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U.S. Gov solution for Headwaters falls short

Greenpeace vs loggers in Canada

hormone disrupters in plastic

find that zip & that student

CondeNet: the web is a tool

the continuing struggle for free speech

the new business class

India watch: MTV & AIDS

free eco-paper guide

GO Organic

netsex

zen and the brain & new baths at Esalen

are you dead yet?

Canadian big brother

Encryption101: a required class

return to magic... and a post industrial blessing

Apple dumps the Dalai Lama & Tibetan Freedom Concert

Ships of Fools: the U.S. exports toxics...and and the idle rich

y2k: loomingcrisis, or moderate annoyance?


problems with the deal to save the Redwoods in
California...
 
'talking points' related to the weaknesses in the
government's proposed "solution" for Headwaters:
 
-- For a $380 million price tag, the government's
plan would allow Pacific Lumber to cut ONE ENTIRE
ANCIENT GROVE, Owl Creek, even though it is
CURRENTLY PROTECTED under the Endangered Species
Act.
 
-- The government's plan would allow one ancient
tree to be cut for every one it saves!
 
-- The government's plan doesn't even follow their
own guidelines for protection of coho salmon, an
ESA-listed threatened species, as outlined in the
Clinton Administration's Northwest Forest Plan.
 
-- Pacific Lumber MUST be required to follow, at a
minimum, the federal guidelines for species
protection. Unless Pacific Lumber meets these
conditions, the taxpayers cannot be asked to foot
the $380 million bill.
 
-- Ninety-six percent of nation's ancient redwood
forests have already been wiped out by logging.
How can we allow any more of this rare ecosystem
to be destroyed for deck furniture and redwood
siding?
 
------------
 
the New York Times finally reported on the
Headwaters crisis-- the most urgent conservation
issue in the U.S. today. the article was
primarily about Butterfly - the 24 year old
activist named Julia Hill who has for the past 3
months been living on a small plywood platform
perched in a 1000 yr. old redwood tree slated for
logging.
 
"We have to stop the rape of the forest, we have
to stop putting the almighty dollar above the
environment," Ms. Hill said by walkie-talkie as
she clambered barefoot along the branches of her
tree, 15 stories up."
 
"In the tree, Ms. Hill busies herself answering
fan mail from around the nation, writing poetry on
recycled cereal boxes and giving interviews. On a
recent spring morning, surrounded by mammoth
stumps of freshly cut trees, she appealed from her
treetop aerie: "They should not cut one more
old-growth tree."
 
from Headwaters Sanctuary Project and Bay Area
Action
T O S U B S C R I B E send a message to
listproc@envirolink.org
S U B J E C T <blank>
B O D Y subscribe Headwaters FirstName LastName
AnyAffiliation
 
You must send the subscription request from the
account at which you wish to receive the Weekly
Update & Alert
 
also...
 
BANK OF AMERICA ASKED TO PROTECT HEADWATERS FOREST
- A group of San Francisco Bay Area environmental
organizations is asking BankAmerica Corp., parent
company of the largest Maxxam Inc. institutional
shareholder, to support a shareholder resolution
aimed at improving the environmental practices and
management accountability of Maxxam, owner of
Pacific Lumber Co. and the Headwaters Forest. The
resolution, sponsored by the As You Sow
Foundation, asks Maxxam to consider stopping its
practice of clear-cutting old-growth redwood trees
and to start using sustainable forestry practices.
Hundreds of people have written to the Bank asking
it to support the resolution in a grass-roots
campaign led by the Bay Area Coalition for
Headwaters and Rainforest Action Network.
Investment banking firm BankAmerica Robertson
Stephens, a wholly-owned BofA subsidiary, owns
483,200 shares or approximately 5.8 percent of
Maxxam common shares.
 
from: The EnviroNews Service
 

Greenpeace vs loggers
Of the 353 original forested valleys on the
westcoast of Canada, only 69 remain intact. The
majority of these are slated to be clearcut in the
next 10 years.
 
The rate of logging and the rarity of this forest
type make the Canadian rainforests among the most
threatened ancient forests in the world. Temperate
rainforests are also home to some of the greatest
and oldest trees on earth. Many grow to more than
100 metres (325 feet) tall and are up to 1,500
years old.
 
