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  Environment & human rights: General materials May-June 2001  

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May-June 2001

West By Far East: China, one-fifth of humankind, is at a crucial juncture. The economic reforms of the late 1970s have propelled China to the forefront of the global economy. This has come at a steep environmental cost. The country is one of the most polluted in the world. As China strives to expand the economic growth of its eastern coastal belt to its untapped western parts, Changhua Wu, expert on China at the World Resources Institute, Washington, DC, analyses the state of the country’s environment and what it is likely to be. (Changhua Wu, Down to Earth, 30 June 2001)

High levels of PCB in Hudson River linked to health problems: Riverkeeper, a not-for-profit organization committed to cleaning up the Hudson River, announced today that indisputably elevated levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been found in Hudson River anglers, causing acute illnesses among anglers and local residents....General Electric has long been one of the largest polluters of the river, and now Riverkeeper and Friends of a Clean Hudson have called on the Bush administration to reaffirm its commitment to good science and support EPA's recommendation that General Electric be required to remove its PCBs from the Hudson. (Dyan M. Neary, Earth Times News Service, 30 June 2001)

Response to the Export Development Corporation’s Draft Disclosure Policy by the NGO Working Group on the Export Development Corporation [Canada], a working group of the Halifax Initiative (Halifax Initiative, 29 June 2001)

Up To Two Billion Tonnes Of Carbon Dioxide Saved By Cleaner Energy Schemes By 2005: Industry Acting To Fight Global Warming Despite Political Disagreements Over Kyoto  - Voluntary actions by industry, governments and organizations are leading to small but significant reductions in emissions of global warming gases world-wide, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Energy Council (WEC) said. (United Nations Environment Programme, 29 June 2001)

Mexico Fights to Save Forests: In scenes reminiscent of the war on drugs, hundreds of police in flak jackets and helmets are raiding the mountains to defend Mexico's rapidly disappearing forests.  As in the battle against drugs, casualties are beginning to mount and new President Vicente Fox faces a legacy of corruption and tolerance of an activity that threatens to tear Mexico apart.  Police have found camps of heavily armed loggers who are willing to riddle forestry vehicles with bullets, shoot officials and mow down environmental activists. (Associated Press, 29 June 2001)

Chemicals to be evaluated for risks to children: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christie Whitman announced today that 36 chemical manufacturers have committed to providing information critical to evaluating the potential health risks to children from 20 commonly used commercial chemicals. (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 29 June 2001)

Report of the High-Level Panel on Financing for Development (United Nations, 28 June 2001) {···english···español···français} 

Greenpeace and The Body Shop launch challenge to bring clean energy to two billion worldwide: Leading environmental organisation Greenpeace has joined forces with international high street retailer, The Body Shop, today, to challenge world governments to provide access to renewable energy for all, in particular the two billion people who live without any power, within ten years. (Greenpeace, 28 June 2001)

U.S. reaches Clean Water agreement with Amtrak: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Justice Department today announced that Amtrak, the nation's largest passenger rail operator, has signed an agreement to carry out environmental audits at its facilities nationwide and undertake other environmental improvements, including projects to restore wetlands and reduce PCBs in locomotive transformers. The agreement settles claims that Amtrak violated numerous requirements of the Clean Water Act, including its storm water provisions, at nine Amtrak sites in New England. (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 28 June 2001)

Virginia company, former official sentenced: On June 20, Rehrig International Inc. [metals company] pleaded guilty to negligently violating the Clean Water Act (CWA) and was ordered to pay a $200,000 fine and provide $300,000 for pollution prevention and control activities. (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 28 June 2001)

The impact of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights on human rights: Report of the High Commissioner (report prepared for United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, 27 June 2001)

Liberian logging kills forests: Uncontrolled logging in Liberia is playing havoc with the country's rich forest resources and environment and helping President Charles Taylor's government to stay afloat despite UN sanctions. (South African Press Association / Agence France Presse, 27 June 2001)

PNG landowners demand Australia fund mine clean-up: Landowners in Papua New Guinea called on Australia yesterday to pay the bill for what they called environmental destruction caused by BHP's Ok Tedi copper mine if the company walked away without cleaning up (Gary Cox, Reuters, 27 June 2001) 

Seed patents needed to boost research - industry: Seed patents, which some critics attack as harmful to poor farmers, are a vital incentive for research and a means of encouraging plant diversity, a life sciences industry official said yesterday. (David Brough, Reuters, 27 June 2001) 

{···français} 30.000 Cas de Maladies Respiratoires par An: Plus de 30000 cas de maladies cardio-vasculaires dues à la pollution de l'air sont enregistrés chaque année à Dakar. (Sud quotidien [Senegal], 27 June 2001)

EPA [Environmental Protection Agency of Ghana] Prosecutes Pollutionist: The Kumasi Circuit Tribunal chaired by Mr. Ernesty Obimpeh has dismissed a plea of no case presented to it by the Nnuro Kente, a private manufacturing firm which produces kente yarns.  Nnuro Kente is allegedly discharging its effluents into the river, thus destroying all life forms in and around it. (Accra Mail [Ghana], 27 June 2001)

Ethiopia slams industry inaction on old pesticides: Ethiopia has criticised the international pesticide industry for failing to contribute to the cost of disposing of thousands of tonnes of ageing toxic waste stored at dumps around the country. (David Brough, Reuters, 26 June 2001)

Amazon Rainforest Could be Unsustainable Within a Decade (Cat Lazaroff, Environment News Service, 26 June 2001)

Pollution site victims fight for compensation [USA] (Alan Elsner, Reuters, 26 June 2001) 

Green groups say seed patents menace food security: Environment groups said yesterday the patenting of food and seeds by multinational companies threatened food security and access by farmers to vital genetic resources. (David Brough, Reuters, 26 June 2001)

German govt, industry sign CHP-subsidising deal: An extended deal on encouraging heat and power (CHP) plants as part of a scheme to lower greenhouse gases emissions was signed by the German government and industry yesterday, the economics ministry said. (Reuters, 26 June 2001) 

Funds develop a taste for clean green energy (Stephanie Holmes, Reuters, 26 June 2001)

Air pollutants make transcontinental journey (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, 26 June 2001)

Presidential green chemistry challenge winners awarded: EPA Administrator Christie Whitman today acknowledged the winners of the 2001 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards. "This year's award winners have made significant innovative contributions that will help reduce the use and generation of hazardous chemicals, resulting in a cleaner and safer environment." (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 26 June 2001)

Alleged Abuses, Fraud and Graft Dog Chad-Cameroon Pipeline: European Parliamentarians (MEPs) may seek a freeze on both European Union (EU) aid to Chad and loans to the controversial Chad-Cameroon Oil and Pipeline Project over allegations the government engaged in electoral fraud, human rights abuses and the misallocation of funds earmarked for the pipeline's completion. (Brian Kenety, Inter Press Service, 25 June 2001) 

One dead, four missing in Brazil landslide: At least one person was killed and four were known to be missing after a dam holding iron ore and mine waste gave way in southeastern Brazil, police said on Saturday. (Reuters, 25 June 2001)

EU drafts ambitious climate emissions trade plan: A wide range of major European Union industries will be forced to take part in buying and selling the right to emit carbon dioxide (CO2), under a draft EU law seen by Reuters on Friday. (Robin Pomeroy, Reuters, 25 June 2001) 

