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  Environment & human rights: General materials Jan.-Apr. 2001  

See also other materials on "Environment & human rights"

Jan.-Apr. 2001:

Enlarging the European Union Will Save Lives by Cutting Pollution (Alexandru R. Savulescu, Environment News Service, 30 Apr. 2001)

No easy way out for the 'lead people' [Thailand, pollution by a lead extracting plant and its effect on Karen villagers] (Anchalee Kongrut, Bangkok Post, 30 Apr. 2001)

Australia ignores global warming threat: Despite its reliance on tourism and agriculture, Australia is one of the world's worst polluters and supported the US dismantling of Kyoto, writes Patrick Barkham (Patrick Barkham, Guardian [UK], 30 Apr. 2001)

Asbestos bigger killer than roads [in UK] (Jim Pickard, Financial Times, 28 Apr. 2001)

Living In A Pollution-free World A Basic Human Right: UNEP applauds decision by Commission on Human Rights (United Nations Environmental Programme, 27 Apr. 2001)

Council of Europe slams US decision on Kyoto (Reuters, 27 Apr. 2001)

Human Rights vs. Oil: A CorpWatch Interview with Sarah James [indigenous leader fighting to prevent oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, USA] (CorpWatch, 27 Apr. 2001)

Earth Week with Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka of Nigeria (Sunny Lewis, Environment News Service, 27 Apr. 2001)

Cut-throat transport is killing workers and the environment (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 27 Apr. 2001)

Conference Board's BEST [Business Enterprises for Sustainable Travel] Recognizes CC Africa [Conservation Corporation Africa] for Extensive Community Development Efforts: Eco-Luxury Safari Lodge Operator Subject of Latest 'Best Practices' Report (Business Enterprises for Sustainable Travel, 26 Apr. 2001)

Chevron's Board Urged to Disclose Texaco's Liabilities in the Ecuadorian Amazon in the Merger Proceedings: Evidence Detailing More than Three Hundred and Fifty Contaminated Sites Handed to Chevron's Chairman (Amazon Watch, 26 Apr. 2001)

U'wa Leader and Activists Target Occidental Petroleum's Largest Investor: Protests in Seven Cities Call on Bernstein/Alliance Capital/AXA Financial to Divest from Occidental and the Deadly Oil Project in Colombian Coudforest Region (Activism Center at Wetlands Preserve, Amazon Watch Rainforest Action Network, Rainforest Relief, 26 Apr. 2001)

Greenpeace to Target US Oil Companies (Greenpeace, 26 Apr. 2001)

Logging standards: seeing the forest for the trees [regarding first old-guard logging firm in Amazon to earn certification for sustainable forestry management from Forest Stewardship Council] (Bill Hinchberger, Environmental News Network, 26 Apr. 2001)

Annual NPC [National People's Congress] session highlights environmental problems [China] (Economist Intelligence Unit: Business China, in China Online, 25 Apr. 2001)

Greenpeace calls for international ban on waste incinerators (Greenpeace, 25 Apr. 2001)

GMO products: Consumers in call for compulsory labelling: Nestle criticised for double standard [Thailand] (Aphaluck Bhatiasevi, Bangkok Post, 25 Apr. 2001)

Offshore Oil and Gas Industry Publishes Sector's First Sustainable Development Strategy (UK Offshore Operators Association [UKOOA], 25 Apr. 2001)

Mining investments worth $200m stuck in legal limbo [Indonesia] (Jakarta Post, 24 Apr. 2001)

Environmental Justice Issues Force Cement Plant to Close [USA] (Cat Lazaroff, Environment News Service, 24 Apr. 2001)

CGNU [Norwich Union] AGM [annual general meeting] targeted by asbestos protestors (ACTSA [Action for South Africa], 24 Apr. 2001)

Eight Global Environmental Champions Awarded 2001 Goldman Prize: World's Largest Award for Grassroots Environmentalists (Goldman Environmental Prize, 23 Apr. 2001)

AWARD: Journalists Fired By Fox TV Among Goldman Winners [Goldman Environmental Prize] (UN Wire, 23 Apr. 2001)

Calvert Celebrates Environmental Achievement at America's Corporations, Tracking Progress in E-Recycling and Energy Efficiency (E-Wire, 23 Apr. 2001)

Toxic pollution in Baltic above critical levels (Greenpeace, 23 Apr. 2001)

Declaring Defeat in the Face of Victory [regarding WTO and environmental issues] (Michael M. Weinstein, Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations, in New York Times, 22 Apr. 2001)

SOUTH AFRICA: Chevron and Texaco Accused of Polluting City [ Cape Town] (Danielle Knight, Inter Press Service, in The Black World Today [USA], 22 Apr. 2001)

