Archives for November 18, 2006

The campaign to stop mining
November, 15 2006
By Jennifer Marohasy

Across the world too many people still live in poverty. A new feature-length documentary by former Financial Times journalist Phelim McAleer explains how environmental activists are part of the problem.

Mr McAleer visits controversial mine sites in remote Madagascar, Chile and Romania and interviews local young men who want the jobs and opportunities offered by the mines, while media savvy western environmentalists campaign to stop development and save the environment and the “quaint” lifestyles of the poor villagers.

Read the complete article:
http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=5157

The documentary will be screening in Sydney, Hobart, Perth and Melbourne next week. After the screening there will be opportunity for discussion with Phelim McAleer. For more information and to reserve your place visit: http://ipa.org.au/events/event_detail.asp?eventid=120 .

Bring dingoes back to stop species extinction
November 2, 2006
By Rachel Nowak

Bizarrely, reintroducing dingoes – Australia’s top natural predator – could improve the survival of smaller marsupial species that they often prey on, researchers say. The Eastern hare-wallaby? Gone. The lesser bilby? Gone. In the past two centuries, 18 mammals have gone extinct in Australia, accounting for almost half the mammalian extinctions in the world over that time period. Biologists usually blame that infamous record on a complex set of circumstances, including changes in how people use fire to clear land, the introduction of rabbits and disease, and sheep farming. But, according to a surprise finding from a team led by Chris Johnson at James Cook University in Townsville, the true cause is far simpler – the persecution of mainland Australia’s one and only top predator, the dingo.

Read the complete article:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn10432-bring-dingoes-back-to-stop-species-extinction-.html

The Climate change industry’s stake in Kyoto
November 15, 2006
By Bart Mongoven

Negotiators in Nairobi, Kenya, are preparing to wrap up two weeks of discussions about the future of international cooperation on climate change. The conference — officially the second meeting of parties to the Kyoto Protocol — gathered to discuss what comes after Kyoto, which will not be in force after 2012. Central to the discussions have been questions about gaining U.S. participation in the treaty, winning emissions-reductions commitments from major developing countries (such as China and India), and determining the strength of the international community’s commitment to drastic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

The talks in Nairobi also have revealed the new role that a diverse group of companies will play in the future of the climate change debate. These companies come from many industries, but they share a common interest in finding ways to profit from global concerns about climate change — particularly the provisions in the Kyoto treaty intended to better control greenhouse gas emissions. This industry bloc includes the major innovators in the cleantech sector, but it also includes older industries that are finding ways to make small adjustments in their business processes in ways that, due to Kyoto’s market mechanisms, now yield significant revenues.

Read the complete article:
http://www.stratfor.com/products/premium/read_article.php?id=280649

Consumer Awareness of Biotechnology – Separating Fact from Fiction
November 6, 2006
By Terry Etherton

There are many important aspects that consumers and dairy producers [in the US] need to appreciate about rbST-free milk*. These include: 1) defending the right of dairy producers to use a safe and effective biotechnology that improves profitability; 2) the tactics employed by some cooperatives to “persuade” producers to stop using the biotechnology (these involve paying a small premium for discontinuing use or levying a charge if use of rbST continues); and 3) the rationale used by some cooperatives, processors and retailers that rbST-free milk is being promoted in the marketplace because of consumer concern about the technology. My view is that the latter argument is simply a “manufactured” justification since there is no evidence from well-organized and conducted surveys of consumer attitudes about food safety that indicates there is any basis to make this distinction from a food safety perspective.

Read the complete article:
http://blogs.das.psu.edu/tetherton/?p=51

*rbST is the synthetic version of a natural growth hormone used by dairy farmers in the US since 1994 to increase milk production. It is banned in Canada, Australia and the EU.