Fall 2002 Newsmagazine Volume 32, Number 3

Wind Power:Taking the World

by Storm

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P R E S I D E N T ’ S C O L U M N

We Won’t Let BigBusiness Rule the World

Our commander inchief is turning out tobe the polluter inchief. To satisfy hiscorporate contribu-

tors, President Bush has put in playthe most damaging, wide-reachingenergy legislation to be considered byCongress in a decade. If he has hisway, Congress will soon hand out bil-lions in subsidies to the dirty oil, coaland nuclear industries and only a nodto renewable energy sources such aswind and solar (see Pg. 4).

In July Congress took action toplace tougher regulations on runawaycorporations by passing the Sarbanesbill. But a few days later, oblivious tocontradictions, Congress also passeda “fast track” trade bill that is really amassive global deregulation plan.Rather than placing urgently neededcontrols on global polluters, the “fasttrack” bill actually paves the way forgiving them new tools to challengehealth and environmental regulations.

As the House and Senate finalizedthe “fast track” deal and negotiatedover crucial differences in energy leg-islation, such as oil drilling in theArctic National Wildlife Refuge,we’ve been preparing strategies forvotes this fall. And our political arm,Friends of the Earth Action, has beentargeting key congressional raceswhere we’ll send staff and financialsupport (see Pg. 13).

But the halls of Congress are farfrom the only place where we’removing forward on behalf of theenvironment. As you’ll read in thisnewsmagazine, we’re conducting

consumer campaigns, watchdogefforts and litigation strategies, withallies here and abroad. I’d like tohighlight three recent initiatives.

■ The Friends of the EarthInternational network, now in 70countries, was present in force atthe most important internationalmeeting on the environment andpoverty in a decade, to deliver themessage that “we won’t let bigbusiness rule the world.” It’s thesecond U.N. Earth summit, beingheld in Johannesburg, SouthAfrica, Aug. 26 – Sept. 4, and iscalled the World Summit onSustainable Development (see Pg. 9).

■ At a Coal Summit in WestVirginia I spoke to activists andcitizens concerned that coal com-panies are turning Appalachia intoa moonscape, through mountain-

top removal coal mining. Therogue coal companies are blowingthe tops off mountains and devas-tating streams, trees and wildlifethere. Kevin Richardson of theband Backstreet Boys testifiedbefore Congress against thisdestructive practice (see Pg. 14).Our alternative vision forAppalachia is grounded in water-shed restoration, using theabandoned mine fund for rehabili-tation activities that would createmany jobs.

■ On the U.S. Bureau ofReclamation’s 100th anniversary Iwent to Arizona to join citizenleaders in a call for the Bureau todrain manmade Lake Powell andrestore the Grand Canyon fromthe adverse impacts of the GlenCanyon Dam. The Bureau has sochoked the Colorado River withdams and drained it with diver-sions that in most years it neverreaches the sea. We need to besending the powerful signal thatthe age of pork barrel dam build-ing is over and that riverrestoration has come of age.

From the mountains of WestVirginia and the shareholder meet-ings of major polluters likeExxonMobil to a British Petroleumpipeline project in Turkey to the hallsof Congress, we are still coming upwith winning strategies to protect ourplanet. And we thank you for yourstrong support.

Brent Blackwelder

Fall 2002 • Volume 32, Number 3 3

Table of Contents

Volume 32, Number 3 Fall 2002Friends of the Earth (ISSN: 1054-1829) is published quarterly by Friends of the Earth,1025 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20005-6303, phone 202-783-7400, 877-843-8687 (toll free), fax 202-783-0444, e-mail: foe@foe.org, Web site:www.foe.org. Annual membership dues are $25, which includes a subscription to Friends ofthe Earth.

Northwest Office: 6512 23rd Avenue, NW, Suite 320, Seattle, WA 98117, phone 206-297-9460, fax 206-297-9468, e-mail: foenw@foe.org.

Northeast Office: 87 College Street, Burlington, VT 05401, phone 802-951-9094, fax 802-860-1208, e-mail: foene@foe.org.

The words “Friends of the Earth” and the FoE logo are exclusive trademarks ofFriends of the Earth, all rights reserved. Unless otherwise noted, articles may be reprintedwithout charge or special permission. Please credit Friends of the Earth and the articleauthor; send us a copy. Friends of the Earth is indexed in the Alternative Press Index.Periodicals postage paid at Washington, DC.

Postmaster: Send address changes to Friends of the Earth, Membership Dept. 1025Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20005-6303.

