Global News Headlines 04/14

[greenbas@gb.greenpeace.org]

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Greenpeace Daily Environmental News Headlines
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Wednesday, July 14, 1999
Greenbase Unit
Greenpeace International
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 TOXICS 

(GREENPEACE)
1) Deutsche Presse-Agentur July 14, 1999 HEADLINE: India  allowing import of
toxic wastes: Greenpeace DATELINE: New Delhi BODY: The international
environmental watchdog Greenpeace Wednesday accused the Indian government of
allowing the import of toxic wastes, thereby disobeying the orders of the
country's supreme court. In a statement, Greenpeace said a recent government...

(GREENPEACE)
2) GREENPEACE INDIA CRITICISES WB FOR FINANCING ... NEW DELHI, Jul 15, 1999
(Asia Pulse via COMTEX) India is among 20 countries that World Bank (WB) is
helping to procure medical waste incinerators, which environmental activists
like Greenpeace criticise for producing toxic pollution. "Citizen groups and
communities in India must be warned about the WB's complicity to poison us...

(GREENPEACE)
3) APW July 13, 1999 DATELINE: SAO PAULO, Brazil BODY: The Environmental
Protection Agency of the state of Sao Paulo Tuesday said it would conduct a
series of tests to determine if 500,000 tons of lime produced by the local
subsidiary of Solvay, a Belgian chemical and pharmaceutical company, are
contaminated  with dioxin. The possible presence of the cancer-causing...

4) Thai NGO demands U.S. action on Agent Orange BANGKOK, July 14 (Kyodo) A
group of 22 Thai nongovernmental organizations (NGO) gathered in front of
the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok on Wednesday to demand the United States take
responsibility for the  defoliant known as Agent Orange found buried at a
southern Thai airport  March 19. The U.S. military and government should...

5) 07/14  WSJE:Belgian Officials Blame Dioxin Scare On Transformer Oil
By Sarah E. Richards Special to The Wall Street Journal Europe 
HEESTERT, Belgium --Investigators still haven't pinpointed how toxic
dioxin made its way into Belgian chickens, but fat- melter
Jean-Pierre Berton thinks he's solved the mystery. Belgian officials
believe that dioxin-laden oil from an...

 NUCLEAR POWER 

(GREENPEACE)
6) United Press International HEADLINE: Greenpeace: Turks oppose nuclear plant
DATELINE: TORONTO, July 13 BODY: The environmental advocacy group Greenpeace
says a poll it conducted in two villages near a proposed nuclear power site
in Turkey showed that a majority of the local people opposed having the
reactors there. Greenpeace spokesman Mark Calzavara said today the poll was...

7) Turks cannot postpone nuclear bid decision- minister ANKARA, July 14
(Reuters) - Turkey can no longer postpone a long-delayed decision on bids to
build its first nuclear power plant on the Mediterranean coast, the energy
minister warned on Wednesday. The option period for the participant
companies will expire on October 15 and we have have to decide by then,"...

8) Full sale of British Nuclear Fuels possible-DTI LONDON, July 14 (Reuters)
The British government has not ruled out a complete privatisation of state-
owned reprocessing and power generation company British Nuclear Fuels, a
spokesman at the Department of Trade and Industry said on Wednesday. We have
not ruled out an eventual sale of the 51 percent the government intends...

9) Fukui plant radiation level rose 250 times above limit TSURUGA, Japan,
July 14 (Kyodo) -- Japan Atomic Power Co. said  Wednesday the contamination
level following a leak of radioactive water in its Tsuruga nuclear power
plant Monday registered a maximum of 250 times above upper radiation limits.
Company officials said the leak of cooling water had contaminated all  three...

10) Mainichi Daily News July 14, 1999 SECTION: Page 14; DOMESTIC HEADLINE:
Utility failed to check suspect pipe at N-plant BODY: Mainichi Shimbun
TSURUGA, Fukui -- A nuclear power company neglected to regularly examine a
reactor pipe from which cooling water leaked, although a coolant leakage
occurred from the same type of pipe in 1996, company official said on...

11) RENEWABLE ENERGIES DOWNPLAYED IN U.S. GOVERNMENT REPORTS  By Bill Eggertson
WASHINGTON, DC, July 13, 1999 (ENS) - Only half the renewable energy that is
produced and consumed in the United States is ever reflected in official
government reports. A lack of consistent historical data collection prior to
1998 means that an estimated 3.2 quadrillion Btu (QBtu) of renewable
energy...

