EDITORIAL ARCHIVES
November - 2005
EDITORIAL: WATER
by
Jo Campbell, Editor
Predictions have been in the writings for decades that our wars about oil will soon cease. We will revert to the days of the Old West, but on a Global scale.
EDITORIAL:
PUNDITS
DON'T GRASP HOW THE US PRESIDENTIAL SYSTEM WORKS
(By Steven Hill and Rob Richie)
Pundits do not understand the nature of United States presidential
elections. Leaders of the Center for Voting and Democracy point out that
their nation does not have a national election to select a leader for
its
292,655,623 people. The US has fifty state elections. Does this create
suspense, complications? Yes.
EDITORIAL:
THE SERFS OF THE FUTURE
(by Hyman Rudoff)
EDITORIAL: HOW PARTIES CAN WIN THEIR FAIR SHARE
(By Steven Hill and Rob Richie)
Progressives, people of color, and women advocates, stuck in the doldrums of Bush's America, should look toward Scotland and Wales for relief. In the United States the number of women in the US Congress is stuck at 14 percent and declining in state legislatures. But the Welsh assembly has become the first parliament in the world in which women make up 50 percent of members -- 30 women and 30 men. How? By a change to a full-representation voting system.
EDITORIAL: WE HAVE ONE PLANET
The dangers which beset the Earth are not new. Studies show that cold and heat
in turn have produced massively spreading ice sheets and devastating volcanics
through the millennia. It is easy for the scientist to say, "…So, that was the end of
the dinosaurs…" Do you wonder who will be around to say, "…And that was
how we lost good ole Homo Sapiens…" What can we do to slow the changes?
VOTE! JC
EDITORIAL: ARE YOUNG PEOPLE TOO SMART TO VOTE?
(By Steven Hill and Rashad Robinson)
During the 1998 midterm election, once again young people did not vote in very
great numbers. Could it be that, consistently left out of the process, youth, the
poor and ethnic minorities have outgrown the US "winner-take-all" voting system. When will a viable alternative take its place?
EDITORIAL: VANISHING MEDIA FREEDOMS MUST BE RESTORED
(BY ACTION OF READERS AND VIEWERS)
Today, US press freedom appears to lie in Federal hands, tightening around the media’s neck every day. This means that they are strangling what you and I, as readers and viewers, can learn.
This federal war on information springs from the nation’s putative war on terrorism. Actions against working reporters make us wonder just where this war is being waged.
EDITORIAL: LOSING OUR GRIP
(By Jo Campbell, Editor)
Are we humans losing our hold on our own lives, our planetary home, and the forces which govern it? How do we get it all back? Some good folks are on our side!
EDITORIAL: "TIME TO REPAIR AMERICAN ELECTIONS"
(by Caleb Kleppner, Majority Rule Project Director
Center for Voting and Democracy)
Even though at "press time" it's still not clear who the next President of United States is, several problems are apparent. The key really is that the current system limits voter choice, restricts debate and fails to ensure a strong mandate for the winner. How did we get ourselves into this national mess, and what can we do to fix it?
A ROMANIAN EDITORIAL
"Ode to America"
FIRM U.S. WATER POLICY COULD HELP THE WORLD
DISTINGUISHED SCHOLAR - DIPLOMAT
SPEAKS OUT
AMBASSADOR
TIBOR P. NAGY, JR.
Strong water quality legislation, enforced for purity, lack of disease and chemical intrusion, as well as availability for agriculture and human consumption could help guide the rest of the world.
WOMEN KEEP THE AFRICAN CONTINENT ALIVE!
Women get all the work with no advantages.
LOTS OF WATER; LITTLE TO DRINK
The fact that the shortage lies, not in water itself, but in potable water, safe to drink
THE GREAT CONVEYER BELT
The part of the water world’s "Great Conveyor Belt"
that we know best is the Gulf Stream. Flowing northward along the North
American coast, and then toward Europe, it is the main factor in maintaining
those regions as habitable. It is, however, just a portion of the Great
Conveyor Belt...