Companies reject disclosure pleas: ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE: Nearly half the country's largest companies have rejected repeated requests by the government to disclose information about their environmental and social performance, according to a report published today [UK] (Vanessa Houlder, Financial Times, 25 June 2001)

Federal judge halts oil, gas exploration off Calif: A Federal judge on Friday halted all oil and natural gas exploration off the central California coast, a blow to oil companies which hoped to ramp up new offshore oil drilling operations after years of legal wrangling (Reuters, 25 June 2001) 

EU chief slams Boeing over gas-guzzling new jet (Robin Pomeroy, Reuters, 25 June 2001)

The Killing Fields [oil pollution and resulting injuries in Nigeria] (Greg Campbell, InTheseTimes.com, 25 June 2001)

Greenpeace finds shipowners responsible for toxic pollution at Chinese shipbreaking yards (Greenpeace, 25 June 2001)

The government takes a hike [USA]: The Justice Department is nowhere to be found in defense of federal environmental laws and policies now under legal attack by the Bush administration's ideological soul mates -- timber companies, snowmobile manufacturers, land developers, energy producers and the like. Environmental groups, whose lawyers are far more accustomed to suing the government than defending it, must now intervene in court proceedings to protect the public interest. (Tom Turner, Senior Editor for Earthjustice Legal Defense, San Francisco Chronicle, 24 June 2001) 

Ayatollah Khamenei calls for religious leaders to fight environmental degradation at the International Seminar on Environment, Religion and Culture (Ling Wu Kong, Earth Times News Service, 24 June 2001)

Peru protesters block road over Antamina mine worry (Eduardo Orozco, Reuters, 22 June 2001)

Natives fail to sway Norton from ANWR oil stance: [U.S.] Interior Secretary Gale Norton said this week a visit to an Alaska Native community this week had not changed her opinion about oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but had given her a "better appreciation" for local concerns. (Yereth Rosen, Reuters, 22 June 2001) 

Greenpeace confronts Hong Kong firm to stop fueling forest crime (Greenpeace, 22 June 2001)

EU and Canada agree to promote climate protocol (Reuters, 22 June 2001) 

FRIENDS IVORY AND SIME - Socially Responsible Investment - Fund manager Friends Ivory & Sime argues that institutional investors have a responsibility to encourage companies to improve their governance of ethical and environmental issues. Its new Responsible Engagement Overlay [REO] service enables investors to use their influence to encourage positive change...One of REO's most successful engagement programmes in the past year has been on labour standards. (Ethical Performance magazine, summer 2001)

Poverty linked to environmental issue: Pakistan is undergoing $2bn annual loss due to environmental degradation, said federal minister for environment, local government and rural development, Omar Asghar Khan, while quoting a World Bank report...."Poverty is closely linked with environmental issues as in comparison with elites of the country, poor live in environmental fragile areas," said Omar. He said "environment is no longer a western-sponsored agenda as it was considered to be". (Dawn [Karachi, Pakistan], 21 June 2001)

Amazon chief [Brazilian Indian Chief Raoni] says big firms [forestry and mining multinationals] threaten forests (Reuters, 21 June 2001) 

Norway helps Norilsk to fight pollution: Norway will grant Russian metals giant Norilsk Nickel $30 million to introduce ecologically friendly technology at one of its units, Norilsk and the Murmansk regional administration said this week. (Reuters, 21 June 2001)

Air Liquide [manufacturer of industrial and medical gases] Agrees to Settlement with U.S. Resolving Environmental Violations in 18 States: The Justice Department and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced a ground-breaking Clean Air Act settlement with Air Liquide America Corporation to replace refrigerant chemicals that destroy the earth's stratospheric ozone layer with environmentally friendly alternatives. (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 21 June 2001)

Toxic Drift: Monsanto and the Drug War in Colombia - The U.S. sprays tons of Monsanto's herbicide, Roundup, in Colombia as part of the drug war. Local residents say it makes them sick and destroys their crops. (Jeremy Bigwood, CorpWatch, 21 June 2001) 

EIA Announces Industry Pilot Project for Electronics Recycling: The Electronic Industries Alliance, in cooperation with Canon, Hewlett Packard, JVC, Kodak, Nokia, Panasonic, Philips Electronics, Sharp, Sony, and Thomson, today announced the development of an innovative electronics collection and recycling pilot project.  "Our industry is committed to lessening the environmental impact of our products from design to end-of-life. It is critical that we move forward quickly in finding electronics recycling programs that work."  (Electronic Industries Alliance, 21 June 2001)

World's First Guidelines Set for Safe Disposal of Obsolete Ships (Environment News Service, 20 June 2001)

While the globe burns, the UN fiddles: The global ecosystem is collapsing, and as it does so, governments and the UN are busy collecting data instead of implementing massive, well-funded action programs. (Dyan M. Neary, Earth Times News Service, 20 June 2001) 

KENYA: Gov't Teams With UNIDO [UN Industrial Development Organization] To Fight Industry Pollution (UN Wire, 20 June 2001)

Shrinking Arctic ice threatens Inuit, polar bears (Alister Doyle, Reuters, 20 June 2001) 

Guide to pay $14.1 mln for water pollution violations: Guide Corp., a manufacturer of automotive lighting, agreed to pay more than $14.1 million for dumping in an Indiana river toxic wastewater that killed more than 100 tons of fish and other animals, the U.S. government said this week (Reuters, 20 June 2001) 

Poison PCs/Toxic TVs: A brand new (June 19, 2001) report by Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, Californians Against Waste and Materials for the Future that details the growing piles of electronic waste in the US, the toxics contained in the computers and monitors, and hazards of improper disposal was released. The report also estimates a cost to California tax payers of almost $1 billion for handling e-wastes that consumers and businesses will throw away. (Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, 19 June 2001)

Worldwatch Report Cites Sprawl's Impact: International efforts to control global warming will become more difficult unless governments act to discourage the building of cities designed for automobiles, according to the Worldwatch Institute. (UN Wire, 19 June 2001)

Asia's environmental abuse has to end - ADB: Environmental degradation in Asia and the Pacific is pervasive, accelerating and unabated and policy-makers have to respond to the problem now, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said yesterday. (Reuters, 19 June 2001) 

Alaska drilling supporters get key Interior posts [U.S. Department of Interior] (Yereth Rosen, Reuters, 19 June 2001)

Brazil's Petrobras says gas leak totaled 150 tons (Reuters, 19 June 2001) 

Fear of explosion delays Malaysian spill clean-up: Fear of an explosion or further leaks has delayed the transfer of a toxic chemical from a ship that capsized between Malaysia and Singapore last week, a Malaysian official said yesterday. (Reuters, 19 June 2001) 

Placer Dome's Efforts at Sustainability: Sincere or Greenwash? [Papua New Guinea] (Mark Thomsen, SocialFunds.com, 19 June 2001)

Asia propelled 'to brink of environmental catastrophe': Rapid population growth coupled with government inaction and weak institutions in Asia are pushing the region to the brink of environmental catastrophe, the Asian Development Bank warned in a report released on Monday. (Rahul Jacob, Financial Times, 18 June 2001) 

Placer Dome Mine Strikes Resentment in Papua New Guinea (Mark Thomsen, SocialFunds.com, 18 June 2001)

EU provisionally sets 2001 deadline for Kyoto (Reuters, 18 June 2001)

EU to urge others [including Japan, Canada, Australia] to ratify Kyoto despite US (Reuters, 18 June 2001)

