NEXT PAGE -->
|
| * * * COMPANIES & PRODUCTS * * * |
|---|
Updated Daily!
| * * * IN-HOUSE RESOURCES * * * |
|---|
May 3, 1999
"This is exactly what we have warned about in the debates over NAFTA, Fast Track, and the [World Trade Organization]. Environmental, labor protection, and consumer safeguard laws are being undercut to meet the demands of our trading partners."
Rep. George Miller (D-CA) on new, weaker "dolphin-safe" tuna standards
1. Take Action: Write a letter to help protect dolphins!
2. Some proof of the damage hog farms can do
3. Some proof of the good that Sierra Club can do
Please Take Action
TRADING AWAY OUR DOLPHIN PROTECTIONS
Please write a letter to the editor regarding the administration's move to change the definition of "dolphin-safe" tuna.
The Commerce Department announced Thursday that the United States will adopt a new, weaker dolphin-safe label standard for canned tuna. Tuna caught by the dangerous practice of chasing and encircling dolphins will now be able to display the dolphin-safe label. (Tuna in the Eastern Tropical Pacific often swim together with dolphins, so fishermen catch the tuna by encircling the dolphins in giant nets.) The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) triggered the new standards after finding that there isn't sufficient data to determine that dolphin encirclement has a "significant impact" on three depleted dolphin populations. NMFS made its finding despite the fact that dolphin populations targeted by tuna fishing fleets remain severely depleted.
The new dolphin-safe standards would allow canned tuna caught by dolphin encirclement to display the dolphin-safe label if ship-board observers do not see any dolphins killed or injured. But ship-board observers cannot possibly see what happens to dolphins underwater that are chased over miles of open ocean and encircled in nets that are often a mile in length.
Rep. George Miller (D-CA) criticized the new standards as scientifically indefensible. The Commerce Secretary's actions "may well subject dolphin populations to the exact same kinds of harassment and injury that led to massive slaughter from which they have not yet recovered," said Miller. "And equally important, allowing a change in the meaning of the label will mislead consumers into believing no dolphins were injured during the tuna harvesting."
Congress changed the dolphin-safe law in 1997, paving the way for the new, weaker standards, in order to comply with international trade rules. "This is exactly what we have warned about in the debates over NAFTA, Fast Track, and the [World Trade Organization]," said Miller. "Environmental, labor protection, and consumer safeguard laws are being undercut to meet the demands of our trading partners."
Recognizing that the new "dolphin safe" label is not dolphin-safe at all, the three leading US tuna canners -- StarKist, BumbleBee, and Chicken of the Sea -- announced that they will sell only tuna caught without dolphin encirclement. Unfortunately, other canners will now be able to display the dolphin-safe label even if their tuna is caught using the risky encirclement method, creating the potential to confuse conscientious consumers.
2. Hog farm spill in N.C. continues to make waves
In SC-ACTION #78 last Friday, we told you about a spill from a waste lagoon at a hog farm in North Carolina. A worker at the Murphy Family farm in Duplin County discovered the spill on April 19, and it's been in the news in N.C. ever since. The spill killed a handful of fish in a local stream, and water quality analyses conducted since then indicate decreased oxygen levels in the stream -- one of the telltale signs of a waste overload.
In a press release by the North Carolina Pork Council, released almost as soon as the spill was found, the Council said it suspected "environmental terrorism," and accused environmentalists of causing the spill in order to discredit the industry right before a legislative deadline in which new hog legislation was expected to be considered.
Of course, environmentalists have been vindicated! A report released by the N.C. Division of Land Resources discounts the theory of the hog operation's owner, Murphy Family Farms, that a vandal caused the rupture at an out-of-service waste pond at Vestal Farms 1 & 2. In fact, wastewater seeping through the swine lagoon's earthen wall probably caused the farm's 1.5- million-gallon spill into the creek earlier this month. Dead trees found downstream of the breach indicate that the liquid could have seeped along tree roots lodged in the side of the 16-year-old lagoon. This seepage would have weakened and ultimately broken the lagoon wall.
In a recent interview with the Raleigh News and Observer, N.C. Governor Jim Hunt called lagoons and sprayfields -- until recently the state-approved
method for handling hog waste -- a threat to the air, water and people of North Carolina. He said he supports extending the moratorium on their use, and for the first time suggested closing all lagoons within 10 years. The spill in Duplin County only goes to support this position. And the unscrupulous actions of the N.C. Pork Council and Murphy Farms illustrate the lengths factory farms will go to continue this destructive practice.
