Earth Island Journal articles from January 2004

Earth Island Journal archives from January 2004

From the editor.
January 1, 2004... I told myself this issue's note from the editor wouldn't mention the US president. Even we at the Earth Island Journal do get tired of paying attention to bad news, after all: I planned to take one of the many small-scale victories that have...

Thanks, Adam.
January 1, 2004... Speaking of those future generations, we're sorry to report that we've had to say goodbye to Adam Spangler, our intern these last few months, who's back to school in Florida. Working here ain't nearly as much fun without him, but he promises to...

Oil wells won't end well.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2004... Richard Heinberg ("The end of the oil age," Autumn 2003) has got the story about right, but he is apparently unaware of an additional critical factor in US strategy. First, however, it should be understood that there are other as yet only...

Honestly, it was nothing.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2004... Thank you for your "honest" letter from the editor (Autumn 2003). It was a breath of fresh air, i.e. pure spirit. Peggy Randall Eastsound, Washington

Alaska: Oil and the Natives.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2004... This is not support for the severely flawed Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act ("Alaska: Oil and the Natives," Autumn 2003). However, the claim that ANCSA passed without a vote by Alaska Native people or the general public is simply untrue....

Breathtaking letter.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2004... I was horrified to read that the exterminator is considered a part of the treatment of asthma problems ("Breathless in Harlem," Autumn 2003). Pesticides are a part of the problem. So are the neurotoxic fragrances that many low-income people are...

Parks congress focuses on protected areas.(Africa)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... The fifth World Parks Congress--this year themed "Benefits Beyond Boundaries"--took place in Durban in early September. Two thousand delegates attended the first such congress held in Africa. Topics of discussion included the relationship...

Coral faces extinction.(Asia)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Coral reefs in the Indian Ocean and off Southeast Asia will be gone within 20 years due to rising ocean temperatures, according to British scientists. Coral organisms are highly sensitive to changes in temperature. The researchers, who...

Farmers don't cotton to Monsanto.(Asia)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Indian farmers wrecked a Bangalore research station to coincide with the opening of the fifth Ministerial Meeting of the World Trade Organization in Cancun. The research station was operated by Monsanto, which--through its partner, the...

Government to citizens: no nukes!(Australia)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... The state government of South Australia has placed a full-page ad in The Advertiser, Adelaide's daily paper, urging people to write to the prime minister to object to plans for a national nuclear-waste dump. Australia's federal government...

The hunt for depleted uranium.(Europe)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Germany is sending environmental experts to Iraq under the auspices of the UN. The team will evaluate damage to Iraq's natural resources as a result of two US invasions, the embargo, and the destructive policies of Saddam Hussein. ...

Tres chaud.(Europe)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... The deadly August heat wave that took the lives of at least 11,435 people in France was aggravated by unsafe conditions at that country's 58 nuclear power plants, experts say. Electricite de France (EdF) said the temperatures of reactor...

We won't log the Louvre, either.(Europe)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Shell Oil has promised not to develop or explore all and gas resources in World Heritage sites such as the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite, the Tower of London, the Acropolis, Vatican City, the Great Barrier Reef, the Great Wall of China,...

Deep-fried squid.(Europe)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... The head of a Spanish marine protection agency charged in September that shockwaves from Spanish Navy scientific tests have killed four giant squid--one the length of a bus--off Spain's Asturias coast in September. Luis Laria, president of...

Good news for sea turtles?(North America)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Endangered and threatened sea turtles have a new lease on life now that a new federal rule is in effect in the Gulf of Mexico. Scientists with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries, the federal agency responsible...

Don't empty that trash.(North America)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Just by setting up a Yahoo! Groups email list, Tucson, Arizona's Downtown Don't Waste It, a "nonprofit program offering work to disadvantaged Tucsonans, and recycling services to downtown businesses," has conceived a virtual full-time garage...

Indonesian wood sneaks past US border.(Oceania)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... In August, a shipment of tropical old-growth hardwood from Indonesia labeled "RIL verified" slipped unnoticed into the United States through the port of Hampton Roads in Norfolk, Virginia. The wood arrived as part of a reduced-impact logging...