Pyres [burning of animals to control foot and mouth disease] create more pollution than all the factories in UK (Geoffrey Lean, Independent on Sunday [UK], 22 Apr. 2001)

Distress flare: Oil exploitation brings misery to tiny village (Greg Campbell, Earth Times News Service, 21 Apr. 2001)

Toxic runoff from plastic mulch (Janet Raloff, Science News, 21 Apr. 2001)

International Coalition Delivers Scathing Earth Day Letter to President Bush on Climate Change and Environmental Justice: Groups Argue that Global Warming is a Moral Issue that Will Disproportionately Affect the World's Poor (CorpWatch, 20 Apr. 2001)

BP chief fields barrage of questions on ethics (Andrew Clark, Guardian [UK], 20 Apr. 2001)

Money poses toughest barrier to renewable energy products (Jason Topping Cone, Earth Times News Service, 20 Apr. 2001)

U'wa Tribal Chief Sends Message to Shareholders to Divest from Occidental Petroleum and Vows to Continue Resistance against Drilling in Colombia (Amazon Watch, Action Resource Center, and Rainforest Action Network, 20 Apr. 2001)

The Long March:...This second City Life programme tells the story of how one provincial capital - Chengdu, in South West China - has reversed appalling environmental pollution and improved the lives of some of its poorest inhabitants...A thousand businesses and as many as 100,000 residents had to be relocated..."We as a developing country need to develop our economy, but we absolutely at the same time must do this environmentally, says Secretary General Zhang [Zhang Jihai, Secretary General of the Chengdu Communist Party]. "I think that polluting first and then cleaning-up is an extremely uneconomic and irresponsible way of doing things." (Lifeonline: A multimedia initiative about the impact of globalization, 19 Apr. 2001)

Mining: North America sets new diamond standard: The environmental restrictions on building a new mine in North America are crippling, according to many miners.  Yet a corollary of this view is that North America is setting the standards towards which the rest of the world is gradually moving. Environmental groups complain that some global mining companies take advantage of the laxer norms in many developing countries to act overseas as they would not at home. The pressure is thus on the mining companies to observe higher standards in those countries.  In the Northwest Territories, one of Canada's most sensitive areas, two mining companies, BHP and Rio Tinto, have had to jump a remarkable series of hurdles to get permission to develop diamond mines. The prize is a new source of high-quality, conflict-free diamonds. Their story reveals the kind of process miners may eventually have to go through if they want to develop a new mine anywhere in the world. (Gillian O'Connor, Financial Times, 19 April 2001) 

Significant backing for publication of climate change strategy from BP (PIRC [Pensions Investment Research Consultants], 19 Apr. 2001)

Shareholders vote against BP on effect of climate change on investments (Greenpeace, 19 Apr. 2001)

Tibetan pipeline row dents BP's new image (Stuart Millar and Terry Macalister, Guardian [UK], 19 Apr. 2001)

The groups objecting to BP's rebranding (Independent [UK], 19 Apr. 2001)

How a big company with a big idea gave itself a big headache: Months after the 'Beyond Petroleum' makeover, oil company chiefs are accused of trying to con the public with green pretensions (Michael McCarthy and Saeed Shah, Independent [UK], 19 Apr. 2001)

What on Earth...? [regarding President George W. Bush and environmental policy] (Mary McGrory, Washington Post, 19 Apr. 2001) 

NAFTA: the good, bad and ugly (Jeff Heinrich, Montreal Gazette, 19 Apr. 2001)

Foot and Mouth: Disposal of Animal Remains [UK] (Friends of the Earth [England, Wales and Northern Ireland], 19 Apr. 2001)

Lines drawn over Earth Day: Chamber [U.S. Chamber of Commerce] says business is green; activists decry abuses (Will Pollock, Medill News Service, CBS MarketWatch, 19 Apr. 2001)

Major UK Fund Manager to Require Environmental Reporting: Institutional investors are increasingly seeing the need for environmental disclosure (Mark Thomsen, SocialFunds.com, 19 Apr. 2001)

Residential, factory sites yield 117 soil pollution cases [Japan] (Japan Times, 19 Apr. 2001)

Groups Highlight Global Human Costs of U.S. Fossil Fuel Dependence: Current Bush Administration Energy Policy Endangers Rights and Environment (Earth Day Network, Sierra Club and Amnesty International USA, 18 Apr. 2001)

Earth Report: Toxic Trail [use of pesticides in Southeast Asia] (TVE News [Television Trust for the Environment], 18 Apr.2001)

