October 14, 2002
The Green Holocaust Files #9: Hear the Sound of the Earth Crying
Hello everyone
I prepared this compilation for you last week but could not get around to send it.
I cried when I reached the line that inspired this compilation's title in Jackie's heartwrenching article "My Stolen Earth - Flag" below and sincerely hope it will have the same effect upon you, for unless our hearts are deeply touched and our collective will to act on behalf of our weakening planet is whipped into action, the present downward trend towards ecoblivion is unlikely to change.
All the greed, selfishness and cruelty we see abetted and financed by corrupted governments and their corporate minions around the world constitute in a sense the symptoms of our individual and collective disconnection from our Godly/Universal Source and from the natural environment it so magnificently spawned on Terra Gaia.
The Way to global awakening and complete change can only be through Love and selfless dedication to serve the Light...
Jean Hudon
Earth Rainbow Network Coordinator
http://www.cybernaute.com/earthconcert2000
"Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught, will we realise that we cannot eat money."
- 19th Century Cree Indian
CONTENTS
1. URGENT: IWC SPECIAL MEETING THIS WEEK THREATENS WHALING DEAL
2. My Stolen Earth – Flag - The 200th Healing Our World Commentary
3. What the common good is up against
4. Green Party/Graphics/Hope
5. LFAS: Dolphins and Whales Are Asking For Your Help!
6. Brazil creates world's largest tropical reserve
See also:
Rep. Markey Releases Study Showing Big Drop in EPA Policing
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/10.04D.markey.epa.htm
The Art of Changing the Subject (ENERGY RACKETEERING AND CORPORATE SCANDALS)
http://peace.moveon.org/r2.php3?r=156
S.African Oil-Spill Ship Could Ravage Prized Coast
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/09.18H.sa.oil.spill.htm
Americans: Leading the Way, Destroying The Planet. What's The World To Do? (Sept 12)
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=14093
Fighting U.S. apathy to climate change is as simple as three steps: confront, boycott and sue.
FALLOUT: THE HIDDEN ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES OF 9/11
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=14073
Environmental and city officials repeatedly withheld clear evidence of toxic contamination around Ground Zero for political reasons. (...) "What happened here is at the level of Watergate," says Dr. Marjorie Clarke, scientist-in-residence at Lehman College in New York and an expert on dioxin and furan emissions from incinerators. "They covered up important information. It just seems to me that, from the get go, a decision had been made from some high-up government types that there is not going to be a problem here." CLIP
HOW GLOBAL WARMING WILL BURN BUSH (September 11)
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=14045
In the hopes of spurring Dubya into action on climate change, here is a projection of what global warming will do to his beloved Crawford, Texas, summer home ranch.
Earth Summit" Plan of Action Approved (Sept 3)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/oneworld/20020904/wl_oneworld/1032_1031136747
WORLD BANK BANKROLLS GLOBAL AIR POLLUTION
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=14182
A new report details how the World Bank funds deadly incinerator projects worldwide, while World Bank officials oppose them in their own backyards.
1.
Date: Mon, 14 Oct 2002
From: Larry Morningstar <mana7@charter.net>
Subject: URGENT: IWC SPECIAL MEETING THIS WEEK THREATENS WHALING DEAL
From: Andy Ottaway/Global Whale Alliance - http://www.global-whale-alliance.org
Date: 10/10/02
Dear Friends,
We wrote to you in September to alert you to the double threat to whales posed by a special ‘behind-closed-doors’ meeting of the International Whaling Commission in Cambridge this week and a meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to be held in November.
This Special IWC meeting will attempt to finalise agreement on the Revised Management Scheme (RMS), a management plan for the resumption of commercial whaling. The Global Whale Alliance was formed to fight the resumption of commercial whaling and to oppose the RMS because its adoption will destroy the 16-year IWC ban on commercial whaling. Unfortunately, many countries are seeking to compromise on the whaling issue and are backing an RMS. These countries are: South Africa, Spain, Ireland, Netherlands, France, Finland, Chile, Portugal, Peru, Switzerland and Oman.
If your organisation operates in any of these countries we desperately need your help. If you have not already done PLEASE publicly call upon your government to:
1. Vote against the adoption of any RMS and any resumption of commercial whaling.
2. Vote against any 'down-listing' of whale species for international trade at the November CITES meeting.
Please ask your supporters and the public to write and phone their political representatives too. Contact the media. The more publicity you can generate, the greater the pressure on your government to support the whales and not renewed whaling!
