Kucinich returning to Oregon Monday

04/03/04

Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich will return to Oregon on Mondayfor his second visit in two weeks.

After attending a private fund-raising dinner Monday, Kucinich will speak in Hood River at the Columbia Gorge Hotel ballroom, 400 Westcliff Drive. Doors will open at 7 p.m., and the Ohio congressman's speech is expected to begin at 7:15 p.m. A question-and-answer period will follow.

(Full Story)
- posted by Daniel @ 5:51 PM

 
From Climate Biz News:

In This Issue

Voluntary emissions reduction programs continue to gain ground week by week, sector by sector. The latest comes from the tech sector, as a number of Silicon Valley heavy-hitters last week formed a ground-breaking coalition to combat global warming. The news came hot on the heels of firmer emissions-reduction commitments by members of the Chicago Climate Exchange, who pledged to reduce carbon emissions by 4% over the next two years. We're looking forward to seeing more of these kinds of voluntary commitments in the coming months.

Also this week: A message on the economics of climate management from United Nations Environment Program executive director Klaus Toepfer.

News and Columns


Silicon Valley Firms Unite to Promote Sustainability, Fight Global Warming
A coalition of major Silicon Valley companies has announced an ambitious plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to collectively combat global warming, one of the first such business collaborations in the U.S.

CCX Members Commit to Cutting Emissions
Members of the Chicago Climate Exchange have committed to cutting their carbon emissions by 4% by 2006.

COLUMN: Combating Climate Change: An Economic Opportunity
UNEP executive director Klaus Toepfer's comments at the tenth anniversary of the "Coming into Force of the Climate Change Convention" in March 2004.

New Web Site Shows How Energy Efficiency Can Create Jobs
Rocky Mountain Institute has launched a new interactive Web site that calculates potential energy and dollar savings, air pollution emissions reductions, and potential jobs a community could create by implementing an energy efficiency program.

California Vintner Launches Largest Solar Installation in Wine Industry
The largest solar-powered system in the wine world -- 4,032 panels -- is up and running at Rodney Strong Vineyards' 100,000 square-foot barrelhouse.

Vermont Renewable Energy Program Links Customers, Farms, Environment
Central Vermont Public Service has asked the Vermont Public Service Board to approve the state's first voluntary renewable energy offering for the company's 148,000 customers.

Insurer Says Costs Are Rising with Global Temperatures
According to Swiss Re's latest "sigma" report, overall economic losses from natural disasters -- aggravated by climate change -- in 2003 amounted to an estimated $70 billion.

Fuel Cells to Convert Waste Gas into Energy for NYC
A new pollution abatement program at the city's wastewater treatment plants uses fuel cells to convert waste gas into energy, helping to power the facilities and reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions from the plants.

More News and Columns >


Tools and Resources

Point Carbon
Find the latest information and developments in the global emissions trading market.

Emissions Trading: Environmental Policy's New Approach
Gives an overview of the business issues related to emissions trading and offers guidelines for applying this controversial policy effectively.

The Importance of Top-Level Commitment and Communication
Because reducing emissions is a companywide process, communicating support from the top of the company is critical. This top-level communication serves both internal and external communications needs.

Green Power Emissions and Benefits Calculator
Estimates the emissions savings from renewable-energy systems.

Organizing and Sponsoring Environmental and Sustainable Development Awards
A useful guide for companies and organizations involved in sponsoring or organizing environmental awards.

More Resources and Tools >


Best Practices


Wal-Mart: Energy-Efficient Retail Store
Wal-Mart store in City of Industry, Calif., uses half the energy of a typical new California store, thanks to advanced lighting and efficient, downsized climate control system.

Western Digital: Efficient Building Design
Company built the most efficient disc drive factory in the world.

More Best Practices >



- posted by Daniel @ 2:01 PM

 
The Great Lakes Directory (http://www.GreatLakesDirectory.org) is a comprehensive online resource highlighting environmental issues around the Great Lakes basin. The Directory contains daily environmental articles, a network of over 1,000 environmental groups, funding resources, free environmental software, nonprofit management resources, and a massive library of online Great Lakes environmental information.

Here are your weekly Great Lakes environmental jobs, events and news headlines from the Great Lakes Directoy. More headlines, action alerts, resources, grants, jobs, and free activist software at http://www.GreatLakesDirectory.org

From Jenny Tahtinen of the Environmental Association of Great Lakes Education (EAGLE).
http://www.Eagle-EcoSource.org

Check out the Great Lakes Directory's Issue Pages for information on your environmental concerns!
http://www.greatlakesdirectory.org

Quote of the week: "Life ought to excite our passion, not our indifference. Life in jeopardy ought to cause us to take a stand." David Orr

THIS WEEK'S GREAT LAKES HEADLINES:

03/31 - Wisconsin Energy's lake water plan makes waves
http://www.greatlakesdirectory.org/wi/033104_great_lakes.htm

03/31 - Indiana's water pollution woes are crystal clear
http://www.greatlakesdirectory.org/in/033104_great_lakes.htm

03/31 - Liberals eye wind farms in Ontario
http://www.greatlakesdirectory.org/on/033104_great_lakes.htm

03/30 - More water shortages forecast for communities across Canada
http://www.greatlakesdirectory.org/on/033004_great_lakes.htm

03/30 - Clean machines can stop the alien invasion
http://www.greatlakesdirectory.org/mi/033004_great_lakes.htm

03/29 - Shorebirds can be seen around Indiana
http://www.greatlakesdirectory.org/in/032904_great_lakes.htm

03/29 - Industries blend with ecology under new plan
http://www.greatlakesdirectory.org/oh/032904_great_lakes.htm

03/29 - Door County gears up for a summer of testing
http://www.greatlakesdirectory.org/wi/032904_great_lakes.htm

03/26 - MI Wetland Action Coalition Newsletter
http://www.greatlakesdirectory.org/mi/032604__great_lakes.htm

03/26 - Critics: Proposed ship ballast limits won't halt invasive species
http://www.greatlakesdirectory.org/mi/032604_great_lakes.htm

03/26 - Standards on fish provide protection
http://www.greatlakesdirectory.org/oh/032604_great_lakes.htm

03/26 - Great Lakes advocates push for stricter water ballast rules
http://www.greatlakesdirectory.org/mn/032604_great_lakes.htm

For more information, go to http://www.GreatLakesDirectory.org

GREAT LAKES ENVIRONMENTAL JOBS:
http://www.greatlakesdirectory.org/jobs.htm

GREAT LAKES ENVIRONMENTAL EVENTS:
http://www.greatlakesdirectory.org/events.htm
To subscribe and receive Great Lakes environmental news, action alerts, jobs and events in your email once a week: http://www.GreatLakesDirectory.org

-----------------------------------------------
Jenny Tahtinen-
Great Lakes Directory / EAGLE
394 Lake Avenue South, Suite #222
Duluth, MN 55802
Phone:(218)726-1828
fax:(240)526-2670
Jenny@EAGLE-EcoSource.org
- posted by Daniel @ 1:40 PM

 
KUCINICH: OREGON CRUCIAL TO ELECTIONS

Despite sparse media coverage, Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich has been picking up delegates. In recent primaries, he won 16 percent of the primary vote in Maine, 17 percent in Minnesota, about 26 percent in Alaska and 31 percent in Hawaii. John Kerry already has enough delegates to be the 2004 Democratic candidate, but Kucinich has pledged to stay in the race until the Democratic convention in July to be a progressive voice for millions of Americans who have not yet voted in primaries.

(Full Story)
- posted by Daniel @ 4:00 AM

 
Kucinich courts state delegates during local visit
By Sarah Boyer


Dennis Kucinich brought his presidential campaign to Lane County this week with promises of universal health care, free college educations for all Americans and fair trade.

The Democratic presidential hopeful spoke before a crowd of 800 people at Lane Community College on Sunday. Kucinich said he made the trip to Oregon to campaign because he has a chance of winning state delegates in the May Primary Election.

"The reason this primary election is so critical is because the direction of the Democratic Party is far from settled," Kucinich said. "The direction of the Democratic Party is yet to be determined."

Kucinich supporter Beryl Oliver, who lives in Springfield, said Oregonians should be encouraged to vote for Kucinich.

"I know that there is a willingness to vote for Kucinich in the Oregon Primary because (John) Kerry has (the Democratic nomination)," Oliver said. "Now is the time citizens can vote from their hearts."

Kucinich spoke concerning the war in Iraq saying the United States should "turn over the oil assets to the UN so they can be reserved for the Iraqi people."

(Full Story)
- posted by Daniel @ 3:58 AM

 
On the Road with DENNIS KUCINICH
Forty-eight hours with the man who won't be our next president.

BY LISA LOVING

503 243-2122

End of a gravel road near Corvallis, Thursday, March 25, 11:17 am.

My husband's cell phone chirps while we're in a cabin in the woods. He hands it to me. Willamette Week's news editor just figured out that a presidential candidate is coming to town later in the week.

He wants someone to hang out with Dennis Kucinich for a few days and, he assures me, I'm the first person he called. I'm flattered. More important, I'm broke. Sure, I say, I can be witty and insightful while explaining why an herbivore from Ohio is still running in the Democratic primary while John Kerry is celebrating on the slopes of Sun Valley. No problem.

What was I thinking?
Portland International Airport, Friday, 6:41 pm

The photographer and I make visual contact with the K-man; I recognize him from a Saturday Night Live skit a few weeks ago. Television stations and newspapers have worked hard to ignore Kucinich's presidential bid. Yet almost every story written about him mentions his height. Or, more precisely, his lack of it. (He's 5-foot-7.)

The congressman hasn't cleared the baggage claim area, but he's already been embraced and handshaken by an exuberant hippie woman and two gray-haired gentleman-types, and held three telephone conversations. He marches up to the baggage round-and-round and actually grabs his own. Wow. You think Kerry, a guy who owns five homes, totes his own bags?

(Full Story)
- posted by Daniel @ 11:16 AM

 
March 31, 2004

Why Kucinich came

A Register-Guard Editorial

Nelson Rockefeller won the 1964 Republican primary in Oregon because "he cared enough to come." Forty years later, candidates don't care about the Oregon presidential primary - except Dennis Kucinich, who cared enough to come even though John Kerry has all the delegates he needs to wrap up the Democratic presidential nomination. Kucinich's effort suggests that late primaries in states such as Oregon may have a glimmer of relevance after all.

Kucinich knows he won't be his party's nominee, but unlike Kerry's other rivals, the Ohio congressman has not dropped out. Except for loopy Lyndon LaRouche, Kucinich will be the only alternative to Kerry on Oregon's Democratic ballot. Eight hundred people, a good-sized crowd for any political event, showed up to hear Kucinich at Lane Community College on Sunday.

Kucinich is still campaigning on the themes that brought him single-digit results in early primaries: universal health care, withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, suspension of trade agreements and repeal of the Patriot Act. But as the field has thinned, Kucinich's numbers have improved. He won 27 percent of caucus votes in Alaska on March 20, and earlier won nearly a third of caucus-goers' support in Hawaii.

(Full Story)
- posted by Daniel @ 11:11 AM

 
March 30, 2004

Kucinich's visit revs up local political interest

EDITORIAL

President Dennis Kucinich?

OK, that's about as likely to happen as President Al Sharpton, but the visit by the long-shot Democratic presidential candidate to this area still created an exciting opportunity for locals to engage in the national debate.

Thanks to a late primary and a front-loaded system that lets a small part of the nation's population have a big say in choosing presidential nominees, Oregon gets left out of having a say too often.

A crowd estimated at 250 crowded the Douglas County Library Sunday night to hear Kucinich speak.

Sure, it might seem like we're getting the scraps from the candidates -- Kucinich doesn't have the star power of a Bush or a Kerry, admittedly -- but it's great that his campaign chose to put us on the map.

Part of the thanks goes to a core of dedicated Kucinich supporters in the area, who've held several conscious-raising events and even have a Web site, www.douglascountykucinich.org. They lobbied Kucinich to make a stop here when it was learned he was coming to Oregon.

