[Mb-civic] Latest environews

[ean at sbcglobal.net]

It won't take you too long to read these important environmental newsbriefs from various 
sources....This is your world folks....Best to know what's goin' on...


WHERE THERE'S HEAT, THERE'S FIRE
Massive forest fires may be caused by global warming

The massive forest fires that have ravaged the American West in 
recent years may be caused by global warming, according to a new 
study in the journal Nature.  The Bush administration has argued that the
fires are unnatural, caused by overgrown forest ground cover, and more
logging, er, "thinning" is needed to prevent them -- thus the Healthy
Forests initiative passed last year.  But according to the study, such
arguments assume that the "Little Ice Age" from around 1350 to the early
20th century, which was characterized by cool, wet conditions, is the
norm.  An analysis of 8,000 years of sediment on Idaho forest floors shows
that, prior to that period, average global temperatures were higher and
massive forest fires were common. Maintaining Little Ice Age conditions
"will be difficult in the face of global warming," said study author
Jennifer Pierce.  As global warming accelerates, massive, destructive
forest fires are only likely to increase.

straight to the source:  Los Angeles Times, Bettina Boxall, 04 Nov 2004
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3543>

straight to the source:  Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Associated 
Press, 07 Nov 2004
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3544>


SOLUTION DILUTION
Bush admin opposes recommendations in Arctic climate-change report

Last week, details emerged about a comprehensive study on the 
accelerated and destructive effects of global warming on the Arctic,
involving more than 300 scientists from eight nations and six indigenous
tribes.  Now some members of an eight-nation negotiating team are accusing
the U.S. of working to water down recommendations based on the study. 
U.S. State Department officials have argued that the study doesn't contain
enough evidence to warrant specific policy proposals, something several
negotiators dispute.  Specifically, the Bush administration has fought
against a seemingly anodyne passage urging member countries to adopt
strategies that "aim at the reduction of the emission of greenhouse
gases."  Hey, just because there's a massive problem is no reason to go
around talking about solutions.

straight to the source:  The Washington Post, Juliet Eilperin, 04 Nov 2004
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3534>


FAT ACCOMPLI
Overweight passengers lead to higher airplane CO2 emissions

Everybody knows the U.S. is in the grips of an obesity epidemic.  And many
folks know that airplanes are major sources of atmospheric carbon dioxide,
which exacerbates global warming.  But did you know that the former is
contributing in a significant way to the latter? Neither did we -- until
now.  Americans' average weight rose by 10 pounds during the 1990s, and
according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that caused
airlines to burn 350 million more gallons of fuel in 2000, costing them
$275 million and producing an estimated 3.8 million extra tons of CO2. 
With fuel reaching record high prices, airlines are taking steps to reduce
weight, but they haven't put StairMasters in airports.  Yet.

straight to the source:  Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, 05 Nov 2004
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3537>


SOL TRAIN
Spain makes solar panels on new homes mandatory

Hoping to catch up to solar powerhouse Germany, sunny Spain has 
announced that as of next year, solar panels will become mandatory on new
and renovated buildings.  The government is shooting for a tenfold
increase in the total square footage of solar panels by 2010. Domestic
solar usage is low in Spain, though the country is a leading manufacturer
of solar panels.  With oil above $50 a barrel, the government claims that
solar power could save each household more than $100 a year just on water
heating costs.  The initiative could also make a notable dent in the
nation's greenhouse-gas emissions. Industry Minister Jose Montilla
promised subsidies to ease the transition, but gave no details.  Spain's
socialist government is headed by Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez
Zapatero, upon whom a Grist editor who shall remain nameless has a
considerable crush. This solar business is only going to fan the flames.

straight to the source:  The Times, David Sharrock, 09 Nov 2004
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3571>

---------------------

Defenders of Wildlife 
Rural Updates!
November 12, 2004 

1.  BUSH ADMINSTRATION REJECTS ANOTHER GLOBAL 
WARMING REPORT

The Bush Administration has rejected a new global warming report 
released this week with sobering findings by more than 250 
scientists.  The document asserts that global warming is heating the
Arctic almost twice as fast as the rest of the planet and this thaw
threatens the livelihoods of millions of people and could cause intensive
ecological disruptions including the extinction of polar bears.  Funded by
eight nations including the United States, the study is the biggest survey
to date of the Arctic climate and found that: "Earth's climate is changing
with the global temperature now rising at a rate unprecedented in the
experience of modern human society."  According to the Associated Press
who yesterday contacted White House spokesmen on the issue, "President
Bush is continuing his rejection of mandatory curbs on greenhouse gases
that are blamed for global warming." 

http://www.elitestv.com/pub/2004/Nov/EEN41913719c7c30.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35233-2004Nov8.html

GROUPS CHARGE U.S. PROMOTED SEED MONOPOLY IN 
IRAQ

According to a press release put out by GRAIN and "Focus on the 
Global South" the so-called "reconstruction" of Iraq has created 
changes in Iraq patent law which imposes "a system of monopoly 
rights over seeds."  The release maintains that the long standing 
practice by Iraq farmers of saving and replanting seed "has been 
made illegal under the new law."   The release continues saying 
that, "The seeds farmers are now allowed to plant – `protected' 
crop varieties brought into Iraq by transnational corporations in the name
of agricultural reconstruction - will be the property of the
corporations."   According to GRAIN these changes were made by form
Coalition Provisional Authority administrator L. Paul Bremmer III before
the transfer of power in June 2004 and will remain in effect unless
changed by the new Iraqi government.