EU to crusade for climate change accord (Ian Geoghegan, Reuters, 18 June 2001)

Petrobras gas leak has Sao Paulo on alert [Brazil] (Daniela Machado, Reuters, 18 June 2001) 

Pollution victims agree to take payout: Plaintiffs in a 12-year court battle over air pollution from factory smoke [including from factories of electric power company, steel companies, chemical companies, gas company] in Nagoya have agreed to a settlement totaling 1.52 billion yen, sources close to the case said Friday (Japan Times, 16 June 2001)

NAFTA agency ripped for not taking action on Tijuana toxic site (Joe Cantlupe, Copley News Service [USA], 16 June 2001)

CLIMATE CHANGE: IPCC Chair Slams Bush Position - Global climate change is real, people are to blame for it and developing countries are its first victims, according to Bob Watson, World Bank chief scientist and chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (UN Wire, 15 June 2001)

Bush gives final thumbs-down to Kyoto treaty (Brian Williams, Reuters, 15 June 2001)

US watchdog group assails genetic field testing: A consumer watchdog group yesterday accused the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) of rubber stamping approval of field tests of genetically engineered crops that could harm people and the environment (Reuters, 15 June 2001) 

Sludge disasters cast shadow over coal revival [USA] (Timothy Gardner, Reuters, 15 June 2001)

GM soy in U.S. needs 10 pct less herbicide - study: Farmers in the United States planting Monsanto's genetically modified (GM) soy reduced their use of herbicides by an average of about 10 percent, Dutch researchers said yesterday (Reuters, 14 June 2001) 

Aventis: Global Compact Violator - Since Aventis signed on to the Global Compact in July 2000, their genetically engineered StarLinkTM corn has illegally contaminated the food supply and seed stock. A look at the company's behavior regarding StarLink shows that before, during and after signing the Compact, Aventis violated Global Compact's Principle 7, which is drawn from the Rio Declaration and supports "a precautionary approach to environmental challenges."  (Gabriela Flora, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, on CorpWatch website, 14 June 2001)

Pollution dogs NAFTA: The rapid growth of factories and industrial production near the U.S. border in Mexico, with little regard for pollution controls and infrastructure needs, has created a heavily contaminated region, say some analysts. (Joe Grossman, UPI, 13 June 2001)

Following Violent Crackdown in Chad, Environmental Defense & Chadian Association for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights Call on World Bank to Rethink Funds for Chad Pipeline Project (Environmental Defense, 13 June 2001)

EU says Bush climate change ideas short on action (Reuters, 13 June 2001) 

Japan wants US back in Kyoto climate treaty (Teruaki Ueno, Reuters, 13 June 2001) 

Road to oblivion: The Amazon jungle has long been ravaged by developers. But now it faces what conservationists are calling a 'final assault' from a £29bn superhighways project. [Brazil] (John Vidal, Guardian [UK], 13 June 2001)

Heart attack risk seen in tiny pollution particles [produced by combustion processes in automobile engines, power plants, refineries and smelters] (Will Dunham, Reuters, 13 June 2001) 

GM (General Motors Corp.) takes steps towards fuel cell vehicles (Michael Ellis, Reuters, 13 June 2001) 

The Philippines Mourn their Dead Rivers: A follow up to the International Conference on STD, Indonesia - On May 31, 2001, over 100 concerned citizens from rural communities in the Philippines marched the streets demanding that their rivers not be destroyed by mining activities. [refers to mine owned by Placer Dome] (JATAM, 12 June 2001)

Breathing easy in the Lone Star State -- Texas electric company [Green Mountain Energy, provider of wind-power generated electricity] fights carbon dioxide by planting trees (Duane A. Gallop, Earth Times News Service, 12 June 2001)

Companies Using NAFTA to Undermine Legitimate Regulations (Mark Thomsen, SocialFunds.com, 12 June 2001)

Bush offers non-binding steps against global warming (Randall Mikkelsen, Reuters, 12 June 2001)

UN climate change chief cautious on Bush, woos Japan (Matt Daily, Reuters, 12 June 2001)

NY [New York] power plan seen good for renewable energy firms (Reuters, 12 June 2001)

Oil Development in Nigeria: A critical investigation of Chevron Corporation's performance in the Niger River Delta (California Global Corporate Accountability Project, 11 June 2001)

Oil Development in the Caspian: a critical investigation of California oil companies in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan (California Global Corporate Accountability Project, 11 June 2001)

Environment: EU Has Twice the Climate Remedies Needed to Hit Kyoto Target (Environment News Service, 11 June 2001)

N.Y. Governor Challenges Bush to Take Action on Global Warming (Environment News Service, 11 June 2001)

Lagos state threatens to sue Nigeria's NNPC: The Lagos state government has threatened to sue the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) over alleged environmental damage caused by an oil fire at one of its facilities, officials said on Friday (Reuters, 11 June 2001) 

EU environment head says summit is historic chance: The European Union's top environment official challenged EU leaders on Friday to set ambitious targets for saving the world's environment when they meet at a summit in Gothenburg, Sweden next week. (Robin Pomeroy, Reuters, 11 June 2001) 

Bush seeking to assure Europe on global warming (Steve Holland, Reuters, 11 June 2001)

White House aide - Europe playing game on climate: A top White House aide said on Sunday Europeans critical of the United States for rejecting the Kyoto global warming treaty were playing a "a little bit of a game" to hide their own objections (Randall Mikkelsen, Reuters, 11 June 2001) 

Cameroon cracks down on unruly logging companies: The government of Cameroon has slapped sanctions on 65 logging companies for violating regulations on the exploitation of forests (Reuters, 11 June 2001) 

Cambodia logging reform hampered by corruption - NGO [statement by Global Witness] (Reuters, 11 June 2001) 

Environmental battle steams up over Ecuador pipeline (Reuters, 11 June 2001) 

ENVIRONMENT: Greens want protection after spate of murders: State should do more for villagers' rights [Thailand] (Ploenpote Atthakor, Bangkok Post, 10 June 2001)

ENVIRONMENT: Government policy blamed for conflicts: Power plant boss criticises poor system [Thailand] (Kultida Samabuddhi, Bangkok Post, 10 June 2001)

The Credibility Gap and the Need to Bridge It - Increasing the Pace of Forestry Reform [overview of the major forest related issues and incidents of illegal logging in Cambodia over the past year]  (Global Witness, 8 June 2001)

Warming report pressures Bush - environmentalists: Environmentalists yesterday said a scientists' report that found global warming was worsening should prod President George W. Bush to change his energy policy and focus on addressing climate change (Patrick Connole, Reuters, 8 June 2001)

POLL - Saving forest is top priority in Amazon: Preserving the rain forest ranks as the top priority for the 20 million people living in Brazil's Amazon, the first such study polling the region's population showed this week [study conducted by Brazil branch of the World Wildlife Fund] (Axel Bugge, Reuters, 8 June 2001) 

PESTICIDES: UNEP [UN Environment Program], UNIDO [UN Industrial Development Organization] Launch Site To Cut Ozone Depletion [by methyl bromide, a toxic and ozone-depleting pesticide] (UN Wire, 8 June 2001)

ENVIRONMENT: Green Label scheme fails to take hold: Public awareness needed for success [Thailand] (Kultida Samabuddhi, Bangkok Post, 7 June 2001)