CLIP
Sadly, those governments that are backing the RMS are doing so because they are under no pressure to do otherwise. They ignore scientific evidence of serious environmental threats to whales, the health risks to people from eating increasingly contaminated whale products and the appalling cruelty of whaling. They think that a political compromise over whaling would be acceptable. Please let them know it is not.
If you need more information, please visit the GWA website at http://www.global-whale-alliance.org
2.
From: "Jackie Alan Giuliano, Ph.D." <jackie@deepteaching.com>
Subject: My Stolen Earth - Flag - The 200th Healing Our World Commentary
Date: Fri, 13 Sep 2002
Hello,
It is hard to believe that I have now written 200 Healing Our World commentaries. They have discussed so many issues, so many tragedies, and so much greed that sometimes I can barely see straight. CLIP
I reflect on the last 5 years of writing these commentaries in "My Stolen Earth -- Flag"
(NOTE FROM JEAN: Because of its critical significance, this article is included in its entirety below.)
CLIP
---
From: http://ens-news.com/ens/sep2002/2002-09-13g.asp
Healing Our World: Weekly Comment
By Jackie Alan Giuliano, Ph.D.
My Stolen Earth – Flag
As I was thinking about what to write in this 200th "Healing Our World" commentary, I was presented with a powerful metaphor for our times and my contributions – the Earth Flag hanging in front of my house was stolen.
Each day brings more and more news of how our Earth is being stolen from our children through reckless resource use, the creation of toxic substances, the destruction of ecosystems, and the obscene treatment and torture of animals as slaves to experiments and as food sources. And the theft of my Earth Flag somehow provides a dismal reminder of those events.
(CAPTION FOR THE EARTH FLAG PICTURE: The Earth Flag shows a photograph of the Earth taken from space. Since its creation in 1969 by John McConnell, the Earth Flag has been presented to U.S. Presidents, foreign dignitaries, and leaders from all over the globe.)
So who would steal an Earth Flag that was hanging in front of someone’s house? Probably not someone who needed it, since it has been my experience that people who fly such flags have less petty ideals. No, more than likely it was someone who interpreted it, in the midst of all the American flags flying in my community, as an unpatriotic act or a statement of weakness in a culture where acts of cruelty often make the television news instead of acts of compassion.
Over the last five years and 199 commentaries, I have reflected on many of the tragedies of our times and tried to reveal some of the historical roots for those abuses. It has been difficult to provide words of hope in the midst of such atrocities to the Earth, her people and her animals, mostly because of greed. But through activism and an appreciation for the interconnectedness of all life, I have tried to show that hope is possible.
A few weeks ago, Karen wrote me that my collection of commentaries was “so full of despairing stories ... they are true and need to be told, but we also need to have some hope as well ... What about regular success stories ... rivers reclaimed, animals brought back from the brink of extinction, forests saved, etc.”
I wrote her back that it is pretty easy for people to hear about some of the “success” stories elsewhere. But to be honest, I don't feel there are many success stories out there. Most of the actions taken are often token ones to make the public think that progress is being made when actually the reverse is true.
And since the study of the last 125,000 years of coastal archeological information was published in the journal “Science” last year, some now think that nearly ALL animal populations are on the brink of extinction, whether or not they are on any list. The numbers that are used to claim a species is "healthy" once again are pretty meaningless.
In my commentary "Human Arrogance and the Decline of the Earth, I discussed how this new interpretation of the data suggests that today's fishing and hunting quotas may be nearly meaningless. Such quotas are based on estimates of how many animals would be present if not subjected to human pressures of but a few years ago. The historical evidence is now showing that populations of marine animals - before human predation began – were in the millions, and that this abundance was necessary to insure the health of the Earth’s ecosystems.
I told Karen that what I need to provide for people is full exposure to the magnitude of our impact on the world and offer ways for them to decide whether or not they want to do anything about it. I won’t be a party to the sugar coating of the wanton destruction of the Earth. I won’t report on claims by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that some species have “recovered.” Too often this status means that hunting will again be allowed.
A comment from a reader of “"Healing Our World” who works for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said she got my message. In response to one of my commentaries she said, “Being an animal lover I realize that with all the horrific things that are happening to our world and the people in it, the animals are way down on the totem pole and don't stand much of a chance. It all is very depressing. I appreciate articles like this - there is hope. I mainly want to tell you this morning how much your balance of telling what’s bad, while still retaining your love of humanity, and so eloquently expressing that in your articles, means to me. Thank you.”