"the last pristine rainforest valleys in Canada
must be saved. In the Amazon the rainforests are
burning, in Canada 10,000 years of evolution is
being clearcut for things like cosmetics, glue and
doors. It's time for the world to wake up to this
ecological catastrophe." --Al Baker, one of the
Greenpeace activists calling attention to the companies
importing ancient rainforest products.
 
from The EnviroNews Service at
newsdesk@envirolink.org

NRDC reports in the Spring issue of Amicus Journal (story by John Murphy) as follows: A "widely used group of plastic engineering compounds called phthalates has been shown to reduce sperm counts in rats. Children's toys, cellular phones, and the plastic interiors of new cars are some of the everyday products made with phthalates. Who would have thought that plastics, some of the most permanent and omnipresent materials of our age, would exude biologically active compounds? Who would have thought?"
can't find the zip code and u are on your way to the mailbox? plug in the addresss, city and state and u get the zip in just a click & index for lists of personal webpages of students at every university in the world
the web is a tool, period. Speaking in Internet World, of CondeNet Joan Feeney said "People are used to a computer as a tool, they don't want to read a 10,000-word essay about the joys of Vienna in the winter." Feeney is editorial director of a series of sites that have nothing much to do with their successful print counterparts, and rejects many conventional web strategies if they don't satisfy her "tool" criterion. For example, "Chat events" that force users to be at their computers at certain times. "I don't see the value of asking Julia Child a question in real time, vs an archival format."
The Internet Is For Everyone A newly formed privacy coalition today announced a national PR blitz to fight federal government restrictions on strong encryption and a Clinton administration proposal to give police and spy agencies back-door access to all Americans' encrypted data. The group, Americans for Computer Privacy, is announcing in Washington a grass-roots political campaign, media blitz, and congressional lobbying effort aimed at preserving privacy Sign-on statement supporting free speech principle for the Internet
in "The New Business Class" from the March 8, '98
NYT Magazine, Pico Iyer writes:
 
"...all around us are tens and thousands of
members of a new floating class who may be very
much up in the air. The "borderless economy" we
hear trumpeted so often means that today's
businessmen and women have to live everywhere at
once, and the speed of global communications means
that they can be anywhere tomorrow. Frequent
Business Travelers (FBT's) are the new breed for
whom "globalization" takes root in the stomach and
the heart."
 
and this is how he describes himself:
 
"I am simply a fairly typical product of a movable
sensibility, living and working in a world that is
itself increasingly small and increasingly
mongrel. I am a multinational soul on a
multinational globe on which more and more
countries are as polyglot and restless as
airports. Taking planes seems as natural to me as
picking up the phone or going to school; I fold up
my self and carry it around as if it were an
overnight bag."
 