THE ENDANGERED WILD WATERS
Not only wild animals but also the thousands of poor villagers living in the vicinity of the forest tract are dependent on these streams. But, abuse and misuse by the local humans is turning water into an endangered – and dangerous - natural commodity in the region.
EFFORTS TO PROTECT WATER QUALITY FROM AGRICULTURAL RUNOFF
Reprinted with permission from Forum: Agricultural Research, USDA
Agriculture uses 65 to 70 percent of the total fresh water resources in the United States and the world, and there is increased interest in how agriculture affects water quality.
STATE AGENCY ORDERS COCA COLA TO SHUT DOWN
Coca Cola linked to bribery scandal, water pollution
WATERGAME!
Bryan Mundel, Miljenko Mervic, and Joe Sepe
The value of games within a pedagogy of active learning - some games teach us - really!
SHORT COURSE ON WATER RECYCLING FOR URBAN APPLICATIONS
EUROPE LEAVES THE U. S. BEHIND
(By Steven Hill)Steven Hill has been invited to speak in Europe by groups of American expatriates who are trying to mobilize American voters in Europe to vote -- and to vote against Bush. They hope that through a series of speakers they can create events around which to mobilize. In London, Hill will speak in historic Conway Hall, where abolitionists and suffragists once spoke -- particularly appropriate given his message about what Hill perceives as the utter breakdown of American democracy. After London, the program includes engagements in Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, Frankfurt, Berlin, and Prague. Hill left a commentary on the eve of the trip.
RERUN ON PENNSYLVANIA SENATOR'S 2000 RESOLVE
Republican Senator Arlen Specter from Pennsylvania resolved immediately
after the 2000 election results that he was launching a bill to eliminate
the Electoral College. This did not happen. But the Senator's reactive
resolve remains fascinating as the United States nears another Presidential
choice.
Everyone has a friend or family member who just won't register, won't
get to the polls and responds to prodding by saying; "Oh, my little
vote does not mean
anything!" Don't you believe it! See what one vote has meant through
history.
BIOINTENSIVE GARDENING WORKSHOP
Check out what Ecology Action is offering for the world of the biointensive
minifarming community.
KARACHI -- Pakistan and India spent twice as much in acquiring modern weapons as Saudi Arabia, producer of the world’s greatest oil wealth. They have fought three wars since and are now seeking peace, to the great delight of their people.
HELPLESS COMMUNITIES, HAPLESS TIGERS
(By Samir Kumar Sinha, Patna, India)
Valmiki Tiger Reserve strives to conserve the Royal Bengal Tiger. The tiger is only one of the rare wild animals living in the Reserve. All are victims of hunting and poaching. They are the victims of human killing and also of the relentless spread of human habitation and commercial pressure.
WHY THE
EARTH IS SO IMPORTANT
Environmental questions have become very complex and scientifically involved.
Joshua, aged 14 -- a young man in St. Louis, Missouri, USA -- has presented
the situation at its basics. We need to listen to him.
WHO ARE THE EARTH ANGELS?
COMMENTARY:
PAKISTAN'S IMAGE "SHATTERED IN WESTERN EYES"
(By Shahid Husain)
Special to Ecotopics
KARACHI, The death of Daniel Pearl has far-reaching implications for the citizens of Pakistan. In the death of the Wall Street Journal writer, the journalistic community has lost one of its great sons. He is a victim of malignant aggression that has penetrated deep into Pakistan society for varied reasons.
RECLAIM "CONSERVATIVE"
Writers, above all, should not sit quietly when perfectly good words are kidnapped and forced into prostitution. Far too many politicians are called "conservative," when the correct designation for them and their thinking is "reactionary."
John Gorman
COMMENTARY
A view from near the eye of the storm by an experienced journalist.
