Earth Island Journal articles from June 1999

Earth Island Journal archives from June 1999

Dear Journal.
June 22, 1999... Tragedy of a common error? I'm afraid your passion for finding something to squawk about has poisoned your perception or destroyed your memory. In the issue of Vol. 14, No. 1, on page 13, under the headline "Genetic Engineering in Your...

Errata.
June 22, 1999... In the most recent issue of EIJ, we wrongly listed Gary North as a resource for information on Y2K. We do recommend people check out , but solely as an example of how the most reactionary elements in our society are using the Y2K issue to...

Remembering Henry Kendall, 1927-1999.
June 22, 1999... "No more than one or two decades remains," began a statement in Earth Island Journal over half a decade ago, "before the chance to avert threats we now confront will be lost and the prospects for humanity immeasurably diminished. A new ethic is...

Positive Notes.
June 22, 1999... Mini-car Did you know that 87 percent of US commuters travel Less than 18 miles to work, mostly alone? The Sparrow knows. A hybrid car-motorcycle, this shiny six-foot mutant can reach 60mph and runs "40-60 miles" between charges. (That 20-mile...

Eco-Mole.
June 22, 1999... Twisty ethics Karma Farms, a horse breeder in Marshall, Texas, has introduced a new, horrifying question to the practicum of animal rights philosophy: should we breed monstrous animals solely because we can? Karma Farms' "Twisty Cats," bred...

Move over, Oscar!(awards for environmentally-conscious movies)
June 22, 1999... The Journal's 1998 Green Screen Awards Our annual Green Screen Awards salute the most (and -- with the accompanying Brown Screen Awards -- the least) environmental films of the previous year. The winners are: A Civil Action...

Bio Watch.
June 22, 1999... Germ gone In 1997 a mysterious, deadly, and hard-to-kilt microbe, Pfiesteria piscicida, appeared in alarming numbers in coastal waters of the eastern US, apparently killing huge numbers of fish and injuring still more. Now it seems to have...

Global Marketplace.
June 22, 1999... Myanmar out of Massachusetts A Massachusetts state boycott of businesses that deal with military-ruled Myanmar (Burma) has drawn eight US states, the US Congress, the US Justice Department, corporate lobbyists, Japan, the European Union, and...

Earth Island in the news.
June 22, 1999... Blaming pinnipeds The National Marine Fisheries Service's (NMFS) recent report to Congress (Impacts of California Sea Lions and the Pacific Harbor Seals on Salmonids and West Coast Ecosystems, February 1999) recommends killing sea Lions to...

Fight continues against globalization.
June 22, 1999... Thanks to massive opposition by people from around the world, the proposed Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI), scheduled for April 1998, is all but dead. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) intended MAI as a...

California heeds Bluewater.(Bluewater Network, environmental organization)
June 22, 1999... Almost two years ago, Bluewater Network began lobbying the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to regulate and reduce gas and oil pollution from two-stroke outboards and jet skis. The Air Resources Board -- a division of California's...

Guilt by association?(Recreational Equipment Inc.'s environmental policy)
June 22, 1999... Michael Collins, REI's Manager of Public Affairs, accuses Bluewater Network of "falsely associating" REI with companies that profit from motorized recreation, and of falsely accusing REI of funding special interest groups that promote it. ...

iPura Vida!("Pure life," Costa Rica's motto)
June 22, 1999... iPura Vida! Costa Rica's motto means "pure life." Since abolishing the national army in 1948, Costa Rica has enjoyed a stable and peaceful democracy. Focusing on health care, education, and protecting its environment, it has developed a...

Is Paris greening?(Paris, France; environmental movement)
June 22, 1999... In October, Paris' mayor Jean Tiberi announced that the city was mostly withdrawing from a 336-acre urban renewal project, "Rive gauche," which was to include high-rise buildings on platforms over rail lines, with over nine million square feet...

Keep the "Dolphin Safe" tuna label honest!(United States Department of Commerce)
June 22, 1999... As this article goes to press, environmentalists are waiting for a decision by US Commerce Secretary William Daley on whether he will severely weaken the "dolphin safe" tuna label. A decision is expected in mid- to late April. There is still...

US Navy plans ocean assault.(United States Navy's sonar system injures marine life)
June 22, 1999... The oceans are vast, dark habitat for whales and dolphins who rely on sound much as people rely on sight to carry out their primary life functions, from communication to finding food and escaping danger. The US Navy is now pursuing deployment...

Mexican greens sue over turtle die-off.(environmental activists protest salt corporation)
June 22, 1999... Over a dozen Mexican environmental groups have filed a criminal lawsuit against the Mexican salt corporation Exportadora de Sal S.A. (ESSA) located in Guerrero Negro, Baja California, Mexico for killing 94 endangered sea turtles and other...

