Global News Headlines 01/20

[greenbas@gb.greenpeace.org]

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Greenpeace Daily Environmental News Headlines
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Wednesday, January 20, 1999
Greenbase Unit
Greenpeace International
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 TOXICS 

1) America's poor have excess cancer burden - study By Maggie Fox,
WASHINGTON, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Blacks, Hispanics and other minority groups
-- including white people who are poor -- bear the highest burden of cancer
in the United States, a panel of experts said in a report issued on
Wednesday. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), the  government-funded
medical research...

2) Y2K BUG COULD SHUT DOWN CHEMICAL WARFARE INCINERATORS By William Thomas
WASHINGTON, DC, January 19, 1999 (ENS) - Ignoring a looming computer crisis
could see the shutdown of at least one U.S. Army chemical warfare disposal
site at a cost of $2 million a week, according to a recently released
Defense Department report cited by Federal Computer Week.  The Pentagon's...

3) California Oil Companies Sued by Environmental Group Over Fuel Leaks By
Paul Rogers, San Jose Mercury News, Calif.  Jan. 20--A Bay Area
environmental group Tuesday sued California's 14 largest oil companies,
seeking billions of dollars in fines and cleanup costs related to gasoline
leaks from underground tanks at service stations, refineries, pipelines and
other...

4) OTC  01/20 AN ECOLOGICAL CATASTROPHE HAPPENED DEC. 21 IN ...ST.PETERSBURG,
RUSSIA. A dam burst at Syasky Pulp and Paper Plant and thousands cubic
meters of industrial wastewater dumped into the Syas river flowing into
Ladoga Lake. Shortly after the accident regional administration cut water
supply to residential area. Thousands of people were forced to get drinking...

5) Agence France Presse HEADLINE: Russia spy BYLINE: Marina Lapenkova ATELINE:
MOSCOW, Jan 20  BODY: The trial of military journalist Grigory Pasko,
accused of high treason, resumes Thursday in Vladivostok as part of a war
the Russian secret services have declared on militant ecologists. Colonel
Pasko, 34, reported that Russia's Pacific Fleet, based in the far east port...

6) Cambodian court orders release of rights workers PHNOM PENH, Jan 20
(Reuters) - A Cambodian court on Wednesday ordered the release of two human
rights workers detained last month during violent protests against the
dumping of toxic waste imported from Taiwan. An appeals court judge in Phnom
Penh said evidence was insufficient to keep the pair in detention and...

 NUCLEAR POWER 

7) The Guardian (London) January 20, 1999 SECTION: The Guardian Home Page;
Pg. 3 HEADLINE: Nuclear fuel ships to be armed with heavy guns; Weapons and
police crew to protect against hijack threat BYLINE: Paul Brown Environment
Correspondent BODY: TWO ships belonging to British Nuclear Fuels are to be
fitted with heavy-calibre guns and carry an armed crew of specially trained...

8) 01/20 Bulgaria N-plant safe from new Danube oil spill SOFIA, Bulgaria
(Reuters) - Bulgaria's Civil Defense on Wednesday reported a 4.3 mile
oil spill floating downstream on the Danube River, the third within a
week. The slick will not affect the operation of the Kozloduy nuclear
power plant located on the river bank, Civil Defense said. "All
measures have been taken...

9) German states oppose early nuclear waste return ENDS Daily - 18/01/99 The
German regional governments of North Rhine  Westphalia and Lower Saxony are
to mount "massive resistance" to the early return of highly radioactive
waste from temporary storage at nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities in the
UK and France, according to a report in today's S ddeutsche Zeitung...

10) AP Worldstream Jan 20, 1999 HEADLINE: France sees compromise with Germany
over nuclear reprocessing DATELINE: PARIS BODY: France's industry secretary
said Wednesday he was confident a compromise would be reached with Germany
to ease the impact of its decision to stop sending spent  nuclear  fuel out
of the country for reprocessing. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and his...

11) Financial Times (London) January 20, 1999, LONDON EDITION 2 SECTION:
EUROPE; Pg. 03 HEADLINE: BNFL warns Bonn in nuclear dispute BODY: British
Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) last night threatened to take German authorities to
court if German ministers proceed with plans to repudiate  nuclear  fuel
reprocessing contracts worth L1.2bn  to the British group, Andrew Taylor and...

12) AMERISCAN: JANUARY 19, 1999 LATEST VERSION OF "MOBILE CHERNOBYL" OPPOSED
The Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS), a Washington, DC based
nuclear watchdog group, is organizing a campaign against the latest bill
introduced in Congress to move nuclear waste to a central storage facility
from power plants across the country. NIRS is urging calls and letters,...