3. Sierra Club Earth Week Activities make big splash!
Weeks after Earth Day, positive reports continue to roll in. New York activists put on some great events in upstate NY, and rallied great support for their EPEC site. EPEC organizer Barett Pinyoun reports:
"All of [our] exciting outreach activities were building up to our grand finale on Saturday, May 1st: THE HUDSON RIVER FISH-IN! (As opposed to a "teach-in" or a "sit-in"...) It was a "catch and release" event sponsored by both the Sierra Club and the Arbor Hill Environmental Justice Corp., in which we invited activists, community members, coalition partners and many others to join us in sending the message to General Electric, the EPA and Governor Pataki: "ENOUGH DELAY, CLEAN UP THE HUDSON RIVER TODAY, For our families, For our future!" We had 80+ people down at Island Creek Park in inner-city Albany, fishing and talking and eating and chanting! But we weren't eating the fish - aside from the fact that we didn't catch any - because the Hudson river is still so polluted that Fish cannot safely be eaten.
"Channel 6 (CBS affiliate) and Channel 10 (ABC affiliate) both attended our event and did great spots on the 6pm and 11pm news.
"The most wonderful part of this event was the fact that we brought together people from all different backgrounds and communities, all congregating around one important issue. We had inner-city kids learning to fish from local Sierra Club members and kids teaching their parents how to put a hook in the water. At the end of the day, I had 4 different people (2 of whom had never attended a Sierra Club event before) corner me to ask what we were doing next and when was it and how could they help?! It doesn't get much better than that!
"Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean." John Muir
Contents:
TAKE ACTION: STOP GLOBAL FREE LOGGING AGREEMENT
1. Sierra Club Cheers Administrations's new Tier 2 Plan--poised for release
2. Georgia Earth Dah Event-Protecting Lake Allatoona
3. The case grows stronger for North Carolina hog lagoon elimination
PLEASE TAKE ACTION
STOP GLOBAL FREE LOGGING AGREEMENT
Global timber trade talks under the World Trade Organization (WTO) could increase wood use worldwide by 3-4% according to Jaakko Poyry, a global forestry consultant based in Finland. While seemingly small, an increase of this size could translate into significant numbers of new clearcuts each year in the world's shrinking ancient forests, argues Victor Menotti of the International Forum on Globalization.
So far, the United States Trade Representative has refused to acknowledge that tariff elimination has the potential to increase wood consumption and brushed off Sierra Club's request to conduct an environmental impact assessment of the proposed "free logging agreement." Now, we've got the goods from an industry source.
The American Forest and Paper Association (AF&PA), the main lobby arm of the U.S. timber industry, has been the principle force behind the
timber trade talks, scheduled for completion at the WTO Summit from Nov 30 - Dec 3 in Seattle. AF&PA chairs the two, closed-door Industry Sector Advisory Committees (ISACs) that advise the USTR on US negotiating priorities. Other members of the wood and lumber and pulp and paper ISACs include such favorites as Seattle-based Weyerhaeuser, International Paper, Boise Cascade, and Champion. Of course, no one representing the protection of forests and workers sits on either ISAC.
TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION
Call your representative today to urge that they sign the "Dear Colleague" letter now being circulated by Representative Bernie Sanders calling for a World Trade Organization Assessment Round. Rather than expand WTO powers by giving it additional trade agreements to enforce, the world community should review and repair the WTO to ensure that it no longer threatens the environment and public health.
Thanks!
1. TIER 2: SIERRA CLUB CHEERS CLINTON ADMINISTRATION PLAN FOR CLEANER GASOLINE, LOWER AIR POLLUTION
Sierra Club is enthusiastically applauding the Clinton Administration's proposed new auto pollution and clean gasoline standards, which are expected to be announced in the coming days. Beginning in 2004, these standards, known as Tier 2, will clean up America's cars and heavily polluting light trucks, along with the gasoline they burn.
"By reducing the pollution that spews from the tailpipes of cars and SUVs, the Clinton Administration is making America a healthier place for children to grow up," said Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope. "President Clinton, Vice President Gore and the EPA deserve a round of applause for these new standards."
The Administration's proposal improves the national standard for sulfur levels in gasoline. In every state but California, gasoline is allowed sulfur levels of 330 parts per million (ppm). Such high sulfur levels clog catalytic converters, the equipment that is supposed to control tailpipe emissions. The Administration's plan would lower the national standard to California's allowable sulfur level of 30 ppm.
