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[Sustain] Architects Adopt Zero Carbon By 2030 Building Standard
by Eric Brooks 01 Apr '08

01 Apr '08

see http://architecture2030.org/ Global Warming, Climate Change, and the Built Environment Rapidly accelerating climate change (global warming), which is caused by greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, is now fueling dangerous regional and global environmental events. Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration illustrates that buildings are responsible for almost half (48%) of all GHG emissions annually. Seventy-six percent of all electricity generated by US power plants goes to supply the Building Sector. Therefore, immediate action in the Building Sector is essential if we are to avoid hazardous climate change. Architecture 2030 Mission Architecture 2030, a non-profit, non-partisan and independent organization, was established in response to the global-warming crisis by architect Edward Mazria in 2002. 2030's mission is to rapidly transform the US and global Building Sector from the major contributor of greenhouse gas emissions to a central part of the solution to the global-warming crisis. Our goal is straightforward: to achieve a dramatic reduction in the global-warming-causing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the Building Sector by changing the way buildings and developments are planned, designed and constructed. We are achieving our mission by galvanizing both the building industry and the nation to adopt and implement the 2030 Challenge <http://architecture2030.org/2030_challenge/index.html>, a global initiative stating that all new buildings and major renovations reduce their fossil-fuel GHG-emitting consumption by 50% by 2010, incrementally increasing the reduction for new buildings to carbon neutral by 2030.

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[Sustain] Fwd: Details On The Dangers Of Genetically Modified Foods
by Eric Brooks 01 Apr '08

