permaculture

[Gary Gallon <cibe@web.net>]

             THE GALLON ENVIRONMENT LETTER
    Canadian Institute for Business and the Environment
       506 Victoria Ave., Montreal, Quebec H3Y 2R5
        Ph. (514) 369 0230, Fax (514) 369 3282
  Email  cibe@web.net, Website 
<http://www.gallon.elogik.com/>http://www.gallon.elogik.com
             Vol. 3, No. 23, August 1, 1999 

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         INTERNATIONAL    INTERNATIONAL   INTERNATIONAL 
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CLIMATE CHANGE BURNING PARTS OF THE U.S.

The greenhouse gas emissions being put up by the oil and gas industries
and the coal fired electricity plants are beginning to sear the United
States and Canada. In the Northeastern United States the land is sweltering 
under one of the worst droughts in decades, and relief is nowhere in
sight. Federal weather forecasters warn that climate change related
weather patterns have sent floods to the Northwest and Southwest while 
parching the East may last through the winter, with rain coming to drought 
stricken areas only as part of an unusually violent hurricane season.
The last time the Northeast had a drought this severe and widespread was 
in 1988. Experts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association 
(NOAA) say this may be one of the three worst droughts in the U.S. in
the past 50 years.  In Northern Virginia, the weather has not been this dry
since the 1930s. In Maryland yesterday, where the drought is the worst in 
30 years, Governor Parris Glendening declared the state's first ever statewide
drought emergency.
                                             
Over the last 365 days, rainfall is down seven to 15 inches in many states. 
In June and July, New York City has gotten only 14 percent of its normal 
rain. Providence, Rhode Island has had 17 percent, Buffalo, New York, 
only 45 percent, and Portland, Maine 41%. The U.S. Geological Survey's 
Drought Watch has daily updates of stream flow maps online at the 
website <http://water.usgs.gov/>http://water.usgs.gov/  Source, WASHINGTON,
DC,
July 30, 1999 
Environment News Service (ENS) 1999.

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STATE OF MARYLAND DECLARES HEAT EMERGENCY

Governor Parris N. Glendening of Maryland declared his state's 
first statewide drought emergency, which included pledges for 
financial aid for farmers hardhit. Within a week the governor expects 
to receive recommendations for wateruse restrictions from the drought
task force he formed. Rainfall in Baltimore County has been
just under half of normal. Water supplies are still adequate in most 
parts of Virginia, which also has a drought task force. Officials 
continue to monitor the Potomac. Source, "In Parched Maryland, 
Governor Declares Drought Emergency." New York Times, 
July 30, 1999.

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NEW JERSEY FIGHTS WORST DROUGHT CONDITIONS

New Jersey is also facing serious global warming induced drought
conditions. Gov. Christine Todd Whitman declared a statewide drought
emergency yesterday after calls for voluntary conservation of water 
in New Jersey failed to lessen the demands on the state's dwindling 
water supply. Strict rules on outdoor water use, including a prohibition 
on the use of lawn sprinklers and filling of resident's swimming pools or
decorative fountains, have been imposed. Governor Whitman warned 
that limitations on indoor water use would be imposed if the drought 
persists. Source, "To Fight Drought, New Jersey Puts Sharp Limits on 
Water Use.", New York Times, August 6, 1999.

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REPORT ON BARRIERS TO GREEN TAX REFORM RELATED
TO CARBON TAXES

You may wish to review the report called, "Social and Political
Barriers to Green Tax Reform, the Case of CO2 Taxes in Norway,
CICERO Policy Note 19995, prepared by the Center for International 
Climate and Environmental Research  Oslo. It explores a number of 
cases of attempts to tax Norwegian mainland emission intensive 
industries during the 1990's. These industries, mainly made up of 
aluminum and ferroalloy producers located in the Norwegian countryside, 
and a series of planned gaspowered power stations along the coast, 
have enjoyed full exemption from CO2taxes during a period in which 
relatively high CO2taxes have been imposed on Norwegian consumers 
and some other industries. CICERO Policy Note 19995 is available 
from Reidar Evensen, Information Officer, CICERO, Center for 
International Climate and Environmental Research  Oslo, POB 1129, 
Blindern, N0317 Oslo, Norway Ph. (+47) 22 85 87 84, Fax(+47) 22 85 87 51
email reidar.evensen@cicero.uio.no  CICERO's web site in PDF format 
at http://www.cicero.uio.no/~ftp/publications/Policynotes/pn199905.pdf
The abstract is available in html
http://www.cicero.uio.no/Publications/Policynotes/pn199905.html

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NEW DRAFT OF EU ELECTRONICS DIRECTIVE ON LINE 

The European Commission has released an amended Directive on Waste 
Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) (July, 1999), a copy of 
which can be found at the web site of the Industry Council for Electronic 
Recycling. Among the changes are the lowering of recovery targets 
for monitors and TVs to 70% from 85%, the elimination of the 5% 
recycled plastic requirement. As yet, there is no target date for 
expanding the scope of the Directive to cover small appliances, 
radios and TVS, lighting and toys. Visit the 
website  http://www.icer.org.uk

