Global News Headlines 08/30

[greenbas@gb.greenpeace.org]

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Greenpeace Daily Environmental News Headlines
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Monday, August 30, 1999
Greenbase Unit
Greenpeace International
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 TOXICS 

1) FEATURE - Israel, Palestinians battle over toxic waste By Sofia Javed
JERUSALEM, Aug 31 (Reuters) The 8,000 Palestinians of Azzoun village get
their drinking water from a well just 50 metres (yards) from where hundreds
of barrels of toxic waste were dumped last year. Azzoun is one of many West
Bank sites used by industries, most of them Israeli, for the cheap and...

2) 08/30 CAMPAIGNERS HIT OUT AT CEMENT WASTE BURNING By Brian Farmer, PA
News Environmental campaigners have condemned the Government for
failing to monitor and control the burning of toxic waste at cement
plants. They say that despite promises made before the General
Election, Labour is allowing more waste to be burned by cement
companies and that health authorities are...

3) USA TODAY Aug 30, 99 FIRST EDITION SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 1A HEADLINE: Toughest
decisions still to come in pesticide review Congress wanted the rules
updated, but politics slowing process BYLINE: Peter Eisler BODY: WASHINGTON
-- The vote in Congress was nearly unanimous. It was time, lawmakers agreed,
to rewrite the law on pesticide use and apply new science to an old...

4) EU to check Belgian claims on Danish, Dutch meat BRUSSELS, Aug 30
(Reuters) The European Commission said on Monday it would analyse evidence
from Belgium that meat exported from Denmark to the United States showed
signs of dioxin contamination. According to a report sent by Belgium to the
Commission on Friday, U.S. authorities found high levels of PCBs...

5) MASS DEATH OF SEABIRDS IN RUSSIAN FAR EAST PUZZLES AUTHORITIES BODY:
YUZHNOSAKHALINSK. Aug 30 Interfax-Eurasia- Many dozens of dead seabirds have
been reported on the southern coast of the Russian Far Eastern island of
Sakhalin, local environmental protection authorities told Interfax on
Monday. People started reporting large numbers of dead birds at the Aniva...

 NUCLEAR POWER 

6) Structural defect cause of leak at Fukui nuclear plant FUKUI, Japan, Aug.
30 (Kyodo) A structural defect in a heat exchanger at a nuclear power
plant in Fukui Prefecture caused greater than normal temperature
changes in primary cooling water, resulting in the massive leak last
month, Japan Atomic Power Co. said Monday. Company officials said
that the constant...

7) EU's de Palacio cautious about nuclear phase out BRUSSELS, Aug 30
(Reuters) The European Union's new Energy Commissioner said on Monday that
closing down the bloc's nuclear power stations would increase its dependence
on imported energy "spectacularly" and undermine efforts to reduce global
warming. Loyola de Palacio told a confirmation hearing at the European...

 NUCLEAR WEAPONS & MILITARY 

8) N. Korea said open to dropping missile test if sanctions ended BYLINE:
Jun Kwan-Woo DATELINE: SEOUL, Aug 30 (AFP) North Korea would be ready to
respond in "good faith" to fears over a predicted missile test if Washington
lifted economic sanctions against the famine-stricken country, a visiting US
Congressman said Monday. Pyongyang appeared to win immediate support for its...

9) The New York Times August 30, 1999, Late Edition- Final SECTION: A; Page 1;
Column 6; Foreign Desk HEADLINE: DEMOCRATS READY FOR FIGHT TO SAVE TEST BAN
TREATY BYLINE: ERIC SCHMITT DATELINE: WASHINGTON, Aug. 29 BODY: The White
House and Senate Democrats say they are preparing for a pitched battle with
the Republican-controlled Senate to save one of the top foreign policy goals...

10) BBC Online August 27, 1999 UK Sci/Tech Depleted uranium study 'shows clear
damage' Carnage on the Basra road: What damage did depleted uranium cause?
By Environment Correspondent  Alex Kirby The controversy over the reported
dangers of depleted uranium (DU) has intensified, with a Canadian study said
to show "unequivocal" evidence of damage to health.  DU is a by-product of...

 OCEANS 

11) Agence France Presse HEADLINE: Australia warns UN ruling on Japanese tuna
catch applies to others DATELINE: CANBERRA, Aug 30 BODY: A UN decision
ordering Japan to restrict its catch of southern bluefin tuna serves warning
to other nations to stick to agreements about other fish species, Australia
said Tuesday. In a weekend decision, the UN International Tribunal for the...

12) The Boston Globe Aug 30, 1999, City Edition SECTION: METRO/REGION; Pg. A1
HEADLINE: Fishermen bridle as restrictions get tougher; Supply grows; new
curbs eyed for Georges Bank BYLINE: Scott Allen, Globe Staff BODY: Five
years after the collapse of New England's famed Georges Bank fishing ground,
tough fishing restrictions are beginning to restore the cod and other fish...