As I reflect back on the past 199 commentaries, there are a few that stand out. The commentary that received the most emails over the years is probably “Food Even a Dog Shouldn't Eat - Killing Our Pets with Every Meal,” about the unhealthy, and often disgusting, ingredients in most commercial pet foods. Although written three years ago, I still get emails to this day from folks sharing the story of a pet’s fatal illness and wondering if the food caused it.
“Cruise Ship Pollution - A Holiday of Toxins” told the story of how one cruise ship, carrying 3,000 passengers, generates as much as 7,500 kilograms (16,500 pounds) of waste a day, much of which is dumped at sea into fragile marine ecosystems.
I was recently interviewed on camera by an independent news segment producer who came across the commentary while researching the cruise industry. She had been hired by a local television station to prepare a supportive piece about the industry and wanted an opposing opinion. She interviewed me at the Seattle waterfront in front of a mega cruise ship that claimed to have all the modern environmental controls.
I had to point out that even though the ship may have the capability to treat its wastewater, the Port of Seattle doesn’t require the company to do so! Until the ship is at the dock, it can discharge any amount of waste. And the port doesn’t even have any way for the ships to safely dump their waste even if they wanted to. There are no sewer lines at the ports in Seattle, Vancouver, Victoria, San Diego, and Los Angeles, Miami or any Alaska port.
With all the awareness that I and others have generated, many still wonder if there will be any real changes made by governments and industry before ecosystems collapse and millions die.
I am convinced that we can only be saved by the choices of individuals. Industries and governments have no motivation to change, particularly if greed is their reason for being. But an individual can want a better future, either for his or her own children or for the children of the world. An individual can decide to buy only what he or she needs and to need only what doesn’t cause harm. An individual can decide that enough is enough.
We have to ask hard questions if we are to survive. We have to ask if people should be allowed to start any business they want, even if it generates toxic substances and produces a product that we don’t need. We have to ask if animals should be our slaves.
In an email sent by one of my readers a few weeks ago, she misspelled the title of this column, but it was a very prophetic misspelling. She wrote “Hearing our World.” Maybe this is what we should all focus on, like Buddhist Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hahn says, "to hear the sound of the Earth crying."
I would like nothing more than to have this 200th commentary be the last. Sadly, I think I will be in business for quite a while longer. And what of my stolen Earth flag? For now, I am not going to replace it.
RESOURCES
1. Read “Lies My Teacher Told Me” by James W. Loewen to learn about many surprises in American history. Visit a website devoted to this book at: http://www.uvm.edu/~jloewen/
2. Learn about ongoing harassment of native and indigenous people around the world at: http://www.blackmesais.org/index2.html
3. Find out who your Congressional representatives are and e-mail them. Demand that they stay strong and work harder to protect our health, the environment and animal rights. If you know your Zip code, you can find them at: http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/ziptoit.html
4. To get help redesigning your concept of the “American Dream,” visit: http://www.islandpress.com/ecocompass/dream.html
5. Joanna Macy's work will change your way of looking at the world. Get her book "Coming Back to Life: Practices to Reconnect Our Lives, Our World" (with Molly Young Brown), New Society Publishers, 1998. Learn about the book at: http://www.newsociety.com/cblfs.html
6. Read articles by Macy's articles at: http://www.context.org/ICLIB/IC34/Macy.htm and at: http://www.context.org/ICLIB/IC28/Macy.htm
7. Explore the wisdom of renowned activist Malidoma Patrice Some in his work "Ritual: Power, Healing and Community," Swan/Raven & Company, 1993.
8. Follow the work of Echoes of the Ancestors, Inc., a non-profit group headed by African scholar and activist Malidoma Somé, at: http://www.malidoma.com/Malidoma/
9. Try on a new perspective and see how it fits. Visit the Indigenous Women’s Network at: http://www.honorearth.com/iwn/
---
Check out Jackie's website with an archive of his 200 commentaries at http://www.healingourworld.com
Jackie's new book, "Healing Our World, A Journey from the Darkness into the Light," is available from XLIBRIS at: http://www.xlibris.com/HealingOurWorld.html
3.
Date: Fri, 20 Sep 2002
From: Steve Kurtz <kurtzs@freenet.carleton.ca>
Subject: What the common good is up against
To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26554-2002Sep16.html
HHS Seeks Science Advice to Match Bush Views
By Rick Weiss
The Bush administration has begun a broad restructuring of the scientific advisory committees that guide federal policy in areas such as patients' rights and public health, eliminating some committees that were coming to conclusions at odds with the president's views and in other cases replacing members with handpicked choices.