LETTER
TO THE EDITOR
A letter-writer from the United Kingdom questioned references in Ecotopics’
Issue #12 to the dictators helped by the United States in the past –
particularly Adolf Hitler. The question was a good one, and Hyman Rudoff
researched the matter. We wrote back to Mr. Rasmussen that we, too, were
dismayed to find what turned up in a number of sources. The result was
:DISMAL
HISTORY OF U.S. SUPPORT FOR DICTATORSHIP
(Researched
by Hyman Rudoff)
Without help from U.S. industrialists, Hitler might never have been able
to wage World War II.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Something new for Ecotopics, the view from another part of the forest.
BULLETIN: CHOOSE BY POPULAR VOTE, REGARDLESS OF PARTY!!
HUMANITY -- Monoculture From Hell
ACCEPTANCE INSTEAD OF TOLERANCE
By Hyman Rudoff Ph.D.
Guest Commentary in The Willits (CA) News, July 2, 1999
DOES HUMANITY FACE A FUTURE in which our children will accept without question -- as if they were the status quo -- tasteless tomatoes, slack-baked chemical "bread" ...? air that stinks and chokes, water you dare not touch, much less drink or swim in?
WHAT IS THE SPIRIT BEHIND OIL INDUSTRY INVESTMENT in solar and other renewable energies? Why is the oil involvement so penurious? Well, according to Dr. Ross McCluney, Principal Research Scientist at the University of Central Florida's Florida Solar Energy Center, the oil interests believe they "... won't have to worry about it." Yes, fossil fuels are finite, but they are still too easy to pass up.
WHO HAS THE CON?..... Environmentally Speaking... Don't let the industrial polluters put all the blame on you, the individual. But do your part, nonetheless.
BOOK REVIEW ARCHIVES
BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS
By Jo Campbell
Economic
and Environmental Costs of Alien Plant, Animal and Microbe Species
Edited by David Pimentel CRC Press 369 pages
The executive order by President Clinton works on small rations, but with
comprehension from the present administration. The problem of invasive species
"gores a lot of people’s oxen." JC
"KENNELS AND KENNELING: A GUIDE FOR PROFESSIONALS AND
HOBBYISTS"
(by Joel M. McMains)
Second Edition, Howell Book House, IDG Books Worldwide, $22.99
McMains: "I think that whether we are talking kennels, dogs or anything else,
we'd better remember, we've only got one environment. You and I both know it
has been abused horribly for a long time."
WHY SMART PEOPLE MAKE BIG MONEY MISTAKES
If it seems odd that a book on the subject of investing should find room in a publication devoted to minimization of waste and the matter of human rights, let us remember that wastage of money is waste enough to be of concern to all who invest it.
(Reviewed by Hyman Rudoff, Ph.D.)
RADON REDUX ...
Radon, perfect environmental for the radical right, cannot be blamed on industry; protection costs only the householder.
TIP A CANOE
(by Peter Abresch, Write Way Publishing,
Aurora, Colorado. To be published January 2001
Reviewed by Jo Campbell)
Reviewing a mystery novel for an environmental publication is a departure, to say the least. But when it happens to be a work that is appropriate, enjoyable and skillfully done, why not?
ARCHIVED FEATURES
Activists of a small northern California town have tried to remind the population of the principles set forth by the U S founders in the Bill of Rights. This document, in the opinion of many, is threatened by supposedly anti-terrorist measures. "We The People…." joined the town’s Fourth of July parade to demonstrate the difference.
"….SECURITY
AND LIBERTY MAY PROSPER TOGETHER."
President Dwight D. Eisenhower, said more than we may have realized.
A COMPREHENSIVE
SCHEME FOR A LONG-TERM SOURCE OF ENERGY
(by Hyman Rudoff)
Many world powers seem to enjoy ignoring the looming crisis in the world's
fuel supply. But there are still widespread searches being made for alternatives
to carbonaceous material - - specifically fossil fuels. Here is a comprehensive
scheme which one hopes will help alleviate the world's hunger for energy.
GARBAGE
IS GOLD!
