July 2007 - Sustainability - list.sfgreens.org

[Sustain] Fwd: [TrueGreen_NoNukes] Reuters: California lawmaker seeks vote on nuclear power
by Don Eichelberger 13 Jul '07

13 Jul '07

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[Sustain] Fwd: There Is -No- Safe Level Of Serpentine Asbestos Exposure
by Eric Brooks 13 Jul '07

13 Jul '07

Below are my public comments recently sent to the Board Of Supervisors regarding the asbestos exposure in Bayview Hunters Point. There Is -No- Safe Level Of Serpentine Asbestos Exposure Dear Supervisor, I just watched the July 9, 2007 Land Use Committee hearing on Lennar BVHP, and was astounded at what I heard coming out of Mitch Katz's mouth. Anyone who knows anything about asbestos, knows full well (as the director of a city health dept. should) that there is -no- safe level of any type of asbestos exposure. Just as with plutonium, exposure to only one microfiber of asbestos is all it takes to cause cancer. Furthermore, this has been well known for decades, since it was first discovered that asbestos is dangerous. Dr. Katz's reliance on federal, state and regional agency standards is completely untenable, because if those standards allow -any- exposure they are unacceptable. Here are a couple of sites which make clear that there is no safe level of exposure to the serpentine asbestos type (chrysotile) which is being disturbed into the air by Lennar. It is specifically noted that early speculation that serpentine asbestos (chrysotile) was less dangerous than amphibole asbestos were unfounded. Asbestos industry obfuscation has been largely responsible for the myth that there is a 'safe' dose of chrysotile (or white asbestos). Because it is so dangerous, chrysotile has already been banned by the European Community, Chile and Argentina (as reported by the United Nations Environment Programme - see first web site). http://www.btinternet.com/~ibas/ramazzini.htm http://www.bwint.org/default.asp?index=216&Language=EN peace Eric Brooks Campaign Coordinator Our City http://our-city.org 415-756-8844 -- "The past is the Textbook of Tyrants; the Future the Bible of the Free" - Herman Melville

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Re: [Sustain] Gore, Coal Mine?
by Eric Brooks 11 Jul '07

