Press Release - Western Shoshone Payoff Bill Passes Both Houses of Congress - Bush Administration "Red Hot" - Fight Continues

Western Shoshone Defense Project, 775-468-0230, http://www.wsdp.org

Press Release – For Immediate Release

Congress Passes Bill to Force Payment on Western Shoshone Land Struggle -- A Sad Day for the Rule of Law in the United States, but the Fight’s not Over Say the Western Shoshone.

June 25, 2004. Crescent Valley, NV. As of this morning, the Western Shoshone Distribution Bill has passed both houses of Congress and is on its way to the Bush Administration for signature. The bill would authorize an alleged payoff of approximately 15 cents an acres for tens of millions of acres of disputed lands in Nevada, Idaho, Utah and California. A majority of tribal councils, representing approximately 80% of the population, the Western Shoshone National Council and all the traditional people strongly oppose the bill, they are supported by the National Congress of American Indians and Amnesty International. This formal opposition was apparently ignored however and an undocumented, unverified straw poll was used instead by the Bush Administration and Nevada legislators to justify the legislation.

White House staffer Jennifer Farley, Deputy Associate Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, informed one Shoshone Tribal Chairman that the bill was “red hot”. The significance of the issue to the White House is apparent: Copies of Assistant Secretary of Interior Stephen J. Griles’ calendars reflect meetings with Interior Department legal staff, including Bush’s Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals nominee, William Myers, regarding “Western Shoshone Trespass (Dann Sisters)” just six months before the Department of Interior started military-style seizures of livestock owned by Western Shoshone traditionalists, including grandmothers Mary and Carrie Dann.

The land base at issue is the third largest gold producing area in the world and cited by a 1999 Interior report as the number one investment opportunity for extraction companies. It is also the site where the nation’s nuclear waste repository would be located, Yucca Mountain, and the home to the Nevada Test Site and Federal Counterterrorism Facility where the Bush Administration has talked of reopening nuclear testing. Both Bush and his political advisor Karl Rove, have made personal visits to Nevada in the last thirty days.

“I am utterly disappointed. It’s unbelievable that the U.S. body that makes the laws has acted in this manner. The fight is not over. A fraud is a fraud - Individuals cannot sell out a nation and the bill, although a threat politically, does nothing to change our inherent rights or our Treaty rights. Congress was informed of all the facts that touch upon this issue. We will use the Treaty of Ruby Valley to stop Yucca Mountain and to protect our lands. Our title is still intact.” Stated Raymond Yowell, Western Shoshone National Council.

“The self-described, private group who pushed for this money are not members of any federally-recognized council and have no authority to speak on behalf of our Tribe or the Western Shoshone Nation. The Nevada legislators and the Bush Administration have been well-advised of this fact. The way this legislation was handled makes an absolute sham of the stated government to government relationship and responsibility of the U.S. government.” Stated Hugh Stevens, Chairman of the Te-Moak Tribe of the Western Shoshone Nation. “Senator Reid has made numerous public commitments regarding resolving land issues for our communities. We will be looking for him to stand by that commitment in an expeditious fashion. We demand that our land issues be resolved in good faith in the same “hot line” fashion as the distribution.” He added.

Mary Gibson, Western Shoshone states: “It’s not over, we still exist and we still have our rights to our land. It makes me sad and angry that myths continue to cloud the Truth in this country. This struggle isn’t a Shoshone v. Shoshone battle, the underlying issue here is the U.S. responsibility and accountability for a Treaty with the Western Shoshone Nation. As long as the people in the U.S. allow this to happen it will continue to happen.”

For additional info, contact the Western Shoshone Defense Project at 775-468-0230.

Western Shoshone Defense Project
P.O. Box 211308
Crescent Valley, NV 89821
(775) 468-0230
Fax: (775) 468-0237
http://www.wsdp.org

YOUR calls and faxes made the difference -- House turns back Arctic drilling. THANK YOU!!!

Every once in a while, Congress provides us with a surprise that makes us smile. In one of the most cynical efforts we've seen in a long time, the U.S. House of Representatives prepared a bill for floor action on June 16th that would have authorized oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and then earmarked the speculative revenues from drilling to the abandoned mine reclamation fund -- a source of money that is used to reclaim old mines and to provide health benefits for retired miners.

