Global News Headlines 01/07

[greenbas@gb.greenpeace.org]

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Greenpeace Daily Environmental News Headlines
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Thursday, January 7, 1999
Greenbase Unit
Greenpeace International
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 TOXICS 

(GREENPEACE)
1) AP Worldstream January 07, 1999 HEADLINE: Turkish police detain Greenpeace
activists DATELINE: ISTANBUL, Turkey BODY: Turkish police detained 10
Greenpeace activists who chained themselves to the gates of a toxic waste
incinerator on Thursday. Greenpeace says the Turkish Environment Ministry
had ordered the plant closed two months ago, but authorities had failed to...

(GREENPEACE)
2) The Guardian (London) January 7, 1999 SECTION: The Guardian OnLine Page;
Pg. 8 HEADLINE: Muddying the waters; Is the largest body of fresh water in
the world dying from manmade pollution? Mark Maslin challenges the
environmentalists BYLINE: Mark Maslin BODY: LAKE Baikal, the deepest and
oldest lake in the world, has become a symbol for conservationists of man's...

3) Scientists says plane de-icers kill aquatic life LONDON, Jan 6 (Reuters) -
Fluids used to de-ice aircraft are polluting ground water near U.S. airports
and killing aquatic life,  Britain's New Scientist magazine reported on
Wednesday. It said researchers from Western Washington University had
identified the culprits as a family of chemicals called tolytriazoles which...

4) Amnesty demands release of Cambodia rights workers PHNOM PENH, Jan 7
(Reuters) - Amnesty International on Thursday called for the immediate and
unconditional release of two Cambodian human rights workers arrested during
protests over toxic waste dumping last month. Kim Sen and Meas Minear of
the local rights group Licadho were arrested on December 21 in the southern...

5) New Straits Times (Malaysia) January  7, 1999 SECTION: National; Pg. 6
HEADLINE:  Singapore people dumping rubbish in Malaysia' DATELINE: Kuala
Lumpur BODY: KUALA LUMPUR, Wed. - The  Government believes that some
Singaporeans are dumping their rubbish in Malaysia to escape having to pay
disposal costs. The Customs and Excise Department had recently uncovered...

6) BBC Summary of World Broadcasts January 8, 1999 HEADLINE: Hunt mounted for
Black Sea chemical dumps SOURCE: Source: 'Izvestiya' (Electronic version),
Moscow, in Russian 22 Dec 98 p1  BODY: Russia's Emergencies Ministry is to
demand the release of classified documents pinpointing burial sites of
chemical weapons in the Black Sea after a recent expedition failed to locate...

7) Boston Herald Protesters highlight other grim battles by David Talbot Jan
7, 1999 The presence of mask-wearing demonstrators outside the Wang
Theatre premiere of ``A Civil Action'' last night was a theatrical
reminder that Bay State pollution battles didn't ebb when Woburn's
tainted town wells shut in 1979. Local groups are engaged in
struggles against some of the state's...

8) 01/07 China-Mass Poisoning BEIJING (AP) -- Three people died and more
than 500, many of them children and elderly people, were sickened in
a mass poisoning from eating industrial grease packed in old
pesticide barrels, state television reported Thursday. More than 170
people are still being treated in hospitals and 24 are seriously ill
from the poisoning in Longnan...

9) OVER-USE OF PESTICIDE SEEN AS THREAT TO ASIA FOOD ... CEBU CITY, Jan 07,
1999 (Asia Pulse via COMTEX) --  The massive use of pesticide is
perceived to remain a big threat to Asia's thrust to  produce more
food for its billions of inhabitants. The warning is issued in the
State of the Environment in Asia and the Pacific report recently
released by the...

10) Albanian Telegraphic Agency (ATA) Expired pesticides in Durres are still
a danger to people's health  DURRES, Jan.5 (ata) - By S Gjordeni: Expired
pesticides remain a potential threat to the people's health in Durres. The
Regional Environmental Agency in Durres has given the alarm for the stocks
of locally produced or imported pesticides which are not yet removed from...

