Plague-Rounds of the Rich

US - In 1993, a trio of Southern lawyers filed a $1 billion class-action suit on behalf of more than 5,000 Gulf War veterans, accusing scores of multinational corporations and their subsidiaries of contributing to the mysterious affliction known as Gulf War Syndrome. A trial date has been set for early 1998 in Texas. The suit charges 75 firms with "helping Saddam Hussein construct his war machine by selling Iraq material and equipment for an advanced biochemical weapons system." Among the US firms named are Teledyne Wah Chang Albany (Oregon - sold zirconium to a Chilean arms maker, who then sold zirconium cluster bombs to Iraq), Rexon Technology (New Jersey - conspired to export 300,000 artillery fuses to Iraq), Alcolac International (Maryland - sold 440 tons of thiodiglycol that was used by Iraq to make mustard gas), American Type Culture Collection (Maryland - made 70 shipments of disease-causing pathogens to Iraq) and Al-Haddad Trading (Tennessee - shipped several tons of chemicals that were used to make sarin nerve gas). The suit also names a number of foreign firms, including the Belgian division of Phillips Petroleum, which sold 520 tons of thiodiglycol that eventually turned up in Iraq.

Globalization: "Winners and Losers"

United Nations - "Globalization has its winners and losers," says the UN's 1997 Human Development Report. The winners are exporters and financiers in the West. The losers are the world's poor who "too often find their interests neglected and undermined." In the past 20 years, the share of world trade for 48 of the poorest countries has fallen by 50 percent - to a mere 0.3 percent. Other losers: 1.3 billion people living on less than a dollar a day; 160 million malnourished children; one-fifth of the world's population who will die before the age of 40. Also among the losers: 100 million people in the Western economies who are trapped in poverty. Globalization has caused a rise in the gap between the world's rich and poor "not recorded since the last century" and levels of unemployment "not seen since the 1930s." Challenging the "air of inevitability" that surrounds the push for globalization, the UN suggests several strategies to promote growth while benefiting the poor. These include promoting gender equality and giving individuals, households and communities more access to economic, social, political, environmental and personal assets. The UN report concludes with a call to extend debt relief to the world's 20 poorest countries. The estimated $5.5 billion cost is equal to the sum spent to build Disneyland Paris. The UN puts the total price of eradicating world poverty at just 1 percent of the global economy.

A Tigerless World?

India - Sixty percent of the world's tigers are found in India. The Tiger Trust estimates that fewer than 2,500 Royal Bengal tigers remain there. The Indian government sets the figure at 3,750. The IUCN Cat Specialist Group (CSG) places the number at 3,000. The CSG believes that poachers kill 300-400 tigers annually - mainly to provide folk medicines to wealthy buyers in the Far East. The Tiger Trust fears poachers kill as many as 500 tigers each year. How desperate is the tigers' plight? At present rates, using the most conservative figures, the last wild Bengal tigers will vanish from the face of the Earth in 12.5 years. If the Tiger Trust is right, they will be gone within five years.

No Moon, No Life

France - The possibility of life on other planets is smaller than previously thought. It is not enough to have an ocean, an atmosphere, a spin and the right amount of light from a friendly star. It also takes a moon - approximately the same size as the one orbiting the Earth. Researchers at the Bureau of Longitudes in Paris have determined that, if it were not for the influence of Earth's moon, our planet would wobble out of control. The tilt of the Earth's spin axis (the obliquity) produces the steady, cyclical march of seasons that has nurtured the planet's biodiversity. A 1-degree tilt in obliquity could bring on an ice age. The French astronomers theorize that Mars is devoid of life because its two minuscule moons could not stabilize the planet. The resulting tilts would have sent Mars careening through a series of extreme climate fluctuations. The situation is bleak in the long term. The moon is slowly moving away from Earth - about 1 inch per year. In a billion years, Luna will be so far away that Earth will tumble into uncontrollable chaos.

Salmon Wars

Canada - The Cold War between US and Canadian salmon interests was well underway long before 200 Canadian boats blockaded a US ferry in July. On May 22, British Columbia Premier Glen Clark served a 90-day notice that he was canceling the US Navy's access to the Maritime Experimental Test Range in Nanoose Bay - a site that Navy subs used for torpedo practice. Clark explained that the cancellation was meant to show "that there are consequences when the US ignores its international obligations," a pointed reference to the failed Pacific Salmon Treaty negotiations. The Nanoose Conversion Campaign (NCC), which has been trying to boot the US Navy out of Canadian waters for more than a decade, applauded the move but cautioned that Nanoose Bay is "much too important to be used as a poker chip." Hidden beneath the waters of Nanoose Bay are 30 metal towers, each 15 meters tall, equipped with hydrophones used to track ships, subs and torpedoes. NCC wants these intrusions removed and Clark recently assured the activists that these concerns "will be addressed whether or not the US implements fully and fairly the Pacific Salmon Treaty." In June, Alaskan Sen. Ted Stevens indicated that the US is still not prepared to play fair. If BC cancels the Nanoose seabed lease, Stevens announced, the US will break its promise to spend $100 million cleaning up the mess it left in its abandoned military bases in northern Canada.

