Fall 2003 Newsmagazine Volume 33, Number 3

The BushGreen Agenda

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P R E S I D E N T ’ S C O L U M N

Congress Recycles the Dirty Energy Bill

Amid fears of unpre-dictable energyprices and continuedeconomic woes,Congress continues

to deliberate an energy bill thatwill increase our dependence on oilwhile leaving taxpayers at themercy of big energy companies.And in one of the biggest fiascoesI’ve witnessed in Washington, theSenate actually greased the skidsfor passage of this backward-look-ing legislation with a maneuverthat sent a bill into a House-Senateconference with no debate.

Hours before adjourning for itsAugust recess, the Senate wasunable to advance its version of theenergy bill past concerns about itspricetag and a host of other contro-versial provisions. So in an abruptabout-face, senators cut a deal torevive the flagging legislation: scrapthis year’s anti-environmental bill, andreplace it with an equally unbalancedproposal that the Senate passed lastyear. Friends of the Earth called thiscompromise what it was: a bad dealfor the environment, and a clearattempt to jump-start negotiations on aHouse-Senate conference report.

Unfortunately, industry and itscongressional allies will dominatethese negotiations, and Senate EnergyChairman Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) hasalready signaled he plans to make thebill even worse in conference. Weexpect him to advocate the inclusion ofanti-environmental giveaways to dan-gerous, polluting energy sources. Asone of Washington’s biggest recipientsof nuclear industry campaign contribu-tions, Domenici is likely to push for

schemes that would help the flaggingindustry underwrite its cost of doingbusiness at the expense of taxpayersand public health and safety.

Friends of the Earth will fight onseveral fronts to stop Congress frompassing a bad energy bill. This month,we submitted over 20,000 petitions tothe White House signed by membersand supporters of Friends of the Earth.I want to express my thanks to all ofyou who took the time to send yourpetition. Your activism does make adifference, and we will get your voiceheard. We’re already hard at workexposing nuclear handouts and otheroutrageous subsidies in the bills pro-posed by the House and Senate. Ournew project called Power Politics linksthe tax breaks and subsidies includedin these bills to well-heeled industrylobbies and their allies in Congress.

You can read them on our Website: www.foe.org/powerpolitics.

At the same time thatCongress gears up to debate anenergy conference report, theSenate has another seminal envi-ronmental vote in its future: thedecision whether to replace EPAadministrator Christie Whitmanwith Utah Governor Mike Leavitt.Whitman stepped down this sum-mer after overseeing two and-a-halfyears worth of assaults on cleanwater, clean air and public healthlaws. One of her most disastrousdecisions was to sign off on a ruleallowing industry to dump wastedirectly into waterways across thenation. Leavitt won’t be much dif-ferent. From wilderness towetlands, Leavitt has consistently

fought for corporate interests at theexpense of our environment. Examplesinclude his recent backroom deals toopen millions of acres of wilderness todrilling, mining and off-road vehicleuse, and his longstanding support forthe destructive 120-mile LegacyHighway to be built through Utah’sfarms and wetlands.

Luckily, debate over her successorwill give senators a prime opportunityto publicize the Bush administration’santi-environmental record. The closerto next year’s elections that this debatetakes place, the more opportunities itwill offer environmental groups andmembers of Congress who are readyfor a change of leadership inWashington.

Brent Blackwelder

Fall 2003 • Volume 33, Number 3 3

Table of Contents

Volume 33, Number 3 Fall 2003

Friends of the Earth (ISSN: 1054-1829) is published quarterly by Friends of the Earth, 1025Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20005-6303, phone 202-783-7400, 877-843-8687(toll free), fax 202-783-0444, e-mail: foe@foe.org, Web site: www.foe.org. Annual membership duesare $25, which includes a subscription to Friends of the Earth.

The words “Friends of the Earth” and the FoE logo are exclusive trademarks of Friends of theEarth, all rights reserved. Unless otherwise noted, articles may be reprinted without charge or specialpermission. Please credit Friends of the Earth and the article author; send us a copy. Friends of theEarth is indexed in the Alternative Press Index. Periodicals postage paid at Washington, DC.

Board of DirectorsAvis Ogilvy Moore, Chair; Dan Gabel, Vice Chair ;Marion Hunt-Badiner, Secretary; David Zwick,Treasurer; Ed Begley, Jr.; Jayni Chase; Harriett Crosby;Clarence Ditlow; Michael Herz; Ann Hoffman; DougLegum; Patricia Matthews; Charles Moore; EdwardoLao Rhodes; Arlie Shardt; Doria Steedman; Rick Taketa;Alicia Wittink

StaffBrent Blackwelder, PresidentNorman Dean, Executive DirectorSandra Adams-Morally, Membership AssociateLisa Archer, Safer Food, Safer Farms Grassroots

CoordinatorLarry Bohlen, Director, Health and Environment

CampaignsMichelle Chan-Fishel, International Policy AnalystHugh Cheatham, Chief Financial OfficerKeira Costic, Publications ManagerLeslie Fields, Director, Global Sustainability InitiativeColleen Freeman, International Programs CampaignerRosemary Greenaway, Director of Membership and

MarketingLisa Grob, Executive AssistantVonetta Harris, AccountantDavid Hirsch, Director, Economics for the Earth