It's too seldom that a nationally known figure stops off in Douglas County.

Oregon's May 18 presidential primary doesn't have a lot of pull, but it can send a message. Kucinich's entire campaign at this point is about "giving people a voice," as he put it, and trying to shape the Democratic party platform.

(Full Story)
- posted by Daniel @ 11:10 AM

 
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Great Lakes News: 02 April 2004
A collaborative project of the Great Lakes Information Network and the Great
Lakes Radio Consortium.

For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/

Forum focuses on saving New York's coastal wetlands
----------------------------------------
According to a recent forum, New York's Great Lakes coastal wetlands are
under increasing pressure from developers - and local municipalities need
more money, research and cooperation to reverse the trend. Source:
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (4/2)


Higher steel prices squeezing small manufacturers
----------------------------------------
Small auto parts manufacturers and other steel consumers are being pinched
between soaring steel prices and customers unwilling to pay more for their
products. Source: Detroit Free Press (4/2)


New smog standards on horizon
----------------------------------------
Hundreds of communities in Ohio and other states - from Maine to
California - will face tough new standards for cleaning up smog on April 15,
the head of the EPA said Thursday. Source: The Plain Dealer (4/2)


Ferry strikes pier in N.Y.C.
----------------------------------------
The Spirit of Ontario - the new ferry slated to begin cruising on Lake
Ontario later this month - struck a pier while docking in New York City,
causing superficial damage. Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (4/2)


Wind farm planned for Wolfe Island
----------------------------------------
A renewable energy firm and a hydro company have agreed to build a
$400-million wind farm on Wolfe Island. Source: The Kingston Whig-Standard
(4/2)


East Sandusky Bay preserve adds 155 acres
----------------------------------------
The Trust for Public Land and Erie MetroParks announced yesterday it had
added 155 acres to the new East Sandusky Bay Preserve MetroPark along Lake
Erie. Source: The Toledo Blade (4/2)


Sewer work will cost suburbs billions
----------------------------------------
Repairs on 78-year-old sewer pipes that were built to last 40 years are
expected to cost Southeastern Michigan residents between $2.4 billion and
$4.4 billion in the next 25 years, a bill that has prompted suburban leaders
to urge communities to start saving now. Source: The Detroit News (4/2)


Michigan senate OKs dove hunting bill
----------------------------------------
The Michigan legislature has voted to end the state's 99-year ban on hunting
mourning doves, but Gov. Jennifer Granholm is expected to veto the bill.
Source: Lansing State Journal (4/1)


Investors want to fix, operate old dam
----------------------------------------
A group of investors wants to refurbish the Gorge Park dam on the Cuyahoga
River so it will produce power again. Source: The Plain Dealer (4/1)


Dissent over rights interrupts signing of Innu agreement
----------------------------------------
After more than 20 years of negotiations, and despite the pleas of
dissenters, four Innu chiefs signed a historic land agreement with the
Quebec and federal governments Wednesday granting self-government to about
9,300 Innu living north of the St. Lawrence River. Source: The Montreal
Gazette (4/1)

For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/

Did you miss a day of Daily News? Remember to use our searchable story
archive at http://www.great-lakes.net/news/inthenews.html


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Consortium (www.glrc.org), both based in Ann Arbor, Mich.
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- posted by Daniel @ 11:05 AM

 
ENN Environmental News Network
E-mail Edition 04/02/2004

Fish protection may have a price tag
Anyone familiar with the operation of state and federal water projects in California recognizes that the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta is the heart of the state's elaborate plumbing system.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-04-02/s_22292.asp

Ex-official says U.S. government covered up spill cause
A whistle-blower has accused the Bush administration of trying to protect the company responsible for a 2000 coal slurry spill for political reasons, according to CBS Television's 60 Minutes.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-04-02/s_22430.asp

Senators, states call on EPA to toughen mercury pollution proposal
The Bush administration's plan for reducing mercury emissions from power plants came under criticism on two fronts Thursday as nearly half of the Senate and 10 states urged the Environmental Protection Agency to propose stronger requirements.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-04-02/s_22436.asp

Alaska governor invites drilling in state waters off ANWR
Gov. Frank Murkowski said he will open lease sales in state waters offshore of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-04-02/s_22439.asp

Country living may be hazardous to men's fertility
When epidemiologist Shanna Swan began comparing fertility in urban versus rural men, she thought she knew what she would find. Just as corn, sorghum, and soybeans grow better in central Missouri's hills and hollers than in a polluted parking lot in urban New York, Los Angeles, or Minneapolis, so too would fertility be higher among men living in the clean, bucolic countryside.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-04-02/s_12994.asp

Crew convicted, awaiting deportation from Australia for illegal fishing
Thirty-two crewmen from Uruguay, Spain, Chile, and the Caribbean were convicted and fined after pleading guilty to fishing illegally in Australian waters, and will be deported, a court said Thursday.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-04-02/s_22440.asp

U.S. mulls clean gasoline waivers to ease supplies
The Bush administration is "seriously considering" requests from three states for temporary exemptions to rules that require cleaner-burning gasoline, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said Thursday.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-04-02/s_22432.asp

Judge orders release of documents related to Cheney case
A federal judge ordered several government agencies to release documents related to an energy policy task force led by Vice President Dick Cheney.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-04-02/s_22433.asp

South Africa investigates illegal shark fin haul
South African environmental authorities sent DNA samples from thousands of shark fins confiscated at Cape Town harbor this week for testing on Thursday as part of an illegal hauling probe.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-04-02/s_22434.asp

Raw sewage flows into river, closes park
A faulty gate at a wastewater treatment plant backed up millions of gallons of raw sewage, causing a smelly mess that flowed into a river, shot manholes into the air, and closed a park this week.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-04-02/s_22437.asp



Environmental Marketplace Updates (Become a Member)

We'd like to encourage you to visit our Environmental Marketplace where you'll learn about some amazing environmentally-focused businesses. A few examples:

American Clay Enterprises, committed to protecting the environment and our quality of life. American Clay Enterprises presents Clayote, an Earth Plaster veneer made in the United States that is 100% natural earth plaster, providing an environment that is wholesome for your friends and family. Learn more about American Clay Enterprises

Earth Tones, The Environmental Internet & Phone Co., the only long distance service or Internet company to donate 100% of its profits to environmental organizations. Learn more about Earth Tones, The Environmental Internet & Phone Co.

Green Pet Products Inc., specializing in environmentally-safe pet products from renewable and readily available resources. Learn more about Green Pet Products Inc.

Pax World Funds, enabling investors to align their financial goals with their personal values through a selection of professionally-managed socially-responsible mutual funds. Learn more about Pax World Funds





Today's Press Releases (Become an Affiliate)
Direct from non-profit environmental and educational organizations.

Pennsylvania IPM Program :
Penn State Studies Transition to Organic Agriculture

World Land Trust:
URGENT: Travellers needed to help conservation worldwide

Save Our Wild Salmon:
Eliminating Spill at Dams Would Be Major Step Backward

Natural Resources Defense Council:
EPA to Announce Toothless Regulation for Pollution from Commercial and Residential Development

Union of Concerned Scientists:
Record Gas Prices Spark Call for SUV Solutions

United Nations Environment Programme:
North-East Asian Dust and Sand Storms Growing in Scale and Intensity; UNEP Warns of 'the Globalization of Environmental Problems'

WWF-US Communications:
Reopening of Hawaiian Fishery Lays Groundwork for Far-reaching Sea Turtle Protection

Clean Air-Cool Planet:
Regional climate group praises House Stewardship bill

Wildlife Conservation Society:
World's Largest Tiger Reserve Declared in Myanmar

The Trust for Public Land:
155 Acres Added to Lake Erie Preserve (OH)

European Anglers? Alliance:
European Anglers Alliance, EAA calling on EU for funding of urgently needed Europe-wide socio-economic study

The Trust for Public Land:
324 Acres Added to San Diego NWR (CA)

Ocean Conservancy:
Legislators Promote Better Ocean Stewardship with Introduction of Clean Cruise Ship Act of 2004

Pennsylvania IPM Program :
School IPM Manual Now Included in Training Packets

- posted by Daniel @ 10:39 AM

 
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Great Lakes News: 01 April 2004
A collaborative project of the Great Lakes Information Network and the Great
Lakes Radio Consortium.

For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/

Stabenow, Levin ask EPA for reprieve from Clean Air Act
----------------------------------------
Michigan's U.S. senators have requested that western Michigan counties that
get air pollution from Chicago and Milwaukee not be punished under new clean
air standards. Source: Duluth News Tribune (4/1)


Likely Michigan voters back Great Lakes water curb
----------------------------------------
Nearly four out of five likely Michigan voters support Gov. Jennifer
Granholm's proposal to curb Great Lakes water withdrawals, according to a
National Wildlife Federation poll released Wednesday. Source: The Toledo
Blade (4/1)


Badger's role in area tourism said important
----------------------------------------
The S.S. Badger is an intricate part of the success of Manitowoc's tourism
industry, literally delivering thousands of visitors each year. Source:
Herald Times Reporter (4/1)


Michigan Senate considers groundwater program
----------------------------------------
Michigan's groundwater discharge permit program could end today if the state
senate does not pass a bill shifting the costs to users. Source: Cadillac
News (4/1)


U.S. Steel land deal could prove costly
----------------------------------------
U.S. Steel has committed to donating 200 acres of industrial land to the
city of Gary, but the vacant land may need extensive and costly
environmental remediation before any type of lakefront development can
begin. Source: The Northwest Indiana Times (4/1)


Coast Guard to ban boats near PGA Championship
----------------------------------------
As a precaution against terrorist attacks, the U.S. Coast Guard will enforce
an offshore "security zone" on Lake Michigan during this August's PGA
Championship golf tournament at Whistling Straits. Source: The Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel (3/31)



Tall ships returning to Kenosha
----------------------------------------
The U.S. Brig Niagara, the largest wooden sailing ship on the Great Lakes,
will be among five Tall Ships coming to this Wisconsin port in August.
Source: The Racine Journal Times (3/31)


Despite optimistic reports from waterfowl breeding grounds...
----------------------------------------
Despite optimistic reports from waterfowl breeding grounds in 2003, the
autumn hunting season produced nationwide extremes in hunter success,
according to observers at Ducks Unlimited, a leading waterfowl conservation
organization. Source: Duluth News Tribune (3/31)


To fertilize or not
----------------------------------------
Contrary to popular notions, using fertilizer to keep your lawn healthy can
actually reduce runoff, and that's good for area lakes and streams. Source:
Earthwatch Radio (3/30)


Beach monitoring grants cut
----------------------------------------
State funding for monitoring at Lake Huron beaches and state parks in
Michigan's Cheboygan County have been trimmed by nearly a third this year.
Source: The Cheboygan Daily Tribune (3/30)

For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/

Did you miss a day of Daily News? Remember to use our searchable story
archive at http://www.great-lakes.net/news/inthenews.html


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Consortium (www.glrc.org), both based in Ann Arbor, Mich.
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- posted by Daniel @ 12:22 PM

 
Liberal Radio Network Hits Air With Left Jab
Programming Debuts With Al Franken

By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, April 1, 2004; Page A01

Al Franken set a lofty standard on his new radio show yesterday, casting it as "a battle for truth, a battle for justice, a battle for America itself."


"Not to be grandiose about it," he added.

Air America Radio didn't have a grandiose debut -- the signal was elusive in Los Angeles, its San Francisco station didn't materialize and its Internet feed kept breaking off -- but the fledgling liberal network managed to plant its flag in what has been overwhelmingly conservative turf.

