Earth Island Journal articles from September 2006

Earth Island Journal archives from September 2006

From the editor.(environmentalists strive to destroy economy)(Editorial)
September 22, 2006... Another right-wing e-mail accuses environmentalists of striving to destroy the economy. We value trees and slugs and bats more than a healthy manufacturing sector, he says; clean water more than a Dow above 10,000. And he is right, of...

Whales and wheels.(Letter to the editor)
September 22, 2006... The note by Dale Mills, "Japan versus whales," in the Summer 2006 issue of EIJ closed with the thought that Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs "can't be anything but concerned over a public opinion backlash." Somehow I doubt this, as they've...

Tuna-safe tuna?(Letter to the editor)
September 22, 2006... Pole and line tuna fishing is safe for the dolphins but not for the tunas. Perpetuating the acceptance of eating some beings but not others does not serve the environment. As you well know, the ocean fisheries in general have been decimated....

Aw, thanks.(Letter to the editor)
September 22, 2006... Your article "Clear skies in the desert" by Chris Clarke was one of the best eve! Please keep up the great work! Charles Monaghan Sabula, Iowa

Christian-bashing.(Letter to the editor)
September 22, 2006... You embarrassed me with your phony pictures of church signs [Summer 2006 EIJ]. Your clearcut cross was bad enough! Who's asleep there? Aren't we supposed to be building coalitions with Christian environmental activists? Replace the...

Too many people.(Letter to the editor)
September 22, 2006... On page 16 of your Summer edition the Sustainable World Coalition mentions many problems but leaves out the most fundamental problem of all: excessive human population. When I was born more than a century ago, the US population was about one...

World's bravest environmentalists.(GLOBAL)
September 22, 2006... A Vietnam veteran fighting Pentagon plans to incinerate chemical weapons stockpiles, a man who tipped the United Nations to illegal logging in war-torn Liberia, and the person behind the creation of the world's largest area of protected...

Disease-preventing swamps.(AFRICA)(Kahinda Otafiire orderes wetlands to be domolished)(Brief article)
September 22, 2006... Major General Kahinda Otafiire, the Ugandan minister of water, lands, and environment, recently ordered all structures built in Uganda's wetlands to be demolished, with a few exceptions. "We are going to restore these wetlands in 30 days....

DDT returns.(AFRICA)(Jim Muhwezi plans to spray Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane)(Brief article)
September 22, 2006... Uganda's Health Minister Jim Muhwezi announced his government's intention to begin spraying DDT in an effort to combat malaria. The government is convinced that DDT poses no environmental threat. "We are preparing to use DDT very soon. We...

Smoking suit.(AFRICA)(Anthony Cooper sued by Cape Town)(Brief article)
September 22, 2006... The city of Cape Town will pursue a civil suit against a 36-year-old British tourist who started a tire on Table Mountain in January 2006. He was seen tossing a cigarette butt out a car window. If the claim against Anthony Cooper is...

World Bank collared.(AFRICA)(Nigerian communities sued World Bank for damages caused by the West African Gas Pipeline)(Brief article)
September 22, 2006... Several Nigerian communities filed a formal claim in late April with the inspection panel of the World Bank in Washington alleging damages caused by the West African Gas Pipeline. The Pipeline is a 425-mile onshore and offshore pipeline that...

Putin boots pipeline route.(ASIA)(Vladimir Putin asks Transneft to move Siberia-Pacific pipeline )(Brief article)
September 22, 2006... Under unprecedented pressure from local residents, Russian President Vladimir Putin is demanding that the route of 2the planned Siberia-Pacific pipeline be moved further from Lake Baikal. Putin cited environmental concerns in mandating that...

Taking Oz by storm.(AUSTRALIA)(forecasts of cyclones)(Brief article)
September 22, 2006... Australia's cyclone season is traditionally over in April, but forecasters were still wary of more storms in May. The unusually strong storms characterizing this year's season have been moving toward a crescendo, with Category 4 Cyclone Larry...

Twenty years after.(EUROPE)(NGO Green-Facts' report on "Chernobyl's Legacy" )(Brief article)
September 22, 2006... Chernobyl, the most significant nuclear accident in history, took place on April 26, 1986. Twenty years later, the accident has left many unanswered questions about its impact on human health, the environment, and the socioeconomic sector. ...

Soil no silver bullet.(NORTH AMERICA)(carbon dioxide's effect on environment)(Brief article)
September 22, 2006... Plants' ability to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it as carbon in the soil is limited, report researchers at the University of California Davis, Northern Arizona University, and in the Netherlands. The findings challenge...

