On our weekly Earth watch, Margaret Prescod speaks to Syed Hussan, a coordinator with the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change about the link between environmental devastation and human migration.
EarthWatch: Syed Hussan/Canadian Detention Strikes
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Filed under Climate Change, Media, Migration/Migrant Justice
17 Groups call on Ecover and Method to drop extreme genetic engineering plans
Photo from ETC group
San Francisco, Calif.– In an open letter released today 17 national and international consumer, environmental, women’s health and farming groups called on leading “natural” cleaning and personal care products manufacturer Ecover and its U.S.-based subsidiary, Method Products Inc., to cancel plans to use oils and other ingredients derived from synthetic biology, a new and unregulated set of genetic engineering techniques. Earlier this month, Ecover announced it would switch to using oils produced by synthetic biology company Solazyme Inc. (SZYM) via synthetically engineered algae which feed on sugar.
The organizations, including Friends of the Earth, Center for Food Safety, Consumers Union, Women’s Voices for the Earth, Clean Production Action, Organic Consumers Association, and ETC Group, as well as watchdog and farmer groups in Brazil concerned about the environmental impacts of increased demand for Brazilian sugarcane, say the use of synthetic biology ingredients contradicts Ecover and Method’s branding as “sustainable” and “ecologically sound.”
“Synthetic biology is a new area of extreme genetic engineering and there are no regulations yet in place to deal with the implications of these new synthetic organisms. Our ability to even assess the risks is lagging way behind,” said Jim Thomas of ETC Group. “A wider switch to synthetic biology ingredients is likely to cause serious harm to biodiversity and farmers, and it is disappointing that Ecover and Method are leading the charge.”
Synthetic biology is the practice of artificially constructing genetic material such as DNA in order to create new forms of life or attempt to ‘reprogram’ existing organisms, such as yeast and algae. Synthetic biology companies claim that they can now generate millions of new, untested organisms per day. If a fraction of these synthetic organisms were released, the potential effects on health, the environment and farmer’s livelihoods are wide-ranging – from relatively benign to ecological and economic disruption.
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Filed under Actions / Protest, Climate Change, Corporate Globalization, Geoengineering, Greenwashing
Capitalism’s bullets in Latin America: invisible empires, state power and 21st century colonialism
By Benjamin Dangl, June 13, 2014. Source: Toward Freedom
Photo by AP
The notorious US private militia group Academi – previously known as Blackwater – trained Brazilian security forces in North Carolina in preparation for the current World Cup in Brazil, as reported by sportswriter Dave Zirin. Zirin pointed to the 2009 diplomatic cable released by Wikileaks, which revealed that Washington viewed the expected World Cup-related crises as opportunities for US involvement. Zirin wrote that for Washington, “Brazil’s misery created room for opportunism.”
Capitalism’s bullets follow the World Cup just as they do Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) signed with the US. Five years ago this month, protests were raging in northern Peru where thousands of indigenous Awajun and Wambis men, women and children were blockading roads against oil, logging and gas exploitation on Amazonian land. The Peruvian government, having just signed an FTA with the US, was unsure how to deal with the protests – partly because the controversial concessions in the Amazon were granted to meet the FTA requirements. According to a diplomatic cable released by Wikileaks, on June 1st, 2009 the US State Department sent a message to the US Embassy in Lima: “Should Congress and [Peruvian] President Garcia give in to the [protesters’] pressure, there would be implications for the recently implemented Peru-US Free Trade Agreement.” Four days later, the Peruvian government responded to the protest with deadly violence, leading to a conflict which left 32 dead. Continue reading
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Filed under Corporate Globalization
EarthWatch: Cliff Willmeng on community rights to ban fracking
Thursday: A shake up in Congress as Eric Cantor a leading GOP Congressman who was likely to become the next Speaker of the House is defeated. Why did immigrants rights activists respond to his defeat with civil disobedience actions? Our guest is an official with the United Farm Workers.