01 Apr '08

*/ /**/Spilling the Beans/, March 2008* ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Subscribe to e-newsletter <http://www.seedsofdeception.com/utility/showPage/index.cfm?objectID=gmfree,…> /Spilling the Beans/* ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *This month’s /Spilling the Beans/ features a new pamphlet on the health risks of GMOs. *To view a PDF of our new handout, *click here* <http://www.seedsofdeception.com/utility/showDocumentFile?objectID=140>. The unformatted text of the pamphlet is reproduced below with references added. It is also available on our site, click here <http://fsicart.com/seeds/>. The Institute has copies of the brochure available in bundles of 50, selling for just above our cost, click here <http://www.fsicart.com/seeds>. For large or custom print runs, please contact info(a)responsibletechnology.org <mailto:info@responsibletechnology.org>. For a more in-depth look at 65 health risks of GM foods, excerpted from Jeffrey Smith's comprehensive new book *Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods*, click here. <http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/GeneticRoulette/HealthRisksofGMFoods…> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Unintended GMO Health Risks* *Genetically modified foods:* *YES, you are already eating them. NO, they are not safe to eat.* *Did you know...* since 1996 Americans have been eating genetically modified (GM) ingredients in most processed foods. *Did you know...* GM plants, such as soybean, corn, cottonseed, and canola have had foreign genes forced into their DNA. And the inserted genes come from species, such as bacteria and viruses, that have never been in the human food supply. *Did you know...* genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are not safe. They have been linked to thousands of toxic and allergenic reactions, thousands of sick, sterile, and dead livestock, and damage to virtually every organ and system studied in lab animals. *Find out what the risks are and start protecting yourself and your family today!* *Why isn’t the FDA protecting us?* In 1992, the Food and Drug Administration claimed that they had no information showing that GM foods were substantially different from conventionally grown foods and therefore were safe to eat. But internal memos made public by a lawsuit reveal that their position was staged by political appointees under orders from the White House to promote GMOs. FDA scientists, on the other hand, warned that GMOs can create unpredictable, hard-to-detect side effects, including allergies, toxins, new diseases, and nutritional problems. They urged long term safety studies, but were ignored.[1] <#1> The FDA does not require any safety evaluations for GMOs. Instead, biotech companies, who have been found guilty of hiding toxic effects of their chemical products, are now in charge of determining whether their GM foods are safe. (The FDA official in charge of creating this policy was Michael Taylor, Monsanto’s former attorney and later their vice president.) Although these biotech companies participate in a voluntary consultation process with the FDA, it is a meaningless exercise. The summaries of the superficial research they submit cannot identify most of the health risks of GMOs.[2] <#2> *Genetic modification is radically different from natural breeding* In contrast to the statements of biotech advocates, FDA scientists and others affirm that genetic modification is not just an extension of the conventional breeding techniques that have been used by farmers for millennia. Genetic engineering transfers genes across natural species barriers, using imprecise laboratory techniques that bear no resemblance to natural breeding. Furthermore, the technology is based on outdated concepts of how genes and cells work.[3] <#3> *Widespread, unpredictable changes* Gene insertion is done either by shooting genes from a “gene gun” into a plate of cells or by using bacteria to invade the cell with foreign DNA. The altered cell is then cloned into a plant. These processes create massive collateral damage, causing mutations in hundreds or thousands of locations throughout the plant’s DNA.[4] <#4> Natural genes can be deleted or permanently turned on or off, and hundreds may change their levels of expression.[5] <#5> *In addition:* * The inserted gene is often rearranged;[6] <#6> * It may transfer from the food into our body’s cells or into the DNA of bacteria inside us;[7] <#7> and * The GM protein produced by the gene may have unintended properties or effects. *GM foods on the market* The primary reason companies genetically engineer plants is to make them tolerant to their brand of herbicide. The four major GM plants, soy, corn, canola, and cotton, are designed to survive an otherwise deadly dose of weed killer. These crops have much higher residues of toxic herbicides. About 68% of GM crops are herbicide tolerant. The second GM trait is a built-in pesticide. A gene from the soil bacterium called Bt (for Bacillus thuringiensis) is inserted into corn and cotton DNA, where it secretes the insect-killing Bt-toxin in every cell. About 19% of GM crops produce their own pesticide. Another 13% produce a pesticide /and/ are herbicide tolerant. There is also Hawaiian papaya and a small amount of zucchini and yellow crookneck squash, which are engineered to resist a plant virus. Help stop the introduction of GM sugar in late 2008. Send a letter to top companies on our website. *Growing evidence of harm from GMOs **GM soy and allergic reactions* * Soy allergies skyrocketed by 50% in the UK, soon after GM soy was introduced.[8] <#8> * A human subject showed a skin prick allergic-type reaction to GM soy, but not to natural soy.[9] <#9> * The level of one known soy allergen is as much as 7-times higher in cooked GM soy compared to non-GM soy.[10] <#10> * GM soy also contains an unexpected allergen-type protein not found in natural soy.[11] <#11> *Bt corn and cotton linked to allergies* The biotech industry claims that Bt-toxin is harmless to humans and mammals because the natural bacteria version has been used as a spray by farmers for years. In reality, hundreds of people exposed to Bt spray had allergic-type symptoms,[12] <#12> and mice fed Bt had powerful immune responses[13] <#13> and damaged intestines.[14] <#14> Moreover, Bt in GM crops is designed to be more toxic than the natural spray and is thousands of times more concentrated. Hundreds of laborers in India report allergic reactions from handling Bt cotton.[15] <#15> Their symptoms are identical to those exposed to Bt spray.[16] <#16> *GMOs fail allergy tests* No tests can guarantee that a GMO will not cause allergies. Although the World Health Organization recommends a protein screening protocol,[17] <#17> the GM soy, corn, and papaya in our food supply fail those tests— because they have properties of known allergens.[18] <#18> *GMOs cause immune reactions to non-GM foods* * If proteins “digest” slowly, there is more time for allergic reactions. Because GM soy reduces digestive enzymes in mice,[19] <#19> it may slow protein digestion and promote allergies to many foods. * Mice not only reacted to Bt -toxin, they had immune responses to formerly harmless compounds.[20] <#20> * Similarly, a mouse test indicated that people eating GM peas could develop allergies both to the peas and to a range of other foods. The peas had already passed all the allergy tests normally used to get GMOs on the market. It took this advanced mouse test, which was never used on the GMOs we eat, to discover that the peas could be deadly.[21] <#21> *GMOs and liver problems* * Rats fed GM potatoes had smaller, partially atrophied livers.[22] <#22> * The livers of rats fed GM canola were 12-16% heavier.[23] <#23> * GM soy altered mouse liver cells in ways that suggest a toxic insult.[24] <#24> The changes reversed after their diet switched to non-GM soy.[25] <#25> *GM soy, reproductive problems, and infant mortality* * More than half the offspring of mother rats fed GM soy died within three weeks.[26] <#26> * Male rats[27] <#27> and mice[28] <#28> fed GM soy showed changes in their testicles; the mice had altered young sperm cells. * The DNA of mouse embryos whose parents ate GM soy functioned differently than those whose parents ate non-GM soy.[29] <#29> Many offspring of female rats fed GM soy were considerably smaller,and more than half died within three weeks (compared to 10% of the non-GM soy controls). [30] <#30> ** *Bt crops linked to sterility, disease, and death* * When sheep grazed on Bt cotton plants after harvest, within a week 1 in 4 died. Shepherds estimate 10,000 sheep deaths in one region of India.[31] <#31> * Farmers in Europe and Asia say that cows, water buffaloes, chickens, and horses died from eating Bt corn varieties.[32] <#32> * About two dozen US farmers report that Bt corn varieties caused widespread sterility in pigs or cows.[33] <#33> * Filipinos in at least five villages fell sick when a nearby Bt corn variety was pollinating.[34] <#34> The stomach lining of rats fed GM potatoes showed excessive cell growth, a condition that may be a precursor to cancer. Rats also had damaged organs and immune systems.[35] <#35> * Functioning GM genes remain inside you* Unlike safety evaluations for drugs, there are no human clinical trials of GM foods. The only published human feeding experiment verified that genetic material inserted into GM soy transfers into the DNA of intestinal bacteria and continues to function.[36] <#36> This means that long after we stop eating GM foods, we may still have their GM proteins produced continuously inside us. * If the antibiotic gene inserted into most GM crops were to transfer, it could create super diseases, resistant to antibiotics. * If the gene that creates Bt -toxin in GM corn were to transfer, it might turn our intestinal flora into living pesticide factories. * Animal studies show that DNA in food can travel into organs throughout the body, even into the fetus.[37] <#37> *GM food supplement caused deadly epidemic* In the 1980s, a contaminated brand of a food supplement called L-tryptophan killed about 100 Americans and caused sickness and disability in another 5,000-10,000 people. The source of contaminants was almost certainly the genetic engineering process used in its production.[38] <#38> The disease took years to find and was almost overlooked. It was only identified because the symptoms were unique, acute, and fast-acting. If all three characteristics were not in place, the deadly GM supplement might never have been identified or removed. If GM foods on the market are causing common diseases or if their effects appear only after long-term exposure, we may not be able to identify the source of the problem for decades, if at all. There is no monitoring of GMO-related problems and no long-term animal studies. Heavily invested biotech corporations are gambling away the health of our nation for profit. *Help end the genetic engineering of our food supply* When the tipping point of consumer concern about GMOs was achieved in Europe in 1999, within a single week virtually all major food manufacturers committed to remove GM ingredients. The Campaign for Healthier Eating in America is designed to reach a similar tipping point in the US before the end of 2009. Our growing network of manufacturers, retailers, healthcare practitioners, organizations, and the media, is informing consumers of the health risks of GMOs and helping them select healthier non-GMO alternatives. Go to www.responsibletechnology.org <http://www.responsibletechnology.org/> to get involved and learn how to avoid GMOs. Look for our Non-GMO Shopping Guide in summer 2008. *Start buying non-GMO today*. Help us stop the genetic engineering of our food supply. Donations to the Institute For Responsible Technology are tax-deductible. Your $25 membership includes a free educational gift. There are three ways to become a member or make a donation: 1. By mail: Institute For Responsible Technology, P.O. Box 469, Fairfield, IA 52556 2. Online: www.responsibletechnology.org <http://www.responsibletechnology.org/> 3. By phone: (641) 209-1765 The health information is from the book /Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risk of Genetically Engineered Foods/, by Jeffrey M. Smith. © copyright Institute For Responsible Technology 2008. The Institute is a fully tax deductible project of The Coordinating Council, a 501c(3). ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref1>1] See www.biointegrity.org <http://www.biointegrity.org/> [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref2>2] See Part 2, Jeffrey M. Smith, /Genetic Roulette/: /The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods/, Yes! Books, Fairfield, IA 2007 [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref3>3] See for example 233-236, chart of disproved assumptions, in Jeffrey M. Smith, /Genetic Roulette/: /The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods/, Yes! Books, Fairfield, IA 2007 [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref4>4] J. R. Latham, et al., “The Mutational Consequences of Plant Transformation,” /The Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology/ 2006, Article ID 25376: 1-7; see also Allison Wilson, et. al., “Transformation-induced mutations in transgenic plants: Analysis and biosafety implications,” /Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering Reviews/ – Vol. 23, December 2006. [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref5>5] Srivastava, et al, “Pharmacogenomics of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) and the cystic fibrosis drug CPX using genome microarray analysis,” /Mol Med./ 5, no. 11(Nov 1999):753–67. [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref6>6] Latham et al, “The Mutational Consequences of Plant Transformation, /Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology/ 2006:1-7, article ID 25376, http://www.hindawi.com/journals/JBB/index.html; Draft risk analysis report application A378, Food derived from glyphosate-tolerant sugarbeet line 77 (GTSB77),” ANZFA, March 7, 2001, www.agbios.com/docroot/decdocs/anzfa_gtsb77.pdf <http://www.agbios.com/docroot/decdocs/anzfa_gtsb77.pdf>; E. Levine et al., “Molecular Characterization of Insect Protected Corn Line MON 810.” Unpublished study submitted to the EPA by Monsanto, EPA MRID No. 436655-01C (1995); Allison Wilson, PhD, Jonathan Latham, PhD, and Ricarda Steinbrecher, PhD, “Genome Scrambling—Myth or Reality? Transformation-Induced Mutations in Transgenic Crop Plants Technical Report—October 2004,” www.econexus.info <http://www.econexus.info/>; C. Collonier, G. Berthier, F. Boyer, M. N. Duplan, S. Fernandez, N. Kebdani, A. Kobilinsky, M. Romanuk, Y. Bertheau, “Characterization of commercial GMO inserts: a source of useful material to study genome fluidity,” Poster presented at ICPMB: International Congress for Plant Molecular Biology (n°VII), Barcelona, 23-28th June 2003. Poster courtesy of Dr. Gilles-Eric Seralini, Président du Conseil Scientifique du CRII-GEN, www.crii-gen.org; also “Transgenic