Just java.(South America)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Small-scale coffee farmers are cheering a decision by Procter & Gamble, the largest coffee seller in the US, to sell Fair Trade Certified coffee products through its Millstone division. The announcement came in response to dialogue with...

Bank to fund Peru drilling project.(South America)
January 1, 2004... The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved financing in September for the controversial Camisea fossil fuel project in the Peruvian Amazon. Camisea's critics contend that support for the project is paving the way to indiscriminate...

Boreal Footprint Project.(Earth Island Project Reports)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... The Boreal Footprint Project has published a new report entitled "Aboriginal Experiences in Canada's Parks and Protected Areas." The report was commissioned to contribute to the combined knowledge of policy makers parks managers, and indigenous...

City Talk.(Earth Island Project Reports)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... City Talk will crown its first annual Queen of Lake Victoria on December 6. The Queen will serve as a mobilizer and coordinator of protection and conservation efforts for the lake. As part of her role, the Queen of Lake Victoria will visit the...

John Gray's SeaCanoe Tours, named by National Geographic Adventure as one of the World's Top 25 Adventures.(Earth Island Project Reports)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... John Gray's SeaCanoe Tours, named by National Geographic Adventure as one of the World's Top 25 Adventures, will donate 20 percent of select bookings to Mangrove Action Project until December 31, 2004. For more details, e-mail...

Two new projects have joined Earth Island.(Earth Island Project Reports)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Two new projects have joined Earth Island. Ethical Traveler gives adventurers, tourists, travel agencies, and outfitters information about their economic and political power and how they can best be used to strengthen human rights and protect...

Bay Area Wilderness Training (BAWT).(Earth Island Project Reports)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Bay Area Wilderness Training (BAWT) recently held its first Youth Wilderness Leadership Training with students from Bay Area School of Enterprise, the nation's first youth-initiated charter school. Participants were challenged by Yosemite...

Global Service Corps (GSC).(Earth Island Project Reports)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Global Service Corps (GSC) is now offering two-week programs, giving volunteers with limited time for travel the opportunity to work abroad on education, health, or sustainable agriculture projects. Volunteers will experience full cultural...

Sakae Fujiwara, author of Keiko's story for children, recently donated $4,000 from the proceeds of her book to the Free Willy/Keiko Foundation.(Earth Island Project Reports)
January 1, 2004... Sakae Fujiwara, author of Keiko's Story for Children, recently donated $4,000 from the proceeds of her book to the Free Willy/Keiko Foundation. Earth Island's Mark Berman, founder of the Free Willy Foundation, accepted the check from Fujiwara...

Lisa Wallace.(Earth Island Project Reports)
January 1, 2004... Lisa Wallace, executive director of the Truckee River Watershed Council in Truckee, California, has joined Earth Island's board of directors. Lisa's relationship with EII began in 1998, when she joined us as our project support director. She...

Some progress at IWC.(International Marine Mammal Project.)
January 1, 2004... The International Marine Mammal Project (IMMP) again participated in the annual International Whaling Commission (IWC), held June 16-19, 2003 in Berlin, Germany. Nations opposing commercial whaling held a slim majority in voting again this...

Military vs. whales fight continues in Congress.(International Marine Mammal Project)
January 1, 2004... Efforts by the Bush administration to exempt US Armed Forces from key environmental laws, particularly the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA), continue in Congress. (See "Congress passes conflicting...

Whale activist killed in St. Lucia.(Earth Island in the news)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Earth Island and environmental activists around the world are mourning the loss of Jane Tipson of St. Lucia. Jane was a regular activist at meetings of the International Whaling Commission. In 1995, she co-founded the Eastern Caribbean Coaliton...

Brower Youth Awards.(Earth Island in the news)
January 1, 2004... Four generations of environmental leaders attended the 2003 Brower Youth Awards ceremony on September 25 in Berkeley, California. David Brower even showed up to say a few words. David C. Brower and his cousin Rosemary Olsen--David R....