ProgramYasmeen Hossain, Program AssistantCheryl Johnson, Receptionist/Office AssistantDiane Minor, Chief Development OfficerSherri Owens, Office ManagerChris Pabon, Director of Foundation RelationsErich Pica, Economics Policy AnalystJon Sohn, International Policy AnalystKristen Sykes, Interior Department WatchdogDavid Waskow, Trade and Investment Policy CoordinatorChris Weiss, Director of D.C. Environmental NetworkCarol Welch, Director, International ProgramSara Zdeb, Director, Legislative Program

Publications StaffKeira Costic, EditorLisa Grob, Assistant EditorDesign by JML Design

InternsElizabeth FellowsDain Roose-Snyder

Consultants/AdvisorsBrian DunkielBill FreeseJohn W. JensenDorothee KrahnGreg Smith

Member GroupsArgentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium,Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria,Cameroon, Canada, Chile, Colombia,Costa Rica, Croatia, Curacao, Cyprus,Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, ElSalvador, England-Wales-NorthernIreland, Estonia, Finland, France,Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece,

Grenada, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland,Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg,Macedonia, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritius, Nepal,Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria,Norway, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru,Philippines, Poland, Scotland, Sierra Leone, Slovakia,South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden,Switzerland, Togo, Tunisia, Ukraine, United States,Uruguay

AffiliatesAfrica: Earthlife Africa; Australia: Mineral PolicyInstitute; Australia: Rainforest Information Centre;Brazil: Amigos da Terra Amazonia - AmazôniaBrasileira; Brazil: Grupo de Trabalho Amazonico;Czech Republic: CEE Bankwatch; Japan: Peace Boat;Latin America: REJULADS; Middle East: Friends ofthe Earth (Israel, Jordan and Palestine); Netherlands:Action for Solidarity, Equality, Environment andDevelopment Europe; Netherlands: Stichting DeNoordzee (North Sea Foundation); Netherlands:Corporate Europe Observatory; United States:International Rivers Network; United States: ProjectUnderground; United States: Rainforest ActionNetwork

Dirty Secrets . . . . . . . . . . . .Pg. 4

Want to Improve Oil Security, the Economy and the Environment? Tax Waste Not Work! . . . . .Pg. 7

A $400 Million Pipe Dream:The West African Gas Pipeline Project . . . . .Pg. 8

Biotech Companies Misleading the World,Not Feeding the World . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Pg. 10

Stop Congress from Running OverEnvironmental Laws and Derailing Amtrak . . . .Pg. 12

Cooking the Books and Scorching the Planet . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Pg. 13

In Appreciation:Planning Ahead to Conserve the Environment . . . . . . . . . . .Pg. 14

Friends of the Earth is printed with soy ink on 100% recycled paper, 30% post-consumer content. Bleached without chlorine.

Friends ofthe EarthInternational

UNIONBUG

EarthShare giving campaigns allowyou to designate a donation toFriends of the Earth. To set up anEarthShare campaign at your work-place, contact Diane Minor at202-783-7400 ext. 287.

By Osha Gray Davidson

In the early 1980s you didn’tneed to be a member ofEarthFirst! to know thatRonald Reagan was bad forthe environment. You didn’t

even have to be especially politicallyaware. Here was a man who had,after all, publicly stated that most airpollution was caused by plants. Andthen there was Reagan’s secretary ofthe Interior, James Watt, who saw noneed to protect the environmentbecause Jesus was returning any day,and who, in a pique of reactionaryfeng shui, suggested that the buffaloon Interior’s seal be flipped to faceright instead of left.

By contrast, while George W.Bush gets low marks on the environ-ment from a majority of Americans,few fully appreciate the scope andfury of this administration’s anti-envi-ronmental agenda. The Bushadministration has been gutting keysections of the Clean Water andClean Air acts, laws that have tradi-tionally had bipartisan support andhave done more to protect the healthof Americans than any other environ-mental legislation. It has crippled theSuperfund program, which is chargedwith cleaning up millions of poundsof toxic industrial wastes such asarsenic, lead, mercury and vinyl chlo-ride in more than 1,000neighborhoods in 48 states. It hassought to cut the EPA’s enforcementdivision by nearly one-fifth, to itslowest level on record; fines assessedfor environmental violations droppedby nearly two-thirds in the adminis-tration’s first two years; and criminalprosecutions – the government’s

weapon of last resort against theworst polluters – are down by nearlyone-third.

The administration has abdicatedthe decades-old federal responsibilityto protect native animals and plantsfrom extinction, becoming the firstnot to voluntarily add a single speciesto the endangered species list. It hasopened millions of acres of wilder-ness – including some of the nation’smost environmentally sensitive publiclands – to logging, mining, and oiland gas drilling. Under one plan, log-gers could take 10 percent of thetrees in California’s Giant SequoiaNational Monument; many of theMonument’s old-growth sequoias,200 years old and more, could befelled to make roof shingles. Othernational treasures that have beenopened for development include themillion-acre Grand Canyon-Parashant

National Monument in Arizona, the2,000-foot red-rock spires at FisherTowers, Utah, and dozens of others.

And then, of course, the WhiteHouse has all but denied the exis-tence of what may be the mostserious environmental problem of ourtime, global warming. After cam-paigning on a promise to reduceemissions of the greenhouse gas car-bon dioxide, Bush made an abruptabout-face once elected, calling hisearlier pledge “a mistake” andannouncing that he would not regu-late CO2 emissions from powerplants-even though the United Statesaccounts for a fourth of the world’stotal industrial CO2 emissions. Sincethen, the White House has censoredscientific reports that mentioned thesubject, walked away from the Kyotoagreement to reduce greenhouse-gasemissions, and even, at the behest of

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C O V E R S T O R Y

Dirty Secrets

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Fall 2003 • Volume 33, Number 3 5

ExxonMobil, engineered the ousterof the scientist who chaired theUnited Nations IntergovernmentalPanel on Climate Change.