11 Jul '07

The Gore family (including Al Jr.) has been deeply involved in, and profited from, Armand Hammer's Occidental Petroleum. Al Gore Sr. ran an Occidental coal mining interest in China. See this and scores of other reports of Al Gore's covered up connections to major environmental destruction at: http://www.debatethis.org/gore/enviro/ rak0408(a)earthlink.net wrote: > Pledge #1 should be rewritten: "To demand that my country join > immediately an international treaty that cuts climate-wrecking > pollution by 90% in developed countries within three years, by at > least 75% worldwide within six years and completely worldwide within > 10 years. > > Pledge #3 should be rewritten: "To recognize that 'clean coal' is an > oxymoron and to fight for an immediate ban on the construction and > operation of industrial plants that burn coal, oil or any other > pollution-generating substance." > > There should be a pledge #8: "To demand federal legislation requiring > that companies, organizations and individuals benefiting financially > from the operation of pollution-producing plants or rolling stock > (trucks, locomotives, delivery vehicles, aircraft, vessels, etc.) > surrender all of their profits to a fund dedicated to environmental > cleanup and public health." > > Doesn't Gore's family own a coal mine in Tennessee? > > By the way, there's a Time Travelers' Convention scheduled at Moscone > Center the final weekend in April, 2005. Hope to have seen you there. > > > On Wed, 11 Jul 2007 10:20:42 -0700, Eric Brooks <brookse32(a)aim.com> > wrote: > >> Hi again all, >> >> Below is the text of the seven point pledge that Gore is asking you to >> sign. As you read it, ask yourself how you would react to it, if the CEO >> of Peabody Coal was the one who was at the microphone reading it; the >> one putting the pledge document into your hands.. Then, below the Gore >> pledge, read a recent press release from Peabody Coal (recently renamed >> Peabody Energy) which indeed quotes their CEO speaking to their vision >> for coal's future. >> >> /I PLEDGE: >> >> 1.To demand that my country join an international treaty within the next >> 2 years that cuts global warming pollution by 90% in developed countries >> and by more than half worldwide in time for the next generation to >> inherit a healthy earth; >> >> 2.To take personal action to help solve the climate crisis by reducing >> my own CO2 pollution as much as I can and offsetting the rest to become >> "carbon neutral;" >> >> 3.To fight for a moratorium on the construction of any new generating >> facility that burns coal without the capacity to safely trap and store >> the CO2; >> >> 4.To work for a dramatic increase in the energy efficiency of my home, >> workplace, school, place of worship, and means of transportation; >> >> 5.To fight for laws and policies that expand the use of renewable energy >> sources and reduce dependence on oil and coal; >> >> 6.To plant new trees and to join with others in preserving and >> protecting forests; and, >> >> 7.To buy from businesses and support leaders who share my commitment to >> solving the climate crisis and building a sustainable, just, and >> prosperous world for the 21st century. >> >> /Now, the report on Peabody's vision for coal. See below or >> http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=129849&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=57… >> >> >> Peabody Energy Commits $3 Million to Clean Coal Technology Development >> >> ST. LOUIS, Jan. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Continuing to advance >> development of next-generation coal-fueled technologies, Peabody Energy >> today said it has made a second $1.5 million commitment to support >> America's most sophisticated research facility for coal-fueled >> electricity. >> >> The Power Systems Development Facility in Wilsonville, Ala., is a >> national center for testing cleaner, more efficient and more >> cost-effective coal-fueled technologies for commercial use. Peabody has >> committed a total of $3 million to support facility research since 1997. >> >> "Our nation's ever-growing demand for more energy requires new and >> innovative ways to provide that energy," said Dr. Charles Goodman, >> senior vice president for research and environmental affairs at Southern >> Company, which operates the facility. "We must continue to use coal as >> an energy source, and use it more cleanly than ever before. The support >> of companies such as Peabody are key to the success of our efforts here, >> which will go a long way in securing a balance in energy production that >> our nation so badly needs." >> >> The Power Systems Development Facility began testing advanced century >> power technologies in 1996. The effort reflects a joint partnership >> between the U.S. Department of Energy and a range of energy and >> technology companies including Peabody Energy, Southern Company, the >> Electric Power Research Institute, the Kellogg Brown and Root Company, >> Foster Wheeler and Siemens Westinghouse Power Corporation. >> >> A number of applications are being tested, which include a >> high-efficiency gasification system that current studies show may offer >> the most effective clean coal solutions at the lowest cost. High >> efficiency and high temperature gas cleaning devices also are among the >> technologies being assessed. >> >> The facility continues a long track record of improved emissions in the >> United States, even as coal use has increased. Reliable, abundant, >> inexpensive coal-fueled electricity has resulted in significant >> electricity use and economic growth over the last three decades. >> >> "Clean coal technologies have already allowed America to triple the >> amount of coal used for electricity generation since 1970 while reducing >> emissions," said Irl F. Engelhardt, chairman and chief executive officer >> of Peabody Energy. "Advanced coal-fueled technologies such as those >> demonstrated by the Power Systems Development Facility provide a >> continued path toward coal growth and emissions improvement." >> >> Peabody continues to support increased efficiencies at every level of >> energy production as well as enhancement of carbon sinks and development >> of technologies to sequester carbon. Peabody also is an advocate of the >> U.S. Department of Energy's "Vision 21" program, which has established a >> long-range goal of coal-fueled power plants that feature zero emissions. >> >> Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU) is the world's largest coal company. Its coal >> products fuel more than 9 percent of all U.S. electricity generation and >> more than 2 percent of worldwide electricity generation. >> >> MAKE YOUR OPINION COUNT - Click Here >> >> http://tbutton.prnewswire.com/prn/11690X11034372 >> SOURCE Peabody Energy >> Web site: http: //www.peabodyenergy.com >> CONTACT: Vic Svec of Peabody Energy, +1-314-342-7798 >> >> > > > -- "The past is the Textbook of Tyrants; the Future the Bible of the Free" - Herman Melville

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[Sustain] Uncovering Gore's Seven Point Pledge (Full Text)
by Eric Brooks 11 Jul '07