Listen online: http://www.airamericaradio.com/

(Full Story)


- posted by Daniel @ 12:10 PM

 
From: Wired News Daily [mailto:wiredmail-info@lists.wired.com]
Sent: Thursday, April 01, 2004 2:15 AM
To: Wired News Daily
Subject: Special Report: How Electronic Voting Threatens Democracy


Note: For specific feedback on this alert, please send it to:
wiredpr@wired.com

Dear Readers,

Today Wired News is running a special report entitled, "How Electronic
Voting Threatens Democracy"
(Full story:
http://go.hotwired.com/news/evote/0,2645,62790,00.html/wn_ascii_se).
The story, an in-depth look at the growing controversy surrounding
electronic voting machines and the companies that manufacture them, raises
important questions about the security of our voting system in this
presidential election year. I'm sending out this e-mail so you'll be sure to
read the piece.

Electronic voting has been touted as the solution to the hanging chad
debacle of the 2000 presidential race. With funding from Congress, voting
officials across the country have been aggressively adopting e-voting in
their districts. It's estimated that about 50 million people will vote on a
paperless touch-screen voting machine this year; another 55 million will use
optical scan machines that require voters to use a pen to mark a paper
ballot, which the machine then scans.

Yet there's mounting evidence these machines are far from secure. In today's
story, Senior Reporter Kim Zetter writes about how that evidence came to
light over the past year. Zetter documents election glitches, including
machines that sometimes fail to boot up, fail to record votes or even record
them for the wrong candidates.

Her story also raises serious concerns about the people behind the machines,
including the partisan loyalty of e-voting company executives. It's no
wonder that computer scientists, election officials and activists are
wondering whether electronic voting can be trusted.

You'll notice that Zetter's story, which took several months to produce, is
longer than most you read on Wired News. That's because the topic is
complex, involving many people, companies and details. Ultimately, however,
it shines a light on one of the more important technology stories -- I might
say stories, period -- of this election year.

Sincerely,

David Ian Miller, Wired News managing editor

Note: For specific feedback on this alert, please send it to:
wiredpr@wired.com
- posted by Daniel @ 11:29 AM

 
ENN Environmental News Network
E-mail Edition 04/01/2004

Sea turtles get fishing relief and other stories
The United States has banned longline swordfish fishing off its Pacific coast to save dwindling sea turtle populations. The new rules, released by the National Marine Fisheries Service, affect a 1,200- to 1,700-mile-wide swath of waters from Washington south to California.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-04-01/s_14166.asp

E.U. Parliament approves law forcing polluting companies to pay for cleanups
The European Parliament gave its final approval Wednesday to a compromise bill setting up new European Union-wide legislation to force polluting companies to cover full costs of cleaning up the damage they make to the environment.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-04-01/s_22390.asp

Dangerous Asian dust storms increase fivefold from Chinese desert, says U.N.
Dangerous dust storms in Asia have intensified fivefold over the last half-century, posing health and economic hazards as part of global trend toward bigger natural disasters, the United Nations warned Wednesday.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-04-01/s_22391.asp

Washington governor signs bills to curb power plant emissions
Gov. Gary Locke signed into law standards for new power plants Wednesday that will force energy producers to fund environmental projects to partially make up for the pollution they create.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-04-01/s_22389.asp

Fish catch in Mekong River tributary plummets 50 percent
The fish catch in a Cambodian tributary of the Mekong River has fallen by about 50 percent from last year because of small floods during the rainy season and low water levels, and other parts of the river could be facing similar problems, a biologist said.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-04-01/s_22386.asp

Green groups seek protections for Alaska loon
A coalition of U.S. and Russian environmental groups petitioned the federal government this week for new protections for a species of loon that breeds in an area of Alaska targeted for new oil development.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-04-01/s_22383.asp

Greenpeace says regulations protecting Mexico's mangrove swamps are in danger
Greenpeace volunteers in orange jumpsuits placed chain saws and sawdust at the entrance to Mexico's Environment Department on Wednesday, accusing the agency of failing to protect mangrove swamps forests and favoring business interests.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-04-01/s_22388.asp

Japanese police arrest farmer over bird flu
Japanese police arrested a poultry farmer Wednesday on suspicion of failing to report large-scale deaths of chickens on his farm, to which cases of bird flu were later traced, police said.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-04-01/s_22385.asp

North Korea set to release environment report with U.N.
The first report on the environment of North Korea is due out in a few weeks and will underscore the need for urgent action on many pollution fronts, officials said on Wednesday.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-04-01/s_22382.asp



Environmental Marketplace Updates (Become a Member)

We'd like to encourage you to visit our Environmental Marketplace where you'll learn about some amazing environmentally-focused businesses. A few examples:

American Clay Enterprises, committed to protecting the environment and our quality of life. American Clay Enterprises presents Clayote, an Earth Plaster veneer made in the United States that is 100% natural earth plaster, providing an environment that is wholesome for your friends and family. Learn more about American Clay Enterprises

Earth Tones, The Environmental Internet & Phone Co., the only long distance service or Internet company to donate 100% of its profits to environmental organizations. Learn more about Earth Tones, The Environmental Internet & Phone Co.

Green Pet Products Inc., specializing in environmentally-safe pet products from renewable and readily available resources. Learn more about Green Pet Products Inc.

Pax World Funds, enabling investors to align their financial goals with their personal values through a selection of professionally-managed socially-responsible mutual funds. Learn more about Pax World Funds





Today's Press Releases (Become an Affiliate)
Direct from non-profit environmental and educational organizations.

WWF-US Communications:
Historic Bi-Partisan House Bill to Limit Carbon Dioxide Pollution Reflects Building Momentum for US Action on Global Warming

Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society:
Senator urges immediate expansion of Nahanni National Park Reserve and World Heritage Site to protect the entire South Nahanni Watershed

World Resources Institute:
Fueling Malawi's Environmental Challenges

Pennsylvania IPM Program :
Penn State Insect Integrated Pest Management Publications Available in Spanish

Mangrove Action Project:
Late Friday News #134

Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Accounting:
Free newsletter on greenhouse issues

United Nations Environment Programme:
Throw Away Society New Threat to Island Paradises

International Policy Network:
Kyoto stumbles at first European hurdle

Center for Biological Diversity:
Petition filed to protect the yellow-billed loon under the ESA

Union of Concerned Scientists:
Record Gas Prices Spark Call for SUV Solutions

World Land Trust:
URGENT: Travellers needed to help conservation worldwide

Wildlife Conservation Society:
World's Largest Tiger Reserve Declared in Myanmar

Save Our Wild Salmon:
Eliminating Spill at Dams Would Be Major Step Backward

United Nations Environment Programme:
North-East Asian Dust and Sand Storms Growing in Scale and Intensity; UNEP Warns of 'the Globalization of Environmental Problems'

WWF-US Communications:
Reopening of Hawaiian Fishery Lays Groundwork for Far-reaching Sea Turtle Protection

Pennsylvania IPM Program :
Penn State Studies Transition to Organic Agriculture

Clean Air-Cool Planet:
Regional climate group praises House Stewardship bill

- posted by Daniel @ 11:20 AM

 
A MESSAGE FROM DENNIS KUCINICH
RECORDED ON THE EVENING OF MARCH 31, 2004

Thank you for making an impact...

TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO POSTCARD:

Hi, this is Dennis.

There's less than 6 hours left on the west coast and beyond, for the purpose of helping us reach our fundraising goals for this quarter.

Thank you so much for the effort you've already made, you've been so generous. We're very close to meeting our goal and to making this one of our best quarters ever. That says a lot about the resilience of our supporters and their determination to make sure the Democratic Party stands for peace and health care for all, and for fair trade and civil liberties.

So as the hours wind down in concluding this fundraising quarter, please know that you're having an impact at the time it counts the most. Not only with respect to this quarter, but with respect to the ongoing direction of the Democratic Party.

So help us continue to help you and the Democrats to be in the position to show the kind of leadership that can not only win the election, but the kind of leadership that can create a new nation and a new world.

Thank you very much.

Dennis Kucinich

***
Contribute by calling 866-413-3664 or online at https://www.kucinich.us/contribute.php or by sending your check to the address shown at the bottom of this page.

Contact us:
Kucinich for President
11808 Lorain Avenue - Cleveland, OH 44111
216-889-2004 / 866-413-3664 (toll-free)
http://www.kucinich.us

- posted by Daniel @ 11:05 AM

 
Asian dust storms grow in frequency, wreaking havoc far from home – UN

31 March 2004 – In “a globalization of environmental problems” dust and sand storms in northeast Asia have grown vastly in frequency and intensity, leading to widespread loss of livestock and crops, disrupted communications, respiratory problems and deaths far from their source, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said today.

"We are worried about the creep of environmental problems – their disrespect of political boundaries – and the way they threaten to compound and disrupt the functioning of major natural systems," UNEP Executive Director Klaus Toepfer told the 8th Special Session of the agency’s Governing Council and the Global Ministerial Environment Forum in Jeju, Republic of Korea.

"We are seeing a globalization of environmental problems, linked to intensity and pattern of economic development, and we need urgent and coordinated action from governments, business and civil society groups to address it,” Mr. Toepfer said, noting that northeast Asia’s dust and sand storms were part of a trend of increasing natural disasters across the globe.

The storms, which originate in the dry regions of northern China and Mongolia and blow across the Korean peninsula and Japan, are occurring nearly five times as often as in the 1950s and are also growing in intensity. Scientists predict large storms over the coming spring months as cold air masses from Siberia whip deserts and soils eastward after the dry continental winter.

In April 2002 dust levels in Seoul, 1,200 kilometres from the source, reached 2,070 micrograms per cubic metre, twice the level deemed hazardous to health.

Full Story:
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=10266&Cr=Dust&Cr1=Storm
- posted by Daniel @ 10:44 AM

 
Newport News Times - Newport,OR,USA

http://www.newportnewstimes.com/articles/2004/03/31/news/news08.txt

Kucinich meeting Thursday


The public is invited to the third in a series of four evening conversations in the "Moving from Politics of Fear to Politics of Hope" discussion series in support of U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, and his bid for the U.S. Presidency.

The meeting is from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday in the upstairs community room of the Newport Visual Arts Center at the Nye Beach turnaround. The topic is "Repeal NAFTA and Withdraw from WTO."

The focus of the conversation will be on Kucinich's proposal to withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement and the World Trade Organization in order to prevent outsourcing and to protect American jobs.

For more information, call 563-5900 or 514-3267.


Newport Visual Arts Center
777 NW Beach Drive - P.O. Box 1315
Newport, OR 97365
Phone: (541) 265-6540
http://www.coastarts.org/VAC/home.html

- posted by Daniel @ 10:35 AM

 
Which way for the Democratic Party?

HEAR THE AUDIO POSTCARD
(requires Macromedia Flash)

A MESSAGE FROM DENNIS KUCINICH
RECORDED ON THE MORNING OF MARCH 31, 2004

TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO POSTCARD:

Hi everyone, this is Dennis.

Well, we're at the end of another fundraising quarter, and what's been remarkable about this quarter is that even though there's 8 candidates who have left the presidential race, I stand alone to carry the message that the Democratic Party has to stand for something.

We know the direction of the nomination is pretty much concluded. But what remains to be determined: what's the direction of our Party?

We need to stand for peace. It's time that we continue to insist to get out of Iraq, to bring in U.N. Peacekeepers, to bring our troops home. I'm keeping that message alive with your help.

We must continue to insist on a health care plan that covers all Americans. A universal, not-for-profit plan. With your help, I'm keeping that message alive.

And, we have to insist on fair trade. I mean, haven't we lost enough jobs, millions of jobs, before someone questions it? When will the Democratic Party take a stand for fair trade? So we can stop the loss of jobs, repeal NAFTA and the WTO, and go back to trade conditioned on workers' rights, human rights, and environmental quality principles. With your help, I'm keeping that message alive.

And finally on civil liberties, wherever I go in this country there's a great deal of concern about what we've lost with regards to civil liberties. A good example is the Patriot Act, and how we need to repeal it. You are helping me keep that message alive on the campaign trail.