Butterflies plummet.(NORTH AMERICA)(University of California (Davis)'s report)(Brief article)
September 22, 2006... Cold, wet conditions early in the year mean that 2006 is shaping up as the worst year for California's butterflies in almost four decades, according to UC Davis' Art Shapiro. That's a turnaround from last spring, when millions of painted...

UnWells Fargo.(NORTH AMERICA)(activists protest Wells Fargo & Co.'s environmental destructive investments )(Brief article)
September 22, 2006... Activists protested Wells Fargo's socially and environmentally destructive investments at the company's annual general meeting of shareholders in San Francisco. Protesters outside the meeting used giant puppets and banners to highlight Wells...

Bonfire of the manatees.(NORTH AMERICA)(tire fires in Florida )(Brief article)
September 22, 2006... Thousands of acres of Florida caught tire during April and May, causing at least four human fatalities by way of auto accidents on smoke-shrouded highways. The tires prompted Governor Jeb Bush to declare a state of emergency on May 9 and place...

Pulp friction.(SOUTH AMERICA)(negative impacts of the paper pulp industry)(Brief article)
September 22, 2006... The negative impacts of the paper pulp industry in South America carne under the spotlight during an alternative gathering held in parallel to the May 12 European Union--Latin America and Caribbean Heads of State Summit in Vienna. ...

Earth Island Journal.
September 22, 2006... Earth Island Journal will be holding its first-ever online auction starting July 1. Visit www.cmarket.com and look for our auction under the heading "Media" for environmentally friendly goods and services plus the excitement of finding great...

Bay Area Wilderness Training.(Earth Island project reports)
September 22, 2006... There's still time to join Bay Area Wilderness Training's whitewater rafting trip. On July 22 and/or 23, travel down the South Fork of the American River (near Sacramento, California), with certified, experienced guides. The fee is a fraction...

Energy Action's Campus Climate Challenge.(Earth Island project reports)(MTV Networks Inc.'s "Break the Addiction" campaign)(Brief article)
September 22, 2006... Energy Action's Campus Climate Challenge and MTV have launched "Break the Addiction," a 12-month, 12-step campaign to help end global warming. Started on Earth Day, April 22, the campaign includes on-air, online, and wireless messaging.

Mangrove Action Project.(Earth Island project reports)(Brief article)
September 22, 2006... The Hilton Hotel chain and private developers on Bimini Island in the Bahamas are inflicting heavy damage to the island's mangroves and coastal life. Mangrove Action Project executive director Alfredo Quarto visited Bimini in late April. Local...

Rooted in Community.(Earth Island project reports)
September 22, 2006... The sixth annual Rooted in Community Conference will take place July 17-20 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Rooted in Community, an Earth Island project since 2004, works to grow healthy communities through sustainable agriculture. For more details,...

Mary Byrd Davis, director of Earth Island's project Yggdrasil, is lead author of a new book on biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons.(Earth Island project reports)(Brief article)
September 22, 2006... Mary Byrd Davis, director of Earth Island's project Yggdrasil, is lead author of a new book on biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons. Weapons of Mass Destruction, co-written with Arthur Purcell, is published by Facts on File (New York) in...

Sierra Gorda, Mexico.(Earth Island project reports)(winds World Travel and Tourism Council's Destination Award Winner of the Tourism for Tomorrow)(Brief article)
September 22, 2006... Sierra Gorda, Mexico was named the Destination Award Winner of the Tourism for Tomorrow Awards 2006. The World Travel and Tourism Council presented the Award, which promotes best practices for responsible tourism development. More than 100...

Viva Sierra Gorda.(Earth Island project reports)(Brief article)
September 22, 2006... Viva Sierra Gorda, an Earth Island project since 2005, is collaborating with local NGOs such as Sierra Gorda Ecotours to raise awareness and promote tours with high-quality services and unique cultural experiences for international tourists to...

Staff and projects.(Earth Island Institute)
September 22, 2006... Earth Island Institute 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 sustain the environment....

Borneo Project.(microhydro project )
September 22, 2006... Three years in the making, the second community-managed microhydro project on Malaysian Borneo is now up and running! In exchange for a formal commitment to protect upstream rainforests in the buffer zone of Crocker Range National Park of...

International Marine Mammal Project.
September 22, 2006... Nissui agrees to divest itself of whaling interests. International Marine Mammal Project (IMMP) declared victory in a series of campaigns aimed at Japan's whaling industry. On Friday, March 31, 2006, the Japanese company Nissui, owner of...