So why aren’t more people awarethat George W. Bush is compilingwhat is arguably the worst environ-mental record of any president inrecent history? The easy explanations– that environmental issues are com-plex, that war and terrorism pushmost other concerns off the frontpages – are only part of the story. Thereal reason may be far simpler: Fewpeople know the magnitude of theadministration’s attacks on the envi-ronment because the administrationhas been working very hard to keep itthat way.

Like any successful commanderin chief, Bush knows that putting theright person in the right place is thekey to winning any war. This isn’tjust a matter of choosing business-

friendly appointees fortop positions. That’spretty much standardoperating procedurefor Republican admin-istrations. What makesthis administration dif-ferent is the fact that itis filled with anti-regu-latory zealots deepinto its rank and file –and these bureaucrats,unlike James Watt, arepolitically savvy andcome from the veryindustries they’recharged with regulat-ing. The result is anadministration uniquelyeffective at implement-ing its ambitious pro-industry agenda– with a minimum of public notice.

Take the case of mountaintop-removal coal mining. As the name

implies, this method – the predomi-nant form of strip mining in much ofAppalachia – involves blasting awayentire mountaintops to get at coalseams below and dumping the result-

■ Convinced the board of directorsat the U.S. Export-Import Bank ofthe United States to reject $213million in financing for a contro-versial $1.6 billion gas project inthe Peruvian Amazon, a ventureled by Hunt Oil and PlusPetrol.Ray Hunt, chairman of Hunt Oil,is a Bush “Pioneer” who raised$100,000 in the 2000 elections.

■ Exposed ethics violations, con-flicts of interest and financial linksbetween administration officials,lobbyists and industry executives.Our work led the Department ofInterior to launch its own investi-gation of possible ethics violations

by J. Steven Griles, the #2 personat the Interior Department.

■ Opposed the passage of a multi-billion dollar energy bill byleading the environmental commu-nity in drawing attention to newsubsidies for the coal, oil, nuclearand gas industries.

■ Led the fight to protect the foodsupply from genetically engi-neered crops grown to produceindustrial chemicals or pharma-ceutical drugs. Responding to ourgroundbreaking report on“Biopharm” food crops and to adocumented case of contamina-tion, the U.S. Department of

Agriculture is planning to tightenregulations on the biopharmaceuti-cal industry.

■ Saved your tax dollars by convinc-ing Congress to cut funding in halffor an arm of the World Bank thatunderwrites environmentally dam-aging projects.

■ Launched an unprecedented law-suit, one of the most important inour 33-year history, to try to forcethe Bush administration to obeythe law and consider global warm-ing when the government helpsfinance international oil, gas andcoal projects.

Friends of the Earth vs. the Bush Administration

C O V E R S T O R Y

Actress Heather Thomas (center) co-hosted an educationallunch highlighting Friends of the Earth’s work to expose corruption at the Interior Department. She is seen herewith Friends of the Earth staff Kristen Sykes (left) andDiane Minor (right).

6

ing rubble, called “spoil,” into adja-cent valleys. In some cases, valleystwo miles long have been completelyfilled with spoil. Opponents hadhoped that a court-orderedEnvironmental Impact Statement(EIS) would crack down on the prac-tice, which has buried at least 1,000miles of Appalachian streams anddestroyed tens of thousands of acresof woodland that the EPA describesas “unique in the world” for their bio-logical diversity. But when the Bushadministration released the EIS thisspring, it not only gave mountaintopremoval a clean bill of health; it alsorelaxed what few meaningful envi-ronmental protections existed andfocused on how to help mining com-panies obtain permits more easily.

So how did a process mandatedby a federal judge “to minimize, tothe maximum extent practicable, theadverse environmental effects” frommountaintop removal become a vehi-cle for industry? Two words: StevenGriles. Never heard of him? You’renot supposed to. Steven Griles is oneof industry’s moles within the Bushadministration. Before coming towork as deputy secretary of theInterior, Griles was one of the mostpowerful lobbyists in Washington,with a long list of energy-industryclients, including the NationalMining Association and several ofthe country’s largest coal companies.On August 1, 2001, Griles signed a“statement of disqualification,”promising to stay clear of issuesinvolving his former clients. Despitethat promise, according to his ownappointment calendar (obtained byenvironmental groups through theFreedom of Information Act), Grilesmet repeatedly with coal companieswhile the administration worked onthe mountaintop-removal issue.Griles has denied discussing the “fillrule” in any of those meetings. Buton August 4, 2001 – three days aftersigning his recusal letter – he gave a

speech before the West Virginia CoalAssociation, reassuring members that“we will fix the federal rules verysoon on water and spoil placement.”Two months later, Griles sent a letterto the EPA and other agencies draft-ing the EIS, complaining that theywere not doing enough to safeguardthe future of mountaintop removaland instructing them to “focus oncentralizing and streamlining coalmine permitting.” Griles is now thesubject of an Interior Departmentinvestigation for possible ethics vio-lations.

With key positions in the handsof industry veterans, the administra-tion has been able to pursue one ofits most effective stealth tactics –steering clear of legislative battlesand working instead within the diffi-cult-to-understand, yawn-producingrealm of agency regulations. It’s astrategy that has served Bush well,especially in his push to give theenergy industry – which donated $2.8

million to the 2000 Bush campaign –access to some of the nation’s lastwildlands. In Congress, where theadministration’s agenda must endurefull public scrutiny, Bush’s effort toallow drilling in the Arctic NationalWildlife Refuge has failed repeatedly.

