September 2010 - Sustainability

[Sustain] Fwd: Want your problem fixed on TV? KGO and YouTube can help
by Eric Brooks 01 Oct '10

01 Oct '10

-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Want your problem fixed on TV? KGO and YouTube can help Date: Thu, 30 Sep 2010 12:58:59 -0700 From: You Fixit <abc7ufixit(a)gmail.com> To: Dear Community Group, Send us video of a problem that needs fixing in your neighborhood, or a government service that isnt working, and well help you get it fixed. KGO-TV is collaborating with YouTube to keep local governments accountable and improve everyday life in your community. We need to hear from you -- What needs fixing in your neighborhood? Upload your video on the uReport <http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/feature?section=resources&id=7562842> section of our web site www.abc7news.com <http://www.abc7news.com/>. Dont forget to include your name and a phone number where we can call you. You can also email us a description of the problem, along with your phone number, at this email address: abc7ufixit(a)gmail.com <mailto:abc7ufixit@gmail.com> Here are some of our recent stories: Problematic Potholes Finally Get Attention <http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/iteam&id=7694942> September 29, 2010 Playground Condition Causes Concern <http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/iteam&id=7668208> September 15, 2010 Feel free to pass this email on to anyone you think we might be able to help. We look forward to hearing from you. Regards, *uFIX IT*** KGO-TV / ABC7News

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[Sustain] Fwd: Want your problem fixed on TV? KGO and YouTube can help
by Eric Brooks 30 Sep '10

30 Sep '10

-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Want your problem fixed on TV? KGO and YouTube can help Date: Thu, 30 Sep 2010 12:58:59 -0700 From: You Fixit <abc7ufixit(a)gmail.com> To: Dear Community Group, Send us video of a problem that needs fixing in your neighborhood, or a government service that isnt working, and well help you get it fixed. KGO-TV is collaborating with YouTube to keep local governments accountable and improve everyday life in your community. We need to hear from you -- What needs fixing in your neighborhood? Upload your video on the uReport <http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/feature?section=resources&id=7562842> section of our web site www.abc7news.com <http://www.abc7news.com/>. Dont forget to include your name and a phone number where we can call you. You can also email us a description of the problem, along with your phone number, at this email address: abc7ufixit(a)gmail.com <mailto:abc7ufixit@gmail.com> Here are some of our recent stories: Problematic Potholes Finally Get Attention <http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/iteam&id=7694942> September 29, 2010 Playground Condition Causes Concern <http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/iteam&id=7668208> September 15, 2010 Feel free to pass this email on to anyone you think we might be able to help. We look forward to hearing from you. Regards, *uFIX IT*** KGO-TV / ABC7News

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[Sustain] Fwd: Alioto-Pier CEQA Amendments at Land Use, Mon, Sept. 27
by Eric Brooks 17 Sep '10

17 Sep '10

Hi all, Please pass around to others. Supervisor Alioto-Pier is proposing changes to local CEQA processes. As yet, we don't have the text, but here is a message from Sue Hestor that gives her brief assessment.. Date: Thu, 16 Sep 2010 12:15:36 -0700 From: hestor(a)earthlink.net To: fjosephbutler(a)hotmail.com Alioto-Pier CEQA amendments at BOS Land Use Committee Monday, Sept. 27 Please spread the word that the *Alioto-Pier amendments to SF CEQA procedures will be heard INITIALLY at Land Use on Monday Sep 27 at 1pm at Land Use*. They do NOT foresee sending it OUT from this hearing, but _it all depends on people actually showing up and raising issues_. PLEASE COME. Importantly it includes *TIMING AND BRIEFING SCHEDULES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL APPEALS TO BOS*. Among the issues I know or is the current practice of handing/HIDING environmental exemptions (aka as Categorical Exemptions -- "Cat.Ex."). I personally have had the ENVIRONMENTAL FILES in TWO New Construction case - on difficult sites, sloping sites - not produced when neighbors ask for the project files. I have sent an email to staff demanding that the practice of not automatically producing environmental files be HALTED. (If you do not know who handles these files, Brett Bollinger is the custodian. But Environmental Review is where records of NEGOTIATIONS ON A PROJECT OCCUR.) Please spread the word to anyone who might should be paying attention to this. Sue Hestor