 ATMOSPHERE & ENERGY 

(GREENPEACE)
13) FOCUS - Arco shareholders approve sale to BP- Amoco By Timna Tanners LOS
ANGELES, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Atlantic Richfield Co. shareholders on Monday
voted overwhelmingly in favour of selling the company to London-based BP
Amoco Plc, in a deal making the merged company the largest private-sector
oil producer in the world. The deal would forge a company worth some $190...

14) NSW: Australia to have world's first carbon credit market BYLINE: Jane
Wardell  BODY: CARBON SYDNEY, Aug 30 AAP - Australia will be home to the
world's first trading market for carbon credits with the Sydney Futures
Exchange (SFE) expecting business to begin by mid-2000. SFE chief executive
Les Hosking said the Sydney-based market could be worth as much as $ US5...

15) QLD: Greenhouse concern nothing to do with Shell sale BODY: Beattie SHELL
BEATTIE BRISBANE, Aug 30 AAP - Queensland Premier Peter Beattie today denied
greenhouse gas concerns were behind Royal Dutch Shell's decision to sell its
coal assets in Australia. Mr Beattie said he had spoken to Shell Coal's
manager earlier today and he was told the international petroleum company...

16) The Age Online August 31, 1999 $3b windfall from Kyoto gas deal By
BRENDAN NICHOLSON CANBERRA Australia stands to make a windfall national
profit of $3 billion after pleading for special treatment at the 1997 Kyoto
climate change conference, the Australia Institute said yesterday.  Dr Clive
Hamilton, the executive director of the Canberra-based liberal think-tank,...

17) BBC Online August 29, 1999 UK Sci/Tech US dustbowl fears return Drought
is already the third most severe this century By Environment Correspondent
Alex Kirby With much of the eastern side of the United States affected by a
severe drought, there is a warning that it could prove the worst in living
memory.  The drought is already the third most severe this century. But the...

18) National Post August 30, 1999 NATIONAL EDITIONS SECTION: FINANCIAL POST;
Pg. C07  EADLINE: U.S. companies consider funding police in Nigeria BYLINE:
Atiya Hussain DATELINE: NEW YORK BODY: NEW  YORK - U.S. oil companies doing
business in Nigeria are considering an unusual and potentially controversial
role in the West African country --providing funding and training to police....

 TERRESTRIAL ECOLOGY 

19) The Vancouver Sun August 30, 1999, FINAL SECTION: Editorial; A10 HEADLINE:
A hit and a miss for environmental law: David Anderson quickly pushed
forward plans to protect endangered species habitat, while considering
economic impacts. But he seems less interested in a toxic substances law.
BODY: David Anderson, the new federal environment minister, has wasted no...

20) Brazil state mulls suing neighbors over fire By Joelle Diderich BRASILIA,
Aug 30 (Reuters) - A Brazilian Amazon state wants to sue its neighbours for
damages after massive forest fires sent a thick cloud of smoke in its
direction, preventing planes from landing and making scores of children ill.
The westernmost state of Acre, on Brazil's border with Peru and Bolivia, is...

 GENETIC ENGINEERING 

21) BusinessWorld August 30, 1999, SECTION: Pg. 2 HEADLINE: GM corn field tests
approved without contingency plans? BYLINE: Earl Warren B. Castillo BODY:
Two multinational agribusiness firms which have been allowed to conduct
field experiments on the cultivation of genetically modified corn have not
prepared emergency plans to contain possible" environmental disasters."...

(GREENPEACE)
22) S.Korean firms go into GMO research amid concerns SEOUL, Aug 30 (Reuters)
South Korea's seed firms said on Monday that with the help of government
subsidies they planned to develop genetically modified organisms (GMOs), an
increasingly controversial technique as consumers raise concerns about
possible risks. The country's parliament enacted a law for labelling GMOs on...

 OTHERS 

(GREENPEACE)
23) The Sunday Times Online August 29 1999 AUSTRALASIA Eco-warriors target
millennium dawn 'ice rave' in Antarctica Paul Ham Sydney MILLENNIUM
revellers watching the dawn of the new century in Antarctica from a flotilla
of luxury liners and hastily refurbished Russian icebreakers are to be
targeted by  environmentalists, who will be in no mood to celebrate. In what...

24) The Age Online August 31, 1999 Green warning for export firms By CLAIRE
MILLER ENVIRONMENT REPORTER  Australian industries could face increasing
barriers  overseas unless they embraced international standards for
environment-friendly goods and services, a report released yesterday says.
The report warns that Australia lags behind other developed nations in...

25) Reuters New hybrid corn seen helping cut water pollution USA: August 30,
1999 CHICAGO - A new hybrid corn that could help reduce water
pollution could be on the market by 2001, a grain company executive
said.  The corn, which is designed to increase the amount of
phosphorus that poultry and livestock can digest, is currently in the
final growing and feed testing...

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