The preceding text is excerpted withpermission from a longer article thatintroduces Mother Jones magazine’sSeptember/October cover package onthe Bush administration’s stealthattack on environmental regulationsand may not be reprinted. To read therest of Osha Gray Davidson’s “DirtySecrets” and the other articles in thisspecial issue, pick up a copy ofMother Jones or visit the magazine’sWeb site at www.motherjones.com. ■

C O V E R S T O R Y

We mailed over 20,000 petitions to Bush, which Friends of the Earth members and supporters returned to us. Thank you for helping us tell Bush not to turn his back on theenvironment.

Fall 2003 • Volume 33, Number 3 7

By June Taylor

While the govern-ment rewards thepolluting energyindustry withgenerous subsi-

dies, hardworking Americans arepunished with high payroll taxes. Fornearly 90 years, the federal taxpayerhas been bankrolling the oil and coalindustries, and getting paid back withpolluted air, water and a dangerousdependence on fossil fuel. Whyshould hardworking Americans haveto give up so much for so little?

If we shifted taxes – lowered thepayroll tax and instituted new taxes onenergy production, raw materials andtoxic pollution – we would send theright signal to American business andindustry: employ people, conserveenergy and reduce waste. And wewould boost the economy by puttingmore people to work. A leading econ-omist estimates that a 10 percentreduction in payroll taxes would cre-ate a 3 percent boost in employmentlevels in the short run and 10 percentin the long-term. Substituting othertaxes for payroll taxes would alsohelp to diversify and, ultimately,strengthen the funding base forSocial Security and Medicare.

Payroll taxes for employees andemployers, combined, now total 15 percent of wages – 12 percentallotted to Social Security and 3 percent to Medicare HospitalInsurance. The Social Security tax isour most regressive federal tax – it’sa flat tax rate that applies to the first

$80,400 of wages, so lower-wageworkers pay on every dollar theyearn. Today, 80 percent of Americanspay more in payroll taxes thanincome taxes. Historically payrolltaxes have been a small part of fed-eral revenues – starting at 2 percentand rising this year to 37percent. With the recent reductionsfor income and dividend taxes, pay-roll taxes could easily jump to 40percent of federal revenues. And, aswe have learned, there is no “lockbox” on payroll tax revenues; so thetaxes of workers earning under$80,400 are going to subsidize coalcompanies, oil companies and ourexcess energy consumption.

At a time when we need job cre-ation we should not be taxing thosebusinesses that provide jobs andbring on new workers. Small busi-ness managers (the ones that createthe most jobs) say that payroll taxesare their number one obstacle to newhiring. As impressive (or depressive)as the official unemployment statis-tics are, they fail to show the truepicture of unemployment inAmerica. Folks who are not activelylooking – the people who have givenup, the young minorities who’venever had a job, the moms who mightlike to work part-time but can’t findflexible work – are not evencounted. Nor are the 70 percent ofdisabled who are able to work, butstill unemployed more than a decadeafter passage of the Americans withDisabilities Act.

Environmentalists alone may nothave the power in Congress to “taxwaste, not work,” but working in con-cert with other groups who areconcerned about health, nationalsecurity, jobs, a strong economy andprotecting Social Security we mightjust get what we need.

June Taylor is a long-time environ-mental writer and a consultant to thenon-partisan full employment groupGet America Working! Friends of theEarth President Brent Blackwelder isa member of Get America Working’sadvisory council. ■

Want to Improve Oil Security, the Economy and the Environment?

Tax Waste Not Work!

T A X R E F O R M

The Congressional Budget Office projectsthat payroll tax revenue will be $766 billion,or 37 percent of the total federal revenues.This money goes towards subsidizing dirtyenergy.

8

By Leslie Fields

“We pray to God onthis holy mornthat no petro-leum oil will bediscovered in our

communities. Indeed, Lord, let the oilunderneath our houses and farms driftaway from us. Lord, spare us the painsand the misfortunes and diseases thatpetroleum oil brings to our people andto our farms and rivers. Lord, protectus from further harm in the hands ofthose who want our properties. Amen,”prayed a Pastor before a Christian con-gregation in Nigeria’s Niger Delta.

I traveled through Nigeria and wit-nessed the human and environmentaldevastation powerful multinational oilcorporations have caused in the NigerDelta. Communities living in povertycoexist with numerous one-story highfurnace-like gas flares, the equivalentof a smokestack shooting out a giantflame. Leaky and exploding pipelinescrisscross neighborhoods.Communities deal with persistent airand water pollution, along with count-less trucks and tankers. Thesecommunities live with the oily muckand detrimental health effects yet aresubject to frequent periods where nogas is available domestically due to thecountry’s lack of refining capacity.

The West Africa Gas Pipeline(WAGP) had its genesis 21 years agowhen the Economic Community ofWest African States proposed a naturalgas pipeline through West Africa asone of its key economic policies. TheWorld Bank prepared a feasibilityreport 11 years ago and determinedthat a natural gas pipeline originatingfrom Nigeria to Benin, Togo to Ghana

would be commercially feasible. Andjust now, the consortium of oil corpo-rations and World Bank are deciding to“consult” with the local communitiesthat will be impacted by this 620-milelong pipeline.