13) NT: Charges against Jabiluka protesters could be dropped BYLINE: Wayne
Howell BODY: DARWIN, Jan 20 AAP - Trespass charges against dozens of
protesters arrested during demonstrations against the Jabiluka uranium mine
in the Northern Territory could be dropped because of court delays. The
Territory's court system is struggling to deal with 118 protesters who were...

 NUCLEAR WEAPONS & MILITARY 

14) 01/20 Russia Says Will Study U.S. Nuclear Aid Proposal MOSCOW
(Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov gave a cautious
welcome Wednesday to a proposal by President Clinton to increase U.S.
aid for maintaining the security of Moscow's nuclear capabilities. We
are ready to study the proposals attentively," Ivanov told a joint
news conference with visiting...

15) Russian officials worried by military  complacency over Y2K BODY: By
Nicolas Miletitch MOSCOW, Jan 20 (AFP) The Russian military is ill-prepared
for the "millennium bug" computer problem linked to the arrival of 2000, a
senior official said  Wednesday, but the rest of the country will cope with
the date change. Military complacency is the main headache of the State...

16) 01/20 INDIA PLEDGES NO MORE NUCLEAR BOMB TESTS By Andrew Woodcock, PA
News India pledged today not to carry out any further nuclear bomb
tests in the run-up to the introduction of a Comprehensive Test Ban
Treaty (CTBT) in the sub-continent, said Foreign Office minister
Derek Fatchett. Mr Fatchett met Brajesh Mishra, security adviser to
Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari...

17) The Christian Science Monitor Jan 20, 1999, SECTION: WORLD; GLOBAL REPORT;
Pg. 1 HEADLINE: A tech-linked world faces 'Y2K' BYLINE: Laurent Belsie,
DATELINE: BOSTON HIGHLIGHT: Beyond the hype, signs of progress against a
computer 'bug' many expect to hit when the year 2000  dawns. BODY: In the
first few seconds after midnight Jan. 1, 2000, the world will hold its...

18) Jane's Information Group Foreign Report Jan 21, 1999 SECTION: No. 2528
HEADLINE: Israel, Russia and Iran BODY:ISRAEL, complaining that Russian
scientists are providing Iran with nuclear know-how, has frozen its military
relationship with the Russian Federation, according to a well-placed Israeli
source. The information that Israel has obtained about Iran was handed to...

 OCEANS 

19) VIC: Abalone poaching "out of control"  BODY: MELBOURNE, Jan 21 AAP -
Fisheries  officers, police and industry groups have warned abalone poaching
this summer is out of control and threatening the $300 million legal
industry with collapse. The Herald Sun also reports today that beachgoers
coming across poachers on deserted beaches have been threatened and told to...

20) Lobstermen Sue Shipping Company for Rhode Island Oil Spill Damages BY
Elizabeth Abbott, Providence Journal-Bulletin, R.I.  Jan. 20--Yesterday was
the third anniversary of the worst oil spill in Rhode Island's history. It
didn't go unnoticed by the Rhode Island Lobstermen's Association.  At a news
conference on the steps of the federal courthouse, the group announced it...

21) The Daily Yomiuri Jan 21, 1999, SECTION: Pg. 3 HEADLINE: Okinawa mangroves
said threatened by ecotourism BYLINE: Yomiuri DATELINE: NAHA Society  BODY:
Coastal mangrove trees on Iriomotejima island, Okinawa Prefecture, are dying
because large waves from high-speed sightseeing boats are washing away the
mud around their roots, it was learned Wednesday. With so-called ecotourism...

 ATMOSPHERE & ENERGY 

(GREENPEACE)
22) Greenpeace in court to stop BP Alaska plan LONDON, Jan 20 (Reuters)
Environmental group Greenpeace said on Wednesday it was taking court action
in Alaska to stop the construction of BP Amoco's Northstar project in the
Arctic Ocean. The activist group said in a statement it had filed a suit in
Anchorage, calling for a stay against the Alaska Department of Natural...

23) The Ottawa Citizen January 20, 1999 Final News A17 A cheer for global
warming: With another ice age on the way, the greenhouse effect may offer
relief BY Tim Patterson and Tom Harris Every day we read predictions of
impending environmental catastrophe.  Headlines exclaim: ``July '98 warmest
month in Earth's history,'' ``Planet not this warm in 600 years'' and...