Campaign to Safeguard America's Waters.(Earth Island in the news)
January 1, 2004... While mega-cruise ships may conjure up images of romance and five-star service, they also pollute our water and air, evade taxes, pay substandard wages, and lobby around the democratic process. C-SAW continues its efforts to drag this...

Spoonbill action voluntary echo: disease threatens spoonbills in Taiwan.(Earth Island in the news)
January 1, 2004... Last winter, 73 black-faced spoonbills died of botulism in Taiwan. About 50 birds had already died before the cause of the disease could be identified. Local officials, along with scientists from Japan and around the world, scrambled to...

Mangrove action project.(Earth Island in the news)
January 1, 2004... Brazil contains the world's second largest mangrove area--estimates suggest that over a million hectares of mangrove forest are found "along Brazil's extensive coastline. Urban expansion, oil development, the charcoal industry, roadways, and...

Friendship with Uganda.(City Talk)
January 1, 2004... Entebbe, population 90,000, is a pleasant, green city on the edge of Uganda's Lake Victoria, site of a world-famous botanic garden. It is also the former seat of the Ugandan government and home of Uganda's international airport. When President...

ReThink Paper.(Earth Island in the news)
January 1, 2004... For the past two years, ReThink Paper has participated in "The Paper Campaign," targeting the Staples company to improve its environmental policy. Efforts included more than 600 protests at Staples stores nationwide, a public service...

Everybody's got a story.
January 1, 2004... Imagine being so dedicated to a cause that you'd consider a 3,000-mile corn mute. For the past five years, Veronica Eddy has done just that. Several times a year, Eddy treks from the East Coast to the West to attend EII board meetings....

Baja's beleaguered beaches: will an ill-considered mega-tourism development plan end a traditional way of life?
January 1, 2004... Pancho Verdugo has an eye for spotting whales. I am perched at the bow of his 15-foot panga (a small flat-bottomed boat), scanning the horizon, when he suddenly yells, "[??]Ballena!" I barely catch sight of the whale's misty breath far in the...

Silent towers, empty skies.
January 1, 2004... On the round-the-world trip chronicled in his book Following the Equator, Mark Twain stopped off in Bombay (now known as Mumbai) and, as part of the standard tourist circuit, was taken to the Towers of Silence, where the Parsi community brought...

Cancun diary: opposition from the world's poorest countries derails the World Trade Organization's fifth ministerial meeting.
January 1, 2004... September 8/9 Will it be a replay of Seattle, 1999? That's a question on many minds as delegates, 4,000 observers, 1,500 journalists, and tens of thousands of critics arrive in Cancun for the fifth ministerial meeting of the World Trade...

Another World is Possible: Popular Alternatives to Globalization at the World Social Forum.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Another World is Possible: Popular Alternatives to Globalization at the World Social Forum. William F. Fisher, Thomas Ponniah eds.; Zed Books, 2003 $19.95 Good News for a Change: How Everyday People Are Helping the Planet by David T....

The greenhouse diet: as if climate change isn't bad enough: elevated CO2 may deplete the food you eat of protein, with devastating ecological consequences.
January 1, 2004... You may be familiar with the dangers of climate disruption as a result of human-induced increases of carbon dioxide (C[O.sub.2]) and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. But recent scientific discoveries hint at disastrous disruptive...

Balancing on a turtle's back: species protection versus human needs in Panama.
January 1, 2004... Each year, on a few dark nights in a secluded cove of Panama's Azuero Peninsula, thousands of olive ridley sea turtles emerge from the Pacific Ocean to lay their eggs in the sand. Each one, out of water for perhaps the first time since birth,...

Fueling tensions with water: the liquid dimension to the Middle East conflict.
January 1, 2004... It may or may not be true that the ongoing war in Iraq is about off; the jury, it seems, is still out. But oil certainly played some role in the conflict, if only as a voice in President Bush's darkest subconscious, reminding him of the grease...

"Deep-sea corals are perhaps the most vulnerable to bottom trawling of all forms of marine life.".(Voices)
January 1, 2004... Deep-sea corals, found off all coasts of North America, are the ancient forests of the oceans. These beautiful living colonies are extremely slow-growing--less than an inch a year--and some may be thousands of years old. The corals are spawning...