ENVIRONMENT-US: Mining Safeguards Hang in the Balance - Environmentalists and mining executives anxiously await a government decision on whether to suspend mining regulations designed to protect the environment and public health. (Danielle Knight, Inter Press Service, 7 June 2001) 

Global Warming is Real, Council [National Academies' National Research Council] Tells Bush (Cat Lazaroff, Environment News Service, 7 June 2001)

Hazardous chemicals found in childcare and house products (Greenpeace, 7 June 2001)

Greenpeace applauds the Chinese Government on tightening control over genetically modified organisms (Greenpeace, 7 June 2001)

EPA says most US refiners breaking green laws: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said yesterday that roughly 80 percent of the nation's 152 refineries are violating pollution laws, and the agency is having trouble keeping up. (Reuters, 7 June 2001) 

UN starts four-year checkup of world environment: U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan launched this week a four-year checkup by 1,500 scientists aimed at diagnosing Earth's environmental ills and identifying treatments to nurse the planet back to health (Irwin Arieff, Reuters, 7 June 2001) 

U.S. reaches water pollution settlement with Wal-Mart: Retailer to Pay $1 Million Fine, Establish Environmental Management Plan (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 7 June 2001) 

First Look at Environmental Disclosure in Japanese Industry: IRRC Publishes Data from Japanese Corporate Environmental Reports (Investor Responsibility Research Center [IRRC], 7 June 2001)

GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS: Agriculture keen on GE field trials - Genetic technology 'cannot be ignored' [Thailand] (Ploenpote Atthakor, Bangkok Post, 6 June 2001)

WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY: Call for clean technology to boost exports - Green barriers being put up by Europe [Thailand] (Aphaluck Bhatiasevi, Bangkok Post, 6 June 2001)

PESTICIDES: Ban possible on 12 toxic farm chemicals [Thailand] (Anchalee Kongrut and Ploenpote Atthakor, Bangkok Post, 6 June 2001)

Pesticides spread their toxic reach: Pesticide use has increased rapidly over the decades and has often had a much deadlier effect than ever was intended. It's time to review our farming methods. [Thailand] (Mahesh Uniyal, Bangkok Post, 6 June 2001)

Leading Climate Scientists Advise White House on Global Warming [USA] (National Academies [National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Engineering, National Research Council] , 6 June 2001)

ASIA/PACIFIC: Region Faces Environmental Disaster -- ESCAP [UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific] (UN Wire, 6 June 2001)

PESTICIDES: FAO [UN Food and Agriculture Organization] Calls For Action On Old Stocks In Asia-Pacific (UN Wire, 6 June 2001)

Japan's Idemitsu [oil refiner] plans to stop MTBE [gasoline additive; suspected carcinogen] production (Reuters, 6 June 2001) 

Human rights and the environment (resolution adopted by General Assembly of Organization of American States, resolution 1819, 5 June 2001)

Mexican Oil Company Pledges Greenhouse Gas Reductions (Cat Lazaroff, Environment News Service, 5 June 2001)

Energy Deal Between Canada, U.S. Could Increase Greenhouse Gases (Cat Lazaroff, Environment News Service, 5 June 2001)

A New Voice For The Global Environment: Telecommunications Industry Launches Sustainability Initiative (press release jointly issues by UNEP [United Nations Environment Programme], ITU [International Telecommunication Union] and GeSI [Global e-Sustainability Initiative], 5 June 2001)

Chadian NGOs claim WB [World Bank] loans [for Chad-Cameroon oil pipeline project] are risky for environment, democracy (Aditya Batra, Earth Times News Service, 4 June 2001)

Justice delayed for a childhood in asbestos: South Africans seek belated compensation [from British company Cape PLC] for their apartheid-era exploitation (Chris McGreal, Guardian [UK], 4 June 2001) 

China: Investors warned off Three Gorges bonds - Continuing with their effort to block financing of China's Three Gorges Dam, environmentalists are warning investors that bonds to be sold soon will indirectly finance the mammoth hydropower project that critics say will be a social and environmental disaster. (Inter Press Service, in Asia Times, 2 June 2001)

US: EU Criticizes US For Not Revealing Environmental Data (UN Wire, 1 June 2001)

Seeking socially responsible tourism: ...the negative social and environmental impact of this mass tourism is being assessed, and a growing number of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are calling on the tourism industry leadership - and vacationers as well - to adopt a more responsible attitude. (World of Work - The Magazine of the ILO, June 2001)

Asian Environment Outlook 2001: The people of Asia and the Pacific are paying a heavy toll for the region’s environmental degradation—in human health and economic terms. But the environmental decline can be stopped. The Asian Economic Outlook 2001 (AEO) provides the blueprint for doing that. (Asian Development Bank, June 2001) 

Climate change (briefing paper for World Summit on Sustainable Development, published by IIED [International Institute for Environment and Development] and RING [Regional and International Networking Group], June 2001)

Drylands management (briefing paper for World Summit on Sustainable Development, published by IIED [International Institute for Environment and Development] and RING [Regional and International Networking Group], June 2001)

Environmental rights (briefing paper for World Summit on Sustainable Development, published by IIED [International Institute for Environment and Development] and RING [Regional and International Networking Group], June 2001)

Local agenda 21s (briefing paper for World Summit on Sustainable Development, published by IIED [International Institute for Environment and Development] and RING [Regional and International Networking Group], June 2001)

The UN Financing for Development process (briefing paper for World Summit on Sustainable Development, published by IIED [International Institute for Environment and Development] and RING [Regional and International Networking Group], June 2001)

National Strategies for Sustainable Development (briefing paper for World Summit on Sustainable Development, published by IIED [International Institute for Environment and Development] and RING [Regional and International Networking Group], June 2001)

Sustainability and trade (briefing paper for World Summit on Sustainable Development, published by IIED [International Institute for Environment and Development] and RING [Regional and International Networking Group], June 2001)

Ecological debt (briefing paper for World Summit on Sustainable Development, published by IIED [International Institute for Environment and Development] and RING [Regional and International Networking Group], June 2001)

Poverty and environment (briefing paper for World Summit on Sustainable Development, published by IIED [International Institute for Environment and Development] and RING [Regional and International Networking Group], June 2001)

Food and Agriculture - the impact of agribusiness  (briefing paper for World Summit on Sustainable Development, published by IIED [International Institute for Environment and Development] and RING [Regional and International Networking Group], June 2001)

Biodiversity (briefing paper for World Summit on Sustainable Development, published by IIED [International Institute for Environment and Development] and RING [Regional and International Networking Group], June 2001)

Tourism (briefing paper for World Summit on Sustainable Development, published by IIED [International Institute for Environment and Development] and RING [Regional and International Networking Group], June 2001)

Gender and globalisation (briefing paper for World Summit on Sustainable Development, published by IIED [International Institute for Environment and Development] and RING [Regional and International Networking Group], June 2001)

Mining and Sustainable Development (briefing paper for World Summit on Sustainable Development, published by IIED [International Institute for Environment and Development] and RING [Regional and International Networking Group], June 2001)

Water - Can Private Sector Participation meet Social and Environmental needs? (briefing paper for World Summit on Sustainable Development, published by IIED [International Institute for Environment and Development] and RING [Regional and International Networking Group], June 2001)

Health and Sustainable Development (briefing paper for World Summit on Sustainable Development, published by IIED [International Institute for Environment and Development] and RING [Regional and International Networking Group], June 2001)