By
Shahid Husain
KARACHI: Home to 14 million people, Karachi happens to be one of the biggest
cities of the world and also one of the dirtiest. 70 percent of the 10,000
small, medium and large-scale industries of Pakistan’s Sindh province
are located in Karachi. No wonder it produces enormous amount of industrial
and municipal waste. But Nargis Latif, 50, a dynamic woman who runs an
NGO called "Gul Bahao" thinks this is not a negative. She has
come out with a novel idea. She says Karachi’s garbage could produce
wealth and generate employment.
NEW INSIGHT INTO
ALZHEIMER'S
(by Hyman
Rudoff)
"There is increasing evidence that sporadic Alzheimer's disease
is linked to environmental pollutants and oxidative stress," in the
view of scientists reporting in professional journals. Their work has
led to some new speculations; indeed a new front in the war against Alzheimer's.
NEGLECTED
DISEASES NOW BEING RESEARCHED
(By Robert Walgate,
Courtesy, The Scientist – Biomed Central)
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the global medical aid charity,
has committed $100 million over 5 years for an initiative to develop drugs
for diseases of the developing world—like sleeping sickness, leishmaniasis,
and Chagas disease. Resources for research into these diseases have been
severely limited – almost ignored.
CALIFORNIA
GROCERS WARN OF MERCURY IN FISH
(By Cat Lazaroff, Environmental
News Service)
Warnings, posted near fish counters by California’s Safeway, Whole
Foods, Trader Joe's, Kroger's and Albertson's, advise women and children
not to eat swordfish and shark, and to limit consumption of fresh tuna.
These were prompted by a lawsuit filed by California Attorney General
Bill Lockyer. Consumers deserve to know when they are being exposed to
chemicals that can cause cancer, birth defects and reproductive harm,
he said.
POISONED
PEOPLE
By
Samir Kumar Sinha
Even as South Asia’s people remain victims of traditional illnesses,
they fall prey to modern ailments caused by environmental stress. On average,
an infant eats, drinks and breathes more by volume than an adult. Such
a high degree of exposure to the environment, makes the little ones –
on whom their nations’ future rests -- tragically prone to environment-related
morbidity and mortality.
TRAINING
OPPORTUNITY FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SPECIALISTS
Israel's leading management institute, Galillee College, offers scholarhips
in training for senior environmental management from developing countries.
JOURNALIST HELEN THOMAS CONDEMNS
BUSH ADMINISTRATION
Helen Thomas awakes to ask herself, what do I hate today? War and Bush
top
the list. Journalists should not give up, she advises, "There is
always a leak.
Someone wants to save the country!"
"FAVORITE DICTATORS"
Through the years, the United States has supported leaders who, though
compliant to US goals, were/are tyrannical rulers over their own people.
GREENING AFRICA’S DESERT MARGINS
There Are Positive Desert-Stopping Efforts, But They Appear to Neglect
Conditions in Nigeria. Global Environment Facility Funds New UNEP (United
Nations Environmental Program) Poverty-Busting Project Promising New Hope
to People and Wildlife.
WOMEN IN PAKISTAN ADOPT ACTIVIST DECLARATION
Elected women officials join their home-based sisters for a joint activist
resolution.
DESERT MARCH THREATENS TO SWALLOW NORTHERN NIGERIA
(By Abiodun Raufu)
Much of the vast northern part of Nigeria has been turned into wasteland by the
Sahara Desert, which has continued to gobble up land as it marches fiercely and
unstoppably southward.
INDIA RIVER IN DIRE PERIL
(By Samir Kumar Sinha)
A new writer for Ecotopics has examined the environmental and economic
problems of two rivers of India and how they affect their deeply distressed
communities.