NGOs Vow to Scrutinize Business Plans for Earth Summit II (CorpWatch, 18 Apr. 2001)

Banks as environmental guardians (editorial, Jakarta Post, 18 Apr. 2001)

BP Amoco to pay $804,700 for Clean Water Act violations (United States Environmental Protection Agency, 18 Apr. 2001)

Shell chairman to lead business group at Earth Summit review (Jason Topping Cone, Earth Times News Service,18 Apr. 2001)

Corporate rule: Democracy is in hock to an idea of economic and technical progress that ignores people's true concerns (Zac Goldsmith, Editor, The Ecologist Magazine [UK], in Guardian [UK], 18 Apr. 2001)

Business gears up for Earth Summit with launch of new initiative (International Chamber of Commerce, 18 Apr. 2001)

Green Parties 1st Global Conference Backs U.S. Oil Boycott (Bob Burton, Environment News Service, 17 Apr. 2001)

Greenpeace exposes new season of illegal logging in the Amazon [Brazil] (Greenpeace, 17 Apr. 2001)

Citigroup draws criticism on Myanmar, predatory lending (Cal Mankowski, Reuters, 17 Apr. 2001)

Oil company initiates campaign to protect fragile eco-system [Shell Thailand project to collect used lubricants from fishing boats] (Anchalee Kongrut, Bangkok Post, 17 Apr. 2001)

Greens Urge US Oil Boycott (BBC, 16 Apr. 2001)

Deal Seals Cleanup of Notorious B.C. Mine [Canada] (Environment News Service, 16 Apr. 2001)

Electronics Makers Pressed to Take Back Discards (Environment News Service, 16 Apr. 2001)

BP steels itself for protest at AGM over environment (Jeremy Cresswell, The Scotsman [UK], 16 Apr. 2001)

Open letter to Occidental Petroleum's President, Members of the Board of Directors and Shareholders [Colombia] (Asociación de Autoridades Tradicionales U'wa [U'wa people, Colombia], 16 Apr. 2001)

Betrayed: Nepal's forest bureaucracy prepares for the funeral of the much-hailed community forest management programme (Richard Mahapatra, Down to Earth, 15 Apr. 2001)

Mining industry is nation's biggest polluter (Karen Dorn Steele, The Spokesman-Review [Spokane, Washington], 14 Apr. 2001)

Reviews: Social and Environmental Reports:  People Planet and Profits – The Shell Report (Mallen Baker, 14 Apr. 2001)

Reviews: Social and Environmental Reports: Corporate Social Responsibility Report 2000 – Sudan Operations - Talisman Energy (Mallen Baker, 14 Apr. 2001)

INDONESIA: World Bank Report Urges Environmental Measures (UN Wire, 13 Apr. 2001)

Environmental Groups Endorse Shareholder Resolutions (Mark Thomsen, SocialFunds.com, 12 Apr. 2001)

Concerns Regarding Changes to US-Jordan Trade Agreement: Letter from LCHR [Lawyers Committee for Human Rights] to US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick regarding negotiations to "modify" the recent US-Jordan Free Trade Agreement (Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, 12 Apr. 2001)

Liberia: Rainforests Threatened By Illegal Logging (UN Wire, 12 Apr. 2001)

Citigroup Target of Protests in 80 Cities Worldwide: Students Launch Credit Card Boycott on Five Continents, Saying No to Environmental Destruction (Rainforest Action Network, 11 Apr. 2001)

Business will feed environmental expertise to UN (International Chamber of Commerce, 11 Apr. 2001)

US business group proposes action plan on climate change (International Chamber of Commerce, 11 Apr. 2001)

Asia environment ministers urge U.S. to stay with accord [Kyoto Protocol on global warming] (Japan Times, 10 Apr. 2001)

Public concern rising over pollution, poll shows [Japan] (Japan Times, 10 Apr. 2001)

Business will persevere with climate change remedies (International Chamber of Commerce, 10 Apr. 2001)

Managing Indonesia's Natural Resources: Transition brings challenges (DevNews, World Bank, 10 Apr. 2001)

World's Richest Nations Urge Green Taxes (Environment News Service, 9 Apr. 2001)

Better Corporate Environmental Reporting Highlighted by EERA [European Environmental Reporting Awards] (Association of Chartered Certified Public Accountants, 9 Apr. 2001)

People, planet & profits - The Shell Report (Royal Dutch/Shell, 6 Apr. 2001)

Greenhouse fells first oil industry domino (Greenpeace, 6 Apr. 2001)

Thailand bans the release of genetically engineered crops into the environment (Greenpeace, 6 Apr. 2001)