Spoiled Lunch: Polluters Profiting from Federal Lunch Programs - 2001 Sierra Club Report: This report outlines environmental, health, and labor law violations committed by giant slaughterhouses and meat processing plants that supply pork, chicken, and beef to our schools through the federal School Lunch Program. [USA] (Sierra Club, June 2001)

Exxon shareholders defeat green, gay proposals (Marcus Kabel, Reuters, 31 May 2001)

Activists Warn Investors about Banks of the Yangtze: Continuing with their effort to block financing of China's Three Gorges Dam, environmentalists are warning investors that bonds to be sold soon will indirectly finance the mammoth hydropower project that critics say will be a social and environmental disaster. Major investment banks, including, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas and Barclays Capital, are currently pricing approximately 1.75 billion dollars in bonds for the People's Republic of China. (Danielle Knight, Inter Press Service, 31 May 2001)

Cars fouling Asian air but high-tech offers hope (Amy Tan, Reuters, 31 May 2001) 

Pesticide firms seek Ethiopia toxic dumps audit (David Brough, Reuters, 31 May 2001)

Pesticide waste disposal too slow - UN's Diouf [Jacques Diouf, Director-General, UN Food and Agriculture Organisation] (Reuters, 31 May 2001) 

Weather slows oil clean-up off Bahamas (Reuters, 31 May 2001)

POLLUTION: Villagers want three firms closed: Warnings to knitting factories unheeded [Thailand] (Supamart Kasem, Bangkok Post, 30 May 2001)

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Market Emerges in Chicago: A diverse group of 25 large corporations and nonprofit organizations has agreed to participate in the design phase of a voluntary pilot trading market, the Chicago Climate Exchange. (Environment News Service, 30 May 2001) 

Toxic spill in ocean could affect China for years (Edwin Chan, Reuters, 30 May 2001) 

Timber group urges help for poor tropical states: Poverty is the main cause of destruction of rainforests and poor countries must get more aid and investment to preserve their forests for future generations, the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO) said (Tansa Musa, Reuters, 30 May 2001) 

Chemical spill injures 90 in southern China (Reuters, 29 May 2001) 

HK activists block Nestle plant in GM food protest (Chee-may Chow, Reuters, 29 May 2001) 

Arctic ice thinning noticeably - Norwegian explorer (David Ljunggren, Reuters, 29 May 2001)

Turtle Rescue Team Among 18 Individuals And Organizations Honoured On World Environment Day 2001: [see section entitled "Responsible Tourism": Lindblad Expeditions, eco-tourism company, is among winners of UNEP environmental award] (United Nations Environment Programme, 29 May 2001)

Turtle Rescue Team Among 18 Individuals And Organizations Honoured On World Environment Day 2001: [see section entitled "Pesticide Campaigner": Anti-pesticide campaigner is among winners of UNEP environmental award] (United Nations Environment Programme, 29 May 2001)

Biggest U.S. Water Polluters Not Punished (Environment News Service, 28 May 2001)

Banks should face oil spill liability - ship manager (Reuters, 28 May 2001)

Brazilian oil spill latest in unexplained series (Andrei Khalip, Reuters, 28 May 2001) 

Canada's Martin [Finance Minister Paul Martin] wants environmental indicator (Amran Abocar, Reuters, 28 May 2001)

Japan food recall revives StarLink biotech scare (Jae Hur, Reuters, 28 May 2001) 

Bangalore: City's chance to fight pollution [India] (Kanak Hirani, Times of India, 26 May 2001)

Survey links pollution to sexual development (Anne Byrne, Irish Times, 26 May 2001)

Industry concedes to Greenpeace demands and takes first steps towards stopping releases of newly banned toxic chemicals [Sweden] (Greenpeace, 25 May 2001)

New York, Connecticut sue EPA [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency] over car pollution rule (Patrick Connole, Reuters, 25 May 2001) 

Navistar unit calls on Pemex to clean up diesel [Mexico] (Fiona Ortiz, Reuters, 25 May 2001) 

Analysts remain sceptical about environmental and social factors: Sustainable development survey shows 'wide degree of uncertainty' - But the survey suggests there has been a step in the right direction, according to BiE [Business in the Environment]. When asked directly about the importance of environment factors in evaluating companies, a third of analysts said that environmental policy was "fairly or very" important, compared with only a fifth of analysts in 1994. The figure for social policy has increased by an even wider margin since 1994, from 12 to 34 per cent. (Vanessa Houlder, Financial Times, 25 May 2001)

U.S. Manufacturers Bring High Labor, Environmental Standards to Overseas Operations, New Study Finds: Joint Survey by NAM [National Association of Manufacturers] and Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI Finds ‘Race to Top,’ Not Bottom (National Association of Manufacturers, 24 May 2001)

Green Globe winners for 2001 announced [by Rainforest Alliance, winners include A2R Fund Management Group and Chiquita Brands International] (Earth Times News Service, 24 May 2001)

World Bank's IFC to Fund 'Risky' Project Involving Shell in Nigeria (Friends of the Earth, 24 May 2001)

Global Energy Firms Claim Global Warming Milestone - But the evidence...contains some startling flaws (Environment News Service, 24 May 2001)

Magazine Industry Is Wasting Forests: New study finds magazines use almost no recycled paper and publishers have an incentive to overproduce wastefully (Mark Thomsen, SocialFunds.com, 24 May 2001)

CLIMATE CHANGE: Carbon Sinks' Usefulness Limited, Scientists Say (UN Wire, 24 May 2001)

Exxon Mobil to appeal $1 bln Louisiana radiation fine (Timothy Gardner, Reuters, 24 May 2001) 

US utilities form alliance to curb carbon dioxide emissions (Patrick Connole, Reuters, 24 May 2001)

Environmental safeguard warning for mine tenders: The Dominican Republic government will impose strict environmental standards on the company it selects to invest about $750m in reopening and working the country's main gold mine, which was closed five years ago. (Canute James, Financial Times, 24 May 2001) 

ICI Group [chemical company]: environmental issues:

Crude oil spill off Rayong [Thailand] (Jerdsak Saengthongcharoen, Bangkok Post, 23 May 2001)

New convention to ban toxic chemicals marks turning point for industry (Greenpeace, 23 May 2001)

Kyoto Dispute Clouds Triumph on Chemicals: Delegates Adopt Treaty on Top Pollutants (International Herald Tribune, 23 May 2001)

EU criticises US on environment despite UN pact [United Nations treaty to ban certain toxic chemicals] (Eva Sohlman and Alister Doyle, Reuters, 23 May 2001) 

Nations adopt treaty to ban toxic chemicals: Almost 130 nations formally agreed a U.N. treaty yesterday to ban or minimise use of a "dirty dozen" toxic chemicals blamed for causing cancers and birth defects in people and animals. (Alister Doyle, Reuters, 23 May 2001)

US denies new energy plan fuels global warming (Eva Sohlman, Reuters, 23 May 2001) 

US hopes for alternative to Kyoto by June: The United States hopes its alternative to the Kyoto treaty on combating global warming will be ready by June, when President George W. Bush meets his European counterparts (Randall Mikkelsen, Reuters, 23 May 2001) 

Energy experts say EU may not meet Kyoto target (Robin Pomeroy, Reuters, 23 May 2001)

Group [Natural Resources Defense Council] to sue Bush over suspension of arsenic rule (Patrick Connole, Reuters, 23 May 2001)

ENVIRONMENT-ECUADOR: Minister [Environment Minister Lourdes Luque] Speaks Out against Oil Pipeline (Kintto Lucas, Inter Press Service, 23 May 2001)