CANABIS ABUSE CAUSING AMOTIVATIONAL SYNDROME
(By Shahid Husain)
Scientist speaks out on desperate issues in health as affected by tension of
economics and political stresses in Pakista
TOOTHFISH PIRATES MAY FACE ARMED AUSTRALIAN SHIPS
Australian authorities promise that they will take appropriate action against pirate
fishing boats. Legal fisherfolk are not so sure. They are ready to defend their
fishing rights on their own
A TURN FOR THE BETTER!! BIODEGRADABLE REINFORCED PLASTICS
(by Hyman Rudoff)
Biodegradability has reached reinforced plastics. Their advantages heretofore
were mainly strength, stability, and resistance to most solvents, water among
them. That they resisted temperature changes was a great advantage too, and
their formability was outstanding.
NEGATIVE ECHOES FROM LAGOS LAGOON
(by Abiodun Raufu)
Special to Ecotopics
It is a common knowledge among Lagos residents that Lagos lagoon stinks. But what many Lagosians may not realise is that the lagoon also poses health hazards to the city and its inhabitants. Human activity is at the heart of the terrible state of the lagoon.
EARTH'S ICE MELTING FASTER THAN PROJECTED
(by Lester Brown)
Release from Earth Policy Institute 2002
Our generation is the first to have the capacity to alter the earth's climate. We are also, therefore, the first to wrestle with the ethical question of whether the capacity to change the planet's climate gives us the right to do so. Several new studies report that the earth's ice cover is melting faster than projected.
US CONSTITUTION UNDER THREAT
The American Civil Liberties Union views with alarm Presidential approval of "Anti-Terrorist" measures which erase Constitutional guarantees.
BUSH AMONG THE GREENHOUSE GASES!!
By Hyman Rudoff, Ph.D.)
The US President could hardly wait to remove restraints on two dangerous substances in our air and water. Carbon dioxide and arsenic are back to high levels, to the delight of affected industries. What next?
PREMIER POISED TO MINE IN KIRTHAR NATIONAL PARK
(By Shahid Husain)
Special to Ecotopics
KARACHI -- Premier Exploration Pakistan Limited, a subsidiary of UK-based
oil giant Premier Oil emerged victorious when the Sindh High Court
dismissed a petition.
NOTES ON WATER!!
EARTH HAS 50 TO 100 YEARS OF SOIL PRODUCTIVITY LEFT! LEARN HOW TO SAVE IT
WILLITS, CALIFORNIA -- Ecology Action, developing biointensive philosophy and techniques for 30 years, will hold a workshop in Sustainable Mini-Farming here on September 7, 2002.
OUR CLOSEST RELATIVES ARE DISAPPEARING
(Janet Larsen Eco-Economy - Earth Policy Institute)
After more than a century of no known primate extinctions, scientists recently confirmed the disappearance of a subspecies of a West African monkey. The loss of this monkey, known as Miss Waldron's red colobus, may be a harbinger of future losses of our closest evolutionary relatives.
NOTES
Short takes on the news: some good, some bad.
THE MALAHAT "ENGINE"
An ecological step forward
(by Hyman Rudoff)
In these days of frequent lip-service to the "environment", it is refreshing to learn about a company that really does work hard and successfully at the actual nuts and bolts of environmental protection
TRACTORS, SATELLITES AND PICK-UP TRUCKS
Precision Farming
(by Steve Price, Dr. Tony Phillips)
Neal Isbell prepares for his workday by loading his trusty pick-up truck with the everyday essentials of farming: his cap, jacket, extra boots, a box lunch and his dog. And don’t forget the laptop computer and a GPS receiver.
INDUS: GREAT HERITAGE AT RISK
(By Shahid Husain)
Special to Ecotopics
KARACHI – The mighty Indus River that flows almost a thousand miles north and west through Kashmir before it veers sharply to the south, is dying a slow death due to the invasion of salt water from the sea.
PAKISTAN FISHERIES THREATENED BY POLLUTION
AND OVER-FISHING
(by Shahid Husain)
Special to Ecotopics
Illegal nets and deluging industrial waste combine to reduce fish stocks
and to kill
what survives. Fisherfolk are rallying to protest both these elements
which
endanger their livelihood.