What the House leadership did not count on was opposition from the very mine workers union that they had been courting. The United Mine Workers came out against the proposal when they realized the bill was attempting to replace the current revenue stream -- a coal tax -- with revenues that are speculative. Moreover, the miners union had been negotiating diligently and in good faith with the coal industry and members of Congress from eastern and western coal states to reauthorize the program, and saw the linkage with the Arctic Refuge as undercutting all of their work.

It's also clear that Members of Congress heard your calls and read your faxes opposing Arctic drilling. Those were a key part of this victory. THANK YOU!!!

The House's leadership action highlights the fact that the bill to drill in the Arctic Refuge was purely a political ploy that would have done nothing to address America's energy needs or to reduce gas prices for American consumers. Unfortunately, in Washington, bad ideas never die. Until the Refuge is permanently protected, we aren't taking anything for granted, and all of us will continue to work with our friends in the House and Senate to remain vigilant.
>> Read how the events unfolded on June 16th
http://www.wilderness.org/OurIssues/Arctic/ArcticVictoryInHouse-June2004.cfm

Während der Versuch der US-Regierung gescheitert ist, Immunität gegenüber dem Internationalen Strafgerichtshof zu erhalten, scheint die irakische Übergangsregierung dies den Koalitionstruppen und privaten Auftragnehmern weiterhin gewähren zu wollen...

http://www.telepolis.de/tp/deutsch/special/irak/17743/1.html

Eine Diskothek in Barcelona bietet ihren Stammgästen Microchipimplantate an...

http://www.telepolis.de/tp/deutsch/inhalt/lis/17707/1.html

PRESSEMITTEILUNG

MieterInnenverein Witten

Witten, 25.06.2004


HARTZ IV: „Angemessene“ Wohnkosten für Arbeitslose in Witten
Keine Vertreibung, keine Gettos!

Der MieterInnenverein Witten bittet Stadt und En-Kreis, alle Handlungsmöglichkeiten zu nutzen, um eine Vertreibung von arbeitslosen Haushalten aus ihren Wohnungen im Zuge der Hartz IV-Reformen zu verhindern. Die derzeit geltenden Regelungen für Sozialhilfeempfänger könnten auf keinen Fall beibehalten werden. Durch Ratsbeschluss müsse im Vorfeld festgelegt werden, „dass es ab 1. Januar in Witten keine Vertreibungen geben wird.“ Wenn nötig, müssten dazu auch Konflikte mit der Bundesregierung und der Kommunalaufsicht in Kauf genommen werden.

Im Rahmen der Zusammenlegung von Arbeitslosenhilfe und Sozialhilfe („Hartz IV“) müssen die Wohnkosten aller „Dauerarbeitlosen“ und jetzigen Sozialhilfempfänger (Bezieher von ALG II und Sozialgeld, Sozialhilfe nach SGB XII) von den Kommunen übernommen werden. Die Gesetze schreiben vor, dass die Wohnkosten nach 6 Monaten nur in „angemessener“ Höhe übernommen werden. Was „angemessen“ ist, kann im Falle des ALG II durch Rechtsverordnung bestimmt werden. Von der Möglichkeit, eine derartige Rechtsverordnung zu erlassen, will das Arbeitministerium aber keinen Gebrauch machen. Dies teilte Clement den Mietervereinen mit. Das Ministerium geht davon aus, dass die bisherigen kommunalen Sozialhilfe-Regelungen auf die Arbeitslosen übertragen werden.

FÜR WITTEN würde das bedeuten, dass die bisherigen Bezieher von Arbeitslosenhilfe nur noch Wohnungen anmieten könnten, die unter den von Stadt und Kreis festgesetzten niedrigen Obergrenzen des Sozialamtes liegen. Für einen 2-Personen-Haushalt in Witten sind das z.Zt. maximal 4,87/qm kalt bei einer maximalen Wohnungsgröße von 62 qm. Wer bereits eine Wohnung hat, die über diesen Werten liegt, wird zunächst zur Wohnkosten-Senkung aufgefordert und muss seine Bemühungen nachweisen. Nach 6 Monaten, so schreibt das neue Gesetz vor, werden die höheren Kosten nur noch in Ausnahmefällen übernommen.