11) Dawn-The Internet Edition, January 7, 1999 Over-use of pesticides damaging
crops By Shamsul Islam Naz  FAISALABAD, Jan 6: Miserable condition of cotton
fields, widespread  poisoning of soils, water and food products and overall
degradation of  environment call for urgent steps to come to grips with
pesticide pollution  issue with all the seriousness the matter demands....

12) The Associated Press January  6, 1999 SECTION: State and Regional HEADLINE:
Governor criticizes protest plans DATELINE: BATON ROUGE, La.  BODY: Plans by
law professors from around the country to protest the Louisiana Supreme
Court's ruling that put restrictions on state law school clinics drew
criticism Wednesday from Gov. Mike Foster. The professors are in New Orleans...

13) No. 04 January 7, 1999 ISSN 1521-9402 Year 2000 U.N. Group Issues Worldwide
Warning Of Significant Chemical Safety Problems by The Bureau of National
Affairs, Inc., Washington D.C. The Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical
Safety (IFCS) warned of possible "significant world-wide chemical safety
problems" if the year 2000 computer problems are not properly addressed,...

 NUCLEAR POWER 

(GREENPEACE)
14) French Cogema sets ads to show nuclear is green PARIS, Jan 7 (Reuters)  -
Cogema, the French state-owned nuclear fuel firm, said it is launching an
advertising campaign on Thursday that compares its recycling of used nuclear
fuel with industries seen as environmentally friendly.  "Recycling nuclear
fuel also preserves the environment," says one of its slogans on four ads...

15) France tightens radioactivity controls CATTENOM, France, Jan 7 (Reuters)
- State-owned utility Electricite de France (EDF) on Thursday announced a
three-year plan to ensure the country's nuclear industry is free of
radioactive contamination. Laurent Stricker, head of EDF's nuclear
activities, said more radioactivity detectors would be installed and the...

16) Planned Georgia Plutonium-Processing Plant Could Yet Be Derailed BY By
Andrew Meadows, The State, Columbia, S.C.  Jan. 5--The announcement that the
Savannah River Site likely will dismantle and process the nation's excess
nuclear warheads came as joyous holiday news to the Aiken-Augusta area.  But
the jobs and investment the region covets might never materialize.  With at...

17) Uranium Mill near Canon City, Colo., Seeks to Reopen BY By George Lane,
The Denver Post  Jan. 7--The Cotter uranium mill outside Canon City, which
generated a number of complaints and lawsuits before and after it closed
more than 10 years ago, is involved in final licensing that could lead to
resuming operations later this year.  The owners of the mill, which ended...

18) BBC Summary of World Broadcasts January 8, 1999 HEADLINE: Anti-nuclear
activists campaign against France-Japan shipments SOURCE: Source:  Excerpt
from report by Radio New Zealand International on 7th January Japanese [as
heard] anti-nuclear activists are in Fiji in a bid to get support for their
campaign against shipments of plutonium from France to Japan via the...

19) 01/07 Compromise Seen On German Govt Row On Nuclear Reprocess BONN
(Dow Jones)--A compromise within the German government over the issue
of abandoning nuclear reprocessing seems to be emerging, the
spokesman for the Environment Ministry told Dow Jones Newswires
Thursday. It appears that  the government has found a way that is
politically acceptable to everyone," the...

20) U.S. to pay for remaining fuel oil owed N. Korea WASHINGTON, Jan. 7
(Kyodo) -- The U.S. government has granted an additional 12 million dollars
in funding for fuel oil promised under a 1994 deal aimed at thwarting a
suspected nuclear weapons program in North Korea, government officials said
Wednesday. The money will be used to purchase the remaining 110,000 tons of...

 NUCLEAR WEAPONS & MILITARY 

21) No. 04 January 7, 1999 ISSN 1521-9402 Radioactive Waste Ground Water Can
Transport Plutonium, National Laboratory Researchers Report By Cheryl Hogue
The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., Washington D.C. Ground water can
transport plutonium, researchers reported Jan. 7, saying this factor should
be considered when selecting underground storage sites for radioactive...