The four countries involved,Benin, Togo, Ghana and Nigeria, havealready signed an Inter GovernmentalAgreement to align their laws. The oilconsortium – comprised of Chevron,Shell, Nigerian National PetroleumCorporation, Ghana NationalPetroleum Corporation, SocietéBeninoise de Gaz and SocietéTogolaise de Gaz – has all the agree-ments and contracts signed and isready to complete the project by 2005.

“Agreements have been negotiatedand signed, contracts for the sale ofgas have been sealed (or are aboutsealed), yet the local people throughwhose communities the pipeline willtraverse know nothing about the proj-

ect,” said Pipe Dreams, a report on theproject jointly published by theEnvironmental Rights Action ofNigeria, Oilwatch and Friends of theEarth. “And against local and interna-tional laws, the consortium is yet toconduct an environmental impactassessment study for the project.”

Under the principles of the RioDeclaration agreed to at the 1992World Summit on the Environment inBrazil, impact assessments are requiredfor all projects likely to have adverseeffects on ecosystems. The provisionsof the Rio Declaration were incorpo-rated in the Nigerian EnvironmentalImpact Assessment Law of 1992, theGhanaian Environmental ProtectionAgency Act of 1994, the Lois CadreSur l’Environement en Republic duBenin enacted in 1999 and the Code del’Environement en Republic du Togo of1998. They have not been implementedfor this pipeline.

G L O B A L S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y

A $400 Million Pipe Dream: The West African Gas Pipeline Project

This smoke is from a 3-week-old pipeline fire. Existing oil pipelines, which weave throughvillages, often catch fire from poor maintenance and vandalism.

Fall 2003 • Volume 33, Number 3 9

A further impediment to commu-nity participation is the Nigerian LandUse Decree of 1979, which gives legalownership of all land to the govern-ment. In other words, oil and gasindustry can take the land without con-sulting local communities as long as itis in partnership with the Nigeriangovernment. Industry would only berequired by law to pay compensationfor crops and buildings but not for theuse of the land.

According to the World Bank in1995, Nigeria flares more gas than anyother country in the world. Locally theexcessive gas flaring – a process ofburning off excess gas – causes acidrain (which contributes to decreasingcrop yields), corroded structures andhealth effects such as respiratory prob-lems. Globally, gas flaring contributesto global warming due to the carbondioxide, methane and other greenhousegases, which are emitted on a continu-ous basis.

It is simply not clear how the con-sortium intends to utilize the gas viathe available information and through(at time of press) meetings with theWorld Bank and Chevron. The fewcommunities that have heard aboutWAGP are under the impression thegas will be utilized for domestic use,when instead it is alleged that the end-

users will be Ghanaian gold miningcorporations. And the Bush adminis-tration has touted the $400 millionWAGP as one of the projects that willcontribute to West Africa becoming amajor alternative source for oil and gasto the volatile Middle East region inthe near future.

The WAGP has a myriad of issues.The consortium companies have dis-turbing human rights records andproject details are shrouded in secrecy.In March 2000, Friends of the Earth-Nigeria held a consultation withcommunities, experts and media fromNigeria, Ghana and Togo. Chevronwas invited and confirmed they wouldsend representatives but they did not.Nigerian National PetroleumCorporation was invited to talk tocommunity members and also did notattend.

“The wetlands and the mangrovesthat the pipeline will traverse are uni-versally registered as fragileecosystems,” the Pipe Dream reportsays. “For it to contribute to sustainabledevelopment in the sub region, thediverse ecological zones through whichthe project will pass deserve to be pro-tected. This does not seem to be on theagenda of the West African GasPipeline consortium.”

Friends of the Earth-U.S. filed aFreedom of Information Act request tothe U.S. Agency for InternationalDevelopment for information regard-ing the Intergovernmental Agreementsand International Project Agreement.We are working closely with Friendsof the Earth-Nigeria, Friends of theEarth-Ghana and other allies toaddress the many issues surroundingthe WAGP. In addition, we recentlyhosted Oronto Douglas, the co-directorof Friends of the Earth-Nigeria andconducted meetings with the WorldBank, Chevron, the U.S. StateDepartment, the Congressional BlackCaucus and the media.

The World Bank should not sup-port or promote this project until itaddresses the fears of local communi-ties and potential environmentaldevastation.

Leslie Fields is the director of our newGlobal Sustainability InitiativeProgram, which addresses issuesregarding the intersection of environ-mental justice and globalization.

For more information contactLeslie Fields, 202-783-7400ext. 117, lfields@foe.org or Jon

Sohn, 202-783-7400 ext. 231,jsohn@foe.org. ■

Communities have to live with gas flares – the burning of excess gas - in the middle of their villages. Gas flares lead to acid rain,global warming, water pollution and cause respiratory problems.

G L O B A L S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y

10

By Larry Bohlen

The biotech companies’current rallying cry forgenetically engineeringour food is, “It will feedthe world.”

Unfortunately, this is a manipulationof the facts. Hunger experts havelong said that there is more thanenough food in the world and that theproblem really is one of distribution.However, the Bush administration istrying to convince leaders of Africannations that genetically engineered(GE) foods will increase crop yieldsand feed their people.

A World Health Organizationreport, Determinants of Malnutrition,states, “Hunger is a question of mal-distribution and inequality – not lackof food.” Furthermore, criticsrespond that even if higher yieldswere needed, the track record of engi-neered crops is poor. Soy, the mostprevalent engineered crop actuallyyields less per acre. And, accordingto the U.S. Agency for InternationalDevelopment Web site, engineeredcorn “…provided in food aid ship-ments would be expected to performpoorly in African growing condi-tions…” (Africa Humanitarian CrisisOverview, 2003). Thus, farmers infamine-stricken areas who plant U.S.biotech food aid can expect loweryields and less food in the future.

