Peace and Environment News* April 2001
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Peace and Environment News * April 2001 |
by Alette Jacqueline Willis
Mobile Becomes More, Well, Mobile
Spain is launching a program to recycle mobile phones. There will be over 3,000 phone recycling depots, overseen by two companies. Costs for the program will be recovered from the resale of materials and from Spain's phone manufacturers. ( www.Tomorrow-web.com, Mar. 21, 2001)
Bush Fans the Flames
On March 13, George Bush dealt a huge blow to global attempts to mitigate climate change by refusing to regulate CO2 emissions from power plants in the US. Moreover, he declared the science around global warming to be incomplete and confirmed his opposition to the Kyoto process. Meanwhile, even the major car manufacturers have admitted that climate change is upon us. What Bush's opposition will mean to the Kyoto Process remains to be seen. ( The <earthtimes.org>, March 21, 2001)
The Squeaky Wheel Bends the Law
Thanks to whining from car owners, The US Environmental Protection Agency will be increasing levels of allowable volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in Chicago and Milwaukee from .2 pounds per square inch to .3 pounds. The less stringent law will mean lower prices at the gas pump. It will also mean greater exposure of the good citizens of Chicago and Milwaukee to these harmful pollutants. ( www.Tomorrow-web.com, March 20, 2001)
DaimlerChrysler Walks the Talk
DaimlerChrysler Canada received an award from the Voluntary Change and Registry, a Canadian non-profit that helps corporations register their greenhouse gas emission reduction programs. Over the last decade, DaimlerChrysler has reduced greenhouse gas emissions from its car manufacturing by 42.3 percent. ( www.Tomorrow-web.com, March 15, 2001)
The Killing Fields
A recently released report by Christian Aid implicates the oil industry in the depopulation of large areas of Sudan. The report draws on dozens of eyewitness reports and shows that, in the words of one Nuer chief, Malony Kolang, "Oil has brought death. When the pumping began, the war began. Antonovs and helicopter gunships began attacking the villages. All the farms have been destroyed, everything around the oil fields has been destroyed." (The Guardian, March 15, 2001)
The Burning Times
The US military-industrial complex recently unveiled its new repression technology, The Vehicle-Mounted Active Denial System (VMADS). It is being touted as a friendly, non-lethal weapon which makes people run away by heating them up with microwaves. The Pentagon is claiming that when exposed for 3 seconds people will have no lasting effect but will feel as if they are burning. They refuse to say what might happen to a person exposed to more than 3 seconds. Moreover, scientists have lots of evidence of long-term effects from lower than thermal microwave exposure. The Pentagon is also marketing VMADS as a useful tool in crowd dispersion. Will this mean good-bye to good old pepper spray? (Mother Jones, March 8, 2001)
Capital Clean-up Day, April 28
The City of Ottawa is having its annual clean-up extravaganza. Register yourself, your school or your workplace to participate in cleaning up the litter around town and win prizes. For more information check out the website at: www.city.ottawa.on.ca/whats_new/springcleaning/spring_1_en.shtml or phone 244-5430, ext. 13363, or e-mail paul.mccann@city.ottawa.on.ca.
Alette Willis is a regular columnist with the PEN.
Converted June 16, 2001 - Lg
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