Current Environmental News // Current

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3 months ago

Help California's Cities Reduce Plastic Bag Litter

Target: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor Sponsored by: Save The Bay Plastic bags and other marine debris cause serious problems... more

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3 months ago

Sierra Club and OCA call on President Obama to halt GM sugar beets

In light of the recent ruling by U.S.D.A. Secretary Tom Vilsack to approve the release of inadequately tested genetically engineered sugar beets into the ecosystem, Sierra Club today sent a letter to President Obama calling for a change from the previous administration.
The Sierra Club has submitted numerous extensive science-based comments to the U.S.D.A. regarding the release of genetically manipulated (GM) crops, only to have these critical issues fall on deaf ears at the USDA.

Laurel Hopwood, Chair of Sierra Club's Genetic Engineering Action Team, explains, "This past decade we are seeing new releases into the environment that we have never before seen on this planet. Genetic engineering involves the artificial transfer of genes from one organism into another, made by crashing through the protective species barrier. These new life forms are spreading their GM traits on a massive scale, an event unprecedented in the 3.8 billion year history of life on this planet."

Neil Carman, Ph.D., scientific advisor for Sierra Club's Genetic Engineering Action Team, explains, "The ecosystem is not a dumping ground for untested GM crops. Mandatory environmental impact statements must be performed for every ecosystem into which any new GM crop is to be introduced, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act. To the dismay of the American public, the U.S.D.A. continues to fail to prepare Environmental Impact Statements."

The Organic Consumers Association agrees that the risks posed by the current trajectory of genetic engineering in the fields of agriculture are profound. Ronnie Cummins, Director of the Organic Consumers Association laments, "Pollen blowing in the wind or carried by pollinator species transfer genetically engineered traits to organic crops, posing enormous dilemmas for organic farmers."

Cummins adds, "The American people aren't the only guinea pigs in this huge, untested experiment. Mr. Vilsack intends to play GM promoter when he leads a delegation to the upcoming G8 meeting at talks to reduce world hunger. Gene technologies will destroy the diversity and the sustainable agricultural systems that farmers have developed for millennia and will thus undermine the capacity for those in developing countries to feed themselves."

Until rigorous research is conducted to identify and address the long term impacts of GMOs, such organisms should not be released into the environment. Sierra Club, with 1.3 million members and supporters, and the Organic Consumer Association, with 850,000 network members, urge President Obama to keep his word to protect the land and food for the people of the world.

Sierra Club's letter to President Obama:

http://www.sierraclub.org/biotech/whatsnew/whatsnew_2009-...
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I think it is time they received a lot of letters. I sent mine, and if I have to do it again I will. This is the wrong direction to take for sustainability. Carrying on the Bush doctrine of industrial agriculture and releasing these organisms into our environment without proper testing is truly negligable. I was hoping to see better from Obama and this USDA, but up to now I have been disappointed. It appears he only placed an "organic" supporter in the second position as another gesture.

This combined with pharma crops being planted where they can infect conventional crops, and calling for MORE ethanol which means more GM corn subsidies is exactly the same policy Bush had. So the question I ask on food policy is, besides the Obamas being able to eat organic while the rest of the poor who cannot afford it or have access to it are stuck with the same crap: WHERE IS THE CHANGE? If you can't stand up to these companies for the people President Obama, you lied about that change.In light of the recent ruling by U.S.D.A. Secretary Tom Vilsack to approve the release of inadequately tested genetically... more

JanforGore
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3 months ago

Evidence mounts on the failures of genetically modified crops

Music to my ears. 1.Double-whammy hits genetically modified crops 2.Corn, soy crops gain little from genetics 3.Good... more

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9 responses

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3 months ago

Study: Greenhouse gases must be cut 70% to prevent global warming catastrophe

Imagine that. A majority of scientists do not believe politicians will bring us solutions in time to escape at least a 2 to 4... more

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19 responses

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3 months ago

The carbon tax- a moral issue

Good points made here regarding the moral issue of a carbon tax on industry that would take the place of the payroll tax which would make it revenue neutral. It would then tax what we burn not what we earn and hopefully work to move industries towards moving to alternate energy sources and becoming more responsible regarding their business practices. And it is a moral issue in that those responsible for the most damage to this planet's environment should pay for it. I believe a carbon tax is also easier to mandate and monitor, and does not have to result in higher prices for energy since again, it would be revenue neutral. It holds polluters accountable and responsible for [their] actions.

However, the Obama administration is pushing cap and trade, which is nothing more than a scheme to allow corporations to skirt responsibility for the pollution they create which is also no guarantee that they will ever move towards sustainable solutions, nor guarantee that the cost of it won't be passed on to the consumer as they will continue the same behavior. It would also in my view then be used as a way for this Congress to avoid adequate climate change legislation regarding caps on carbon emissions. It would be hard to monitor and would also not really do much in the end to lower emissions at the rates they must be lowered now to ensure we stay within the range of 350ppm-450ppm.