lines proven unstable” by Mae-Wan Ho, ISIS Report, 23 October 2003, www.i-sis.org.uk <http://www.i-sis.org.uk/> [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref7>7] Netherwood et al, “Assessing the survival of transgenic plant DNA in the human gastrointestinal tract,” /Nature Biotechnology/ 22 (2004): 2; Chowdhury, et al, “Detection of genetically modified maize DNA fragments in the intestinal contents of pigs fed StarLink CBH351,” /Vet Hum Toxicol./ 45 , no. 2 (March 2003): 95–6; P. A. Chambers, et al, “The fate of antibiotic resistance marker genes in transgenic plant feed material fed to chickens,” /J. Antimic. Chemother./ 49 (2000): 161–164; and Paula S. Duggan, et al, “Fate of genetically modified maize DNA in the oral cavity and rumen of sheep,” /Br J Nutr./ 89, no 2 (Feb.2003): 159–66. [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref8>8] Mark Townsend, “Why soya is a hidden destroyer,” /Daily Express/, March 12, 1999. [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref9>9] Hye-Yung Yum, Soo-Young Lee, Kyung-Eun Lee, Myung-Hyun Sohn, Kyu-Earn Kim, “Genetically Modified and Wild Soybeans: An immunologic comparison,” /Allergy and Asthma Proceedings/ 26, no. 3 (May–June 2005): 210-216(7). [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref10>10] A. Pusztai and S. Bardocz, “GMO in animal nutrition: potential benefits and risks,” Chapter 17, /Biology of Nutrition in Growing Animals/, R. Mosenthin, J. Zentek and T. Zebrowska (Eds.) Elsevier, October 2005. [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref11>11] Hye-Yung Yum, Soo-Young Lee, Kyung-Eun Lee, Myung-Hyun Sohn, Kyu-Earn Kim, “Genetically Modified and Wild Soybeans: An immunologic comparison,” /Allergy and Asthma Proceedings/ 26, no. 3 (May–June 2005): 210-216(7). [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref12>12] M. Green, et al., “Public health implications of the microbial pesticide /Bacillus thuringiensis/: An epidemiological study, Oregon, 1985-86,” /Amer. J. Public Health/ 80, no. 7(1990): 848–852; and M.A. Noble, P.D. Riben, and G. J. Cook, /Microbiological and epidemiological surveillance program to monitor the health effects of Foray 48B BTK spray/ (Vancouver, B.C.: Ministry of Forests, Province of British Columbi, Sep. 30, 1992) [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref13>13] Vazquez et al, “Intragastric and intraperitoneal administration of Cry1Ac protoxin from /Bacillus thuringiensis/ induces systemic and mucosal antibody responses in mice,” 1897–1912; Vazquez et al, “Characterization of the mucosal and systemic immune response induced by Cry1Ac protein from /Bacillus thuringiensis/ HD 73 in mice,” /Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research/ 33 (2000): 147–155; and Vazquez et al, “/Bacillus thuringiensis/ Cry1Ac protoxin is a potent systemic and mucosal adjuvant,” /Scandanavian Journal of Immunology/ 49 (1999): 578–584. See also Vazquez-Padron et al., 147 (2000b). [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref14>14] Nagui H. Fares, Adel K. El-Sayed, “Fine Structural Changes in the Ileum of Mice Fed on Endotoxin Treated Potatoes and Transgenic Potatoes,” /Natural Toxins/ 6, no. 6 (1998): 219–233. [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref15>15] See for example “/Bt/ cotton causing allergic reaction in MP; cattle dead,” /Bhopal/, Nov. 23, 2005, http://news.webindia123.com/news/showdetails.asp?id=170692&cat=Health <http://news.webindia123.com/news/showdetails.asp?id=170692&cat=Health>; [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref16>16] Ashish Gupta et. al., “Impact of /Bt/ Cotton on Farmers’ Health (in Barwani and Dhar District of Madhya Pradesh),” /Investigation Report/, Oct–Dec 2005; and M. Green, et al., “Public health implications of the microbial pesticide /Bacillus thuringiensis/: An epidemiological study, Oregon, 1985-86,” /Amer. J. Public Health/ 80, no. 7(1990): 848–852; and M.A. Noble, P.D. Riben, and G. J. Cook, /Microbiological and epidemiological surveillance program to monitor the health effects of Foray 48B BTK spray/ (Vancouver, B.C.: Ministry of Forests, Province of British Columbi, Sep. 30, 1992) [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref17>17] FAO-WHO, “Evaluation of Allergenicity of Genetically Modified Foods. Report of a Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on Allergenicity of Foods Derived from Biotechnology,” Jan. 22–25, 2001; http://www.fao.org/es/ESN/food/pdf/allergygm.pdf [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref18>18] Gendel, “The use of amino acid sequence alignments to assess potential allergenicity of proteins used in genetically modified foods,” /Advances in Food and Nutrition Research/ 42 (1998), 45–62; G. A. Kleter and A. A. C. M. Peijnenburg, “Screening of transgenic proteins expressed in transgenic food crops for the presence of short amino acid sequences indentical to potential, IgE-binding linear epitopes of allergens,” /BMC Structural Biology/ 2 (2002): 8–19; H. P. J. M. Noteborn, “Assessment of the Stability to Digestion and Bioavailability of the LYS Mutant Cry9C Protein from Bacillus thuringiensis serovar tolworthi,” Unpublished study submitted to the EPA by AgrEvo, EPA MRID No. 447343-05 (1998); and H. P. J. M. Noteborn et al, “Safety Assessment of the /Bacillus thuringiensis/ Insecticidal Crystal Protein CRYIA(b) Expressed in Transgenic Tomatoes,” in /Genetically modified foods: safety issues/, American Chemical Society Symposium Series 605, eds. K.H. Engel et al., (Washington, DC, 1995): 134–47. [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref19>19] M. Malatesta, M. Biggiogera, E. Manuali, M. B. L. Rocchi, B. Baldelli, G. Gazzanelli, “Fine Structural Analyses of Pancreatic Acinar Cell Nuclei from Mice Fed on GM Soybean,” /Eur J Histochem/ 47 (2003): 385–388. [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref20>20] Vazquez et al, “/Bacillus thuringiensis/ Cry1Ac protoxin is a potent systemic and mucosal adjuvant,” /Scandanavian Journal of Immunology/ 49 (1999): 578–584. See also Vazquez-Padron et al., 147 (2000b). [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref21>21] V. E. Prescott, et al, “Transgenic Expression of Bean r-Amylase Inhibitor in Peas Results in Altered Structure and Immunogenicity,” Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry (2005): 53. [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref22>22] Arpad Pusztai, “Can science give us the tools for recognizing possible health risks of GM food,” Nutrition and Health, 2002, Vol 16 Pp 73-84 [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref23>23] Comments to ANZFA about Applications A346, A362 and A363 from the Food Legislation and Regulation Advisory Group (FLRAG) of the Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) on behalf of the PHAA, “Food produced from glyphosate-tolerant canola line GT73,” http://www.iher.org.au/ [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref24>24] M. Malatesta, C. Caporaloni, S. Gavaudan, M. B. Rocchi, S. Serafini, C. Tiberi, G. Gazzanelli, “Ultrastructural Morphometrical and Immunocytochemical Analyses of Hepatocyte Nuclei from Mice Fed on Genetically Modified Soybean,” /Cell Struct Funct./ 27 (2002): 173–180. [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref25>25] M. Malatesta, C. Tiberi, B. Baldelli, S. Battistelli, E. Manuali, M. Biggiogera, “Reversibility of Hepatocyte Nuclear Modifications in Mice Fed on Genetically Modified Soybean,” /Eur J Histochem,/ 49 (2005): 237-242. [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref26>26] I.V. Ermakova, “Diet with the Soya Modified by Gene EPSPS CP4 Leads to Anxiety and Aggression in Rats,” /14th/ /European Congress of Psychiatry./ /Nice//,/ /France//,/ /March 4-8, 2006//;/ “Genetically modified soy affects posterity: Results of Russian scientists’ studies,” /REGNUM/, October 12, 2005; http://www.regnum.ru/english/526651.html; Irina Ermakova, “Genetically modified soy leads to the decrease of weight and high mortality of rat pups of the first generation. Preliminary studies,” /Ecosinform/ 1 (2006): 4–9. [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref27>27] Irina Ermakova, “Experimental Evidence of GMO Hazards,” Presentation at Scientists for a GM Free Europe, EU Parliament, Brussels, June 12, 2007 [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref28>28] L. Vecchio et al, “Ultrastructural Analysis of Testes from Mice Fed on Genetically Modified Soybean,” /European Journal of Histochemistry/ 48, no. 4 (Oct–Dec 2004):449–454. [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref29>29] Oliveri et al., “Temporary Depression of Transcription in Mouse Pre-implantion Embryos from Mice Fed on Genetically Modified Soybean,” /48th Symposium of the Society for Histochemistry,/ /Lake Maggiore// (//Italy//),/ /September 7–10, 2006//. /[ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref30>30] I.V. Ermakova, “Diet with the Soya Modified by Gene EPSPS CP4 Leads to Anxiety and Aggression in Rats,” /14th/ /European Congress of Psychiatry./ /Nice//,/ /France//,/ /March 4-8, 2006//;/ “Genetically modified soy affects posterity: Results of Russian scientists’ studies,” /REGNUM/, October 12, 2005; http://www.regnum.ru/english/526651.html; Irina Ermakova, “Genetically modified soy leads to the decrease of weight and high mortality of rat pups of the first generation. Preliminary studies,” /Ecosinform/ 1 (2006): 4–9. [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref31>31] “Mortality in Sheep Flocks after Grazing on /Bt/ Cotton Fields—Warangal District, Andhra Pradesh” /Report of the/ /Preliminary Assessment,/ April 2006, http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6494 [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref32>32] Mae-Wan Ho, “GM Ban Long Overdue, Dozens Ill & Five Deaths in the Philippines,” ISIS Press Release, June 2, 2006; and Mae-Wan Ho and Sam Burcher, “Cows Ate GM Maize & Died,” ISIS Press Release, January 13, 2004, http://www.isis.org.uk/CAGMMAD.php [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref33>33] Personal communication with Jerry Rosman and other farmers, 2006; also reported widely in the farm press. [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref34>34] See for example Mae-Wan Ho, “GM Ban Long Overdue, Dozens Ill & Five Deaths in the Philippines,” ISIS Press Release, June 2, 2006; “Study Result Not Final, Proof /Bt/ Corn Harmful to Farmers,” /BusinessWorld/, 02 Mar 2004; and “Genetically Modified Crops and Illness Linked,” /Manila Bulletin/, 04 Mar 2004. [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref35>35] Arpad Pusztai, “Can science give us the tools for recognizing possible health risks of GM food,” Nutrition and Health, 2002, Vol 16 Pp 73-84; Stanley W. B. Ewen and Arpad Pusztai, “Effect of diets containing genetically modified potatoes expressing Galanthus nivalis lectin on rat small intestine,” Lancet, 1999 Oct 16; 354 (9187): 1353-4; and Arpad Pusztai, “Facts Behind the GM Pea Controversy: Epigenetics, Transgenic Plants & Risk Assessment,” /Proceedings of the Conference, December 1st 2005/ (Frankfurtam Main, Germany: Literaturhaus, 2005) [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref36>36] Netherwood et al, “Assessing the survival of transgenic plant DNA in the human gastrointestinal tract,” /Nature Biotechnology/ 22 (2004): 2. [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref37>37] Ricarda A. Steinbrecher and Jonathan R. Latham, “Horizontal gene transfer from GM crops to unrelated organisms,” GM Science Review Meeting of the Royal Society of Edinburgh on “GM Gene Flow: Scale and Consequences for Agriculture and the Environment,” January 27, 2003; Traavik and Heinemann, /Genetic Engineering and Omitted Health Research/; citing Schubbert, et al, “Ingested foreign (phage M13) DNA survives transiently in the gastrointestinal tract and enters the bloodstream of mice,” /Mol Gen Genet./ 242, no. 5 (1994): 495–504; Schubbert et al, “Foreign (M13) DNA ingested by mice reaches peripheral leukocytes, spleen, and liver via the intestinal wall mucosa and can be covalently linked to mouse DNA,” /Proc Natl Acad Sci USA/ 94, no. 3 (1997): 961–6; Schubbert et al, “On the fate of orally ingested foreign DNA in mice: chromosomal association and placental transmission to the fetus,” /Mol Gen Genet./ 259, no. 6 (1998): 569–76; Hohlweg and Doerfler, “On the fate of plants or other foreign genes upon the uptake in food or after intramuscular injection in mice,” /Mol Genet Genomics/ 265 (2001): 225–233; Palka-Santani, et al., “The gastrointestinal tract as the portal of entry for foreign macromolecules: fate of DNA and proteins,” /Mol Gen Genomics/ 270 (2003): 201–215; Einspanier, et al, “The fate of forage plant DNA in farm animals; a collaborative case-study investigating cattle and chicken fed recombinant plant material,” /Eur Food Res Technol/ 212 (2001): 129–134; Klotz, et al, “Degradation and possible carry over of feed DNA monitored in pigs and poultry,” Eur Food Res Technol 214 (2002): 271–275; Forsman, et al, “Uptake of amplifiable fragments of retrotransposon DNA from the human alimentary tract,” /Mol Gen Genomics/ 270 (2003): 362–368; Chen, et al, “Transfection of mEpo gene to intestinal epithelium in vivo mediated by oral delivery of chitosan-DNA nanoparticles,” /World Journal of Gastroenterology/ 10, no 1(2004): 112–116; Phipps, et al, “Detection of transgenic and endogenous plant DNA in rumen fluid, duodenal digesta, milk, blood, and feces of lactating dairy cows,” /J Dairy Sci./ 86, no. 12(2003): 4070–8. [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref38>38] William E. Crist, Toxic L-tryptophan: Shedding Light on a Mysterious Epidemic, http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/L-tryptophan/index.cfm; and Jeffrey M. Smith*,* /Seeds of Deception/, Yes! Books, Fairfield, IA 2003, chapter 4, Deadly Epidemic. Jeffrey M. Smith is the author of publication /Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods/, which presents 65 risks in easy-to-read two-page spreads. His first book, /Seeds of Deception/, is the top rated and #1 selling book on GM foods in the world. He is the Executive Director of the Institute for Responsible Technology. www.responsibletechnology.org <http://www.responsibletechnology.org/>, which is spearheading the Campaign for Healthier Eating in America. Go to www.seedsofdeception.com <http://www.seedsofdeception.com/> to learn more about how to avoid GM foods. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ */Spilling the Beans/* is a monthly column available at www.responsibletechnology.org <http://www.responsibletechnology.org/>. The website also offers eater-friendly tips for avoiding GMOs at home and in restaurants. Permission is granted to publishers and webmasters to reproduce issues of Spilling the Beans in whole or in part. Just email us at column(a)responsibletechnology.org <mailto:column@responsibletechnology.org> so that we can keep track. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- "I am not a liberator. Liberators do not exist. The people liberate themselves." – Che Guevara

