GlobeNews 5/2000 | May Day! | Vol.2, No.5 Global citizen! Keep on top of events worldwide: politics, travel, society, environment, technology. Not your nine o'clock news. GlobeNews by Kahl Consultants. STOP! Add a friend to the mailing list: subglobenews-@-kahl.net TABLE OF CONTENTS ---------------------------- TERRA DAY | ARIZONA GOING CLEAN | SAYONARA SNOWMOBILES TRASH TO TREASURES | EARTHQUAKE! | HOT LAVA WEB EXPLOSION | GENETIC ROULETTE | RICE-A-RONI GENOME CALIFORNIA DREAMING? | JET SKIS STINK | AMERICAN WETLANDS MONTH Happy MAY DAY! ============== THE GOOD NEWS ============== TERRA DAY ------------- In time for Earth Day, NASA released images from Terra, a spacecraft designed to monitor Earth's vital signs. Terra measures and documents how Earth's atmosphere, lands, oceans, solar radiation and life influence each other. This will aid in our distinguishing between natural and human-induced changes, and show us how Earth's climate affects the quality of our lives. Terra has five instruments that measure such things as the moisture content of clouds, vegetation on Earth and sunlight. The data will give scientists a better idea of how Earth's components work together as a system. Scientist will use the data to build computer models of complex Earth interactions. The first model is due in 2005. The $1.3 billion Terra spacecraft was launched in December 1999 and the mission is expected to last six years.NASA plans to encourage widespread use of information from Terra to provide citizens, businesses and governments with the means to make informed decisions on issues such as health, safety, economic well-being and quality of life. Terra Website: http://terra.nasa.gov/ ARIZONA GOING CLEAN ------------------------------ Arizona is the first US state to force utilities to produce a portion of their electricity from renewable energy sources. The state will require regulated utilities to generate at least 0.2 % of their power from renewable resources next year, increasing to 0.8 % by 2004. The requirement would increase again to 1.1 % by 2007, but only if the cost of clean energy declines to a point the commission deems acceptable. Under the Solar and Environmentally Friendly Portfolio Standard, utilities must derive at least 50 percent of their renewable power from solar generating facilities. The rest may come from sources such as landfill gas, wind and biomass generators. Homeowners and businesses will pay slightly higher bills for the cleaner energy, but the ACC capped the surcharges at 35 cents a month for homeowners and $13 a month for all but the largest businesses. [Sources: Tucson Arizona Daily Star, Phoenix Arizona Republic] SAYONARA SNOWMOBILES ---------------------------------- The Unites States National Park Service is banning snowmobiles from most of the park system. The broad ban applies to 25 national parks, recreation areas, monuments and other park units where snowmobiles have been allowed for years. Yellowstone and Grand Teton in Wyoming are not included in the immediate ban, but the vehicles are likely to be phased out, or possibly banned, this fall. There's significant evidence that thousands of snowmobilers are causing environmental damage to the nation's parks. The campaign against snowmobiles is part of a broader Park Service effort to curtail use of motorized vehicles in parks. In March, NPS announced new restrictions on the use of Jet Skis and similar motorized watercraft in some parks, and efforts also are under way to limit private automobile traffic to reduce congestion and air pollution at some of the busiest parks. Snowmobilers have been the source of controversy for some time. Critics contend they are too noisy and disturb park tranquility, account for much of the winter air pollution in parks, damage vegetation, and endanger wildlife. A group of 70 environmental organizations led by Earth Island Institute's Bluewater Network in San Francisco convinced the NPS to take action with arguments such as this one: one hour of a snowmobile's exhaust produces more air pollution than a year of an automobile's smog-controlled emissions. Bluewater Network website: http://www.bluewaternetwork.org [Source: Associated Press, SF Examiner] TRASH TO TREASURES ------------------------------ As reported last month, the 8th annual TRASH TO TREASURES junk-art competition and exhibition in Oakland, CA is taking place this month. Dates: May 6th - June 1st, 2000. For more info call (510) 547-4285. ========== GLOBESITES ========== EARTHQUAKE! ------------------- The largest earthquake in North America shook Alaska in 1964. The magnitude 8.6 evening quake was so violent that it snapped the tops of trees, raised barnacles thirty feet above the sea and spawned a tsunami that killed some 30 people in Crescent City way down in California, more than 1,000 miles away. You do NOT have to live in California to be concerned about your personal safety. You do NOT have to be a boy scout to "BE PREPARED". Learn about EARTHQUAKES and other DISASTER PREPARATION. Take the first step to EMERGENCY ACTION here: RadiKahl Emergency Action http://www.kahl.net/action/emergncy.htm HOME IMPROVEMENT - AMAZON STYLE ---------------------------------------------------- Amazon.com is now in the HOME IMPROVEMENT business. No more endless mazes and lines at Home Depot. Go online and get your tools (how about a handy leatherman as a gift?) and home renovation products (time to prepare your lawn & garden for summer?)