Board of DirectorsEd Begley, Jr.; Jayni Chase; Harriett Crosby; ClarenceDitlow; Frances Dubrowski; Dan Gabel; Alicia Gomer;Michael Herz; Ann Hoffman, Chair ; Marion Hunt-Badiner, Secretary; Doug Legum; Patricia Matthews;Avis Ogilvy Moore, Vice Chair; Charles Moore;Edwardo Lao Rhodes; Arlie Shardt; Doria Steedman;Rick Taketa; David Zwick, Treasurer

StaffBrent Blackwelder, PresidentNorman Dean, Executive DirectorSandra Adams-Morally, Membership AssociateLisa Archer, Safer Food, Safer Farms Grassroots

CoordinatorLarry Bohlen, Director, Health and Environment

CampaignsShawn Cantrell, Director, NW OfficeMichelle Chan-Fishel, International Policy AnalystHugh Cheatham, Chief Financial OfficerKeira Costic, Publications ManagerLeslie Fields, Director, International ProgramColleen Freeman, International Grassroots CoordinatorLisa Grob, Executive AssistantVonetta Harris, AccountantMark Helm, Director of Media RelationsSteve Herz, International Policy AnalystDavid Hirsch, Director, Economics for the Earth

ProgramYasmeen Hossain, Executive AssistantCheryl Johnson, Receptionist/Office AssistantDiane Minor, Director, Communications and

DevelopmentHarriet Nash, Fisheries CampaignerSherri Owens, Office ManagerChris Pabon, Director of Foundation RelationsErich Pica, Economics Policy AnalystLisa Ramirez, Policy Associate, NW OfficeJon Sohn, International Policy AnalystKristen Sykes, Interior Department WatchdogDavid Waskow, Trade and Investment Policy CoordinatorChris Weiss, Director of D.C. Environmental NetworkCarol Welch, Deputy Director, International ProgramSara Zdeb, Legislative Director

Publications StaffKeira Costic, EditorDesign by JML Design

InternsAlexis Curry, Lisa Gilbert, Laura Gintz, Beth Lander,Jeff Mittelstadt, Wai-Ling Mui, Dave Newman, ScottSilberberg, Lisette Singer, Megan Stokes

ConsultantsPiers BocockMegan HavrdaBrian DunkielBill Freese

Member GroupsArgentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium,Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon,Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica,Croatia, Curacao, Cyprus, Czech Republic,Denmark, Ecuador, El Salvador, England-Wales-Northern Ireland, Estonia, Finland,

France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada,Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy,Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia,Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritius, Nepal, Netherlands,New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, Papua NewGuinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Scotland,Sierra Leone, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea,Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Togo, Tunisia,Ukraine, United States, Uruguay.

AffiliatesAfrica: Earthlife Africa; Australia: Mineral Policy Institute;Australia: Rainforest Information Centre; Brazil: Amigosda Terra Amazonia - Amazônia Brasileira; Brazil: Grupo deTrabalho Amazonico; Czech Republic: CEE Bankwatch;Japan: Peace Boat; Latin America: REJULADS; MiddleEast: Friends of the Earth (Israel, Jordan and Palestine);Netherlands: Action for Solidarity, Equality, Environmentand Development Europe; Netherlands: Stichting DeNoordzee (North Sea Foundation); Netherlands: CorporateEurope Observatory; United States: International RiversNetwork; United States: Project Underground; UnitedStates: Rainforest Action Network

Wind Power: Taking the World by Storm . . . . . . .Pg. 4

A Visit to the Project of a Century . . . . . . . . . . . .Pg. 7

“Friend of the Earth”Awards Honor Members of Congress . . . .Pg. 8

Second U.N. Earth Summit:Sustainable Development . .Pg. 9

Genetically Engineered Corn Again Invades Food Aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Pg. 10

New Book Highlights Our Work on Safer Food . . . . .Pg. 11

Wildlife Services:A Wildlife Killer . . . . . . . . .Pg. 12

Board Members Up for Re-Election this Fall . . . . .Pg. 13

Backstreet Boy Testifies Against Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining . . . .Pg. 14

Earth Share giving campaigns allowyou to designate a donation to Friendsof the Earth. Federal employees candonate through the Combined FederalCampaign by marking #0908 ontheir pledge forms.

Friends of the Earth is printed with soy ink on 100% recycled paper, 30% post-consumer content. Bleached without chlorine.

Friends ofthe EarthInternational

UNIONBUG

By Piers Bocock

It’s no secret that our planetfaces an environmental crisis.We’re causing global climatechange with greenhousegasses; we’re desecrating natu-

ral habitats in search of limited fossilfuels such as oil, gas and coal; andwe’re scrambling to dispose of tens ofthousands of tons of radioactivenuclear waste. But what if we couldchange all that?

What if we could replace ourdependence on polluting energysources with an inexhaustible, afford-able, environmentally friendly energysource? Well, we can – with a powersource we’ve been using for more than2,000 years: wind energy.

What is Wind Energy?Wind energy is not a new concept.Boats have been powered by wind formillennia and windmills have been inuse for centuries. But today’s wind

energy is technological generationsahead of its ancestors, using turbinesto convert the natural movement of airinto electricity that feeds into aregional power grid.

Because technology has improvedand costs have been steadily declining,wind energy is the fastest growingenergy source in the world. That maybe in part because costs have droppedfrom 35 cents per killowatt hour in1980 to less than 4 cents per killowatthour now at good wind sites. Wind is

not only competitive with conventionalenergy, it’s the lowest cost optionamong all renewables – includingsolar, geothermal and biomass.

In the past two years alone, world-wide wind power production hasalmost doubled. In 2001, U.S. windcapacity increased by 66 percent to4,260 megawatts (MW), nearly 20 per-cent of global wind-power capacity.Ironically it is Texas, most often asso-ciated with oil, that had the largestincrease in wind capacity in the coun-try. The Pacific Northwest is alsorapidly adding wind power to itsenergy portfolio, with several hundredmegawatts already on line and moreunder development.