Given the contradiction betweenthe Bush administration and mosthunger experts, what is the real moti-vation for the president to wade intothe GE foods debate? The answermay be explained by the flounderingstock prices of the largest biotechcompanies – like Monsanto and

ConAgra. They have failed to com-mercialize any new GE crop speciesin the last three years in the face ofconsumer opposition. With the chipsdown, these companies are likelycalling in a favor for campaign con-tributions provided to the presidentand his party. According to theCenter for Responsive Politics, thebiotech industry as a whole donated$7.7 million between 1998 and 2002to federal candidates.

In a speech to the BiotechnologyIndustry Organization in June,President Bush paid back these con-tributions by calling for investmentsin biotechnology to increase cropyields in Africa rather than fundingways to improve the distribution offood. Bush also went on to blame

Europeans for African rejection ofgenetically engineered food aid, say-ing, “Acting on unfounded,unscientific fears, many Europeangovernments have blocked the importof all new biotech crops.”

But was it European preferencesthat led to African decisions to turnaway engineered food aid last year, orAfrican skepticism that happens tomirror the opposition shared by amajority of Americans? WhenFriends of the Earth asked Dr. DrinahNyirenda, the executive director ofthe largest hunger relief organizationin Zambia, she said, “For us in thedeveloping countries, we feel withbiotechnology, we should take ourtime and build the capacity to be able

Biotech Companies Misleadingthe World, Not Feeding the World

S A F E F O O D U P D A T E

Dr. Drinah Nyirenda, the executive director of the largest hunger relief organization in Zambia,talks to Oakland Tribune reporter, Douglas Fischer about hunger in Africa. “We can produceenough food. The problem is some of the international issues that relate to support.”

Fall 2003 • Volume 33, Number 3 11

to understand what we’re dealingwith.”

“In the meantime, we would liketo continue with the conventionalmethods of producing foods,” saidDr. Nyirenda, who has a PhD innutrition from the University ofCalifornia, Davis and runs a programthat serves 200,000 small farms.

Last year, international lendinginstitutions eliminated technical andeconomic assistance for Zambianfarmers under strict structural adjust-ment guidelines, which resulted inlower crop yields. But this year, whenZambian officials restored the assis-tance, farmers reported a grainsurplus.

From June 23 to 25, Secretary ofAgriculture Ann Veneman convenedagriculture officials from around theworld in Sacramento at the UnitedState Department of Agriculture’s“Ministerial Conference and Expo onAgricultural Science andTechnology.” Veneman attempted toconvince the officials to open theirmarkets to American biotechnology

with Bush’s message: GE foods areneeded to feed the world.

Thousands of protestors, includ-ing organic farmers, professors,college students and local social jus-tice and environmental advocates

descended on the Sacramento meet-ing. Friends of the Earth staffmembers traveled to Sacramento andsucceeded in getting an op-ed on GEfoods, co-authored with NnimmoBassey of Friends of the Earth -Nigeria, placed in the SacramentoBee on the first full day of the gather-ing (see www.foe.org/foodaid for a link).

We also met with African dele-gates who have been under enormousU.S. pressure. We shared copies of anew Friends of the Earth Internationalbooklet entitled Playing with Hungerand statements from religious andhunger relief groups concluding thatGE foods will only aggravate thehunger crises (see www.foe.org/foodaid).The delegates found our materialshelpful and concluded the meetingsaying, “Friends of the Earth is a truefriend of Africa.”

Friends of the Earth along withour international affiliates will con-tinue our advocacy efforts and remainvigilant to the biotech industry’sunderhanded attempts to slip moreGE foods into the food supply. ■

This Friends of the Earth Internationalreport describes the Unites States’attempts to dump unwanted GE corn inSouthern Africa.

S A F E F O O D U P D A T E

Please join thousands of people inhundreds of cities across the continentin demanding safe, non-geneticallyengineered food during our upcoming“Week of Action for Safe Food.”

This is our fourth week of actionsince the February 2002 launch of thecampaign demanding Kraft to stopusing genetically engineered (GE)ingredients in its products and weexpect it to make a huge impact. Butwe need your support to make it hap-pen and show the largest foodcompany that its customers want safefood now!

We will be sending out moreinformation about this upcominggroundswell of action via e-mail andon our Web site www.krafty.org as weget closer to October. In the mean-time, if you are interested in joiningus in this fight for safe, sustainable,GE-free food, please contactlarcher@foe.org or call 202-783-7400x190 and we will send you an actionkit with everything you’ll need totake action locally and make a differ-ence globally!

Kraft Foods is the largest foodcompany in the country, and the sec-

ond largest in the world. Its productsare found in 99 percent of U.S.households, and many of them, suchas Taco Bell taco shells, BocaBurgers, Lunchables and Post cere-als have been found to containgenetically engineered ingredients.Kraft refuses to label these foods,taking away our right to know whatwe are eating, despite the fact thatbetween 85 and 95 percent ofAmericans want labeling of foodscontaining GE ingredients. ■

Save the Date: Kraft Week of Action Oct. 25 – Nov. 1

12

T R A N S P O R T A T I O N

By Greg Smith

The Bush administrationand some members ofCongress continue tosupport road-buildingprojects and reduced

funding for Amtrak, no matter whatthe cost to the environment, commu-nities or public health. By the end ofSeptember, Congress is required toreauthorize the next six years oftransportation funding. The adminis-tration, its congressional allies andthe road lobby are using the reautho-rization process to intensify theirbroad assaults on common-senseenvironmental and public health laws.

