Animal Rights Victory: For years, animal rights activists, including IMMP's Mark Berman, have been pressuring Half Moon Bay, California officials to ban animal circuses. Now, in response to both economic pressures and protests, Half Moon Bay has decided not to book Carson and Barnes circus next year. Chamber of Commerce Director Charise McHugh said the decision was made primarily to avoid controversy stirred by animal-rights activists who protested the circus' mistreatment of animals. Berman, a former Half Moon Bay resident, congratulated the chamber for its decision. Berman suggested that folks who want to enjoy a good circus should patronize animal-free shows put on by Cirque d'Soleil, the Pickle Family Circus and Half Moon Bay's own troupe, Earth Circus.

Journal Scoops Nature: The April 9 issue of Nature contains a report on "A Greenhouse Warming Connection" that notes how "the build-up of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases have led to a gradual cooling of the stratosphere." Nature described the phenomenon as "a previously unappreciated connection between greenhouse gases and O3 [ozone]" that shows "increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases may currently be leading to colder, more stable vortex circulations in winter, accelerating the chemical removal of O3 at high altitudes."

The connection was certainly appreciated by Earth Island Journal, which first reported this effect in a Winter 1993-94 article, "The Greenhouse Gas/Ozone Hole Connection" by Journal Editor Gar Smith. The article may be read on our website.

Journal's Censored Stories: Two of the Top 25 Censored Stories of 1997 - "Russian Plutonium Lost Over Chile" and "Evidence of Fluoridation Danger Mounts" - were covered in the pages of Earth Island Journal. In addition, Project Censored's new book, Censored 1998: The News that Didn't Make the News [Seven Stories Press, 632 Broadway, 7th Fl., New York, NY 10012, $16.95] lists 16 Honorable Mentions and the Journal topped the list with three winners - "Microwaving Our Planet" by Arthur Firstenberg, "Oil Spills in the Sky" by Gar Smith and "Food Pets Die For" by Ann N. Martin.

Dioxin Conclave: Earth Island's Baikal Watch is co-sponsoring a US- Russian workshop on reducing dioxin dangers in Moscow and Baikalsk from August 21 to September 1. The workshop, facilitated by scientists and activists, will bring together leading policy-makers from Russia and the US to re-think how pulp and paper should be produced. The Baikalsk Pulp and Paper plant on the southern flank of Lake Baikal will serve as central example of practices that need reform. Pollution from the plant recently poisoned hundreds of Baikal fresh-water seals. For more information on the workshop, please inquire via e-mail.

A Walk in the Cloud Forest: In April, six volunteers joined Global Service Corps Coordinator Sandra Soto for a 17-day work project in Costa Rica's Monteverde region. "The first stop was a walk on hanging bridges above the tree canopies," Sandra recalls. The group repaired trails, initiated a composting project and worked with children to prepare soil for a garden. The group returned home with first-hand knowledge of "the difficult task a Costa Rican community has to survive in the surrounding areas of one of the most precious natural habitats, a cloud forest."

IMMP Protests Norway Day: San Francisco's annual Norway Day Festival on May 2, was enlivened by International Marine Mammal Project (IMMP) activists protesting Norway's killing of more than 700 minke whales. Confined to a "freedom of speech box" just outside the festival entrance, environmentalists and animal welfare activists joined IMMP to protest Norway's defiance of International Whaling Commission. "Although whaling has been banned since 1985, Norway began commercial whaling again in 1993 to feed international 'gourmet' appetites for $200-per-pound whale meat," says IMMP's Mark Berman, "Unless the US imposes sanctions on Norway, other whaling nations may join in the feeding frenzy." [To oppose Norway's killing of minke whales, write to Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik, Embassy of Norway, 2720 34th St. NW, Washington DC 20008 or President Bill Clinton, The White House, Washington DC 20500.]

Atmosphere Alliance's report El Nino's Ferocity: Ocean in the Greenhouse? by Patrick Mazza was excerpted in the May-June issue of Sierra magazine. The paper focuses on the link between global warming and the deadly snows, floods and tornadoes spawned by the El Nino weather system. The Alliance's report Solutions to Global Warming: How the Northwest can lead a Clean Energy Revolution is also available from the Atmosphere Alliance [2103 Harrison NW No. 2615, Olympia, WA 98502-2607 or e-mail]

Free Trade Deadly to Sea Turtles: On June 11, cries of "US Out of the WTO" and "Sea Turtles and Dolphins Before Profits," erupted from the Sea Turtle Restoration Project vigil outside the National Year of the Oceans Conference in Monterey, California.. Environmentalists wanted to let President Clinton, the public and the media know that the conference agenda falls far short of addressing the threats facing our oceans. [Teri Shore, Sea Turtle Restoration Project, 415-488-0370 or Japan Environmental Exchange's Life Ecology Preservation Group (LEPG) is investigating last year's capture of five orcas for "scientific research." LPEG suggests that the orca research may be commercial rather than scientific in nature and that it may be connected to an industry desire to expand markets in orca meat. LPEG will be convening a conference for marine biologists, aquarium managers and activists to discuss Japan's whaling practices and the capture of orcas for research.

Kids in the Creeks: EII's Estuary Action Challenge is working with students from Richmond, California's Verde School to restore habitat along Wildcat Creek. Wildcat was filled with trash and weeds before EAC's students went to work. In the process of cleaning out the creek and rebuilding its damaged habitat, students learned about the water cycle, the causes of bank erosion and the creek's connection with the San Francisco Bay estuary. Trees and flowers carefully sprouted in the classroom now grace Wildcat's banks. "I like going to the creek because we get to be scientists and study the plants and animals," reported Ashantae, age 9. Her classmate, Gregory, chimed in with: "I love the creek. I saw a big old crawdad!"

Brower Wins Blue Planet Prize: On June 10, David Brower was announced as the winner of the Blue Planet Prize, a prestigious Japanese environmental award presented annually by the Asahi Glass Foundation. The award recognizes organizations and individuals who have made major contributions to solving global environmental problems. Past winners include Lester Brown of Worldwatch Institute and James Lovelock, originator of the Gaia Hypothesis. David will travel to Japan in October to accept the award. The Brower Legacy Campaign will be starting a new internship program this fall. Contact Mikhail Davis at The Brower Fund for more details: e-mail.

Success for Bluewater: On June 5, the National Park Service (NPS) disclosed its intention to ban personal watercraft (PWC), or "jet skis", from Washington's Olympic National Park after October 1. The ban is a major success for Earth Island's Bluewater Network. "The American people have won a major victory to protect their national heritage," says Bluewater Conservation Director Sean Smith. "The Park Service's legal mandate is to leave park resources unimpaired for future generations. Clearly any technology that dumps raw fuel into park waterways, disrupts the natural state of wildlife, diminishes the experience of many recreational uses and overburdens park managers, is wholly incompatible with [that mandate].Olympic's decision sends a strong message to national Park Service officials that PWCs are inappropriate and should be banned in all National Parks."