Biotech to drive chemicals sales, report [by McKinsey & Co.] says (Reuters, 23 May 2001) 

Dam the Dayaks dread: Project has displaced thousands of Borneo's indigenous people - About 10,000 of Borneo's 200,000 indigenous peoples have already been forced off their ancestral lands so the Malaysian government can build a massive dam, scheduled to open in four years. The $5 billion Bakun Dam on the Balui River will flood a rain forest area the size of Singapore and is expected to generate 2,400 megawatts of electricity, making it the biggest hydroelectric dam in southeastern Asia. Government officials maintain that the dam will help bring new industry and much-needed economic development to Sarawak's 2 million inhabitants. But critics say the dam will destroy the habitat of more than 100 endangered species, produce far more electric power than needed and unnecessarily displace tribal minorities, including the Kenyah, Ukit, Kayan and Penan tribes. (Reese Erlich, San Francisco Chronicle, 22 May 2001)

UN says US energy policy fuels global warming (Eva Sohlman, Reuters, 22 May 2001)

US has special role in global warming fight - Annan (Christopher Noble, Reuters, 22 May 2001) 

Church leaders urge scrutiny of Bush energy policy (Reuters, 22 May 2001)

UN urges quick end to "dirty dozen" chemicals (Alister Doyle, Reuters, 22 May 2001) 

Ecuador environment ministry reviews pipeline route (Reuters, 22 May 2001) 

Trial date set, as Cape [British asbestos company Cape PLC] hints at settlement (ACTSA [Action for South Africa], 22 May 2001)

US energy plan a "crime" - Pacific activists (Michael Christie, Reuters, 21 May 2001) 

EU [European Union] says Bush energy plan disappointing on climate (Reuters, 21 May 2001) 

Bush looks at green in energy plan - critics see red (Patricia Wilson, Reuters, 21 May 2001)

US lawmakers want probe of Cheney's [U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney's] energy panel (Timothy Gardner, Reuters, 21 May 2001)

UN Secretary General Denounces U.S. Global Warming Stance (Cat Lazaroff, Environment News Service, 21 May 2001)

Resource-poor Japan hails Bush energy plan (Miho Yoshikawa, Reuters, 21 May 2001) 

Hewlett-Packard Recycling Progam Passes the Buck: Customers, not company, paying the cost (Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, 19 May 2001)

Facing Global Power: Strategies for Global Unionism [including Part 1: Corporate Power and the World Social Economy] (Vic Thorpe and Professor Jeffrey Harrod,  ICEM [ International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine & General Workers' Unions] SECOND WORLD CONGRESS, 18 May 2001)

CLIMATE CHANGE: National Science Academies Blast Bush (UN Wire, 18 May 2001

Bush plan [U.S. President Bush's new energy plan] 'disastrous' for climate - UN climate chief (Reuters, 18 May 2001) 

WRAPUP - Environmentalists say US energy plans disastrous (Reuters, 18 May 2001) 

GM (General Motors Corp.) gives $10 million for endangered Brazil forest (Reuters, 18 May 2001) 

Commentary - A better world: Ideals and realities - When residents complain about a polluting factory, what happens next? Nothing, you may say. That's certainly the case in many instances. [Thailand] (Wasant Techawongtham, Bangkok Post, 18 May 2001)

Genetic Modification: Greenpeace praises tofu firm for GMO tests of ingredients - Its product among those exposed earlier [Thailand] (Ploenpote Atthakor, Bangkok Post, 18 May 2001)

Industrialized Nations Commit to Eco-Friendly Financial Practices (Environment News Service, 17 May 2001)

Lifting the Veil of Secrecy: New Website Discloses Scientists’ Links to Industry: The nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) today launched an Internet site to provide information about the links between hundreds of scientists — mostly in the fields of nutrition, environment, toxicology, and medicine — and corporations. (Center for Science in the Public Interest, 17 May 2001)

ExxonMobil Feeling Heat on Both Sides of the Atlantic: Shareholder resolutions and boycotts put pressure on oil giant to change its stance on global warming and embrace clean energy (Mark Thomsen, SocialFunds.com, 17 May 2001)

General Motors Mexican automobile plant wins prestigious Stockholm Industry Water Award: GM de Mexico honored for effective water stewardship in a water scarce area (Stockholm International Water Institute, 17 May 2001)

Worldwide initiatives against GMOs [genetically modified organisms] (Third World Network, 16 May 2001)

Indigenous & Environmental Groups File Lawsuit Challenging the OCP [Oleoducto de Crudo Pesado, proposed new Ecuadorian oil pipeline]: US & German Banks on the Hot Seat for Financing the New Crude Pipeline in Ecuadorian Amazon (Amazon Watch, 16 May 2001)

Destruction of Amazon jungle hits 5-year high [Brazil] (Axel Bugge, Reuters, 16 May 2001) 

Greenpeace occupies toxic cement kiln and calls for end to waste burning [Sweden] (Greenpeace, 16 May 2001)

Industry ministers balk at cost of EU chemicals plan (Reuters, 16 May 2001) 

EU assembly toughens up waste electronics law: The European Parliament voted yesterday to toughen up a draft law to make electrical and electronic equipment makers pay for the recycling of their discarded products (Reuters, 16 May 2001)

Stock Picker - The latest in green investing - Short "dirties" (Chelsea Emery, Reuters, 16 May 2001) 

Brazil's Amazon Rainforest Shrinking Fast (Environment News Service, 15 May 2001)

Texaco unit fined for Clean Water Act violations (Reuters, 15 May 2001) 

Pollution: Three plants [textile factories] shut pending clean-up job - Illegal labourers causing a nuisance [Thailand] (Supamart Kasem Tak, Bangkok Post, 15 May 2001)

Coal-fired power plants: All sides to have a say before final decision is reached - Japanese firms keen to start immediately [Thailand] (Kosol Satithamajit, Bangkok Post, 15 May 2001)

Read the label: China passes regs requiring food products to list genetic alterations (China Online, 15 May 2001)

Getting Boards to Address the Triple Bottom Line: New report proposes a set of principles and actions to assist corporate boards in addressing the triple bottom line of economic, social and environmental performance  (Mark Thomsen, SocialFunds.com, 15 May 2001)

NGO Report Demonstrates the Export Development Corporation Risks the Environment: Canada’s Export Development Corporation is an accessory to some projects with severe negative environmental and social consequences, says a new report, "Reckless Lending – How Canada’s Export Development Corporation Puts People and the Environment at Risk", volume 2. This report builds on evidence of poor social, environmental and human rights assessment procedures used by the EDC found in volume 1, released in 2000. (Halifax Initiative, 14 May 2001)

Victims face uphill battle in court: This last of the three-part series on lead contamination of Klity creek looks at the legal question [Thailand] (Anchalee Kongrut, Bangkok Post, 14 May 2001)

FAO to seek EU aid to remove pesticide waste [United Nations and industry officials urge European Union to provide financial support for the disposal of pesticide waste in developing countries] (Reuters, 14 May 2001)

Jailed Mexican logging activists granted appeal (Reuters, 14 May 2001)

Robert Redford blasts White House green policies (Reuters, 14 May 2001)

Cruise ship cited for sewage violations in Alaska (Yereth Rosen, Reuters, 14 May 2001)

Marathon Ashland in deal to cut refinery pollution [USA] (Julie Vorman, Reuters, 14 May 2001)