Wind: Clean & AvailableWind energy requires no combustion,and therefore creates no pollutants.Unlike coal, oil or nuclear energy,wind is both truly clean and infinitelyavailable. Because wind energy candirectly replace electricity generated

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C O V E R S T O R Y

Wind Power: Taking theWorld by Storm

U.S. 2001 ElectricalGeneration by Fuel Fuel Percent Coal 52%Nuclear 20%Gas 16%Hydro 7%Petroleum 3%Other renewables 1.7%Wind 0.3%

Every megawatt of wind-generated electricity could offset at least 1,100 pounds of carbon dioxide, but in 2001 the United States onlygenerated .3 percent of its energy from wind power.

by traditional sources, using morewind power can have a proportionaldecrease in harmful pollutants andbyproducts in the environment.According to the EnvironmentalProtection Agency, every megawatt ofwind-generated electricity offsets theequivalent of:

■ 1,100 to 2,200 pounds of carbondioxide,

■ up to 15 pounds of sulfur and nitro-gen oxides and particulates,

■ 3.5 ounces of trace metals such asmercury, and

■ more than 440 pounds of solidwaste from fossil-fueled gener-ation.

Of course there are also economicbenefits to turning to wind power.Coal, gas and oil are finiteresources, and as supplies dwin-dle, prices increase. We’ve alreadyseen what an oil shortage can doto the price of energy. After all, itwas the energy crisis of the 1970sthat led California to explorewind energy as a viable alterna-tive in the first place. The fuel forwind power, on the other hand, isfree. The only costs are those of build-ing and maintaining the turbines.

Hurdles to WidespreadWind EnergyWith all of these benefits, one wouldthink that wind power would be takingthe energy markets by storm. Andwhile large energy companies areindeed rushing to jump on the windbandwagon, a combination of hurdleshas constrained growth. In 2001, theUnited States only generated 0.3 per-cent of its energy from wind power.

This is particularly frustrating towind proponents, because capacityalready exists to power significantlylarger proportions of our nationalenergy supply, and the potential is evenmore exciting. “The U.S. Great Plains

are the Saudi Arabia of wind power.Three wind-rich states — NorthDakota, Kansas and Texas — haveenough harnessable wind to meetnational electricity needs,” wroteLester R. Brown of the Earth PolicyInstitute in his book Eco-Economy.

One major hurdle is the lack ofsufficient transmission support. Manyof the most lucrative wind sources arein remote areas, which makes it diffi-cult to get the power into a regionalgrid. What’s needed, say experts, is forpower companies to be convinced thatwind is as “real” a source of energy asa dam or a natural gas plant.

This means improving access totransmission lines and dropping penal-ties that discriminate against intermittentenergy sources. Much of this can beaccomplished through incentives – stateand national policies that encourage util-ities to add wind to their energyportfolios, and to making wind-gener-ated power available to consumers.

Herein lays the second major hur-dle: legislation at state and nationallevels is inconsistent. Some states haveinstituted Renewable PortfolioStandards (RPS) that require utilities toproduce a specific portion of electric-ity from renewable resources, whileothers have not. Massachusetts createdan RPS in 1997 that requires utilitiesto generate at least 4 percent of theirenergy from renewable sources by2009, and increase it by 1 percent a

year after that. After Texas establishedan RPS in 1999 that mandates at least2,000 MW of new renewable energyby 2009, it spurred dramatic increasesin wind power capacity. Just imaginewhat a national RPS could do for ourenvironment.

Responsible WindDevelopmentFriends of the Earth is a major propo-nent of wind energy, and alsoadvocates for responsible development.This means paying close attention to

community and environmentalconcerns. Old-model wind tur-bines can kill birds or changetheir migration patterns. In afew areas developers have cho-sen sites that are sacred toNative Americans. And somepeople don’t like the way agroup of wind turbines changesa hilltop or a seascape horizon.All of these issues are impor-tant, and illustrate whyenvironmentalists cannot simplygive an across-the-boardendorsement for any renewableenergy technology.

“On the whole, over the last 10years, most of the macro issues havebeen addressed,” said Shawn Cantrellof Seattle, director of the Friends of theEarth Northwest Office. “Conservationgroups, developers and communitieshave worked closely to find ways tominimize adverse effects.”

Cantrell cites tower design as amajor example. Turbine towers thatused to be appealing to roosting ornesting birds have given way to sleek,tubular designs that do not attractbirds. “There will always be site-spe-cific issues that need to beconsidered,” said Cantrell, “whichmeans looking at each proposed windpower development on its own merits.”

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Local, National andGlobal EffortsFriends of the Earth is embarkingon a three-tiered awareness cam-paign exploring wind energyissues at the regional, nationaland international levels.Regionally, the Northwest Officeis tracking a number of projectsin and around the states ofWashington, Idaho and Oregon.Friends of the Earth is an activemember of the Northwest EnergyCoalition, which promotes envi-ronmentally and culturallyresponsible power development.

