Earth Island Journal articles from September 2003

Earth Island Journal archives from September 2003

The search for truth. (From the editor).
September 22, 2003... In our previous issue, I related the story of one Micah Spradling, who sued Dr. Michael Dini of Texas Tech for requiring a student to accept evolutionary theory before receiving a letter of recommendation. In the article, I wrote that Spradling...

Six-month-old fish letters. (Letters).
September 22, 2003... Thanks to David Helvarg for his piece "The Last Fish." (Spring 2003 EIJ) It's an old story, but his overview of government and private mismanagement of our fisheries reserves will be useful to the younger folks who read your journal and don't...

But if all six billion people joined Earth Island ... (Letters).(Author Abstract)
September 22, 2003... David Brower (Outside Magazine, July 1998) clearly stated: "The leadership are fooling themselves. Overpopulation is a very serious problem, and overimmigration is a big part of it. We must address both. We can't ignore either." He was...

Bush beats around biotech. (Africa).
September 22, 2003... On May 21, 2003, President George Bush informally charged all of Europe with proliferating famine in Africa by blocking the import into Europe of genetically modified crops from the United States. The US government says it plans to sue the...

Boost for the fynbos. (Africa).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2003... Conservation of South Africa's unique fynbos plant community has been given a massive boost. $14 million in grants from the Washington-based Global Environment Facility (GEF) will support a 20-year cooperative Cape Action for People and the...

Ghanaian forests threatened. (Africa).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2003... The government of Ghana is being pressured by mining companies, including the US firm Newmont, to allow mining in the country's protected forests, after decades of alleged atrocities by Ghana's miners, including burning and looting of villages,...

Restoring the Garden of Eden. (Asia).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2003... Drained by order of Saddam Hussein to deprive his political opponents of habitat, the expansive marshes at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, known as the Mesopotamian marshlands, may have been a model for the Biblical Garden of...

When elephants arrest. (Asia).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2003... Elephants in Indonesia are protecting trees from being felled illegally. Forest rangers from the Nature Conservation Agency of North Bengkulu on Sumatra Island trained 28 elephants to charge illegal loggers when they hear the sound of chain...

Horsepowered trade. (Asia).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2003... According to Oxford University research fellow Amanda Vincent and Project Seahorse, the largely unchecked seahorse trade in Eastern Asia, spanning 39 countries, has caused the global seahorse population to drop by half in the last decade,...

Indian state has new forest policy. (Asia).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2003... The state government in Manipur, India has formulated a new forest policy, says Forest and Environment Minister C. Doungel. The state's forest cover has receded in the last several decades, causing increasingly severe climate and other...

Australian for SARS. (Australia).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2003... Scientists believe Australians could be at risk of contracting diseases like SARS because kangaroo, crocodiles, emus, and other wild animals are being killed in growing numbers for human consumption. The popularity of these exotic animals...

Great Barrier buffers. (Australia).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2003... The Australian government proposed increasing the protected areas of the Great Barrier Reef to seven times the 4.6 percent now protected. Off-limits "green zones" would ban shipping and commercial fishing from a third of the marine park, which...

Victory at the IWC. (Europe).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2003... At the International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting held in Berlin, Germany in mid-June, 40 conservation groups joined governments from Australia, Brazil, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Monaco, the Netherlands, New...

Dolphin deaths. (Europe).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2003... Dolphins of the North Atlantic are washing up on the beaches of England and France in record numbers. This year's total is already over 1,000. The cause is pelagic or mid-water trawlers, which pull large fishing nets between two boats....

Caviar dreams. (North America).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2003... As the caviar industry in the Caspian Sea faces possible collapse, new sources for the luxury item, such as North American waters, are quickly becoming alternatives, and environmental groups are just as quickly showing concern. "Caviar and...

New economic indicators. (North America).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2003... A report released by the National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy on June 9 urged Canada to become the first nation in the world to begin using environmental indicators to measure the country's wealth and economic sustainability....

Slick oil reporting. (North America).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2003... An April oil spill in Buzzard's Bay off Massachusetts that fouled beaches and sea life in the area was originally reported by the barge's owner to be a mere 14,700 gallons. Well, it seems that number was off just a bit. According to more recent...

Nature conversion, see? (North America).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2003... According to a series of articles in the Washington Post, the Nature Conservancy allegedly felled trees, drilled for gas beneath the last breeding-ground of the endangered Attwater's prairie chicken, and sold preserve lands to its trustees and...

Marine science in middle America? (North America).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2003... A new US presidential commission aims to use marine sciences to mold policy on inland issues, such as agricultural runoff and pesticide use. Scientists and environmentalists have long known that what occurs inland and upriver has huge...

Killing to save iguanas. (North America).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2003... On isolated Mona Island, between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, hunters and conservationists are joining forces to save the rhinoceros iguana (Cyclura cornuta stejnegeri). Hundreds of hunters flock here every year to hunt goats and...