12) National Post Wednesday, July 14, 1999 National News A1/FRONT Canada set
to block reactor sale to Iran: U.S.: 'They'll find some reason' BY Robert
Fife Ottawa Bureau Chief  OTTAWA - The United States has received strong
assurances that Canada will block the proposed sale of a Canadian nuclear
fusion reactor and related technology to Iran, American officials say.  A...

 NUCLEAR WEAPONS & MILITARY 

13) THE RUSSIAN BUSINESS MONITOR July 14, 1999 SECTION: ENVIRONMENTAL WATCH
HEADLINE: PENZA WATER SUPPLY CONTAMINATED BY CHEMICAL WEAPONS SOURCE:
Izvestia, July 13, 1999, p. 2 BODY: Russia keeps 17% of all its chemical
weapons at a storage facility near the village of Leonidovka, 20 kilometers
from the city of Penza. Forty years ago some of the ordnance was "handled":...

14) Japan warns N. Korea with tougher sanctions TOKYO, July 14 (Kyodo) Japan
has drawn up a set of tougher sanctions such as banning remittance of
financial funds should North Korea go ahead with its suspected plan to test-
fire a ballistic missile, government sources said Wednesday. Tokyo conveyed
its policy of imposing tougher sanctions to Pyongyang  after consulting with...

15) The Christian Science Monitor July 14, 1999 SECTION: WORLD; Pg. 1 HEADLINE:
India and Pakistan - now pausing  to rearm? BYLINE: Robert Marquand, Staff
writer of The Christian Science Monitor DATELINE: NEW DELHI HIGHLIGHT:
Kashmir conflict leaves both countries questioning the quality of their
weapons  BODY: With a rough mid-summer peace between India and Pakistan at...

 OCEANS 

(GREENPEACE)
16) EUR: Greenpeace files criminal charges against whaling skipper BODY:
SYDNEY, July 14 AAP - Greenpeace has filed criminal charges against the
skipper of a Norwegian whaler which allegedly shot at a protest boat with an
Australian woman aboard. Under Norwegian law, individuals can file criminal
charges against other individuals or organisations, Greenpeace spokesman...

17) 07/14 THREATS OVER SHELLFISH WATER QUALITY PUZZLE UK By Geoff Meade,
European Editor, PA News, in Brussels The Government tonight
dismissed EU threats of legal action over shellfish water quality -
accusing Brussels of ignoring comprehensive new measures announced in
Britain only a week ago. The Commission has triggered the first stage
of moves to put the UK in the...

18) Japan Economic Newswire HEADLINE: APEC agrees to deal with loophole in
tuna fishing DATELINE: SENDAI, July 14 Kyodo BODY: Twelve members of the
Asia- Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum agreed Wednesday to try to
eliminate tuna fishing by pelagic longline boats registered in countries not
subject to international rules on tuna fishing, officials said. Japan had...

19) U.S. to buy $12 million of salmon to aid fishermen WASHINGTON, July 14
(Reuters) The United States will buy up to $12 million worth of salmon to
help fishermen expected to suffer because of low market prices for this
year's catch, the U.S. Agriculture Department said Wednesday. Salmon prices
are under pressure from by large supplies left over from last year and...

 ATMOSPHERE & ENERGY 

(GREENPEACE)
20) QLD: Millmerran will add to Kyoto non-compliance: Greenpeace BYLINE: Selina
Day  BODY: BRISBANE, July 14 AAP - A new $1.4 billion coal-fired power
station in south-east Queensland would further hinder Australia's prospects
of meeting its Kyoto commitments, Greenpeace said today. And the state
government's endorsement of the Millmerran project flew in the face of its...

21) INDIAN MEDICAL ASSN CAMPAIGNS AGAINST DIESEL USE ... NEW DELHI, Jul 15,
1999 (Asia Pulse via COMTEX) The Indian Medical Association (IMA) on
Tuesday supported the campaign against diesel cars, led by the Centre
for Science and Environment (CSE) by raising concern over the growing
diseases caused by air pollution. Scientific evidence on the harmful
effects of small...

22) 07/14  DJ U.S. Environmentalists Decry Coal-Burning Power Plants
WASHINGTON (AP) Reliance on cheaper, coal-burning power plants by
electric utilities because of price competition has substantially
increased air pollution, two environmental groups charged Wednesday.
A 16% increase in electricity production from coal-burning power
plants from 1992 and 1997...