The House has approved $900million for Amtrak, a cut from its2003 budget and only half of whatAmtrak has requested and needs tocontinue providing safe and reliabletransit. The House also cut fundingfor new transit projects, innovativecommunity planning and job accessprograms for people moving fromwelfare to work. Meanwhile, itincreased highway funding to $33billion – nearly 40 times more thanAmtrak’s piece of the budget. If thesefunding levels are signed into law,Amtrak could be forced to shut downwithin months, new transit projectswill be delayed and other beneficialprograms – and the millions of peo-ple who depend on them – willsuffer.

Along with these severe budgetcuts, the Bush administration andmembers of Congress are trying topave over some of America’s mostfundamental environmental and pub-lic health laws. Provisions weakeningthe National Environmental PolicyAct would greatly diminish citizens’

rights to demand fair and thoroughenvironmental impact studies, andwould shift even more decision-mak-ing power away from environmentalagencies and the public to the U.S.secretary of transportation and statetransportation agencies. The adminis-tration and its congressional allies arealso seeking to gut strong protectionsfor parks and historic sites, and toseverely weaken Clean Air Actrequirements.

To find out what you can doto stop these assaults on thenation’s environmental laws,

people’s rights and sensible trans-portation programs, or to learn moreabout these issues, please visitFriends of the Earth’s Web site atwww.foe.org/action. You can also contact Friends of the Earth’sTransportation Coordinator GregSmith at Gsmith@foe.org or (202) 783-7400 x 198. ■

Stop Congress from Running OverEnvironmental Laws and Derailing Amtrak

The Appropriations Committee increased highway funding to $33.3 billion – nearly 40 timesmore than it approved for Amtrak.

Fall 2003 • Volume 33, Number 3 13

C O R P O R A T E A C C O U N T A B I L I T Y

By Michelle Chan-Fishel

For decades corporationshave been leaving a trailof environmental destruc-tion and human rightsviolations around the

globe. Shareholders and investmentbanks are finally noticing the financialconsequences of these greedy andcareless operations.

Investors DemandDisclosure of AllFinancial RisksIn accounting deceptions worthy ofthe Enron scandals, corporations areleaving a host of issues off the booksthat have great environmental, socialand financial consequences. Corporateleaders disregard climate changewarnings, under-estimate their toxicwaste clean-up costs, gloss overimportant human rights and ethicscontroversies and paint rosy picturesof their management-labor relations.

To address this issue, Friends ofthe Earth helped organize a July 2003symposium, which was hosted by Sen.Jon Corzine (D-N.J.) and 11 othermembers of Congress on corporateenvironmental and social disclosureand the SEC. Over 90 participantsattended the symposium, which fea-tured remarks from Sens. Corzine andBill Nelson (D-Fla.), SECCommissioner Harvey Goldschmid,Connecticut State Treasurer DeniseNappier and others. Friends of theEarth hopes that the SEC will heedthe call voiced by many speakers atthe event to create a Blue RibbonCommission to make recommenda-

tions to the SEC on how it can ensureproper disclosure of important socialand environmental information.Getting environmental and socialissues on the books will not only helpaddress environmental problems likeclimate change, but will also helprestore public confidence in our mar-kets. Visit www.corporatesunshine.org fora summary of the symposium.

Welcoming the Act ButHolding the ApplauseA coalition of investment banks madeheadlines when they launched theEquator Principles (EPs), a set of vol-untary project finance standards basedon the social and environmental safe-guard policies of the private financearm of the World Bank. While wewelcome the fact that private banksare beginning to recognize theirresponsibility for the social and envi-ronmental impacts of their

transactions, several loopholes couldmake the principles pointless.

The EPs represent an industryapproach, in which several banks areworking together. This collaborationhelps level the playing field amongbanks, and reduces the ability for cor-porate clients to shop around for abank that has lower environmental andsocial standards.

However, the EPs only apply todirect lending for project finance.Many sensitive transactions, such asmining and forestry activities, aremore likely to be funded through linesof credit or corporate loans, and thusare exempt from the EPs. Most impor-tantly, the EPs’ limited scope and lackof transparency requirements couldpotentially prove to be fatal flaws.

The EPs also do not requireendorsing banks to hire staff or takeother steps to oversee their implemen-tation. Endorsing banks must provethat they are serious about implemen-tation by taking actions such asrejecting projects that do not meet IFCenvironmental and social standards,dedicating adequate resources toimplementation, disclosing how theyimplement and monitor the EPs andmaking social and environmental loancovenants public.

All the banks that drafted the EPshave been targets of NGO advocacy.Continued and increasing publicscrutiny will certainly spur banks todevelop similar collective initiatives.

Friends of the Earth hopes thatthe EPs can be strengthened and serveas a helpful springboard from whichprivate financial institutions canexamine and confront their role indestructive projects. ■

Cooking the Books and Scorching the Planet

Sen. Jon Corzine (D-N.J.) hosted anunprecedented symposium organized byFriends of the Earth to address the needfor corporations to disclose environmentalliabilities. The symposium featured SECCommissioner Harvey Goldschmid, 11members of Congress and others.

14

P L A N N E D G I V I N G

By Diane Minor

A“small town girl” whoonce performed beforeover 11 million peoplehas made commit-ments to protect the

land she has loved so well long aftershe passes away.