NIGERIAN OIL WORKERS & FAMILIES RAGE AGAINST
FOREIGN COMPANIES
(by Abiodun Raufu)
Special to Ecotopics
Rather than pay the cost of using valuable natural gas, foreign oil companies working in Nigeria, let the gas burn off, regardless of the health damage to their employees, their families and to the environment.
A THOUSAND YEAR OLD ENMITY
Hyman Rudoff, Ph.D.)
Muslims and Jews, Hindus and Muslims, Ibo and Yoruba, Irish Protestants and Irish Catholics - and others - rage at one another because both sides of many world questions were promised the same thing: power, property or self-determination. And today, all of us pay the price.
THE WORLD EXPLODED SEPTEMBER 11 AND IS STILL
RUMBLING. IS NORMAL LIFE TRYING TO MAKE A
COMEBACK?
A new, delectable variety of apple is the hit of the Quetta, Pakistan, Apple Show. The grower keeps their origins a secret
CONSUMERS LOSING RIGHT TO CHOOSE, SAYS INTERNATIONAL ORGANIC GROUP
Genetic changes in food crops are polluting the environment in a way that is outside the control of society. "It means that consumers could soon be deprived of their right to choose GMO-free food, if this unwanted spread of genetically altered genes is not stopped," says organization’s leader.
PLASTIC BULLET SILENCES PEACEFUL PROTEST
Non-violent protester in Quebec has larynx smashed by rubber bullet. Amnesty International demands investigation
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION OF POLICE BRUTALITY DURING THE SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS IN QUEBEC CITY
FROM ACROSS THE BIG POND - 2001
Andy Walsh, a new writer for Ecotopics, shows that in times of general disaster, the small enterprise is victimized by the agribusiness forces.
BUSH REJECTS FAMILY PLANNING FOR THE WORLD
US President’s "global gag" on US funding of international efforts to plan families; all in aid of halting perceived abortion threat. Keep those future sweat-shop workers coming!
AN OLD SPACE CADET!
Ole Buzz Aldrin believes responsibility toward future generations means giving up Earth and moving to Where??
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
The Republic of South Africa has problems. Through them all the nation still strives to serve the planet and its occupants. The quote comes from the 1996 Bill of Rights of the Constitution of that country.
LETTER FROM REDFORD
Actor and environmentalist, Robert Redford contacts the world of email with his concerns for the sanctity of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Don’t destroy it for six months of oil, he asks.
TEEN-AGE MISSIONER
American teen shares with Ecotopics what she learned about Roatán islanders off Honduras, and about the harm done them by U.S. businesses.
PALM BEACH COUNTY MAKES A SMART DECISION
ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING
The Florida Climate Alliance has persuaded state officials to make wise decisions regarding the future of their part of the planet and its people. Remaining is the big question: Will Florida's Governor answer the people’s call for leadership?
IS YOUR COUNTRY DEMOCRACY-READY?
Does your country, your district, county, state make elections as fair and democratic as possible? What aspects of the process should be improved to make it more so? The Center for Voting and Democracy, Voices of the Electorate and the Alliance for Democracy have joined together to produce this survey that will help to diagnose the state of democracy where you live.
A NOVEL APPROACH TO THE CONTROL OF THE ZEBRA MUSSEL (By Hyman Rudoff, Ph.D.)
A tiny invader brings physical destruction and environmental disruption. What can be done?
TIRE-DERIVED ACTIVATED CARBON:
(By Hyman Rudoff, Ph.D.)
Academic and scientific talent is finding uses for ugly waste products.
FLEA-CONTROL PRODUCTS THREATEN PETS AND CHILDREN
NRDC Report Finds Serious Short-and-Long-Term Hazards
APARTHEID ALSO HURT WHITES
Johannesburg (Sapa) - Apartheid affected white South Africans as well as blacks, and they should not be overlooked in efforts to combat racism.