Das droht Tausenden!

Aktueller Fall aus der Beratungspraxis in Witten:
Eine 7-köpfige Familie zahlt für ihre Wohnung 719 Euro warm, die vom Sozialamt bewilligte Höchstmiete beträgt 704,16 Euro. Wegen der Überschreitung um wenige Euro wird der Familie nun die Übernahme der Nebenkostennachzahlungen (Der Vermieter berechnete 592,06 Euro für 2002 und 76,80 Euro für 2003) verweigert. Der Mieterverein prüft z.Zt. noch die Nebenkostenabrechnung.

Damit würden bereits zum Januar 2005 weit über 3000 Wittener Arbeitslosenhilfeempfänger und Angehörige damit zu rechnen haben, dass ihre Wohnkosten erstmals überprüft werden. Zuständig ist dann die geplanten Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Kommunen und der Arbeitsagentur (ARGE). Im EN-Kreis wird mit insgesamt 20.500 Personen gerechnet, die unter das SGB II fallen.

Sehr viele Menschen, die bislang Arbeitslosenhilfe bezogen, werden Wohnungen haben, die größer und teurer sind als jetzt vorgesehen. Sie können dann unmittelbar zur Senkung ihrer Wohnkosten aufgefordert werden und nach einem halben Jahr kann die Stütze gekürzt werden.

Diese Maßnahme wird die Nachfrage auf dem sehr engen Segment billiger Wohnungen schlagartig vervielfachen. Dieser Markt wird sofort dicht sein. Es gibt diese billigen Wohnungen nicht.

Die bisherige Sozialamtsregelung kann deshalb auf keinen Fall von der ARGE übernommen werden. Der Wohnungsmarkt lässt nur eine Regelung zu, die klarstellt, dass die bestehende Wohnung in der Regel immer „angemessen“ ist, wenn die Miete nicht strafbar überhöht ist. Vertreibungen können dann ausgeschlossen werden.

Bei der Festlegung von Obergrenzen für die Neuanmietung ist eine Wohnung, die nicht erheblich größer ist als im Wohnungsbindungsgesetz (Sozialwohnungen) vorgesehen, immer „angemessen“. Die Bildung von Arbeitslosengettos kann nur vermieden werden, wenn die Anmietung einer breiten Skala üblicher Wohnungen ermöglicht wird. Das bedeutet mindestens einen Euro mehr pro Quadratmeter.

Die kommunalen Kosten können hoffentlich im Zuge der Revisionsklausel rückerstattet werden. Hinzu kommen die Einsparungen wegen vermiedener Obdachlosigkeit, Gettobildung, Sozialarbeit...

Knut Unger

PS: Wegen dieser und vieler anderer sozialer Katastrophen im Zuge der Hartz IV-Reformen hat sich der MieterInneverein der Forderung nach Rückabwicklung der Hartz IV-Redformen angeschlossen.


Email: unger@mvwit.de > MieterInnenverein Witten u. Umg. e.V. / Habitat-Netz. e.V.
Postfach 1928, 58409 Witten
Bahnhofstr. 46, 58452 Witten
Geschäftsstelle Tel. 02302-51793
Direkt/ Habitat-Netz: 02302-276171
Fax. 02302-27320

Datenschutzbeauftragte gegen Totalüberwachung: "Vorratsspeicherung aller Kommunikationsdaten ist verfassungswidrig"

25.06.04

Die Datenschutzbeauftragten des Bundes und der Länder halten die geplante pauschale Speicherung sämtlicher Telefonverbindungen und Daten zur Internet-Nutzung für verfassungswidrig. Eine Arbeitsgruppe des EU-Ministerrats berät derzeit über einen Richtlinien-Vorschlag, der es ermöglichen würde, Anbieter von Telekommunikations- und Internetdiensten zu verpflichten, jede einzelne Nutzung zu protokollieren und mindestens ein Jahr aufzubewahren. Eine flächendeckende Vorratsspeicherung von Kommunikationsdaten würde die Grundrechte auf freie Meinungsäußerung und auf ungehinderte Unterrichtung aus allgemein zugänglichen Quellen verletzen, kritisierten die Datenschützer...