11 Jul '07

Hi again all, Below is the text of the seven point pledge that Gore is asking you to sign. As you read it, ask yourself how you would react to it, if the CEO of Peabody Coal was the one who was at the microphone reading it; the one putting the pledge document into your hands.. Then, below the Gore pledge, read a recent press release from Peabody Coal (recently renamed Peabody Energy) which indeed quotes their CEO speaking to their vision for coal's future. /I PLEDGE: 1.To demand that my country join an international treaty within the next 2 years that cuts global warming pollution by 90% in developed countries and by more than half worldwide in time for the next generation to inherit a healthy earth; 2.To take personal action to help solve the climate crisis by reducing my own CO2 pollution as much as I can and offsetting the rest to become "carbon neutral;" 3.To fight for a moratorium on the construction of any new generating facility that burns coal without the capacity to safely trap and store the CO2; 4.To work for a dramatic increase in the energy efficiency of my home, workplace, school, place of worship, and means of transportation; 5.To fight for laws and policies that expand the use of renewable energy sources and reduce dependence on oil and coal; 6.To plant new trees and to join with others in preserving and protecting forests; and, 7.To buy from businesses and support leaders who share my commitment to solving the climate crisis and building a sustainable, just, and prosperous world for the 21st century. /Now, the report on Peabody's vision for coal. See below or http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=129849&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=57… Peabody Energy Commits $3 Million to Clean Coal Technology Development ST. LOUIS, Jan. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Continuing to advance development of next-generation coal-fueled technologies, Peabody Energy today said it has made a second $1.5 million commitment to support America's most sophisticated research facility for coal-fueled electricity. The Power Systems Development Facility in Wilsonville, Ala., is a national center for testing cleaner, more efficient and more cost-effective coal-fueled technologies for commercial use. Peabody has committed a total of $3 million to support facility research since 1997. "Our nation's ever-growing demand for more energy requires new and innovative ways to provide that energy," said Dr. Charles Goodman, senior vice president for research and environmental affairs at Southern Company, which operates the facility. "We must continue to use coal as an energy source, and use it more cleanly than ever before. The support of companies such as Peabody are key to the success of our efforts here, which will go a long way in securing a balance in energy production that our nation so badly needs." The Power Systems Development Facility began testing advanced century power technologies in 1996. The effort reflects a joint partnership between the U.S. Department of Energy and a range of energy and technology companies including Peabody Energy, Southern Company, the Electric Power Research Institute, the Kellogg Brown and Root Company, Foster Wheeler and Siemens Westinghouse Power Corporation. A number of applications are being tested, which include a high-efficiency gasification system that current studies show may offer the most effective clean coal solutions at the lowest cost. High efficiency and high temperature gas cleaning devices also are among the technologies being assessed. The facility continues a long track record of improved emissions in the United States, even as coal use has increased. Reliable, abundant, inexpensive coal-fueled electricity has resulted in significant electricity use and economic growth over the last three decades. "Clean coal technologies have already allowed America to triple the amount of coal used for electricity generation since 1970 while reducing emissions," said Irl F. Engelhardt, chairman and chief executive officer of Peabody Energy. "Advanced coal-fueled technologies such as those demonstrated by the Power Systems Development Facility provide a continued path toward coal growth and emissions improvement." Peabody continues to support increased efficiencies at every level of energy production as well as enhancement of carbon sinks and development of technologies to sequester carbon. Peabody also is an advocate of the U.S. Department of Energy's "Vision 21" program, which has established a long-range goal of coal-fueled power plants that feature zero emissions. Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU) is the world's largest coal company. Its coal products fuel more than 9 percent of all U.S. electricity generation and more than 2 percent of worldwide electricity generation. MAKE YOUR OPINION COUNT - Click Here http://tbutton.prnewswire.com/prn/11690X11034372 SOURCE Peabody Energy Web site: http: //www.peabodyenergy.com CONTACT: Vic Svec of Peabody Energy, +1-314-342-7798 -- "The past is the Textbook of Tyrants; the Future the Bible of the Free" - Herman Melville

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[Sustain] Hydro Power (Especially New Dams) Emits Greenhouse Gasses!
by Eric Brooks 11 Jul '07

11 Jul '07

Hi all, Yet more proof that large hydro is not the answer. See this section of http://www.crest.org/repp_pubs/articles/envImp/03climatechange.htm "A potentially important aspect of the methane problem, about which little certain information exists, concerns large hydropower facilities. The World Commission on Dams (WCD), set up by the World Bank and the World Conservation Union (IUCN) to assess the role of dams in energy and water development, notes that oxygen-poor hydropower reservoirs can vent substantial quantities of methane, especially early in their lifetime, due to rotting vegetation beneath the waterline. ^*57 <javascript:openWindow('00notes.htm#57', 'Notes', '375', '425')>* (Well-oxygenated reservoirs emit CO2 rather than methane.) For this reason, large, shallow hydropower reservoirs that inundate large quantities of biomass may not be justifiable on the basis of contributions to the mitigation of climate change. For example, the Petit-Saut hydroelectric dam in French Guiana, which supplies power to the launch site of Europe's Ariane rocket program, submerged 365 square kilometers of tropical forest. One study reckons that during its first 20 years Petit-Saut will emit the equivalent of 66 million metric tons of CO2 - about 85% from methane and the remainder from CO2 itself - making French Guiana one of the world's largest per-capita emitters of greenhouse gases. ^*58 <javascript:openWindow('00notes.htm#58', 'Notes', '375', '425')>* While nontropical and more mature hydro-electric systems (including most U. S. facilities) have much lower emission rates, it is clear that tropical hydropower does not necessarily provide climatesafe energy, and may represent an important and poorly understood part of the climate problem.^*59 <javascript:openWindow('00notes.htm#59', 'Notes', '375', '425')> "* -- "The past is the Textbook of Tyrants; the Future the Bible of the Free" - Herman Melville

