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Standards vs. the Poor?
The European Union is demanding that environmental issues be included in the latest round of World Trade Organization talks, which opened on Friday in Doha, Qatar. The E.U. wants environmental standards to be negotiated as a part of trade rules — and says the issue could be a “deal breaker” at the talks — but […]
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Ben Lilliston and Mark Ritchie, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
Ben Lilliston is communications coordinator for and Mark Ritchie is president of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, a group based in Minneapolis, Minn., that works to keep family farmers on the land. Monday, 12 Nov 2001 DOHA, Qatar Ben Lilliston This morning, day three of the World Trade Organization meeting in Qatar, felt […]
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Wouldn't Be Prud-ho-ent
In a development that casts doubt on repeated claims by the Bush administration that oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would not harm the environment, a new report by the petroleum giant BP details loads of safety and maintenance problems at its oil drilling operation in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. Among other […]
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Doing the Fox Trot
Two Mexican environmentalists imprisoned on what they and their supporters say were false charges were pardoned yesterday by President Vicente Fox. Rodolfo Montiel and Teodoro Cabrera, who have led opposition to commercial logging in southwestern Mexico by Boise Cascade and other companies, had been sentenced to almost seven years and 10 years in jail, respectively, […]
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Marrakech Express
It will be a long night for delegates hammering out details of the Kyoto treaty on climate change in Marrakech, Morocco; talks are scheduled to end today but are likely to drag on to midnight or beyond. Although a compromise has been reached by the majority of participating countries, including the European Union and the […]
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Ashcroft, Ashcroft, We All Fall Down
A sweeping “wartime reorganization and mobilization” effort announced by U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft yesterday sounds like bad news for environmental and social justice issues. Ashcroft indicated that the Justice Department will scale back or abandon many of its current responsibilities, which range from civil rights enforcement to prosecuting environmental polluters, in order to step […]
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The Only Thing We Have to Fear Is Opportunism Itself
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) blasted the Bush administration last night for using fear of terrorism to drum up support for oil drilling in Alaska and other extraction-based energy policies. Speaking at a dinner in New York for the League of Conservation Voters, the potential 2004 presidential candidate denounced the administration’s maneuverings as “misplaced patriotism” and […]
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Unappealing
A federal appeals court ruled yesterday that a $5 billion punitive damage award levied against ExxonMobil for the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill is excessive. The decision stunned environmentalists and the roughly 10,000 fishers, Alaska Natives, and others who have been awaiting compensation for more than a decade. When a jury handed down the verdict […]
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A Growing Problem
Global warming could lead to a 30 percent decline in the yield of key crops over the next 100 years, according to a report made by the United Nations Environment Programme during ongoing climate change negotiations in Marrakech, Morocco. The report says rising temperatures damage the growing capacity of critical crops such as wheat, rice, […]
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Your Days Are Lumbered
The health risks posed by arsenic-treated lumber are much greater than previously thought, according to a study by the Environmental Working Group and other public interest organizations. Health and environmental advocates have long questioned the use of arsenic, a known carcinogen, to render lumber resistant to insects and rot. Nevertheless, arsenic-treated wood is commonly used […]
