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Friends of the Earth's cutting edge work is making big news in the media. Check out statements on our campaigns taken from some of the world's top news sources: Click here to see streaming video of FoE on national television FoE Transportation expert, David Hirsch, talks SUV safety on MSNBC Live New! Watch FoE Policy Analyst Erich Pica discuss beach renourishment, a Green Scissors project, on NBC Evening News with Tom Brokaw. Buy the Green Scissors Report Bloomberg News March 29, 2002, Enron-Backed Bolivian Gas Pipeline in line for loan from IDB An Enron Corp. project is in line to get a $125 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank to expand a Bolivian gas pipeline, even as the bankrupt company is shunned by other taxpayer-funded lenders. Jon Sohn an activist at the environmental group Friends of the Earth, called it "outrageous" that more public money is going to Enron now. Enron said the project will build value for its creditors. More than half the funds for the project, $250 million, are scheduled to come from the IDB and its fellow lender, the Andean Development Corp., a Venezuela-based government-funded lender, according to Enron. March 27, 2002 Unlikely Allies Against Cloning By Bill McKibben; Bill McKibben is author of "The End of Nature" and a visiting scholar at Middlebury College. New genetic technologies may someday reshape human life, but they're already reconfiguring decades-old boundaries of partisan politics. This was made clear last week when a broad coalition of environmentalists, feminists and other progressives released an open letter urging the Senate to ban reproductive cloning and to place a moratorium on therapeutic cloning. That position differs radically from legislation sponsored by Senators Ted Kennedy and Dianne Feinstein that would allow medical researchers to proceed with creating cloned embryonic cells. It is arguably closer to the stance of most conservative Republicans, who want a permanent ban on all forms of cloning. For the environmentalists, including the heads of Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and the Earth Island Institute and activists and writers like me, this political convergence was in some ways particularly strange. We found ourselves at least temporarily at odds with much of organized science, our usual ally in ecological causes. In this case, medical researchers arguing against restrictions on their search for new cures have been part of a broad campaign for the right to clone embryos. Environmental leaders have emphasized the wisdom of going slowly with new technologies. But I think the real fears run much deeper than those pragmatic cautions. Cloning of any kind is a step toward genetic engineering -- toward improving human beings. In other words, toward leaving the natural world behind. The New York Times March 24, 2002 Land Advocates and Drivers Reach Fork in the Off-Road In an effort to stop the damage, the groups have sought to limit or eliminate the use of all-terrain vehicles, swamp buggies and other off-road transportation in the preserve, which is 50 miles east of Naples and borders Everglades National Park. As a result, a fight is raging between environmentalists and all-terrain vehicle users here that is a microcosm of the battle between interest groups and agencies nationwide trying to balance recreational use with preservation on public lands. "What you have is a minority of the population using Big Cypress and other places around the nation as an amusement park for their thrill vehicles," said Erich Pica, an economic policy analyst for Friends of the Earth, a national environmental organization. "The environmental degradation it's caused, the air pollution it's caused and the effect on endangered species and other animals has to be factored into this use." The Boston Globe March 22, 2002, Friday Coalition Urges a Ban on all Human Cloning Leaders of several environmental groups, including Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, and the Sierra Club signed the letter backing a moratorium on research cloning. So has the president of the American Association of People with Disabilities, the executive director of Physicians for Human Rights, and the head of both the National Latina Health Organization and the California Black Women's Health Project. "Dangling cures for a host of diseases, [Advanced Cell Technology] and others who will surely follow in their wake seek to throw open a Pandora's box of technologies that could easily do more harm than good," said Brent Blackwelder, president of Friends of the Earth. "We have to have some regard for the consequences of our actions before we carry them out," he said. Almost all senators are expected to support a ban on reproductive cloning. The Daily Yomiuri (Tokyo) March 19, 2002 Tuesday Freeing of GM fish, insects feared WASHINGTON--U.S. researchers' warnings of the enormous risk genetically modified aquatic species and insects would pose if freed into the natural habitat have led to a movement to establish a system to ensure the safety of the ecosystem. The international conservation group, Friends of the Earth, and the U.S. consumer group, Center for Food Safety, released a statement in October calling on the U.S. restaurant and retail industries not to serve or sell GM fish even if approved by the FDA. In April 2001, Maryland passed a law--the first such legislation in the United States--banning the release of GM fish into Chesapeake Bay. Larry Bohlen of the Friends of the Earth said his group was concerned about the sort of biopollution that could result from the creation of species that would not have existed in nature. The Washington Post March 17, 2002, Sunday, Final Edition Agreement Reached in Wetlands Suit; Pact Will Curb Sprawl, Environmentalists Say The Army Corps of Engineers and environmental groups announced last week that they had settled a lawsuit challenging several Loudoun County projects, but they disagree sharply about the agreement's effect on future development in Virginia. In a lawsuit filed in January 2001, the Forest Conservation Council and Friends of the Earth said the Corps failed to perform required environmental studies before allowing WorldCom Inc. and other companies in Loudoun and Prince William counties to build on wetlands. As part of the agreement, the Corps has abandoned the truncated permit it used in those cases. The Corps' Norfolk District, which includes Virginia, first began issuing the so-called abbreviated permits 20 years ago to speed projects that it deemed to have "minimal" environmental impact. Under the agreement, past permits remain in force, meaning that the WorldCom and other projects can continue as planned. Under the settlement, the Corps also will launch new studies of the overall environmental impact of many of the projects it has authorized in the state, including dredging, excavation, drainage and pier building projects. The American Prospect March 25, 2002 Sounds like