This is a trial series.

Nuclear Action in Garoña Nuclear Plant. Greenpeace activists install a resistance container painted with 'Antinuclear' in the main entrance of the Garoña nuclear power plant. A banner held above the container reads "Garona: Close it"

Spanish towns have been shaking in horror over the past months as the government discussed which of them would become a nuclear graveyard. The unlucky one is the town of Soria (North-East). Amid protests against this decision (which hasn’t been finalized), Spanish Greenpeace head Juan Lopez Uralde highlighted in Spanish newspaper ABC, the need to close Garoña (Spanish oldest nuclear power station which recently got it's license extended) after a younger nuclear plant in Vermont (US) faced closure.

Also, yesterday Greenpeace Spain denounced that the government is putting obstacles to renewable energies after wind energy had been wasted due to having to stop hundreds of mills to give way to nuclear power generation. On a windy day, a lot of wind energy is produced, which in addition to the continuous produce of nuclear energy, puts a strain on facilities. So, hundreds of wind mills are then stopped so that nuclear energy production can remain constant (pulling the plug off nuclear generations is too expensive).

(Photo credit:© Greenpeace / Mario Gomez)

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Posted by Almudena at 11:28 AM | Permalink

Good news this month for marine species in protected areas! Well - at least for the smaller ones. If you're a big oceanic animal - even an international sanctuary might not be as safe as you think!

This month the US National Academy of Sciences released a special report on marine reserves and several scientists revealed their findings at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in San Diego. It's no surprise to us that everyone's now talking about the effectiveness of marine reserves for the conservation of ocean lifer and valuable fish stocks.

We've been campaigning for a global network of marine reserves that protects 40% of the world's oceans for nearly a decade now. It's about time this solution to the over-exploitation of our oceans got some serious attention - especially given the additional threat to our oceans from rising carbon dioxide levels.

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Posted by Lisa at 3:41 PM | Permalink

Facebook offices on University Avenue, Palo Alto, CA. Photo via Flickr

Facebook’s first ever data center, full of state of the art and energy efficient equipment, will be built in Prineville, Oregon in the north west of the US. Unfortunately the energy required to operate the data center will be supplied by the utility company Pacific Power, which is primarily fuelled by coal – the largest single source of global warming pollution in the world. We have called on Facebook to dump coal all together and instead use 100 percent renewable energy, taking the lead in being part of the solution to climate change.

Take Action, click here to join our group on Facebook!

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Posted by Teresa Belkow at 11:52 AM | Permalink

This is a trial series.

Decimated rainforests in Indonesia, being cleared for palm oil plantations.
© Will Rose / Greenpeace

Reuters reported that Unilever has told dealers not to source palm oil from the Indonesian planter Duta Palma, due to concerns over rainforest destruction, an Indonesian industry official said yesterday. Duta Palma has been blacklisted - although it has not previously been a supplier of Unilever, following a BBC documentary which showed Duta Palma staff clearing rainforests for palm oil estates. In November Unilever also announced it was terminating its business relationship with palm oil and paper pulp company PT SMART due to a Greenpeace report which highlighted their involvement in forest destruction. Bustar Maiter of Greenpeace in Indonesia was quoted saying "we are pleased with these commitments, but we now expect action." Meanwhile, AFP reported in Swiss news, the Indonesian Minister for Agriculture Gatot Irianto has called for environmental groups to "stop demonizing palm oil," speaking at an international conference this week on palm oil and the environment. Irianto said the oilseed provides jobs, despite the widespread perception that it represents an "ecological disaster that contributes to global warming."

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Posted by Melissa Wilson at 10:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Much like the Navi people on Pandora - our activists are taking action to stop environmental destruction -- only we do it with banners and bloggers instead of bows and arrows.

I was put off by all the hype around Avatar and the amount of money spent on it. And I actually resisted going to see it because I felt that the 500 million or so bucks would have been better spent on more deserving projects. But just recently I caved and found myself riveted by the beautifully animated 3D world of Pandora. It is an amazing film with breathtaking animation that's deserving of the rave reviews. But I left the theater a lot more impressed by the underlying message rather than the 3D graphics that have rocked the cinematic world.