In the past few weeks, the Department of Health and Human Services has retired two expert committees before their work was complete. One had recommended that the Food and Drug Administration expand its regulation of the increasingly lucrative genetic testing industry, which has so far been free of such oversight. The other committee, which was rethinking federal protections for human research subjects, had drawn the ire of administration supporters on the religious right, according to government sources.
A third committee, which had been assessing the effects of environmental chemicals on human health, has been told that nearly all of its members will be replaced -- in several instances by people with links to the industries that make those chemicals. One new member is a California scientist who helped defend Pacific Gas and Electric Co. against the real-life Erin Brockovich.
The changes are among the first in a gradual restructuring of the system that funnels expert advice to Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson.
That system includes more than 250 committees, each composed of people with scientific, legal or academic expertise who volunteer their services over multiyear terms.
The committees typically toil in near anonymity, but they are important because their interpretation of scientific data can sway an agency's approach to health risk and regulation.
The overhaul is rattling some HHS employees, some of whom said they have not seen such a political makeover of the department since Ronald Reagan took office in 1981.
HHS spokesman William Pierce said he could not provide a tally of the number of committees that had been eliminated or changed so far, but he denied that the degree of change was out of the ordinary for the first years after a change of administration.
He acknowledged that Thompson has irritated some HHS veterans with his "top down" approach to reshaping the department, but he defended Thompson's prerogative to hear preferentially from experts who share the president's philosophical sensibilities.
"No one should be surprised when an administration makes changes like this," Pierce said. "I don't think there is anything going on here that has not gone on with each and every administration since George Washington."
Routine or not, the restructuring offers a view into how tomorrow's science policies are being constructed -- and how the previous administration's influence is being quietly dismantled.
One example of the recent changes is the Secretary's Advisory Committee on Genetic Testing, created during the Clinton administration after a major federal report concluded that the public was at risk of being harmed by the emerging gene-testing industry.
One of the first topics tackled by the committee was how to deal with the proliferation of so-called home-brew genetic tests, which are offered by a growing number of companies and doctors.
The blood tests can detect DNA variations that may increase a person's odds of getting a disease or affect a patient's response to medicines.
CLIP
Another example is the National Human Research Protections Advisory Committee, created under President Bill Clinton after a series of government reports found serious deficiencies in the federal system for protecting human subjects in research. The call from HHS to disband "came out of the blue," said committee chair Mary Faith Marshall, a professor of medicine and bioethics at the University of Kansas in Kansas City.
Some sources suggested the committee had angered the pharmaceutical industry or other research enterprises because of its recommendations to tighten up conflict-of-interest rules and impose new restrictions on research involving the mentally ill.
"It's very frustrating," said Paul Gelsinger, who became a member of the committee after his son, Jesse, died in a Pennsylvania gene therapy experiment that was later found to have broken basic safety rules. "It's always been my view that money is running the research show," he said. "So with this administration's ties to industry, I'm not surprised" to see the committee killed.
CLIP
Yet another committee caught up in the recent upheaval is one that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Environmental Health on a range of public health issues from pollution to bioterrorism.
Thomas Burke, the Johns Hopkins public health professor who has chaired the committee for almost five years, recently learned that 15 of its 18 members are to be replaced. In the past, he said, HHS had asked him to recommend new members when there were openings. This time, he said, a list of names was imposed. He was among those who were let go.
Burke said he was not offended that his own membership, which was expiring, was not renewed. "There's constant turnover on these boards," he said. "What's of concern though is to see so much turnover at one time, especially at such a critical time for the CDC."
He mentioned another concern: One of the committee's major endeavors has been to assess the health effects of low-level exposures to environmental chemicals, yet as first reported by Science magazine last week, several of the new appointees are well known for their connections to the chemical industry.
They include Roger McClellan, former president of the Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology, a North Carolina research firm supported by chemical company dues; Becky Norton Dunlop, a vice president of the Heritage Foundation who, as Virginia's secretary of natural resources, fought against environmental regulation; and Lois Swirsky Gold, a University of California risk-assessment specialist who has made a career countering environmentalists' claims of links between pollutants and cancer.
The committee also includes Dennis Paustenbach, the California toxicologist who served as an expert witness for Pacific Gas and Electric when the utility was sued for allowing poisonous chromium to leach into groundwater. The case was made famous in the movie "Erin Brockovich."
