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What Would Dubya Do?

Ronnie Cummins, Organic Consumers Association

Ronnie Cummins is national director of the Organic Consumers Association and the author of the recent book, Genetically Engineered Food: A Self-Defense Guide for Consumers. Monday, 2 Apr 2001 SANTA FE, N.M. I woke up at 4:30 a.m. today thinking about organic coffee, social justice, and genetic engineering. Specifically, as I climbed out of bed […]

Something Is Rotten in the State of Denmark

A 550,000-gallon oil spill caused by the collision of a tanker and a freighter in the Baltic Sea reached the shores of Denmark yesterday. Strong winds broke the spill into dozens of separate slicks and high waves complicated clean-up efforts by the Danish, German, and Swedish governments. The tanker, which was carrying 9.7 million gallons […]

Taking a Charge in the Paint

In an effort to force Rhode Island to abandon its lawsuit against the country’s biggest lead paint manufacturers, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has requested that state and Providence city officials produce 50 years of public records that have anything to do with lead poisoning. The chamber hopes the documents reveal mistakes and liabilities created […]

Surly, With Infringe on Top

A federal judge in Canada ruled yesterday that a Canadian farmer had infringed on Monsanto’s patent rights because plants from the company’s genetically engineered canola seed had been found on his property, apparently after pollen from modified plants on farms nearby had drifted onto his land. The farmer, Percy Schmeiser, was ordered to pay thousands […]

The Bush Withdrawal Method

Loud international criticism of President Bush’s decision to withdraw from the Kyoto treaty on climate change continued yesterday, and a broad coalition of U.S. religious groups urged Bush to revisit the decision. At a meeting in Montreal, environmental ministers from North and South America canceled a long-planned statement on how to proceed with implementing Kyoto […]

I'm a Loser, Baby, So Why Don't You Drill Me

President Bush acknowledged for the first time yesterday that he may lose the fight to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to drilling. In a press conference, the president said he will push to exploit oil and gas resources elsewhere in the nation if Congress doesn’t sanction drilling in the refuge. Bush also […]

Hogwash!

In a blow to environmentalists’ efforts to stop pollution from large hog farms, a North Carolina judge has thrown out two lawsuits against Smithfield Foods, the nation’s biggest pork producer. The superior court judge ruled that the plaintiffs — environmental groups and river users — lacked standing in the case and had not shown that […]

It's Marine Buoy

A $32 million project to restore marine resources in the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand was launched yesterday by the U.N. Environment Programme. Seven Southeast Asian nations and donors from developed countries finalized an agreement last November to fund the five-year plan, which is intended to help some 270 million people whose livelihoods […]

Whose Land Is It Anyway?

U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton took steps yesterday that could lead to commercial development in some of the national monuments designated by former President Clinton. She sent letters to state and local officials to get their feedback on how the lands should be managed and whether the boundaries of the monuments should be adjusted. Norton […]