Oh yes, the direction of the nomination is pretty much decided. But the direction of our party will be decided in the next few months. With your help, we're going to take the Democratic Party in the direction of peace, of health care, of fair trade, and of respect for and protection of civil liberties.

So I want to thank you for everything that you've done for us, but today's the end of a fundraising quarter and we need you to help one more time, so that we can meet our fundraising goals for this quarter. And so as we face the next 16 primaries and caucuses, we can continue to get this message out - a message of determination, a message of hope, and a message of confidence that Democrats can win in November if we demonstrate the capacity to stand for something.

So thank you once again for everything you've been doing, for everything you will do, and let's move on throughout the next few months so that it's not just about victory being in sight, but a new America and a new world.

Thank you and do everything you can to help us make our fundraising goals today. Thank you so much, bye.

Dennis Kucinich

***
Contribute by calling 866-413-3664 or online at https://www.kucinich.us/contribute.php or by sending your check to the address shown at the bottom of this page. Your check dated today still counts for this quarter.

HEAR THE AUDIO POSTCARD (requires Macromedia Flash)


You can also contribute by ordering from our campaign store - order original collectable items at special prices - help make way for the new designs: http://www.kucinich.us/store.php

Contact us:
Kucinich for President
11808 Lorain Avenue - Cleveland, OH 44111
216-889-2004 / 866-413-3664 (toll-free)
http://www.kucinich.us
- posted by Daniel @ 9:56 AM

 
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Great Lakes News: 31 March 2004
A collaborative project of the Great Lakes Information Network and the Great
Lakes Radio Consortium.

For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/

Canadian gala to greet ferry
----------------------------------------
Passengers on the maiden voyage of the Spirit of Ontario may rub elbows with
some heavy-hitting celebrities and Canadian power brokers when the ship
lands in Toronto. Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (3/31)


Liberals eye wind farms
----------------------------------------
Just one day before electricity prices are set to rise in Ontario, the
province is announcing that it will open up crown land for the creation of
wind farms. Source: The Toronto Star (3/31)


Dunes Creek water quality is new focus
----------------------------------------
The Dunes Creek Watershed, which encompasses all of the Indiana Dunes State
Park and part of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, is the focus of a new
plan to improve water quality. Source: Merrillville Post-Tribune (3/31)


Region's water pollution woes are crystal clear
----------------------------------------
According to a PIRG report released today, nearly 60 percent of Illinois'
major industrial and municipal plants spewed more pollution into waterways
than permitted during a recent 18-month period. Other Great Lakes states
show a similar number of violations, many flagrant. Source: Merrillville
Post-Tribune (3/31)


Concerns linger over marine conservation area
----------------------------------------
The start of negotiations to establish a Canadian marine conservation area
on Lake Superior has been delayed over allegations the federal government
has failed to adequately consult aboriginal groups. Source: The Thunder Bay
Chronicle-Journal (3/30)


EDITORIAL: Clean machines can stop the alien invasion
----------------------------------------
The good news from a recent Michigan Sea Grant report on the inland spread
of the zebra mussel is that they don't seem to be spreading as fast as they
could, thanks to efforts to clean trailers, boats, jet skis and other gear.
Source: The Bay City Times (3/30)


Fears flow over plan to pump water
----------------------------------------
A tranquil rural landscape in the St. Lawrence Valley 65 km southwest of
Montreal is in turmoil over an invisible resource - groundwater. Source: The
Montreal Gazette (3/30)


EDITORIAL: Don't mess with mercury
----------------------------------------
Current and former EPA officials are saying the agency badly bungled its
proposal to allow power plants to cap and trade mercury. Source: The Plain
Dealer (3/30)


Ohio centers along Lake Erie trying to catch travelers on their journeys
----------------------------------------
New visitor centers are springing up in Ohio - the first step toward carving
a new identity in America's changing travel industry. Source: The Plain
Dealer (3/27)


Wisconsin Energy's lake water plan makes waves
----------------------------------------
Opponents of Wisconsin Energy Corp.'s plans to build two new coal-fired
power plants are lobbying the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to deny the
utility's plan to daily draw 2.2 billion gallons of Lake Michigan water.
Source: The Milwaukee Business Journal (3/26)

For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/

Did you miss a day of Daily News? Remember to use our searchable story
archive at http://www.great-lakes.net/news/inthenews.html


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Consortium (www.glrc.org), both based in Ann Arbor, Mich.
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- posted by Daniel @ 9:50 AM

 
SLU student and his chemistry adviser may have the spark for something big
By Shera Dalin
03/29/2004

magine powering up your cell phone's battery with vodka and having the charge last for a week.

An area seed-money group was so taken with the idea of turning hooch into juice that it invested $400,000 in cash and in-kind services with the St. Louis company that is developing the technology. BioGenerator, a new seed-capital company, signed a deal Friday with Akermin Inc.

Potential uses for Akermin's technology include powering a cell phone or laptop computer using vodka, beer or any other ethanol-based substance. Cooking oil, sugar and many other organic substances will work, too, but ethanol is more efficient, Akers said.

(Full Story)
- posted by Daniel @ 11:25 AM

 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MARCH 30, 2004
7:42 PM
CONTACT: Kucinich.US
Matt Harris 216.403.3980

Kucinich Blasts Outsourcing Remarks by Treasury Secretary


WASHINGTON - March 30 - Democratic Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich labeled as "outrageous" statements made this morning by Bush Treasury Secretary John Snow that outsourcing is good for the American economy.

"Three million Americans have lost their jobs, and the Bush Administration tells us - again - that's a good thing?" Kucinich said. "Their insensitivity to the economic devastation that their trade policies have inflicted on American workers is staggering. The only thing more outrageous is that they are so insulated from everyday Americans that they may actually believe what they are saying- because they keep saying it."

Kucinich pointed to the remarks a few weeks ago by N. Gregory Mankiw, chairman of President Bush's Council of Economic Advisers, that shipping U.S. service jobs overseas was good for the economy. Mankiw was forced to apologize for his comments and retract his statement.

In an interview with the Cincinnati Enquirer this morning, Snow is reported to have said outsourcing is "part of trade. You can outsource a lot of activities and get them done just as well, or better, at a lower cost."

"Better? Lower cost?" Kucinich shot back. "That's an insult to American workers. It's also a governmental pat-on-the-back for U.S. corporations that have put millions of Americans out of work and enslaved millions of other workers in foreign countries to boost profits and increase stock value so corporate officers can reap huge incentives and bonuses."

"It's obscene," Kucinich said.

Kucinich has called for the repeal of the North American Free Trade Agreement, as well as other similar trade pacts, and for the U.S. withdrawal from the World Trade Organization. Sen. John Kerry, the presumptive Democratic nominee, voted for NAFTA and other trade agreements and has not called for their repeal.

"As soon as the voters unemploy Secretary Snow and the rest of the Bush team in November," Kucinich said, "maybe then we can begin to put the rest of Americans back to work."

###
- posted by Daniel @ 11:21 AM

 
March 27, 2004

Kucinich brings his campaign to Eugene

By Greg Bolt
The Register-Guard


Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich brings his battle for the heart and soul of the Democratic Party to Eugene this weekend, but he's making no bones about his chances of ending up on the party's ticket.

"I have no trouble acknowledging that John Kerry has the number of delegates needed to get the nomination and that the nomination is a fairly settled question," he said from Washington, D.C. "But the direction of the Democratic Party is not a settled question."

Kucinich, a four-term Ohio congressman, is still on the campaign trail because he wants to change that direction by pushing the party back toward what he feels are its progressive roots. He's speaking out strongly against the war in Iraq, calling for affordable health care, pledging to work toward fair trade and seeking restoration of civil liberties by sinking the USA Patriot Act.

He arrived in Oregon on Friday and will hit Eugene on Sunday, sitting for an interview on radio station KLCC at noon and then speaking at Lane Community College in the Center for Meeting and Learning, Rooms 102 to 104 in Building 19.

(Full Story)
- posted by Daniel @ 10:10 AM

 
KUCINICH DRAWING HUGE CROWDS IN OREGON


When Dennis Kucinich spoke Saturday night in Corvallis, Oregon at the Old World Deli, Oregon Media Coordinator Patty Kuderer reported that with an estimated 400 people crammed inside and another 100 supporters outside waiting to get in, the fire marshal was having fits. Kucinich spent the weekend in Oregon and was met by maximum capacity or overflow crowds at events throughout the state, proving that even though the nominee seems to be determined, many Oregon voters agree with Kucinich on issues such as peace, universal health care, civil liberties and fair trade.

The issues which are going to frame the debate in 2004 are going to be decided here because you happen to be at the end of the primary cycle," Kucinich told an Oregon crowd. "The Democratic Party needs to represent the broad-based concerns of the American people if it has any chance or hope to win the White House."

[Photos, audio, video, and stories about Kucinich on the Oregon Trail ]

ALASKA RESULTS FINALLY FINAL

Final results from Alaska's March 20 caucuses were tallied over the weekend showing Dennis Kucinich with 26.53% of the vote and John Kerry with 47.81%. Kucinich earned five delegates. The remainder of the state's caucus votes, about 26%, will be up for grabs at the Alaska Democratic Convention, May 21 - 23 in Anchorage, because no other candidate, nor the uncommitted delegates, achieved the 15% threshold.

In some of Alaska's 36 voting districts, notably those around Juneau, Fairbanks, and the Kenai Peninsula, Kucinich did exceptionally well against Kerry. In one, the margin was 83% Kucinich, 17% Kerry. In four others, Kucinich won a majority of the votes, with percentages in some as high as 63%, 64%, and 62.5%.
[Read the Press Release] [Alaska photos]

DO YOU STAND WITH DENNIS? SHARE YOUR REASONS WITH OUR READERS

Dennis Kucinich stands strong in his quest to bring positive change to the Democratic Party. In Oregon last weekend he stated, "We need to wake the town and tell the people about what's going on with respect to the direction this country's going in.". Do you agree? Tell us why you stand with Dennis at http://www.kucinich.us/standsfor_form.php

Many supporters have visited the new "I Stand with Dennis" webpage and typed in the reasons that they continue to stand with Dennis. [Read the responses]



KUCINICH LIVE ON VCD


Like seeing Dennis fire up a crowd about the issues you care about? Want to own some of these memorable moments on tape? We now have Video Compact Discs (VCDs) from many of Kucinich's public appearances. The VCDs are inexpensive and can be played on your computer or a DVD player. Order from our wide selection of VCDs now available at http://www.kucinich.us/video/sales.php . All proceeds count as a campaign contribution. Order today and your contribution will go toward our fundraising total for the quarter.

NEXT KUCINICH MEETUP THIS THURSDAY, APRIL 1 at 7 PM


The next Kucinich MeetUp is Thursday, April 1st at 7 p.m. We are focusing both on the remaining primaries and caucuses and on preparing for the Democratic Convention to be held in Boston at the end of July. See the MeetUp Agenda page for more information.

DENNIS ON CNN'S INSIDE POLITICS WITH JUDY WOODRUFF
Don't miss Kucinich on CNN's Inside Politics with Judy Woodruff Thursday at 3:45 p.m. Eastern Time. Check local listings.