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[Sustain] Fwd: One Earth, One Air, One Water; Corbin Harney passed on at noon today. . .
by Eric Brooks 10 Jul '07

10 Jul '07

anniegarrison(a)mac.com <mailto:anniegarrison@mac.com> wrote: http://www.shundahai.org/ I can't think of anyone who has done more to inspire and educate the anti-nuclear movement than Corbin Harney. The Shundahai Network website that Corbin created is an invaluable resource, and Corbin and all he has left us are hugely inclusive, much like the Zapatistas. Corbin received the Nuclear Free Future Solutions Award in 2003, for building the Shundahai Network website. Claus Biegert traveled from Germany to San Francisco to present the award because Corbin did not then feel well enough to travel to Munich at the time. http://www.nuclear-free.com/english/corbin.htm anniegarrison(a)mac.com <mailto:anniegarrison@mac.com> (415) 285-7259 (415) 786-3896 "El Baradei has as much chance of stopping proliferation as George Bush has of stopping the drug trade." --Craig Reishus, Nuclear Free Future Awards, http://www.nuclear-free.com/english/frames7.htm =

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[Sustain] My Community Choice Primer In SF Bayview
by Eric Brooks 05 Jul '07

05 Jul '07

Hey all, My opinion/report piece to prime the public on the benefits of Community Choice, is now out in the San Francisco BayView. This paper has a wide readership in the Eastern neighborhoods of San Francisco. see below or http://www.sfbayview.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=237&Item… Neighborhood-based electricity for neighborhood-based democracy Print <http://www.sfbayview.com/index2.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=237&pop…> E-mail <http://www.sfbayview.com/index2.php?option=com_content&task=emailform&id=23…> by Eric Brooks Wednesday, 27 June 2007 Click to Enlarge <http://www.sfbayview.com/images/stories/20070627/solarpanel1062707.jpg> Click to Enlarge <http://www.sfbayview.com/images/stories/20070627/solarpanel1062707.jpg> Community Choice will bring solar power to a roof near you and stop plans for another polluting power plant in BVHP. Pack the next SF PUC meeting Tuesday, July 10, 1:30 p.m., in Room 400, City Hall. New legislation from the Board of Supervisors could soon help free our neighborhoods from corporate, state and federal influence. On June 19, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed legislation that will build enough public solar, wind and energy efficiency projects to power San Francisco on 50 percent clean, local, renewable energy within the next decade. Called Community Choice, the project also puts an end to San Francisco's century long dependence on PG&E for its electricity supply, by allowing the City to bypass PG&E and make its own energy purchases. The faster this project is built, the sooner the City will be free from state and federal agencies which are forcing us to keep polluting fossil fuel power plants belching their toxics in our communities. For decades, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the California Independent System Operator (Cal ISO) have forced San Francisco to maintain -- and even plan more -- fossil fuel burning electricity plants on the Southeast side of the City under the guise of maintaining local independence from the threat of electricity blackouts and shortages. While the need for such increased local fossil fuel based electricity is highly questionable, the state and federal governments have repeatedly gotten away with perpetrating their fiction. This trickery has enabled Cal ISO and the staff of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) to continue stubborn plans to build yet another polluting natural gas power plant in the Bayview, supposedly in order to shut down three diesel generators at the Mirant Corp.'s nearby Potrero power plant. However, in the same time that it would take to erect the natural gas plant -- which only matches the power capacity of the Mirant generators -- the Community Choice project will install non-polluting solar, wind and efficiency measures that will have more than twice the capacity of those diesel dinosaurs, not only making the new natural gas plant and the diesel generators completely unnecessary, but also enabling the partial or even total shutdown of the final existing natural gas plant