Kenyans clash over threatened forests (Reuters, 13 May 2001)

Forestry: Public gets say in how estate is managed - Curbs on occupancy and use to be eased - In a radical shift in policy, the Forestry Department announced its willingness to recognise the public's right to help protect and manage the nation's forests [Thailand] (Ploenpote Atthakor, Bangkok Post, 12 May 2001)

Editorial: Environment needs a separate ministry (Bangkok Post, 12 May 2001)

Peru says residents to decide on Tambogrande mine (Reuters, 11 May 2001)

Monsanto denies sale of illegal seed [Argentina] (Reuters, 11 May 2001)

Illegal genetically engineered corn from Monsanto detected in Argentina (Greenpeace, 11 May 2001)

Environment: Murder of conservationist fails to end encroachment - Prawn farms face no legal action - Even after the death of Jurin Ratchapol who led a local protest against the operations of prawn farms allegedly encroaching on Ban Pa Khlok's last mangrove forest, no official action has been taken to end the encroachment [Thailand] (Onnucha Hutasingh, Bangkok Post, 10 May 2001)

Flash floods: Illegal logging a 'tragic lesson' - Forestry officials involved, says chief - The people of Phrae must take the flash flooding which claimed at least 29 lives as a lesson that illegal logging would bring them tragedy, said forestry chief Plodprasop Suraswadi [Thailand] (Kultida Samabuddhi, Bangkok Post, 10 May 2001)

Cape [British asbestos company Cape PLC] shamed at AGM [annual general meeting] (ACTSA [Action for South Africa], 10 May 2001)

Coca Cola breaks ranks; others run for cover on climate [Coca Cola Spain states it fully backs European governments' support for Kyoto Protocol] (Greenpeace, 9 May 2001)

Legal petition against 5 US agencies aims to stop world's first GE [genetically-engineered] fish release (Greenpeace, 9 May 2001)

Celebs launch UK Esso boycott over climate stance (Reuters, 9 May 2001)

Japan PM Koizumi urges ministers to go green (Reuters, 9 May 2001)

EPA [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency] gives refineries time to comply [with clean air standards] (Associated Press, 8 May 2001)

Global warming triggers public health warning (Margot Higgins, Environmental News Network, 8 May 2001)

UPDATE - Oil experts briefly blocked after capping Nigeria spill (Reuters, 8 May 2001)

EU launches three-year probe to get cleaner air (Reuters, 8 May 2001)

ENVIRONMENT: Poor Countries - the North's Radioactive Dump (Jorge Piña, Inter Press Service, 7 May 2001)

EU sees potential clash between WTO, green pacts (Reuters, 7 May 2001)

Experts say missing bolts caused Ogoni oil spill (Reuters, 7 May 2001)

White House energy report stirs industry, greens to act (Reuters, 7 May 2001)

Entergy [electricity company in USA] volunteers to limit greenhouse gas emissions (Reuters, 7 May 2001)

Atmosphere's pollution-fighting chemical waning (Reuters, 7 May 2001)

Polluted HK [Hong Kong] looks to the winds for cleaner power (Reuters, 7 May 2001)

Western forests [forests in western Thailand] should be a national priority, says forum: Fund-raising needed to keep effort going (Supamart Kasem, Bangkok Post, 6 May 2001)

GM [genetically-modified crop] trial 'threatens organic centre' [UK] (BBC News, 6 May 2001)

New study finds Monsanto soya means more pesticides in the environment (Greenpeace, 4 May 2001)

Liberian Timber Profits Finance Regional Conflict: Recent Global Witness investigations have found that two individuals involved in the illicit arms and diamond trade to Sierra Leone, also hold high-ranking positions within the Liberian government body assigned to oversee Liberia’s million dollar timber industry. (Global Witness, 4 May 2001)

Five years left for Sumatra forest [Indonesia] (Paul Brown, Guardian [UK], 4 May 2001)

Sen [Nobel Economics Laureate Amartya Sen], Patten [European Union External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten] On Globalization, Bretton Woods Reform (Press Review: Development News, World Bank, 4 May 2001)

Greenpeace finds pollution in India shipyard (Reuters, 4 May 2001)

Ford seeks environmental leadership role (Tom Brown, Reuters, 4 May 2001)

California says clean air not power crisis cause (Reuters, 4 May 2001)

US team prepares to clean up Ogoni oil spill (Reuters, 4 May 2001)

Sweden Legislates for Sustainability [proposing legal targets and deadlines for implementing 15 environmental quality objectives] (Environment News Service, 4 May 2001)

Argentina to Eliminate PCBs (Alejandra Herranz, Environment News Service, 4 May 2001)

Houston company pleads guilty to Clean Water Act violation [USA] (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 4 May 2001)

Senate panel wants coal and pipeline projects reviewed: Public has no say, and detail is still lacking [Thailand] (Ploenpote Atthakor, Bangkok Post, 4 May 2001)

"GMOs [genetically-modified organisms] can be used for good and for bad," Jacques Diouf says: FAO Director-General unveils two new publications, the first in a series on ethics in food and agriculture (UN Food and Agriculture Organization, 3 May 2001)

US urges 'green' guidelines: The US is urging countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development to agree this month to a common set of environmental guidelines for national export credit agencies. (Edward Alden, Financial Times, 3 May 2001)

Minister [UK Environment Minister] to tackle GM [genetically-modified crop] firm over trials (BBC News, 3 May 2001)

Oil and Gas Blow-out at Shell Well in Eastern Ogoni [Nigeria] (MOSOP [Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People], in allAfrica.com, 3 May 2001)

Shell says oil spill in Nigeria's Ogoni manageable (Reuters, 3 May 2001)

Oil 'time-bomb' in Nigeria: The oil company Royal Dutch Shell says that 14 of its abandoned oil wells in Nigeria could blow up without warning (BBC News, 3 May 2001)

Western forest wins pledge of protection: Lushest green area in Southeast Asia [Thailand's Deputy Agriculture Minister: "After decades of industrial development, we've found that people in the provinces still have a low quality of life while our natural resources are being depleted"] (Supamart Kasem, Bangkok Post, 3 May 2001)

Ministry to take root this term [regarding establishment of Environment Ministry in Thailand] (Anchalee Kongrut, Bangkok Post, 3 May 2001)

Environmentalists to join regulators [on Thailand's panel charged with regulating field trials of genetically modified crops] (Bangkok Post, 3 May 2001)

Food labelling may not be enough [to protect consumers from genetically modified food], says Greenpeace: Group launches consumer guide [Thailand] (Kultida Samabuddhi, Bangkok Post, 3 May 2001)

Greenpeace blocks Baltic paper polluter's toxic waste streams, paper industry must stop all discharges [Russia] (Greenpeace, 3 May 2001)

Garbage man becomes matchmaker: Web site clears way for waste disposal [Japan] (Sachiko Hirao, Japan Times, 3 May 2001)

Oil industry asks White House for environmental flexibility - WSJ [Wall Street Journal] (Reuters, 3 May 2001)

Mining firms lobbying to ease clean-air rules [in USA] - WSJ [Wall Street Journal] (Reuters, 2 May 2001)

CLIMATE CHANGE: Study Urges Better Systems, Info To Fight Illnesses [study identifies key problems influenced by current weather extremes or potential climate change, including heat-related illness and death, health effects of extreme weather events and air pollution, and diseases carried by water, food or animals; study sponsored by US Environmental Protection Agency, carried out by Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] (UN Wire, 2 May 2001)

