Caterpillar, FedEx Favor Carbon Tax Over Cap-and-Trade Measure

From Bloomberg.com:
By Daniel Whitten, Sept 23

The chief executives of Caterpillar Inc. and FedEx Corp. said they prefer a tax on carbon dioxide emissions and criticized the cap-and-trade measure being debated in Congress.

The legislation approved by the House in June gives certain industries free pollution permits that would distort the market, said Fred Smith, CEO of FedEx, the package-shipping company based in Memphis, Tennessee.

“We very much believe that a straightforward graduated tax on carbon is better than the cap-and-trade,” Smith said in Washington today. He was among a group of executives who participated in an energy conference.

read more

Eco-Savvy Storytellers watching the greening of politics.

Fixing the World is Fun with the Yes Men

Activists and filmmakers Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno have disguised themselves and entered into the private enclaves of corporations with seriously unsustainable practices: Dow Chemical, Exxon, Halliburton for example. In their new documentary, “The Yes Men Fix the World“, we watch the team infuse humor and sarcasm into their feats.

The documentary premieres tonight on HBO with a US theatrical release date in October. For more information, go the Yes Men website.

Eco-Savvy Storytellers watching the greening of politics.

Durbin Asserts Campaign Finance Reform the Cure for What Ails D.C.

A recent report from the Center for Public Integrity shows that the 25 largest originators of subprime mortgages also spent more than $370 million over the last ten years lobbying the legislators in Washington to ease up on regulation that would have restrained the risky investment behavior that has resulted in the meltdown. And now, at least 21 of the 25 ventures are backed or owned by banks now receiving bailout money.

Bill Moyers talks with Senator Dick Durbin who describes the influence of lobbyists on Washington in this video. Earlier this year, Durbin authored a bill in which it would become easier for people facing foreclosure to renegotiate their loans. After 12 Democrats crossed the aisle to vote against it earlier this month, the amendment to the bill failed. Durbin, himself a beneficiary of those mighty lobbying dollars, has since come out swinging.

On a local radio station, Durbin said:

The banks — hard to believe in a time when we’re facing a banking crisis that many of the banks created — are still the most powerful lobby on Capitol Hill. And they frankly own the place.

Durbin also recently introduced a bi-partisan bill with Senator Arlen Specter to create a voluntary public financing system for members of both chambers of Congress. As he tells Bill Moyers on the JOURNAL: “I think that is a good move for our democracy, and it’s one which we ought to acknowledge is at the heart of many of the issues we face.”

Modeled after successful fair election bills of several states including Connecticut, Maine, Arizona, and North Carolina, the Fair Elections Now Act seeks to diminish corporate influence removing the need to go “dialing for dollars”.

Senators Durbin and Spector introduce Fair Elections Now Act on March 3, 2009
in this video

transcript of Moyers-Durbin show

Thanks for your continued subscription. If you have an insight or piece of news that seems to fit our blog, please feel free to contact us.

Durbin Asserts Campaign Finance Reform the Cure for What Ails D.C.

A recent report from the Center for Public Integrity shows that the 25 largest originators of subprime mortgages also spent more than $370 million over the last ten years lobbying the legislators in Washington to ease up on regulation that would have restrained the risky investment behavior that has resulted in the meltdown. And now, at least 21 of the 25 ventures are backed or owned by banks now receiving bailout money.

Bill Moyers talks with Senator Dick Durbin who describes the influence of lobbyists on Washington in this video. Earlier this year, Durbin authored a bill in which it would become easier for people facing foreclosure to renegotiate their loans. After 12 Democrats crossed the aisle to vote against it earlier this month, the amendment to the bill failed. Durbin, himself a beneficiary of those mighty lobbying dollars, has since come out swinging.

On a local radio station, Durbin said:

The banks — hard to believe in a time when we’re facing a banking crisis that many of the banks created — are still the most powerful lobby on Capitol Hill. And they frankly own the place.