Avatar obviously has a strong environmental message as director James Cameron fully intended. But I wonder how many people have absorbed this message with the realisation that amazing biological treasures, similar to the ones on Pandora, actually exist here on Earth... and that the environmental movement has been fighting to protect them for decades. I wonder how many people walked away from the film towards a future as an environmental activist?

How many people know that ancient forests with massive trees that support entire communities of animals and humans - are threatened by the palm oil and paper industries. How many are aware that thanks to Greenpeace activists and supporters and the help of companies like Unilever - we're now seeing considerable victories for the trees!

Did you know that plants do actually communicate with each other via complex root systems - just like in Avatar? Did you know that the the amazing biodiversity of the Amazon rainforest is threatened by cattle ranches but with the backing of companies like Nike who responded to our Amazon campaign - this threat is now being reduced?

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Posted by Lisa at 5:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

This is a trial series.

Members tell Facebook to ditch coal power for clean renewable energy.
© Greenpeace

Facebook's decision to base its new data center in the Oregon town of Princeville - powered by coal from PacifiCorp, has drawn criticism from more than 8,000 facebook members who joined the facebook group started by Greenpeace, The Oregonian reported. (Actually the number was more than 9,900 at the time of writing.)

The 6-year old Silicon Valley company was originally applauded for bringing new jobs to Princeville, but has been called on by both Greenpeace and Change.org to use clean renewable energy, not environmentally damaging coal. Facebook chose Princeville in part because of property tax exemptions that Oregon offers to industrial projects in rural areas, the article reported. Daniel Kessler of Greenpeace was quoted saying "Facebook, by opening this center, is sending a signal: We're not quite done with coal yet." Facebook isn't ready to rule out utilities that burn coal, according to the company's spokeswoman, but she said the company is definitely paying attention to what it's hearing from the environmental community. "This has really jump-started the conversation internally as to what, going forward, we're going to do," she said. Kessler added "we understand that the data center is being built. They already have a power service agreement. This is really about where Facebook and the industry are going." (Tell Facebook to use 100 percent renewable energy by joining the group here.)

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Posted by Melissa Wilson at 11:46 AM | Permalink

Bluefin tuna

Due to uncontrolled overfishing, which would clearly put an end to bluefin tuna stocks, the European Commission called for a ban on international trade. Though not immediate (the ban will come into effect next year), "it is an important signal for the rescue of the Mediterranean tuna," according to Greenpeace. The final decision will soon be taken by EU fishery ministers after countries which opposed the ban, like Spain, Italy and France, changed their minds and decided to support it.

Greenpeace EU oceans policy director Saskia Richartz said: with a major reform of EU fisheries policy on the horizon, we hope that this U-turn by the Commission’s fisheries department on bluefin tuna is a sign of more to come. It's now or never for bluefin tuna and any setback at this point could threaten the survival of the species."

(Photo credit: © Greenpeace / Marco Care)

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Posted by Almudena at 11:22 AM | Permalink

Here's the latest video update from the Tokyo Two trial in Japan:

Our Executive Director, Kumi Naidoo, is in Japan and has been interviewed recently by the Sydney Morning Herald

"I think that this is not only about whaling, it is about actually going to the heart of the quality of democracy, human rights, freedom of assembly, association and expression," Dr Naidoo says.

>>Take Action: Support the Tokyo Two
>>Check out Kumi's blog about the Tokyo Two on the Huffington Post
>>Check out the latest images on Flickr

Posted by Lisa at 4:41 PM | Permalink

This is a trial series.