Ocean Dumping [of mine waste] Condemned Across Asia/Pacific (Mineral Policy Institute, 2 May 2001)

Cheney [Vice President Richard Cheney of USA] blasts environmental critics (Patrice Hill, Washington Times, 2 May 2001)

McCain [Senator John McCain of USA] critical of global warming (Associated Press, 2 May 2001)

Monsanto executive named for senior EPA [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency] job (Reuters, 2 May 2001)

PNG [Papua New Guinea] Wilderness Laid Waste by Corruption [steps by the Center for Environmental Law & Community Rights to prevent abuses by logging companies] (Australian television's SBS Dateline, 2 May 2001)

Pesticide firms to aid removal of Ethiopia dumps [of toxic pesticides] (David Brough, Reuters, 1 May 2001)

Web site exposes environmental inequities [Environmental Defense website shows who suffers the most in communities across the USA] (Margot Higgins, Environmental News Network, 1 May 2001)

Clean Air Month Release: Downward Trend Evident as More Metro Areas [of USA] Flunk Annual American Lung Association Clean Air Test - "State of the Air 2001" Includes New Additions to America's 25 Most Ozone-Polluted Cities & Counties Lists (American Lung Association, 1 May 2001)

Table 3: People at Risk In America's 25 Most Ozone-Polluted Cities (American Lung Association, The State of the Air 2001, 1 May 2001)

Ready, willing and (sustain)able [interview with John Elkington, Chair of SustainAbility] (Katie Sosnowchik, green@work magazine, May/June 2001)

Scorched Earth Policy: The Bush Administration’s Environmental Team Has Proven Friendly to Corporate Polluters, Lax on Enforcement and Antagonistic to International Cooperation (Jim Motavalli, emagazine.com [E / The Environmental Magazine] , May-June 2001)

Got Clout? Use Your Investor Status to Pressure Companies for Change (Tracey Rembert, emagazine.com [E / The Environmental Magazine] , May-June 2001)

Environment and Human Rights: A New Approach to Sustainable Development (produced for IIED [International Institute for Environment & Development] by ANPED, the Northern Alliance for Sustainability, May 2001)

Defending Contractor Irresponsibility [Bush administration issued notice that it intended to rescind the contractor responsibility rule issued at the end of the Clinton administration] (Robert Weissman, Multinational Monitor, May 2001)

A Regulatory Accident in the Making [Bush administration decision to delay a proposal to expand public access to information about the risks and consequences of chemical plant accidents] (Charlie Cray, Multinational Monitor, May 2001)

Bush’s Hot Air [Bush administration and global warming] (Phil Radford, Multinational Monitor, May 2001)

Arsenic and Old Regs [regarding U.S. Environmental Protection Agency withdrawal of a new regulation for arsenic in drinking water, pending a review of scientific and cost issues] (Lynn Thorp, Multinational Monitor, May 2001)

Rollback: A Corporate Feeding Frenzy During Bush’s Honeymoon [USA] (Multinational Monitor, May 2001)

Health Sector Assessment of the US National Assessment of the Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change (U.S. Global Change Research Program, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, May 2001)

Waste Management: Finding the Treasure in Trash [Bangladesh] (Changemakers.net Journal, May 2001)

Behind the Central Kalimantan violence [Indonesia]: The appalling ethnic violence in Central Kalimantan is rooted in the decades-long violation of indigenous rights and the wholesale destruction of natural resources in the province...A major cause of the conflict between indigenous Dayaks and Madurese settlers - and other ethnic conflicts in Indonesia - has been the 'development' that the Suharto regime promoted for over thirty years. Natural resources, including Kalimantan's forests and minerals were handed out as concessions for a powerful business elite. The customary landowners - the indigenous Dayaks - were systematically denied their land and resource rights. They have had no recourse to legal action to defend their rights since, under Indonesian law, forests belong to the state. (Down to Earth Newsletter, May 2001)

Forest destruction fuelled by debt, poverty and greed [Indonesia]: The Wahid government is making last-minute efforts to comply with demands for forest reform agreed last year with its international creditors. Many NGOs feel these efforts will not be enough to stop the rampant destruction in Indonesia's forests. (Down to Earth Newsletter, May 2001)

Export credit finances destructive, debt-laden projects [Indonesia]: A new NGO report has drawn attention to the role of export credit lending agencies in pulp and paper mills and other projects in Indonesia, which have led to increased deforestation and abuse of people's rights. Export credit lending agencies (ECAs) based in industrialised countries fail to require even minimal environmental standards when backing projects, according to the report published in February by the Indonesian NGO, Bioforum, and the US-based organisation, Environmental Defense. The report is part of an international campaign to push government-backed export credit agencies designed to promote overseas investment to develop social and environmental guidelines...The PT TEL pulp mill in South Sumatra, which started commercial production last year, is already causing serious pollution problems...A US$ 1.5 billion finance package was approved for the mill in 1994 by Canadian, Finnish, German, Japanese and Swedish ECAs. (Down to Earth Newsletter, May 2001)

Timber plantations: backing a loser [Indonesia] - Rather than rethink the whole approach to forest management, the government appears to be determined to continue with attempts to "reforest" degraded areas by continuing with the much-criticised programme of industrial timber estate (HTI) development launched during the Suharto era. The HTI programme, originally aimed at providing timber for the wood-processing and pulp industries, has led to protracted conflicts over land with local communities and increased deforestation - since the plantations were typically established on forested lands. (Down to Earth Newsletter, May 2001)

Oil palm investments opposed [Indonesia]: The government's plan to expand oil palm plantations could founder because it fails to address the underlying question of community rights to farmland and forests. Oil palm remains a central plank of Indonesia's economic recovery strategy despite growing social unrest arising from disputes over plantation land. Oil palm development is also widely accepted to be a major cause of forest loss in Indonesia, due to the policy of converting natural forests to plantations and because of the fires spread by the illegal practice of burning to clear plantation land. (Down to Earth Newsletter, May 2001)

Group 4 security company called in by Caltex in Riau [Indonesia]: The US-based oil company Caltex Pacific Indonesia [joint venture between Texaco and Chevron] has called in the international security firm, Group 4, to deal with problems at its conflict-ridden oil operations in Riau province, Sumatra...During the past months the company's operations have been hit by strikes, protests over land, employment and environmental impacts (Down to Earth Newsletter, May 2001)

Changing Our Approach to a Changing Climate (Ford Motor Company, in 2000 Corporate Citizenship Report, May 2001)

Outside Perspective: Bob Massie [Executive Director, Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies, CERES] on Climate Change (in Ford Motor Company's 2000 Corporate Citizenship Report, May 2001)

Outside Perspective: Rajendra Pachauri [Director, Tata Energy Research Institute, TERI] on Climate Change (in Ford Motor Company's 2000 Corporate Citizenship Report, May 2001)

BP Environmental and Social Review 2000 (report, BP, May 2001)

Corporate Social and Environmental Responsibility: Selected Sources of Information - Bibliography and Websites (Renato Alva Pino, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, May 2001)

Canadian Business for Social Responsibility [CBSR] Second Stage of Guidelines for Corporate Social Performance: The CBSR Guidelines for Corporate Social Performance are a set of guidelines that outline what companies can do to become more socially and environmentally responsible. (Canadian Business for Social Responsibility, May 2001)