The coalition recently helpedencourage the federal BonnevillePower Administration, the largestelectric utility in the region, todrop a 10 cents per kilowattpenalty on intermittent energysources. Friends of the Earth isalso working closely with aNative Americans to oppose theColumbia Hills wind projectslated for sacred tribal sites inWashington State.

Nationally, Friends of theEarth is working on a “WindEnergy Primer,” which isdesigned to:

■ provide information about theeconomic and environmentalimpact of wind energy;

■ discuss current federal and stateincentives that help and hinderwind energy growth;

■ examine the experiences of severalstates to see what lessons can belearned; and

■ lay out a combination of programsand policies to help remove most ofthe barriers facing wind energytoday.

The Friends of the Earth InternationalProgram has also been busy promotingwind and other renewable energies byexerting pressure on internationaldevelopment organizations such as the

World Bank Group and the U.S.Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im).

“These institutions fund all kindsof polluting energy projects overseas,”said Jon Sohn, Friends of the Earth’scampaigner on international financialinstitutions. “We want them to replacethose projects with clean energysources that give more control to localcommunities than do immensepipelines connected to a central gov-ernment-controlled grid.”

As a result of Friends of the Earth’swork, the Ex-Im Board recentlyapproved a wind project in China andcreated a new Renewable Energy

Advisory Committee. Similarly,the World Bank Group hasresponded to our pressure by pro-ducing a report called Fuel forThought, which sets clear targetsand timetables for supportingclean energy projects.

“We will continue to exertpressure on these institutionsuntil they realize that renewableenergy projects are a win-win,”said Sohn. “They’re cost effectiveand they don’t harm the environ-ment.”

What You Can Do Making the change towind power will lead totangible, effective and

positive changes for our environ-ment and our planet. Here’s howyou can help:

■ Contact you local power util-ity and ask if they offerconsumers “green power,”which allows you to pay aslight premium in exchangefor getting all of your powerfrom renewable sources. Ifthey do, sign up. If they don’t,encourage them to look intoit.

■ Contact your members ofCongress to find out wherethey stand on wind energy. Ifthey don’t know much aboutit, share this article with them.And while you’re at it, tellthem that the current energybills being considered byCongress are going in thewrong direction and willseverely impact renewableenergy.

■ Contact your state government andfind out whether they have an RPSmandate in place for utilities. Ifthey don’t, share this article withthem and encourage them to adoptan RPS mandate. ■

C O V E R S T O R Y

As if our reliance on dirty coal and oil isn’t bad enough,this ad we recently ran in USA Today details Bush’sefforts to allow industry to expand without installingpollution control equipment.

Fall 2002 • Volume 32, Number 3 7

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

A Visit to the Project of the Century

By Carol Welch

In June, I participated in aninternational fact-finding mis-sion that examined ahigh-stakes, high-risk andhighly controversial oil project:

the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC)pipeline.

This $3 billion pipeline will trans-port crude oil over 1,000 miles, equalto the distance from New York toMiami, from the Caspian Sea throughAzerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey forexport to the United States and Europe.

After the Bush administration sup-ported the project in last year’s energyplan, both U.S. export credit agencies –the Export-Import Bank and theOverseas Private InvestmentCorporation – plan to finance it. Otherpublic finance institutions, includingboth private sector divisions of theWorld Bank, are preparing loans andguarantees. The administration toutsthe project as a new source for energyand a boon to energy security.

However, the project is extremelyrisky. It will pass through mountainousterrain and socially unstable areas,including:

■ Kurdish parts of Turkey, wherehuman rights violations by theTurkish army against ethnic Kurdishpopulations have been documented.

■ The forest buffer area of a nationalpark in Georgia, potentially impact-ing threatened species and passingnear the source of a natural springwater company, one of the only suc-cessful business enterprises inGeorgia.

■ Parts of both Azerbaijan andGeorgia that are rich in cultural her-itage, such as 40,000 year-old cavecarvings in Azerbaijan.

In all of these countries, corruption is aserious problem, as is the lack of citi-zen participation in governance.

I participated in the fact-findingmission with six other representativesof environmental organizations to hearlocal people talk about their concerns,what they’ve been told by lead sponsorBritish Petroleum (BP) and whatthey’ve been promised by their govern-ment. Since institutions like the WorldBank will be coordinating massiveamounts of public (taxpayer) financingfor the project, we wanted to find out ifpeople want the project, and underwhat conditions.

The economic and social situationin the countries is shockingly bad.

Unemployment is about 80 percent.Most people survive by tending smallplots of land and a few animals – cows,goat and sheep. Most communities wevisited have no gas or oil supply andelectricity runs for only four or fivehours a day. Electricity is very expen-sive, with some people spending halftheir income on utility bills.

The two issues we heard with mostfrequency were whether the pipelinewill provide jobs (likely to be minimaland short-term) and whether they willget any of the supply (they will not).People were also very concerned aboutgetting fair compensation for their land,which will be disrupted during con-struction. Many other communitiesnear other pipeline construction saidtheir roads were destroyed by heavyconstruction vehicles and were notfixed by the oil companies afterward.

U.S. export credit agencies are funding a $3 billion 1,000 mile pipeline starting from theCaspian Sea and cutting through Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey for crude oil export tothe United States and Europe.