Kumi Naidoo on the Tokyo Two Trial

Greenpeace’s head Kumi Naidoo travelled to Japan to put some sense into Japan’s pro-whaling government heads, who refuse to back down. "I think that this is not only about whaling, it is about actually going to the heart of the quality of democracy, human rights, freedom of assembly, association and expression," he said in The Sydney Morning Herald. He also kept afloat support for the “Tokyo 2” (the two Greenpeace activists who are currently in trial for exposing corruption in the heart of Japan’s government-funded whaling program). Kumi’s efforts are baked up by Australia’s decision to take legal action against Japan, as it refuses to cease whaling in the Southern Ocean (despite Australia’s ultimatum).

(Photo: © Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert / Greenpeace)

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Posted by Almudena at 3:49 PM | Permalink

A conservative publication in Japan has made a manga cartoon of the Tokyo Two trial with their own twist on the proceedings - clearly taking the side of the whaling industry.

This defensive spin is something we always take as a good sign because when we provoke this kind of reaction - we're being taken seriously as a threat. The right-wing media's obvious resistance to putting government corruption in the spotlight just demonstrates how far we've come with this case already and we haven't even brought witnesses to the stand yet.

What's funny is that they portray the support for the Greenpeace case with "silence" at the end. Now either someone isn't paying close enough attention or they are trying to convince the Japanese public that nobody is supporting Junichi and Toru despite overwhelming support from more than 400,000 people across the world since Juichi and Toru were arrested. This included human rights groups such as Amnesty International, Nobel Prize Winners Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Betty Williams together with celebrities such as Bryan Adams, William Shatner, Thandie Newton and Benicio Del Toro.

Now you see why they are feeling threatened right?

Most disturbing though is a mention of the fact that a working group of the UN Human Rights Council found the Japanese government to be in breach of a series of international human rights agreements when they detained the Tokyo Two - but then the cartoon seems to totally dismiss this with the assertion that Junichi and Toru are guilty of trespass and theft of a box - as if to say "these crazy vigilantes don't even know what justice means!"

Of course what they don't mention is that this box was labeled "cardboard" and full of smuggled prime cuts of whalemeat. They don't mention that this box was the incriminating icing on top of a mountain of evidence, presented to the Tokyo Prosecutor by Junichi and Toru, that sent the whaling industry into a defensive frenzy.

No - of course not. Why would they want to illustrate the truth?

Thankfully though - we've already done it.

(click on the images to enlarge)

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Posted by Lisa at 12:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

This is a trial series.

Members of Greenpeace in Finland show support for the "Tokyo Two".
Photo: © Matti Snellman / Greenpeace

As the trial continues for the "Tokyo Two" (Greenpeace activists who exposed corruption behind the government-funded whaling program in Japan), AP, AFP and AAP have reported today that Australian Prime Minister Rudd has set a November deadline for Japan to stop its whaling program or else face international legal action. Saying he preferred diplomatic measures, Rudd added "if that fails, then we will initiate court action before the commencement of the whaling season in November 2010. That's the bottom line and we're very clear to the Japanese, that's what we intend to do." The whaling, which is said to be for "research" is widely believed to serve the commercial market for whale meat in Japan. An Australian legal expert said the hunt is conducted in international waters, but usually within the huge patch of ocean that is designated Australia's maritime rescue zone and that Canberra considers a whale sanctuary. (Watch the video about the case of the Tokyo Two).

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Posted by Melissa Wilson at 10:44 AM | Permalink

Bill Gates calls for zero carbon emissions by 2050. Photo: Nancy Duarte.

Bill Gates, when asked to give "the talk of his life - in 18 minutes" at the TED Talks conference last week, set a startling precedent for business leaders, choosing energy and climate as his subject - by calling for nothing less than zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Gates' commitment to stopping climate change couldn't come at a more urgent juncture and it's a major development for 3 reasons.

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Posted by Melissa Wilson at 1:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

This is a trial series.