A carbon tax is simply the moral way to confront the rapacious burning of fossil fuels that is leading us over the climate cliff. However, if we are to pursue this avenue, it must be done with aggresive investment in alternate energies like solar, wind, electric vehicles , etc. that are AFFORDABLE for the average consumer in order to give them a choice to avoid any plans by industries to raise prices of oil and coal to demonize the positive effects of this. If consumers have another way to go, that along with a carbon tax on industries like oil and coal would in the end be a beneficial step in lowering carbon emissions to safe levels.

Of course, politically it is not seen as feasible due to the coziness of industry to our politicians. And that is the one obstacle to doing what is morally right. Politics and morality don't seem to mix regardless of party. Therefore, I think that consumers need to be more aware of exactly what cap and trade entails and actively look to those companies that are currently employed in running their businesses sustainably and giving them their business, and calling on their utilities demanding they switch to solar and wind. This could be one way without levying any tax at all for industries to understand that they will not get business unless they change their ways and lower their emissions. Of course, the best scenario would be that we were all so morally in tune with the crisis we face that we voluntarily adjusted our behavior accordingly. However, we are humans, a species that allows selfishness, greed, and the politics of fear to govern our actions.

In the end however, we will have to understand the immense responsibility that has been placed in our hands which is the continued sustainability of our only home and our survival. And we must also understand as well that it trumps any selfish inclinations we might have to dismiss the urgency of this simply because we are blinded by greed, fear, or political partisanship.Good points made here regarding the moral issue of a carbon tax on industry that would take the place of the payroll tax which... more

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15 responses

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3 months ago

Beware: Noise Is Hazardous to Our Children’s Development

Arline L. Bronzaft, Ph.D. Chair of the New York City Council on the Environment. Noises impinge on the child’s language,... more

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3 months ago

Motorcycle Safety - Thrill? Or Buzz Kill?

SFPD Central CHP Information Bulletin Presents The CHP California Motorcyclist Safety Program Motorcyclists need to be aware... more

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3 months ago

Keep the media honest on clean energy

A majority of Americans support a cap on carbon pollution -- but you wouldn't know it from what you read in the papers or see... more

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2 responses

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3 months ago

Controlling our Food part 1

A documentary was aired on French television - a documentary that Americans wont ever see. The gigantic bio-tech corporation... more

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3 responses

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3 months ago

Stop Reckless Development of the Dirtiest Fossil Fuel Ever

Target: Interior Secretary Ken Salazar Sponsored by: The Wilderness Society At the tail end of the Bush administration, the... more

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10 responses

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3 months ago

How Noisy NEIGHBOURS affects millions of lives

THE lives of millions of Britons are being blighted by noisy neighbours, a survey has found. By Laura Clout Daily Express, UK

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3 months ago

Tell Congress: Close the carbon pollution loophole!

Join over 67,591 people who have sent a message. Sign our petition below and we will deliver it to your members of Congress:... more

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1 year ago

Catching Glacial Retreat In The Act: Extreme Ice Survey

Extreme Ice Survey is an ambitious project to capture global warming-induced glacial retreat in the act. Beginning in December... more

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3 months ago

Governments and experts divided over strategies to save the world's forests

Perhaps it should be the true caretakers of our planet and those who truly care for preserving the sustainability of this planet... more

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6 responses

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3 months ago

Morgellons disease reaching pandemic stage in the US?

Is Morgellons Disease the result of GMO exposure? Is it the result of our toxifying our environment? This article contains much... more

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56 responses

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3 months ago

Billion tree campaign grows past three billion mark: UNEP

An effort to fight climate change through reforestation, seeded at the grassroots level, has now blossomed into a woodland of over 3 billion trees, with the confirmation that over 300 million were planted in Turkey in 2008, the United Nations announced today.

In response to its success, the Billion Tree Campaign, which is under the patronage of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Kenyan Green Belt Movement founder Professor Wangari Maathai and Prince Albert II of Monaco, has already set a new target of 7 billion trees to be planted by the UN Climate Change Conference to be held in December 2009.

The campaign was launched by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) in 2006 as a response not only to the threat of global warming but also to wide sustainability challenges from water supplies to biodiversity loss.

Tree planting remains one of the most cost-effective ways to address climate change, according to UNEP. Trees and forests play a vital role in regulating the climate since they absorb carbon dioxide. Deforestation, in turn, accounts for over 20 per cent of the carbon dioxide humans generate, rivalling the emissions from other sources.

Trees also play a crucial role in providing a range of products and services to rural and urban populations, including food, timber, fibre, medicines and energy as well as soil fertility, water and biodiversity conservation.

With slightly over 700 million trees planted to date, Turkey now attains second position in the list of top 10 countries in the Campaign's roll of honour. The leading country remains Ethiopia with 725 million trees planted, UNEP said. Mexico, with 472,404,266 trees planted to date, Kenya with 139,893,668 and Cuba with 137,476,771 round out the top five in the sylvan effort.

Meanwhile, an organization in Romania known as the PRAIS Foundation, in partnership with the Romanian Government and other partners, has confirmed that it has planted over 11 million trees through the national tree-planting movement 'Millions of People, Millions of Trees.'

In total, 3,071,704,993 trees have been planted around the world. So far, another 1,578,796,459 trees have been pledged and have yet to be planted.An effort to fight climate change through reforestation, seeded at the grassroots level, has now blossomed into a woodland of over... more