A DEATH IN THE FAMILY
The women's rights community was unready to lose a standard-bearer: Dr. Donna Allen, founder of Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press. Her stature in many fields left general-circulation media floundering.
THE "TUGANTINE"
How care for the environment and saving in cost may go together, is given by an active commercial vessel, the "Norfolk Rebel", the world's only "tungantine"...
(By Hyman Rudoff, Ph.D.)
TAX-BREAKS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SPENDING?
WELL, WHY NOT??
Consumers today see only the urge to "consume more and more goods forever." They threaten the life of the planet. Suppose there were another way? A Belgian specialist thinks there may be one.
(By Jo Campbell)
TAKE CARE OF PET LIZARDS!
Entomology and Herpetology join to keep poisonous North American fireflies from killing exotic zoo and pet lizards.
ARMY WORMS THREATEN SOMALIA’S CEREAL CROPS
Lack of government makes matters critical
TERROR IN THE DARK
"One of the worst acts of anti-Semitism in recent American history."
(Introduction by Jo Campbell)
BOYS DEAD, WOUNDED AFTER BOTCHED TRIBAL INITIATIONS
Deadly traditions usually affect only women. This is a surprise exception.
‘MORAL IMPERATIVE’ OF CHEAP MEDICINES FOR AIDS-STRICKEN
The developing world is locked in a struggle with international trade agreements and the pharmaceutical industry. Should not these nations have access to essential, life-saving or life-improving pharmaceuticals at the cheapest possible price?
WHEN WOMEN ARE IN CONTROL, DISEASE INCIDENCE DROPS
A women's condom has increased women's ability to negotiate safer sex.
WOMEN STILL UNDER-REPRESENTED IN POLITICS
"Without gender equality in politics, there is no democracy," according to Thenjiwe Mtintso, deputy secretary-general of the Africa National Congress, adding: "Only when political parties and national legislation are decided upon jointly by men and women with regard to the interest and aptitudes of both halves of the population, will democracy in southern Africa assume true and dynamic significance."
LEADERS FOR REALITY IN JUSTICE - During the final months of 1998, citizens of the United States may have lost their franchise; their right to elect and maintain the government of their choice. Representatives Conyers, Drexel, Frank and others tried to sound the alarm. John Conyers first set the echoes ringing.
SOUTH AFRICA COMMISSION REVEALS
WAR AGAINST WOMEN - South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission has, to its credit, discovered and acknowledged that wars of oppression are significantly directed against women.
BIG AGGIE BOWS TO BLACK FARMERS
Winston Monk and his wife Alma sued "Big Chicken" before their fellow farmers sued "Big Aggie." The Monks and other Eastern farmers sued poultry giant Perdue in the Spring of 1998, but were cut down by machinations of the powerful producers.
"Giving the farmers $50,000 does NOT make up for acres lost, income the farmers have been without, and the fact that in many cases farmers have no land to leave to their children and grandchildren."
THE LADY IS THE BOSS:
Steve Alan Edwards, previously published in Ecotopics [Cracks In The Ice, Issue #5]..... now takes us on a totally new adventure. Gender-consciousness may alter vocabulary, but the new relationships created by role-reversal can be harmonious and non-challenging to the sex which was once considered unable to handle "the situation"!
ENERGY OF OUR OWN, is what we need. - Renewables which cannot be held for ransom, whose protection does not cost thousands of young lives or billions of dollars. They are our very own, in the sun above us and the earth and water beside us. The economy must be shifted from support of fossil fuels to the development of the varied energy sources which do not pollute and which will last forever.
TEN POINTS TO THE RENEWABLE REVOLUTION -- Author and consultant on renewable energy John J. Berger, Ph.D. tells how it can be done: how renewables can become part of national policy. We, the people, must make it happen.
HARPOONS WERE NOTHING, compared with industrial pollution. The cetacean of today faces terminal reduction of food supplies, healthy water. If they go, can we be far behind? GreenLife, established in Finland in 1981 now has a North American cousin organization. William C. Burns, Director of the US GreenLife Society, has written an evocative piece on present-day challenges faced by the whales we all thought we could "Save...".