Greenpeace activist at the Hazelwood coal-fired power station, Australia 2009
Photo © Greenpeace

Australia's energy policy adds fuel to the fire

Business Week (Bloomberg) reported yesterday Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has ruled out introducing nuclear power into the country saying instead the country would pursue other low-carbon energy options, including "clean coal." Australia has the world's largest known uranium deposits. Rudd said coal's importance would remain "huge" until 2050 and carbon capture storage would make it "cleaner" he said. John Hepburn of Greenpeace was quoted saying CCS could create a "time bomb" for future generations. “There are concerns over whether it will actually stay underground, basically forever,” he said. “You may have to transport the carbon dioxide a long way to a suitable storage site, and there are risks associated with that.” Currently the country gets about 80 percent of its power from coal, and exports of coal in 2010 are estimated to be worth US$9.7 billion. Read more about Australia and its coal-dependency.

According to Reuters a climate scientist yesterday warned the permafrost in Canada around James Bay is retreating northwards, a decade long trend caused by climate change. The southern edge of permafrost in the James Bay area has moved about 80 miles north of where it was 50 years ago, Serge Payette of Laval University in Quebec City said. As it melts the permafrost releases huge quantities of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that will escalate warming.

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Posted by Melissa Wilson at 10:51 AM | Permalink

If you read this blog regularly, you'll have seen the video below before. A lesson in crazy ambitions, believing we can achieve the impossible etc.

They said we were crazy. They'll say the same of this new idea:

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Posted by Juliette at 4:43 PM | Permalink

This is a trial series.

Greenpeace activists in France blockade a uranium cargo headed for Russia.

Dumping radioactive waste in Russia

Greenpeace activists in France blockaded a rail cargo of uranium waste from leaving Tricastin, France, headed for Russia yesterday, French and German news reported. For more than nine hours they were chained to the gate of the enrichment facility, with a banner that read "La Russie n'est pas une poubelle" (Russia is not a trash can). By midday, it was reported, three activists were removed by specialized gendarmerie working for the company Pierrelatte.

Meanwhile, an AFP story in French and Swiss news reported that ASN - the nuclear safety authority - has announced it will increase discharges of tritium from a plant in Flamanville (northern France). Although the authority believes the substance (a radioactive isotope of hydrogen with a short half-life) is harmless, four environmental organizations including Greenpeace have objected, with one expert saying "we do not know the process of accumulation of tritium in living organisms. Nor its consequences on the food chain. Before deciding on an increase we would require epidemiological studies." Finnish media also covered a Greenpeace press release today critical of the infamous Olkiluoto nuclear reactor, saying quality control and safety are still failing to meet the required standards.

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Posted by Melissa Wilson at 10:44 AM | Permalink

This is a trial series.

Greenpeace activists in Russia show their support for the "Tokyo Two" in Japan.

The case of the Tokyo Two continued in news today, with an AFP story picked up across Asia, Australia-Pacific, quoting Greenpeace activist Junichi Sato's Twitter postings: "When insider information is brought to non-government organisations and other third parties, I believe the freedom to investigate it should be guaranteed. A society that protects its citizens' actions to blow the whistle against wrongdoing leads to a democratic society that puts its citizens at its core." AFP cited the opinion of the UN Human Rights Commission's Working Group on Arbitrary Detention that Japan has breached several articles of the Declaration of Human Rights in the detention of the two Greenpeace activists. Take action to support the Tokyo Two for their actions to expose corruptions inside the government funded whaling industry in Japan.

Powering airplanes with household waste?

In the UK, British Airways has announced it intends to fly jets on "green fuel" made from London's rubbish by 2014. The company Solena will manufacture the fuel in London's East End, aiming to convert 500,000 tonnes of landfill waste - including household and industrial rubbish - into 16 million gallons of carbon neutral aviation fuel every year.

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Posted by Melissa Wilson at 1:16 PM | Permalink

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"Tokyo Two"

Greenpeace activists, the "Tokyo Two" have been on trial in Tokyo today, where they have pleaded not guilty. If convicted they could face up to 10 years in prison. We believe the prosecution of Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki, is politically motivated and designed to silence opposition against whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. Read more and take action by supporting the "Tokyo Two" here.