PIRC backs call for BP climate change strategy and raises concerns over new article changes (PIRC [Pensions Investment Research Consultants], 6 Apr. 2001)

Greenpeace Issues Global Warning to US Business (Greenpeace, 5 Apr. 2001)

U.S. Climate Stance Triggers Boycott Threats (Environment News Service, 5 Apr. 2001)

Activists Defeat Coal Industry SLAPP Suit [U.S. federal court dismisses lawsuit filed by coal industry against environmental groups] (CorpWatch, 5 Apr. 2001)

Government sets precedent in saving Canada's Great Bear Rainforest (Greenpeace, 4 Apr. 2001)

Famed labor lawyer Ted Kheel on sustainable development (Pranay Gupte, Earth Times News Service, 4 Apr. 2001)

{···español} Organizaciones ciudadanas alertan sobre los impactos ambientales del ALCA (Ambiental.net [Informaciones Ambientales para América Latina], 4 abril 2001)

European Parliament votes for substitution of PVC plastic (Greenpeace, 3 April 2001)

Sustainability and Profitability: Conflict or Convergence? Report on the 8th UK Senior Executives' Seminar, 2nd to 6th April 2001 [includes summary of presentation on "Global Business, Human Rights and Governance" by Sir Geoffrey Chandler, Chair of Amnesty International UK Business Group] (HRH The Prince of Wales's Business & the Environment Programme, developed and run by the University of Cambridge Programme for Industry, 2-6 Apr. 2001)

Dumping of Kyoto Treaty a Slap to Rest of the World (Atlanta Journal and Constitution, 2 Apr. 2001)

Bush move on climate treaty 'a disaster for the developing world,' says Christian Aid (Christian Aid, 2 Apr. 2001)

Getting mainstream investors to think about sustainability (Frank Dixon, Managing Director of Innovest Strategic Value Advisors, Earth TImes News Service, 2 Apr. 2001)

Transnational Corporations Today: Too much power, too little accountability - We have chosen to focus our Inquiry on four companies - Alcan, Dana, Noranda and Cominco/Teck (United Steelworkers Humanity Fund [Canada], Apr. 2001)

Call for a moratorium on industrial logging: Supporting implementation of the Government of Indonesia's commitments to forestry sector reform (WALHI - The Indonesian Forum for Environment, Apr. 2001) 

The Price of Gold: Gold Mining & Human Rights in Honduras (Center for Economic & Social Rights, Apr. 2001)

Apartheid's Killer Legacy [regarding the conduct of British asbestos company Cape PLC in South Africa] (ACTSA [Action for South Africa], Apr. 2001)

Chile's Democratic Challenge: An Interview with Sara Larrain [Executive Director of Sustainable Chile Program] (Multinational Monitor, Apr. 2001)

Unilever's Dumping Fever [regarding thermometer factory in India and mercury-contaminated toxic wastes] (Nityanand Jayaraman, Multinational Monitor, Apr. 2001)

Kenya: Pollution and deforestation caused by Pan African Paper Mills (Eusebius Mukhwana, World Rainforest Movement Bulletin, Apr. 2001)

South Africa: Quo vadis FSC? Certification of monoculture timber plantations as "sustainably managed forests" by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) makes an absolute mockery of the concept of sustainable environment and ecosystem management. (Wally Menne, Timberwatch Coalition, in World Rainforest Movement Bulletin, Apr. 2001)

Corporate Environmental Responsibility in Singapore and Malaysia: The Potential and Limits of Voluntary Initiatives (Martin Perry and Sanjeev Singh, U.N. Research Institute for Social Development, Apr. 2001)

Turkish Environmentalist Jailed (Jon Gorvett, Environment News Service, 30 Mar. 2001)

BP Announces World's Largest Solar Project (BP, 30 Mar. 2001)

Values in a Global Context: The Novo Group Environmental and Social Report 2000 (Novo Group, 30 Mar. 2001)

Governance and Responsibility - the relationship between companies and NGOs. A Progress Report. (Sir John Browne, Group Chief Executive, BP, 29 Mar. 2001) 

Arrests, Intimidation confirm human rights abuses at Three Gorges Dam: U.S. firm Morgan Stanley urged to cease financing of Yangtze mega project - A recent report by Chinese journalist Wang Yusheng details how five representatives from a town slated to be submerged by Three Gorges Dam have been arrested for organizing petitions protesting corruption in the resettlement program. IRN has written to Wall Street firm Morgan Stanley insisting that their funding of the dam makes them complicit in these human rights abuses and urging the firm to cease their support of the dam. (International Rivers Network, 28 Mar. 2001)