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By Sara Zdeb

Friends of the Earth recentlyrecognized three membersof Congress – Reps. DavidBonior (D-Mich.), SherrodBrown (D-Ohio) and

Lloyd Doggett (D-Tex.) – for their rolein fighting anti-environmental tradelegislation by presenting them with“Friend of the Earth” awards.

Since early 2001, Congress hasbeen considering “fast track” trade leg-islation that would encourage theweakening of environmental standards.The bill expands a controversial provi-sion of the North American Free TradeAgreement, called “Chapter 11,” thatallows foreign corporations to sue gov-ernments if an environmental law hasreduced their profits.

Reps. Bonior, Brown and Doggettwent above and beyond the call ofduty, educating House members aboutChapter 11 and marshaling oppositionto the bill. They are also among theforemost environmental champions inthe House.

■ BONIOR. While serving asDemocratic Whip, Bonior led count-less fights to protect theenvironment. He has been instru-mental in tightening the standard forarsenic in tap water and in protectingthe Great Lakes from oil drilling.

■ BROWN has led efforts to advancean international agreement regulat-ing Persistent Organic Pollutantsand has also fought to improve thearsenic standard.

■ DOGGETT has the strongest envi-ronmental record in the TexasHouse delegation, and has ledefforts to cut taxpayer handouts tothe energy industry from the federalbudget. ■

“Friend of the Earth” Awards Honor Members of Congress

8

The oil company and the govern-ments are touting the benefits ofincreased government revenues fromtaxes, transit fees and royalties. Theycontend that these revenues will trans-late into social programs. The companyalso says they will invest in communitydevelopment.

However, people in local commu-nities are extremely skeptical that theywill see any benefit in their villagesand contend that high-level corruptionwill keep the money in the pockets ofinfluential people. In fact, inAzerbaijan the influence of the govern-ment is so pervasive and strong thatfew people agreed to go on recordopposing the project, and local govern-ment officials wanted to accompanythe fact-finding mission on all of ourcommunity visits.

The World Bank contends that itsinvolvement in the project will make ita better project. They say they willbring high standards, work with thegovernment to control corruption andestablish oil funds that monitor how theproceeds from oil are spent.

Nevertheless, many people in localcommunities perceive huge risks. “Thepipeline should be built only if safe,but it is not possible to make it safe,”one villager told us.

In Azerbaijan, the presidentappoints all the members of the oilfund oversight committee and has soleauthority to decide how oil fund moneyis spent. In fact, he proposed to use theoil fund – which is supposed to be usedfor social programs – to finance part ofthe pipeline construction costs!

The oil companies, however, seem

to have a different picture of WorldBank involvement. John Browne, thehead of BP, said that “free publicmoney” from the international finan-cial institutions was needed to makethe project possible.

The financial viability of BTC hasbeen questioned because the route islong and complicated. The return onthe project is also dependent on findingenough oil in the Caspian Sea.

If Browne’s assessment is accu-rate, taxpayer monies are being used tomake a questionable, high-risk projectfinancially viable. Friends of the Earthwants to make sure that local people’sinterests are not being ignored in thepursuit of profit by Big Oil, and thattaxpayer monies are not being used tofinance an economic and environmen-tal boondoggle. ■

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

Rep. David Bonior (D-Mich.) poses withFriends of the Earth President BrentBlackwelder and the "Friend of the Earth"award we presented to him.

Fall 2002 • Volume 32, Number 3 9

By Colleen Freeman

As this issue went topress, Friends of theEarth’sInternationalTeam was gear-

ing up for the mostimportant internationalmeeting on the environmentin a decade – the UnitedNations World Summit onSustainable Development.

Also known as theJohannesburg Earth Summit,the Aug. 26 to Sept. 4 meet-ing was expected to draw morethan 50,000 people and be thelargest U.N. summit ever held.With more than 75 people from ourinternational network planning toattend, Friends of the Earth was set tohave one of the largest, most visibledelegations of any environmentalgroup.

The event marked the 10-yearanniversary of the Rio de JaneiroEarth Summit, where governmentleaders reached major internationalagreements on climate change andbiodiversity.

Although 100 heads of state con-firmed their participation – includingthe U.K.’s Tony Blair, RussianPresident Vladimir Putin, China’sprime minister and Mexico’s presi-dent – a month before the meetingPresident Bush had not confirmed hewould attend and there was growingevidence to suggest he would not.

This stands in stark contrast tohis father’s decision to attend Rio

Earth Summit. A decision not toattend would lend weight to thosewho have argued that the Bushadministration continues to pursue aunilateral course on internationalaffairs.

President Bush’s failure to con-firm his attendence was underminingthe participants’ efforts. At the fourthand final preparatory meeting inIndonesia, governments failed toagree upon a plan of action with cleartargets and timetables on issues suchas energy, agriculture, water, biodi-versity and most importantly,financing. Those differences still hadto be ironed out in Johannesburg.

“The relative success or failure ofthe summit remains to be seen,” saidDirector of International Programs

Leslie Fields, who attended thepreparatory meeting. “Friends of theEarth believes the summit presents

an historic opportunity to makemeaningful progress on a host

of issues, especially corporateaccountability, environmentaljustice and energy.”