Tar Sands Olympics - Action against exploitation of tar sands in Canada

The Guardian print edition featured of the Greenpeace action in London on development of the tar sands in Canada. The online edition of The Guardian, quoted John Sauven executive director of Greenpeace UK, said he was pleased that investors were putting the oil company on the spot, adding that exploitation of the tar sands would become "a campaign battle ground for years to come". Tar sands projects threaten ecosystems over a huge area of Alberta; polluting and depleting waterways, endangering the health of wildlife and local communities, and contributing to climate change. Read more here.

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Posted by Teresa Belkow at 2:23 PM | Permalink

An update from Sarah Burton, Deputy Program Director currently in Aomori, Japan on the first day of the trial.

It was Valentine’s night, and sure there was candle-light but it wasn’t a cozy tete-a-tete. Far from it. There was a bitingly cold wind as we stood vigil holding candles which read “ Justice” while we stood by an ice-sculpture in a square in the Japanese town of Aomori on the eve of the start of the trial of Junichi and Toru.

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Posted by Jess at 1:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The latest on the Tokyo Two on the day before they stand trial

From the Guardian:

Anti-whaling campaigners have accused the authorities of staging a politically motivated trial, designed to depict peaceful activists as "terrorists", with the eventual aim of closing down Greenpeace's office in Japan.

In an interview with the Guardian after he was released on bail, Suzuki remained unrepentant. "Since my arrest, I have not lied once about what I did," he said.

"But the whalers have had to make up one story after another. Their lies will come back to haunt them."

>>Support Junichi and Toru

Posted by Lisa at 12:19 AM | Permalink

Have you made your pledge to the Japanese government yet?

Posted by Lisa at 8:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Whales campaigner Sara Holden explains:

Only for a Greenpeace campaign could you gather together an archbishop, a rock star, a TV detective-turned-game show host, TWO Nobel peace prize winners, a movie heart throb, a heavy metal band, BAFTA and Oscar winning actresses and the captain of a space ship.

If you were planning fantasy dinner party, it would be a good start. But it might be hard to get a table big enough to add the additional Supreme Court advocates, politicians, lawyers and quarter of a million people who are also standing up for the very same cause.

On Monday, Greenpeace anti whaling campaigners Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki will go on trial in Japan. They are putting their futures on the line in order to expose corruption in the Japanese whaling programme, defend all of our rights to protest injustice and environmental threats.

But with all that support behind them, they are not going into court alone. Their case has gone global. You could even say it has gone galactic. Having William Shatner write a letter of support for the Tokyo Two campaign gives license to crack lots of bad jokes about this case boldly going where no case has gone before – but it is actually true!

For the first time in Japanese judicial history a landmark opinion by a division of the United Nations Human Rights Council has declared that Junichi and Toru’s human rights were breached by the authorities.

Not surprising then, that Junichi and Toru’s case had also already got the attention of Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Betty Williams – Nobel Peace prize winners. As to the rest of this eclectic group of celebrity supporters - Benicio Del Toro, Emma Thompson, Thandie Newton, Edd Byrnes as well as rock musicians Bryan Adams (pictured above) and The Scorpions. Admit it – wouldn’t you love to see all of these people in the same room together… The Scorpions and Desmond Tutu – mindboggling!

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Posted by Lisa at 12:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

We just heard the fantastic news that Nick Cobbing, the on-board photographer during our Arctic Meltdown expedition, won a World Press Award for one of his photos of last year's expedition.

© Nick Cobbing/Greenpeace
If you want to look back on how and when this photo was made, you can read the following entries, by Nick himself and by Eric Philips, polar explorer.
Congratulations to Nick!

Posted by Juliette at 11:59 AM | Permalink

This is part of a trial series

Illegal logging in Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea landowners are preparing to launch a legal battle against controversial Malaysian logging giant Rimbunan Hijau (RH). They claim the company is illegally cutting their trees and using brute force and bribery to take what they need. In 2006 Greenpeace released a report titled The RH group: Thirty Years of Plunder and in 2004 were threatened with legal action over the report titled The Untouchables - Rimbunan Hijau's World of Forest Crime and Political Patronage.