WILLIE NELSON VIDEO - WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO PEACE ON EARTH


Just released - video of Willie Nelson's world premier of the inspirational song he wrote last Christmas day - "What Ever Happened to Peace on Earth." The video was recorded in Austin, Texas in January, 2004 and features Dennis and Willie singing together at the end. See the video, hear the mp3 of "What Ever Happened to Peace on Earth", read the lyrics to the song and see photos of the Austin show on our website at http://www.kucinich.us/nelson_poe_song.php



https://www.kucinich.us/contribute.php

Contact us:
Kucinich for President
11808 Lorain Avenue - Cleveland, OH 44111
216-889-2004 / 866-413-3664 (toll-free)
http://www.kucinich.us

- posted by Daniel @ 10:04 AM

 
ENN Environmental News Network
E-mail Edition 03/31/2004

Office Depot to incorporate conservation science into paper-procurement decisions
Office Depot has announced a five-year, $2.2 million strategy to develop the information, standards, and tools needed to advance the company's forest and biodiversity conservation policies.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-03-31/s_22291.asp

Bush mining regulatory change denounced by coal company neighbors
Tales of floods and flattened peaks and of homes swept away or devalued in central Appalachia were laid out Tuesday by opponents to the Bush administration's plan to ease a buffer-zone regulation protecting streams from coal mining operations.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-03-31/s_22343.asp

U.N. tackles link between war and environment at global forum
The United Nations was examining ways environmental problems trigger war with the hope of developing an early warning system to avoid conflict, at a global summit that closes Wednesday.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-03-31/s_22342.asp

Arid Saudi Arabia is struggling to cut water use
The parched desert kingdom of Saudi Arabia will launch a major water conservation drive this summer aiming to halve consumption in a million homes, a senior official said on Tuesday.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-03-31/s_22336.asp

Environmentalists sue over approval of Columbia River dredging
Environmentalists went to court Tuesday to try to block a $136 million government project to deepen the Columbia River shipping channel, saying the dredging could harm salmon and other wildlife.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-03-31/s_22344.asp

Garbage is threatening beauty of paradise islands
Garbage and untreated sewage threaten the beauty of small island nations that rely on tourism, environmental officials said Tuesday.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-03-31/s_22337.asp

German industry to cut greenhouse gas output in emissions trading deal
The German government agreed on an emissions trading system designed to trim industry emissions of greenhouse gases Tuesday, settling a clash between key ministers over environmental and economic goals.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-03-31/s_22345.asp

Judge cuts Alabama verdict against Exxon Mobil to $3.6 billion
Attorneys for Alabama say a judge's decision to reduce a record $11.9 billion verdict against Exxon Mobil Corp. could ultimately help the state's case survive appeals.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-03-31/s_22347.asp

Iraq war diverts key aid from devastated Afghanistan, minister says
Afghanistan's environment minister warned Tuesday that the war in Iraq has diverted badly needed funds from restoring his devastated country, still reeling from air pollution, water shortages, and deforestation.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-03-31/s_22348.asp



Environmental Marketplace Updates (Become a Member)

We'd like to encourage you to visit our Environmental Marketplace where you'll learn about some amazing environmentally-focused businesses. A few examples:

American Clay Enterprises, committed to protecting the environment and our quality of life. American Clay Enterprises presents Clayote, an Earth Plaster veneer made in the United States that is 100% natural earth plaster, providing an environment that is wholesome for your friends and family. Learn more about American Clay Enterprises

Earth Tones, The Environmental Internet & Phone Co., the only long distance service or Internet company to donate 100% of its profits to environmental organizations. Learn more about Earth Tones, The Environmental Internet & Phone Co.

Green Pet Products Inc., specializing in environmentally-safe pet products from renewable and readily available resources. Learn more about Green Pet Products Inc.

Pax World Funds, enabling investors to align their financial goals with their personal values through a selection of professionally-managed socially-responsible mutual funds. Learn more about Pax World Funds





Today's Press Releases (Become an Affiliate)
Direct from non-profit environmental and educational organizations.

Pennsylvania IPM Program :
Popular Children's Publication About Pests Now Available in Spanish

Sustainable Forestry and Certification Watch:
MEDIA ADVISORY: ForestLeadership initiative to be announced on April 1st in Vancouver

Fluoride Action Network:
Groups challenge EPA's approval of Dow's Sulfuryl fluoride

United Nations Environment Programme:
Dead Zones Emerging as Big Threat to 21st Century Fish Stocks

United Nations Environment Programme:
Methyl bromide approved for temporary uses after Montreal Protocol phase-out deadline

Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society:
Senator urges immediate expansion of Nahanni National Park Reserve and World Heritage Site to protect the entire South Nahanni Watershed

World Resources Institute:
Fueling Malawi's Environmental Challenges

Pennsylvania IPM Program :
Penn State Insect Integrated Pest Management Publications Available in Spanish

Mangrove Action Project:
Late Friday News #134

Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Accounting:
Free newsletter on greenhouse issues

United Nations Environment Programme:
Throw Away Society New Threat to Island Paradises

International Policy Network:
Kyoto stumbles at first European hurdle

Center for Biological Diversity:
Petition filed to protect the yellow-billed loon under the ESA

- posted by Daniel @ 9:41 AM

 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
3/30/2004
CONTACT: Sean P. Palecek, (608) 262-8931, palecek@engr.wisc.edu; Juan de Pablo, (608) 262-7727, depablo@engr.wisc.edu

MAKING THE MOST OF STEM CELLS
NEW STORAGE METHOD AMPLIFIES CELLS AVAILABLE FOR SCIENCE

ANAHEIM - Like many other kinds of cells used in biomedical research, human embryonic stem cells are stored and transported in a cryopreserved state, frozen to -320 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature of their liquid nitrogen storage bath.

But when scientists thaw the cells for use in the lab, less than 1 percent awake from their frigid slumber and assume their undifferentiated state. This 'blank slate' form is characteristic of stem cells and essential for the basic science required before the promising cells are ready for the clinic. So scientists are required to place the few survivors in culture and painstakingly tend to them for weeks before new colonies are abundant enough to conduct experiments.

"Human embryonic stem cells have a very low survival rate following cryopreservation, which causes several problems," says Sean Palecek, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of chemical and biological engineering.

Not only does that low rate make working with human embryonic stem cells time and labor intensive, but - because so few survive freezing - it may also mean that natural selection is altering the stored cells in unknown and undesired ways, he says.

But now Palecek, along with colleagues Juan de Pablo and Lin Ji, are putting the finishing touches on a new method for preserving and storing the finicky cells. The work, presented today (March 30) at a meeting of the American Chemical Society, promises to greatly amplify the number of cells that survive their enforced hibernation, that remain undifferentiated and that are more readily available for research. What's more, with more survivors, genetic variability becomes less of an issue.

By freezing the cells attached to a gel matrix instead of suspended in solution, and adding the chemical trehalose - a disaccharide or sugar that some animals and microbes produce to protect cells and survive in dry, low-temperature conditions - the Wisconsin team was able to increase stem cell survival rates by more than an order of magnitude, with as many as 20 percent of a cell culture surviving the freezing-and-thawing process.

"By using the gel and adding the disaccharide to cells, you can increase their chances of survival," notes de Pablo, also a UW-Madison professor of chemical and biological engineering. "Twenty percent survival doesn't sound like much, but that's a huge improvement. Taking the few survivors from current methods and growing them takes weeks. It's a real bottleneck in the field.

"Also, the amount of uncontrolled differentiation is reduced drastically."

The ideal system for preserving and storing valuable cells and other biological materials, says de Pablo, would be one where the cells are freeze-dried, and that's the ultimate goal of this line of research.

The Wisconsin group has already successfully developed methods for freeze- drying bacterial cultures used to make cheese and yogurt. Their method, now in use commercially, reduces storage and transportation costs for food processors.

"The idea now," explains de Pablo, "is to extend the technology to mammalian cells."

He cites blood products as an example of cells that could potentially be freeze-dried for easy long-term storage, and blood products have become a new focus for his research group.

"If you can freeze-dry these types of cells, you can store them for indefinite amounts of time" and costs would be greatly reduced, he says. Such a technology would also help alleviate the chronic shortages of blood products. Some blood products are perishable and must now be discarded after a certain amount of time in storage. Freeze-dried blood products would have no such liability. Moreover, it would make blood products more readily available for emergencies and mass casualty events, and in remote and difficult settings such as a battlefield environment.

The work by Palecek, de Pablo and Ji, which was supported by a grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), is also scheduled for publication in an upcoming issue of the journal Biotechnology and Bioengineering. A patent for the technology has been applied for through the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.
###
- Terry Devitt (608) 262-8282, trdevitt@wisc.edu




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Madison, WI 53706

Phone: (608) 262-3571
Fax: (608) 262-2331
- posted by Daniel @ 9:32 AM

 
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Great Lakes News: 30 March 2004
A collaborative project of the Great Lakes Information Network and the Great
Lakes Radio Consortium.

For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/

Liberals face new crisis over security flaws
----------------------------------------
Auditor-General Sheila Fraser will not only question the efficiency of
Canada's intelligence-sharing apparatus, she will reveal today that this
country's airports aren't secure and its passport controls are dangerously
weak. Source: The Toronto Star (3/30)


More water shortages forecast for communities across nation
----------------------------------------
Despite Canada's vast water resources, many communities have faced shortages
and the problem will likely get worse with climate change, an Environment
Canada report says. Source: The London Free Press (3/30)


Officials have big plans for award-winning port
----------------------------------------
Every year, the Port of Green Bay organizes a meeting for its users,
terminal operators and elected officials to discuss the year past and what's
going to happen. Source: The Green Bay News-Chronicle (3/30)


Land set-aside agreement reached
----------------------------------------
A compromise that appears to resolve a dispute over a popular
land-conservation proposal was announced Monday by Gov. Tim Pawlenty, U.S.
Rep. Gil Gutknecht, R-Minn., and agricultural and conservation
organizations. Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press (3/30)


COMMENTARY: Chasing frozen waterfalls
----------------------------------------
Around Munising Michigan, March and early April is a great time to go
chasing frozen waterfalls. Source: Mountain News Corp (3/30)


Report on water use patterns incomplete?
----------------------------------------
A new report says that Americans are using less water now than 15 years ago,
but environmental groups say the report paints an incomplete picture.
Source: Great Lakes Radio Consortium (3/29)


Dumping of construction debris from out of state raises concerns
----------------------------------------
The increased amount of out-of-state construction debris being dumped in
Ohio landfills, particularly in the Mahoning Valley, is worrying state and
federal environmental officials who say they don't know what's being buried.
Source: The Vindicator (3/29)


$8.9 million Bayfield area treatment plant approved
----------------------------------------
The city of Bayfield and the Pike's Bay Sanitary District (PBSD) signed an
inter-municipal agreement Friday outlining each party's responsibilities and
costs involved with the construction of a new $8.9 million Greater Bayfield
Wastewater Treatment Plant. Source: The Ashland Daily Press (3/29)


EDITORIAL: Ohio's standards on fish provide better protection
----------------------------------------
Ohio's testing seems to be stricter than other states the environmental
group studied, so perhaps Ohioans can place greater trust in what Ohio
agencies say about consumption of fish from Lake Erie. Source: The Marion
Star (3/29)


Cicada Invasion: Eastern U.S. Braces for Bug Swarm
----------------------------------------
This May billions of black, shrimp-size bugs with transparent wings and
beady red eyes will carpet trees in the U.S. from the eastern seaboard west
through Indiana and south to Tennessee. Source: National Geographic News
(3/29)


Ratepayers may benefit from new energy market
----------------------------------------
A new Midwest energy market could save state electric ratepayers $51 million
to $64.7 million a year, a study released Monday said. Source: Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel (3/29)

For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/

Did you miss a day of Daily News? Remember to use our searchable story
archive at http://www.great-lakes.net/news/inthenews.html


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- posted by Daniel @ 9:29 AM

 
ENN Environmental News Network
E-mail Edition 03/29/2004


EarthTalk: How many rainforests are protected worldwide?
Determining how much rainforest land is protected worldwide depends on how you define "rainforest." Researchers at the Worldwatch Institute in Washington, D.C., have identified three different types of rainforests.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-03-30/s_14032.asp

Firm pleads guilty in Massachusetts oil spill
A New York company whose barge spilled thousands of gallons of oil off the Massachusetts coast last year has pleaded guilty to criminal charges and will pay a $10 million fine, a federal prosecutor said Monday.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-03-30/s_22295.asp

U.N. environment summit opens, targets ocean dead zones
The United Nations opened a global environment summit Monday, warning about the growing number of dead zones in the world's oceans but painting a picture of a greener planet with an increase of vegetation in many regions.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-03-30/s_22302.asp

Raw milk cheese: Scapegoat or sacred cow?
Blessed are the raw milk cheese makers! But only if fear doesn't line the guts of American policy wonks.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-03-30/s_22293.asp

Pinprick attacks on global warming gain popularity
When Helen and Michael Allen got married in England last year, the wedding bill included an unusual item: about US$220 to clean up gases blamed for causing global warming.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-03-30/s_22298.asp

Health officials say tests would detect Rocky Flats pollution
State health officials looking into allegations of environmental misdeeds at the former Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant said Monday their tests would detect any signs of dangerous pollution levels lingering at the site.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-03-30/s_22303.asp

As natural gas prices rise, utilities plan new coal-fired plants
Coal, spurned for decades by power plant builders, is enjoying something of a renaissance as natural gas prices drive up the cost of generating electricity.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-03-30/s_22306.asp

Dust storm blankets Chinese capital
One of the worst dust storms to hit northern China in years swirled into Beijing on Monday, turning the skyline of the sprawling capital into a monochrome of gray and prompting afternoon commuters to put on surgical masks.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-03-30/s_22297.asp



Environmental Marketplace Updates (Become a Member)

We'd like to encourage you to visit our Environmental Marketplace where you'll learn about some amazing environmentally-focused businesses. A few examples:

American Clay Enterprises, committed to protecting the environment and our quality of life. American Clay Enterprises presents Clayote, an Earth Plaster veneer made in the United States that is 100% natural earth plaster, providing an environment that is wholesome for your friends and family. Learn more about American Clay Enterprises

Earth Tones, The Environmental Internet & Phone Co., the only long distance service or Internet company to donate 100% of its profits to environmental organizations. Learn more about Earth Tones, The Environmental Internet & Phone Co.