Colorado residents have filed a class action lawsuit against the state, the first of its kind, to maintain the community’s right to ban Fracking. For our weekly “Earth Watch” our guest is Cliff Willmeng a member of the Colorado Community Rights Network and one of the plaintiffs in the suit.
And soccer fans around the world will be focused on the World Cup that kicks off in Brazil on Thursday. Why will protesters be in the streets and why is the soccer federation FIFA under fire? Will the protests ruin the moment for fans around the world who have waited four years for these games to begin? Jules Boykoff who has played on the US Olympic soccer team is our guest.
Sojourner Truth Thursday, June 12th with host Margaret Prescod.
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Filed under Earth Radio, Earth Watch, Fracking
Will Brazil turn the Amazon into a factory of genetically modified trees?
Source: ejolt (Environmental Justice Organizations, Liabilities and Trade)
By the World Rainforest Movement.
Will the Brazilian government give a permit to plant genetically modified eucalyptus trees on a commercial scale? That’s the breakthrough expected by Suzano, one of the biggest Brazilian pulp and paper companies, and its fully owned biotechnology firm Futuragene. To export pulp and to feed its paper mills in Brazil, the company has planted almost 400 thousand hectares of large-scale monoculture fast-growing eucalyptus plantations in seven Brazilian states.
Suzano´s argument that this is a safe enough technology can be countered by the risks and especially the huge uncertainties that exist around this new technology which should at least postpone any introduction at commercial scale for now. Even the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) that has seriously failed by allowing certification of millions of hectares of large-scale monoculture plantations in spite of the many negative social and environmental impacts, at least applies the rule that GE technology should not be used in certified plantations. At least for this reason then, FSC should decertify Suzano, an FSC-certified company.
But another argument deserves a strong and immediate reply: Suzano argues that their new genetically engineered eucalyptus tree will result in a 20% increase in productivity and by introducing such trees, Suzano affirms it will need less land and could therefore reduce the use of chemical inputs and make more land available for food production.
That looks convincing. However, the experience in Brazil itself shows a quite different story. According to EJOLT´s report “A Global Overview of Industrial Tree Plantations”, in the past decades the Brazilian eucalyptus trees that are used in industrial plantations succeeded to achieve a 60% increase in productivity per hectare (not using genetically engineered trees), increasing from 27 m3/ha/year in the 1980s to 44 m3/ha/year currently. More important however is that the area covered by these plantations in the country never decreased for that particular reason. They actually increased from about 4 million hectares at the end of the 1980s to more than 7.2 million hectares today, and the Brazilian plantation industry plans to duplicate this area by 2020. The Brazilian “success story” of being the country with the highest wood productivity per hectare worldwide has never been a reason to use less land, on the contrary. Higher productivity gave these companies such an advantage that they expanded their plantations and pulp mills more and more, increasing their profits.
Suzano´s move to GE eucalyptus trees to increase productivity even more also attends its aim to explore a new use of its wood: producing pellets to be exported for energy production, to co-fire with coal in the UK. For this reason, Suzano has expanded its plantation in the Northeastern state of Maranhão over the past years, causing new conflicts with traditional communities that have been experiencing that their communal territories used for cattle grazing, fruit collection and other activities, get invaded by eucalyptus plantations. This has led to several conflicts, which gave reason to include Suzano in the recently launched EJOLT´s Atlas on Environmental Conflicts.
To summarize, Brazilian experience has learned that rather more than less lands will be occupied when productivity increases, and rather more than less conflicts will arise. Suzano´s demand for commercial planting of genetically modified eucalyptus trees led WRM, together with groups in Brazil and Latin America, to launch a letter to the Brazilian authorities to express their deep concern and urge the Brazilian government not to authorize the commercial release of yield enhanced genetically modified eucalyptus by Suzano/FuturaGene or by any other company that also has, or will present in future, a request for such a release.