Extinction and health.(species extinction events in world history)
June 22, 1999... No part of earth is undisrupted by humankind's acts, from the sea floor to the interior of the most remote land. Only those species that thrive on our disturbance have benefited. The rest are at least beginning to decline. Some have vanished...

Silent Spring II.(declining bird populations)
June 22, 1999... Thirty-six years have passed since the publication of Silent Spring, Rachel Carson's landmark study of pesticide impacts. Thanks in part to action inspired by her work, spring is not yet silent. But it may be quieter than it once was; some...

Cats indoors!
June 22, 1999... How many birds and other wildlife do domestic cats kill in the US? At estimate, hundreds of millions of birds and more than a billion small mammals, such as rabbits, chipmunks, squirrels, and shrews, each year. Along with common small animals,...

Plants out of place.(plant ecology)
June 22, 1999... When I attended my first conference organized by the California Exotic Pest Plant Council, I expected to hear about the magnitude of the problem, as well as about new methods to combat the spread of invasive plants in California. I hoped to be...

Invasion of the maple snatchers.
June 22, 1999... At the turn of the century, the majestic American chestnut tree filled up the eastern forests and supported an entire complex ecosystem. By 1950, a rapidly spreading fungus -- recently traced to a source in Japan -- had virtually wiped out the...

Clearcutting the ocean floor.
June 22, 1999... Trawling is a widespread method of catching fish and invertebrates. Trawling vessels from 30 to 450 feet long (sometimes in pairs) fish by pulling large nets through the sea. Most trawling occurs on the seabed, targeting species such as...

A grizzly business.(hunting of grizzly bears in British Columbia)
June 22, 1999... Grizzlies in British Columbia (BC), Canada are being pushed towards extinction as a direct result of trophy hunting and the destruction of their habitat. Despite an urgent appeal from environmental organizations worldwide, the government of BC...

Froggy went a missin'.(endangered amphibians)
June 22, 1999... Even if the ominous headlines have become less frequent, the world's amphibians- - frogs, toads and salamanders -- are still in trouble. Fifteen North American species remain on the federal endangered species list, and more species may...

Broken promises.(Northwest Forest Plan; includes related articles)
June 22, 1999... Remember the Northwest Forest Plan hat was supposed to save the spotted owl, the salmon, and the ancient forests of the Pacific northwest? It started out five years ago as a terrible compromise that left too much of the ancient forests...

Going, going, dugong.
June 22, 1999... In the days of sailing ships, when sailors could be at sea for months, even years at a time, the dugong was mistaken for a mermaid by lust-sick sailors. Even as early as Homer we hear ,of the dugong (order Sirena) trying to lure sailors onto...

Recycling yourself.(ecological burial)
June 22, 1999... Toward a sustainable after-lifestyle They gingerly place the material into a massive, virtually impenetrable, hermetically sealed container, then place the container into a second fortress-like enclosure of concrete and steel that weighs...

El Dorado Nuevo in Colombia.(oil rush and indigenous people; includes related article)
June 22, 1999... From the heights where condors soared, the legend of the gilded man floated down from Cundinamarca and across the Andes. Each year the chieftain of the Muiscas would cover himself in gold dust and plunge ceremoniously into Laguna de Guativita,...

Redwood and steel.(alliance of steelworkers and forest activists; includes related article)
June 22, 1999... Steelworkers join ranks with forest activists About 200 striking United Steelworkers of America and Headwaters Forest activists marched December 2 through the high-rise canyons of downtown Oakland to City Hall, shouting, "We love trees, we...

Cross-border cooperation.(protesting Ward Valley nuclear waste dump, California, near Mexican border)
June 22, 1999... Activists work to stop nuke dumps In January, 1999 at the United States Embassy in Juarez, Mexico, amid the lines waiting for travel and work visas, nearly two hundred Mexican and US activists gathered for song, dance, and talks about...

Outdoor fees?(recreation fees for federal lands)
June 22, 1999... The outdoor recreation season will soon be upon North America and it will once again be time for United States outdoor lovers to purchase their annual "Trail Park Pass," "Adventure Pass," or other public lands access permit. But a growing...

Green bananas.(Better Banana Project)
June 22, 1999... Bananas - sweet, nutritious and amusingly shaped - are at the center of a bitter and dead-serious trade war between the US and Europe, which put the yellow fruit in the media spotlight for months. But environmentalists and labor activists have...

The Facts: Ending Logging on National Forests.
June 22, 1999... Just over a century ago Congress did a terrible thing. Under industry pressure, an appropriations "rider" was attached to the Interior Department spending bill, opening this nation's national forests to logging for the first time. Prior to...