Green Pet Products Inc., specializing in environmentally-safe pet products from renewable and readily available resources. Learn more about Green Pet Products Inc.

Pax World Funds, enabling investors to align their financial goals with their personal values through a selection of professionally-managed socially-responsible mutual funds. Learn more about Pax World Funds





Today's Press Releases (Become an Affiliate)
Direct from non-profit environmental and educational organizations.

United Nations Environment Programme:
Methyl bromide approved for temporary uses after Montreal Protocol phase-out deadline

Sustainable Forestry and Certification Watch:
MEDIA ADVISORY: ForestLeadership initiative to be announced on April 1st in Vancouver

Pennsylvania IPM Program :
Popular Children's Publication About Pests Now Available in Spanish

Fluoride Action Network:
Groups challenge EPA's approval of Dow's Sulfuryl fluoride

United Nations Environment Programme:
Dead Zones Emerging as Big Threat to 21st Century Fish Stocks

Pennsylvania IPM Program :
Penn State Insect Integrated Pest Management Publications Available in Spanish

Center for Biological Diversity:
Petition filed to protect the yellow-billed loon under the ESA

- posted by Daniel @ 9:28 AM

 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
3/29/2004
CONTACT: John Yin, (608) 265-3779, yin@engr.wisc.edu; Hwijin Kim, (608) 265-3781, hwijinkim@wisc.edu

STUDY: MIMICKING VIRUSES MAY PROVIDE NEW WAY TO DEFEAT THEM

MADISON - Viruses, often able to outsmart many of the drugs designed to defeat them, may have met their match, according to new research from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The findings show that the introduction of a harmless molecule that uses the same machinery a virus needs to grow may be a potent way to shut down the virus before it infects other cells or becomes resistant to drugs. The results are published in the March issue of the journal, Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.

"When a virus encounters a susceptible cell, it enters and says, 'I'm now the boss,'" explains John Yin, a UW-Madison associate professor of chemical and biological engineering and senior author of the paper. "It pirates the cell's resources to produce virus progeny that, following release from the host cell, can infect other cells."

The current technique to stop a virus in its tracks is to develop drugs that bind to and block the function of virus proteins - molecules the virus produces, with the aid of host cells that help the virus replicate, or make copies of itself. The drugs, says Yin, are like hammers that knock out key functions that the virus uses for growth and reproduction.

But, he points out, this antiviral approach cannot always outsmart the virus: "When a virus reproduces, it doesn't do so perfectly. Sometimes, it inserts genetic typos, creating variations that may allow some versions of the virus proteins to develop an evolutionary advantage, such as drug resistance."

While improvements in molecular biology and chemistry have led to new drugs that precisely target virus proteins, they have not been able to stop viruses from producing drug-resistant strains.

"Despite advances in the development of antiviral therapies over the last decade, the emergence and outgrowth of drug-resistant virus strains remains problematic," says Hwijin Kim, a UW-Madison graduate student in the chemical and biological engineering department, and co-author of the March paper.

Given that drug-resistant virus mutants can arise, Kim and Yin wondered if there might be some antiviral strategies that are harder for a virus to beat. An unexplored approach came to mind.

Rather than designing a drug molecule that inhibits virus proteins, the UW-Madison researchers created a molecule that acts just like the parasitic virus: It enters the cell and hijacks the very machinery the virus requires for its own growth. But unlike the virus, the diversionary molecules are much smaller, meaning they can grow a lot faster and steal away even more resources from the virus. Plus, they don't encode any virus proteins, which renders them powerless inside a cell, says Yin.

Although the diversionary molecules do need resources from the cell to work, Yin clarifies, "they essentially shut down virus growth while expending only a small fraction of the resources that the virus would normally use."

Yin and Kim analyzed the potency of this parasitic antiviral approach in computational models where E. coli had been infected with a particular virus. For the diversionary molecule, they introduced a short piece of RNA that competes for the same resources as the infectious virus to replicate. The researchers note that the models are based on experimental data and decades of biophysical and biochemical studies.

The analysis shows that when the parasitic molecule was absent, the virus had produced more than 10,000 copies of itself in less than 20 minutes after infection. In the presence of the parasitic molecule, however, no new progeny of the virus existed. The analysis, says Yin, also shows that the diversionary molecules had grown in number by more than 10,000-fold just 10 minutes after infection, further suggesting that the molecule successfully stole away resources from the virus.

"The parasitic strategy outperformed the non-parasitic strategies at all levels," says Kim. "It inhibited viral growth, even at a low dose, placed minimal demands on the intracellular resources of the host cell and was effective when introduced either before or during the infection cycle." One other important finding, he adds, is that the strategy created no obvious way for the virus to develop drug-resistant strains.

"Our calculations suggest that this antiviral strategy is a very effective approach and one that is very difficult for a virus to overcome," says Yin. "There are definite technical challenges to implementing this approach, but the findings do open the door to a broader way of thinking about antiviral strategies."

Yin says the next step is for researchers to test these ideas inside living cells.
###
- Emily Carlson (608) 262-9772, emilycarlson@wisc.edu




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Phone: (608) 262-3571
Fax: (608) 262-2331
- posted by Daniel @ 9:12 AM

 
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Great Lakes News: 29 March 2004
A collaborative project of the Great Lakes Information Network and the Great
Lakes Radio Consortium.

For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/

IJC calls on Congress to protect the Great Lakes first
http://www.ijc.org/rel/news/040325_e.htm
Source: International Joint Commission (2004-03-25)

May 3-6: 2004 Great Lakes Sustainability Conference and Great Lakes
Commission Semiannual Meeting
http://www.glc.org/meeting/
Source: Great Lakes Commission (2004-03-25)

For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/

Did you miss a day of Daily News? Remember to use our searchable story
archive at http://www.great-lakes.net/news/inthenews.html


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- posted by Daniel @ 9:09 AM

 
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Lakes Radio Consortium.

For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/

Tapping nature's cupboard for cleanup
----------------------------------------
Instead of creating new chemicals to clean up contaminated areas,
researchers are trying to use what Mother Nature already provides. Source:
Great Lakes Radio Consortium (3/29)


EPA declares Love Canal clean
----------------------------------------
The Environmental Protection Agency says cleanup work is finished at the
infamous Love Canal dumpsite near Niagara Falls. Source: Great Lakes Radio
Consortium (3/29)


Restoring the Kankakee wetlands
----------------------------------------
More than a year after the federal government gave up on a wildlife refuge
program along Northwest Indiana's portion of the Kankakee River, officials
believe they have found a more politically palatable way to re-establish
wetlands along the waterway. Source: Merrillville Post-Tribune (3/29)


Study takes lakeshore changes one step closer
----------------------------------------
A plan to revitalize Northwest Indiana's Lake Michigan shoreline is one step
closer to fruition, but even the sponsor agrees it's a long, rough road
ahead. Source: Merrillville Post-Tribune (3/29)


Michigan officials elated over Saginaw Bay fish
----------------------------------------
Michigan DNR officials say they are finding record numbers of young walleye
in Saginaw Bay this sprng. Source: Detroit Free Press (3/28)


Les Cheneaux island cormorants targeted
----------------------------------------
In a pilot program, the USDA's Wildlife Services Division will attempt to
control the burgeoning cormorant population in the Les Cheneaux Islands.
Source: The Sault Ste. Marie Evening News (3/28)


Coal generating more interest
----------------------------------------
As the cost of natural gas continues to rise, utilities in Illinois and
elsewhere are turning back to coal to fuel power plants, to the dismay of
environmentalists worried about increased pollution. Source: Chicago Tribune
(3/28)


Ferry a Great Lakes pioneer
----------------------------------------
Fast ferries for carrying people and vehicles across large bodies of water
are commonplace in many parts of the world, but are just now coming to the
Great Lakes. Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (3/28)


Company's mining project stirs fears for sensitive watershed
----------------------------------------
Plans for a proposed sulfide copper and nickel mine in the backcountry of
Michigan's Upper Peninsula are drawing objections from area residents and
environmental groups. Source: The Detroit News (3/27)


U.S. head of seaway dismisses critics
----------------------------------------
The head of the U.S. portion of the St. Lawrence Seaway says
environmentalists are misleading when they denounce a proposed study of
potential improvements to the waterway. Source: The Montreal Gazette (3/26)

For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/

Did you miss a day of Daily News? Remember to use our searchable story
archive at http://www.great-lakes.net/news/inthenews.html


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- posted by Daniel @ 9:06 AM

 
From GREENBUZZ:

Taking Care of Business

This week, reporter Penny S. Bonda takes a hard look at the health care industry and its efforts to create healthier indoor environments for patients, employees, and the larger community. "Putting the 'Healthy' Back in Healthcare" examines how for over 40 years Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente has made environmental issues a top priority at its facilities throughout the Bay Area. Kaiser has gone on to win numerous awards for its forward-thinking approach to healthcare.

Also this week: sustainability-minded MBAs scheduled to graduate in a couple months get some useful career tips from our resident experts, Steve Rice and Richard MacLean.


--------------------------------------------------------


Headlines
The Latest News on Business and the Environment

CCX Members Commit to Cutting Emissions
Members of the Chicago Climate Exchange have committed to cutting their carbon emissions by 4% by 2006.

Mazda's Three Layer Wet Paint System Receives Prize
Mazda Motor Corporation has been awarded the "Prize for Promoting Machine Industry" for developing a new paint application system that emits fewer volatile organics compounds (VOCs).

Office Depot to Incorporate Conservation Science into Paper Procurement Decisions
Office Depot has announced a five-year, $2.2 million strategy to develop the information, standards, and tools needed to advance the company's forest and biodiversity conservation policies.

Good Call: ReCellular Accelerates Recycling of Used Cell Phones
ReCellular Inc., which trades, refurbishes, and recycles used cell phones and other electronic devices has added 30,000 drop off recycling locations in the U.S. and expanding into Latin America.

Small Businesses Win Big with Energy Savings
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is honoring five small businesses across the country for their outstanding achievements in energy efficiency.

Put GreenBiz news on your site for free! Learn more...

More Headlines...


---------------------------------------------

Resources and Tools
A Wealth of Hands-On Help

Water Sustainability Tool
Helps companies better understand and guide their own organization's relationship to water.

Re-Think Your Bottom Line
A practical guide emphasizing the importance of reducing, recycling, and reusing for business and the bottom line.