in San Francisco, which is also housed at Mirant's Potrero site. Indeed, the SFPUC commissioners have begun to reconsider -- and lean toward halting -- the construction of the new natural gas power plant, even in the face of objections from their own petulant staff, the Cal ISO and FERC. If we, the people, keep up the pressure on those commissioners, we may soon deal a death blow to that ill begotten power plant. But shutting down polluting power plants is not the only benefit of Community Choice. The true magic of the renewable energy project is that it will decentralize electricity production in San Francisco so that much of our electricity comes from solar panels and wind turbines all over and around the City. This means that in the case of an earthquake or other Katrina-like disaster, entire neighborhoods -- and key facilities like hospitals -- will have their own independent power supplies, protecting us from some of the worst consequences of such a disaster. And it gets even better. Supervisor Chris Daly is preparing to introduce an ordinance that will direct that every time we open up the ground and city streets for other purposes, the City will also install public power cables and high capacity internet lines, meaning that in the space of 15 years, every neighborhood will not only have its own solar and/or wind power but will also have the wires on which to deliver that power to its own people -- and its own public communications lines through which to share a strong open democratic dialog. The implications are powerful. The further Community Choice and the Daly measure proceed, the more autonomous San Francisco neighborhoods will become in their energy production and use; and while people's socialism is not exactly just around the corner in San Francisco, these public power measures could lay its foundation. Such autonomy could be a platform on which to secure the type of directly democratic neighborhood council structures that are at last arising in Venezuela's Bolivarian Revolution, to challenge the neo-corporate elites who have been dominating marginalized and colonized communities of the world for centuries. With the poor and people of color being driven out of the City in record numbers and at record speeds, such autonomy cannot come too soon, and so we should do everything we can to accelerate the progress of these community energy projects. But as one might imagine, there is at least one large corporation that doesn't agree: PG&E. Since shortly before the Community Choice project passed, PG&E has begun openly manipulating to stop it from succeeding. PG&E knows that the more our neighborhoods and cities gain their own panels and power lines, the more its toxic profits sink into the dust. Over the past few months, PG&E has held repeated joint press conferences with Mayor Newsom announcing empty renewable energy promises that are speculative and tiny compared to the ready-for-action Community Choice plan -- all in order to trick the public into believing that we don't need Community Choice because PG&E will supposedly give us renewable energy. Even more recently, PG&E began spouting the companion fiction that if we accept Community Choice, we will pay high prices for our electricity. In reality, we will pay less. PG&E's statewide plans rely heavily on power from nine new polluting natural gas power plants that it intends to build in California. And because natural gas is running out on this planet just as oil is, there will be shortages of -- and wars over -- that natural gas, making its price fluctuate wildly and eventually skyrocket, continuing to devour our community's tax base as the U.S. pays for its perpetual fossil fuel-grabbing war machine. Our best protection against such a continued grim energy future is the clean, cheap solar and wind power that we will gain from projects like Community Choice. So when PG&E starts to sound the false alarm that we will lose money if we don't stick with their toxic electricity, simply don't buy its lies. And instead fix your eyes on a Bolivarian future. /Eric Brooks is a local grassroots organizer. To learn more about Community Choice, visit http://communitychoiceenergy.com./

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[Sustain] Fast Approaching Biofuel vs Food Catastrophe - Early Warning Hitting U.S. In Milk Prices
by Eric Brooks 02 Jul '07