Throughout the sum-mit’s preparatory process,our network of groups inmore than 70 countries hasbeen the driving forcebehind the call for a corpo-

rate accountabilityframework. Friends of the

Earth International maintainsthat the lack of progress in

achieving the first Earth Summit’sgoals is largely due to corporationsthat have failed to act in a sociallyand environmentally sound manner.“Don’t let big business rule the word”is the message activists from membergroups planned to take to this secondEarth Summit – everywhere from t-shirts to banners.

David Waskow, our trade policyanalyst, was set to lead a team of col-leagues campaigning solely oncorporate accountability.

The International Teamplanned to launch a“Corporate Accountability

and the Johannesburg Earth Summit”Web site and update it daily duringthe summit. Please visitwww.foe.org/WSSD for more informa-tion and to take action. ■

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

Second U.N. Earth Summit:Sustainable Development

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S A F E F O O D U P D A T E

By Larry Bohlen

Almost two yearsafter Friends ofthe Earth foundStarLink geneti-cally engineered

corn contaminating the U.S.food supply, the corn wasdetected in food aid sent toBolivia.

In partnership with aBolivian environmental group,Friends of the Earth initiated aproject intended to protect peo-ple in developing countriesfrom the dumping of unap-proved engineered crops asfood aid or as unidentifiedseed.

“The United States consid-ers this genetically engineeredcorn unfit for human consump-tion, yet it has been sent toBolivia as food aid,” saidGabriel Hervas, president ofthe Bolivian Forum onDevelopment and Environment.

Oxfam International, aglobal hunger relief organiza-tion, also condemned food aidcontamination by geneticallymodified organisms (GMOs).In a news release, Oxfam sup-ported those who “demand amoratorium on GMOs and theimproved enforcement of moni-toring systems to stop GMOsfrom entering vulnerable popu-lations through food aid.”

Friends of the Earth wrote to theU.S. Agency for InternationalDevelopment requesting that AventisCropScience, the company that engi-

neered StarLink, be required to payfor the recall of any contaminatedfood aid and its replacement withnon-engineered grain. The agency

has so far responded with anoffer to meet and discuss thefindings.

The Bolivian problemcomes on the heels of our worklast year with Friends of theEarth in Ecuador, where wereported that food aid was con-taminated with engineered cornand soy not approved for humanconsumption.

The government of Ecuadorresponded with a switch tolocally grown, non-engineeredcrops for its food aid for chil-dren. It also issued anadmonishment to the WorldFood Program, which is largelysupported by the U.S. govern-ment.

Supporting materials onthe Bolivian news,including photographs

and an action alert, may befound at www.foe.org/foodaid.

…And Prescription Drugs May End Up In Your Corn Flakes Friends of the Earth is callingon the U.S. Department ofAgriculture (USDA) to prohibita new class of genetically engi-neered food crops that threatens

to contaminate the food supplymuch the way StarLink geneti-cally engineered corn did in

September 2000.Joined by the GE Food Alert

Coalition, Friends of the Earth wrotethe USDA requesting an end to open

Genetically Engineered CornAgain Invades Food Aid…

USAID food aid to Bolivia found contaminated byStarLink genetically engineered corn not approved forhuman consumption.

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Fall 2002 • Volume 32, Number 3 11

air cultivation of crops engineered toproduce prescription drugs or indus-trial chemicals.

“Just one mistake by a biotechcompany and we’ll be eating otherpeople’s prescription drugs in ourcorn flakes,” said a Friends of theEarth quote that appeared in dailynewspapers across the country.

The new crops, already plantedin over 300 field trials at secret loca-tions nationwide, include plants thatproduce an abortion-inducing chemi-cal, growth hormones, a bloodclotting agent, and trypsin, an aller-genic enzyme. The letter proposedthat the USDA permit only contained(greenhouse) cultivation of non-foodplants under the same controlled cir-cumstances as other drug production.

The National Academy ofSciences warns: “…it is possible thatcrops transformed to produce phar-maceutical or other industrialcompounds might mate with planta-tions grown for human consumption,with the unanticipated result of novelchemicals in the human food supply.”

A contamination incident mayalready have occurred. One biotechcompany official noted at a govern-ment-industry conference that:“We’ve seen it on the vaccine side,where modified live seeds have wan-dered off and have appeared in otherproducts.”

A new report prepared by BillFreese, policy associate at Friends ofthe Earth, details the threats that bio-pharm crops pose, the extent towhich they have been planted acrossthe country, the failure of regulatoryagencies to serve the public andestablishes a set of recommendations.

The report, entitled“Manufacturing Drugs andChemicals in Crops:

Biopharming Poses New Threats toConsumers, Farmers, Food Companiesand the Environment,” may be foundat www.foe.org/biopharm. ■

With dramatic flair and an eye fordetail, Kathleen Hart documents theintense policy debate over the safetyand environmental impacts of geneti-cally engineered foods.

The book opens with the case ofGrace Booth, a California socialworker who experienced a severeallergic reaction to a product madewith corn. Booth heard of theStarLink expose conducted byFriends of the Earth and called to seeif StarLink could have been the causeof her distress. We flew her to a fed-

eral hearing so she could take hercase directly to the U.S. Food andDrug Administration.