22) China envoy raps U.S. demand for N. Korea inspection SEOUL, Jan. 7 (Kyodo)
Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Wu Dawei  accused the United States of
going beyond international norms in  pressuring North Korea into opening an
alleged underground nuclear site  to outside inspection, the Korea Herald
reported Thursday. No country in the international community is entitled, or...

23) 01/07 REPEAT:WSJ:Unscom Inspectors Used US Gear To Tap Iraq D By
Thomas E. Ricks & Robert S. Greenberger Staff Reporters  WASHINGTON
(Dow Jones) -- United Nations weapons inspectors in Iraq last year
employed a sophisticated eavesdropping device that automatically
transmitted signals from Saddam Hussein's presidential communications
network to the U.S. National Security...

24) 01/07 China/Data/U.S./Warhead -2: American Scientist Top Susp By
Carla Anne Robbins Staff Reporter Of The Wall Street Journal
WASHINGTON  -- China received secret design information for the most
modern U.S. nuclear warhead, and U.S. officials say the top suspect
is an American scientist working at a U.S. Department of Energy
weapons laboratory. The FBI is still investigating...

25) Pakistan Proposes Restraint Regime With India  NEW DELHI (Jan. 7) XINHUA
- Pakistan has offered to discuss a regime of restraint with India in both
conventional and nuclear fields to minimize the risk of accidents and an
unfettered arms race in South  Asia. In an interview with the Press Trust of
India (PTI) here Thursday,  Pakistan High Commissioner to India Ashraf...

 OCEANS 

(GREENPEACE)
26) National Post Thursday, January 7, 1999 National News A4 Seal quota
satisfies hunters but angers environmentalists: Herd healthy: Anderson BY
Robert Fife, Ottawa Bureau Chief  Canada has set the 1999 seal hunt kill at
the same level as last year's quota of 275,000 seals -- a  move that
prompted angry reaction from animal-rights groups but was warmly  applauded...

27) 01/07 Activists Alarmed By Delay In Gray Whale Migration By Michael
Christie MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican environmentalists said
Thursday they were alarmed by a delay in the arrival of migrating
gray whales and feared world climate changes could be jeopardizing
the survival of the giant mammals. The "Grupo de los Cien" (Group of
One Hundred) ecological body said...

28) BBC Online January 7, 1999 - Bering Sea changes baffle scientists White-
sided dolphins were just one sign of unusual change in the Bering Sea  By
Environment Correspondent Alex Kirby   Marine biologists are puzzled by a
series of abnormal conditions which have affected the Bering Sea, between
Alaska and Siberia, during the last two summers.  The changes observed...

29) Washington Post - At Sea, the Catchword Is Conservation New Rules Force
Fisheries to Reduce Destructive 'Bycatch' By Joby Warrick Thursday, January
7, 1999; Page A01  DULAC,  La.—Albert  "Jacko" Darda, Cajun-bred
skipper of the shrimp boat  "Misty  Morn,"  reaches for his captain's
log and thumbs randomly through two  years of  torment at the hands
of the creature he...

 ATMOSPHERE & ENERGY 

30) January 7, 1999 No. 04 ISSN 1521-9402 Climate Change Temperature Rise
Increasingly Linked To Humans, Meteorological Group Chief Says by The Bureau
of National Affairs, Inc., Washington D.C. A rise in global temperature
increasingly will be attributed to human activity unless scientists can make
a "persuasive case" that natural fluctuations are to blame, the president of...

31) Calgary Herald Thursday, January 7, 1999 Final Business F1/FRONT Crazy
Kyoto deal threatens BY Barry Nelson, Calgary Herald Most Canadians are
blissfully unaware of the financial pounding we may be about to take. Get
ready to have the government limit families to driving one small car.  Get
ready for colder houses and higher taxes. Get ready for a doubling of fuel...

32) The Canberra Times January 7, 1999, Thursday Edition SECTION: Part A;
Page 2 HEADLINE: THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT YOU DIDN'T EXPECT...ICE BYLINE: NAOMI
MAPSTONE  BODY: Greenhouse-gas emissions that helped make 1998 Australia's
hottest year on  record could also accelerate the coming of a new ice age,
University of  Queensland climatologist Andris Aulicems said yesterday. Ice...