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Filed under Biodiversity, Climate Justice, Corporate Globalization, Forests, GE Trees, Genetic Engineering, Greenwashing, Industrial agriculture
GJEP-GFC REDD video chosen for International Indigenous Film Showcase
Buffalo, New York (US) – The film A Darker Shade of Green: REDD Alert and the Future of Forests, produced by Global Justice Ecology Project and Global Forest Coalition, has been chosen to take part of the official selection of the 2nd International Indigenous Film Showcase of Venezuela (MICIV) 15 – 19 June 2014.
“We are honored to have the film chosen for the International Indigenous Film Showcase where it will highlight Indigenous Peoples’ concerns about REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) at a time when hearing these voices is crucial as business as usual continues,” stated Anne Petermann, Executive Director of Global Justice Ecology Project.
As the UN, World Bank, and corporate elites push their new “Green Economy,” A Darker Shade of Green: REDD Alert and the Future of Forests exposes a scheme that could be the largest land grab of all time.
“A Darker Shade of Green provides a powerful account of how the commodification of forests through carbon offset markets and REDD policies is triggering land grabbing and other injustices amongst Indigenous Peoples and local communities,” states Simone Lovera, director of the Global Forest Coalition.
The film also describes the current climate crisis as, “The new normal.”
The 2nd International Indigenous Film Showcase of Venezuela is organized by the Wayaakua Foundation, and is made possible thanks to the efforts of various communication collectives, the support of the National Autonomous Cinematography Center (CNAC), and the National Cinematheque Foundation (FCN).
All subjects related to indigenous peoples were welcomed by the 2nd International Indigenous Film Showcase of Venezuelafor submission including: territory, spirituality, traditional medicine, historical memory, art, human rights, displacement, war, self-determination, impacts of mining and mega-projects.
A Darker Shade of Green includes interviews and testimonies from Chiapas (Mexico), Acre (Brazil), and California (US), as well as India, Indonesia, Nepal, Panama, the Philippines and Uganda. These statements highlight Indigenous resistance to REDD and reveal threats to the future of forests globally.
Films will be screened in alternative venues, indigenous communities, universities, and non-profit outreach events organized by the Showcase.
A Darker Shade of Green: REDD Alert and the Future of Forests was made possible with support from Artists Project Earth UK, Carbon Trade Watch, Green Valley Media, Hiroshi Kanno, Isvara Foundation, Lawson Valentine Foundation, Lush Cosmetics Company, and New Visions Foundation.
Editor: Maria José Calderón Script: Jeff Conant Narration: Dania Cabello
Project Conception and Coordination: Jeff Conant, Orin Langelle, Anne Petermann, Simone Lovera
Global Justice Ecology Project and Global Forest Coalition released this video in 2012.
Trailer:
See the entire feature here:
A Darker Shade of Green: REDD Alert and the Future of Forests
For further information: Global Justice Ecology Project
and
MICIV – MUESTRA INTERNACIONAL DE CINE INDÍGENA DE VENEZUELA
- Twitter: @micivoficial
- Facebook: Muestra de Cine Indigena de Venezuela
- Youtube:MICIV OFICIAL
- Web: miciv.blogspot.com
- Instagram: MICIVOFICIAL
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Filed under Climate Change
You don’t need a Weatherman to know which way the wind blows
28 May 2014 by Orin Langelle, Source: PhotoLangelle.org
Note: Orin Langelle is the Director of Langelle Photography. He is also the Chair of the Board of Directors of Global Justice Ecology Project and a member of the Critical Information Collective. Langelle Photography is part of GJEP’s Social Justice Media Program.
When Bob Dylan wrote those words in 1965 for his song Subterranean Homesick Blues, he was not referring to the climate crisis, though these words are certainly appropriate today as we stare down the jaws of the oncoming climate catastrophe. One does not need to be a meteorologist to know that if we do not begin taking real, effective and just action to address the climate crisis, we are all in deep s#*t.