Eating in the Dark documentsnot only Booth’s moving testimony,but also the two-year, yet-to-be-resolved effort to determine whetherStarLink caused her and hundreds ofother people to become ill. The bookhighlights the incredible politicalpower wielded by biotech companiesand will leave most readers wantingto take action for safer food.

S A F E F O O D U P D A T E

New Book HighlightsOur Work on Safer Food

12

G R E E N S C I S S O R S

By Erich Pica

Each year tens of thou-sands of coyotes andother wild animalsare ruthlessly chaseddown and shot by

federal agents firing from helicop-ters. Others are killed by "M-44"traps that eject sodium cyanide intoanimals’ mouths, "denning" – thepractice of finding coyotes’ densand shooting or gassing the cubs todeath - and catching the animals insteel leg-hold traps.

Wildlife Services is a federalprogram operated by the U.S.Department of Agriculture’s AnimalPlant and Health Inspection Service(APHIS). Its mission is to "provideleadership in wildlife damage con-trol to protect agricultural, industrialand natural resources and to safe-guard public health and safety."

Wildlife Services undertakes adiverse range of activities includingthe protection of aircraft and airports

We ran these ads in numerous California and Florida newspapers targeted for members ofCongress that are considered swing-voters on the Wildlife Services issue.

Wildlife Services:A Wildlife Killer

■ Guarding animals including dogs,donkeys, llamas and mules. Astudy from 1976-1991 led by RayCoppinger, Professor of Biologyat Hampshire College, found thatcoyote kills dropped sharply whenguard dogs were used.

■ Installing barbed wire at theground level will discourage dig-ging under fences. Operators canprevent predators climbing over

fences by adding a charged wireat the top of the fence.

■ Using electric fencing to concen-trate predator activity at specificplaces, such as gateways, ravinesor other areas where predatorsmay try to gain access.

■ Placing animals in pens at night.■ Employing sound and sight repel-

lants such as "electronic guard"which provides a combination of

flashing strobe lights and a sirenwith light and sound varied by anelectric timer.

■ Timing calving and lambing sothat they don't coincide with theseason when coyote pups areborn. It is in order to feed hungrypups that coyotes are most likelyto be prey on vulnerable animalssuch as calves and lambs.

Non-lethal alternatives include:

Board Members Up for Re-election This FallFriends of the Earth will host itsannual board meeting Oct. 4 at noonin the Washington, DC office.Harriett Crosby and Marion Hunt-Badiner are running uncontested foran open slot on Friends of the Earth’sboard of directors. Members maycast votes at the annual meeting. Ifyou would like to attend, contactYasmeen Hossain at yhossain@foe.orgor by phone at 202-783-7400 ext.256. Members may also vote byproxy ballot for the candidates or forwrite-in candidates. To do so, copyor clip the mailing label on thisnewsmagazine and mail your vote toBoard Election, Friends of the Earth,1025 Vermont Ave., NW, Suite 300,Washington, DC 20005-6303 or faxyour ballot to 202-783-0444.

Harriett Crosby is co-founder and presidentof the Institute for SovietAmerican Relations.ISAR is an initiative forsocial action and renewal

in Eurasia, supporting grassroots envi-ronmental activism in the former SovietUnion. Harriett trained in psychology atthe C.G. Jung Institute in Zurich,worked for Colorado Outward Boundas a mountaineering instructor, col-lected Tibetan folk tales in Ladack andworked in the Office of the WhiteHouse Council on EnvironmentalQuality. She now practices meditation,pottery, organic gardening and wildliferehabilitation. Harriett has been on theboard of Friends of the Earth since1992 and also currently serves on theboards of: the Institute for DeepEcology, 20/20 Vision, Taxpayers forCommon Sense, ISAR and the Instituteof Noetic Sciences.

Marion Hunt-Badiner isan environmental activistand film producer.Marion has been on theboard of Friends of the

Earth since 1993 and has been active inthe foundation world for more than twodecades. She has served as a trustee ofher family foundation, The Roy A. HuntFoundation, and as a grants committeemember of the Threshold Foundation.She has been a member ofEnvironmental GrantmakersAssociation for six years. She currentlyis on the board of the Center forPartnership Studies, founded by RianeEisler. She has produced or co-pro-duced several features anddocumentaries, including “The MightyQuinn” for MGM starring DenzelWashington and “Voice of the Planet”for PBS and TBS. Marion received aBFA from New York University.

Fall 2002 • Volume 32, Number 3 13

from birds and geese, the protection ofcrops from blackbirds and the protec-tion of dikes from beavers. Many ofthese programs arguably benefit muchof the American public.

However, in 1998, Wildlife Servicesspent more than $20 million to kill over100,000 predators, primarily coyotes.Wolves, foxes, bears and bobcats thatcan prey on domestic sheep, goats orcattle are also killed in the program.

Between 1983 and 1993, federalappropriations to the program increasedby 71 percent. The number of coyoteskilled during that time similarlyincreased by 30 percent. And yet, ratesof predation (the killing of livestock bypredators) remained steady and insome states are actually increasing. Thecoyote population — the principal tar-get of the program — is not only stablebut has spread geographically from adozen western states into every otherstate except Hawaii.