Greenland, black cloud. (North America).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2003... The Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme reports that Greenlanders, especially the indigenous Inuits, should consider changing their native diet, formerly seen as one of the world's healthiest. The advice is intended to save the...

Cash for trash. (North America).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2003... Betsy Hess-Behrens, an 80-year-old self-described "Raging Granny," is the recipient of a $750 prize awarded to Berkeley, California residents whose trash cans are devoid of recyclables or compostables. The Cash for Trash Contest, sponsored...

Holding back the waves. (Oceania).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2003... Dr. Richard Holdaway and Trevor Worthy, authors of New Zealand, The Lost World of the Moa: Prehistoric Life in New Zealand, say that a fourth wave of extinction has begun since human arrival to the majestic isles. Holdaway and Worthy say...

That ain't coffee in Brazil. (South America).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2003... 300 million gallons of caustic soda and chlorine were spilled into the Paraiba do Sul and Pomba rivers in southern Brazil, cutting off clean water supplies to over 600,000 people in three states surrounding Rio de Janeiro. The accident...

Spreading the wealth. (South America).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2003... The Nature Conservancy and the Panama Canal Authority (PCA) have joined forces to preserve the Panama Canal watershed. Focusing on the Chagres River, the two organizations want to conserve neighboring rainforests, promote biodiversity, and...

Members of Earth Island Institute gathered in Santa Barbara, CA, May 15 for a spectacular evening of conversation and a great view of the lunar eclipse. (Earth Island Project Reports).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2003... Members of Earth Island Institute gathered in Santa Barbara, CA, May 15 for a spectacular evening of conversation and a great view of the lunar eclipse. Michael Ableman graciously hosted the event at Fairview Gardens, as members were treated to...

Alfredo Quarto, director of Mangrove Action Project (MAP), recently attended the In the Hands of the Fishers (IHOF) Workshop in Brazil. (Earth Island Project Reports).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2003... Alfredo Quarto, director of Mangrove Action Project (MAP), recently attended the In the Hands of the Fishers (IHOF) Workshop in Brazil. The workshop, co-organized by MAP and Terramar (a Brazilian NGO working on mangrove conservation issues)...

An Alaska ballot initiative drafted by C-SAW and supported by Bluewater Network designed to plug the leaks in Alaska's cruise ship law began circulating on the streets of Alaska in July. (Earth Island Project Reports).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2003... An Alaska ballot initiative drafted by C-SAW and supported by Bluewater Network designed to plug the leaks in Alaska's cruise ship law began circulating on the streets of Alaska in July. Twenty-four thousand signatures will be needed to place...

Sacred Land Film Project. (Earth Island Project Reports).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2003... On May 29, the National Trust for Historic Preservation announced its new list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. Topping the list are two landscapes sacred to native peoples: Ocmulgee Old Fields, a national monument in Georgia...

EII, Save The Bay and Earth-Team hosted the Third Annual David Brower Day July 1 with a restoration project at Arrowhead Marsh in Oakland, CA. (Earth Island Project Reports).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2003... EII, Save The Bay and Earth-Team hosted the Third Annual David Brower Day July 1 with a restoration project at Arrowhead Marsh in Oakland, CA. Young and old joined Save The Bay co-founder Sylvia McLaughlin in restoring the ecosystem of the...

Earth Island Institute: staff and projects. (Earth Island news).
September 22, 2003... Life on Earth is imperiled by human degradation of the biosphere. Earth Island Institute develops and supports projects that counteract threats to the biological and cultural diversity that sustains the environment. Through education and...

Congress passes conflicting military exemptions. (International Marine Mammal Project).
September 22, 2003... As of this writing, the US Senate and the House of Representatives have passed different versions of the National Defense Authorization Act, with different versions of the Pentagon's cherished exemptions from environmental laws. All in all,...

Court blocks Bush dolphin safe label. (International Marine Mammal Project).
September 22, 2003... On December 31, 2002, Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans attempted to gut the meaning of "Dolphin Safe" by allowing Mexico and other countries to label their canned tuna as "Dolphin Safe," despite their continuing practice of chasing and...

Six Flags fails to get orca. (International Marine Mammal Project).
September 22, 2003... After a long and intense evaluation, the government of Argentina has finally agreed to oppose transfer of Kshamenk, an Argentinian juvenile male orca, to an amusement park in Aurora, Ohio. The Wild Earth Foundation (WEF), the Patagonia...

Maui bans captive cetacean displays. (International Marine Mammal Project).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2003... The County Council of Maui recently made the Hawai'ian county the 17th city or county in the United States to ban displays of captive cetaceans. "The Council finds that cetaceans (dolphins and whales) are highly intelligent--and highly...

