province governed by his brother!

4. Imagine that the poorly drafted ballots of one district, a district heavily favoring the self-declared winner's opponent, led thousands of voters to vote for the wrong candidate.

5. Imagine that members of that nation's most despised caste, fearing for their lives/livelihoods, turned out in record numbers to vote in near-universal opposition to the self-declared winner's candidacy.

6. Imagine that hundreds of members of that most-despised caste were intercepted on their way to the polls by state police operating under the authority of the self-declared winner's brother.

7. Imagine that six million people voted in the disputed province and that the self-declared winner's 'lead' was only 327 votes. Fewer, certainly, than the vote counting machines' margin of error.

8. Imagine that the self-declared winner and his political party opposed a more careful by-hand inspection and re-counting of the ballots in the disputed province or in its most hotly disputed district.

9. Imagine that the self-declared winner, himself a governor of a major province, had the worst human rights record of any province in his nation and actually led the nation in executions.

10. Imagine that a major campaign promise of the self-declared winner was to appoint like-minded human rights violators to lifetime positions on the high court of that nation.

None of us would deem such an election to be representative of anything other than the self-declared winner's will-to-power. All of us, I imagine, would wearily turn the page thinking that it was another sad tale of pitiful pre- or anti-democracy peoples in some strange country elsewhere.

1/3/01
7:36:50 PM

Department of Peace Introduced by Congressman Kucinich

Date: 12/21/2000 7:21:54 PM Pacific Standard Time From: litezap@yahoo.com (Empress Empress)

Hi Alan Today I received an invitation to the ceremonial swearing-in of Congressman Dennis Kucinich. Included was a card with a dove that says "May we create a New Year with Peace and Goodwill toward all" on the front and on the back...

Imagine a Department of Peace

Next year legislation will be introduced in Congress to create a cabinet-level Department of Peace to help make non-violence an organizing principle in our society.

On a domestic level, the Department will create new approaches to resolve school and gun violence, racial and ethnic conflict, domestic abuse and police-community relations challenges and make sure all may enjoy their inalienable human rights. Internationally, it will strive to prevent war.

We can create a better, more courageous nation together. Plese help. Call 216-252-9000 or see our web site at www.kucinich.net for more information about the concept. Imagine.

Namaste, The Empress Jan

Please see Jan's fractal butterfly art at <A HREF="http://members.tripod.com/~artenergy/fractal_butterflies1.htm"> http://members.tripod.com/~artenergy/fractal_butterflies1.htm</A> . I would also suggest adding the image of the butterfly lady sitting on the moon to your computer screen background. Go to <A HREF="http://members.tripod.com/~EmpressEmpress"> http://members.tripod.com/~EmpressEmpress</A> and right click your mouse on that image, then select background picture.

Subj: Department of Peace Endorsed by Musicians & Fine Artists Date: 12/25/2000 1:43:41 PM Pacific Standard Time From: Bflyspirit To: kucinich@mail.house.gov To: Souheila.Al-Jadda@mail.house.gov

Dear Congressman Kucinich:

We have unilateral and with great enthusiasm endorsed your effort to establish a Department of Peace and please consider that we are at your disposal. I have many ideas and suggestions on how to help promote the idea for a Department of Peace if you would like to hear them. I believe you know that I am also a friend of Jan LeComte. We apparently all have this same deep respect and appreciation for butterflies, art, and the role nonviolence must play in helping to create a new culture for world peace on Earth.

The following cover letter from Musicians and Fine Artists for World Peace makes mention of your campaign, so please read it and let me know what you think. If our organization may be of service to you, please give me a call.

I would also like to thank you for endorsing the Earth Proclamation. You were the first Congressman to have done so.

May Peace Prevail on Earth!

Alan Moore / Member-Peace and Justice Commission/City of Berkeley Butterfly Gardeners Association & Project Chrysalis/Director Musicians and Fine Artists for World Peace/Director

1/3/01
7:32:04 PM

Bush Taps Watt Protege for Interior By Brian Hansen

WASHINGTON, DC, December 29, 2000 (ENS) - In a move that sent shock waves through the environmental community, President elect George W. Bush today nominated Gale Norton to head up the Department of the Interior in his incoming administration. Norton, who served as attorney general for the state of Colorado for eight years, is a protege of James Watt, President Ronald Reagan's highly controversial Interior Secretary.