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The initial research and design phase is the best time to start a product down the path of reduced environmental impact. With this GreenBiz Essential, your company can commit to solving environmental problems before they start.

More Tools... | More Web Sites...

Wanna write for GreenBiz? Let us know if you'd like to write a guest column or feature reflecting your experiences or opinions in the environmental business world. Send a brief query to Editor@greenbiz.com | Read our editorial guidelines


- posted by Daniel @ 9:04 AM

 
Posted on Tue, Mar. 30, 2004

Presidential Hopeful Kucinich Brings His Message to Oregon

By Paul Fattig, Mail Tribune, Medford, Ore. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Mar. 30 - Larry Roven couldn't give a whit that Democratic candidate Dennis Kucinich cannot possibly win the race for the party's primary delegates nationally.

"I will definitely vote for him in the (Oregon) primary," stressed the gray-haired Ashland resident. "It's a matter of expressing party strength, of focusing on what the Democratic Party should stand for."

Roven was among some 300 people gathered outside the Stevenson Union at Southern Oregon University in Ashland early Monday afternoon to hear the four- term Ohio congressman speak on why he is still in the race against Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, who has locked up the party's presidential nomination.

Eight Democrats have dropped out of the race, leaving only Kerry and Kucinich, the former with a commanding lead of delegates.

"I'm impressed by the depth of his understanding of what the world really needs," Roven said of Kucinich. "I'm also impressed by his courage, of being willing to stand up and express clearly what his goals are.

"It's not a matter of him being elected."

Portland resident Janell Jures, who volunteered to help the Kucinich campaign after hearing him speak in Portland late last week, agreed.

"I want him to stay in the race because I want the Democratic Party to speak for me," Jures said. "I think John Kerry needs Kucinich."

The reason is that Kerry will "cut right" as soon as he can to be in the mainstream, she said.

"But if Kerry doesn't bring in the progressive vote then he won't win the race (in November)," she said. "I need Dennis Kucinich to broaden the expanse of the party."

In his speech, Kucinich made it clear what he wants the party to stand for: ending the war in Iraq by bringing in United Nations peacekeepers; creating a national health care system; repealing the North American Free Trade Agreement; providing free college tuition for all Americans; doing away with the Bush administration's tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans; repealing the Patriot Act; closing down the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba; and stopping the federal government from spying on its people with "total awareness" computer program

(Full Story) *There's a good bit more*
- posted by Daniel @ 8:42 AM

 
Outsourcing and the sad little movement to stop it
The Jobs of the Future Are a Thing of the Past
by Rick Perlstein
March 30th, 2004 11:25 AM

WHEATON, ILLINOIS?"In the beginning of a change, the Patriot is a scarce man?brave, hated, and scorned. When his cause succeeds, however, the timid join him. For then it costs nothing to be a patriot." That's the epigram by which the leader of the Rescue American Jobs Foundation, created last June to fight the exporting of service jobs overseas and the importing of foreign workers to do service jobs here, signs off her e-mails, and by that standard, the people meeting at this suburban coffee shop are patriots indeed.

Nine people are present by the time the head of Rescue American Jobs' Illinois chapter, Charlene Clingman, brings up an idea inspired by the example of Mothers Against Drunk Driving many years ago: grassroots lobbying of state politicians. "We would research the problem and come up with a solution," she suggests. "So if anyone is interested in volunteering, we need volunteers."

You wonder who she's asking. Of the nine people present, six are representatives of the press. Char has just taken some of them on a driving tour of the grandiloquently named "Illinois Research & Development Corridor"?gleaming office parks whose construction was subsidized by the state but which now, years after the waning of the technology boom, are emptying out. Char used to work in one of those office parks as a communications technician for AT&T; she was laid off two and a half years ago. Since then she has applied for over 1,000 positions.

"These people have sent all our jobs out of the country," she says, as the two other people actually attending the meeting as participants nod along. One is her husband, who still works at AT&T; another is one of her former co-workers.

(Full Story)
- posted by Daniel @ 8:30 AM

 
Kucinich asks Oregon voters for support

Democratic Presidential candidate speaks to groups of supporters in Corvallis, hoping to influence party platform

By Dan Traylor
The Daily Barometer

Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich knows he won't be the nominee, however, the Ohio congressman refuses to suspend his campaign and instead hopes to earn votes and influence the party platform.

With those goals in mind, Kucinich brought his campaign to Oregon over the weekend, holding two events in Corvallis after stops in Portland and Salem.

"While the nomination has already been figured out, the direction of the democratic party has not," Kucinich said, after speaking to a standing room only crowd at Burton's restaurant on Sunday morning.

"Oregonian's are in a position, particularly young people, to say that we ought to stand up for peace, we ought to stand for education and for health care and for jobs," he added, explaining the goal of his Oregon trip.

OSU student Sean Rea, the vice-president of the College Democrats, said that he plans to vote for Kucinich in Oregon's May 17 primary.

"Kerry already has the nomination. This is a chance to send someone I agree with strongly to the national convention," Rea said after Sunday's event.

Kucinich, talking about issues important to college students, said that he would like to see every young person in the country be able to go to college with government paid tuition.

(Full Story)
- posted by Daniel @ 2:17 AM

 
March 29, 2004

Kucinich's stands draw an audience

By Jim Feehan
The Register-Guard

Connie Brown wears her politics on her lapel.

The 86-year-old retiree, who lives in the Cerro Gordo community east of Cottage Grove, proudly wore her Dennis Kucinich lapel button at Sunday's rally in Eugene for the long shot Democratic presidential candidate.

"He stands for what the Democratic Party has always stood for: health care for everyone and jobs for those willing and able to work," she said.

Brown and about 800 diehard Kucinich supporters gathered at Lane Community College on Sunday to witness the Ohio congressman's quixotic bid for president.

Kucinich concedes that U.S. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts has enough delegates to sew up the Democratic nomination. He said he is most interested in pushing the party toward adopting some of his positions. Progressives should not be shunned by the party, Kucinich said.

"The direction of the Democratic Party has yet to be decided and that's why the Oregon primary is so important," he said.

(Full Story)
- posted by Daniel @ 1:55 AM

 
Kucinich Blasts Outsourcing Remarks by Treasury Secretary
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 30, 2004

Contact: Matt Harris (216) 403-3980, press@kucinich.us; Terre Lundy, (515) 988-5534

Democratic Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich labeled as "outrageous" statements made this morning by Bush Treasury Secretary John Snow that outsourcing is good for the American economy.

"Three million Americans have lost their jobs, and the Bush Administration tells us -- again -- that's a good thing?" Kucinich said. "Their insensitivity to the economic devastation that their trade policies have inflicted on American workers is staggering. The only thing more outrageous is that they are so insulated from everyday Americans that they may actually believe what they are saying -- because they keep saying it."

Kucinich pointed to the remarks a few weeks ago by N. Gregory Mankiw, chairman of President Bush's Council of Economic Advisers, that shipping U.S. service jobs overseas was good for the economy. Mankiw was forced to apologize for his comments and retract his statement.

In an interview with the Cincinnati Enquirer this morning, Snow is reported to have said outsourcing is "part of trade. You can outsource a lot of activities and get them done just as well, or better, at a lower cost."

"Better? Lower cost?" Kucinich shot back. "That's an insult to American workers. It's also a governmental pat-on-the-back for U.S. corporations that have put millions of Americans out of work and enslaved millions of other workers in foreign countries to boost profits and increase stock value so corporate officers can reap huge incentives and bonuses."

"It's obscene," Kucinich said.

Kucinich has called for the repeal of the North American Free Trade Agreement, as well as other similar trade pacts, and for the U.S. withdrawal from the World Trade Organization. Sen. John Kerry, the presumptive Democratic nominee, voted for NAFTA and other trade agreements and has not called for their repeal.

"As soon as the voters unemploy Secretary Snow and the rest of the Bush team in November," Kucinich said, "maybe then we can begin to put the rest of Americans back to work."

For information about the National campaign: http://www.kucinich.us

For Congressman Kucinich's Schedule: http://www.kucinich.us/schedule.htm.

To schedule an interview with Kucinich or a spokesperson: jonathans@kucinich.us


Contact us:
Kucinich for President
11808 Lorain Avenue - Cleveland, OH 44111
216-889-2004 / 866-413-3664 (toll-free)
- posted by Daniel @ 1:52 AM

 
Kucinich: Draft would compound the cruelty of the Iraq war
March 28, 2004

While in Juneau, Alaska last week, Congressman Dennis Kucinich responded to a question about the possibility of bringing back the military draft. "We have to be very concerned that there will be a draft," Kucinich told a group of government students from Juneau-Douglas High School. "They're not going to talk about it before the election, they'll keep it quiet. But there is legislation in to create a draft, and it's wrong. The whole thing about this war is just a nightmare; to follow it up with a draft would be to compound the cruelty," Kucinich said.
[Dennis talks about the draft]
- posted by Daniel @ 1:45 AM

 
W I R E D N E W S Top Stories - 09:15AM 29.Mar.04.PST
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

How E-Voting Threatens Democracy (Machine Politics 2:00 a.m. PDT)
http://go.hotwired.com/news/evote/0,2645,62790,00.html/wn_ascii

Electronic voting is supposed to streamline the process and rid us of
the hanging chad. But the technology is rife with problems, creating
the specter of botched returns and deliberate election rigging.
Although many election officials defend the system, e-voting still
can't be trusted. Nor, apparently, can many of its more ardent
boosters. By Kim Zetter.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


- posted by Daniel @ 10:40 AM

 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MARCH 29, 2004
4:00 PM
CONTACT: Kucinich.US
Matt Harris 216.889.2004
Terre Lundy, 515.988.5534

Kucinich Takes 26.53 Percent in Alaska


WASHINGTON - March 29 - Final results from Alaska's March 20 caucuses were tallied over the weekend showing Dennis Kucinich with 26.53% of the vote and John Kerry with 47.81%. It was the second second-place showing for Kucinich, who captured about 31% of the caucus votes in Hawaii earlier this month.

The remainder of the state's caucus votes, about 26%, will be up for grabs at the Alaska Democratic Convention, May 21 - 23 in Anchorage, because no other candidate, nor the uncommitted delegates, achieved the 15% threshold.

In some of Alaska's 36 voting districts, notably those around Juneau, Fairbanks, and the Kenai Peninsula, Kucinich did exceptionally well against Kerry. In one, the margin was 83% Kucinich, 17% Kerry. In four others, Kucinich won a majority of the votes, with percentages in some as high as 63%, 64%, and 62.5%.

"I want to thank the Democratic voters in Alaska for their strong show of support for the principles of peace, universal health care, the Patriot Act, and unfair trade policies that are costing us millions of jobs while diminishing workers rights and environmental protections everywhere," Kucinich said. He pointed out that Alaska Democrats voted for him even though electoral projections indicated that Sen. Kerry apparently had enough delegates to win the Democratic nomination.

"The voters of Alaska voted their consciences. They voted for the issues that they believe in. They voted because they want their voices to be heard as a way of shaping the direction of the Democratic Party," Kucinich said.

He also pointed to the fact that millions of other voters in 16 other primaries and caucuses still have a chance to do what Alaska did: vote for Kucinich and send a message. "Even though the nomination may be decided, why should millions of Democrats in these sixteen voting areas be denied a chance to affect the direction of our party?" Kucinich said. Voters still have sixteen chances "to register their concerns and support issues that have not yet been embraced by the Democratic Party and its presumptive nominee, Sen. John Kerry," he noted.

The final results, as reported by the Alaska Democratic Party, are as follows:

John Kerry 47.81%

Dennis Kucinich 26.53%

Uncommitted 11.95%

Howard Dean 11.08%

John Edwards 2.62%

http://www.commondreams.org/news2004/0329-14.htm
- posted by Daniel @ 10:35 AM

 
March 28, 2004

Kucinich still hopes to influence Democrats

JOHN SOWELL

When coordinators for Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich first began looking for places for the Ohio congressman to speak in Oregon, Roseburg probably wasn't on the list.