Die ganze Nachricht im Internet:

http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php4?Nr=8762

Avoidable health crisis re nighttime EMR exposures

Klaus: Below is one of the emails I sent the other day making an appeal for dissemination of information to the public in regard to the specific issue of nighttime EMF/EMR exposures and close proximity to electrical devices/appliances.


Subj: Fwd: Avoidable health crisis
Date: 6/23/2004 9:50:44 PM Central Standard Time
From: JCMPelican
To: john@ramstad.org
CC: mn03@mail.house.gov
-----------------
Forwarded Message:
Subj: Avoidable health crisis
Date: 6/8/2004 4:43:31 PM Central Standard Time
From: jcmpelican@aol.com

Thank you for using Trust for America's Health Mail System

Message sent to the following recipients:
President Bush
Message text follows:

June 8, 2004

[recipient address was inserted here]

Dear [recipient name was inserted here],

Dear President Bush, Senator Dayton, Senator Coleman and Representative Kennedy:

Inaction and greed on the part of government are very costly to this country!!! The EMF Interagency Committee Report (2000) has never been presented to Congress. Findings include immune dysfunction, Leukemia and other health problems due to chronic exposures to low levels of EMF's (electromagnetic fields).

Since then, the 2002 Calif EMF Study has found connection to brain cancer, Leukemia, Lou Gehrig's Disease and miscarriage to EMF levels as low as 4.0 milligauss (about $8 million more was spent on this study). New study (2004) -- Lai/Univ Washington through NIEHS, actually shows a picture of cells leaving rat's brains after exposure equiv to use of electrical appliances such as a hair dryer.

I have a booklet published by "utilities communications' experts" that recommends replacing electric clocks (BEDSIDE) with battery-operated or wind-up clocks!!! I have two grandsons diagnosed with rare immune. Told they may develop Leukemia. They were sleeping next to electric meters in their respective homes. Dramatic improvement after changes!!!

Two guinea pig studies my own home -- drastic blood changes and death within a month of to one guinea pig out of each study after exposure to electric meter on bedroom wall!!!

Grandsons and guinea pigs developed ASTHMA!!!

Husband slept near electric clock radio for years -- diagnosed with Alzheimers. We also have two high voltage powerlines on blvd only 50 ft. from front of house; however, I am convinced that the most extreme symptoms/problems are due to SLEEPING close to electrical appliances/devices.

Univ of Wash study suggests repeat exposure to hair dryers, etc. and states cumulative damage. The BIG PROBLEMS are more specific and easier to adapt too but we MUST HAVE "an informed public" in order to begin to drastically reduce the vast numbers of struggling children with ADD, ADHD, asthma, chronic infections and even cancers!!!

Economic loss alone from all illnesses that can be prevented by reducing nighttime EMF/EMR exposures is astronomical!!! Everyone knows what a mess our healthcare system is in. We need to inform the public so children will have full use of their brains which they don't have now. Even something as simple as "lack of sleep or lack of good sleep," can begin the downward spiral we see often in children who do not fare well in school.

I am not even "touching on" all of the problems that result from parents who can't sleep and go on to develop any number of inflammatory conditions (virtually any disease) from sleeping close to electrical objects that could simply be moved across the room. Anger, depression, chronic sinus, ear and other infections, migraine headaches -- all of this is found in research regarding inflammation and so is the fact that both ionizing and nonionizing radiation cause "inflammation!!!!"

I am begging you to begin to take appropriate action (informing the public) by presenting the EMF Interagency Committee Report to Congress and providing for dissemination of information to the public (funds included in the $46 million allocation for EMF RAPID Study).

Sincerely,

Joanne C. Mueller
731- 123rd Avenue N.W.
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55448-2127 USA
Telephone: 763-755-6114
Email: jcmpelican@aol.com

Last month you signed a petition supporting Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility's campaign to remove the illegal construction of a 100-foot cell phone tower that overlooks Old Faithful. Your action pressured the Park Service to start backpedaling --The Park Service has admitted that it has no idea what and how many telecom facilities are being built in the parks.