02 Jul '07

Hey all, The rapidly approaching train wreck between the booming biofuels industry and food security is already hitting U.S. pocketbooks in milk prices. Expect much much worse to come, because the U.S. Senate just passed an energy bill that will require the use of 36 billion gallons per year of biofuels by 2022, and will require that all cars be able to run on 85% ethanol by 2015... See below or http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070628/BIZ/706280346 Milk prices on way up Impact wide if cost soars By Tom Demeropolis Cincinnati Post staff reporter The price of milk has been rising most of the year and the worst may be yet to come. A combination of high prices for feed corn, high energy costs and increased demand on the world market has hit the dairy industry and milk consumers hard. Prices are certain to surge in July as the government-set minimum price that dairy processors must pay for raw milk will go up 17 percent. The situation has at least one Greater Cincinnati dairy industry expert predicting what now seems unimaginable: $5.99 for a gallon of whole milk. "Retail prices could get in that neighborhood, if things continue on," said Dan Smith, vice president of sales for Newport-based Trauth Dairy. "We may see $6 a gallon before the end of the year." It's the latest price increase to batter consumers already struggling to accommodate price hikes for gasoline, electricity, and water. The biggest factor running up milk prices is the cost of corn. The grain is one of the main components of feed for cattle, but farmers are getting more pop for their kernels by selling it to produce ethanol, a fuel blend that has gained favor since gasoline prices rocketed above $3 a gallon. "Corn is out of control," Smith said. The demand for corn has pushed up the price, and that has been felt among agribusinesses, said Andy Schoenhoft, director of dairy and frozen foods merchandizing for Bigg's, a subsidiary of Minneapolis-based SuperValu. "If the cost of feed goes up, we feel the effect," Schoenhoft said. And the effect is passed on from the dairy farmers to the processors to the retailers to - ultimately - consumers. A gallon of milk at Bigg's, which operates 12 stores in the region, retailed at $2.95 this week. The national average in May was $3.26, up 6.2 percent from $3.07 a year earlier. Schoenhoft said he expects to see milk prices rise for the rest of the summer, with some relief possible right after Labor Day, depending on market conditions. But Smith is not so optimistic. The United States Department of Agriculture sets minimum milk prices that processors have to pay for raw milk. Friday, the agency set the price for July at $20.91 per hundred pounds of milk. That's the second highest level in U.S. history and up more than 17 percent from the June base price. Smith said he expects that retailers will respond in July by hiking their dairy case prices by at least 30 cents a gallon. "Who knows what August is going to bring," he said. Bill Peterson, Mason County extension agent for the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, said milk for six bucks a gallon probably wouldn't float. "Anything is possible," Peterson said, "but there is still supply and demand. The question is, will the market be able to handle $6 a gallon? I doubt it." Most retailers use a cost formula to determine how much to charge for milk. As the costs of everything that goes into producing a gallon of milk - fuel and raw milk, for example - rise, so does the milk price to consumers. "Everything that goes in affects the pricing," Schoenhoft said. Peterson said the base price for raw milk has to rise to offset farmers' higher costs. Complicating the situation is that there is less milk in the U.S. pipeline because domestic dairy producers are getting better prices in international markets, according to the International Dairy Foods Association, an industry group. Compounding dairy farmers' struggles is that they are facing drought conditions in most of Kentucky and other parts of the south. That has stunted pasture growth, forcing them to use additional grain to supplement their cattle's feed. Peterson said if that continues, the additional cost of feed could amount to $450 to $500 more per cow this year. Some farmers have responded to that crunch by thinning their dairy herds. "A lot of farmers are turning them into hamburger," Smith said. Rising oil costs are also squeezing farmers. They're feeling that not only in the cost of fueling their tractors and other machinery, but in petroleum-based products for fertilizer. The rising cost of milk figures to translate into higher prices for other dairy products. Pizza parlors, dairy bars and even Cincinnati-style chili joints are feeling the impact. "It's hard to find something not affected," Smith said. Graeter's will not be passing its cost increase on to customers this summer, said Bob Graeter, vice president of operations for the company. "Milk and butter are volatile items, their cost goes up and down, but it doesn't change our price," Graeter said. "We look at it from the long-term perspective. It's hard to jump our price all around." He said Graeter's increased its prices slightly earlier in the year, and since the company uses less milk than other ice creams, it is not as pressured by milk's cost. Smith cautioned against expecting a price break for some time. He said it would take lower energy costs and the corn market straightening out for prices to go in the other direction. Schoenhoft said customers may see the increase on price tags, but retailers will bear most of the brunt. "The cost to retail (prices) isn't as dramatic as it is to our margin," he said. Smith said he figures consumers will have to bear the higher costs. "At the end of the day, sales usually don't flux a lot," Smith said. "There is no good replacement for milk. You can't put iced tea on your cereal." ###

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[Sustain] [FAIRTRADE] No More NAFTAs - July 4th Patriotism in Practice
by Eric Brooks 02 Jul '07