At the same time, six APHIS per-sonnel have been accidentally killed inhelicopter crashes and baits laid out byWildlife Services’ operators on publicand private property have poisonedunsuspecting pets and humans.

In September, Congress will con-sider a spending bill that will fund this

devastating program. In the past, mem-bers of Congress led by Rep. PeterDeFazio (D-Ore.) have offered amend-ments to end this damaging program.

Visit http://www.foe.org/wildlifeser-vices/ to take action!

Program Hurts the Environment■ Thousands of non-target species are killed annually, including rare, threatened

and endangered species, due to over-reliance on lethal control methods. ■ The amount of wildlife killed by Wildlife Services has little relation to actual

damage inflicted on crops or livestock. Wildlife Services routinely kills preda-tors in anticipation of potential losses, not just in response to confirmeddamages.

■ Biologists have found that when subjected to intense control, not only dofemale coyotes respond by reproducing at an earlier age and producing largerlitters, but pup survival increases, thereby rendering the control efforts coun-terproductive.

■ The removal of large predators from an ecosystem can result in a rise inspecies such as mice and rabbits, which can cause millions of dollars in dam-age to crops and rangelands.

G R E E N S C I S S O R S

Ph

oto

Cre

dit

:Ro

bin

Ra

ind

rop

14

By Kristen Sykes

KevinRichardsonof the band theBackstreet

Boys was a surprise wit-ness at a recent Senatesubcommittee hearing on acontroversial Bush admin-istration rule change onwater pollution.

“Sens. Joe Lieberman(D-Conn.) and JamesJeffords (I-Vt.) held a hear-ing to discuss thedevastating implications ofthe rule change and how itwill effect the health of the environ-ment and local economies inAppalachia.” During the hearingLieberman denounced the rule changeand announced his intention to intro-duce a bill, which would insert adefinition of “fill material” into theClean Water Act itself.

Richardson grew up in Kentuckyand spoke about the devastation moun-taintop removal coal mining is causingto streams, trees and wildlife there.

“The historic resources that sus-tained Daniel Boone, the originalCherokees and generations of moun-tain people are being converted on amammoth scale into flat, lifelessplateaus,” Richardson testified.

Richardson’s testimony caused abit of strife on the Subcommittee onClean Air, Climate Change andWetlands of the Environment andPublic Works Committee. Sen. GeorgeVoinovich (R-Ohio) boycotted thehearing.

“It’s just a joke to think that thiswitness can provide members of theU.S. Senate with information on impor-

tant geological and waterquality issues,” he said.

“I am not a scientist butI do know what I’ve seen inflights over the coal fields,”said Richardson, who hasworked on environmentalissues ranging from renew-able energy to clean air.

He invited the senatorspresent to join him on aflight over mountaintopremoval mine sites. Sens.Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) and Hillary Clinton(D-N.Y.) accepted rightaway.

Incidentally, Voinovichhas received a number of campaigncontributions from the coal industry. In1998 he received over $43,000 fromcoal mining companies and companiesthat use coal.

No other Republicans attended thehearing either. It was their loss, asRichardson gave tremendous testi-mony.

“The bottom line is that we havean industry (coal) that has thrived, notfrom honest business practices in thefree market, but from passing its realcosts to the people of Appalachia,” hesaid.

During the hearing Liebermanannounced his intention to offer a billto re-instate the original definition offill in the Clean Water Act.

Take Action! Call you mem-ber of Congress and ask themto co-sponsor The Pallone-

Shays bill (H.R. 4683). To beconnected to your representative call the Capitol Switchboard, 202-224-3121. ■

Backstreet Boy Testifies AgainstMountaintop Removal Coal Mining

O N T H E H I L L

“The bottom line is

that we have an

industry (coal) that

has thrived, not from

honest business

practices in the free

market, but from

passing its real costs

to the people of

Appalachia,” said

Kevin Richardson.

Kevin Richardson, from the band Backstreet Boys and Kentucky native,teamed with Friends of the Earth’s Kristen Sykes and Sara Zdeb, totestify at a Senate hearing to stop destructive mountain top coal removal.

Elemental T-Shirt

$15 members, $18 non-membersThis vibrant four-colored cotton teeboldly represents the fourelements–fire, wind, earth and water.Available in sizes Large and ExtraLarge.

Bumper Stickers $2 each, $5 for all threeShow the world how you feel abouthigh-polluting Sport Utility Vehicles.The slogans came from a contest heldat www.suv.org.

Large Tote Bags!$10 members, $15 non-membersThe perfect alternative topaper and plastic shoppingbags! Our popular tote bagfeatures organic cotton andlots of room for groceries.

Reuse Envelope Labels $5 members, $7 non-membersSave trees! Reuse your envelopes withFoE’s labels. Just stick the 3” x 5”label over the old address and you canreuse old envelopes, reducing theamount of waste that you produce.

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Volume 32, No. 3

As you may have noticed we launched a new logo with theSummer 2002 Newsmagazine. That delayed the summer issuebut this fall issue is back on schedule.

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