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[Sustain] Fwd: Details On The Dangers Of Genetically Modified Foods
by Eric Brooks 01 Apr '08

01 Apr '08

*/ /**/Spilling the Beans/, March 2008* ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Subscribe to e-newsletter <http://www.seedsofdeception.com/utility/showPage/index.cfm?objectID=gmfree,…> /Spilling the Beans/* ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *This month's /Spilling the Beans/ features a new pamphlet on the health risks of GMOs. *To view a PDF of our new handout, *click here* <http://www.seedsofdeception.com/utility/showDocumentFile?objectID=140>. The unformatted text of the pamphlet is reproduced below with references added. It is also available on our site, click here <http://fsicart.com/seeds/>. The Institute has copies of the brochure available in bundles of 50, selling for just above our cost, click here <http://www.fsicart.com/seeds>. For large or custom print runs, please contact info(a)responsibletechnology.org <mailto:info@responsibletechnology.org>. For a more in-depth look at 65 health risks of GM foods, excerpted from Jeffrey Smith's comprehensive new book *Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods*, click here. <http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/GeneticRoulette/HealthRisksofGMFoods…> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Unintended GMO Health Risks* *Genetically modified foods:* *YES, you are already eating them. NO, they are not safe to eat.* *Did you know...* since 1996 Americans have been eating genetically modified (GM) ingredients in most processed foods. *Did you know...* GM plants, such as soybean, corn, cottonseed, and canola have had foreign genes forced into their DNA. And the inserted genes come from species, such as bacteria and viruses, that have never been in the human food supply. *Did you know...* genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are not safe. They have been linked to thousands of toxic and allergenic reactions, thousands of sick, sterile, and dead livestock, and damage to virtually every organ and system studied in lab animals. *Find out what the risks are and start protecting yourself and your family today!* *Why isn't the FDA protecting us?* In 1992, the Food and Drug Administration claimed that they had no information showing that GM foods were substantially different from conventionally grown foods and therefore were safe to eat. But internal memos made public by a lawsuit reveal that their position was staged by political appointees under orders from the White House to promote GMOs. FDA scientists, on the other hand, warned that GMOs can create unpredictable, hard-to-detect side effects, including allergies, toxins, new diseases, and nutritional problems. They urged long term safety studies, but were ignored.[1] <#1> The FDA does not require any safety evaluations for GMOs. Instead, biotech companies, who have been found guilty of hiding toxic effects of their chemical products, are now in charge of determining whether their GM foods are safe. (The FDA official in charge of creating this policy was Michael Taylor, Monsanto's former attorney and later their vice president.) Although these biotech companies participate in a voluntary consultation process with the FDA, it is a meaningless exercise. The summaries of the superficial research they submit cannot identify most of the health risks of GMOs.[2] <#2> *Genetic modification is radically different from natural breeding* In contrast to the statements of biotech advocates, FDA scientists and others affirm that genetic modification is not just an extension of the conventional breeding techniques that have been used by farmers for millennia. Genetic engineering transfers genes across natural species barriers, using imprecise laboratory techniques that bear no resemblance to natural breeding. Furthermore, the technology is based on outdated concepts of how genes and cells work.[3] <#3> *Widespread, unpredictable changes* Gene insertion is done either by shooting genes from a "gene gun" into a plate of cells or by using bacteria to invade the cell with foreign DNA. The altered cell is then cloned into a plant. These processes create massive collateral damage, causing mutations in hundreds or thousands of locations throughout the plant's DNA.[4] <#4> Natural genes can be deleted or permanently turned on or off, and hundreds may change their levels of expression.[5] <#5> *In addition:* * The inserted gene is often rearranged;[6] <#6> * It may transfer from the food into our body's cells or into the DNA of bacteria inside us;[7] <#7> and * The GM protein produced by the gene may have unintended properties or effects. *GM foods on the market* The primary reason companies genetically engineer plants is to make them tolerant to their brand of herbicide. The four major GM plants, soy, corn, canola, and cotton, are designed to survive an otherwise deadly dose of weed killer. These crops have much higher residues of toxic herbicides. About 68% of GM crops are herbicide tolerant. The second GM trait is a built-in pesticide. A gene from the soil bacterium called Bt (for Bacillus thuringiensis) is inserted into corn and cotton DNA, where it secretes the insect-killing Bt-toxin in every cell. About 19% of GM crops produce their own pesticide. Another 13% produce a pesticide /and/ are herbicide tolerant. There is also Hawaiian papaya and a small amount of zucchini and yellow crookneck squash, which are engineered to resist a plant virus. Help stop the introduction of GM sugar in late 2008. Send a letter to top companies on our website. *Growing evidence of harm from GMOs **GM soy and allergic reactions* * Soy allergies skyrocketed by 50% in the UK, soon after GM soy was introduced.[8] <#8> * A human subject showed a skin prick allergic-type reaction to GM soy, but not to natural soy.[9] <#9> * The level of one known soy allergen is as much as 7-times higher in cooked GM soy compared to non-GM soy.[10] <#10> * GM soy also contains an unexpected allergen-type protein not found in natural soy.[11] <#11> *Bt corn and cotton linked to allergies* The biotech industry claims that Bt-toxin is harmless to humans and mammals because the natural bacteria version has been used as a spray by farmers for years. In reality, hundreds of people exposed to Bt spray had allergic-type symptoms,[12] <#12> and mice fed Bt had powerful immune responses[13] <#13> and damaged intestines.[14] <#14> Moreover, Bt in GM crops is designed to be more toxic than the natural spray and is thousands of times more concentrated. Hundreds of laborers in India report allergic reactions from handling Bt cotton.[15] <#15> Their symptoms are identical to those exposed to Bt spray.[16] <#16> *GMOs fail allergy tests* No tests can guarantee that a GMO will not cause allergies. Although the World Health Organization recommends a protein screening protocol,[17] <#17> the GM soy, corn, and papaya in our food supply fail those tests--- because they have properties of known allergens.[18] <#18> *GMOs cause immune reactions to non-GM foods* * If proteins "digest" slowly, there is more time for allergic reactions. Because GM soy reduces digestive enzymes in mice,[19] <#19> it may slow protein digestion and promote allergies to many foods. * Mice not only reacted to Bt -toxin, they had immune responses to formerly harmless compounds.[20] <#20> * Similarly, a mouse test indicated that people eating GM peas could develop allergies both to the peas and to a range of other foods. The peas had already passed all the allergy tests normally used to get GMOs on the market. It took this advanced mouse test, which was never used on the GMOs we eat, to discover that the peas could be deadly.[21] <#21> *GMOs and liver problems* * Rats fed GM potatoes had smaller, partially atrophied livers.[22] <#22> * The livers of rats fed GM canola were 12-16% heavier.[23] <#23> * GM soy altered mouse liver cells in ways that suggest a toxic insult.[24] <#24> The changes reversed after their diet switched to non-GM soy.[25] <#25> *GM soy, reproductive problems, and infant mortality* * More than half the offspring of mother rats fed GM soy died within three weeks.[26] <#26> * Male rats[27] <#27> and mice[28] <#28> fed GM soy showed changes in their testicles; the mice had altered young sperm cells. * The DNA of mouse embryos whose parents ate GM soy functioned differently than those whose parents ate non-GM soy.[29] <#29> Many offspring of female rats fed GM soy were considerably smaller,and more than half died within three weeks (compared to 10% of the non-GM soy controls). [30] <#30> ** *Bt crops linked to sterility, disease, and death* * When sheep grazed on Bt cotton plants after harvest, within a week 1 in 4 died. Shepherds estimate 10,000 sheep deaths in one region of India.[31] <#31> * Farmers in Europe and Asia say that cows, water buffaloes, chickens, and horses died from eating Bt corn varieties.[32] <#32> * About two dozen US farmers report that Bt corn varieties caused widespread sterility in pigs or cows.[33] <#33> * Filipinos in at least five villages fell sick when a nearby Bt corn variety was pollinating.[34] <#34> The stomach lining of rats fed GM potatoes showed excessive cell growth, a condition that may be a precursor to cancer. Rats also had damaged organs and immune systems.[35] <#35> * Functioning GM genes remain inside you* Unlike safety evaluations for drugs, there are no human clinical trials of GM foods. The only published human feeding experiment verified that genetic material inserted into GM soy transfers into the DNA of intestinal bacteria and continues to function.[36] <#36> This means that long after we stop eating GM foods, we may still have their GM proteins produced continuously inside us. * If the antibiotic gene inserted into most GM crops were to transfer, it could create super diseases, resistant to antibiotics. * If the gene that creates Bt -toxin in GM corn were to transfer, it might turn our intestinal flora into living pesticide factories. * Animal studies show that DNA in food can travel into organs throughout the body, even into the fetus.[37] <#37> *GM food supplement caused deadly epidemic* In the 1980s, a contaminated brand of a food supplement called L-tryptophan killed about 100 Americans and caused sickness and disability in another 5,000-10,000 people. The source of contaminants was almost certainly the genetic engineering process used in its production.[38] <#38> The disease took years to find and was almost overlooked. It was only identified because the symptoms were unique, acute, and fast-acting. If all three characteristics were not in place, the deadly GM supplement might never have been identified or removed. If GM foods on the market are causing common diseases or if their effects appear only after long-term exposure, we may not be able to identify the source of the problem for decades, if at all. There is no monitoring of GMO-related problems and no long-term animal studies. Heavily invested biotech corporations are gambling away the health of our nation for profit. *Help end the genetic engineering of our food supply* When the tipping point of consumer concern about GMOs was achieved in Europe in 1999, within a single week virtually all major food manufacturers committed to remove GM ingredients. The Campaign for Healthier Eating in America is designed to reach a similar tipping point in the US before the end of 2009. Our growing network of manufacturers, retailers, healthcare practitioners, organizations, and the media, is informing consumers of the health risks of GMOs and helping them select healthier non-GMO alternatives. Go to www.responsibletechnology.org <http://www.responsibletechnology.org/> to get involved and learn how to avoid GMOs. Look for our Non-GMO Shopping Guide in summer 2008. *Start buying non-GMO today*. Help us stop the genetic engineering of our food supply. Donations to the Institute For Responsible Technology are tax-deductible. Your $25 membership includes a free educational gift. There are three ways to become a member or make a donation: 1. By mail: Institute For Responsible Technology, P.O. Box 469, Fairfield, IA 52556 2. Online: www.responsibletechnology.org <http://www.responsibletechnology.org/> 3. By phone: (641) 209-1765 The health information is from the book /Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risk of Genetically Engineered Foods/, by Jeffrey M. Smith. © copyright Institute For Responsible Technology 2008. The Institute is a fully tax deductible project of The Coordinating Council, a 501c(3). ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref1>1] See www.biointegrity.org <http://www.biointegrity.org/> [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref2>2] See Part 2, Jeffrey M. Smith, /Genetic Roulette/: /The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods/, Yes! Books, Fairfield, IA 2007 [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref3>3] See for example 233-236, chart of disproved assumptions, in Jeffrey M. Smith, /Genetic Roulette/: /The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods/, Yes! Books, Fairfield, IA 2007 [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref4>4] J. R. Latham, et al., "The Mutational Consequences of Plant Transformation," /The Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology/ 2006, Article ID 25376: 1-7; see also Allison Wilson, et. al., "Transformation-induced mutations in transgenic plants: Analysis and biosafety implications," /Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering Reviews/ -- Vol. 23, December 2006. [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref5>5] Srivastava, et al, "Pharmacogenomics of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) and the cystic fibrosis drug CPX using genome microarray analysis," /Mol Med./ 5, no. 11(Nov 1999):753--67. [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref6>6] Latham et al, "The Mutational Consequences of Plant Transformation, /Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology/ 2006:1-7, article ID 25376, http://www.hindawi.com/journals/JBB/index.html; Draft risk analysis report application A378, Food derived from glyphosate-tolerant sugarbeet line 77 (GTSB77)," ANZFA, March 7, 2001, www.agbios.com/docroot/decdocs/anzfa_gtsb77.pdf <http://www.agbios.com/docroot/decdocs/anzfa_gtsb77.pdf>; E. Levine et al., "Molecular Characterization of Insect Protected Corn Line MON 810." Unpublished study submitted to the EPA by Monsanto, EPA MRID No. 436655-01C (1995); Allison Wilson, PhD, Jonathan Latham, PhD, and Ricarda Steinbrecher, PhD, "Genome Scrambling---Myth or Reality? Transformation-Induced Mutations in Transgenic Crop Plants Technical Report---October 2004," www.econexus.info <http://www.econexus.info/>; C. Collonier, G. Berthier, F. Boyer, M. N. Duplan, S. Fernandez, N. Kebdani, A. Kobilinsky, M. Romanuk, Y. Bertheau, "Characterization of commercial GMO inserts: a source of useful material to study genome fluidity," Poster presented at ICPMB: International Congress for Plant Molecular Biology (n°VII), Barcelona, 23-28th June 2003. Poster courtesy of Dr. Gilles-Eric