[Mb-civic] Environmental news

[ean at sbcglobal.net]

Environmental news from GRIST MAGAZINE
<http://grist.org>


HER MAJESTY'S A PRETTY NICE GIRL -- AND SHE DOES HAVE A LOT TO 
SAY
Britain's Queen Elizabeth speaks out on global warming

In a rare public intervention into politics, Britain's Queen 
Elizabeth II met with Prime Minister Tony Blair and either -- 
depending which news reports you believe -- strongly expressed her 
concern about global warming, or smacked him upside the head for not
pushing the U.S. to join Kyoto.  While the queen regularly visits Downing
Street to discuss politics, it is almost unheard of for the substance of
those conversations to become public.  It's a leak few believe could be
accidental, particularly with the U.S. election fast approaching.  The
queen will also take the unusual step of opening a high-profile conference
on climate change this week in Berlin.  The queen's interest in global
warming -- which allegedly emerged from her observations of the impact of
climate shifts on her country estates -- is not entirely out of character.
 The royal family has long been a champion of environmental causes, and
even Buckingham Palace has been retrofitted to be more energy efficient.

straight to the source:  The Observer, Mark Townsend and Gaby 
Hinsliff, 31 Oct 2004
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3471>

straight to the source:  The Independent, Geoffrey Lean, 31 Oct 2004
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3472>

THE POLAR EXCESS
Comprehensive new study confirms that global warming is devastating Arctic

For the handful of people left in the world who don't yet believe it, a
comprehensive new study should remove all doubt that the Arctic is being
ravaged by global warming.  The four-year study, commissioned by eight
nations with Arctic territory (including the U.S.), was conducted by
nearly 300 scientists as well as representatives from native communities
in the region.  It concluded that while global warming will have a few
beneficial effects, like a longer growing season, the consequences will be
overwhelmingly negative for wildlife and human communities.  It also
concludes pointedly that "human influences, resulting primarily from
increased emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, have now
become the dominant factor" in climate change.  The report's official
release has been pushed back to Nov. 9 -- some say due to political
considerations regarding the U.S. election -- but large sections were
provided to The New York Times last week.

straight to the source:  The New York Times, Andrew C. Revkin, 30 Oct 2004
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3475>

straight to the source:  The Washington Post, Juliet Eilperin and 
Rick Weiss, 31 Oct 2004
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3476>




THAT'S THE STORY OF THE HURRICANE
Global warming could intensify hurricanes, some climate experts say

After this year's unusually devastating hurricane season, many folks who
study hurricanes were quick to reassure the public (and Congress) that
normal climatic fluctuations, not global warming, were to blame. But at a
press conference yesterday, a group of climatologists, including several
present and past members of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,
said the hurricanes that hit Florida, Haiti, the Caribbean, and (for the
first time ever) the South Atlantic -- not to mention the 20 typhoons in
the Pacific -- were consistent with the extreme weather events that global
climate change is expected to make more frequent in the future.  Though
they stopped short of drawing a direct causal link between this year's
hurricanes and global warming, the scientists warned strongly against
complacency in the face of what stands to be a lethal and expensive
pattern.  How expensive?  Matthias Weber of Swiss Re, the world's
second-largest insurer, said the insurance industry covered $150 billion
in weather-related losses this year, up from a yearly average of $4
billion in the 1980s.

straight to the source:  Duluth News Tribune, Cox News Service, Mike
Toner, 22 Oct 2004 <http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3399>


FISH 'N' CHICKS
Study finds mercury in 20 percent of women of childbearing age

A new Greenpeace-commissioned study on the correlation between fish 
consumption and levels of mercury in the body has produced interim 
results, and they may cause you to think twice about your next order of a
tuna-salad sandwich.  The study analyzed hair samples sent in by people,
many of whom read about the study on the internet [cough Grist! cough],
who also reported on their average monthly consumption of canned tuna,
locally caught fish, and fresh or frozen fish sold in stores and
restaurants.  Hair samples from some 1,449 people were analyzed for the
interim results; eventually the number will reach 5,000.  Roughly 20
percent of participating women of child-bearing age had mercury levels
exceeding U.S. EPA recommendations, as did one-third of those who consumed
canned tuna at least four times a week.  Mercury, you will recall, is a
neurotoxin that does bad, bad things to fetuses and young children.

straight to the source:  The Washington Post, Juliet Eilperin, 21 Oct 2004
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3396>

straight to the source:  San Francisco Chronicle, Jane Kay, 21 Oct 2004
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3395>

straight to the results:  Greenpeace Mercury Hair Sampling Project
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3403>


THANK YOUR LUCKY STARBUCKS
Starbucks chief pushes for fair-trade, eco-friendly coffee

Starbucks has served as a convenient target for the 
anti-globalization crowd, especially given that you can't throw a 
brick in some neighborhoods without breaking a Starbucks window.  But CEO
Orin Smith is fighting back against the company's bad reputation. He
recently announced that, by 2007, Starbucks would attempt to procure 60
percent of its coffee from farmers following a strict set of environmental
and labor rules under the Coffee and Farmer Equity (CAFE) Practices
Program.  Smith also announced that when he retires next March, he will
head a $1 billion fundraising effort for Conservation International, the
enviro nonprofit with which Starbucks developed the CAFE program.  "We are
well past the time when we can continue to make excuses that we can't do
anything about these things," Smith said.  "It isn't somebody else's
problem."

straight to the source:  Planet Ark, Reuters, 01 Nov 2004
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3473>

straight to the source:  The Seattle Times, Nicole Brodeur, 31 Oct 2004
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3474>


-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, option D 
(up to 3 emails/day).  To be removed, or to switch options (option A - 
1x/week, option B - 3/wk, option C - up to 1x/day, option D - up to 3x/day) 
please reply and let us know!  If someone forwarded you this email and you 
want to be on our list, send an email to ean at sbcglobal.net and tell us which 
option you'd like.



Action is the antidote to despair.  ----Joan Baez
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.islandlists.com/pipermail/mb-civic/attachments/20041101/917cd01b/attachment-0001.htm