"It's in the nation's interest to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest on these committees," said Burke, the former chairman. "To see friends of the administration... clearly that's what we're seeing here. It's wholesale change. The complexion has changed."
CLIP
4.
Date: Fri, 20 Sep 2002
From: Carol Brouillet <cbrouillet@igc.org>
Subject: Green Party/Graphics/Hope
Dear 9-11 activists,
I forgot to mention a press release the Green Party just sent out September 10th
http://www.greenpartyus.org/press/pr_09_10_02.html
GREEN PARTY CALLS FOR A NEW DEMOCRATIC DIRECTION IN U.S. POLICY
Greens urge steps to promote peace, justice, and adherence to the U.S. Constitution and international law.
WASHINGTON, DC -- The Green Party of the United States marked the anniversary of the September 11 attacks with a call for a new democratic direction in U.S. policy. Candidates and activists of America's only growing political party support a new program based on adherence to U.S. and international laws, respect for civil liberties, sound environmental policy, economic security, and peacemaking: (1) BRING JUSTICE TO THE PERPETRATORS OF SEPTEMBER 11. "We're concerned that the perpetrators of the attacks remain at large and that the Bush administration has made no effort to pursue legal means to bring them to justice," said Ted Glick, New Jersey Green candidate for the U.S. Senate. "We join Greens around the world in supporting the indictment, capture, and prosecution of those responsible for the September 11 attacks."
(2) ESTABLISH AN INDEPENDENT SEPTEMBER 11 TRUTH COMMISSION. "Greens are disappointed that Congress has failed to establish a public and independent truth commission to investigate the origins and consequences of the September 11 attacks," said Ben Manski, Wisconsin Green and member of the party's national steering committee. "Greens, along with other members of the 9/11 Emergency National Network and many other Americans, have proposed the immediate establishment of such a commission, charged with calm, determined, and open investigation of the facts related to the historic events which form the basis of U.S. foreign and domestic policy today."
I am hopeful that as the Greens get more information into their hands; they will loudly disseminate it. With any luck we can make 9-11 - the truth about it - as well as the lies and the cover-up, a campaign issue.
To assist us in our outreach efforts, I was contacted by an amazing graphic artist (Blaine Machan - btmachan@shaw.ca), who has done some superlative work, posted at-
http://www.vorteximages.com/Page%202%20directory/posters%20directory/Event%20Posters/sigapoliticalimages/sigamovieposters.htm
NOTE FROM JEAN: Those posters above really deserve a look and a wide dissemination...
CLIP
John Judge gave a couple of great talks in the Bay Area, perhaps we could develop a speaker's bureau, along with videos and documentaries, to help communities publicly raise these issues, and organize themselves to put pressure on the media, the government, to expose the truth and challenge the Rogue Regime's assaults upon the Bill of Rights, the Constitution, International Law, Life, Liberty and the Planet...
It is becoming more blatantly obvious what is going on; I think instead of "American flags," we should be waving Earth flags, and help nudge people into seeing how our fate is inextricably linked to the fate of the people being targeted by the US government. A brilliant guy, named "Dragonfly" has given me stacks of beautiful posters, bumper stickers, Earth images that can cling to car windows, to help get this delightfully subversive, yet benign, powerful idea out. His website is- http://www.speaktruth.net.
Aung Sung Suu Kyi wrote: "It is not power that corrupts, but fear -- fear of losing power and fear of the scourge of those who wield it."
The only cure for fear is faith - faith in oneself, faith in humanity, and faith in the meaning and purpose of life.
Kahlil Gibran wrote: And there are those who have little and give it all. These are the believers in life and the bounty of life, and their coffer is never empty... see first that you yourself deserve to be a giver, and an instrument of giving. For in truth it is life that gives unto life -- while you who deem yourself a giver, are but a witness.
I think we need to transcend the "Fear" (competition) paradigm and move into "Love, Gift," (co-operative) paradigm... It is happening - we can nurture it, and, I believe, create an unstoppable movement.
Carol
5.
From: "Aquarian Perspectives" <stardoves@kitcarson.net>
Subject: LFAS: Dolphins and Whales Are Asking For Your Help!
Date: Fri, 20 Sep 2002
From: "Aquarian Perspectives"
Subject: LFAS: Dolphins and Whales Are Asking For Your Help!
Date: Fri, 20 Sep 2002
NO TO LOW FREQUENCY ACTIVE SONAR!