BT-Brinjal study to be peer-reviewed

European scientists have said the vital study cited by India’s Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh to justify his decision to delay the commercial cultivation of BT-Brinjal in India is flawed. The study that labeled the genetically engineered food, BT-Brinjal “unsafe” was conducted by France-based Caen University professor Gilles-Eric Séralini and his team. Ramesh told Hindustan Times he would like Séralini’s paper to be peer-reviewed.

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Posted by Teresa Belkow at 10:26 AM | Permalink

This is part of a trial series

Political leaders, companies and foundations promise to clean up Baltic sea

Finland's President Tarja Halonen called for urgent measures to save the Baltic yesterday, as she opened a regional summit in Helsinki, to save one of the world's most polluted seas. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin together with representatives from Estonia, Denmark and Norway, the presidents of Latvia and Lithuania, and Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf are attending the meeting, as well as a range of companies and foundations. The Baltic is so over-fished, polluted by agricultural nutrient discharge and uncared for, Greenpeace was quoted as saying, that pregnant women should not eat its fish, (see The Independent). AFP reported that regional leaders confirmed their commitments to improving the treatment of waste water. Only a week ago German magazine Spiegel Online wrote about a "classified government report" which found that global ocean protection measures were failing, with thousands of tons of trash thrown into the sea every year, endangering humans and wildlife. It also said that high levels of pollution and plastic had led experts to warn against seafood consumption.

Controversy over Norwegian seal hunt

In Norway the media has reported on an independent report from one of three seal hunt vessels which documented widespread cases of young seals on the ice being injured by gun shots, but not killed. The Swedish paper Aftonbladet reported that NGO Djurens Rätt (Animal Rights Sweden) has said they will work together with their sister organizations in Norway to stop the hunts. Truls Gulowsen of Greenpeace Norway was quoted calling the situation "unacceptable".

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Posted by Teresa Belkow at 10:30 AM | Permalink

This is part of a trial series

Introduction of Genetically Engineered (GE) vegetables on hold in India

Reuters reports that the decision to delay introduction of GE vegetables in India until further tests have taken place, is seen as boosting the Congress party among its main farming vote base, much of which is fearful of GE use, and comes despite pressure from Farm Minister Sharad Pawar who supported the introduction of GE Bt brinjal. The Bt brinjal story travelled in world news receiving attention in the UAE, in The National print edition, also featuring the Greenpeace action in India. The Guardian and The Guardian International print editions also feature the Bt brinjal campaign, mentioning that several warnings have been flagged to the government from scientists and opposition from the public following the Bt cotton controversy. The Hindustan Times print edition warned once again against the potentially disastrous consequences of introducing Bt brinjal.

Poland’s Environment Minister, Janusz Zaleski, says there is no convincing data that GE crops are harmful or could have negative consequences for local farming if introduced. However, Greenpeace campaigner Luke Supergan highlighted that GE crops could spread spontaneously and take over non GE plants through contamination, making farmers dependent on big biotech companies for buying and producing GE crops.

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Posted by Teresa Belkow at 10:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

This is part of a trial series

The "Tokyo Two" were featured in ABC News (Australia) saying the UN's judgment is a blow to Japan's judicial system. The UN report says the activists' detention contravenes international covenants on human rights. Read the interview with Junichi Sato here.

Kumi Naidoo, Executive Director of Greenpeace International, is traveling to Japan to support Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki during the trials this week. Read his entry in The Huffington Post here.

IPCC climate scientists focusing on the physical science of climate change in the 2007 reports have criticized colleagues in the field of social and biological science, saying the latter's error has maligned their work, The Guardian reports. The WWF report was cited again for a separate human health section which also referenced two reports from Greenpeace, the World Resources Institute as well as insurance companies. In German news claims about the Netherlands and "Africagate" have traveled with comments from Greenpeace Austria, reaffirming that Greenpeace supports the IPCC and did not call for Dr Pachauri to resign.