Seralini, Président du Conseil Scientifique du CRII-GEN, www.crii-gen.org; also "Transgenic lines proven unstable" by Mae-Wan Ho, ISIS Report, 23 October 2003, www.i-sis.org.uk <http://www.i-sis.org.uk/> [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref7>7] Netherwood et al, "Assessing the survival of transgenic plant DNA in the human gastrointestinal tract," /Nature Biotechnology/ 22 (2004): 2; Chowdhury, et al, "Detection of genetically modified maize DNA fragments in the intestinal contents of pigs fed StarLink CBH351," /Vet Hum Toxicol./ 45 , no. 2 (March 2003): 95--6; P. A. Chambers, et al, "The fate of antibiotic resistance marker genes in transgenic plant feed material fed to chickens," /J. Antimic. Chemother./ 49 (2000): 161--164; and Paula S. Duggan, et al, "Fate of genetically modified maize DNA in the oral cavity and rumen of sheep," /Br J Nutr./ 89, no 2 (Feb.2003): 159--66. [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref8>8] Mark Townsend, "Why soya is a hidden destroyer," /Daily Express/, March 12, 1999. [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref9>9] Hye-Yung Yum, Soo-Young Lee, Kyung-Eun Lee, Myung-Hyun Sohn, Kyu-Earn Kim, "Genetically Modified and Wild Soybeans: An immunologic comparison," /Allergy and Asthma Proceedings/ 26, no. 3 (May--June 2005): 210-216(7). [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref10>10] A. Pusztai and S. Bardocz, "GMO in animal nutrition: potential benefits and risks," Chapter 17, /Biology of Nutrition in Growing Animals/, R. Mosenthin, J. Zentek and T. Zebrowska (Eds.) Elsevier, October 2005. [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref11>11] Hye-Yung Yum, Soo-Young Lee, Kyung-Eun Lee, Myung-Hyun Sohn, Kyu-Earn Kim, "Genetically Modified and Wild Soybeans: An immunologic comparison," /Allergy and Asthma Proceedings/ 26, no. 3 (May--June 2005): 210-216(7). [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref12>12] M. Green, et al., "Public health implications of the microbial pesticide /Bacillus thuringiensis/: An epidemiological study, Oregon, 1985-86," /Amer. J. Public Health/ 80, no. 7(1990): 848--852; and M.A. Noble, P.D. Riben, and G. J. Cook, /Microbiological and epidemiological surveillance program to monitor the health effects of Foray 48B BTK spray/ (Vancouver, B.C.: Ministry of Forests, Province of British Columbi, Sep. 30, 1992) [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref13>13] Vazquez et al, "Intragastric and intraperitoneal administration of Cry1Ac protoxin from /Bacillus thuringiensis/ induces systemic and mucosal antibody responses in mice," 1897--1912; Vazquez et al, "Characterization of the mucosal and systemic immune response induced by Cry1Ac protein from /Bacillus thuringiensis/ HD 73 in mice," /Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research/ 33 (2000): 147--155; and Vazquez et al, "/Bacillus thuringiensis/ Cry1Ac protoxin is a potent systemic and mucosal adjuvant," /Scandanavian Journal of Immunology/ 49 (1999): 578--584. See also Vazquez-Padron et al., 147 (2000b). [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref14>14] Nagui H. Fares, Adel K. El-Sayed, "Fine Structural Changes in the Ileum of Mice Fed on Endotoxin Treated Potatoes and Transgenic Potatoes," /Natural Toxins/ 6, no. 6 (1998): 219--233. [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref15>15] See for example "/Bt/ cotton causing allergic reaction in MP; cattle dead," /Bhopal/, Nov. 23, 2005, http://news.webindia123.com/news/showdetails.asp?id=170692&cat=Health <http://news.webindia123.com/news/showdetails.asp?id=170692&cat=Health>; [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref16>16] Ashish Gupta et. al., "Impact of /Bt/ Cotton on Farmers' Health (in Barwani and Dhar District of Madhya Pradesh)," /Investigation Report/, Oct--Dec 2005; and M. Green, et al., "Public health implications of the microbial pesticide /Bacillus thuringiensis/: An epidemiological study, Oregon, 1985-86," /Amer. J. Public Health/ 80, no. 7(1990): 848--852; and M.A. Noble, P.D. Riben, and G. J. Cook, /Microbiological and epidemiological surveillance program to monitor the health effects of Foray 48B BTK spray/ (Vancouver, B.C.: Ministry of Forests, Province of British Columbi, Sep. 30, 1992) [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref17>17] FAO-WHO, "Evaluation of Allergenicity of Genetically Modified Foods. Report of a Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on Allergenicity of Foods Derived from Biotechnology," Jan. 22--25, 2001; http://www.fao.org/es/ESN/food/pdf/allergygm.pdf [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref18>18] Gendel, "The use of amino acid sequence alignments to assess potential allergenicity of proteins used in genetically modified foods," /Advances in Food and Nutrition Research/ 42 (1998), 45--62; G. A. Kleter and A. A. C. M. Peijnenburg, "Screening of transgenic proteins expressed in transgenic food crops for the presence of short amino acid sequences indentical to potential, IgE-binding linear epitopes of allergens," /BMC Structural Biology/ 2 (2002): 8--19; H. P. J. M. Noteborn, "Assessment of the Stability to Digestion and Bioavailability of the LYS Mutant Cry9C Protein from Bacillus thuringiensis serovar tolworthi," Unpublished study submitted to the EPA by AgrEvo, EPA MRID No. 447343-05 (1998); and H. P. J. M. Noteborn et al, "Safety Assessment of the /Bacillus thuringiensis/ Insecticidal Crystal Protein CRYIA(b) Expressed in Transgenic Tomatoes," in /Genetically modified foods: safety issues/, American Chemical Society Symposium Series 605, eds. K.H. Engel et al., (Washington, DC, 1995): 134--47. [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref19>19] M. Malatesta, M. Biggiogera, E. Manuali, M. B. L. Rocchi, B. Baldelli, G. Gazzanelli, "Fine Structural Analyses of Pancreatic Acinar Cell Nuclei from Mice Fed on GM Soybean," /Eur J Histochem/ 47 (2003): 385--388. [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref20>20] Vazquez et al, "/Bacillus thuringiensis/ Cry1Ac protoxin is a potent systemic and mucosal adjuvant," /Scandanavian Journal of Immunology/ 49 (1999): 578--584. See also Vazquez-Padron et al., 147 (2000b). [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref21>21] V. E. Prescott, et al, "Transgenic Expression of Bean r-Amylase Inhibitor in Peas Results in Altered Structure and Immunogenicity," Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry (2005): 53. [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref22>22] Arpad Pusztai, "Can science give us the tools for recognizing possible health risks of GM food," Nutrition and Health, 2002, Vol 16 Pp 73-84 [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref23>23] Comments to ANZFA about Applications A346, A362 and A363 from the Food Legislation and Regulation Advisory Group (FLRAG) of the Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) on behalf of the PHAA, "Food produced from glyphosate-tolerant canola line GT73," http://www.iher.org.au/ [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref24>24] M. Malatesta, C. Caporaloni, S. Gavaudan, M. B. Rocchi, S. Serafini, C. Tiberi, G. Gazzanelli, "Ultrastructural Morphometrical and Immunocytochemical Analyses of Hepatocyte Nuclei from Mice Fed on Genetically Modified Soybean," /Cell Struct Funct./ 27 (2002): 173--180. [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref25>25] M. Malatesta, C. Tiberi, B. Baldelli, S. Battistelli, E. Manuali, M. Biggiogera, "Reversibility of Hepatocyte Nuclear Modifications in Mice Fed on Genetically Modified Soybean," /Eur J Histochem,/ 49 (2005): 237-242. [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref26>26] I.V. Ermakova, "Diet with the Soya Modified by Gene EPSPS CP4 Leads to Anxiety and Aggression in Rats," /14th/ /European Congress of Psychiatry./ /Nice//,/ /France//,/ /March 4-8, 2006//;/ "Genetically modified soy affects posterity: Results of Russian scientists' studies," /REGNUM/, October 12, 2005; http://www.regnum.ru/english/526651.html; Irina Ermakova, "Genetically modified soy leads to the decrease of weight and high mortality of rat pups of the first generation. Preliminary studies," /Ecosinform/ 1 (2006): 4--9. [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref27>27] Irina Ermakova, "Experimental Evidence of GMO Hazards," Presentation at Scientists for a GM Free Europe, EU Parliament, Brussels, June 12, 2007 [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref28>28] L. Vecchio et al, "Ultrastructural Analysis of Testes from Mice Fed on Genetically Modified Soybean," /European Journal of Histochemistry/ 48, no. 4 (Oct--Dec 2004):449--454. [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref29>29] Oliveri et al., "Temporary Depression of Transcription in Mouse Pre-implantion Embryos from Mice Fed on Genetically Modified Soybean," /48th Symposium of the Society for Histochemistry,/ /Lake Maggiore// (//Italy//),/ /September 7--10, 2006//. /[ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref30>30] I.V. Ermakova, "Diet with the Soya Modified by Gene EPSPS CP4 Leads to Anxiety and Aggression in Rats," /14th/ /European Congress of Psychiatry./ /Nice//,/ /France//,/ /March 4-8, 2006//;/ "Genetically modified soy affects posterity: Results of Russian scientists' studies," /REGNUM/, October 12, 2005; http://www.regnum.ru/english/526651.html; Irina Ermakova, "Genetically modified soy leads to the decrease of weight and high mortality of rat pups of the first generation. Preliminary studies," /Ecosinform/ 1 (2006): 4--9. [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref31>31] "Mortality in Sheep Flocks after Grazing on /Bt/ Cotton Fields---Warangal District, Andhra Pradesh" /Report of the/ /Preliminary Assessment,/ April 2006, http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6494 [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref32>32] Mae-Wan Ho, "GM Ban Long Overdue, Dozens Ill & Five Deaths in the Philippines," ISIS Press Release, June 2, 2006; and Mae-Wan Ho and Sam Burcher, "Cows Ate GM Maize & Died," ISIS Press Release, January 13, 2004, http://www.isis.org.uk/CAGMMAD.php [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref33>33] Personal communication with Jerry Rosman and other farmers, 2006; also reported widely in the farm press. [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref34>34] See for example Mae-Wan Ho, "GM Ban Long Overdue, Dozens Ill & Five Deaths in the Philippines," ISIS Press Release, June 2, 2006; "Study Result Not Final, Proof /Bt/ Corn Harmful to Farmers," /BusinessWorld/, 02 Mar 2004; and "Genetically Modified Crops and Illness Linked," /Manila Bulletin/, 04 Mar 2004. [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref35>35] Arpad Pusztai, "Can science give us the tools for recognizing possible health risks of GM food," Nutrition and Health, 2002, Vol 16 Pp 73-84; Stanley W. B. Ewen and Arpad Pusztai, "Effect of diets containing genetically modified potatoes expressing Galanthus nivalis lectin on rat small intestine," Lancet, 1999 Oct 16; 354 (9187): 1353-4; and Arpad Pusztai, "Facts Behind the GM Pea Controversy: Epigenetics, Transgenic Plants & Risk Assessment," /Proceedings of the Conference, December 1st 2005/ (Frankfurtam Main, Germany: Literaturhaus, 2005) [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref36>36] Netherwood et al, "Assessing the survival of transgenic plant DNA in the human gastrointestinal tract," /Nature Biotechnology/ 22 (2004): 2. [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref37>37] Ricarda A. Steinbrecher and Jonathan R. Latham, "Horizontal gene transfer from GM crops to unrelated organisms," GM Science Review Meeting of the Royal Society of Edinburgh on "GM Gene Flow: Scale and Consequences for Agriculture and the Environment," January 27, 2003; Traavik and Heinemann, /Genetic Engineering and Omitted Health Research/; citing Schubbert, et al, "Ingested foreign (phage M13) DNA survives transiently in the gastrointestinal tract and enters the bloodstream of mice," /Mol Gen Genet./ 242, no. 5 (1994): 495--504; Schubbert et al, "Foreign (M13) DNA ingested by mice reaches peripheral leukocytes, spleen, and liver via the intestinal wall mucosa and can be covalently linked to mouse DNA," /Proc Natl Acad Sci USA/ 94, no. 3 (1997): 961--6; Schubbert et al, "On the fate of orally ingested foreign DNA in mice: chromosomal association and placental transmission to the fetus," /Mol Gen Genet./ 259, no. 6 (1998): 569--76; Hohlweg and Doerfler, "On the fate of plants or other foreign genes upon the uptake in food or after intramuscular injection in mice," /Mol Genet Genomics/ 265 (2001): 225--233; Palka-Santani, et al., "The gastrointestinal tract as the portal of entry for foreign macromolecules: fate of DNA and proteins," /Mol Gen Genomics/ 270 (2003): 201--215; Einspanier, et al, "The fate of forage plant DNA in farm animals; a collaborative case-study investigating cattle and chicken fed recombinant plant material," /Eur Food Res Technol/ 212 (2001): 129--134; Klotz, et al, "Degradation and possible carry over of feed DNA monitored in pigs and poultry," Eur Food Res Technol 214 (2002): 271--275; Forsman, et al, "Uptake of amplifiable fragments of retrotransposon DNA from the human alimentary tract," /Mol Gen Genomics/ 270 (2003): 362--368; Chen, et al, "Transfection of mEpo gene to intestinal epithelium in vivo mediated by oral delivery of chitosan-DNA nanoparticles," /World Journal of Gastroenterology/ 10, no 1(2004): 112--116; Phipps, et al, "Detection of transgenic and endogenous plant DNA in rumen fluid, duodenal digesta, milk, blood, and feces of lactating dairy cows," /J Dairy Sci./ 86, no. 12(2003): 4070--8. [ </dbcAdmin/Site_Administrator1/ContentDesigner/Articles/#_ednref38>38] William E. Crist, Toxic L-tryptophan: Shedding Light on a Mysterious Epidemic, http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/L-tryptophan/index.cfm; and Jeffrey M. Smith*,* /Seeds of Deception/, Yes! Books, Fairfield, IA 2003, chapter 4, Deadly Epidemic. Jeffrey M. Smith is the author of publication /Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods/, which presents 65 risks in easy-to-read two-page spreads. His first book, /Seeds of Deception/, is the top rated and #1 selling book on GM foods in the world. He is the Executive Director of the Institute for Responsible Technology. www.responsibletechnology.org <http://www.responsibletechnology.org/>, which is spearheading the Campaign for Healthier Eating in America. Go to www.seedsofdeception.com <http://www.seedsofdeception.com/> to learn more about how to avoid GM foods. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ */Spilling the Beans/* is a monthly column available at www.responsibletechnology.org <http://www.responsibletechnology.org/>. The website also offers eater-friendly tips for avoiding GMOs at home and in restaurants. Permission is granted to publishers and webmasters to reproduce issues of Spilling the Beans in whole or in part. Just email us at column(a)responsibletechnology.org <mailto:column@responsibletechnology.org> so that we can keep track. ------------------------------------------------------------------------