see interview with Pico Iyer on Postmodern Tourism
in the Sun Magazine

India Watch MTV India is received in over 7.8 million homes in India via cable. They are gearing up with a campaign like Rock the Vote to deal with the political apathy of India's youth also... Richard Gere is helping India deal with AIDS by helping to launch a campaign in India to raise awareness of the dangers of AIDS/HIV. But, according to Court News, there is the matter of a lawsuit against Gere filed at the end of 1996: Aned Productions v.Richard Gere: Actor agreed to appear as honored celebrity guest at a concert in Greece to benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation. He made a series of demands which were agreed to that included reservations as a five-star hotel for himself and his entourage, a Lear jet to pick him up in India, 24-hour Mercedes Benz limousine service, and an advance payment of $500,000 to the Gere Foundation which supports the Tibetan Buddhist community. Then Gere allegedly decided not to appear and the concert had to be canceled.
World's Simplest Eco-Paper Procurement Guide Most companies want to use the most environmentally-sound paper they can buy. But recycled paper procurement guides are often complicated, confusing, and obsolete by the time they reach you. To solve that, Greg Dicum, Global Futures' senior analyst for forest issues, has created the World's Simplest Eco-Paper Procurement Guide. The one-page guide is available free to all Future 500 members, and to any company that commits to a procurement policy that favors state-of-the-art environmental paper products. Join Future 500 or receive your free guide
GO Organic with those t-shirts! from Josh Knauer The EnviroLink Network: Our Go Organic Campaign is really taking off. Soon you will see our apparel in some rather mainstream stores around the country. Our main goal is to take organic products to the mainstream. It appears to be off to a good start. One of the other aspects for the campaign is to encourage other non-profits to switch from "natural" (which is just a color in the apparel industry) or conventional cotton to 100% certified organic cotton t-shirts and apparel. The vendors that we are working with are finally offering t-shirts at a price that is competetive with conventional cotton, and the Go Organic Campaign will set up the online commerce area for the organizations that join. The organization walks away with custom shirts, a website to sell them, and all distribution issues taken care of.
ten reasons to use the modem and not a condom: Seems like cybersex is all over the news these days. You've already seen how "Playboy" is seeking to increase its influence in the online world. MSNBC raised a bit of an uproar when they announced their intention to conduct a cybersex survey So what's the big deal? Why is netsex gaining popularity on old fashioned sex? 10. It's easy to turn a computer on--just flip the switch. 9. Virtual dancing baby easier to care for than real one. 8. Less threat of Kenneth Starr investigation. 7. No trips to the doctor if you catch a computer virus. 6. The low cost of commitment: only $19.95 in ISP charges. 5. Monitor size doesn't matter. 4. Easier to hide a laptop if someone walks in. 3. You never spend a penny on deodorant, or perfume 2. Everybody assumes "clinton@whitehouse.gov" is an alias. 1. No need to say, "I have a headache"--just claim you couldn't dial into your AOL account.
Zen and the Brain Toward an Understanding of Meditation and Consciousness James H. Austin, M.D. Aldous Huxley called humankind's basic trend toward spiritual growth the "perennial philosophy." In the view of James Austin, the trend implies a "perennial psychophysiology"--because awakening, or enlightenment, occurs when the human brain undergoes substantial changes. What are the peak experiences of enlightenment? How could these states profoundly enhance, and yet simplify, the workings of the brain? Zen and the Brain presents the latest evidence. For more information & see the new baths at Esalen (the old ones were destroyed in the El Nino storms)
are we dead yet? << Now tell me the definative way that you can tell that you are actually alive, or dead for that matter right now. Since you don't know what is like to be dead, how do you know that you are not already? I am completely serious with this. How many of you remember dying and finding yourselves back here again and again and again like Bill Murray in GROUNDHOG DAY. Even if you don't remember dying one or more times how can you really tell? Maybe some people have near life experiences. by Fred Davis in the NOVELTY Digest - 21 Feb 1998
Big Brother in Canada? A secret hearing of Canda's Immigration and Refugee Board was told the Canadian government paid $31-million during the early 1980s for state-of-the-art software to track Canadian citizens by interfacing with credit card transactions, banking data, driver's license information, pension records, taxation information, criminal records and immigration records, according to transcripts. The U.S.-made Promis system could provide details of a person's health care and even library transactions. (from Ottawa Sun 2 Feb 98 via Edupage)
Encryption 101 - a mandatory course Encryption is a very important issue for everyone to start getting up to speed on. "We now live in a world where video cameras are omnipresent and credit card trails are unavoidable. Even worse, the Internet's emergence as an indispensable means for communication ensures that our every electronic utterance becomes daily more accessible to busybodies armed with supercomputers..." Encryption is an important tool for bringing back the balance... we have enjoyed Andrew Leonard's SALON review of the new book, "Privacy on the Line: The Politics of Wiretapping and Encryption," by Whitfield Diffie and Susan Landau.
return to magic... a post industrial blessing "we need a return to the art of natural magic. we need more drum ming to the beat of physiologically compatible rythm signatures. we need an end of the millineum mythology. we need to be in action, we need to be dancing hellatiously to the beat of the rapture. and not a moment too soon." --by Bob Carpenter in the Novelty List: March 8, 98 (owner-NOVELTY@SERVICES.WEB.AOL.COM) May you always stay moist and fecund, have deep cetacean dreams, reduce, reuse and recycle, never run short of stinky crystally buds, stay pregnant with profound perception, and may your airbags never malfunction. --by Ace <maroxco@CYBERIS.NET> in the Novelty List