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Posted by Teresa Belkow at 10:41 AM | Permalink

This is part of a trial series

British Member of the European Parliament, Godfrey Bloom, was filmed at the climate change summit in Copenhagen congratulating the French for bombing the Greenpeace ship the Rainbow Warrior. Later Mr Bloom said he had forgotten that one man was killed and French secret service agents were convicted of manslaughter after the bombing, reports The Australian. Greenpeace, that demanded an apology to the crew of the Rainbow Warrior and the Pereira family, got the reply from Bloom "We can disagree about climate change without celebrating the killing of a man." He also told Radio New Zealand "I am very very sorry, my belated deep condolences to him and his family. I think it's a great shame that you lose any innocent lives in something like this, I deeply regret that," Mr Bloom said.

Ministers in Britain could save £12bn of public spending over four years by clamping down on tax breaks and support for polluting oil exploration, cement, aluminium and transport, according to a report from WWF, the The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and Greenpeace. Doug Parr, Greenpeace's chief scientist, said: "Britain can be a world leader in renewable technologies and low-carbon transport but only if we stop bailing out the dirty industries of the 20th century."

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Posted by Teresa Belkow at 11:25 AM | Permalink

Source: Data taken from The Center for Responsive Politics, cited New York Times 02.02.10

Last week the New York Times reported on the latest lobbying figures for oil and gas industries in Washington D.C., published by the Center for Responsive Politics, (also featured in our news blog on February 2). The article frighteningly (but not so surprisingly) contrasted the immense lobbying weight of oil, gas and electric utilities against the feeble (but growing) dollar-voice of renewable energy industries and environmental groups. Above is the stark reality, expressed in millions of dollars. In 2009, the oil and gas industry spent $154 million on lobbying, a 16 percent increase on 2008; electric utilities $134.7 million, down from $161.3 in 2008. Meanwhile, alternative energy companies spent only $29 million, up from $22.1 million in 2008; and environmental organizations spent $21.3 million, up from $18.3 million the year before.

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Posted by Melissa Wilson at 3:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This is a trial series.

451 pesticides allowed in the EU are used on our food. Photo: Greenpeace / Holde Schneider

Greenpeace Germany has published a "black list" of the most dangerous pesticides, which includes 451 different chemicals that are used worldwide and pose health or environmental risks. According to the report, around half of the list are permitted for food production in the EU. "In conventional agriculture chemicals that make people sick and destroy the environment can still be used" said Greenpeace chemicals expert Manfred Santen. The report updates a 2008 version comparing and evaluating the hazards posed by various chemicals in widespread use. The full report is available here (page 12 for English translation).

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Posted by Melissa Wilson at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This is a trial series.

Yellowfin tuna at the Honolulu fish market, Photo: Greenpeace / Alex Hofford

France voted yesterday to suspend international trade in bluefin tuna after an 18 month-period in which new scientific research will be carried out to assist Brussels policy-making, potentially with conditions that allow for some continued artisanal fishing. The Minister of Ecology said it was a serious decision but "necessary, since most scientists believe that the resource is in danger." Currently, 80 percent of world tuna is bought by Japan, which according to French media reports has already begun a campaign to lobby against the future ban. The decision may also be adopted at the next meeting of the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) being held next month. France has twenty-nine votes, and so far Germany, the UK and Italy also supported a ban. Francoise Chartier of Greenpeace France raised concerns about the 18-month interim period, saying that by the time the ban would actually be introduced, it could be too late.

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Posted by Melissa Wilson at 11:03 AM | Permalink

This is part of a trial series.

View of the Jericoá Rapids at the Big Bend of the Xingu River. Photo: Monti Aguirre.