That changed, however, after local Kucinich supporters spoke up and noted Roseburg's location on Interstate 5 between Eugene and Medford, both places likely for speeches to be scheduled.

While others lobbied for cities along the coast and farther inland, the campaign decided sticking to the I-5 corridor made the most sense for arranging the most stops in the least amount of time. Roseburg was one of seven cities chosen.

Kucinich will speak and answer questions from the audience during an appearance tonight at the Douglas County Library. He will begin speaking at 7 p.m.

"We're pretty excited," said Karma Clarke-Jung of Winston.

Clarke-Jung hadn't been involved in a political campaign before, but she became energized by Kucinich's views against the war in Iraq and on other issues. She became involved in a group of Kucinich supporters that began meeting regularly last fall. Kucinich said he would turn Iraq over to the United Nations and bring troops home within 90 days. He supports universal health care and would pull out of free trade agreements with other countries. He also wants to stop logging, mining and grazing on public lands.

(Full Story)
- posted by Daniel @ 10:28 AM

 
March 28, 2004

Roseburg no stranger to presidential hopefuls

Dennis Kucinich isn't the first presidential candidate to visit Roseburg.

"Lots of people have come through Roseburg campaigning for president. There's a long tradition," said Fred Reentsjerna, former reference librarian at the Douglas County Museum who now works at the county library.

Both Democrat Bobby Kennedy and Republican Richard Nixon spoke in Roseburg during the 1968 campaign. Ted Kennedy also spoke on behalf of his brother during a speech at Umpqua Community College.

Nixon had also campaigned in Roseburg during the 1960 campaign against John F. Kennedy. John Kennedy also came to town that year.

(Full Story)
- posted by Daniel @ 10:27 AM

 
March 29, 2004

Passionate Democrat

Dennis Kucinich visits Roseburg: Presidential nomination is clinched, but former Cleveland mayor stil pressing ideas

U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich knows that Sen. John Kerry has enough delegates to win the Democratic Party nomination for president. That didn't stop the Ohio native and former Cleveland mayor, however, from coming to Roseburg on Sunday evening and addressing a standing-room-only crowd at the Douglas County Library on issues that he feels should shape the party platform. In doing so, Kucinich said there is still plenty up for grabs in Oregon's May 18 primary.

"New Hampshire and Iowa helped to decide the nomination. The direction of the Democratic Party is far from settled. The vote Oregonians have is important to the direction of the Democratic Party," Kucinich said in addressing more than 250 people who crammed into the Ford Community Room.

Kucinich advocates universal health care for all Americans. More than 43 million residents do not have health insurance, Kucinich said, and basic medical, dental and vision treatment can cost several thousand dollars.

(Full Story)

- posted by Daniel @ 10:25 AM

 
March 29, 2004

Kucinich feels comfortable campaigning in Oregon

JOHN SOWELL

When he was mayor of Cleveland in the late 1970s, Dennis Kucinich fought against the private takeover of the city's public-owned power company. Later, banks that would have benefited from a partnership with the company that would have taken over the utility drove the city into default.

Later, Kucinich was defeated in his re-election bid and he found himself blackballed in trying to find another job. He applied for a position to head the Emerald People's Utility District outside Eugene.

Out of more than 200 people to apply for the job, Kucinich was one of the candidates interviewed for the position. He was runner-up to the person eventually selected for the job, but that didn't discourage him from liking Oregon. He's come back to the state several times for vacations.

"This is a state where I feel right at home," Kucinich said, during an interview after his speech Sunday in Roseburg.

(Full Story)
- posted by Daniel @ 10:24 AM

 
*** Note from Windpower 2004 ***

As I write this, I am standing at a terminal on the main exhibit floor at Global Windpower 2004. The event is well attended, with many excellent exhibits and presentations. I'm having a wonderful time and have met a few interesting contacts. Hopefully I will have more for all of you later. For right now, I'm going to get back to the conference - and share the terminal. Thank you for stopping by!

Dan Stafford
- posted by Daniel @ 2:23 PM

 
LAND COVER CHANGES AFFECT U.S. SUMMER CLIMATE
---------------------------------------------
While climate may be impacted by carbon dioxide emissions, aerosols and
other factors, a new study offers further evidence land surface changes
may also play a significant role.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0403/27climate/
- posted by Daniel @ 3:17 AM

 
Kucinich rallies Demos in Corvallis

By BECKY WALDROP
Staff Writer

CORVALLIS - The only challenger to John Kerry's Democratic presidential nomination is in town this weekend, building support for issues that will shape the party's platform this election year.

When four-term Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich arrived at the Old World Deli on Saturday evening he was met with cheers from hundreds of supporters.

There wasn't enough room in the restaurant for all the people who came to see him. People stood shoulder-to-shoulder, and the crowd spilled out the back exit and onto the Second Street sidewalk.

(Full Story)
- posted by Daniel @ 3:09 AM

 
March 28, 2004

Dennis Kucinich Campaign

By Anny Hong

Eugene -

Dennis Kucinich made a stop in Eugene Sunday, as his trek through Oregon continues.

Kucinich spoke to a standing room crowd only at Lane Community College Sunday.

(Full Story)
- posted by Daniel @ 3:04 AM

 
Out to sway Kerry, Kucinich makes his case in Portland

The underdog aims for a strong showing in Oregon's primary to bolster his priorities, including pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq

03/28/04
JEFF MAPES

The vegan menu at the Dennis Kucinich fund-raiser Saturday morning in Portland -- multigrain pancakes, potatoes and tofu scramble -- provided just one hint that the Democratic congressman from Ohio is not your typical presidential candidate.

It was also clear when the question-and-answer session veered from such standard political topics as trade and foreign policy into a discourse about whether people should avoid using violence-laden language as a first step toward creating a more peaceful world.

"Each one of us needs to find that -- a way to clear our anger," Kucinich advised his audience. "Anger is very hard to let go of sometimes."

On his call to withdraw from free-trade treaties . . .

"We cannot continue these huge trade deficits without it having a dramatic negative effect on our national economy, at which point the borrowing we're doing is not going to be sustainable. . . . We could be looking down the road at our children living under the structural readjustment policies of the International Monetary Fund if we don't get a handle on our trade. . . .

"There's a practical expectation that we need to have that if people sell to us, they buy from us. Then the next question is, what are the conditions under which we do business? The North American Free Trade Agreement, the World Trade Organization (and other trade agreements) came about because of the desire of corporations to have access to cheap labor. Trying to get cheap labor is one of the oldest stories in humanity. . . .

"We need to create an alternative international trade structure where we put ethical principles in commerce, and those ethical principles are workers' rights, human rights and the environment.

"The president of the United States -- and most people don't know this -- has the ability to withdraw from both Nafta and the WTO, and we could set an alternative trade structure in place. We can first begin with bilateral trade, where we put in these conditions.

"Everybody wants access to our market. How do we know? We have a $550 billion trade deficit. . . . Everybody wants to sell to us; they just don't want to buy from us."

(Full Story)
- posted by Daniel @ 2:53 AM

 
Doug Moss
Publisher & Executive Editor
*****************************************
***Week of 3/28/04 EARTH TALK installment***:

EARTH TALK
From the Editors of E/The Environmental Magazine

Dear EarthTalk: I heard that sea turtles are developing cancerous tumors at an alarming rate. What’s going on? -- Brendon Hunt, New York, NY

Sea turtles have long endured the pressures of hunting, intensive fishing practices and habitat degradation, including loss of nesting beaches due to human encroachment. In the last 20 years, marine turtles have also been the victims of a deadly tumor called Fibropapilloma, a bulbous growth that primarily affects the skin but also appears in the turtles’ mouths, on their eyes and on internal organs.

The tumors can grow as large as a head of cauliflower, making it difficult for the animals to swim and find food. Internally, they can constrict the lungs and heart and affect the kidneys. In the 1980s, the disease began to reach epidemic proportions in shallow, near-shore waters off Hawaii, Florida and Barbados. The disease is now also present in Australia and the Pacific coasts of Mexico and Costa Rica.

The tumors have mostly been found on both young and adult green turtles, but have recently showed up on the Loggerhead, Hawksbill and Olive Ridley species. Sue Schaf of Florida’s Turtle Hospital, which treats and performs surgery on afflicted turtles, says, “We were seeing 50 percent of green turtles with tumors, but now it is closer to 70 percent and getting worse.” In Hawaii, some 60 percent of the turtles are affected.

While progress is being made to understand Fibropapilloma, scientists are still puzzled as to what is causing the tumors. Their high prevalence in marine habitats near areas of heavy human use would lead one to believe that some form of pollution is the cause, such as runoff from fertilizer or farm waste, but research has been inconclusive. Some scientists speculate that a virus might be giving turtles the disease. Other marine experts blame the tumors on global warming, with increased water temperatures weakening the turtles’ immune systems.

CONTACT: Turtle Hospital, (305) 743-6509, www.turtlehospital.org; Florida Marine Research Institute, (727) 896-8626, www.floridamarine.org; National Marine Fisheries Service, www.nmfs.noaa.gov.

GOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION? Send it to: EARTH TALK,
c/o E/The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881;
or submit your question at: www.emagazine.com, or e-mail us at: earthtalk@emagazine.com.

******************************************************************************************************************
EARTH TALK
From the Editors of E/The Environmental Magazine

Dear EarthTalk: Are there prepared lunches comparable to Oscar Mayer “Lunchables” that are healthier and more environmentally friendly? -- Carla Bahun, Marietta, GA

Oscar Mayer’s Lunchables are a hit with youngsters because of their bright packaging and fun-to-eat snacks. However, like much of the junk food marketed to children today, behind those colorful boxes and tasty treats lies a spectrum of potential health disasters. The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) offers 10 tips in creating a nutritional lunch, and one of them is “Don’t send Lunchables,” because the snacks derive “two-thirds of their calories from fat and sugar.”

CSPI also includes Lunchables among their list of the “Top 10 Foods to Avoid” because, “It would be hard to invent a worse food than these combos of heavily processed meat, artery-clogging cheese and mostly-white-flour crackers. The regular (non-lowfat) line averages 5 1/2 teaspoons of fat (that’s 60 percent of calories) and 1,734 milligrams of sodium.”

Moreover, Lunchables’ form of attractive packaging is environmentally unfriendly. It consists of a plastic tray cut into various compartments, which is then sealed with a transparent and flexible film. This tray is then placed in an outer cardboard box. All this makes it very difficult to recycle, so much so that the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group (MASSPIRG) gave Lunchables a “Lifetime Waste Maker Achievement Award” in 1999

Currently, as there are not many known alternatives to such prepared foods, CSPI suggests packing one’s own lunch and snacks, which would be more environmentally friendly and far healthier for your children. If your kids insist on Lunchable-style meals, a simple alternative would be to whip up your own collection of healthy, low-fat snack replacements. In addition, CSPI offers tips on preparing a healthy lunch, such as leaving out the cheese altogether (or using low fat of fat-free cheese), adding vegetables to sandwiches, using low-fat crackers, using whole-grain bread instead of white bread, including fruit or juice (100% juice only), and using one percent or fat-free milk.

CONTACT: Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), (202) 332-9110, www.cspinet.org; Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group (MASSPIRG), 617-292-4800, www.masspirg.org.

GOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION? Send it to: EARTH TALK,
c/o E/The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881;
or submit your question at: www.emagazine.com, or e-mail us at: earthtalk@emagazine.com.

EarthTalk
Questions and Answers About Our Environment
A Weekly Column
******************************************************
c/o E/The Environmental Magazine
***A nonprofit publication***
28 Knight Street, Norwalk, CT 06851
PHONE: (203) 854-5559/(X106) - FAX: (203) 866-0602
E-mail: earthtalkcolumn@emagazine.com
******************************************************
Mail: P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881 U.S.A.
- posted by Daniel @ 2:14 AM