INTERNATIONAL NETWORKING?
"HOPELESSLY UNDERDEVELOPED!" - The leader of GreenLife Society International, Oras Tynkkynen, at the headquarters in Finland, feels that GLSI has a special responsibility in a world apparently teeming with diverse environmentally-concerned groups.
ACTIVATED CARBON FROM PECAN WASTE
-- by Hyman Rudoff, Ph. D. Water purified with carbon has a Biblical history. Dr. David Rockstraw of New Mexico State University is exploring use of a modern waste product -- pecan shells -- for the purpose.
COMMITTING TO ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION: START NOW
by Doña L. Keating. There are many ways to get involved in saving our home. Professional Options shows us one of them.
What is START? - by Rob Haglund.
CIRCUMCISION THROUGH WORDS, - an alternative to the cruelty of female mutilation, is on the increase in Kenya. A story from Africa News Service is used with permission.
CRACKS IN THE ICE - by Steve Alan Edwards.
POVERTY: CONSUMING THE MIDDLE CLASS... Industrial power and executive pay top a pyramid based on ground-down poor Americans. They work, but working doesn't pay a living wage any more. What is going on here? Who can fix it? We can. We must.
GLEANERS: ONLY THE FIELDS HAVE CHANGED... Prodigal waste and family hunger stand side by side throughout the United States. At last, through hard work of individuals, the waste is going to feed the children and their parents. Don't overlook the fact that the need for private effort is exacerbated by cuts in public food programs.
DON'T WORRY: SCIENCE TO THE RESCUE!... Globally, scientists, no longer labeled "mad" now that we need them so desperately, are going to get into the act and save the world. Not from an errant asteroid, not from green aliens from Outer Space, but from the consequences of our own carelessness. Or thoughtlessness. Or greed, or some combination of all three. Well, maybe they'll save the world...maybe.
SINGER, SONG-WRITER, ACTIVIST ON THE "NORTHERN PLANTATION"... African-Nova Scotians have some of the same problems found below the border. But the strength and the spirit don't give up.
TEACHING BOTH SIDES OF THE ENVIRONMENT How could there possibly be two sides to the question of saving the planet? This essay may show us that the "everybody knows" form of research will not do the job in the face of a serious opponent. It could be that opposing views backed by scientific data and not just by profit margins, will make for better research on both sides. We might even aim at being sure we're scientifically correct, and not just politically correct.
A PLASTIC PIONEER... One of Kay Kester-Oliver's structures dates back to the 1850s; the other one dates back to discarded milk jugs, plastic soda bottles and plastic diaper trimmings. Her boarding kennel consists largely of recycled plastic -- 11 tons of the stuff. It's impervious to moisture, never needs painting, is easy to clean and sanitize with bleach. And it's virtually maintenance-free.
ROOM FOR WHOM? ...US industry would contest a shutting down of immigration into the United States. But, between growing influx and high birth rates, we are destroying the place where we live. Carrying Capacity Network is trying to show us how to avoid disaster.
SUPREME COURT ASSURES BLACK VOTING RIGHTS ... "A surprising and hopeful victory" by the African-American voters of Worcester County, MD may encourage others who have lost their districts to take further legal actions against discriminatory election systems.
MINORITIES RISE ABOVE THE SYSTEM ... Political, academic and human-rights groups have watched a Maryland minority community bring its system into the 20th Century.
US, WORLD SCIENTISTS WORK TO IMPROVE EARTH'S WATER... Future wars could erupt -- not over borders or religion, but over rights to water. Ordinary people and governments seem to have their attention elsewhere. What are US researchers doing to forestall the conflicts?
WATER AND PEOPLE: TIPPING THE BALANCE ... Communities must look to their limits.
Questions or comments? e-mail Jo Campbell for additional information
Last update 10/25/05