Greenpeace calls on EU to stop greenwashing waste issue: New report confirms health concerns over incineration (Greenpeace, 27 Mar. 2001)

Business backs eco label (World Wildlife Fund, 27 Mar. 2001)

Unilever admits to dumping of mercury in Indian tourist town (Greenpeace, 22 Mar. 2001)

Greenpeace storms the city [Greenpeace Business Seminar on "Climate Change & the Energy Sector: Investment Implications", held at London Stock Exchange] (SANE BP [Shareholders Against New Oil Exploration], 22 Mar. 2001)

Greenpeace Showers Canadian Embassy; Activists Use Wood Chips to Protest Canada's Logging Practices (Greenpeace, 22 Mar. 2001)

Placer Dome Loses Porgera Environmental Committee Chair Over "Propaganda": On June 15th, MiningWatch Canada joined the Mineral Policy Center of the US and Australia's Mineral Policy Institute in publicising the resignation of Yati Bun, Chair of Placer Dome's Porgera Environmental Advisory Komiti (PEAK). The well-known and respected Bun resigned over Placer Dome's misuse of him in its "propaganda materials" and lack of action in the cleanup of river pollution from the company's Porgera Mine.  In his resignation letter Bun sharply criticized Placer Dome for failing to implement recommendations aimed at mitigating the impacts of mine waste disposal into the Strickland River at its Porgera mine in Papua New Guinea. At Porgera, Placer Dome dumps mine waste directly into the Strickland River, a practice that is illegal in most developed countries. (MiningWatch Canada, MiningWatch Canada/Mines Alerte Newsletter, spring/summer 2001)

Reforms Introduced for Export Development Corporation [Canada]: In June, International Trade Minister Pierre Pettigrew announced that he intends to introduce amendments to the Export Development Act this fall to give the Export Development Corporation (EDC) new policies on disclosure and environmental review. (MiningWatch Canada, MiningWatch Canada/Mines Alerte Newsletter, spring/summer 2001)

Greenpeace: Stop Trade with Ancient Forest Destruction (Greenpeace, 21 Mar. 2001)

UNEP Launches Business-to-business (b2b) Environmental Web Portal (United Nations Environment Programme, 21 Mar. 2001)

Whitman Recognizes 34 Organizations for Energy Savings (United States Environmental Protection Agency, 20 Mar. 2001)

Environmentalists Expose Logging Practices at Green Building Conference with High-Flying Message: Activists Accuse Industry of Greenwashing, Not Green Building (Rainforest Action Network, 19 Mar. 2001)

Texaco California Subsidiary Fined $4 Million (United States Environmental Protection Agency, 16 Mar. 2001)

Global markets demand global responsibility (Consumers International, 15 Mar. 2001)

Just ten companies can help save the world's forests, a new WWF report shows (World Wildlife Fund, 14 Mar. 2001)

NGOs welcome WTO greenlight to French ban on asbestos but remain skeptical about the WTO dispute settlement process (Greenpeace, 14 Mar. 2001)

EPA, Semiconductor Industry Agree to Ten Percent Cut of Most Potent Global Warming Gas (United States Environmental Protection Agency [EPA], 9 Mar. 2001)

Greenpeace accuses Unilever of negligence over mercury poisoning of Indian tourist resort (Greenpeace, 7 Mar. 2001)

'Honduras is worth more than gold': More than 30% of nation's territory has been licensed to foreign mining companies in just four years!...Most of this gold is given freely to international mining companies, who earn hundreds of millions of dollars in profits each year. In return, they offer limited employment, pay little or no taxes, and cause major environmental and social problems in developing countries, such as Honduras. (Michael Marsh, Honduras This Week, 5 Mar. 2001)

BP Amoco blocks AGM [Annual General Meeting] resolutions on ethical matters (AFX Europe, 2 Mar. 2001)

Earth Summit has to keep up with times (Mick Corliss, Japan Times, 2 Mar. 2001)

Global Warming: Lukewarm - Support for the environment remains elusive in Japan as the government panders to industry (David Kruger and Ichiko Fuyuno, Far Eastern Economic Review, 1 Mar. 2001)

Destruction of the Mediterranean by mass tourism poses a challenge for industry, warns WWF (World Wildlife Fund, 1 Mar. 2001)

Fighting free trade laws (Naomi Klein, Guardian [UK], 1 Mar. 2001)

Poisoned By PCBs: Thirty Years Later, Court Documents Reveal Monsanto's Toll on an Alabama Town (Chemical Industry Archives - a project of Environmental Working Group, Mar. 2001)