Zapping Two-Stroke Technology

China - Recognizing the severe smog and noise pollution caused by the two-stroke engines of 470,000 mopeds and gas-powered bicycles on Shanghai streets, officials have decided not to issue any new licenses for the vehicles. The city plans to remove 80 percent of the two-strokes from its streets in the next three years and substitute rechargeable electric bikes. This sets the stage for battery-charged vehicles made by ZAP (Zero Air Pollution) Power Systems. ZAP signed an agreement with the Shanghai Forever Company Ltd. to cooperate on the production and marketing of electric bicycles through its 1,400 sales outselts in China over a six-month period. "China is in the unique position to leapfrog fossil fuel technology altogether, going directly from millions of human-powered bikes to clean electric vehicles" says ZAP president Gary Starr [ZAP, 117 Morris St., Sebastopol, CA 95472, (505) 824-4150, zap@zapbikes.com].

Jettison the Jetskis: Grab a Surfbike

US - Two-stroke engines on motorboats and jetskis cloud the air with fumes and foul the water with drizzles of unburned oil. Designed to be loud, cheap and inefficient, the two-stroke (the Saturday Night Special of internal combustion engines) discharges up to 20 percent of its fuel into the environment, unburned. Now, for those who want the thrill of zipping across the waves fully erect, there is a clean alternative - the Surfbike [800 Cabana, No. 1, Sherbrook, Québec, Canada J1K 3C3, (819) 565-4585, fax -4383, www.surfbike.ca]. A hand-steered forward rudder and a pedal-powered propeller have been grafted to a surprisingly stable surfboard body, producing a unique vessel that makes water-going as easy as climbing on a bike. It's not as fast as a motorboat, but a lot faster than a canoe. (A caveat: Kayakers and canoers will hate Surfbikes. Exercise discretion.)

US Fired Uranium Shells in Panama

Panama - The US military suppressed evidence that it test-fired depleted uranium projectiles in Panama, according to a munitions expert contracted by the Pentagon and a report obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. In addition, it is suspected that the US stored, on Panamanian sites, chemical weapons that now pose a significant public health risk from corrosion and toxic leaching. The report, "Unexploded Ordinance Assessment of US Military Ranges in Panama," confirms that a variety of unexploded munitions (tens of thousands of grenades, mines, mortars and bombs) and nerve gas reside on three firing ranges. The draft document states that the Army's Tropic Test Center used a range in Panama "to test anti-tank mines and depleted uranium projectiles," even though the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which oversees such activity, did not license the Army to do so. The Fellowship of Reconciliation [905 Market St., No. 801, San Francisco, CA 94103, (415) 495-6334, fax -5628], a national peace and justice organization that obtained the documents, is calling on the US government to meet its treaty obligations and clean the bases of all hazardous chemicals before the site is returned to the Panamanian government in 1999. Panama has proposed the establishment of an environmental center, which would ensure the cleanup of the bases (even after 1999) and extend the mandate of the Joint Environmental Commission, a group of citizens appointed by the presidents of each country, to address environmental concerns in the Panama Canal area.

Genetic Crops Cropped

UK - On August 6, Staffordshire activists destroyed an experimental crop of genetically engineered oilseed rape (canola oil) at Tibs Hill Farm near Coventry. The plants, containing mutant DNA, were owned by the US multinational Monsanto. An anonymous press release warned: "Our natural world is being tampered with for private profit and it is only a matter of time before something goes seriously wrong." Studies have shown that transgenic oilseed rape cross-pollinates with wild plants, spreading genetic pollution. (Unlike chemical pollution, the effects of genetic pollution spread exponentially and can quickly become irreversible.) In April, activists occupying the offices of Britain's Soybean Information Line (SIL) uncovered files showing that the SIL was, in fact, a public relations front for Monsanto. Meanwhile, in Germany, activists occupied four fields to prevent the planting of Monsanto's herbicide-resistant sugar beets. (Information on suppressed scientific studies on biotech hazards can be found on the Web at http://www.envirolink.org/orgs/shag/genetix.html.)