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INTEREST IS GROWING REGARDING THE WTO MEETING IN
SEATTLE IN SEPTEMBER 1999

The WTO's 3rd Ministerial Conference, scheduled to be held 30 
November to 3 December 1999 in Seattle, Washington, will launch 
the next major world trade negotiations due to start early in 2000. 
Ministers and other senior officials from over 150 governments are 
expected to attend the fourday meeting at the Washington State 
Convention and Trade Center in Seattle. At the last WTO Ministerial 
Conference held in May 1998 in Geneva, Switzerland, Ministers 
established a process under the WTO General Council to prepare for 
the 3rd Ministerial Conference. This process, which has been underway 
since September 1998 in Geneva, calls on the General Council to submit 
recommendations regarding the WTO's work programme to Ministers, 
enabling them to take decisions in Seattle. Based on the General Council's 
recommendations, Ministers will announce the organization and management 
of the WTO's work programme, including the scope, structure and time
frames of negotiations to liberalize international trade in sectors such as
agriculture and services.  With the count down to Seattle Internet Sites 
are springing up like mushrooms. Here are number of the websites,

World Trade Organization website at http://www.wto.org
WTO Seattle at   http://www.wto.org/wto/minist/seatmin.htm
Seattle Business welcomes WTO at http://www.wtoseattle.org
WTO Millennium Round by Green Party http://www.millenniumround.org 
Ontario PIRG's MAInot Project website at  http://mai.flora.org
Peoples Global Action (PGA) website at  http://www.agp.org 
PGA in Seattle  http://members.aol.com/mwmorrill/pga.htm 
People For Fair Trade website at http://www.peopleforfairtrade.org
Public Citizens Global Trade Watch http://www.tradewatch.org 
Seattle Citizen Committee website at http://www.seattlewto.org
Third World Network website http://www.twnside.org.sg/souths/twn/trade.htm 
BUND (Friends of the Earth Germany) http://www.snafu.de/~bund or www.bund.net
Friends of the Earth Europe website http://www.foeeurope.org
Trade, Environment and Sustainability http://www.foe.co.uk/foei/tes
Critical Mass, Seattle website at http://www.oz.net/~nic/cm.html

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CORRUPTION IN CHINA CONTINUES TO HARM THE ENVIRONMENT

One of the problems with implementing major projects to clean up 
sewage and install air pollution control devices is the corruption of
civil society, where monies designated for such projects are diverted
to satisfy individual desires for wealth. This has been a problem in
Russia and Indonesia, as the World Bank has pointed out. Now here
is an article in the Washington Post newspaper. A series of government 
reports indicate that China's recurrent problem with disastrous flooding 
in the Yangtze River valley is not due to Mother Nature, but to bad
management of water control projects, poorlybuilt dikes and
corruption within the Ministry of Water Resources, which China's 
National People's Congress finds to have been diverting millions of 
dollars earmarked for flood prevention into stocks and real estate. 
Last year more than 4,100 people were killed when the major rivers 
in northeastern China broke their banks. A study released this month 
by the Forestry Department also found corruption to blame for
endangering attempts to stop illegal logging in seven provinces. Illegal
logging by government and military officials was banned last year in 
Sichuan and other provinces because it contributed to flooding and
massive soil erosion. "Corruption Erodes China's River Dikes." 
Washington Post, July 30, 1999.

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ANTI ENVIRONMENT ALERT ISSUED BY VIRGINIA BASED
CONSERVATIVE THINK TANK

Right wing think tanks in the United States continue to combat
efforts to protect the environment. They closely with similar Canadian
conservative think tanks like the Fraser Institute in Vancouver. The 
following is a special alert sent out by the American Policy Center 
(APC) based in Herndon, Virginia, through a mass email program 
called "APC Sledgehammer". Issued July 9, 1999, the email alert 
attempts to mobilize millions of people on email to blunt the efforts 
by President Clinton to provide funds for purchasing sensitive 
ecological lands for preservation. The following is the alarm raised by APC. 

"Your Right to Private Property is Being Threatened by Congress. 
The Conservation and Reinvestment Act (CARA) is a  Billion Dollar 
a Year Land Grab of American Citizen's Soil. Both the House and 
the Senate of the U.S. Congress have proposed companion bills, 
HR 701 and S 25, that will give the Fed's and their green allies over 
$1 billion annually to buy private property and put it in federal hands. 
Federal agencies, along with thugs like the Nature Conservancy, will 
be able to use the funds to pressure unwilling property owners to sell 
their land. The bill fits perfectly into the Clinton Administration's 
Urban Sprawl land grab. This bill is the most antiprivate property and 
landowner legislation proposed in years!"
"We must exert pressure on House and Senate leadership and our 
own Congressmen so that this bill dies. Among the numerous 
reasons we should oppose CARA are that no private property will be 
safe with these funds available, hundreds of small communities in 
existing Federal areas will be wiped off the map, Green groups will 
seek to designate hundreds of areas of private land as new government 
reservations. Environmental groups and big government proponents 
are salivating at this opportunity to acquire private property for their 
selfserving, detrimental agenda. The Greens recently sent an army of 
workers to Capitol Hill to pressure our representatives into supporting 
this attack on our constitutional liberties. We must counter their efforts!!!"
Source, American Policy Center, 13873 Park Center Rd. Suite 316,
Herndon, VA 20171, ph. (703) 9250881, fax (703) 9250991, email
apc@americanpolicy.org, website 
<http://www.americanpolicy.org/>http:\\www.americanpolicy.org
 
