GlobeNews March 2001 | Equinox Special Vol.3, No.3 Global citizen! Keep on top of world trends, politics, travel, society, environment, technology. Not your nine o'clock news. The GlobeNews Equinox Special is brought to you by Kahl Consultants. To add someone to the mailing list or to stop receiving, send email: subglobenews-@-kahl.net CONTENTS: STOP GAP MEASURE DIESEL AND TOTS LFA = NAVY NOISE $1 BILLION MARINE LIFE CENSUS $5 FOR A TON OF CLEAN AIR MAPS LIKE YOU'VE NEVER SEEN UN GLOBAL WARMING SUMMARY GLOBALIZATION WIPING OUT LANGUAGES HEALTHY FACTS ============ !!GLOBALERT!! ============ STOP GAP MEASURE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Who owns the Gap, Banana Republic, and Old Navy clothing stores? The Fisher family of San Francisco. Their empire amounts to $11 BILLION by some estimates. As rich as they are, they also own a lot of land. Some in Mendocino County, California is home to old growth REDWOOD FORESTS. And there aren't a lot of old redwoods left. Many organizations (Rainforest Action Network, Forests Forever, Redwood Coast Watersheds Alliance) want the Fishers to place this forest land into a CONSERVATION LAND TRUST. Instead the Fischers are CUTTING and selling the redwood using a phony Green-Label certification. Help to save the Mendocino redwoods. Sign an Online Petition asking the Fischers to preserve these redwoods! Sign the petition here: http://www.elksoft.com/petition/ And the Greenwood Watershed site is at http://www.elksoft.com/gwa/ NOTE: not the prettiest of websites, but the important info is here. DIESEL AND TOTS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Toxics In School Buses: Children's Exposure Much Higher Than Acceptable A ride on a school bus is hazardous to your child's health. So says a study of AIR QUALITY IN DIESEL SCHOOL BUSES. That's the school bus most commonly used across the USA. Over 23 million children in the USA ride a bus to school. Kids who ride the bus may be exposed to DIESEL EXHAUST: * 4 times more than someone traveling in a car directly in front of it * 8 times the average levels found in the ambient air in California * 23 - 46 times the significant cancer risk levels by U.S EPA standards and federal guidelines! Diesel exhaust is a major source of fine particles that lodge deep in the lungs. They exacerbate asthma, prevalent among children. Smog-forming oxides of nitrogen (NOx) are emitted from diesel engines in large quantities and linked to decreased lung function growth. Children are more susceptible than adults to negative health effects of air pollution. They breathe faster and have less developed lungs and immune systems. The lesson? An additional 23 to 46 cancer cases per million kids exposed. Homework: clean-up bus fleets in order to protect the health of their kids. Read all about it: NDRC http://www.NRDC.org/media/pressreleases/010212.asp Coalition for Clean Air http://www.coalitionforcleanair.org/cca/press_detail.cfm?PressID=10 LFA = NAVY NOISE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The U.S. Navy plans to deploy one of the loudest NOISE-MAKERS ever invented. Called LOW FREQUENCY ACTIVE (LFA) SONAR, it is a sophisticated system of underwater speakers and microphones. What on earth for? To detect "enemy" subs at long distance - by blasting immense sounds into the ocean and detecting echoes. Whales DEPEND ON SOUND to find food. And communicate. And navigate. Now imagine a sound traveling such long distances that it can kill or seriously damage sensitive ears and drown out all other sounds. The Navy says LFA impacts are "negligible," "minimal," and "not biologically significant." But the sound levels produced by LFA Sonar have never been tested on marine life. And a number of incidents of stricken whales connected with local use of Navy Sonar systems from around the world have emerged. LFA Sonar threatens sensitive marine life. And it is a threat to humans as well - divers and the military, and, when used inshore, swimmers, surfers, fishermen, and snorkelers, too. For Further Information: web http://www.earthisland.org/ email marinemammal-@-earthisland.org NORTON SYSTEM WORKS ONLY 9.99$ ---------------------------------------------- This is a MUST HAVE piece of SOFTWARE - that's why we call it a HOUSEHOLD ITEM. Kahl Consultants HIGHLY RECOMMENDS NORTON SYSTEM WORKS for your Windows PC (Pentium and higher). We found a deal you CAN'T refuse valid until April 1, 2001: get Norton System Works for ONLY $9.99 (after a 50$ rebate) via AMAZON. Please follow this link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00004XQOL/kahlconsultants ============== THE GOOD NEWS ============== $1 BILLION MARINE LIFE CENSUS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The International Census of Marine Life could settle once and for all whether fabled animals such as Jules Verne's giant squid populate the uncharted ocean depths. Only five percent of the oceans have been surveyed for marine life - mostly in coastal regions. The international census, expected to take 10 years, is being promoted by the US-based Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, a private philanthropic organisation that fosters scientific programmes. 