Announcing his pick at the presidential transition office in Washington, Bush said that the nation needs an Interior Secretary who will "respect the land and honor our national commitment to conservation." Bush praised Norton as someone with a reputation for "building consensus on divisive issues," and said that his Interior Secretary will have a "clear charge" in his administration.

"We will restore our national park system, we will develop partnerships with states and local governments and private citizens to conserve our lands and resources, and to protect the endangered species of America," Bush said.

President-elect George W. Bush's nominees for the Interior Department and the Environmental Protection Agency have both been sharply criticized by the conservation community.

Bush added that he will work with Norton to "find ways to develop our nation's resources in a balanced and an environmentally friendly way."

But the president elect's remarks did not evoke confidence among the nation's environmental leaders, who feared that Norton's appointment will usher in a return to the types of policies put forth during the tumultuous Watt era.

"Gale Norton was a close deputy to James Watt, who was the most notorious anti-environmental Interior Secretary in history," said Bruce Hamilton, the Sierra Club's national conservation director. "I have yet to hear anything from Gale Norton's lips that would indicate that she doesn't agree with those kinds of policies."

Norton, in her brief remarks at the Friday morning ceremony, said nothing about her ties to Watt, a man viewed with horror by most environmentalists. Norton said she looks forward to tackling a host of "challenging and important" issues if she is confirmed as Interior Secretary by the U.S. Senate.

"I welcome the opportunity to work with President elect Bush to preserve our wonderful national treasures, to restore endangered species, and help Americans enjoy the great outdoors," Norton said.

INTERIOR SECRETARY WIELDS POWER OVER A THIRD OF THE NATION

One of the oldest Cabinet level positions in the U.S. government, the Interior Secretary is saddled with myriad responsibilities, such as managing millions of acres of federal lands and enforcing laws that protect endangered species.

As the nation's principal conservation agency, the Interior Department governs a host of federal agencies, including the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Minerals Management Service, the Office of Surface Mining, the Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Geological Survey.

Norton noted that a full third of the nation's land is owned by the federal government. She said that she will work with all of the federal land management agencies to insure that America's public land is "used in an environmentally responsible way."

Echoing a principle frequently articulated by Bush, Norton said that the Interior Department "must build strong partnerships ... with states, local governments and private citizens to make thoughtful decisions about natural resources."

Norton said that as Colorado Attorney General, she worked with other policy makers in a "bipartisan way" to find common ground on difficult issues. She spoke about her affinity for Colorado's Rocky Mountains, where she said she frequently hikes with her dog, watches wildlife, and skis.

"In fact, if it were not for a call from the Bush transition team, my husband John and I would be skiing in those mountains today," Norton said.

NORTON APPOINTMENT A SURPRISE

Norton's nomination as Interior Secretary came as a surprise for many political observers. For weeks, the front runner for the post was thought to be Colorado Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, a Democrat turned Republican and the only Native American in the U.S. Congress.

But with the Senate split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans, it could have been a political blunder for Bush to tap Campbell for the Cabinet post, sources tell ENS.

Norton served as Colorado Attorney General from 1991 to 1999. During her tenure, she litigated state and federal constitutional issues, defended the state of Colorado against federal mandates, and chaired the environmental committee of the National Association of Attorneys General, according to a biography distributed by the Bush administration.

Norton was appointed to the Western Water Policy Commission by President elect Bush's father, former President George Bush. She currently serves as the environment committee chair for the Republican National Lawyers Association, as well as general counsel of the Colorado Civil Justice League.

Norton is employed as senior counsel at Brownstein, Hyatt & Farber, P.C., a politically influential Denver law firm.