! PLEASE SUPPORT GLOBENEWS by only using this link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/kahlconsultants ========= GlobeNews ========= HOT LAVA -------------- Ninety percent of all volcanic activity occurs in the oceans. In 1993, scientists located the largest known concentration of active volcanoes on the sea floor in the South Pacific. This area, the size of New York state, hosts 1,133 volcanic cones and sea mounts. Two or three could erupt at any moment. [NASA] WEB EXPLOSION --------------------- At the beginning of the '90s, only 22 countries were connected to the Internet. By 1999, 217 were connected. Traffic on the Internet doubles every hundred days. In most countries access to the Internet is still a privilege enjoyed by relatively few. Dropping prices in hardware and internet access are changing that slowly but surely. The German city-state of Hamburg, population 1.7 million, announced that all of its citizens will receive free Internet access and an e-mail address ("first.last-@-hamburg.de") and a WWW home page. Citizens will pay no direct provider costs, only telephone costs. The services are expected to be available as of the middle of this year. ============= FUTURE IS NOW ============= GENETIC ROULETTE ------------------------- ***IN-DEPTH LOOK AT GENE-ALTERED SALMON*** Anchors: Dan Rather Reporters: Wyatt Andrews Dan Rather: Tonightís EYE ON AMERICA is an in-depth look at a gene-altered first, one you've never seen before-- fish genetically altered to grow bigger and more rapidly. Its developers soon hope to take it out of the lab and into the food chain to your dinner table. CBSí Wyatt Andrews reports on a gene food controversy on a whole new scale. Wyatt Andrews: These salmon did not get the gene-- the small group. And the larger ones, these inherited the gene. These salmon were all born on the same day, but the bigger ones are genetically altered-- gene spliced with another fish species-- so that they grow twice as fast. Are you telling me all these fish are the same age? Mr. Elliott Entis (CEO, AF Protein): They're the same age. And not only that, they are brothers and sisters. Andrews: For Americans, this is the first look at this mixed-species technology. Entis: We have simply changed one gene in the salmon. Andrews: And if Elliot Entis has his way, you'll be eating this gene-altered salmon and trout sometime within the next two to three years. Do you eat this? Entis: I absolutely eat this. Andrews: Entisí Canadian-based fish farm, AF-Protein, may be the first to get FDA approval to market a transgenic animal, an animal genetically composed of two different fish. Entis: Basically, we've taken a snippet of DNA from another edible fish, either a winter flounder or a commonly found fish called an ocean pout, and we've matched that snippet of DNA to the salmon's growth hormone. Andrews: And growth means money. Entis says his fish can reach market size in 18 months, instead of three years, with the same taste and nutrition as their farm-raised kin. Entis: We are, I have to say, 100 percent certain that this is safe. Andrews: Stop right there. A lot of people will say you're messing with the genetics of this fish. How can you be so certain? Entis: We know exactly what the gene which we have inserted, or that genetic instruction, expresses or produces in the salmon. We know and can prove that it only produces salmon growth hormone. Andrews: There is no law against mixed species animals, but AF-Protein will have to prove these fish are safe to the FDA. There is one major environmental concern: what happens when these big voracious salmon escape from the farm-- and there is no doubt they will-- and then begin to breed with salmon in the wild? Ms. Rebecca Goldburg (Environmental Defense Fund): The risk is genetic pollution. Andrews: Rebecca Goldburg is a senior scientist at Environmental Defense. Goldburg: If you muck up the gene pool of wild salmon by introducing the genes of farm salmon, you can make the wild salmon populations less able to survive and reproduce in the future. Andrews: Entis responds that wild Atlantic salmon are in danger already. He argues that without this technology, there will be no way to meet consumer demand. Entis: We can produce more protein, more cheaply, for more people than would otherwise be the case. Andrews: So now, quietly, farmers are crossing the line from crossbred animals to mixed-species animals, and arguing this kind of low-level mutation is what it will take to feed the world. On Prince Edward Island, Canada, Wyatt Andrews for EYE ON AMERICA. [Source: CBS News Transcripts 2/14/2000] RICE-A-RONI GENOME ---------------------------- US biotechnology firm Monsanto has announced it has built the first "working draft" of the rice genome - the most complex plant decoded to date. Researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle used a gene-sequencing technique to map roughly 85% of the grain's genetic code. Scientists from the world's largest rice producer, China, said the research could enable Chinese farmers to plant crops with much higher yields in four to five years. Rice is a staple diet for 40% of the world's population. Western farmers have cut back on genetically-modified crops because of consumer resistance, but in China the need to ensure food production keeps pace with population growth has tended to outweigh these worries. Researchers managed to decode all 12 chromosomes of rice. The results will form the basis for study of other grass species such as corn, sorghum and wheat. "When we decipher the rice genome, we will have the equivalent of an encyclopaedia that contains the instructions for creating a life form," Leroy Hood, head of the laboratory at the University of Washington, said. The breakthrough is expected to enable scientists to engineer genetically-modified rice strains resistant to