Challenging the EPA fertilizer rule. (Safe Food and Fertilizer).
September 22, 2003... Most consumers would never even stop to wonder what's in their fertilizer. Why should they? Fertilizer is benign, right? Wrong. Industrial waste from steel mills, mines, foundries, aluminum manufacturers, tire incinerators, coal-fired power...

BAWT launches new program. (Bay Area Wilderness Training).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2003... The Youth Wilderness Leadership Training will provide under-served and at-risk youth with opportunities to develop skills that will strengthen their relationships with peers and adults in their lives; acquire competencies in wilderness...

Hydro Nova. (Earth Island in the news).
September 22, 2003... Nearly 1.5 million California households live in areas without access to public sewers, and rely on septic systems to dispose of water used in their homes. However septic systems can and do fail, leading to health and/or environmental problems....

Mangrove Action Project. (Earth Island in the news).
September 22, 2003... Over 1,200 sites are designated by the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands--established in 1971 to conserve the planet's threatened wetlands--as government-managed "Wetlands of International Importance." China joined Ramsar in 1992 and...

Brower Youth Awards. (Earth Island in the news).
September 22, 2003... Six outstanding young environmental leaders from across the United States have been named recipients of the 2003 Brower Youth Awards, the nation's most prestigious recognition of environmental activists aged 13-22. Awardees were chosen from...

Grassroots Globalization Network. (Earth Island in the news).
September 22, 2003... End-runs around the Enrons As job losses rise, economic inequality worsens, and corruption deepens, democracy itself now seems to be caught in the crosshairs. A new call for justice is rousing the restless majority. This movement now...

Faultline media project. (Earth Island in the news).
September 22, 2003... Project will document the "last best Southern California wildlands" California's largest privately owned open space is on the chopping block. Rugged and beautiful, the scene of glorious annual wildflower displays, Tejon Ranch is the...

Everybody's got a story. (Earth Island News).(Interview)
September 22, 2003... Gary cook, director of Earth Island's Baikal Watch project, is fluent in several languages, including Russian, acquired during a childhood spent living abroad. An educated man, cook has earned his Ph.D. in Resource Economics. With a strong...

The end of the oil age: here's a fact known to the Bush administration, but hidden from the rest of us: the rate of global oil production is about to peak. (Cover Story).
September 22, 2003... The atrocities of September 11, 2001 so dominated world news, politics, military affairs, and the economy that popular discussion soon divided all of recent history into two categories: "pre-9/11" and "post-9/11." For most Americans, the events...

Alaska: oil and the Natives.
September 22, 2003... It's 14 years since the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska. The oil industry still drives the state's politics and much of the environment. Senator Frank Murkowski has just been elected governor, and has appointed his daughter to fill out his...

A sustainable energy plan for the US.
September 22, 2003... Every morning when we rise, we flick on the lights and various electrical appliances before we drive or cycle off to work, school, or play. Somewhere far away, trucks haul coal into the hoppers of giant power plants. Across the oceans, ships...

Environmentalists respond to AIDS: Earth Island project battles the disease by encouraging small-scale, healthy farming.
September 22, 2003... Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) has grabbed recent headlines with its flurry of deaths and politically sensitive quarantines. The highly infectious Ebola virus is a particularly gruesome and frighteningly swift killer. But no newly...

One No, Many Yeses: a Journey to the Heart of the Global Resistance Movement.(Book Review)
September 22, 2003... Paul Kingsnorth, Simon & Schuster UK, 2003, $18.00 US (approx.: not released in US. Order online through mcnallyrobinson.com or your favorite Canadian independent bookstore.) Paul Kingsnorth is exactly the kind of troublemaker the world...

A Land on Fire: the Environmental Consequences of the Southeast Asian Boom.(Book Review)
September 22, 2003... James David Fahn, Westview Press, 2003, $27.50 list What the rest of the world has learned from America is the desire for personal wealth and material comforts. What the rest of the world has apparently not learned from watching America is...

EPA lets Florida taint drinking water: federal and state governments have secured no funding to study the health implications of the nation's largest violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act. (World Reports).
September 22, 2003... Before EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman resigned from her office, she had decided to sign off on a rule-making decision drawn up by EPA water administrators declaring Florida exempt from certain provisions of the Safe Drinking Water...

Breathless in Harlem: no one knows excatly what causes asthma, but many are convinced the primary culprit is air pollution, especially particles from burning diesel fuel. (World Reports).
September 22, 2003... Something is taking kids' breath away in a pocket-sized neighborhood in New York City, and the primary culprit is air pollution. Asthma rates among children within a 24-block area in central Harlem are five times higher than the national...

Voices.
September 22, 2003... Until maybe 10 or 15 years ago, few Americans were paying much attention to food beyond its price. We'd become a thoroughly urban nation, more in touch with McDonald's than Old MacDonald. In recent years, however, there's been a food...