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          CANADA    CANADA    CANADA   CANADA
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CEIA EXPLORES IMPLICATIONS OF PENDING TRADE AGREEMENT 

The Canadian Environment Industry Association has invited contributions
to discussions on the implications of a General Agreement on Trade in 
Services (GATS). Upcoming GATS negotiations will set the rules for 
international trade, and the agreement is expected to have widereaching 
implications for environmental professionals who are engaged in selling 
their services to export markets. The Department of Foreign Affairs and 
International Trade is interested in working with the Canadian Environment 
Industry Association (CEIA) to explore such issues as determining what 
services Canadians are providing to export markets, and how those services
are being provided. For example, are Canadian environmental service 
providers penetrating export markets through investment, by personal 
visits, or electronically via phone, fax and email? Also, what barriers or 
other difficulties have Canadian environmental service exporters encountered? 
For example, have there been problems getting personnel or equipment 
across borders? Are there regulatory, legal or licensing issues that inhibit 
Canadian environmental service providers from working overseas?
Because the GATS proposes to liberalize trade in both directions, 
what concerns do Canadian environmental service providers have 
regarding the liberalization of trade in services in Canada? In other 
words, are there areas of the domestic environmental services market 
that Canadians would like to protect? To explore these issues, a joint 
teleconferencing meeting of the Canadian Environment Industry 
Association (CEIA) National Policy Forum and CEIA's Environmental 
Exporters Council is being held on September 17. If you are interested 
in participating, please contact Rebecca Last, CEIA Director of Programs 
& Policy, at ph. (613) 2366222 or email  info@ceiaacie.ca

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GREAT LAKES WATER QUALITY CONFERENCE

The 1999 Biennial Forum on Great Lakes Water Quality will be
held September 2426, 1999, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Hosted by 
the International Joint Commission (IJC) this forum will provide an 
opportunity for key events such as reports from the Great Lakes 
Water Quality Boards, public hearings, and the governments' report
on their progress to restore and protect the Great Lakes ecosystem. In
addition to these main events, more than 20 workshops and sessions are 
planned on a range of topics from toxics to watershed management and 
the use of clean technology. In conjunction with the forum, the first 
Great Lakes Environmental Expo will be held to provide the opportunity 
for organizations, companies, schools and government to showcase a 
variety of special projects, new technology, environmental products and 
future plans to maintain and preserve the Great Lakes. For more information 
contact the IJC at 5192576733; Email commission@windsor.ijc.org;
website at
<http://www.ijc.org/milwaukee/bienforum.html>http://www.ijc.org/milwaukee/bi
enforum.html

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ONTARIO ESTABLISHES FOREST ADVISORY BOARD

The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) has established
the Ontario Forest Accord Advisory Board (OFAAB).  The OFAAB 
will be responsible for advising the Minister on implementation of the 
Forest Accord, monitoring and commenting on forest management, 
including any proposed intensive management practices, effectiveness 
and efficiency of guidelines in protecting natural heritage, resolving 
disputes and finding ways to better manage the production forest. NGO
members on the Advisory Board include Federation of Ontario Naturalists
(FON) Executive Director Ric Symmes, and Wildlands League Executive 
Director Tim Gray. Other members include Don Hopkins of Abitibi
Consolidated, Craig McManus of Domtar, Jim Lopez of Tembec, John Riley 
of the Nature Conservancy and Gail Beggs and Fraser Dunn of MNR.
Two working meetings have been held and the next is planned for September
1999. Proceedings from each meeting will be available and posted on an 
MNR Website at <http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/>http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/

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NEW PAPER CURBSIDE PROGRAM FOR OTTAWA

OttawaCarleton Region in Ontario will launch its new Black Box
curbside recycling program in 210,000 households, dedicated to the 
collection of various paper grades (boxboard, corrugated, magazines, 
news, telephone directories, fine paper). But, like the City of Orillia, 
OttawaCarleton has elected to go with a black container because it 
can be made almost exclusively (85%) of recycled plastic (from 
Norseman Plastics, Inc.). The Region expects the new alternating 
collection system (paper one week, containers the next) will reduce 
collection vehicles by 30 percent and save $1 million per year. 

A new stateoftheart paper recycling facility, owned and operated 
by WRI Waste Recycling (Ottawa/Hull) Inc., will take the paper. 
With four times the capacity of its old facility, the $4million plant 
can process up to 250 tonnes of various paper grades per day using 
"star screen technology" that mechanically sorts heavy from light 
and large from small fractions with amazing effectiveness. WRI handles 
all the residential paper collected in the OttawaCarleton program. For
more information go to the Recycling Council of Ontario website at 
http://www.rco.on.ca\wri.html or  http://rco.on.ca\wrifacility.html. For 
more information, contact Peter McMahon at ph. 6137421222.

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