No More Surly Clerks

Japan - While US companies rely on computers to deplete the ranks of paid employees, a Tokyo convenience store wins top honors for lowering the bottom line. The Robot Shop stocks 2,500 different items and never closes. Employee complaints are nonexistent because, as Look Japan explains, "robots deliver the items you select." The companies that make the products rent shelf space by the month and tell the robots how much to charge.

Climate Changes Killing Koreans

North Korea - The global drought that killed millions in Africa in the mid-'80s may have been just a prelude to more devastating droughts forecast by climatologists. For the last two years, historic floods and droughts have killed and displaced millions in Europe, Asia and the Americas. Two years of floods and months of drought have destroyed 70 percent of North Korea's corn harvest and falling water levels in reservoirs threaten rice harvests. In August, the UN Children's Fund estimated that 80,000 Korean children were in immediate danger of dying of hunger. [Aid donations can be sent to: International Red Cross or UNICEF? Check.]

Russian Anti-Nuke Camp Attacked

Russia - The former USSR began construction of the Rostov nuclear powerplant in the 1970s, but when residents of nearby Volgodonsk learned that the reactor was to be built on an active earthquake fault and that radioactive wastewater from the plant would threaten the town's drinking water, their protests led to the cancellation of the project. In 1996, Russia's nuclear power ministry announced plans to complete the plant and open it for operation by 1998. On July 27, 70 young protesters from Russia, Belorussia, Ukraine, Tajikistan, Poland, Finland, Germany and the Czech Republic blocked the road to the plant, handcuffing themselves to 11 200-pound barrels of concrete. Calling themselves the Rainbow Keepers, this international coalition erected banners calling for a regional vote on the Rostov powerplant. Two days later, while armed soldiers watched impassively, 500 Rostov workers led by the head of the trade union committee attacked the camp, beating the nonviolent protesters and setting fire to their tents. Many men and women were brutally beaten. One vigiler sustained a broken nose and another's arm was broken. Five other Rainbow Keepers were hospitalized with brain injuries. [Messages of concern may be faxed to: Sergey Gorbunov, Head of Volgodonsk Administration, (7) 863-92-22266.]

October: A Month for Action

US - October 4 is the National Day of Conscience to End Sweatshops [Contact the National Labor Committee, 275 Seventh Ave., New York, NY 10001, (212) 242-3002]. Action Without Borders [http://www.contact.org] is staging a Global Week of Action and Ideas, October 18-25, via web-links to thousands of organizations in 133 countries. Also participating: the Association for Progressive Communications [www.apc.org], the World Alliance for Citizen Participation [www.civicus.org], the global children's network I*EARN [www.igc.apc.org/iearn] and Net browsers Yahoo and ChatPlanet, which are providing free site banners to promote the event. The entire month of October has been designated "End Corporate Dominance Month." [Contact Earth First! Austin, PO Box 7292, Austin, TX 78713, (512) 320-0413, entropy@eden.com.]

Building New Cures or Better Bacteria?

US - In August, the Associated Press reported that Yale University researchers had "found a way to turn off the genes that make bacteria resistant to antibiotic drugs" - a critical discovery, since many bacteria have evolved strains resistant to traditional medicines like chloramphenicol and ampicillin. But the AP got the story wrong. What the scientists actually did was to create new, genetically engineered bacteria that were "highly sensitive" to those two endangered drugs. In short, this discovery would only stem disease if (a) the lab's new bacteria were released into the environment and, (b) they became the dominant bacteria, replacing naturally occurring drug-resistant strains. So here's the good news: The same old drugs still could be used to cure meningitis - as long as the disease was caused by new genetically engineered meningitis bacteria.

US Moves to Militarize Public Power

US - In August, President Clinton signed an order permitting the Energy Department to produce tritium for US nuclear weapons at a civilian power plant in Sweetwater, Tennessee. This action breeches the ethical firewall that has historically separated the military's nuclear programs from the civilian power programs. Thanks to President Clinton, the civilian reactor in Sweetwater has now become a legitimate target of war.

Ducks, Geese Stage a Comeback

US - In what has been called "one of the great conservation success stories of the century," the populations of North America's wild ducks and geese are at record highs. The fall migration is expected to see 92 million ducks (up by 45 percent from 1990) and 43 million ducks (a 72 percent increase since 1990). Credit is being given to privately supported habitat restoration efforts and a Canada-US-Mexico agreement to protect the migratory flyway. But wildlife officials admit that the main reason behind the waterfowl recovery was the torrential rains that swept the Midwest, destroying towns but creating thousands of breeding ponds for birds. El Niño giveth and El Niño taketh away.