24) Volume 77 Number 12 January 20, 1999 ELECTRONIC OILGRAM NEWS ELF CONFIRMS
THREE NEW GAS FINDS IN NETHERLANDS NORTH SEA Paris-Elf Aquitaine said Jan 18
that Elf Petroland had made three new gas discoveries in the Dutch sector of
the North Sea on blocks K4a, K4b and F15a. It said the K4F gas field on
block K4a will be developed along with another in K1a. The two other fields...

25) Volume 77 Number 12 January 20, 1999 ELECTRONIC OILGRAM NEWS JUDGE SAYS
FEDERAL ROYALTY CASE TO STAND  Washington-A federal court has refused to
dismiss a  case brought by two private parties alleging that 18 major oil
companies underpaid federal royalties.  The decision, handed down Jan 14 in
US District Court in Lufkin, Texas, means the private party action will be...

26) Agence France Presse HEADLINE: Argentina oil spill causes serious
ecological damage DATELINE: BUENOS AIRES, Jan 20 BODY: Last week's oil spill
in the Rio de la Plata estuary will have a serious impact on area plant and
animal life, an environmental official said Wednesday. Some 250,000 liters
(65,000 gallons) of crude petroleum leaked from a Liberian oil tanker...

27) Agence France Presse HEADLINE: Laos, World Bank to study impact of
multibillion dollar dam DATELINE: VIENTIANE, Jan 20 BODY:The Lao government,
the World Bank and investors in a multi-billion dollar hydro-electric power
plan will Thursday take a final look at the environmental and social costs
of the project. A two-day public consultation on the Nam Theun 2 hydro power...

 TERRESTRIAL ECOLOGY 

28) Vancouver Sun Jan 20, 1999 Final Business D1/FRONT Forest industry praises
changes to logging policy: Provincial government moves will reduce costs,
put workers back on job, COFI says BY Gordon Hamilton, Sun Forestry Reporter
B.C. Forests Minister David Zirnhelt unveiled a package of changes to
government logging policies Tuesday that industry leaders say will put some...

29) Vancouver Sun January 20, 1999 Final Editorial A11 Trees and jobs: We have
a plan: Fundamental change -- not another Royal Commission -- is the answer
to B.C.'s forest industry crisis.  Some possible solutions are suggested by
the highly effective small community-based logging companies that have
avoided the mistakes of large corporate concerns. BY Jim Fulton  We can all...

30) Save Tiger campaign launched in Britain By Michael Steen LONDON,  Jan 20
(Reuters) The world's 5000 remaining wild tigers are verging on extinction,
a British minister said on Wednesday as he launched a United Nations
campaign to quash a trade in tiger parts ranging from whiskers to penises.
These animals face a direct threat from poachers who kill them to supply...

31) Financial Times (London) Jan 20, 1999, LONDON EDITION 2 SECTION:COMMODITIES
& AGRICULTURE; Pg. 38 HEADLINE: India sees its opportunity as medicine
returns to roots: Commercial demand for herbal remedies means the production
of medicinal plants must be regulated, writes Kunal Bose: BODY: India has
been using medi cines derived from plant extracts for more than 5,000 years...

 GENETIC ENGINEERING 

32) CANBERRA, Jan 20 AAP - Australia risked becoming irrelevant in the coming
century unless it matched the massive amounts being spent by other countries
on research into genetic modification, scientists said today. The Federation
of Australian Scientific and Technological Societies (FASTS) called on Prime
Minister John Howard to invest as much as other governments into...

33) Financial Times (London) Jan 20, 1999, LONDON EDITION 1 SECTION: NATIONAL
NEWS; Pg. 12 HEADLINE: Adviser rejects official findings NEWS DIGEST BODY:
GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS Adviser rejects official findings A member of an
official scientific advisory committee yesterday distanced herself from its
findings on a genetically modified crop, urging the government to reject...

 OTHERS 

34) Jane's Information Group Foreign Report Jan 21, 1999 SECTION: No. 2528
HEADLINE: Behave yourselves BODY: new code of conduct requiring
multinational companies to operate ethically in developing countries has
been agreed by the European Parliament in Strasbourg. Its promoters claim it
will ensure acceptable health and safety conditions in the workplace,...

35) Deutsche Presse-Agentur Jan 20, 1999 HEADLINE: Bonn wants G8 to forgive
100 per cent of poor nations' debt DATELINE: Bonn BODY: Germany plans
to seek major debt reduction for poor countries at the June summit of
the Group of Eight (G8) nations in Cologne, Bonn's development aid
minister said Wednesday. The initiative's goal is to cut or eliminate
crippling debt of...

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