From Silicon Valley to Green Silicon Island: Taiwan's Pollution and Promise in the Era of High-Tech Globalization - A report describing the environmental exchange in Taiwan in March 2001 - Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, International Campaign for Responsible Technology, and Taiwanese Environmental Action Network (Leslie Byster and Ted Smith, Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, Mar. 2001)

Thirty-one Companies Join Structured Feedback Process (Global Reporting Initiative, Mar. 2001)

Multiple monitors to monitor the monitors - But who monitors the oil-companies? [regarding the Chad/Cameroon pipeline and the World Bank monitoring structure] (Inside Cameroon, Mar. 2001)

Open letter to the President of the World Bank regarding the Chad/Cameroon pipeline, expressing concern about the terms of reference of the International Advisory Group [monitoring group established to advise the World Bank and the two governments on overall progress in implementing the project] (written by representatives of human rights, environmental, labour and development NGOs in Chad and Cameroon, 28 Feb. 2001)

Bhopal Survivors Target Dow Chemical: Launch New Campaign (National Campaign for Justice in Bhopal, 28 Feb. 2001)

Supreme Court upholds clean air standards against industry attack (Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund, 27 Feb. 2001)

WWF Welcomes Boise Cascade Decision to Pull Out of Massive Chilean Wood Chip Mill (World Wildlife Fund, 23 Feb. 2001)

Boise Cascade cancels $160 mln Chile forestry project (Reuters, 23 Feb. 2001)

Despite increased protection of global forests, WWF warns key areas still seriously threatened (World Wildlife Fund, 22 Feb. 2001)

Maxxam/Pacific Lumber on notice to halt illegal discharges of pollution into Northern California rivers: Logging operations blamed for violations of the Federal Clean Water Act (Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund, 22 Feb. 2001)

Environmentalists Agree with President Bush: US Export-Import Bank Needs Appropriations Cut - New report targets U.S. corporate welfare programs that pollute the environment, fuel global warming - The U.S. Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im), which provides financing to American corporations to do business abroad, is among the top pork barrel programs that wastes billions of taxpayer dollars while harming the environment, according to a new report by a coalition of taxpayer, environmental and consumer groups. (press release by Friends of the Earth, Taxpayers for Common Sense, U.S. Public Interest Research Group, 22 Feb. 2001)

Green Scissors 2001 exposes $55 billion in wasteful federal spending that harms the environment [USA]: Taxpayer and Environmental Groups Target 74 Pork Barrel Programs (press release by Friends of the Earth, Taxpayers for Common Sense, U.S. Public Interest Research Group, 22 Feb. 2001)

World Bank Appoints International Advisory Group on the Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project: It will advise the World Bank Group and the two governments on overall progress in implementing the project, including the key objective of reducing poverty in Chad. In particular, the IAG will identify potential problems in the use of public revenues, the adequacy of civil society participation, progress in building institutional capacity, and more generally issues of governance, environmental management and social impacts. The IAG will recommend actions to the World Bank Group and the Governments of Chad and Cameroon to address such problems. (World Bank, 21 Feb. 2001)

Environmental NGOs call for credible forest certification and reject IFIR mutual recognition proposal (World Wildlife Fund, 19 Feb. 2001)

Greenpeace demands Hong Kong and China to stop buying rainforest destruction [from Canadian logging companies] (Greenpeace, 16 Feb. 2001)

Shell ordered to clean up its toxic waste in Brazil sixteen years after plant closure (Greenpeace, 16 Feb. 2001)

Unsafe toxic ship detained in Europe: Greenpeace demands shipping industry takes responsibility for vessels that reach end of useful life (Greenpeace, 15 Feb. 2001)

Paving the Planet: Cars and Crops Competing for Land (Lester Brown, Worldwatch Institute, 14 Feb. 2001)

New Economy, Old Politics: Do We Need New Rules to Ensure Fair Growth? (panel discussion, Pete Engardio [acting Asian Edition for Business Week], Thomas M. T. Niles [President, United States Council for International Business], John G. Ruggie [U.N. Assistant Secretary-General and Chief Adviser for strategic planning to Secretary-General Kofi Annan], Joseph E. Stiglitz [Senior Fellow in the Economic Studies Program at the Brookings Institution and Professor of Economics at Stanford University], Lori Wallach [Director of Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch], Reuters Forum, at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, 14 Feb. 2001)

When business and conservation join forces: Eco-alliance formed to develop, manage Pico Bonito Park [Honduras] (Jon Kohl, Honduras This Week, 12 Feb. 2001)

Tests Reveal High Levels Of Toxics Inside Diesel School Buses: New Report Finds Children's Exposure Dozens Of Times Higher Than EPA Acceptable Cancer Risk Level (Natural Resources Defense Council and Coalition for Clean Air, 12 Feb. 2001) 