02 Jul '07

/does this e-mail look wrong, or can you not read it at all? *click here* <http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=373879932&url_num=1&url=…>/ <http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=373879932&url_num=2&url=…> *Action Alert --- July 2, 2007* *Fast Track is Dead: But We Can't Rest in Peace Just Yet* /Bush Launches Final NAFTA Expansion Push Before Negotiating Authority Expires/ *This Independence Day*, put your patriotism into practice by "bird-dogging" your congressional representatives to make sure they oppose further NAFTA expansion. *Take action!* <http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=373879932&url_num=3&url=…> First off, here is the good news. After five years of endless NAFTA expansion deals enabled by "Fast Track" negotiating authority, George Bush's blank check trade authority terminated June 30. And, Speaker Pelosi and other Democratic leaders announced they have no intentions to give Bush more Fast Track. Hallelujah! Okay. Now sober up for the not-so-good news. Right before Fast Track expired, the administration released the final legal texts of four proposed NAFTA expansion pacts with Peru, Panama, Colombia and South Korea. This means they will try to use Fast Track's undemocratic procedures to try to ram these left-over, bad-news trade deals through Congress. So, we need to kick it up a notch. This week is the *Independence Day District Work Period*, and your representatives in Congress will be back in your neighborhood attending July 4th parades and BBQs. It will be the perfect opportunity to "bird-dog": that is, track down your representative and senators and make sure they oppose those left over NAFTA expansions - and Fast Track. For tips on how to bird-dog effectively, to share news of any upcoming events, or to report on an encounter with a congressperson, click here: *http://www.tradewatch.org/birddog* <http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=373879932&url_num=4&url=…> <http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=373879932&url_num=5&url=…> *What is bird-dogging?* /bird-dog (bûrddôg)/ v.intr. To follow a subject of interest, such as a person or trend, with persistent attention. One of the most important things that you can do for fair trade is to "bird-dog" your congressional representatives - which means following them around until they publicly addresses your concerns "on the record." The best way to do this is to attend a townhall meeting, a parade, a BBQ or some other public event where your representative and senators will be talking or participating. Get started now! For tips and talking points, click here: *http://www.tradewatch.org/birddog* <http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=373879932&url_num=6&url=…> *Background:* Last November, Americans loudly rejected the Bush administration's more-of-the-same NAFTA expansion trade policy. President Bush had used the undemocratic Fast Track trade negotiating authority to enact NAFTA-style trade deals with Chile, Singapore, Morocco, Australia, Bahrain, Oman, the Dominican Republic and 5 Central American countries (CAFTA). The majority-making Democratic freshman class won the 2006 elections by committing to end Bush's trade war on the middle class and force new rules for a fairer global economy. You would think that a Democratic majority on Congress would mean no more Bush NAFTA expansions could be passed. But, shockingly, on May 10th, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined the White House and congressional Democrats and Republicans in charge of trade to announce a "deal" to facilitate passage of several of those left-over Bush NAFTA expansion agreements. The announcement came without the consent - or even the prior knowledge - of the vast majority of congressional Democrats, who have been outraged at both the process and the substance of the "deal." Not one labor, environmental, consumer, faith, family farm or small business organization supports the deal. You can read our original May 11th action alert and initial talking points on the deal here: *http://action.citizen.org/content.jsp?content_KEY=2659&t=BlankTemplate.dwt* <http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=373879932&url_num=7&url=…> *This "deal" was designed to facilitate passage of at least Bush's NAFTA expansions for Peru and Panama.* It adds enforceable labor and environmental standards. But unfortunately, it falls far short of de-NAFTA-fying those two trade agreements by removing the bans on anti-offshoring and Buy America policies, or the outrageous foreign investor rights that facilitate offshoring and attacks on our health and environmental laws. It's a scenario where a new roof has been added to building with rotten foundations, walls and wiring. That means we face the same Peru "free trade agreement" (FTA) that would lock in social security privatization in Peru, chill environmental protections for the Amazon basin, and keep the downward pressure on wages here in the United States! Bush and other Republicans - and even some Democrats - are pointing to the "deal" as a path towards approval of not just the Peru and Panama NAFTA expansions (as some reporting suggested), but also similar NAFTA expansions to Colombia and South Korea, and even more Fast Track trade negotiating authority for President Bush! Happily, Speaker Pelosi and other Democratic House leaders have said they oppose the Colombia and Korea deals and have no intention of giving Bush new Fast Track. But... if the Peru and Panama deals are allowed to pass by wide margins, the other NAFTA expansions and Fast Track would be given a new lease on life. Every K Street lobbyist, CAFTA-15 Democrat and Bush administration official will take it as the sign to launch a huge push - which would send us right back to square one. *Your members of Congress will be home every weekend from now through the end of July, and the entire month of August.