Brazilian mega-dam causes outcry
The $11-17 billion project in the heart of the Amazon, on the Xingu River in the northern state of Para, aiming to meet Brazil's soaring demand for electricity, will be the second largest damn in the world. There has been outcry over the environmentally destructive impacts of the dam and displacement of indigenous people. The government minister in control of the project, Carlos Minc said - according to Reuters - 250 square kilometers (96.5 sq miles) of land would be flooded by the Belo Monte dam and that this had been reduced from 5,000 in the original plans for ecological reasons. AFP reported that 500 sq km would be flooded. Among the utilities wanting to build and operate the dam are Brazil's state-run Eletrobras.

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Posted by Melissa Wilson at 10:39 AM | Permalink

This is part of a trial series.

Indigenous people from Altamira at a rally protesting the construction of dams on the Xingu river, Brazil. Photo: Monti Aguirre.

The Brazilian government has granted an environmental license for the construction of a controversial hydro-electric damn in the Amazon rainforest. It comes however with the condition that the company awarded the contract will have to pay $800 million to protect the environment. Indigenous tribes say the Belo Monte dam poses a threat to their way of life, and 40,000 people could be affected by the flooding of 500 sq km of land. Also in Brazilian news, Shell has made a deal with Cosan - a biofuel producer - worth $1.2 billion. This will make Shell the biggest investor in biofuels (see The Guardian or Times Online)

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Posted by Melissa Wilson at 11:04 AM | Permalink

I once asked my mother what was exactly across the planet from where we lived (Lyon, France). She told me that was New Zealand, and as a seven year old, I was as impressed as it gets. I imagined a country completely different, with people standing on their heads and doing everything backwards. As far as I was concerned, New Zealand must have been the exact contrary of France, in everything.
It turns out, as I found out a few year later, the only thing on the other side of the planet is a lot of water and less and less fish, (I also found out New Zealanders do not, in fact, stand on their heads) but for the purposes of this story, we'll pretend my Mom was right.

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Posted by Juliette at 9:44 AM | Permalink

This is part of a trial series

Today in French and Canadian news, The Canadian Minister of Environment, Jim Prentice, announced that Ottawa would align with U.S. objectives in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and gave himself ten years to reduce emissions by 17% compared to those of 2005 levels. This is of course lower than the initial target of 20% and still not legally binding. "The new target will lead to increased emissions of greenhouse gas rather than reducing it," stated Greenpeace.

The diplomatic traumas suffered by China in Copenhagen, where Beijing took much of the blame for the summit's failure, has hardened opinions, said Li Yan, Greenpeace China's climate campaigner to The Guardian: "Now there are stronger conservative voices and more concerns about the changed diplomatic circumstances and the economic downturn."

French newspapers report that France is deliberating a possible ban on blue-fin tuna imports, hoping that this would have a domino effect. Greenpeace's Francois Chartier is hoping that this will become part of the Doha agreement.

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Posted by Teresa Belkow at 11:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

One journalist thinks tabacco companies are to blame for climate change. Well, sort of. He's noticed that the oil/gas/coal industry used the same tactics perfected by the tabacco industry to help scuttle the Copenhagen climate summit last December.

From The American Reporter:

But one big obstacle to reaching an agreement is arguably the ongoing, cleverly orchestrated and well-funded campaign of junk science designed to mislead people into thinking that there is a difference in scientific opinion about climate change.

It's not a particularly new tactic. The tobacco industry perfected it years ago. They called it "manufactured doubt." In the early 1950s, there was a spate of scientific reports linking cigarette smoking to lung cancer that were starting to have an effect on cigarette sales; people began to be concerned about the health risks associated with smoking.

...

Michaels wrote that Hill & Knowlton's strategy was simple. "The industry understood that the public is in no position to distinguish good science from bad. Create doubt, uncertainty, and confusion. Throw mud at the anti-smoking research under the assumption that some of it is bound to stick. And buy time, lots of it, in the bargain."

There's a new book on the tabacco industry tactids by David Michaels (epidemiologist at George Washington University), tittled, "Doubt is Their Product: How Industry's Assault on Science Threatens Your Health".

What do you think? Should we call it "tabacco gate"?

Posted by Andrew at 9:28 AM | Permalink