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[Sustain] Tell the FDA you won’t eat GMO salmon
by Eric Brooks 14 Sep '10

14 Sep '10

**Tell the FDA to say NO to GMO Salmon! ** <http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/247?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=1> <http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/247?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=2> **Act today to keep this freaky fish off your plate! ** <http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/247?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=3> Sign this petition and send your message to the FDA: I urge you to reject the approval of AquaBounty's genetically modified GMO salmon. As the first transgenic species to be intended for human consumption, AquaBounty's GMO fish has failed to meet the most basic requirements of peer-reviewed sciencific standards. Unfortunately, the FDA has failed to require rigorous independent scientific testing to adequately protect the safety of human health, wild fish populations and the environment. It is unacceptable that consumers continue to be denied their right to know what's in their food and how it's produced. Also, under current law, these genetically engineered salmon would not have to be labeled, therefore leaving consumers in the dark about what they are eating. Clicking below will add your name to this petition. <http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/247?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=4> *Tell the FDA you won't eat GMO salmon!* <http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/247?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=5> Massive mutant GMO salmon, genetically engineered to grow twice as fast as wild salmon, are coming to a table near you if you don’t act today. On September 3rd, a panel of three Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials declared that genetically modified salmon were “safe” for human consumption. [1] Somehow, the elite FDA panel arrived at this "decision" based on “scientific research” provided by AquaBounty Technologies, the same company that stands to profit from introducing its patented genes onto our plates. With the potential approval of GMO salmon, Americans are now entering an alarming new era of genetic experimentation with food animals, nature and the human population. Already the scientific community is warning against the real risk that these unnaturally engineered fish pose to wild species, the environment and human health. *Act today to stop the FDA from allowing this disaster to happen! Click here to automatically sign your name to the petition demanding that the FDA halt approval of GMO salmon <http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/247?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=6>*. *http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/247?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=8 <http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/247?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=7>* Known as “macro-mutants”, AquaBounty’s GMO salmon are designed to ignore natural cycles of food sources and wild fish mating patterns that have existed for eons. [2] While AquaBounty's GMO salmon are only days away from being approved, the FDA has only seen scientific studies provided by the company that stands to profit from these patented genes. Since AquaBounty's GMO salmon are being regulated under the FDA's new animal drug provision, real independent scientific studies were not required. [3] If history and the law of unintended consequences has taught us anything, the FDA’s approval of transgenic GMO mutant fish will be a disaster. For years independent scientists have been warning us about the dangers posed by these GMO salmon. *Once again, corporations and our government are trying to place profits over people.** Act today to stop the FDA from allowing this disaster to happen! Click here to automatically sign your name to the petition demanding that the FDA halt approval of GMO salmon <http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/247?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=9>*. *http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/247?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=11 <http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/247?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=10>* *What will these GMO salmon do to the environment?* One key problem with AquaBounty’s current business model is that they intend to sell the patented GMO salmon eggs to giant aquatic fish “farms” and not raise the fish themselves. [4] By becoming the Monsanto of aquaculture in simply selling the seed stock, AquaBounty solves a key infrastructure problem, but opens the door to mismanagement of its product and potential extinction of wild species. While the FDA states that the patented GMO salmon will be raised on inland fish farm facilities, there is no guarantee that the sold eggs might not accidentally end up in open-water ocean net pens or accidentally be spilled during transport. If this happens, it could spell disaster. Even more alarming is the fact that, according to the Environmental Assessment that AquaBounty submitted to the FDA*, *these GMO salmon eggs are to be hatched in a facility on Prince Edward Island in Canada and raised at an inland facility in Panama! [5] That's right, designed in Canada, raised in Panama, and ready for your plate here in America. Something smells fishy about this arrangement. If GMO salmon escape into the wild, scientists warn that just 60 GMO salmon released into a population of 60,000 could lead to the extinction of the wild population in just 40 fish generations. [6] With wild Atlantic salmon already on the list of endangered species, the approval of AquaBounty’s patented GMO mutant fish may very well be a death sentence for wild salmon. One has to ask, what profit could possibly be worth such an outcome? *How