Women's Global Green Action Network.(Earth Island in the news)(Mexico City 2006: Grassroots Women Environmental Leaders Strategy Meeting)
September 22, 2006... A global voice for women's leadership Women's Global Green Action Network (WGGAN) held its inaugural Mexico City 2006: Grassroots Women Environmental Leaders Strategy Meeting, and then took part in the Mexico 2006 Fourth World Water Forum....

Red Panda Project.(Nepal)
September 22, 2006... Protecting red panda habitat Imagine a place where thick forests are filled with creatures of unparalleled diversity and beauty; a place where rhododendrons bloom in pink, red, and white, and where a quick turn of your head reveals some of...

Africa's Gulf of Guinea and the new Gulf crisis.(West Africa Rainforest Network-US)
September 22, 2006... On November 10, 2005, communities around the world paused to remember the life and legacy of Nigerian novelist and human rights champion Ken Saro-Wiwa. To many, Saro-Wiwa was to Nigeria as Mandela was to South Africa--a loud and courageous...

A day in the life of a UAPito.(UniversitArea Protegida)(educatinal programs)
September 22, 2006... Residents of Leon, Nicaragua may awaken to the ringing bells of one of the city's numerous cathedrals, the echoing voices of women selling tortillas street-side, or the rush-hour rustling of the 150,000 residents of this industrial and...

Nature in the city.(Significant Natural Resource Areas Management Plan, San Francisco)
September 22, 2006... San Franciscans are fortunate to live in a climate that encourages outdoor living year-round. Hiking, biking, surfing, fishing, birding, and similar activities are all available within city limits. The city is also home to over a dozen...

Farms in the sky: Bolivia's farmers contend with modernization.
September 22, 2006... The picture I want to paint is colored by slate-grey clouds and the intermittent threat of rain. We are near 15,000 feet, in a Bolivian village called Caraquina Grande, which is not on any map you're likely to find. A mishap with our bus on a...

Down the bayou: a marine biologist, a community, and the resolve to preserve an ocean's bounty.(hypoxia, Gulf of Mexico)
September 22, 2006... Cajun folklore holds that once upon a time there was a crawfish cowboy called Sugarcane Joe whose task it was to watch over the crawfish catch. Sugarcane Joe grew bored with his assignment and fell into the practice of shouting, "De cocodrie!...

For money or for life: world activists work for water security and human rights.(Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux S.A.)
September 22, 2006... Until January, 2005, a local subsidiary of the transnational water giant Suez held a contract in El Alto, Bolivia that guaranteed the company a 13 percent profit while leaving 200,000 people in El Alto without access to water. The contract also...

Two nations, one seal: poaching and development threaten a rare seal.
September 22, 2006... Changxing Island, China -- Lee Sihnae wished winter would be colder. Wearing just a light jacket, the 29-year-old Korean used her telescope to look for signs of spotted seals in the icy waters off Liaoning's western coast, near Changxing...

Big fish are mostly gone: our demand for large amounts of inexpensive fish is emptying the ocean.
September 22, 2006... It's common knowledge that we are running out of oil. What's not so well known is that we are also running out of big fish. The realization that stocks of big fish--marlin, sharks, swordfish, and tuna--are declining rapidly is beginning to...

Remembering Maxine McCloskey: our Earth is a better place for her having worked so tirelessly.(Obituary)
September 22, 2006... Maxine McCloskey, a long-time whale advocate and environmental leader, has died in Portland, OR. Married to Michael McCloskey, former executive director and later chairman of the Sierra Club, Maxine worked on a tremendous variety of...

Green sexism: women are the backbone of the environmental movement. When will our rhetoric reflect that?
September 22, 2006... Go fetch your copy of Roderick Nash's Wilderness and the American Mind. Go ahead! I'll wait. Do you have it now? Open up to the index in the back. Leaf through until you find the "W"s. Got it? Good. Now scan down the page and notice the number...

The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl.(Book review)
September 22, 2006... Timothy Egan Houghton Mifflin, 2006 320 pages. $28.00 What do you think of when you hear the phrase, "Dust Bowl"? I learned about the Dust Bowl in my high school history class. As I recall, my textbook devoted perhaps one paragraph to this...

You want guys with that?(fast foods advertising)
September 22, 2006... The blogger Shakespeare's Sister wrote recently of a favorite tactic in commercials, setting up situations where manhood is proven by disdaining women by using the advertised product. Burger King: A guy and a girl sit at a table together....