63 institutions in 15 countries work around the world on an ocean bio-geographical information system to support the census. The census would be conducted through multi-scanning technologies which can map the acoustic signatures of a wide range of sea life. Subsequent physical sampling of selected areas would then produce data that would be fed into super computers which would create models to produce fairly accurate estimates of most major forms of marine life. The census would also track and monitor behaviour of large animals such as whales, sea turtles and tuna, offering clues to the distribution and abundance of many other marine species. $5 FOR A TON OF CLEAN AIR ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For $5 -- the price of six pack -- you can retire a ton of carbon dioxide emissions. That's right, CO2, the main cause of global warming! And $60 buys a ton of sulfur dioxide (SO2), the culprit in acid rain, preventing it from ever being emitted. A consumer market for emissions, or "pollution," trading, is emerging. Emissions trading involves a low-emissions company selling its "right to pollute" to another firm that would otherwise exceed its federal quota. Pioneering this emerging consumer market is the New York-based company Natsource. The most popular trades are in greenhouse gases. For the $5 (plus $5 shipping and handling per order), the purchaser gets a certificate confirming that there's a ton of CO2 reserved in his or her name. In Natsource's case, purchasing credits contributes specifically to two ongoing emission-reduction programs: a carbon sequestration project in the Pacific Coast forests of Panama, and a natural-gas electric generation plant in Argentina. The power plant uses the revenues from credits to fund cogeneration with the excess steam it generates, thus offsetting the creation of approximately one million metric tons of CO2 each year. Interested? Simply sends an e-mail to one of these companies specifying the number of tons: Natsource: ghginfo-@-natsource.com Cantor Fitzgerald: ebs-@-cantor.com If purchasers hold on to their emissions credits until they appreciate, then donate them to a nonprofit organization, they can claim a federal tax deduction at the higher valuation. KC TECHSHOP ----------------- DON'T GO SHOPPING BLIND! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Go shopping at the NEW KC TechShop! * MONEY-SAVING RANKINGS - the very best sites for comparison shopping, reviews and infos. * "SWEET SPOT" SHOPPING LISTS - for PC DESKTOPs and LAPTOPs. Get the best price-to-quality ratio! * The Green PC section - helps you to save energy. MARCH DEAL$: Pacific Image 1236P Scanner for ONLY $19.99 (after rebate) Canon BJC-2100 Inkjet Printer (with Printer Cable) ONLY: $39.95 (after rebate) Intel Easy PC Camera WebCam - great for video phone calls ONLY: $49.99 Hardware or software, deals on technology: http://www.kahl.net/shopping ========== GLOBESITES ========== MAPS LIKE YOU'VE NEVER SEEN ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ National Geographic Magazine always has exquisite maps. Now they have outdone themselves with a MAPMACHINE on their website that will knock your socks off. That is, of course, if you can access it. Sometimes the demand is so high that it is temporarily unavailable! Check it out: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/maps/ AMAZING AMAZON ------------------------- In association with Amazon.com we offer you discount BOOKS, MUSIC and more. Grab some HOLIDAY GIFTS online! PLEASE SUPPORT GLOBENEWS by only using this link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/kahlconsultants ========= GlobeNews ========= UN GLOBAL WARMING SUMMARY ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The UN released a major report on global warming predicting MASSIVE DISRUPTIONS in the world's WEATHER AND ECONOMY. The study is entitled "CLIMATE CHANGE 2001: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability." It deals with projected temperature and sea level rises. It was boiled down from 1,000 pages of research. It predicts an increase in disruptive, 'FREAK' WEATHER EVENTS like cyclones, droughts, and floods that could displace large populations. Tropical areas will also see greater incidence of MALARIA as mosquito populations multiply and malnutrition could follow crop losses in vulnerable area such as Africa. Coastal populations were deemed especially at risk due to rising sea levels. Economic losses were estimated at $40 billion for 1999. Climate change is expected to be most extreme in polar regions. "Polar regions contain important drivers of change. Once triggered, they may continue for centuries, long after greenhouse gas concentrations are stabilized, and cause irreversible impacts on ice sheets, global ocean circulation and sea-rise." Consequences for climbers and alpinists are troublesome: Half of Europe's Alpine glaciers could disappear in the next 100 years. Recent scientific reports note the disappearance of ice and snow from mountains and equatorial glaciers in Tibet, Peru, Alaska, and on Africa's Mount Kilamanjaro. 