I shot this portrait of Bill Ayers, former Weathermen and Weather Underground founder, prior to his event at local independent radical bookstore Burning Books, here in Buffalo on 21 May. This is the first of a series of candid portraits I will be taking of radical movement figures in collaboration with Burning Books. The point of this endeavor is to document some of the people that have participated in the making of history in the ongoing struggle for freedom and justice – a history of victories, losses, mistakes and successes, that we can and should learn from.
Portrait of Bill Ayers before he spoke at Burning Books on 21 May 2014 in Buffalo, NY. Photo: Langelle
From Wikipedia (for what it’s worth):
William Charles “Bill” Ayers (born December 26, 1944) is an American elementary education theorist and a former leader in the counterculture movement that opposed U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. He is known for his 1960s radical activism as well as his current work in education reform, curriculum, and instruction. In 1969 he co-founded the Weather Underground, a self-described communist revolutionary group that conducted a campaign of bombing public buildings (including police stations, the U.S. Capitol Building, and the Pentagon) during the 1960s and 1970s in response to U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.
“He is a retired professor in the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago, formerly holding the titles of Distinguished Professor of Education and Senior University Scholar. During the 2008 US presidential campaign, a controversy arose over his contacts with then-candidate Barack Obama. He is married to Bernardine Dohrn, who was also a leader in the Weather Underground.”
More on Ayers in Wikipedia and in The Buffalo News ’60s radical Ayers still wants a revolution
About the Portrait
I met Bill in 1969 before he went underground. Before taking his photo, I told him that. Bill said, “You looked the same then as you do now.” I returned the humorous compliment.
I was glad to have this chance to take candid photos of Bill, and to talk to and know him better.
I think that a portrait done well is very personal and can bring out the real person – which is my goal. I want the real image of the real person. The image of someone who is deeply committed to what they do and provides us a glimpse of why they do it.
This is history and these stories and faces need to be remembered.
About the radical independent bookstore hosting his talk, Ayers commented, “Burning Books stands strong as an essential community space where we can gather, dream big, and act on what the known demands of us.”
How true that is. And I’m glad to be working with them to collaborate on this portrait project. Special thanks to Leslie James Pickering and all at Burning Books for making this possible. More information on how Leslie and Burning Books are standing up to the FBI can be found here. – Orin Langelle
And from the archives of the FBI:
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Filed under Actions / Protest, Climate Change, Climate Justice, Photo Essays by Orin Langelle, Political Repression
Latin America: Protests target Monsanto, Chevron
May 26, 2014. Source: WW4 Report
Photo: Alalam
Latin American activists joined thousands of environmentalists and farmers around the world in an international protest May 24 against genetically modified (GM) crops and Monsanto, the Missouri-based multinational that dominates the transgenic seed industry. This was the thirdMarch Against Monsanto since May 25 last year, and organizers expected the day of action to include protests in some 351 cities in 52 countries.
In Chile, where a farmer won more than $65,000 in December 2013 by challenging the contracting methods of Monsanto’s local affiliate, organizations including Chile Without Transgenics and I Don’t Want Transgenics (YNQT) sponsored protests in eight cities.
Mexicans held a total of 13 different protests. In the southeastern state of Chiapas, Without Corn There Is No Country and other groups organized an informational event in front of the cathedral in San Cristóbal de las Casas to raise awareness about the consequences of GM crops, while about 60 protesters marched in Santiago de Querétaro, the capital of the central state of Querétaro. Rubén Albarrán, of the band Café Tacvba, joined the painter and environmentalist Francisco Toledo to protest in the southern state of Oaxaca, and hundreds marched in Mexico City chanting: “We want beans; we want corn; we want Monsanto out of the country!” GM planting is limited in Mexico, but researchers say that even the current level of sowing has contaminated some of the many varieties of native corn; the plant was first cultivated in Mexico. Continue reading
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Filed under Actions / Protest, Corporate Globalization, Food Sovereignty, Latin America-Caribbean