Now, NPS has announced that it will conduct a nation wide inventory to determine the number and location of existing wireless communication facilities throughout the national park system (see below).

Though the Old Faithful tower still stands, despite violating both historical preservation laws and public notice requirements, it remains at the core of the debate. How did this eyesore occur?

While inventorying parks is a good, though belated, first step, the Park Service is still evading the central question, which is whether and where these facilities are appropriate on national park lands. How is it that only one of the 397 units of the national park system (Golden Gate National Recreation Area) has a plan for siting cell phone towers and other telecom facilities?

PEER exposed this issue and will continue to fight to assure that the scenery and serenity of our national parks are not put at the mercy of telecom companies. But we can't do it alone, we need your help. Join PEER to get answers to these questions.

Sincerely,

Chas Offutt
Communication & Outreach Director


NPS Conducts Inventory Of Wireless Communication Facilities

Though visible from almost every part of the Old Faithful Historic District, the 100-foot cell phone tower, unshielded by trees and without camouflage, has gone unnoticed since 2001. Currently, telecommunications companies determine the location, size and number of towers in deals with individual parks.

This past March, PEER unmasked the cell tower overlooking Old Faithful and its violation of both historical preservation laws and public notice requirements. NPS responded without a clear indication of exactly how many towers existed.

However, just last week, NPS sent a memo to all park superintendents asking them to report where existing wireless communication facilities are located in national parks. Though this inventory is a commendable first step, the Park Service is still evading the central question, which is whether and where these facilities are appropriate on national park lands.

Read the memo to park superintendents calling for an inventory
http://peermail.c.topica.com/maaclXdaa7GoAa8rxQKcaeQBg1/


Park Service Wants To Know Where Cell Towers Are Located

The National Park Service is asking all its superintendents to report where existing wireless communication facilities are located in national parks, according to a memo released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).

http://chiefchambers.c.topica.com/maacmrIaa7JubbnLpaCeaeQBg1/


U.S. Historic Preservation Agency To Investigate Old Faithful Cell Phone Tower

The National Park Service must explain why it allowed construction of a 100-foot cell phone tower over Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park in violation of both historical preservation laws and public notice requirements, according to a letter released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).

http://chiefchambers.c.topica.com/maacmrIaa7JuSbnLpaCeaeQBg1/

Human Rights and Human Experiments
http://mindcontrol.twoday.net/stories/249432/

Microsoft patents human body as power transmitter
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/249974/

SUPERCOMPUTER FINDS CLIMATE LIKELY TO HEAT UP FAST
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/249960/

'Endangered Species' Cost USA Billions
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/249970/

How Canada Was Secretly Given Away
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/249580/

Petition Requesting Support of Environmental Illnesses
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/249640/

U.S. NOT READY FOR IMPENDING WATER CRISIS
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/248808/

Australia encourages Great Barrier Reef oil exploration
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/248975/

RED TIDES AND DESERTIFICATION ALARM SCIENTISTS
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/248710/

ESPERANZA ARRIVES IN ICELAND
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/249603/

GREAT CYBER WALL CHALLENGE
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/249597/

SUCCESS FOR BHOPAL SURVIVORS
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/249601/

GREENFREEZE SUCCESS
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/249604/

Saudi Shiite leader recounts ordeal at Abu Ghraib
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/249651/

U.S. Immunity In Iraq Will Go Beyond June 30
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/248978/

Blair Criticises US War Prosecutions Immunity Bid
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/249656/

Facing Humiliating Defeat, US Abandons Move to Exempt Troops from War Crimes
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/248981/

Afghan Detainees Routinely Tortured and Humiliated by US Troops
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/248983/

Torture Trail
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/249619/

Law Professors' Letter to Congress
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/249623/

Bush reserved right to torture
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/249649/

US Senate to remain silent on abuse
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/249631/

Human rights fall victim to the "War on Terror"
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/249660/

The predatory policies of the world's de facto government
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/249661/

US 'losing fight against terror'
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/249662/

OUR FOUNDERS AND THE UNBALANCE OF POWER
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/249809/