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[Sustain] U.S. Military Plans 'Clean Coal' Diesel For Jet Fleet
by Eric Brooks 29 Mar '08

29 Mar '08

HI all, The U.S. military is nearly always the developer of new industries. The computer and Internet industries were started through large subsidized investments in those technologies for military use. Now they appear to be attempting to do the same for an oil to liquefied coal transition. Here's the article: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/nation/5639384.html The Air Force hopes to build a coal-to-liquid-fuel plant at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana.Coal's impact on the environment has others, including members of Congress, questioning the idea. *ROBIN LOZNAK**:* THE (GREAT FALLS, MONT.) TRIBUNE *March 21, 2008, 11:12PM* Air Force turning to coal for cleaner-burning fuel Military hopes to prod Wall Street into investments for oil alternative By MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, MONT. --- On a wind-swept air base near the Missouri River, the Air Force has launched an ambitious plan to wean itself from foreign oil by turning to a new and unlikely source: coal. The Air Force wants to build at its Malmstrom base in central Montana the first piece of what it hopes will be a nationwide network of facilities that would convert domestic coal into cleaner-burning synthetic fuel. Air Force officials said the plants could help neutralize a national security threat by tapping into the country's abundant coal reserves. And by offering itself as a partner in the Malmstrom plant, the Air Force hopes to prod Wall Street investors --- nervous over coal's role in climate change --- to sink money into similar plants. "We're going to be burning fossil fuels for a long time, and there's three times as much coal in the ground as there are oil reserves," said Air Force Assistant Secretary William Anderson. "Guess what? We're going to burn coal." Tempering that vision, analysts say, is the astronomical cost of coal-to-liquids plants. Their high price tag, up to $5 billion apiece, would be hard to justify if oil prices were to drop. In addition, coal has drawn wide opposition on Capitol Hill, where some leading lawmakers reject claims it can be transformed into a clean fuel. Without emissions controls, experts say coal-to-liquids plants could churn out double the greenhouse gases as oil. "We don't want new sources of energy that are going to make the greenhouse gas problem even worse," House Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said. Private development The Air Force would not finance, construct or operate the coal plant. Instead, it has offered private developers a 700-acre site on the base and a promise that it would be a ready customer as the government's largest fuel consumer. Bids on the project are due in May. Construction is expected to take four years once the Air Force selects a developer. Anderson said the Air Force plans to fuel half its North American fleet with a synthetic-fuel blend by 2016. To do so, it would need 400 million gallons of coal-based fuel annually. With the Air Force paving the way, Anderson said the private sector would follow --- from commercial air fleets to long-haul trucking companies. Not much success "Because of our size, we can move the market along," he said. "Whether it's (coal-based) diesel that goes into Wal-Mart trucks or jet fuel that goes into our fighters, all that will reduce our dependence on foreign oil, which is the endgame." Coal producers have been unsuccessful in prior efforts to cultivate such a market. Climate change worries prompted Congress last year to turn back an attempt to mandate the use of coal-based synthetic fuels. The Air Force's involvement comes at a critical time for the industry. Coal's biggest customers, electric utilities, have scrapped at least four dozen proposed coal-fired power plants over rising costs and the uncertainties of climate change. That would change quickly if coal-to-liquids plants gained political and economic traction under the Air Force's plan. "This is a change agent for the entire industry," said John Baardson, CEO of Baard Energy in Vancouver, Wash., awaiting permits on a proposed $5 billion coal-based synthetic fuels plant in Ohio. "There would be a number of plants that would be needed just to support (the Air Force's) needs alone." Only about 15 percent of the 25,000 barrels of synthetic fuel that would be produced daily at the Malmstrom plant would be suitable for jet fuel. The remainder would be lower-grade diesel for vehicles, trains or trucks and naphtha, a material used in the chemical industry. That means the Air Force would need at least seven plants to meet its 2016 goal. -- "I am not a liberator. Liberators do not exist. The people liberate themselves." -- Che Guevara

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[Sustain] Staying Grounded on Water Issues (from NM)
by Martin Zehr 29 Mar '08

29 Mar '08

This is a post from an active participant in the Middle Rio Grande Water Assembly (in Albuquerque, NM) who lives now in Glen Park. The discussion raises the issues that only a party that runs candidates and builds support for its own Platform can address. The political solutions lie in creating new forms of adaptive governance and establishing formalized roles for Green representation as urban water users with a particular agenda on sustainability. This comes through the governing entities such as the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission http://www.ci.sf.ca.us/site/frame.asp?u=http://www.sfwater.org/ , the Citizens' Advisory Commission and the Sustainability Plan. It also comes by sitting down with state legislators who consistently support sustainability and developing common strategies and legislation that can empower the local entities to implement significant changes. Mato Ska GPSF Dear Water Assembly List Members, For what it may be worth, here are some thoughts on Kay Matthews’ La Jicarita News editorial. She states, toward the bottom, “The ISC has made it abundantly clear that it doesn't want implementation as part of the regional plans and doesn't want public welfare to apply to a water management strategy that encourages water transfers from agricultural lands to urban areas.” I have great respect for Kay, and understand her frustration, but I don’t believe that’s generally true. However, that statement may apply to the Taos plan, but not because the Interstate Stream Commission (ISC) is “in bed” with development interests. Above all, I think state water policy administrators are seeking to avoid conflict, and especially the litigation of competing claims on a scarce resource, which they’re anxious not to get in the middle of. (They lack data, don’t have the resources, etc.) Taos region politicians probably are getting pressured by development and other parochial interests, and they in turn are leaning on the state, which is trying to find a way out by taking the position that though the stakeholders have legitimately had their input, actual implementation of the plan should be the responsibility of local elected officials. I think that originally, the Regional Water Plan (RWP) process was attractive to the bureaucracy because it seemed to be a way of letting heterogeneous local interests work through the issues and come to some reasonable conclusions about policies that could get buy-in at a sub-state level. If there really was consensus, the state could then support a local “public welfare”-based policy in approving or denying a transfer. (This is what the State Engineer meant when he told the Dialogue at the 2004 annual statewide meeting that he would be “guided” by regional definitions of public welfare.) Problems arose, however, because the mechanisms used to aggregate the interests of a region (itself a pretty fuzzy concept – because the Public Welfare statement had to be pretty vague and overly generalized to get wide support) really had no institutional legitimacy. A RWP committee or council could gather the input, and even approve a plan, but it would take actors with jurisdiction carry it out. So the “open” planning system gets replaced by a “closed” implementation system. The answer to this, I think, is not to throw up our hands and ask “Why did we even bother?”” Instead, we somehow need to work on making those planning systems more robust, and work toward “institutionalizing” a citizen-based plan implementation oversight function in every region. The Taos planners took it farther than any other region (to my knowledge), but haven’t yet had the political clout to make it stick. If lawmakers would provide a legal framework recognizing ongoing regional planning organizations, giving them even advisory review authority, and providing resources for them to operate, I believe the ISC would be far less likely to cave to special interests (if that is indeed what happened). If the RWPs are being updated around the state beginning this year, now would be the time to put a bug in legislators’ ears about making these regional mechanisms better and stronger. Done right, this could transform the water policy process. The New Mexico Water Dialogue is in an early stage of working on a template for updating RWPs, and in the spirit of openness would welcome suggestions. To see working documents for this project, please visit http://nmwaterdialogue.org/rwp_update_template.html. Lynn and Elizabeth, don’t give up now! ¡Sί se puede! Best wishes, John John R Brown ________________________________ From: mailadmin(a)waterassembly.org [mailto:mailadmin@waterassembly.org] On Behalf Of eachestnut(a)aol.com Sent: Friday, March 28, 2008 2:50 PM To: mrgwa(a)waterassembly.org Subject: Re: (MRGWA) true colors revealed Question: re the Matthews Editorial: why the hell is anyone spending ANY time on the Regional Water Plans if ISC intends to completely ignore and or circumvent them? Effective PUBLICITY regarding this turn of Events??? Anyone? Elizabeth Chestnut -----Original Message----- From: Lynn Montgomery To: MRGWA Sent: Mon, 24 Mar 2008 9:01 am Subject: (MRGWA) true colors revealed http://lajicarita.org/currentissue.htm#editorial Editorial: Taos Regional Water Plan Hijacked by the Powers That Be By Kay Matthews We often use the expression "not at the table" to indicate that someone's input was not represented in a process, whether by intention or omission. Well, at the March 7 meeting of the Taos Regional Water Plan, members of the Public Welfare Committee (PWC), who drafted the Public Welfare Statement (PWS) and Implementation Program, were designated the "Stakeholders" and literally were "not at the table": we were consigned to the audience while all the "Decision Makers" were physically there. The Decision Makers, or Taos Region elected officials, included all the municipalities, water districts, and Abeyta adjudication parties who have objected to the Public Welfare Implementation Program because they want to buy and sell water rights on the open market with no oversight. The meeting was orchestrated by the Interstate Stream Commission and facilitated by Rosemary Romero as the second of two supposed "mediation" sessions to try reach consensus on the plan. But at the first meeting, the Implementation Program was taken "off the table" at the behest of the Decision Makers. Members of the PWC were led to believe that at the subsequent March 7 meeting participants would then work on drafting some kind of language to address implementation. As a member of the Taos Regional Water Plan steering committee and the PWC, I dropped out of the negotiation process several months ago (the PWC met many times throughout the fall with the Decision Makers and drafted 17 versions of the PWS and Implementation Program to try to make it more inclusive of their demands) when I saw where we were headed. I believe we were lending undeserved credibility to their complaints by agreeing to changes to a document that had been drafted from the bottom up by stakeholders from around the Taos Region. These stakeholders represented unincorporated communities, environmental organizations, acequias, mutual domestics, and other water users who met for over two years, as volunteers, to draft the plan, and who came to public meetings across the region to help devise critical strategies for the plan, which included keeping water in its area of origin. They supported the creation of an oversight committee to look at all transfers both within and from the region, and based on the public welfare criteria we had developed, including cultural protection, agrarian character, watershed health, and long-term economic development, make an informed recommendation to the Office of the State Engineer as to whether the transfer was in the public interest. Many, if not most, of the Decision Makers, while designated members of the steering committee, seldom attended the Water Plan meetings. Only when we were ready to submit the plan to the ISC for approval did they decide to start attending meetings and object that they had "been left out of the process." I went to the second mediation meeting to cover it for La Jicarita News, and even I was surprised by the blatant maneuvering of the ISC. Romero made it clear that only the Decision Makers were going to address implementation, and Stakeholders were not to participate. When several PWC members objected to the undemocratic way the meeting was being run, they were told that the steering committee and PWC had done their job and were no longer part of the process. It was time for the Decision Makers to draft an implementation component for the plan. To his credit, County Commissioner Nick Jaramillo (the County is the only Decision Maker that approved the Implementation Program) objected to the process of excluding the committee members. He pointed out that Simeon Herskovits, the member of the PWC who has been responsible for drafting the many versions of the PWS, was unable to attend the previous meeting (committee members had requested that the date of that meeting be changed because of Simeon's absence but were ignored) and was told he would be able to submit some changes, recommended by the PWC, to the PWS. Jaramillo stated that despite this attempt by the municipalities to protect their interests, the County will move forward to do what is best for all its constituents. The Decision Makers then proceeded to spend the rest of the meeting drafting an implementation program that focused on setting up an "educational and information respository," which is all fine and dandy except that this Taos Regional Water Plan is not what the public said it wanted. The ISC has made it abundantly clear that it doesn't want implementation as part of the regional plans and doesn't want public welfare to apply to a water management strategy that encourages water transfers from agricultural lands to urban areas. Until growth and development are tied to the availability of a local water supply there will continue to be water transfers. The Taos Regional Water Plan and Public Welfare Statement is our plan to protect our water resources for the benefit of all our region's citizens. Now, without an effective Implementation Program, it can sit on the shelf, along with the other 15 regional plans, and gather dust while water continues to flow both uphill and downhill to money.