23) Agence France Presse HEADLINE: Fires and locusts ravage Russian taiga
DATELINE: MOSCOW, July 14  BODY: Fires and locusts have ravaged tens of
thousands of hectares (acres) of the taiga, as natural disasters mount in
Russia's worst heatwave this century, ITAR-TASS reported Wednesday. Fires
have destroyed some 31,000 hectares (77,000 acres) of the taiga, a huge belt...

24) National Post July 14, 1999 NATIONAL EDITIONS SECTION: FINANCIAL POST;
Pg. C05 HEADLINE: Generating green power in Alberta: Wind power catches new
gust BYLINE: Maureen MacNeill DATELINE: COWLEY, Alta. BODY: In the foothills
of Alberta's Rockies, 52 windmills are whirring discreetly as they chop up
the morning light. 'The wind resource here is excellent. It's steady and not...

 TERRESTRIAL ECOLOGY 

25) U.S. says EU trying to undermine farm trade talks By Donna Smith
WASHINGTON, July 14 (Reuters) - U.S. trade officials said on Wednesday the
European Union was trying to bury farm trade issues in upcoming world trade
liberalization talks in an effort to avoid changing its agriculture
policies. Undersecretary of Commerce David Aaron and Deputy Trade...

(GREENPEACE)
26) The Vancouver Sun July 14, 1999, FINAL SECTION: Business; D1/Front
HEADLINE: Weyerhaeuser sticking with MB's phase-out of clearcutting BYLINE:
Gordon Hamilton, Sun Forestry Reporter BODY: Weyerhaeuser Ltd. said Tuesday
it is going ahead with MacMillan Bloedel's radical plan to phase out
clearcutting in the coastal forests of British Columbia if its takeover bid...

27) Indonesia probes possible graft in forestry funds JAKARTA, July 14 Reuters
Indonesia said on Wednesday it was investigating whether reforestation funds
of around two trillion rupiah ($300 million) had been improperly used by
timber tycoons close to former President Suharto.  "We are investigating the
use of reforestation funds and how they came to be given with zero percent...

28) VIC: Police restrain anti-uranium protesters BODY: MELBOURNE, July 14 AAP
- Anti-uranium protesters were restrained by police today during a march by
about 200 opponents of the planned Jabiluka uranium mine which brought
Melbourne city traffic to a standstill. The activists were inflamed by
UNESCO this week stopping short of adding the Kakadu National Park adjoining...

 GENETIC ENGINEERING 

29) The San Francisco Chronicle JULY 14, 1999 FINAL EDITION SECTION: FOOD; Pg.
2/ZZ7 HEADLINE: Organic Versus Bio-Tech in the Battle for the Belly
BYLINE: Kim Severson, Chronicle Staff Writer BODY: Next time you're
at a party with a bunch of dietitians and things get a little dull,
toss out this question: Should we genetically  alter tomatoes to give
them more cancer-fighting...

30) EU welcomes United States moves on GMOs BRUSSELS, July 14 (Reuters) The
European Commission on Wednesday welcomed suggestions by the Clinton
administration that it was planning to review its policy on foods produced
from genetically modified organisms (GMOs). U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan
Glickman said on Tuesday the United States was considering labels on some GM...

31) WSJ(7/14): USDA To Strengthen Biotechnology Oversight By Bruce Ingersoll
and Scott Kilman Staff Reporters of The Wall Street Journal WASHINGTON --
Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman announced several regulatory moves to
strengthen federal oversight of biotechnology and ensure consumer acceptance
of genetically modified foods. In a policy address yesterday, Mr. Glickman...

 OTHERS 

32) The Times (London) July 14, 1999 SECTION: Business HEADLINE: Technology
tax suggested as answer to Third World debt BYLINE: Michael Binyon  BODY:
Michael Binyon reports on a UN document with a radical approach to
alleviating world poverty. It was a sombre spectacle. Pallbearers marching
past Parliament with child sized coffins to symbolise the 13 children who...

33) Israeli environment facing collapse, says report JERUSALEM, July 14
(Reuters) - Israel's environment is teetering on the edge of collapse,
according to a report made public on Wednesday by an Israeli environmental
and economic group. Israel is 20 years behind Europe in dealing with the
environment, there's no doubt about it," said Samual Chayen, assistant to...

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