You've got a credibility problem, Mr. President
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/249817/

Reality is unravelling for Bush
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/249834/

Growing Calls to Get All US Troops Out of Iraq
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/248984/

Nation's Largest Union Calls for End to U.S. Occupation of Iraq
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/249617/

SEIU Convention Calls for End to U.S. Occupation of Iraq and Return of U.S. Troops
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/248988/

Iraqi Civilian War Casulties
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/249824/

CIA insider says US fighting wrong war
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/249669/

Australia: Media Lies
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/249665/

The pretence of an independent Iraq
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/249648/

The Economic Colonization of Iraq: Illegal and Immoral
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/249832/

FBI documents confirm ALA USA PATRIOT Act concerns
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/249612/

Bush interviewed in CIA leak probe
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/250198/

World Bank ignores own analysis
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/249635/

CNN

06/24/04

President Bush was interviewed Thursday morning by a special prosecutor investigating whether anyone in the administration disclosed the classified identity of a CIA officer, White House press secretary Scott McClellan told reporters. This is the first time Bush has been questioned in a criminal investigation involving his administration...


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Hi Klaus: I have been asked to widely distribute the following info on upcoming WHO meetings and to suggest that it would greatly benefit us to have sympathetic-to-our-cause representatives attend/participate in these:


"On the World Health Organization's website under their International EMF Program at http://www.who.int/peh-emf/meetings/en/ there are several meetings coming up, one of which is called WHO International Seminar and Working Group meeting on EMF Hypersensitivity at Prague, Czech Republic on October 25-27 2004.

Now that the WHO is at least acknolwedging the ES/EHS dilemma, I think the support groups need to push the WHO for an ICD code - ICD means International Classification of Diseases by the WHO. Then doctors would have a diagnosis code for it. Very important for getting disability benefits, etc."

Best, Imelda, Cork.

By Wolfgang Gruener, Senior Editor

June 23, 2004 - 14:21 EST

Chicago (IL) - Microsoft has been granted a patent on using the human boody as conductive medium for the transmission of power and data. According to the filing, the company believes it can network power-sources and peripheral devices by coupling sets of electrodes to the human body.

Microsoft its the patent 6,754,472 as "Method and apparatus for transmitting power and data using the human body". The company justifies the idea of using the human body as conductor with the fact that "people have begun wearing electronic devices on their bodies." This would include wristwatches, pagers and PDAs, as well as small displays "mounted on headgear." Such devices could not only communicate with each other but also distribute power to each other "on or near the human body by capacitively coupling picoamp currents through the human body of a person," the company said.

Microsofts idea is to for example use for example a pulsed DC signal or AC signal as the power source. By using multiple power supply signals of differing frequencies, different devices could be selectively powered. Digital data and other information signals such as audio signals could be modulated on the power signal using frequency and amplitude modulation techniques, the company said.

The patent was granted on June 22, 2004.

http://www.tomshardware.com/hardnews/20040623_142155.html


Informant: Gotemf

By Alan Caruba

CNSNews.com Commentary from the National Anxiety Center

June 21, 2004

At a time when this nation is engaged in a war, putting the lives of its soldiers in harm's way to end the threat of Middle Eastern terrorism, it would seem inconceivable that it would also be wasting billions to protect some species of salmon or the shortnose suckerfish. But it is.

Unfortunately, when the truth is revealed, the mainstream press often ignores it. For example, on April 14 of this year, the Pacific Legal Association, in association with Property and Environmental Research Center (PERC), released a study that demonstrated the mind-boggling costs of the Endangered Species Act.

"PERC researchers found that the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) grossly underreported federal and state ESA costs in its recent report to Congress, and completely ignored the private economic and social costs of ESA compliance, which together easily total billions of dollars a year."

The PERC researchers based this finding on a December 2003 FWS report to Congress, "Three-Year Summary of Federal and State Endangered Species Expenditures, Fiscal Years 1998-2000." According to FWS, the federal and state expenditures totaled $610.3 million. PERC estimated the real costs to be as much as four times greater; more in the area of $2.4 billion. When you add in the private costs to those of government expenditures, the total "may easily reach or exceed $3.5 billion per year."