Prior to being elected Colorado Attorney General, Norton worked in Washington as an associate solicitor for the Interior Department, as well as an assistant to the deputy secretary of the Agriculture Department. In 1979, Norton went to work for the Mountain States Legal Foundation, a Denver based legal center whose leaders describe it as being "dedicated to individual liberty, the right to own property, limited government and the free enterprise system."

Others describe the organization differently.

"The Mountain States Legal Foundation is a right wing, anti-environmental organization that is primarily set up to thwart environmental laws," said the Sierra Club's Hamilton. "Whenever there is a dollar to be made off of the public lands, the Mountain States Legal Foundation supports those people that want to make that dollar, regardless of whether it impacts wilderness, wild rivers, wildlife, clean air or clean water."

"This is a group that promotes exploitation over preservation," Hamilton added.

TIES TO JAMES WATT RAISE RED FLAGS

Norton was hired at the firm by James Watt, the organization's founding president. Watt later became President Ronald Reagan's Interior Secretary, but was later forced to resign because of his extremist beliefs regarding the stewardship of the nation's public lands.

The Mountain States Legal Foundation has been a major thorn in the side of the Clinton administration, which many environmental groups maintain has compiled one of the best environmental records in the nation's history. The foundation currently has a lawsuit pending against Clinton for his use of the federal Antiquities Act, which the outgoing president has used to create a host of national monuments throughout the American West.

William Perry Pendly, the group's current president, said in August that Clinton "thumbed his nose at the West, at the Constitution, and at Congress" when he used the Act to designate the monuments. President elect Bush has also been critical of the Clinton administration's initiative, and he has hinted that he might take steps to return the lands to their previous management status.

Norton, asked today if she would recommend such a move, said, "the West was concerned about those decisions in large part because there was no consultation with the people whose lives were most affected by land withdrawals by the Clinton administration. I will be discussing those issues with the Senate as part of my confirmation hearings, and at this time I have no position on what the incoming administration will be doing as to those designations."

Norton was also asked about opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuse to oil and gas exploration, an initiative decried by environmentalists and hundreds of the nation's most eminent scientists. Norton worked to open the refuge during her previous tenure at the Interior Department, and the initiative was a central plank of Bush's campaign platform.

"That is an issue ... that I cannot comment on in terms of my own actions on that, but I do support the president in the positions that he has taken during his campaign," Norton said Friday.

Susan Lefever, director of the Sierra Club's Rocky Mountain Chapter, said that Norton was "not very strong in enforcing environmental laws as [Colorado] attorney general." Levefer noted that Norton was a strong supporter of the state's "self audit" law," which grants prosecutorial immunity to industries that voluntarily disclose their pollution laws violations to state regulators.

"That doesn't bode well for a Secretary of the Interior," said Lefever, who noted that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has vigorously objected to the Colorado statute.

REPUBLICAN ENVIROS CRITICAL OF NORTON

Norton also once chaired an organization known as the Coalition for Republican Environmental Advocates (CREA), which even Republican environmentalists have denounced as an environmental fraud. Anne Callison, a Colorado resident and a board member of the group Republicans for Environmental Protection (REP), called CREA "the original greenscam."

"From my perspective, CREA was a front for a 'wise use' group," Callison said. "They've done nothing to protect human health, the environment, or to conserve a single acre of wilderness in this country."

CREA was founded in 1998, and according to its mission statement, was "dedicated to fostering environmental protection by promoting fair, community based solutions to environmental challenges."

The group held a fundraising event that year in Washington, where the keynote address was delivered by then Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. Other noted Republican lawmakers who were associated with the organization included Alaska Congressman Don Young, and Idaho Congresswoman Helen Chenoweth.

According to the League of Conservation Voters, the environmental voting records of the CREA members were among the worst on Capitol Hill.

CREA was funded by corporations and lobbying organizations that have long been the bane of the environmental movement, such as the Coors Brewing Company, the American Forest Paper Association, the Chemical Manufacturers Association, the National Mining Association, and a host of petroleum companies.

The organization has also drew a sharp rebuke from Congressman Theodore Roosevelt IV, whose great-great grandfather is often heralded as the nation's most important environmental president. Congressman Roosevelt once declared that he was "not amused" that CREA had modeled its environmental