Durbin also recently introduced a bi-partisan bill with Senator Arlen Specter to create a voluntary public financing system for members of both chambers of Congress. As he tells Bill Moyers on the JOURNAL: “I think that is a good move for our democracy, and it’s one which we ought to acknowledge is at the heart of many of the issues we face.”

Modeled after successful fair election bills of several states including Connecticut, Maine, Arizona, and North Carolina, the Fair Elections Now Act seeks to diminish corporate influence removing the need to go “dialing for dollars”.

Senators Durbin and Spector introduce Fair Elections Now Act on March 3, 2009
in this video

transcript of Moyers-Durbin show

Eco-Savvy Storytellers watching the greening of politics.

Monsanto Sues Germany over GM ban

Op/Ed Piece Special by Amicus Curiae

Monsanto is now suing the German government (and, by that, the people) to force them to grow their GM Corn.

According to “Food Production Daily, the Monsanto files suit against Germany over GM ban:

MON810 maize is genetically engineered to produce Bacillus thuringiensis, which is toxic to the corn borer pest. Permitted in Europe since 1998 for animal feed, it is marketed as a way to save farmers money on insecticides and other pest controls.

However, German agriculture minister Ilse Aigner claimed last week that she had “legitimate reasons” to believe the maize to be a danger to the environment – and believes the Environment Ministry to agree with the view. Although MON810 has been permitted in Germany since 2005, she scrapped plans for 3,600 hectares (8,892 acres) to be planted in the eastern states for this summer’s harvest.

Now the biotech giant has hit back, according to a Reuters article, filing a lawsuit against the Germany government in the administrative court in Braunschweig, northern Germany. The wire quotes a spokesperson for Monsanto as saying the ban is “arbitrary”. A clause in EU law does allow member states to impose such a ban, but Monsanto claims they can only do so once a plant has already been approved if new scientific evidence has come to light.

If the outcome of the lawsuit is in Monsanto’s favour, the cost to the German government has been estimated at between €6m and €7m….

France also invoked the clause on new scientific evidence that cast doubt over its safety last year….

Other countries to implement bans are Hungary and Austria. Last month European ministers voted – for the fourth time – against forcing these countries to lift their bans, despite EFSA’s view.

Makes trying to refuse those sprouts at dinner seem familiar? Several other intelligent EU countries have reservations and have refused to grow these products that are inefficient, low producing, chemically ruinous, fertilizer intensive, UN-tested for toxicological harm to humans, and dubious safety for animals. This is a good indicator that not ALL the world has been fooled by Monsanto.

Some American growers are also moving away, after they have had land become so Roundup resistant they can no longer farm it! News Source France 24 reports:

“Superweeds” are plaguing high-tech Monsanto crops in southern US states, driving farmers to use more herbicides, return to conventional crops or even abandon their farms.”

I do hope that Germany can not only win, but by doing so, set a precedent the rest of the world to follow. JUST SAY NO!! AND MEAN IT!

1. A form of mental alienation, marked by a delusion of greatness, wealth, etc.
2. A mania for big or great things.

I personally think a “form of mental alienation” is the correct term to sum up this news. The level of hubris that must exist for a corporation to attempt to force us to grow anything we do not want to grow, or eat anything we think is unsafe. Leave us to farm in peace without being harassed by GMO-contamination of our crops, animals, honey… whatever it is we produce.

This is a company forcing a government and a people to accept a product they do not want. Somebody certainly has a delusional issue, and it is NOT those who refuse to accept genetically altered food.

Thanks for your continued subscription. If you have an insight or piece of news that seems to fit our blog, please feel free to contact us.

Monsanto Sues Germany over GM ban

Op/Ed Piece Special by Amicus Curiae

Monsanto is now suing the German government (and, by that, the people) to force them to grow their GM Corn.

According to “Food Production Daily, the Monsanto files suit against Germany over GM ban:

MON810 maize is genetically engineered to produce Bacillus thuringiensis, which is toxic to the corn borer pest. Permitted in Europe since 1998 for animal feed, it is marketed as a way to save farmers money on insecticides and other pest controls.