82 percent of Kilamanjaro's ice field has melted since 1912. Global temperatures could rise by as much as 10.5 degrees Fahrenheit over the next 100 years. ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD: Reversing his campaign promise, American President Bush will not seek to regulate CO2 emissions from power plants. His administration said it would be inconsistent with the the broader goal of increasing domestic energy production. AND IN CALIFORNIA: The so-called California energy crisis is changing everything. Learn more about energy efficiency and save energy. Visit KC Energy: http://www.kahl.net/energy/ LOFTY AD ~~~~~~~~ Interested in space, astronomy and extraterrestrial news? Subscribe to ASTRONEWS. Another free newsletter from Kahl Consultants. Beam your request to: astronews-@-kahl.net ============= FUTURE IS NOW ============= GLOBALIZATION WIPING OUT LANGUAGES ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Andean farmers grow potatoes and quinoa despite floods, frosts, and droughts. How? With terraces, canals and raised fields that evolved over 3,000 years ago. The Turkana tribe of Kenya plans crop planting around the knowledge of the animal behavior. The Aka pygmies of the Central African Republic use plants to cure common illnesses. Because they grow in different types of forest, the pygmies can cure themselves when travelling. But now a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) study warns that environmentally harmonious living may be lost as a result of globalization. Entitled "Cultural and Spiritual Values of Biodiversity: A Complementary Contribution to the Global Biodiversity Assessment," it notes that many indigenous languages and cultures are on the brink of extinction in the face of globalization. UNEP executive director Klaus Toepfer said, "The freeing up of markets around the world may well be the key to economic growth in rich and poor countries alike. But this must not happen at the expense of the thousands of indigenous cultures and their traditions." Indigenous peoples hold vital animal and plant knowledge. Much of this knowledge is not written down. Losing a language and its cultural context is like burning a unique reference book of the natural world. New sources of medicines are being lost as a result of the decline of indigenous languages, cultures and traditions. There are 5,000 to 7,000 spoken languages in the world. More than 2,500 are in danger of immediate extinction and many more are losing their link with the natural world. Over the next 100 years 90 percent of the world's languages will have become extinct or virtually extinct - 234 have already died out. [Source: Environment News Service] ============= SAVE ON CALLS ============= Here is a great article to read if you want to know what is up with Long Distance in the USA: http://www.microtimes.com/202/netwpaone202a.html GLOBALCOM has great new LONG DISTANCE RATES! Check out the new VOICENET "PRECISION" and "POWER" PLANS for USA! How does this sound: * 4.9¢ per minute state to state * 9.9¢ per minute domestic calling card calls (from any phone!) * NO MONTHLY FEE - only 5$ monthly minimum usage! ====== NetTips ====== HEALTHY FACTS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The State of California has some very handy FACT SHEETS on their website. They are called HESIS Fact Sheets and that stands for "Hazard Evaluation System and Information Service." HESIS Fact Sheets are 4-6 page summaries of health effects of COMMON CHEMICALS and safe ways to use them. They are written for workers, employers, and others without formal scientific or medical training. In other words - anyone can understand them! Read what the Occupational Health Branch (OHB) of the California Department of Health Services has to say about the health hazards at your workplace here - and print out a copy for your coworkers while you are at it: http://www.dhs.ca.gov/ohb/HESIS/hesfact.htm That wraps up our Equinox Special. Springtime is officially here in the Northern Hemisphere! Thanks to all who wrote in their comments. Send us your questions for the next edition of GlobeNews. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GlobeNews by Kahl Consultants Visit us: http://www.kahl.net Email: globenews-@-kahl.net ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE PLUG ======== Happy with work? Let Kahl Consultants help you succeed. Technology. Use it appropriately. Put it in our hands. If you got this far you obviously enjoyed GlobeNews. Please forward it to your friends. The best things in life are free! THE PUNCH LINE ============== VIAGRA WARNING ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This line was taken from a VIAGRA advertisement in the Nov 2000 National Geographic: In the rare event of an erection lasting more than 4 hours, seek immediate medical help.