drought, salinity and insects. Monsanto said it would make the research public through the International Rice Genome Sequence Project (IRGSP), an international research consortium of 10 research teams working to complete the sequencing of the rice genome. Other researchers will also have access via the internet, although Monsanto retains the right to licence any developments based on its own research. The move is a bid to improve the agro-chemical giant's image following bad publicity over its sterile seed technologies carrying the "terminator" gene. Global rice production last year was estimated at well over 500 million tonnes, 92% of which came from Asia. The Monsanto announcement came as Philippines President Estrada attacked Western countries for neglecting rice research. At the 40th anniversary of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) near Manila, Estrada said the fruits of scientific advances were not trickling down to poorer nations. GALACTIC ADVERTISEMENT: If you are also interested in space, astronomy and extraterrestrial news, subscribe to ASTRONEWS, another free newsletter from Kahl Consultants. Visit us: http://www.kahl.net/astro Beam your request to: subastronews-@-kahl.net ============ !!GLOBALERT!! ============ CALIFORNIA DREAMING? ------------------------------- The Environmental Health Policy Alliance, briefs California Governor Gray Davis on environmental health issues. They report that persistent water and air pollution and dependence on pesticides are raising rates of cancer, asthma and other health problems in California, especially among children, poor city dwellers and agricultural workers. Among the warning signs the alliance found that childhood cancer rates statewide are 10% higher than they were 20 years ago. Los Angeles and San Francisco have breast cancer rates among the highest in the world. *They found that birth defects and premature births are on the rise, with diseases of the reproductive organs up substantially. About 600,000 California children have asthma, a 160% increase since 1980. Children die from asthma 67% more often than 13 years ago. The group reported that lead poisoning continues to imperil 130,000 of the state's children, despite hopes that the threat would be eliminated by now. At least 1,500 farm workers died from pesticide poisoning in 1996. About 215 million pounds of pesticides were used in 1998, up from 161 million pounds in 1991. "It's just common sense that if we're increasing use, we're probably increasing exposure," said Joanie Clayburgh, campaign director for Californians for Pesticide Reform, one of the organizations in the alliance. Clayburgh called on the governor to set a schedule for reducing and phasing out pesticide use and promoting safe alternatives. "We're addicted [to pesticides], and to get off the addiction we need to find out how to live without them," she said. [Source: Los Angeles Times] JET SKIS STINK -------------------- FACT: A jet ski creates more pollution in one hour than a car does in a year! At the request of Bluewater Network the California Air Resources Board (CARB) did a test that showed a one-hour ride on a typical jet ski creates more pollution than a typical American car does in a year. Learn about Bluewater: http://www.bluewaternetwork.org ============= SAVE ON CALLS ============= Long Distance Tips --------------------- LIVING IN THE USA? Get the VoiceNet GOLD plan! ANY domestic US calls from ANY phone for only 6.9 cents/min! No more expensive calls! It's the best deal we could find! Check out this offer AND MANY MORE! Visit GlobalCom: http://www.kahl.net/global ====== NetTips ====== MAY IS AMERICAN WETLANDS MONTH ------------------------------------------------ Now is the time to become reacquainted with that swamp in your back yard. March in your marsh. Dive into your ditch. But first bookmark this EPA wetlands site: http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/ Happy MAY DAY! -------------------- Workers of the world unite! Avanti popolo! Power to the union! Viva la revolucion! Whatever your slogan may be, we hope you celebrated International Workers' Day. Here is a political site to browse in honor of May Day - The Voice of the Turtle: http://www.voiceoftheturtle.org Thanks to all who wrote in. Send us your questions for the next edition of GlobeNews. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Email: globenews-@-kahl.net Add an email to the mailing list: subglobenews-@-kahl.net Unsubscribe: unsubglobenews-@-kahl.net GlobeNews Online: http://www.kahl.net/globenews ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE PLUG ======== How's your small biz performing? Happy with work? Technology. Use it appropriately. Put it in our hands. Kahl Consultants. Visit us: http://www.kahl.net You got this far - you obviously enjoy GlobeNews. Pass it on! Please forward to a handful of friends. Remember, the best things in life are free. THE PUNCH LINE ============== Just When You Thought It Was Safe ... ---------------------------------------- Stephanie Mittler was recently attacked and almost killed in the waters off Big Pine Key in Florida, but her assailant was neither a deadly shark nor a sting ray. The perpetrator was a startled needle-nosed houndfish that leaped from the water and stabbed Mittler in the neck. Fisherman fear houndfish, which average three to six pounds, for their ability to leap and their tendency to stab when startled. Surgery removed two pieces of the fish's serrated bill, one of which came within a millimeter of Mittler's carotid artery [Source: AP, April 20] AND FINALLY.... Check out the LAST PAGE on the internet: http://www.kahl.net/lastpage.html