However, German agriculture minister Ilse Aigner claimed last week that she had “legitimate reasons” to believe the maize to be a danger to the environment – and believes the Environment Ministry to agree with the view. Although MON810 has been permitted in Germany since 2005, she scrapped plans for 3,600 hectares (8,892 acres) to be planted in the eastern states for this summer’s harvest.

Now the biotech giant has hit back, according to a Reuters article, filing a lawsuit against the Germany government in the administrative court in Braunschweig, northern Germany. The wire quotes a spokesperson for Monsanto as saying the ban is “arbitrary”. A clause in EU law does allow member states to impose such a ban, but Monsanto claims they can only do so once a plant has already been approved if new scientific evidence has come to light.

If the outcome of the lawsuit is in Monsanto’s favour, the cost to the German government has been estimated at between €6m and €7m….

France also invoked the clause on new scientific evidence that cast doubt over its safety last year….

Other countries to implement bans are Hungary and Austria. Last month European ministers voted – for the fourth time – against forcing these countries to lift their bans, despite EFSA’s view.

Makes trying to refuse those sprouts at dinner seem familiar? Several other intelligent EU countries have reservations and have refused to grow these products that are inefficient, low producing, chemically ruinous, fertilizer intensive, UN-tested for toxicological harm to humans, and dubious safety for animals. This is a good indicator that not ALL the world has been fooled by Monsanto.

Some American growers are also moving away, after they have had land become so Roundup resistant they can no longer farm it! News Source France 24 reports:

“Superweeds” are plaguing high-tech Monsanto crops in southern US states, driving farmers to use more herbicides, return to conventional crops or even abandon their farms.”

I do hope that Germany can not only win, but by doing so, set a precedent the rest of the world to follow. JUST SAY NO!! AND MEAN IT!

1. A form of mental alienation, marked by a delusion of greatness, wealth, etc.
2. A mania for big or great things.

I personally think a “form of mental alienation” is the correct term to sum up this news. The level of hubris that must exist for a corporation to attempt to force us to grow anything we do not want to grow, or eat anything we think is unsafe. Leave us to farm in peace without being harassed by GMO-contamination of our crops, animals, honey… whatever it is we produce.

This is a company forcing a government and a people to accept a product they do not want. Somebody certainly has a delusional issue, and it is NOT those who refuse to accept genetically altered food.

Eco-Savvy Storytellers watching the greening of politics.

Factory Farms Breeding Ground for Hybrid Influenza

This well-researched article discusses the dangers of large-scale factory meat and poultry farms located in close proximity to one another, pointing to specific evidence of a community whose economy largely depends on the corporate farms. The article reports that members of the community had tried to alert officials but were jailed or harrassed

read more | digg story

Ashley Judd Rails Against Mountain Top Removal

During the I Love Mountains rally in Frankfort on Feb. 17, 2009, actor Ashley Judd took the podium to speak out against mountain top removal mining and in support of the Stream Saver Bill in this video.

(video courtesy of David Stephensen, Lexington Herald-Leader)

Ashley Judd Rails Against Mountain Top Removal

During the I Love Mountains rally in Frankfort on Feb. 17, 2009, actor Ashley Judd took the podium to speak out against mountain top removal mining and in support of the Stream Saver Bill in this video.

(video courtesy of David Stephensen, Lexington Herald-Leader)

Thanks for your continued subscription. If you have an insight or piece of news that seems to fit our blog, please feel free to contact us.

Ashley Judd Rails Against Mountain Top Removal

During the I Love Mountains rally in Frankfort on Feb. 17, 2009, actor Ashley Judd took the podium to speak out against mountain top removal mining and in support of the Stream Saver Bill in this video.

(video courtesy of David Stephensen, Lexington Herald-Leader)

Eco-Savvy Storytellers watching the greening of politics.