will GMO salmon impact human health*? Because independent scientific studies of AquaBounty’s patented salmon have not been allowed, the human health impacts of GMO salmon are not currently known. Shockingly, the FDA is relying on scant scientific documents provided by AquaBounty itself. In fact, the FDA’s own assessment AquaBounty’s studies to determine whether GMO salmon are safe for human consumption states that the studies contain “technical flaws” and provide “insufficient data”. For two of the studies submitted, AquaBounty used sample sizes so small that they have no scientific credibility, with only 12 fish tested for one study, while the study on possible allergic reactions in humans involved only "6 fertile fish and 6 infertile fish.” [7] Despite this scant evidence, the FDA is currently on the verge of approving the companies GMO salmon. Serious questions remain about eating fish engineered to grow faster and how that genetically manipulated trait can impact human health, especially that of our most vulnerable populations such as pregnant mothers and children. *Act today to stand up for human health, food safety and the environment. Click here to automatically sign your name to a letter that tells the FDA that there are consequences to meddling with nature <http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/247?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=12>*. <http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/247?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=13> *http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/247?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=15 <http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/247?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=14>* Thank you for participating in food democracy! - Dave, Lisa and The Food Democracy Now Team *Please consider donating to Food Democracy Now! today – whether it’s $10, $25 or $50 <http://fdn.actionkit.com/go/donate/133?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=16>*. http://fdn.actionkit.com/go/donate/133?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=18 <http://fdn.actionkit.com/go/donate/133?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=17> We rely on folks like you to keep us going and couldn't do it without you! Thanks again for your support. *Sources*: 1. “Aqua Bounty Biotech Salmon OK to Eat-FDA Staff,” Lisa Richwine, /Reuters/, September 3, 2010. http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/243?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=20 <http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/243?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=19> 2. “Methods to Assess Ecological Risks of Transgenic Fish Releases", William M Muir and Richard D Howard, /Genetically Engineered Organisms/, Chapter 13, CRC Press 2002. http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/248?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=22 <http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/248?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=21> 3. "GE Animals Regulated Under New Animal Drug Provisions", FDA.gov website, FDA Releases Final Guidance on Genetically Engineered Animals, January 15, 2009. http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/251?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=24 <http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/251?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=23> 4. "Modified Salmon is Safe, FDA Says", Andrew Pollack, /The New York Times/, September 3, 2010 http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/249?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=26 <http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/249?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=25> 5. "Enviornmental Assessment for AquAdvantage Salmon", provided to FDA by Aqua Bounty Technologies Inc., FDA.gov website http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/250?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=28 <http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/250?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=27> 6. “Mutant Salmon Coming to a Kitchen Table Near You”, Ariel Schwartz, /Fast Company/, July 12, 2010 http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/244?ak_proof=1&akid=.96984.GhQb69&t=1… <http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/244?ak_proof=1&akid=.96984.GhQb69&t=1…> 7. “Would You Eat Genetically Altered Salmon?”, Deniza Gertsberg, /AlterNet.com/, September 11, 2010 http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/246?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=32 <http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/246?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=31> -- <http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/cms/unsubscribe/unsubscribe/?akid=202.51…>

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[Sustain] Action: Stop Vattenfall's import of tropical timber for power plants
by Eric Brooks 02 Sep '10

02 Sep '10

info(a)regenwald.org wrote: Dear friends of the rainforest, In accordance with the Senate of Berlin, the power company Vattenfall has announced plans to increase the production of biomass energy â by employing tropical wood as source material for new German power plants. One million tons of timber will be needed and Liberia's rubber plantations are supposed to fill in, without thinking about the impact on the environment, the encouragement of rubber cultivation, the prospect of an ever increasing market demand for tropical timber. Please support the local non-governmental organizations in Liberia and take part in our protest campaign! http://www.rainforest-rescue.org Many thanks, Best regards, Reinhard Behrend Rettet den Regenwald e. V. 22337 Hamburg 49 +40+ 4103804 info(a)regenwald.org http://www.rainforest-rescue.org http://www.facebook.com/StopAgroenergy

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