There is something obscene about this, considering the many other priorities of our nation. As the Pacific Legal Foundation report notes, "People have lost their jobs, businesses, homes, farms, and even their lives to protect plants, insects and fish," said Emma T. Suarez, an attorney for the Foundation. It is the story of a government more committed to so-called endangered species than to its citizens and to the economy upon which government depends.

Indeed, the story of the entire environmental movement is about the steady degradation of the American economy and other nations around the world. It is an attack on capitalism designed to thwart access to natural resources, and attack agriculture, ranching, the production of beneficial chemicals and pharmaceuticals, transportation, and every other element of the economy.

The FWS report managed to omit critical information in its 2003 cost report. Only "estimates" of costs to taxpayers, not actual costs, were provided.

The report ignored government-wide costs, neatly skirting the many federal agencies and departments affected by the ESA reported expenditures and noting only costs that were "reasonably identifiable" for individual species. That's a hole big enough to drive a truck through.

Costs to state and local entities for implementing species recovery were also ignored, along with those represented by ESA-caused interference with the building of schools, hospitals, roads and other infrastructure projects.

Also ignored were the costs to private landowners. The study noted that "75% of all listed species have portions or all of their habitat on privately owned land and the FWS regulates 38 million acres of private land through conservation plans. Landowners are not compensated for their losses from ESA regulations that prohibit them from using their land productively." These costs are enormous.

It is little wonder that the costs of housing, old and new, are soaring. ESA regulations are widely used to deter the creation of new housing stock despite the obvious need of a rapidly growing population. Nor are the other economic and social costs from regulatory burdens placed on agricultural production, water use, forest management, and mineral extraction included in the FWS report. If they were, the public would be in the streets demanding an end to ESA.

The FSW report did not take into consideration lost jobs, lost business, and lost tax revenues. If it did, the ESA would be rescinded within days. One famous example was the hoax about the "endangered" northern spotted owl. "At least 130,000 jobs were lost when more than 900 sawmills, pulp, and paper mills closed in mid-1990 to protect" the owl.

In California, ESA-mandated water reductions in the Westlands Water District cost the state economy more than $218 million and 4,500 jobs statewide" according to the PERC study. The federal government was estimated to have lost about $2.3 million revenue as a result.

The Endangered Species Act has proven to be an expensive and destructive failure. Despite listing 1,260 US species as of December 2003, only fifteen were "delisted" and those mainly because the original data citing them as endangered proved to be inaccurate!

Environmentalism is not about caring for the needs of human beings or our nation's economy. It is just the opposite. It is not some benign movement, but rather a malignant cancer that destroys lives, jobs, and the quintessential basis of our economy, the rights of private property owners.

Easily 90% or more of all the species that ever existed on earth are extinct. It's called survival of the fittest and has been going on since life on earth began. It is worse than a conceit to think that government can "save" a few species; it is an arrogant and dangerous notion that seeks to replace the process of nature with the goals of the environmentalists.

(Alan Caruba writes "Warning Signs," a weekly column posted at the Internet site of The National Anxiety Center.)

Copyright 2004, Alan Caruba

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCommentary.asp?Page=%5CCommentary%5Carchive%5C200406%5CCOM20040621a.html

http://www.alleghanynews.com/mushroomchronicles/column11.php


Informant: Dave

Environment News Service

June 24, 2004

BOULDER, Colorado - A powerful new supercomputer climate modeling system at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) http://www.ncar.ucar.edu/ has found that global temperatures may rise more than previous projections if humans continue to emit large quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

The system, known as the Community Climate System Model, version 3 (CCSM3) was unveiled Wednesday in Boulder.

CCSM3 shows that global temperatures could rise by 2.6 degrees Celsius (4.7 degrees Fahrenheit) in a hypothetical scenario in which atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide are suddenly doubled.

That is greater than the two degree Celsius (3.6 degree Fahrenheit) increase that had been indicated by the previous version of the model.

William Collins, a NCAR scientist who oversaw the development of the new system, says researchers have yet to pin down exactly what is making the model more sensitive to an increased level of carbon dioxide. But he says the model overall is "significantly more accurate" than its predecessor.

