[alternet-l] THE ALTERNET NEWS - ISSUE # 52

[Adrian Harris]

THE ALTERNET NEWS - ISSUE # 52
This issue:

HOT SITES/
SAVING ALASKA/
US-EU CLASH/
SANCTION BREAKERS/
GM ON THE NET/
INDIGENOUS KENYANS/
OZONE ASTHMA/
OIL VICTORY/
GOLD MINE CLOSED/
JOBS/
QUOTE/UNQUOTE/
DIARY/

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---> http://www.gn.apc.org

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Back issues are on-line at: 
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HOT SITES

The BioRegional sustainable office initiative aims to close the loop for
London office paper. Organisations are encouraged to reduce paper use,
recycle paper to the local mill and then 'buyback' the recycled paper.
--> http://www.bioregional.com

The Association for Progressive Communications provides an international
listing of online events:
--> http://www.apc.org/english/ngos/calendar/

Which magazine reviews a selection of fair trade coffees:
--> http://www.which.net/publicinterest/freereport/01frontpage.html

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SAVING ALASKA

Industry wants to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil, and
during his campaign President-elect Bush repeatedly promised to let them.

When Congress convenes, Alaska's powerful anti-environmental senators will
control the crucial Energy and Appropriations committees, and the oil
lobby's champion Rep. Don Young of Alaska, will take over the
Transportation Committee. 

The Arctic Refuge, located on Alaska's northern rim, is one of the last
true wilderness areas left on earth. Its awe-inspiring landscape, traversed
by a dozen rivers, contains forests, glaciered peaks and windswept tundra. 

Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt has said that unleashing oil companies on
this sanctuary "will be its death knell as a wildlife refuge". Just 60
miles west of the Arctic Refuge is Prudhoe Bay, a gargantuan oil complex
that has turned 1,000 square miles of fragile tundra into a sprawling
industrial zone.

President Clinton can make the Arctic Refuge a national monument and
protect it forever. Clinton has created many new national monuments and has
declared his intent to leave a lasting environmental legacy. To contact
President Clinton urging him to act while he can to save Arctic wildlife,
visit the Natural Resources Defence Council's web site:

---> http://www.nrdc.org/land/wilderness/arctic.asp

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US-EU CLASH?

Sweden opened its new presidency of the European Union with a call to save
the environment, including proposals to extend the "precautionary
principle" to the chemical industry. An early clash with a new Bush
administration seems likely, especially on Climate Change:

"The climate issue is a key item on the EU's agenda" Swedish Prime Minister
Goran Persson told his national parliament.

Another serious point of tension between the Bush administration and the EU
could be defence, as the Swedes are highly critical of U.S. plans to
develop an anti-missile defence system.


More:
--> http://enn.com/news/wire-stories/2001/01/01032001/upi_clash_41125.asp

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SANCTION BREAKERS

Campaigners have challenged the Government to prosecute them for breaking
the economic sanctions on Iraq.  Four members of Voices in the Wilderness
UK, a campaign to lift the sanctions, are taking toys and medical supplies
to Iraq. By doing so they are breaking the UN sanctions, risking a maximum
prison sentence of five years.

They will return to the UK to join a mass non-violent blockade at the House
of Commons on the 16th January, the 10th Anniversary of the start of Desert
Storm. 

Economic sanctions were first imposed on Iraq on August 6 1990. Since then
hundreds of thousands of children have died of starvation and disease
brought on by the sanctions. Two former UN Humanitarian Co-ordinators for
Iraq, Denis Halliday and Hans Von Sponeck, have resigned in protest at the
sanctions. Halliday stated "We are in the process of destroying an entire
society. It is as simple and terrifying as that. It is illegal and
immoral." Both have called for the economic sanctions to be lifted
immediately.

Background:
--> http://www.welcome.to/voicesuk

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GM ON THE NET

The web has been crucial in the GM food debate. It allows small groups to
take on corporations and to carry out far reaching research. Most
importantly, the Internet facilitates communication. It was only after the
event that US citizens discovered that 60% of their diet had been
infiltrated by GM foods.

The latest revelation is from two respected scientists from the US
Environmental Protection Agency. Writing in the journal Science, they argue
that genetic engineering and selective breeding may not have the same
long-term effects. Wolfenbarger and Phifer said:

"Traditional breeding is limited by the available genetic variability in
the target organism or its
relatives. The great potential, as well as risk, of genetic engineering is
that it removes those limits."

Thousands would normally read their work, but once the story found itself
on the Net, millions picked it up.

--> http://just-food.com/features_detail.asp?art=336

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INDIGENOUS KENYANS

A international coalition of human rights and environmental organisations
have launched an online campaign to urge the Kenyan government to protect
the Ogiek, an indigenous tribe that lives in Kenya's Mau Forest and is
fighting to remain in their ancestral home.

The group has set up a web site for the Ogiek that includes a form to
generate protest letters, an explanation of the issues, and recent news.

