Thursday, March 20, 2008

03/20/2008 TO Enviro-news

Oil Deal for Alaska Wildlife Refuge on Fast Track
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/032008EA.shtml
Public Employees for Environmental Ethics reports, "A massive land-for-oil swap in the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge aims to open much of eastern Alaska up to petroleum development, according to comments filed today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). The land exchange is moving quickly despite the absence of any land appraisals for the more than half a million acres involved."

EPA Seeks Inquiry Transcripts
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/032008EB.shtml
"The Environmental Protection Agency, peppered with requests from lawmakers for documents, is returning fire with an unusual request for confidential papers," reports The Associated Press. "EPA Associate Administrator Christopher Bliley recently asked for transcripts of closed-door interviews with seven senior EPA staffers concerning the agency's efforts to regulate greenhouse gas emissions."

Robert Weissman | Monsanto Wins: The Genetically Modified Food Gamble
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/032008EC.shtml
Robert Weissman of Common Dreams writes, "There have been few experiments as reckless, overhyped and with as little potential upside as the rapid rollout of genetically modified crops. Last month, the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), a pro-biotech nonprofit, released a report highlighting the proliferation of genetically modified crops. According to ISAAA, the biotech crop area grew 12 percent, or 12.3 million hectares, to reach 114.3 million hectares in 2007, the second-highest area increase in the past five years."

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