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[Sustain] Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force's joint meeting
by Martin Zehr 29 Mar '08

29 Mar '08

The meeting notice for the April 8, 2008, Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force's joint meeting of the Delta Ecosystem as a Part of a Healthy Estuary and Water Supply and Reliability Work Groups, has been posted to the Delta Vision website at www.deltavision.ca.gov Meeting details are as follows: Meeting: Joint Meeting of the Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force's Delta Ecosystem as Part of a Healthy Estuary and Water Supply and Reliability Work Groups Date/Time: Tuesday, April 8, 2008, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Location: John E. Moss Federal Building, 650 Capitol Mall, 5th Floor - Bay Room, Sacramento, CA 95814 Pat Rogers CALFED Bay-Delta Program 650 Capitol Mall, 5th Floor Sacramento, CA 95814 ph: (916) 445-5593 fax: (916) 445-7297

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[Sustain] Fwd: U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein responding to your message
by Don Eichelberger 25 Mar '08

25 Mar '08

The following is from a letter I just got from Dianne Feinstein: >It may also interest you to know that on December 6, 2007, I >introduced the "Emission Allowance Market Transparency Act," which >establishes federal oversight for new carbon emissions trading >markets. This legislation is designed to prevent fraud and >manipulation in the greenhouse gas credit markets that are expected >to develop once Congress approves comprehensive climate change >legislation with a cap-and-trade system for the trading of emissions >credits. Specifically, the "Emission Allowance Market Transparency >Act" requires the Environmental Protection Agency to create a >regulatory structure to oversee the new carbon credit markets. Is establishing a Carbon Trading Market an efficient way of reducing carbon use? I would agree with setting up a mechanism for carbon users to pay in to a fund whose purpose would be to invest in technologies and conservation to cut carbon emissions. But, I fear making carbon a market player will prove a disincentive for setting serious carbon emission limits needed to help defuse global warming. And, what will the currency be? I can easily envision Kennicott Coal paying off its obligations as a carbon producer by investing in palm oil plantations in Indonesia, or am I misunderstanding? Who has answers? Don Don Eichelberger DJ Fix Independent Productions Green Uprising Blog www.greenuprising.blogspot.com My You Tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctRp5rGJoUc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iySwwyZfDgE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r9rK8nPREA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5UbnJ0kUqo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SktIYTyC1U Donny Fix del.icio.us book marks http://del.icio.us/donnyfix The Hegelian/Marxist goal is emancipation. Marx said it best in 1843: "Human emancipation wll only be complete when the real, individual man (sic) is absorbed into himself the abstract citizen; when as an individual man, in his every day life, in his work and in his relationships, he has become a species-being (politically accountabe to the whole); and when he recognizes and realizes his own power as social powers, so that he no longer separates this social power from himself as political power."

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[Sustain] Newsom Appoints 2 More PG&E Staff To City Commissions (One A Lobbyist)
by Eric Brooks 19 Mar '08

19 Mar '08

Hi all, Newsom's deepening relationship with PG&E is becoming more and more obvious. The appointments described below bring the Mayor to 3 PG&E appointees in the Month of March, including former head of PG&E Public Relations Guillermo Rodriguez, who was just appointed to run City Build and the 'Green' Collar Jobs program. http://www.sfbg.com/printable_entry.php?entry_id=5931 SF Bay Guardian: Newsom's commission games /Everything the mayor does now seems to be aimed at increasing his odds of moving up in the political world/ *EDITORIAL* Mayor Gavin Newsom didn't want Debra Walker, an artist and activist, running the Building Inspection Commission. He doesn't want Theresa Sparks, a transgender woman and community leader, running the Police Commission. And now, we've learned, he doesn't want Robert Haaland, a labor activist and one of the city's most visible transgender leaders, to serve as vice president of the Board of Appeals. But of course, the mayor thinks it's perfectly fine to put two employees of Pacific Gas and Electric Company --- an outfit that is suing the city, breaking the law, trying to subvert public power and cheating the public out of hundreds of millions of dollars a year --- on city commissions. This is what the second term of Mayor Newsom, who is now openly running for governor, looks like. It's not pretty. We knew the mayor had his sights on higher office, but now that it's out in the open, almost everything he does at City Hall seems to be aimed not at improving San Francisco but at increasing his odds of moving up in the political world. Why, for example, would Newsom appoint Mary Jung, a PG&E customer services manager, to the Civil Service Commission, and Darlene Chiu, a PG&E City Hall flak, to the Small Business Commission? What possible qualifications could someone whose job involves promoting the interests of a giant corporation that routinely screws small business people have as an advocate for the city's local merchants? Why would the Civil Service Commission, which deals with city employee issues, need the expertise of someone whose employer wants to prevent the city from creating more public jobs? Why would Newsom be doing this --- if he didn't need the support of PG&E and its allies for his next political step? Why would he be directing his appointees to keep out of leadership posts anyone with strong progressive credentials if he weren't trying to build new bridges to the developers, the big employers, the police unions, and the more conservative interest groups he'll need for a statewide campaign? The bottom line is, Newsom needs to stop thinking about running his next campaign and start running the city --- because this sort of commission funny business, this practice of treating important agencies that manage key city departments as nothing more than political patronage posts for rewarding allies and punishing enemies, is terrible for San Francisco. It's too late to do anything about Mary Jung, but the supervisors can, and should, overturn the Chiu appointment --- and let the mayor know that putting PG&E executives on city commissions is unacceptable under any circumstances. Meanwhile, the Board of Appeals votes for new officers March 19. By tradition, the top posts on the five-member panel rotate based on seniority, with an appointee of the mayor holding one job, and a board appointee the other. But Newsom's three members have indicated that they won't allow Haaland --- a conscientious commissioner with an excellent record --- to serve as vice president. That's a slap in the face to labor, the queer community, and the supervisors. Newsom ought to show some political integrity and tell his appointees not to suddenly change the rules. Wednesday March 19, 2008 -- "I am not a liberator. Liberators do not exist. The people liberate themselves." -- Che Guevara

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Re: [Sustain] [SFGP-A] Pro Prop 98 Leader's Bush Style War Rhetoric Against Tenants
by Eric Brooks 18 Mar '08