"Since indigenous peoples often lack political clout, they make easy
targets for governments. With the Ogiek.org site, we hope to raise public
awareness about the Ogiek's situation and level the playing field so that
the Kenyan government will respect their rights," said Bobson Wong,
executive director of DFN, one of the partner organisations behind the site.


Kenya's government is forcing the Ogiek out of the forest, insisting that
the area be environmentally protected under the country's Forest Act. But
Kenya is allowing logging companies to cut down trees in the forest.

--> http://www.ogiek.org

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OZONE ASTHMA

Is ozone responsible for the asthma epidemic in children? A connection has
been widely suspected, but never proven. Now researchers at the University
of California have confirmed a link between asthma and
childhood exposure to ozone - one of the more unpleasant components of smog. 

New Scientist report:
--> http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns227210

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OIL VICTORY

The campaign by the indigenous U'wa people of Colombia to stop Occidental
oil from drilling on their sacred tribal lands received a big boost when
Fidelity Investments dumped $412 million worth of Occidental shares. Next
on the hit list is the Sanford Bernstein company, now the largest
institutional investor in Occidental Petroleum.

Rainforest Action Network
--> http://www.ran.org

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GOLD MINE CLOSED

The Delta Gold mining company is in the process of moving everything off
the Timbarra Plateau site. The company had recently tried to sell the mine
to a smaller gold mining company but, after their Annual General Meeting in
Melbourne (where an excellent action was held), the smaller company decided
not to go ahead.

Timbarra Plateau is a unique high altitude wetland habitat in New South
Wales, Australia. This wilderness, home to at least 27 threatened species,
is an important Aboriginal sacred site.

See AlterNet #51:
--> http://www.gn.apc.org/activities/alternet/051%2008-12-00.html#a4

The victory comes as campaigners call for mining to be controlled by
international standards, and the European Union releases a report on the
Esmeralda cyanide mining disaster.

"Mining companies need to be held accountable and international standards
need to be put in place to prevent future catastrophes." said Geoff Evans
of the Mineral Policy Institute, Australia. "The international records of
Australian, Canadian, USA and British mining companies are atrocious."

"The industry must learn that clean rivers and healthy ecosystems are more
precious than gold" said Steve D'Esposito, Mineral Policy Center, USA.

International mining companies routinely dump waste directly into rivers
and oceans, and destroy farmland with acid drainage that leaks off mine
sites and into river systems.

AlterNet report on Esmeralda:
--> http://www.gn.apc.org/news/alternet/033%2024-02-00.html#rivers

More:  
Friends of the Earth Hungary 
--> http://www.zpok.hu/cyanide/baiamare/

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JOBS

Campaigns Officer
Sustaining grassroots support for campaigning activities in the UK which
aim to end the inappropriate marketing practices of the baby feeding industry.
The post is for a fixed term of 1-year beginning Feb/March 2001 at our
office in Cambridge, England. Hours and salary to be decided.


Send us an e-mail saying why you are interested in this post, including a
postal address. We will mail you a job description and application details.
Closing date 19th January. Interviews scheduled for 25th January.

Please reply to: prundall at babymilkaction.org or prundall at gn.apc.org

--> http://www.babymilkaction.org/

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QUOTE/UNQUOTE

" ...we need a nobler economics that is not afraid to discuss spirit and
conscience, moral purpose and the meaning of life, an economics that aims
to educate and elevate people..." 

E.F.Schumacher

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DIARY DATES:

Reclaim the Streets: 020 7281 4621; rts at gn.apc.org
LONDON MEETING EVERY TUESDAY 7pm - Cock Tavern pub, Phoenix Road,

JANUARY

16: 1 pm; mass non-violent blockade at the House of Commons against Iraq
sanctions. 10th Anniversary of the start of Desert Storm. 

22: 7:30 at St Thomas Church, Haymarket, Tyneside The Tyneside Socialist
Forum is hosting a discussion on green/red politics and activity.
E-mail: info at risingtide.org.uk

FEBRUARY

February 4-23: The market : Master Or Servant?
The course looks at the origins of our society's faith in the market as the
only reliable route to prosperity and freedom, and examines the evidence
and arguments used to justify it. It explains how international
institutions such as the World Bank and the IMF enforce the free market
dogma in the South, the effects such policies have on ecosystems and
societies, and how an environmental division of labour is emerging between
the rich and the poor nations. 

Details: http://www.gn.apc.org/schumachercollege/collprog.htm
E-mail: schumcoll at gn.apc.org

24: I Love CUBA cabaret organised by Cuba Solidarity Campaign
Camden Centre, Bidborough Street, London NW1
World sounds from John Williams and friends, comedy from Kevin Day, Salsa
from Merengada.
More special guests to be announced.
8.30pm - 2am, doors open 7.30pm
Advance tickets on 020 7263 6452 or 020 7281 4057
£15/£12 conc. (£18/£14 on door)

More Diary Dates on GreenNet:


http://webboard.gn.apc.org:8086/default

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