Apple dumps Dalai Lama HHDL has been dumped from the Asian run of Apple's "Think Different" campaign because, according to Vincent Lum, Apple's Asia-Pacific marketing director, he isn't well known enough in Asia. The five famous people who will help Apple sell its wares in Asia are Alfred Hitchcock, Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso, Mahatma Gandhi, and Amelia Earhart. perhaps Apple should hear from you about this transparent sucking up to China. & 98' Tibetan Freedom Concert in DC: SonicNet, The Milarepa Fund & The Ultimate Band List present the official Tibetan Freedom Concert '98 website The Milarepa Fund's Tibetan Freedom Concert '98 took place at Washington DC's RFK Stadium on Saturday, June 13th and Sunday, June 14th with a rally on Monday, June 15th. Tickets for the event sold out in six hours. Performers included A Tribe Called Quest, Beastie Boys, Beck, Radiohead,Sonic Youth, R.E.M., Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews, The Verve, KRS-ONE, Kraftwerk. & more. Also featured were notable speakers including Ven. Palden Gyatso and Wei Jingsheng.
BANNED PESTICIDES SHIPPED OVERSEAS Toxic pesticides forbidden in the U.S. were shipped from U.S. ports at a rate of nearly 16 tons per day in 1995 and 1996, according to a new report to be released by the Foundation for Advancements in Science and Education (FASE). Most of the pesticides were headed to destinations in the developing world. The report is the fifth that the public interest group has published since 1991, when it began to document the trade in hazardous pesticides by analyzing transcriptions of U.S. Customs shipping records. FASE found that more than 28 million pounds of pesticides designated as "extremely hazardous" by the World Health Organization were exported in 1996 alone - a more than 500 percent increase over the 1992 total of 5 million pounds. Currently, the group says, U.S. policy allows the export of banned pesticides, as well as pesticides which have never been evaluated by the EPA. from The EnviroNews Service & from Metropolis, a story on the promise of traveling the world without leaving your luxury liner condo.... ``A large luxury ship with 250 spacious luxury homes and 182 guest suites, 7 restaurants, bars, cinema, theatre, casino, a variety of sports, relaxation and cultural facilities as well as a business service centre with professional secretaries and a licensed securities broker on board, is the next logical step in the evolution of both the luxury cruise as well as the resort industry. By bringing these concepts together we are creating a new lifestyle allowing people to travel the world without leaving home.'' Cabinswill come in standard sizes range from 965 to 2,189 square feet, with price tags going from $1.12 million to $5.38 million. If those aren't grand enough, there are two-story and penthouse units, plus some custom homes. Annual maintenance fees for standard suites will go from $61,500 to $241,300. The ship will have 700 residents with 500 full time staff and it is scheduled to take its maiden voyage in the summer of 2000. check the floor plans,or go to the ship's website
the y2k (year 2000) debate from the Novelty List: Date: Fri, 3 Apr 1998 03:36:31 -0800 From: Gary Glynn <gpg@BLUEMARBLE.NET Subject: Re:System Failure In reference to the banking system ala y2k. I don't think that you'll have until mid-1999 before you see a case of the runs. On April 1, 1999, a new fiscal year rolls over for New York State, Canada and Japan -- that is to say, rolls over to Fiscal Year 00. This could be one of the first actual y2k shock waves to impact us. Japan has the world's largest banks, banks that are completely dependent on dated digital transfers. Japan is already on shaky fiscal ground and come Fall 98, if word leaks that the banks are going belly-up come Spring 99, you can bet (in gold) that Japanese housewifes will run on the banks. I would guess that a run on banks in New York OR Canada OR Japan would be enough to trigger a global bank-run. Treasuries wouldn't be able to print money fast enough (haven't we already learned this lesson?), never mind FDIC. My guess is that banks and global markets will go down BEFORE the Bug bites us in the ass on April Fools Day, 1999. So, if you're thinking about waiting until the last minute to grab your savings and run, you might want move the date back a little. I'm not an investor as I already live rather close to the edge, but I would watch gold and silver markets, especially gold. If the price begins to surge upward, there will be little time left before everyone else as clever as yourself realizes that the last minute has already passed. ---------------- a dialogue on the Novelty List: Joshua wrote: I don't buy the date bug bringing down many ultracritical systems. I think the powers that control and depend on those systems have the resources to keep them going. Then I countered: Here's where you are mistaken. The most precious resource the powers that be need is time, and they simply don't have enough of it to fix the problem. Then Joshua responded: Hmmm.... I didn't say the were going to fix the problem. Egosystems of greed (corporation/govt) have guns/ammo (resources) at their disposal. Those are the resources that could keep them going, should we percieve ourselves still under their control. Well, what does "I don't buy the date bug bringing down many ultracritical sytems" imply then? Doesn't that mean you think the problem will be fixed? My take on the matter is this: People will generally have a high level of awareness about the problem, (thanks to the media) and a low general level of understanding (thanks to the media). Isn't that the recipe for fear? <snip> I do agree there will be a general panic, and possibly some kind of fiscal meltdown, and not because of the y2k monster -- but because we percieve the y2k monster to be beneath the bed. The y2k monster *IS* beneath our beds! That's why it's so scary.