On July 16th the Bush administration granted the Navy a permit to harm whales, dolphins, and other marine mammals while using its Low Frequency Active Sonar system in as much as 80 percent of the world's oceans. The high-powered submarine detection system will operate at noise levels billions of times more intense than those known to disturb the migration and communication of large whales.
Although the administration agreed to impose some requirements on the Navy, the permit it issued remains far too broad to protect marine life in any meaningful way. As the Navy has failed to answer even some of the most fundamental questions about the system's potential threats to marine mammals and the ecosystem, this new permit is especially alarming.
What To Do:
PLEASE PHONE FAX AND /OR WRITE SEN. DIANE FEINSTEIN NOW
Fax 415-393-0701
Phone 415-393-0707
Senator Dianne Feinstein is head of the Military Appropriations Committee. She has power over the budget for this LFA Sonar project. Since Congress has the power of the purse, it could cut the funding. In the mind of pollsters, a phone call represents the sentiments of 150 people. A fax represents 250 people. Either by phone or fax, please act now to stop the destruction of our oceans.
SUGGESTED LETTER
Senator Diane Feinstein, 331 Hart Bldg. Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Feinstein,
I am asking for your help to save the whales and dolphins of the world from the devastating effects of Low Frequency Active Sonar. Acoustical scientists have ascertained that LFAS seriously compromises the acoustic integrity of the ocean. I know you can help, because, as head of the Military Appropriations Committee, you have power over the budget.
All marine life depends upon hearing for survival; this is why all sea creatures have extremely sensitive hearing. There are already many technologies using the oceans as a medium of communication. Sea creatures are becoming confused, losing their families ("schools") and their bearings. The recent massive strandings of whales may be a response to the sounds, including medium-range sonar already in use by the U.S. Navy, that are making it impossible for whales to function in the ocean. Acoustical damage, plus severe pollution, plus renewed whaling adds up to too much damage. The whales NEED OUR HELP NOW.
Congress has the power of the purse, and can cut the funding for this ill-conceived project. Senator Feinstein, please lead the way to sanity, and put a stop to LFAS.
We have a spiritual obligation to these magnificent sentient beings who have been on this planet for over 40 millions years. It is both immoral and totally unethical to threaten the lives and habitats of these awesome beings!!!
I would appreciate a reply. I want to know your views. And I don't want to hear about "national security." There are other, better ways to detect submarines than by using extremely loud sound under water.
Sincerely,
Name Address
---
See also:
Temporary Victory! - Judge Says Bush Must Protect Oceans - Oceana Statement on NEPA Decision
http://www.oceana.org//index.cfm?sectionID=10&fuseaction=35.detail&pressreleaseID=64
Visit this entire and excellent Oceana website at http://www.oceana.org
6.
HERE IS A GOOD NEWS!
Brazil creates world's largest tropical reserve
"The number one priority will be the saving of the planet -- the changing of our political and economic structures which will enable a sustainable economy to be created -- for example, the world's primeval forests, on which we depend for our very oxygen let alone the medicinal plants ... will be maintained." (Benjamin Creme, *Maitreya's Mission Volume Three*)
Brazil has announced the creation of the world's largest tropical forest park. The newly proposed Tumucumaque Park will cover an area of 3.8 million hectares of uninhabited and remote land in the northeast Brazilian state of Amapa along the border with French Guyana, an area rich in biodiversity and believed to contain many unidentified plant and animal species.
According to the Brazilian press, the area envisaged for the park, representing almost 1 per cent of the Amazon forest region, is larger than Belgium and nearly the size of Switzerland. In addition to announcing the park's creation, Brazil's President Cardoso approved a national biodiversity policy, outlining policies connected to sustainable development and the sustainable use of natural resources. Cardoso also signed laws preventing the auctions of illegally logged wood confiscated by the government and a new law on biopiracy that will criminalize the export of material deemed to be part of Brazil's genetic heritage.
The park will depend on financial assistance from the World Wildlife Fund, which donated $1 million for the implementation of the project, while the government plans to invest nearly $10 million. The government is also negotiating with the Global Environment Facility and the World Bank for help to support its protection efforts in the Amazon.
"Since Tumucumaque is one of the greatest unexplored places on Earth, we can only imagine what undiscovered mysteries will one day be found in the park," said Conservation International President Russell Mittermeir. "The park is very important because it helps consolidate one of the world's last roadless wildernesses," added the environmental organization's director in Brazil, Roberto Cavalcanti.
(Source: UN Wire, *O Estado de Sao Paulo*, Brazil; BBC Online, UK; *El Pais*, Spain; Associated Press, CNN, USA)
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