Environment

Slim Pickings For Rich

by Bob Burton — November 13, 2006 - 4:18am

Organizations backed by Howard Rich, a wealthy New York conservative activist and chairman of Americans for Limited Government, spent over $8.6 million in eight states promoting 'takings' initiatives. 'Takings' promoters seek to limit the role of regulation by requiring compensation to be paid to property owners if a regulation has an impact on the value of their property.

Main Source: 
Center for Public Integrity, November 8, 2006

Logging Company Stumps Up Millions More for SLAPP Against Activists

by Bob Burton — November 10, 2006 - 3:30pm

Tasmanian logging company Gunns has told shareholders that it plans to spend $A2 million pursuing SLAPPs against a group of environmentalists, known as the Gunns 20. So far the court has thrown out all three of the company's statements of claim and ordered it to pay the defendants legal costs.

Main Source: 
Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 9 November , 2006

Energy Economics 101 for Nuclear Industry's Patrick Moore

by Bob Burton — October 22, 2006 - 3:15pm

In an interview with the Toronto Star, veteran energy policy analyst Amory Lovins said that he had spoken with former Greenpeace co-founder turned nuclear power promoter Patrick Moore and concluded that "he's not well informed about energy alternatives." Earlier this year, the Nuclear Energy Institute established a front group, the

Main Source: 
Toronto Star (Canada), October 22, 2006

Logging Company Ordered to Pay SLAPP Costs

by Bob Burton — October 21, 2006 - 7:24am

The Tasmanian logging company Gunns has been ordered to pay the legal costs of 17 environmentalists and 3 environmental groups, after the third version of its $A6.9 million ($US5.2m) damages claim was thrown out of court. The legal costs are estimated at more than $A1 million ($US760,000). Since December 2004, Gunns has filed three statements of claim and sacked two legal teams.

Main Source: 
The Australian, October 20, 2006

Good and Bad News on Government Information

by Diane Farsetta — October 20, 2006 - 3:03pm

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights is the first international court to declare that access to government information is a human right. The recent ruling was reached in a case brought by Chilean environmentalists against the U.S.-based logging company Trillium.

Main Source: 
Editor & Publisher, October 13, 2006

Faulty Accounting

by Bob Burton — October 13, 2006 - 5:56am

The British Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a complaint against a Scottish energy utility that claimed that a tree planting scheme funded by consumers volunteering to pay a higher tariff would offset their carbon emissions. The ASA told Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) to withdraw a brochure promoting the scheme. SSE had argued that the average household produced 4.65 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year from gas usage and household waste.

Main Source: 
Guardian (UK), October 12, 2006

Blowing in the Wind

by Bob Burton — October 9, 2006 - 5:34am

A five-year long study into the 1959 meltdown of a nuclear reactor near Simi Valley in California has concluded that it could have caused between 260 and 1,800 cases of cancer. The report could not be more specific because the U.S. Department of Energy and Boeing, the parent company of Rocketdyne, refused to provide the weather data crucial to modelling where the radioactive pollution went.

Main Source: 
Los Angeles Times, October 6, 2006

Bottled Water Babies

by Diane Farsetta — October 3, 2006 - 1:50pm

Bottled water is a $10 billion industry, but companies are "determined to push ... into new demographics," by "distilling products aimed at children," reports Bo Emerson. "The multimillion-dollar marketing campaign includes animated ads on Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and broadcast TV that features kids triumphing over boring parents with the help of the bulbous (Nestle-brand) bottle. ...

Main Source: 
Cox News Service, October 3, 2006

If We Stop Using Highly Toxic Chemicals, the Terrorists Will Have Won

by Diane Farsetta — September 21, 2006 - 1:11pm

"An analysis by the Department of Homeland Security found 272 chemical plants nationwide at which an attack or accident could affect at least 50,000 people and an additional 3,400 plants at which more than 1,000 people were at risk," reports the New York Times.

Main Source: 
New York Times, September 21, 2006

Breathless Audacity

by Sheldon Rampton — September 6, 2006 - 9:31pm

The largest study yet of lung problems among 9/11 rescue workers shows bad news. "Nearly 70 percent of the rescue and cleanup workers who toiled in the dust and fumes at ground zero have had trouble breathing, and many will probably be sick for the rest of their lives," reports Amy Westfeldt. The study, conducted by the Mount Sinai Medical Center, monitored the health of nearly 16,000 ground zero workers.

Main Source: 
FireDogLake, September 6, 2006
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