Articles by Geoff Dabelko

Foreign aid shuffle?

The Washington proclivity for moving bureaucratic deck chairs around can lead many to tune out.

But give a look-see to today's Financial Times piece on emerging plans to overhaul the organizational architecture of U.S. foreign assistance. Lots of details to work out, obviously, but changes to better coordinate U.S. foreign assistance with the administration's democracy priorities would likely hold real implications for some of the less sexy environmental, health, population, and development programs among the affected portfolios.

Toxic blubber

Killer whales have beaten out polar bears to win the dubious honor of Most Polluted Arctic Mammal. You are what you eat, and it seems the orcas are putting away some lovelies that include PCBs, pesticides, and good old fashioned flame retardants. What a diet! But it's pretty hard for them to push back from the table. Read about the Norwegian study on BBC.

Glaciers, what glaciers?

Here's a new one to me. When glaciers get in the way of mining gold, move them. When public outcry won't let you move the glaciers, redefine them. Harder to get worked up about moving "ice reservoirs," after all.

Here's the November 18 story about mining company Barrick Gold's plan for its Pascua-Lama project in Chile, found in your favorite source and mine, The Mining Journal:

BARRICK Gold Corp has submitted revisions to its environmental-impact assessment (EIA) for the Pascua-Lama gold development project to the Regional Environmental Commission of Chile's Atacama region.

The commission had asked for amendments to the company's plans for the project, including possibly using underground mining for a portion of the mine which would otherwise require the removal of glaciers in the area.

However, Barrick says "studies by international glaciologists redefine "the accumulations of ice" as "ice reservoirs" rather than glaciers.

The company says the resubmission of the EIA, which still includes the planned removal of the ice, contains improvements in monitoring of water quality, treatment of acid runoff, water management, solid-waste management, dust treatment, and protection of flora and fauna.

Nominate one for a prize

Want to help a small conservation organization? Know an exceptional individual making a difference on the ground? Nominate them for one of the annual Whitley Awards, a UK-based award given by the Whitley Fund for Nature that goes to six conservationists making a difference, most often in the developing world. The prizes range from $40,000-$80,000.

You can read short profiles of past winners here and get the application here.