* Don't let this time go to waste! We've made huge progress in the nearly 15 years since the unfortunate passage of NAFTA. We can't afford to let the newly empowered Democrats lose touch with the key issue that put them in office in the first place. Practice real patriotism by bird-dogging your representatives and senators. To get started, click here: *http://www.tradewatch.org/birddog* <http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=373879932&url_num=8&url=…> Yours in solidarity, The Global Trade Watch Team p.s. If you haven't signed our petition yet about the outrageous social security privatization provision in the proposed Peru "free trade" agreement, please do so now - and send it to all of your family and friends! You can sign the petition here: *http://action.citizen.org/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=11998* <http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=373879932&url_num=9&url=…> *Fast Track Obituary <http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=373879932&url_num=10&url…>: June 30, 2007* /(featured post at *Eyes On Trade* <http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=373879932&url_num=11&url…> blog)/ *Lori Wallach: Long Overdue, Fast Track Finally Passes into History; Millions of Those Harmed by Fast Track-Enabled Trade Deals Celebrate* *OBITUARIES: Fast Track 1974-1995/2002-2007* <http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=373879932&url_num=12&url…> After a brief, damaging existence, Fast Track was pronounced dead on June 30, 2007. The demise of Fast Track allowed the U.S. Founding Fathers to stop rolling in their graves over Fast Track's trampling of constitutional checks and balances. As well, victims of Fast Track-enabled trade agreements welcomed the news, given the anomalous procedure's record of damage despite having been locked up and out of commission for blocks of time since its inception. In April 1973, America first saw the faint glimmer in Father Nixon's eye that was to become Fast Track when the Nixon administration - always eager to seize power from the legislative branch - dropped the initial Fast Track legislation. The young Fast Track - the product of a broken and abusive home - had an unusually long gestation period, taking over a year and a half to be unleashed by President Ford, who signed the first Fast Track bill into law. Fast Track teethed on federalism and checks and balances, shredding basic tenets of our democracy. Fast Track delegated away Congress' exclusive constitutional authority over trade - allowing the executive branch alone to choose trading partners, set the substantive terms of trade policy, and even sign trade agreements, all before Congress ever voted. The controversial delegation mechanism allowed Congress only a yes or no vote on trade agreements after they had been negotiated and signed and by its very design shut out public and congressional oversight. Unleashed again in 1988, the troubled Fast Track became a violent adult with a pathological disregard for the middle class, family farmers and the environment. After enabling the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1993 and the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1994, Fast Track found itself friendless when in 1995 its 1988-granted parole ended. In 1998, members of Congress explicitly voted to keep Fast Track locked away as the policy and political damage of the Fast Track-enabled NAFTA and WTO began to come home to roost. For only two years of the eight-year, 130-trade-agreement Clinton administration was Fast Track out and about. The facts of President Clinton being able to pass several controversial, major multilateral WTO agreements and the Jordan Free Trade Agreement and China PNTR without Fast Track does not in any way diminish the claim that it is impossible to do trade agreements without Fast Track, said Gucci Loafers, a major K Street lobbyist. In 2002, after Fast Track had been kept locked up for a quarter of its 27 years, another power-grabbing president, George W. Bush, struggled through a two-year, arm-breaking-for-votes campaign that featured a one-vote margin that unleashed Fast Track one last time. Fast Track's lifelong philosophy was, "Just trust the president." Even after being kept in chains for much of its existence, Fast Track's legacy includes millions of peasant farmers who have been displaced by fast-tracked trade deals, workers whose wages have remained stagnant since Fast Track's hatching in the mid-70's, millions of Americans made ill by fast-tracked trade deals that required food imports not meeting U.S. safety standards, the evisceration of the U.S. manufacturing base, and much more damage. Many Americans celebrated Fast Track's long overdue demise and joined a national day of prayer for a better procedure that in the future could replace Fast Track to ensure trade agreements would benefit the majority. Those deeply connected to Fast Track, including President Bush and representatives of the National Association of Manufacturers, the American Chamber of Commerce, Pharma and other corporate lobbies, gathered at board meetings and campaign fundraisers to mourn their loss. *About GTW* <http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=373879932&url_num=13&url…> | *Contact Us* <http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=373879932&url_num=14&url…> | *Write Your Rep* <http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=373879932&url_num=15&url…> | *Support Us* <http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=373879932&url_num=16&url…> Stay informed and speak out when it counts. *Sign up for the Public Citizen Action Network* <http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=373879932&url_num=17&url…> or other online announcements. Public Citizen employees are member SEIU Local 500. We support the right of workers in the United States and around the world to organize freely. 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