Chomsky; Votes GOP But Brownback's crusade has taken a most peculiar turn. He's been joined in his campaign by the venerable left-wing environmentalist group Friends of the Earth, which is apprehensive at the specter of cloning undertaken for corporate profit. What's stunning here is Brownback's sensitivity to his new ally's sensibility. Gone, for the moment, is the Brownback who opposes therapeutic cloning as an affront to religious principles. On the February 24 edition of Meet the Press, a neo-Marxist Sam Brownback suddenly burst forth. As he told host Tim Russert: United Press International March 8, 2002, Friday 01:21 AM Eastern Time Judge approves StarLink settlement A federal judge Thursday signed an order settling a class action suit against several food companies that used a genetically modified corn approved only for animal consumption. Thursday's order provides for $6 million in coupons to be placed on foods ranging from taco shells to corn dogs made by the companies. What is not redeemed through coupons will be placed into a fund for consumer interests. Another $3 million will cover attorneys' fees. Larry Bohlen, director of health and environment programs at Friends of the Earth, said Kraft and the other food companies "are still paying a price for allowing the biotech industry to avoid careful regulation." The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette March 04, 2002, Monday Groups fret over ebbing toxic waste Superfund The law required companies that polluted work sites to pay for cleanups. If those companies no longer existed and the owners could not be held accountable, then trust fund money would be used. The trust fund would be replenished by taxes paid by those industries considered responsible for much of the pollution -- primarily oil and chemical companies. "Unfortunately, the administration's budget proposes to make innocent taxpayers pay more money, while cleaning up fewer sites," groups such as the Sierra Club and Friends of the Earth said last week in a letter to Christine Whitman, director of the Environmental Protection Agency. "We urge the administration to make polluters, not innocent taxpayers, pay to clean up toxic waste sites by reauthorizing the polluter-pays tax and reducing the amount of general revenues the government uses to fund the program." The environmental groups say the dwindling trust fund will lead to less money down the road for cleanup efforts, even though administration officials say there are no plans to cut spending on Superfund sites. The $ 1.5 billion budgeted this fiscal year is about the same as the last three years. The Plain Dealer March 7, 2002 Improved diesel engines sell in Europe, not here; The new breed is quieter, cleaner, more powerful There's one European trend that the captains of the U.S. auto industry would love to see American drivers adopt, however. Europeans are crazy about diesel engines. Those underachieving, low-technology diesels didn't exactly qualify for Friends of the Earth status: a 1978 Oldsmobile Delta 88 with a 5.7-liter diesel V-8 offered a paltry 21 mpg, while its sooty, particulate-filled exhaust drew the ire of anyone unlucky enough to be following. And performance was abysmal, even by the era's standards - the huge diesel V-8 produced just 125 horsepower for a car that weighed two tons. Diesels dropped from the U.S. driving environment as quickly as gasoline prices normalized in the early 1980s. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL Judge Will Approve a Settlement On Use of StarLink Corn Products March 7, 2002 WASHINGTON -- A federal judge said he would approve a $9 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit against several major food companies that sold products containing genetically modified corn. StarLink corn was genetically modified to add a protein that kills a corn borer. The Environmental Protection Agency approved it for animal feed and industrial use -- but not for people. StarLink seed got mixed with regular corn and ended up in some food products; some people claimed it made them sick. "Kraft Foods and other food companies are paying a price for allowing the biotech industry to avoid careful regulation," said Larry Bohlen, director of health and environmental programs at Friends of the Earth, a consumer advocacy group that found StarLink corn in taco shells. States News Service HEADLINE: TORRICELLI PUSHES NEW TAXES TO REPLENISH DWINDLING SUPERFUND March 5, 2002, Tuesday The administration wants Congress to first tackle the issue of liability reforms, so that current site owners are not unfairly stuck with the costs of cleaning up the mess of previous landowners. Environmental groups like the Sierra Club and Friends of the Earth charge the administration policy means the government will be involved in cleaning up fewer sites, letting polluters off easy, and leaving taxpayers with the bill. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette March 04, 2002, Monday HEADLINE: Shrinking Superfund raises ire of activists Environmental groups predict woe WASHINGTON -- In two years, a trust fund used to help clean up the country's most toxic landfills and industrial sites will have dwindled to the size of an Enron nest egg. "Unfortunately, the administration's budget proposes to make innocent taxpayers pay more money, while cleaning up fewer sites," groups such as the Sierra Club and Friends of the Earth said last week in a letter to Christine Whitman, director of the Environmental Protection Agency. "We urge the administration to make polluters, not innocent taxpayers, pay to clean up toxic waste sites by reauthorizing the polluter-pays tax and reducing the amount of general revenues the government uses to fund the program." The environmental groups say the dwindling trust fund will lead to less money down the road for cleanup efforts, even though administration officials say there are no plans to cut spending on Superfund sites. The $ 1.5 billion budgeted this fiscal year is about the same as the last three years. National Public Radio (NPR) All Things Considered (9:00 PM ET) - NPR March 1, 2002 Friday HEADLINE: Eric Schaeffer resigns from EPA alleging White House's determination to weaken clean-air regulations for utilities From NPR News, it's ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Jacki Lyden. A top official at the Environmental Protection Agency quit this week after a dozen years at the agency. He said the Bush administration is undermining anti-pollution efforts. His letter of resignation touches off another debate over corporate influence at the White House. NPR's Peter Overby reports. PETER OVERBY reporting: OVERBY: Environmentalists are applauding Schaeffer's letter. Brent Blackwelder at Friends of the Earth say that President Bush is, quote, "the most anti-environmental president this country has ever endured." Schaeffer's letter could also affect the upcoming Senate battle over energy policy. Today President Bush again defended the administration's plan and the task force.