http://www.grain.org/articles/?id=6

WHITE HOUSE ATTACKS NAFTA CONCLUSIONS 

When the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was 
signed, farmers, conservationists and indigenous people were all 
assured that their interests would be protected.  Now, just when a 
scientific panel of international experts has advanced shocking 
warnings about the risks of GMO corn to Mexican farmers, the 
Bush Administration is attacking the groups' recommendations as 
"unscientific."  As reported yesterday in the Washington Post, 
conclusions by the expert panel found that the unintended spread of 
U.S. genetically modified corn in Mexico "should be limited or 
stopped." This prompted the EPA and the US Trade Representative 
to quickly issue a release saying, "This report is fundamentally 
flawed and unscientific; key recommendations are not based on 
sound science and are contradicted by the report's own scientific 
findings,"  Norman C. Ellstrand, a University of California at 
Riverside geneticist and member of the NAFTA-appointed panel 
said of the affair. "How would Americans feel
? We would be 
outraged, and so are many Mexicans.  Like us, they have the right 
to make up their own minds about genetically modified crops."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37992-
2004Nov9.html?sub=new

THE TRADITIONAL WAY MAY NOT BE THE RIGHT WAY

In Eastern Oregon, the idea of sustainable agriculture is catching 
on. While western Oregon sports about 28,000 acres of organic 
food production, only 6,100 acres in eastern Oregon are devoted to 
organics.  But this seems to be changing as farmers warm up to a 
growing consumer demand.  The Organic Trade Association, for 
instance, says organic food sales grew from about $1 billion in 1990 to
$10.38 billion in 2003.  "We've been farming the traditional way for 50
years and we've been doing it the same old way, sprays and herbicides,
everything you've gotta do to provide a crop," said Walchli, a Hermiston,
Oregon grower.  "That was how we worked. The traditional way may not be
the right way." 

http://www.magicvalley.com/news/business/index.asp?StoryID=67
12

---------

GLOBAL WARMING PUSHES POLAR BEARS TOWARD EXTINCTION
The Arctic Impact Assessment, a four-year study by 300 scientists funded by the United 
States, Canada, Russia, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, Norway and Finland warns that the 
global warming could drive polar bears to extinction by the end of the 21st century. Polar 
bears cover tremendous expanses of sea ice to hunt seals, but global warming is causing the 
ice to melt away more rapidly each year. The extent of sea ice in the Arctic has decreased 
about eight percent in the past 30 years, resulting in the loss of 386,100 square miles—an 
area as large as Texas and Arizona combined. The sea ice in Hudson Bay now breaks up two 
and a half weeks earlier than it did 30 years ago, causing female polar bears to weight 55 
pounds less due to lost hunting opportunities.
The effects of global warming are appearing faster and most dramatically in the northern 
hemisphere. Some parts of the Arctic are warming ten times faster than the rest of the planet. 
The average winter temperature in Alaska, western Canada and eastern Russia has risen four 
to six degrees in the past 50 years and is predicted to increase another seven to 13 degrees in 
the next hundred years.

RUSSIA APPROVES KYOTO TREATY
Earlier this month Russia ratified the Kyoto treaty on global warming. The 1997 treaty will 
reduce the amount of industrial greenhouse gasses pumped into the atmosphere, but does not 
go into full effect until ratified by 55 industrial nations accounting for 55 percent of global 
greenhouse emissions. The United States, which produces 36 percent of the world’s carbon 
dioxide emissions, has slowed implementation by refusing to ratify the treaty. Russia's 
approval, however, means that the treaty will go into full effect.

BUSH ADMINISTRATION AGAIN REJECTS KYOTO TREATY
Questioned about the Bush administration’s global warming skepticism and its refusal to push 
for ratification of the Kyoto Treaty, James Connaughton, chairman of the White House 
Council on Environmental Quality, told the Associated Press: “President Bush strongly 
opposes any treaty or policy that would cause the loss of a single American job. . . .” The 
administration promised to fund more studies instead.

COURT ACTION STOPS ALASKA LOGGING
On 10-19-04, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Earthjustice, the Center for 
Biological Diversity and other environmental groups in temporarily stopping road 
construction on the Sea Level timber sale on Alaska’s Tongass National Forest. The decision 
blocks logging truck access to 9.5 square miles of the Sea Level Creek watershed until the 
full appeal is decided upon. Sea Level Creek is the last intact watershed in Thorne Arm on 
the south side of Revilla Island. It supports important salmon and steelhead runs.

The suit was brought by the Natural Resources Defense Council, Southeast Alaska 
Conservation Council, The Wilderness Society, Sierra Club, National Audubon Society and 
the Center for Biological Diversity. It was argued by Tom Waldo of Earthjustice. It asserts 
that the Forest Service put much more land in logging designations than the agency’s own 
economists indicated was necessary to supply local mills.

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Action is the antidote to despair.  ----Joan Baez
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