18 Mar '08

http://no98yes99.com/ Rita Goldberger wrote: > Hi Eric, > > Thanks for sending this around. We need to hang on > to this for our campaign. Is there going to be a > website for the "good" initiative? If so, this should be > place prominently on it. > > Rita Goldberger > > */Eric Brooks <brookse32(a)aim.com>/* wrote: > > Just found this in Beyond Chron. Apparently we are at war... > > http://www.beyondchron.org/articles/_Yes_on_98_Group_Insults_Tenants_Calls_… > > > "Yes on 98" Group Insults Tenants; Calls Elected Officials > "Terrorists" > > /by Paul Hogarth, 2008-03-18/ > To learn about Proposition 98's agenda, look no further than Dan > Faller, President and Founder of the American Owner's Association > (AOA) -- the largest landlord group in California. In a nine-page > essay published in the association's magazine, Faller complains > heatedly about rent control, calls pro-tenant elected officials > "terrorists" and "suicide bombers," compares the effort to pass > Prop 98 with World War II, says that renters "choose not to > provide for themselves," and -- with rhetoric that channels George > Bush -- tells landlords: "you are either for us or against us in > this fight for your freedom and property rights." We cannot > dismiss Faller as just another right-wing kook, for his > organization has already contributed $325,000 to the "Yes on 98" > cause -- and the AOA has plans to raise even more money in the > coming weeks. And with voter turnout in June expected to be very > low, Faller's fringe beliefs might actually become public policy > in California -- if we don't act now. > > While proponents want voters to think it's about eminent domain > reform, Prop 98 is the most dangerous right-wing initiative to hit > the California ballot in years. It would abolish rent control, gut > the most basic tenant protections, repeal sensible environmental > laws and endanger public water projects. Another measure, > Proposition 99, would reform eminent domain -- which Faller > opposes because it would "only protect owner-occupied homes." In > other words, the Prop 98 forces don't really care about the > middle-class homeowner who fears eminent domain. They just want to > repeal all regulations of private property. > > In the post-9/11 world, calling someone a "terrorist" is a serious > accusation -- but Faller refers to pro-tenant elected officials > who oppose Prop 98 as "terrorists" or "suicide bombers" at least > seven times. "The bombs and explosives they are throwing at us," > he writes, "are rent control, eminent domain, inspection laws, > building codes, requiring 60-day notices so tenants can steal more > time from you, eviction laws that allow tenants to live rent-free > for several months, relocation fees, inclusionary zoning that > drives up the price of housing so they have another excuse to > justify even more laws. These elected officials are dangerous." > > Urging his fellow landlords to fight this "war" on the > "terrorists," Faller says the solution is to hit them with the > "big bomb": Proposition 98, which would invalidate all these > existing laws and then some. "Help to permanently take away their > weapons that allow unfair eminent domain and rent control," he > writes before asking for campaign contributions. "This is > certainly one war that we all believe in and can hold our heads > high as we fight to win! You are either for us or against us in > this fight for your freedom and property rights." > > According to a Field Poll conducted in December, George Bush has a > 28% approval rating > <http://www.field.com/fieldpollonline/subscribers/Rls2255.pdf> in > California -- with 64% who disapprove. Yet, one of the top > supporters of Prop 98 is using exactly the same rhetoric as our > Commander in Chief to deride his opponents. If voters in June are > educated about who's behind this initiative, they will defeat it. > > But it's not just the "terrorist" politicians that Faller has a > bone to pick with. He demeans people who can't afford to buy > California real estate as lazy and ineffectual. As he urges > landlords to "join this war" to pass Prop 98, Faller says "you've > worked hard providing housing for others who chose not to provide > for themselves ... You gave up a lot of weekends to make it > possible -- something others were not willing to do." Apparently, > it's okay to berate the state's 14 million tenants because they > "obviously" did not work hard enough to buy property themselves. > Hyperbole is one thing; personal insults are quite another. > > Does the fight over Prop 98 match the battle against Nazis and > fascists in World War II? Dan Faller seems to think that it does. > Recalling his childhood memories in Los Angeles when he feared > that "the enemy was going to land their troops in Long Beach and > along our coast," the AOA President puts the fight to pass Prop 98 > on a similar plane. "There were big signs and advertisements that > read 'Uncle Sam Needs You!' during WWII," he writes. "There's a > big AOA sign today that says 'Freedom Loving Americans Need You!' > We need your support to win this War to protect your property rights!" > > It would be easy to laugh at these outlandish statements if Dan > Faller was just your crazy uncle who makes offensive jokes that > amuse only himself. But he's the President and Founder of the > American Owners Association -- a national trade association of > landlords that boasts more members in California than any other > group. Faller is on the Board of Biopharma > <http://www.biopharmasci.com/about/board.asp>, the owner of a > commercial brokerage firm, and used to be a Wall Street broker. > The AOA's monthly newsletter -- which printed his "Yes on 98" > screed -- is the most widely read landlord publication in the country. > > Under Faller's watch, the AOA has provided crucial seed money for > Prop 98 to get on the ballot -- and they're now aggressively > fundraising to get it passed. The group has already put $325,000 > towards the effort -- and Faller has urged members to give even > more. "Donate at least $1,000 with an additional minimum of $50 > for every unit if you own over twenty apartments," he wrote. "If > you own less than 20 units, please donate the $1,000 minimum. If > you own more, step up and invest according to all the benefits > you'll enjoy as a result of winning this campaign." > > With such a fundraising appeal, the "Yes on 98" campaign should > have plenty of funds to hoodwink voters into thinking that their > extreme ballot measure is about eminent domain. Opponents of Prop > 98 must be vigilant, fundraise and get out the message to expose > it as the Hidden Agendas Scheme that it really is. Only by doing > so can we truly save such essential programs in California that 14 > million renters rely on to live here. And with the June ballot > garnering such low attention, there's a serious chance that we > could lose. > > Was Faller joking when he called pro-tenant elected officials > "suicide bombers," accused tenants of being lazy, and compared the > fight to pass Prop 98 with fighting the Axis powers in World War > II? Apparently not. "Please take every word of this article more > seriously," he wrote in the preface, "than any other article you > have ever read in this publication." That should give us all pause > about how dangerous Prop 98 really is ... > > -- "I am not a liberator. Liberators do not exist. The people liberate themselves." -- Che Guevara > > _______________________________________________ > San Francisco Green Party Active Members List > To unsubscribe or edit your options, go here: > https://list.sfgreens.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/active > > -- "I am not a liberator. Liberators do not exist. The people liberate themselves." -- Che Guevara

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[Sustain] Pro Prop 98 Leader's Bush Style War Rhetoric Against Tenants
by Eric Brooks 18 Mar '08

18 Mar '08

Just found this in Beyond Chron. Apparently we are at war... http://www.beyondchron.org/articles/_Yes_on_98_Group_Insults_Tenants_Calls_… "Yes on 98" Group Insults Tenants; Calls Elected Officials "Terrorists" /by Paul Hogarth, 2008-03-18/ To learn about Proposition 98's agenda, look no further than Dan Faller, President and Founder of the American Owner's Association (AOA) -- the largest landlord group in California. In a nine-page essay published in the association's magazine, Faller complains heatedly about rent control, calls pro-tenant elected officials "terrorists" and "suicide bombers," compares the effort to pass Prop 98 with World War II, says that renters "choose not to provide for themselves," and -- with rhetoric that channels George Bush -- tells landlords: "you are either for us or against us in this fight for your freedom and property rights." We cannot dismiss Faller as just another right-wing kook, for his organization has already contributed $325,000 to the "Yes on 98" cause -- and the AOA has plans to raise even more money in the coming weeks. And with voter turnout in June expected to be very low, Faller's fringe beliefs might actually become public policy in California -- if we don't act now. While proponents want voters to think it's about eminent domain reform, Prop 98 is the most dangerous right-wing initiative to hit the California ballot in years. It would abolish rent control, gut the most basic tenant protections, repeal sensible environmental laws and endanger public water projects. Another measure, Proposition 99, would reform eminent domain -- which Faller opposes because it would "only protect owner-occupied homes." In other words, the Prop 98 forces don't really care about the middle-class homeowner who fears eminent domain. They just want to repeal all regulations of private property. In the post-9/11 world, calling someone a "terrorist" is a serious accusation -- but Faller refers to pro-tenant elected officials who oppose Prop 98 as "terrorists" or "suicide bombers" at least seven times. "The bombs and explosives they are throwing at us," he writes, "are rent control, eminent domain, inspection laws, building codes, requiring 60-day notices so tenants can steal more time from you, eviction laws that allow tenants to live rent-free for several months, relocation fees, inclusionary zoning that drives up the price of housing so they have another excuse to justify even more laws. These elected officials are dangerous." Urging his fellow landlords to fight this "war" on the "terrorists," Faller says the solution is to hit them with the "big bomb": Proposition 98, which would invalidate all these existing laws and then some. "Help to permanently take away their weapons that allow unfair eminent domain and rent control," he writes before asking for campaign contributions. "This is certainly one war that we all believe in and can hold our heads high as we fight to win! You are either for us or against us in this fight for your freedom and property rights." According to a Field Poll conducted in December, George Bush has a 28% approval rating <http://www.field.com/fieldpollonline/subscribers/Rls2255.pdf> in California -- with 64% who disapprove. Yet, one of the top supporters of Prop 98 is using exactly the same rhetoric as our Commander in Chief to deride his opponents. If voters in June are educated about who's behind this initiative, they will defeat it. But it's not just the "terrorist" politicians that Faller has a bone to pick with. He demeans people who can't afford to buy California real estate as lazy and ineffectual. As he urges landlords to "join this war" to pass Prop 98, Faller says "you've worked hard providing housing for others who chose not to provide for themselves ... You gave up a lot of weekends to make it possible -- something others were not willing to do." Apparently, it's okay to berate the state's 14 million tenants because they "obviously" did not work hard enough to buy property themselves. Hyperbole is one thing; personal insults are quite another. Does the fight over Prop 98 match the battle against Nazis and fascists in World War II? Dan Faller seems to think that it does. Recalling his childhood memories in Los Angeles when he feared that "the enemy was going to land their troops in Long Beach and along our coast," the AOA President puts the fight to pass Prop 98 on a similar plane. "There were big signs and advertisements that read 'Uncle Sam Needs You!' during WWII," he writes. "There's a big AOA sign today that says 'Freedom Loving Americans Need You!' We need your support to win this War to protect your property rights!" It would be easy to laugh at these outlandish statements if Dan Faller was just your crazy uncle who makes offensive jokes that amuse only himself. But he's the President and Founder of the American Owners Association -- a national trade association of landlords that boasts more members in California than any other group. Faller is on the Board of Biopharma <http://www.biopharmasci.com/about/board.asp>, the owner of a commercial brokerage firm, and used to be a Wall Street broker. The AOA's monthly newsletter -- which printed his "Yes on 98" screed -- is the most widely read landlord publication in the country. Under Faller's watch, the AOA has provided crucial seed money for Prop 98 to get on the ballot -- and they're now aggressively fundraising to get it passed. The group has already put $325,000 towards the effort -- and Faller has urged members to give even more. "Donate at least $1,000 with an additional minimum of $50 for every unit if you own over twenty apartments," he wrote. "If you own less than 20 units, please donate the $1,000 minimum. If you own more, step up and invest according to all the benefits you'll enjoy as a result of winning this campaign." With such a fundraising appeal, the "Yes on 98" campaign should have plenty of funds to hoodwink voters into thinking that their extreme ballot measure is about eminent domain. Opponents of Prop 98 must be vigilant, fundraise and get out the message to expose it as the Hidden Agendas Scheme that it really is. Only by doing so can we truly save such essential programs in California that 14 million renters rely on to live here. And with the June ballot garnering such low attention, there's a serious chance that we could lose. Was Faller joking when he called pro-tenant elected officials "suicide bombers," accused tenants of being lazy, and compared the fight to pass Prop 98 with fighting the Axis powers in World War II? Apparently not. "Please take every word of this article more seriously," he wrote in the preface, "than any other article you have ever read in this publication." That should give us all pause about how dangerous Prop 98 really is ... -- "I am not a liberator. Liberators do not exist. The people liberate themselves." -- Che Guevara

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