33) BBC Online, January 7, 1999 Long, thin and wispy Clouds may exacerbate
global warming The condensation trails left in the sky by high-flying
aircraft could be increasing the amount of cloud cover around the globe.
This is the conclusion of a French scientist who has compared the increase
in air traffic with the apparent increase in the occurrence of cirrus...

34) 01/07/99 Calif. Farm Losses Are Over $1 Bil. By CHRISTINE HANLEY
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) From El Nino's cotton-soaking spring deluges to a
fruit-killing Christmas freeze, with all sorts of crop damage in
between, 1998 was a year of monumental havoc for  California 
agriculture. Farmers, who like fishermen are at the mercy of the
weather but also are heavily insured, have...

35) Vic: Green energy plan stymied by tribunal decision BYLINE: By Heather
Gallagher BODY: MELBOURNE, Jan 7 AAP - Plans for a wind farm that would have
provided "green" electricity to thousands of homes across Eastern Australia
were stymied by a tribunal decision today. Local  residents and the National
Trust had said the proposed farm, at Portland, in south-western Victoria,...

36) Xinhua General News Service HEADLINE: china to build tidal energy power
station beijing, january DATELINE: tidal energy power station beijing,
january 7 ; ITEM NO: 0107111  BODY: china and the european union are to
cooperate in building a 10 million yuan ( 1.2 million u.s. dollars ) tidal
energy power station off the coast of zhejiang province, east china....

 TERRESTRIAL ECOLOGY 

37) Vancouver Sun Thursday, January 7, 1999 Final Business F2 Private-land
environment deal struck: Results-based logging regulations will be
introduced in exchange for tax breaks. BY  Gordon Hamilton, Sun Forestry
Reporter  The B.C. government has made a deal with private land-owners to
introduce environmental regulations on private forest lands in exchange for...

38) The Canberra Times January 7, 1999, Thursday Edition SECTION: Part A; Page
2 HEADLINE:  FIREFIGHTERS HOPE TO CONTAIN KOSCIUSZKO FIRE OVERNIGHT
BODY: The  National Parks and Wildlife Service was hopeful a fire in
Kosciuszko National Park would be contained last night, it said. The
service's  Snowy Mountains region acting operations commander, Dave
Darlington, said  the...

39) Business Day (South Africa) January 7, 1999 SECTION: Companies & Markets;
Pg. 7 HEADLINE: FOOTNOTES - SAFCOL SALE  MUST BE FAST-TRACKED BYLINE: Robyn
Chalmers BODY: STATE-owned  forests,  notably the former homeland  forests,
are in for a long-awaited overhaul  which will have far-reaching effects on
the forestry sector as a whole. Driving the changes are the landmark...

40) New Straits Times (Malaysia) January 7, 1999 SECTION: National; Pg. 6
HEADLINE: Satellite monitoring of protected areas ordered BYLINE: By Esther
Tan DATELINE: Kuala Lumpur  BODY: KUALA  LUMPUR, Wed. - The Cabinet today
directed the Malaysian Centre for Remote Sensing (Macres) to use the
satellite to monitor all environmentally sensitive and protected areas. This...

41) THE NATION (BANGKOK) January 7, 1999 SECTION: News HEADLINE: It's mob
versus mob as villagers fight dam BODY: The authorities are using organised
mobs to stifle protests against the Prong Khun Petch dam. On Nov 9,
officials led a group of 300 people to villages which oppose the Prong Khun
Petch (PKP) dam project in Chaiyaphum.  According to the official account,...

 GENETIC ENGINEERING 

42) BUSINESS LINE January  7, 1999 SECTION: Business HEADLINE: India-Food
self- sufficiency claim is myth' BODY: CHENNAI, Jan. GENETIC research and
release of  genetically  modified organisms (GMOs). Yes, but with a
precautionary package' to deal with environmental and sociological impact,
was the opinion by eminent scientists at the inaugural session of the
National Consultation...

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