Globalization Threat To World's Cultural, Linguistic And Biological Diversity (United Nations Environment Programme, 8 Feb. 2001)

Dying for oil: U'wa leader Roberto Pérez speaks about indigenous resistance to the Colombian oil rush (Camille T. Taiara, Bay Guardian [San Francisco], 7 Feb. 2001)

Protesters target store doing business with known forest destroyer [Canadian logging company] (Greenpeace USA, 7 Feb. 2001)

Newmont's News Doesn't Make Up for Their Deeds (Project Underground, 7 Feb. 2001)

FAO/WHO: Amount of poor-quality pesticides sold in developing countries alarmingly high (UN Food and Agriculture Organization, 1 Feb. 2001)

Defending the Amazon: This series of On the Record tells the story of the poisoning of Ecuador's Amazon jungle by oil companies. It tells of the contamination of the waters and the resulting sickness in indigenous communities. (On the Record, Advocacy Project, Feb.-Mar. 2001)

Realizing Labor Standards: How transparency, competition, and sanctions could improve working conditions worldwide. (Archon Fung, Dara O'Rourke, and Charles Sabel, Boston Review, Feb./Mar. 2001)

Meru Betiri National Park mining threat [Indonesia]: NGOs are protesting against the decision by local government authorities in East Java to license gold-mining in an area which includes a national park as well as productive plantation and farmland owned by local people. The decision, which flouts national laws, is an alarming example of what may become a future trend in the new era of regional autonomy. (Down to Earth Newsletter, Feb. 2001)

Newmont and WALHI in poisoning row [Indonesia]: US-based mining giant Newmont has launched an aggressive attack on environmental group WALHI, over accusations of damage to human health at the company's gold mine at Ratatotok, North Sulawesi. (Down to Earth Newsletter, Feb. 2001)

Indigenous small-scale mining under threat [Indonesia]: For the Muluy Dayak community in East Kalimantan, small-scale gold mining is part of their traditional way of life. adat (customary law) governs their gold-panning activities, practised using simple equipment made from materials collected in the surrounding forests. But this integral part of Muluy livelihood is now under threat. Mining company surveyors have recently shown interest in the community's gold mining area. In response, the Muluy community has taken the decision to oppose large-scale mining. (Down to Earth Newsletter, Feb. 2001)

Reform, farmers and action in West Java [Indonesia]:...There has been a series of conflicts between the villagers, the authorities and companies at Tegalbuleud. The main cause of the conflicts over land, and the widespread poverty faced by Tegalbuleud villagers was the collaboration of government officials and entrepreneurs in exploiting the villages' natural resources. [refers to appropriation of land for coconut plantation, shrimp farming, logging] (Down to Earth Newsletter, Feb. 2001)

Pulp & paper heading for trouble: The pulp industry in Indonesia is financially, socially and ecologically unsustainable, but the Indonesian government, local authorities and investors alike are failing to take responsibility...Foreign investors have supported the growth of this industry, despite its reliance on the destruction of natural forests and illegal logging for raw materials. (Down to Earth Newsletter, Feb. 2001)

Rights & environmental disputes flare: As huge oil and gas developments continue in Indonesia, communities in areas where these industries operate are becoming more vocal in demanding a stop to pollution and fair compensation. (Down to Earth Newsletter, Feb. 2001)

Guyana: Transnational mining companies' impacts on people and the environment (World Rainforest Movement Bulletin, Feb. 2001)

Green Scissors 2001 Report [USA]: The Green Scissors 2001 outlines 74 programs that, if cut, would save taxpayers more than $55 billion and protect our environment. The Green Scissors report is the product of the Green Scissors Campaign, a diverse coalition of environmental, taxpayer, budget watchdog and other groups that have come together to cut environmentally harmful and wasteful spending. (full report - Friends of the Earth, Taxpayers for Common Sense, U.S. Public Interest Research Group, Feb. 2001)

Taming Globalization for People and the Planet (Dr. Robert Cox, President of Sierra Club, and Daniel Seligman, Senior Trade Fellow of Sierra Club, Georgetown International Affairs Journal, forthcoming)

Felling the Lumbering Giants (Jen Krill, Multinational Monitor, Jan./Feb. 2001)

Taking on Toxics II: Health Care Without Harm (Charlie Cray, Multinational Monitor, Jan./Feb. 2001)

Davos Forum's Environmental Sustainability Index "Deeply Flawed" (Friends of the Earth, 26 Jan. 2001)