Last Steelhead Gain "Protection"

US - On August 11, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) added the steelhead trout to the list of wildlife protected under the Endangered Species Act. West Coast environmentalists and anglers originally asked for ESA protection in 1992. Ninety percent of the steelhead population has vanished; 23 steelhead runs are lost forever and another 43 are at risk of extinction. The ruling should give the steelhead some protection from dams, logging, gravel mining and development, but the Sierra Club's Earthjustice Defense Fund called the NMFS decision "timid" because it exempted California's Eel and Smith rivers - the state's most critical steelhead streams.

Dinosaurs in Detroit: One Last Roar

US - In a Washington Post editorial, Chrysler Corp. chairman R. J. Eaton promoted the Big Oil/Big Car line that the US should not curb its burning of fossil fuels until every other country agrees to make equal cuts. But the US is the world's biggest consumer of oil and the greatest source of greenhouse gases. While Chrysler, Ford and General Motors are cranking out bloated, inefficient sport-utility vehicles, Honda is building a new generation of cars that will meet California's tight low-emission standards - available next year. Toyota will market a 60-mpg car in Japan in 1998. In response to Eaton, Natural Resources Defense Council scientist Daniel Lashof wrote that existing technologies could allow the US to simultaneously cut CO2 emissions and boost economic performance. "Consumers would save $530 per household per year and the economy would support 800,000 more jobs by 2010 and CO2 emissions would fall 46 percent," Lashof predicted.

Whistleblower Wins Big

US - Steve Jones was fired as safety manager at the US Army's Tooele, Utah, chemical weapons incinerator after refusing to certify that the plant's operation posed an "acceptable" risk [Winter '95 EIJ]. Jones' refusal was based on his identification of 3,016 hazards at the incinerator. The Government Accountability Project [1612 K St. NW, Washington, DC 20006, (202) 408-0034] filed suit on Jones' behalf. In August, Labor Department Administrative Law Judge Ellin M. O'Shea ruled in Jones' favor and ordered Tooele's contractor, EG&G, to reinstate Jones with full back pay and an additional $500,000 in punitive damages.

"I want my job back because," Jones explained, because "Tooele is still operating unsafely and endangering the citizens of Utah. The same circumstances that created the Bhopal and Chernobyl disasters exist at the Army's chemical weapons incinerator." (If EG&G fails to rehire Jones, the court requires the company to pay him an additional $500,000.)

"The illegal firing of Jones could not have happened without Army approval," noted Craig Williams of the Chemical Weapons Working Group [PO Box 467, Berea, KY 40403, (606) 986-7565]. "It's time for President Clinton and the Congress to stop the Pentagon's dangerous incineration program."

Give Blood: Have a Coronary

New Zealand - McDonald's has found a new way to tap a vein in the youth market. McD's is sponsoring blood drives. Highschoolers who volunteer to give blood receive vouchers good for McD meals. Because it is illegal to pay blood donors in New Zealand, McD argues that its vouchers only "reward" donors. Comments New Zealand writer David Menkes: "The further possibilities are endless. How about Nestlé-sponsored infant nutritional (and dysentery treatment) services? A distillery-supported cirrhosis clinic? A Marlboro-sponsored oncology service?"

UnWLIBerated

US - Radio broadcaster and community activist Camile Yarborough was kicked off New York City's WLIB radio after criticizing the installation of a McDonald's outlet inside Harlem Hospital. Yarborough opined that McD's "murder burgers" had no business being inside a hospital. McDonald's is one of WLIB's chief sponsors.

A Flaky Promotion

Ireland - Kellogg's Cornflakes (which calls itself "Ireland's favorite cereal") raised the ire of Irish food activists when boxes of cornflakes appeared bearing coupons for "another tasty treat - a McDonald's Big Mac or McChicken Sandwich FREE" redeemable at 40 McD's outlets in Ireland. The promotion of processed meat was particularly offensive to those who recalled that the found of Kellogg's was a health food promoter and a vegetarian.

Cops in Shops

US - On March 21, the Detroit, Michigan, Police Department proudly announced that it was activating almost 30 "community police work stations" inside McD restaurants in 13 police precincts. Washington, DC police have also begun to militarize McD's outlets and other cities are expected to follow suit. A spokesperson for Detroit's Chief Police Inspector Ella Bully stated that Detroit's finest would be encouraged to dine on Big Macs while on duty.

SUBversion in New Mexico

US - Some University of New Mexico students didn't like it when a McDonald's outlet was installed inside their Student Union Building (SUB). And the McD's owners didn't like it when the students held a noisy rally inside the restaurant and attempted to distribute informational leaflets. University officials sided with free enterprise over free speech and brought protest organizer Geoff Barrett before the dean of students on a charge of "amplification" inside the eatery. "I did, in fact, amplify," Barrett admitted, but, he added, "I believe that privatization of the campus is a fundamental threat to free speech. The SUB should belong to the students, not private organizations."