Virginia Durso is a self-described“loner” of 84 who still hikes, bikesand swims in the Adirondack moun-tains of Northern New York whereshe has lived for decades. The vastand diverse system of state-ownedlands there, known as the AdirondackForest Preserve, was created in 1885as one of the earliest acts of large-scale public land protection in thenation.

Ginny, as she has been known formost of her life, grew up inHackensack, N.J., back when it had asingle grocer who wrapped each per-son’s purchase in brown paper andstring. She became a conservationistin her 20s, when she joined a localenvironmental group on nature hikesthat changed the way she looked atthe world.

Soon young Ginny Schoonmakerwas a star of the “Aquacade,” whichwas a water ballet performed at the1939 World’s Fair before a crowd of10,000 people four times a day, rainor shine. “I wasn’t shy about beingaround people back then,” she jokes.

Ginny worked with early filmindustry stars Johnny Weismuellerand Buster Crabbe. And she joined inbrawling union battles by theAmerican Federation of Actors thatmade headlines.

After the Acquacade’s femalelead, Ginny was the female performermost frequently featured in news arti-

cles and in advertisements for thecosmetics and fashions of the day.

While Ginny was being jetted offas one of four performers to star atthe Caribbean Hilton in Puerto Rico,she also fell in love with and eventu-ally married a trombone player in theAcquacade’s large orchestra, MichaelDurso.

She went on to become a govern-ment food inspector and eventuallyrequested a transfer to theAdirondacks, convincing her husbandit was her turn to get back to hersmall town roots and love of nature.

Ginny retains a keen interest notonly in nature but in Friends of theEarth’s campaign for safe foods andour work to cut wasteful government

spending on projects that damage theenvironment.

In recent years Ginny has put herretirement and estate planning strate-gies to work on behalf of thesecauses. She has set up several chari-table gift annuities, which guaranteeher a fixed income and tax deductionwhile helping Friends of the Earthout at the same time.

And she has included Friends ofthe Earth in her will and estate plans.“I treat conservation groups as myheirs,” she says.

To find out more about plannedgiving contact Diane Minor at202-783-7400 ext. 287. ■

In Appreciation: Planning Aheadto Conserve the Environment

We would like to thank Virginia Durso, pictured above when she was star of the “Aquacade”at the 1939 World’s Fair, who has made a lasting contribution to Friends of the Earth.

F R I E N D S O F T H E E A R T H M E R C H A N D I S E

“Getting More FromLess” T-Shirts$15 members, $18 non-membersThis v-neck tee reminds us, “the lesswe need, the less we use, the less dam-age we cause.” It is made from fairlytraded Indian organic cotton that feelslike silk. Available in sizes mediumand x-large.

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$2 each, $5 for threeShow the world how you feel abouthigh-polluting sport utility vehicles.The slogans came from a contest heldat www.suv.org.

Large Tote Bags$10 members, $15 non-membersFriends of the Earth’s roomy, organiccotton canvas bag features a largeFriends of theEarth logo. It isa perfect alter-native to paperor plastic.

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NEW!Reuse Envelope Labels $5 members, $7 non-membersSave trees! Reuse your envelopeswith Friends of the Earth’s labels. Juststick the 3” x 5” label over the oldaddress and you can reuse envelopes,reducing the amount of waste that youproduce. 50 labels per pad.

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Friends of the Earthremains on the forefrontof environmental advo-cacy through thecontinued support of our

members, key foundations and otherswho share our mission. Each gift, nomatter what size, is appreciated. Yourgenerosity helps us get the job done.

Giving at theWorkplace: Earth ShareFriends of the Earth is a foundingmember of Earth Share, a nationalfederation of environmental and con-servation organizations working topromote environmental education andcharitable giving through workplacegiving campaigns. Many private com-panies, states and cities sponsorpayroll deduction giving campaigns inthe workplace. If your workplace hassuch a giving campaign you can selectFriends of the Earth as the recipient ofyour donation. Federal employees candonate through the Combined FederalCampaign and support us by marking#0908 on their pledge forms.

Matching Gifts – A Little Extra thatGoes a Long WayWhether you support Friends of theEarth directly or through payrolldeduction at your workplace, you maybe able to double or triple the amountby having your employer match yourgift! Many employers support match-ing gift programs as an employeebenefit. Even if you’ve already madeyour gift for this year, your employermay still match your gift. Check withyour Human Resources department.

Automatic Giving –Less Mail, EasierPaymentsJoin the paperless generation – save your time and effort and makemonthly payments by credit card. No more appeals or renewal notices.Automatic giving saves us printingand mailing costs, so more of yourdonation can be put to work directlyon our advocacy efforts.

Bequests: Securingthe FutureYou can make a lasting contributiontoward safeguarding the environmentby considering a special gift to Friendsof the Earth of cash, securities or bymeans of a gift through your will.Friends of the Earth is extremelygrateful to those members who haveincluded us in their estate plans. Thislegacy will help ensure the future ofour work. If you are interested in nam-ing Friends of the Earth as abeneficiary, we suggest your attorneyconsider the following language:

I hereby bequeath_______ to Friendsof the Earth, nonprofit charitableorganization incorporated under thelaws of the District of Columbia andhaving its principal address:1717Massachusetts Avenue NW, Suite 600Washington, D.C. 20036 (our newlocation as of Nov. 17, 2003)

For more information about any of these options please call us at

1-877-843-8687. Or donate online atwww.foe.org

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