Groups Urge Unocal's New CEO to Call for End to Human Rights and Environmental Abuses in Burma: Earth Day Network, Sierra Club and Amnesty International Hold Unocal Accountable for Yadana Natural Gas Pipeline Project (Earth Day Network, 24 Jan. 2001)

Swedish Company Goes for Global Environmental Responsibility: Skanksa becomes the first construction-related company in the world to extend environment certification throughout its entire global operations (SocialFunds.com, 18 Jan. 2001)

FDA announces proposal and draft guidance for food developed through biotechnology (U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 17 Jan. 2001)

This juvenile posturing is for punks: Environmentalists can best effect change from inside corporations (Des Wilson, ex-chair of Friends of the Earth and former corporate affairs director of BAA, in Guardian [UK],16 Jan. 2002)

EPA to regulate air pollution from big ocean vessels: Report finds ships to be dirtiest transportation source (Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund, Bluewater Network, 16 Jan. 2001)

Coalition Seeks Judicial Review of Latest NAFTA Ruling (Canadian Alliance on Trade and Environment, 16 Jan. 2001)

Global Environment Reaches Dangerous Crossroads (Worldwatch Institute, 13 Jan. 2001)

American and Canadian Groups Petition U.S. Government to Oppose a Mine in British Columbia: Cite Threats to Wildlife, Invoke 60-Year-Old Treaty (Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund, Defenders of Wildlife, Sierra Legal Defence Fund, Taku Wilderness Association, The Wilderness Society, 4 Jan. 2001)

Environmentalists seek urgent solutions to air pollution in Nigeria (Chuka Nnabuife, Guardian [Lagos], 1 Jan. 2001)

Mine thy neighbour: The Australian government needs to control Australian miners in Indonesia - A large proportion of foreign mining companies in Indonesia are Australian. They may be generating badly needed funds for the country, but the cost to those living near these mines has been very high. (Jeff Atkinson, Advocacy Coordinator, Community Aid Abroad [Oxfam Australia], Inside Indonesia, Jan.-Mar. 2001)

Indorayon's Last Gasp? [Indonesia] - It looks as though the fate of PT Indorayon Inti Utama's controversial paper pulp and rayon fibre plant in North Sumatra has been sealed – less by the Wahid government than by thousands of local protestors...Why was Indorayon singled out among the plethora of cases in Indonesia where companies flout environmental regulations and violate local communities' rights? What message does Indorayon's closure send out to investors in other socially and environmentally damaging investments in Indonesia? (Frances Carr, Down to Earth, Nov. 2000, updated Jan. 2001)

Power to the people: Corrado Clini describes how renewable energy is a key resource for combating poverty and protecting the environment (Corrado Clini, Director General of the Italian Ministry of Environment, in Our Planet, published by U.N. Environment Programme, 2001)

It’s not just, pollution - Robert D. Bullard describes the struggle for environmental justice in the United States and worldwide over the last two decades...The environmental justice movement emerged in response to environmental and social inequities, threats to public health, unequal protection, differential enforcement and disparate treatment received by the poor and people of colour. It redefined environmental protection as a basic right. (Robert D. Bullard, Professor of Sociology and Director of the Environmental Justice Resource Center at Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, in Our Planet, published by U.N. Environment Programme, 2001)

Answering poor health: Gro Harlem Brundtland outlines the links between poverty, health and the environment and recommends practical action (Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director-General of the World Health Organization, in Our Planet, published by U.N. Environment Programme, 2001)

Breaking the cycle of poison - Sarojeni V. Rengam reports how excessive pesticide use traps farmers in poverty, and outlines some solutions (Sarojeni V. Rengam, Executive Director of Pesticide Action Network [PAN] Asia and the Pacific, in Our Planet, published by U.N. Environment Programme, 2001)

Everything connects - Thorbjørn Jagland describes the intimate interlinkages between poverty, health and the environment and sets out priorities for action (Thorbjørn Jagland, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Norway, in Our Planet, published by U.N. Environment Programme, 2001)

World Bank Special: Double burden - Ian Johnson and Kseniya Lvovsky show how the health of the poor suffers most from both traditional and modern environmental hazards (Ian Johnson, Vice President of the World Bank, and Kseniya Lvovsky, Lead Environmental Economist in the World Bank’s South Asia Region, in Our Planet, published by U.N. Environment Programme, 2001)

Environmental Advocacy and the Inter-American Human Rights System (Jorge Daniel Taillant, Centro de Derechos Humanos y Medio Ambiente / Center for Human Rights and the Environment [CEDHA], 2001)

A Greener Fast Track: Putting Environmental Protection on the Trade Agenda [specific policy proposals for U.S. negotiators] (John J. Audley, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2001)