Though strong, the proposed standards are do not take every possible step toward reducing auto pollution. The proposed standards allow light trucks between 6,000 and 8,500 pounds to spew out more smog-forming pollution than cars until 2009. The standards also leave room for diesel engines to pollute more than cars.
"The EPA is creating two giant loopholes, one large enough to drive a pollution-spewing Chevy Suburban through. The other loophole ironically gives diesels -- which spew out cancer-causing pollution -- extra room to pollute," said Ann Mesnikoff, Director of Sierra Club's Clean Car Campaign. "Despite these problems, the new standards will go a long way toward taking the burden of unhealthy air off our children and putting it on the two groups responsible for the problem -- the auto and oil industries."
It is not a sure bet that Americans' lungs will enjoy the benefits offered by the Administration's Tier 2 proposal. "Congressional extremists stand poised to attack these standards on behalf of the auto and oil industries. Tier 2 will become law only if Members of Congress hear that Americans want cleaner air and healthier lungs. If people don't speak up, Congress could weaken these proposed standards, putting polluters' profits ahead of our children's health," Mesnikoff warned.
When the EPA announced they were sending the Tier 2 proposal to the White House for review, Sierra Club mobilized thousands of citizens to send postcards to Vice President Gore, urging him to support tough Tier 2 standards. "When citizens sent postcards to Vice President Gore calling for tough standards to reduce air pollution from cars and SUVs, Vice President Gore responded," Mesnikoff added. "We hope Vice President Gore will fight alongside American citizens in pressuring Congress to keep the teeth in the Tier 2 standards."
2. GEORGIA EARTH DAY EVENT, PROTECTING LAKE ALLATOONA
Georgia Sierra Club Members took a stand last Tuesday against a proposed new interstate that would further emperil the already threatened Lake Allatoona. Allatoona, which was just named to the Sierra Club's list of threatened and special places, is recreation spot, as well as an important water source for metro Atlanta residents.
The proposed "Northern Arc" interstate would cross Lake Allatoona at it's northern end. Interstates currently in place on both the Eastern and western shores of the lake have already brought intense, sprawling development to the area. A third interstate will bring strip malls and subdivisions to the last open space left, completely surrounding the lake with suburbs and threatening hunting fishing and wildlife north of the lake.
"If you build it, the strip malls and the subdivisions will come," said Sam Collier, Sierra Club Regional Representative.
Activists rallied to in front of the Atlanta's Frank Moore Administrative Complex just before the first of three Department of Transportation Hearings on the Arc. Their call for an end to highway building in the area got great press, and helped spread the word about the importance of saving lake Allatoona.
3. CASE FOR HOG LAGOON ELIMINATION IN NORTH CAROLINA GROWS STRONGER From the Raleigh News and Observer 4/23/99
Another spill of hog waste underscores the need for North Carolina to adopt a strategy for getting rid of waste lagoons.
The latest lagoon failure, a 1.5 million-gallon hog waste spill at a Murphy Family Farms lagoon in Duplin County is a sharp reminder to North Carolinians that they have traveled down this road -- and up this creek -- too many times before.
In an April 23 editorial, the News and Observer declared "It's not only time to stop the building of these cesspools of animal sewage, which endanger the environment and the public's health. It's also time to begin the expensive, onerous job of cleaning up the almost 3,000 lagoons already in place."
Public officials seem to be responding. State Senate leaders on Thursday proposed extending the moratorium on new or expanded swine farms by two years, wile Gov. Jim Hunt described a plan that would eliminate hog waste lagoons within 10 years.
Environmentalists labeled the plans a step in the right direction, but said the 10-year time frame for phasing out all lagoons should be shortened to five years or less.
The proposed Senate bill, announced by President Pro Tem Marc Basnight and other Democratic leaders, would continue the moratorium to give the state time to figure out an alternative to lagoons and sprayfields, which have been blamed for contributing to river pollution and generating noxious odors.
Meanwhile, In an interview with the Raleigh News and Observer, Governor Jim Hunt called lagoons and sprayfields -- until recently the state-approved method for handling hog waste -- a threat to the air, water and people of North Carolina. He said he supports extending the moratorium, and for the first time suggested closing all lagoons within 10 years.
NEXT PAGE -->
|
| * * * COMPANIES & PRODUCTS * * * |
|---|
| * * * IN-HOUSE RESOURCES * * * |
|---|