"This model makes substantial improvements in simulating atmospheric, oceanic, and terrestrial processes," Collins said. "It has done remarkably well in reproducing the climate of the last century, and we're now ready to begin using it to study the climate of the next century."

CCSM3 is one of the world's leading general circulation climate models, sophisticated computer tools that incorporate phenomena ranging from the effect that volcanic eruptions have on temperature patterns to the impact of shifting sea ice on sunlight absorbed by the oceans.

Climate models work by solving mathematical formulas, which represent the chemical and physical processes that drive Earth's climate, for thousands of points in the atmosphere, oceans, sea ice, and land surface.

CCSM3 is so complex that it requires about three trillion computer calculations to simulate a single day of global climate, NCAR explains.

NCAR developed the model in collaboration with researchers at universities and laboratories across the country, with funding from the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

NCAR is sharing the model results and the underlying computer codes with atmospheric researchers and other users worldwide.

As scientists learn more about the atmosphere, the world's most powerful climate models are in general agreement over the climatic effects of carbon dioxide, the most prevalent greenhouse gas, which is emitted by burning of fossil fuels in motor vehicles and industrial plants.

Observations show that atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide have increased from 280 parts per million by volume (ppmv) in preindustrial times to more than 370 ppmv today, and the increase is continuing.

A doubling of carbon dioxide over present-day levels would significantly increase global temperatures, according to all the major models.

The models do not always agree, however, on the complex impacts of clouds, sea ice, and other pieces of the climate system.

Scientists will contribute findings from CCSM3 to the next assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an international research body that advises policymakers on the likely impacts of climate change.

http://www.climateark.org/articles/reader.asp?linkid=32962



Informant: NHNE

by John Hepburn

June 21, 2004

Monsanto's global website says "Imagine innovative agriculture that creates 'incredible' things today." Actually, I think most of us are more interested in 'credible' things when it comes to agriculture. Like food that people can trust is safe. And crops that meet the needs of the farmers that grow them.

The monsanto slogan used to be "food, health, hope". As if this wasn't absurd enough, it has now been changed to "ImagineTM". John Lennon must be turning in his grave.

Imagine a world with vast monocultures of patented, genetically engineered crops, producing foods with inbuilt pesticides. Imagine the world's staple food crops engineered with genes from bacteria and then released into our food chain without any real understanding of the health impacts. Imagine?

The Monsanto website states boldly that "Integrity is the foundation of all that we do. Integrity includes honesty, decency, consistency and courage."

I suppose 'courage' isn't that far fetched. But 'audacity' would probably be a more accurate word.

Imagine trying to introduce a new product into the market place when most people don't want it, and when it is effectively impossible to keep it separate from other similar products. Imagine being able to insist that the cost of keeping this product separate be passed onto the users of the other, existing products. It's kind of like insisting that your neighbour to pay for the new fence when you bring home a pit bull terrier for a pet. Imagine not only trying to pull off such an audacious scheme but actually succeeding!

'Consistency' is also plausible. Although I suspect the appropriate agricultural term is 'monoculture'.

As for "honesty' and 'decency', I'm not sure how the victims of Agent Orange would feel about that. Or the thousands of people who have been affected by PCB's - another one of Monsanto's brilliant and 'safe' inventions. Or the 70 odd farmers in the US who have been sued by Monsanto for saving seeds and breaching Monsanto's intellectual property?

I for one, imagine a world where Monsanto doesn't exist. Where I don't have to spend my days struggling to stop possibly one of the most irresponsible organisations in human history from involving all of us in an uncontrolled experiment without our consent.

Monsanto are on the back foot. Millions of people have been rejecting their foods. Thousands upon thousands of farmers have been rejecting their seeds. In the face of this, they have 'voluntarily' withdrawn GE wheat in North America, and GE canola in Australia. We can only hope that 'voluntary' liquidation is the next step.

Imagine food without pesticides. Imagine diversity in agriculture. Imagine seeds without patents. Imagine a future without Monsanto?

John Hepburn Australia. johnhepburn@hushmail.com

http://www.zmag.org/sustainers/content/2004-06/21hepburn.cfm


Informant: Teresa Binstock