No Discussion On Some Of Rio Tinto’s Most Notorious Operations At Shareholder Meeting

Mining giant should address pollution and human rights abuses at its mines in West Papua and Papua New Guinea, say critics

Mining watchdog groups and human rights activists from around the world confronted Rio Tinto officials at the mining giant’s annual general shareholder meeting in London Thursday, questioning the company about proposed and in-the-works projects that they said could cause serious environmental and human rights violations if allowed to go forward.

Photo by Kari LydersenExiled West Papua Indigenous activist Benny Wenda protests outside the Rio Tinto shareholder
meeting venue.

They brought up several controversial Rio Tinto projects, including the massive in-the-works Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine in Mongolia, the proposed Pebble Mine in Alaska, and in-the-works mines in Arizona and Michigan. But much to the disappointment of some anti-mining activists, no mention was made of two of Rio Tinto's most infamous operations — the Grasberg mine in West Papua, Indonesia and the Panguna mine in Papua New Guinea.

Much of the shareholders’ focus at the meeting was on the recent losses and setbacks suffered by the company last year. Following a year of low commodity prices and labor unrest, Rio Tinto had to write down assets including $3 billion in a bad coal deal in Mozambique and $11 billion in its aluminum sector — setbacks that led to the resignation of former chief executive Tom Albanese. While Panguna and Grasberg didn’t figure into Rio Tinto’s 2012 reports, company critics say those mines are relevant to the company’s future.

Rio Tinto’s own documents note that it expects the Grasberg mine, in which it owns a 40 percent stake, to be an important asset in the future, and there’s talk of reopening the Panguna mine that’s been closed since 1989.That being the case, critics say, Rio Tinto should address the devastating environmental pollution caused by the ongoing mining in West Papua and past mining in Papua New Guinea; plus do more to address past human rights abuses in both locations.

Exiled Indigenous activist Benny Wenda, who protested outside the shareholder meeting holding a banner saying “Free West Papua,” says West Papuans were too terrified to speak out against the Grasberg mine. “If you are against the company you will be attacked,” he says. “The moment you protest they will say you are a separatist. Indonesia has its intelligence there, and around the world. The killing is still going on. Indonesia doesn’t care about my people, they care …more

by Kari Lydersen – April 19, 2013

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Texas Fertilizer Plant Blast Devastates Tight-Knit Town

Up to 15 feared dead. Rescue efforts continue amid fears that toll could rise

Rescue workers were fighting through the devastation caused by an explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant that destroyed scores of homes and killed up to 15 people.

Barklee Sanders/YouTube

The blast wrecked a large section of West, a small town around 20 miles north of Waco, leveling buildings and leaving more that 160 people injured. Police estimated that between five and 15 people died. Up to five firefighters were missing on Thursday.

As acrid smoke hung over the area, authorities warned that the number of victims could rise. "We do not know how many folks may still be trapped," Waco police sergeant William Swanton said in a news briefing on Thursday.

The blast happened at about 8pm on Wednesday night, when the town's small team of volunteer firefighters were tackling a blaze at the West Fertilizer Company plant. Video footage showed the moment of the blast. "It was a like a nuclear bomb went off," West's mayor Tommy Muska told reporters. The explosion registered as a 2.1 magnitude seismic event, and was felt for miles around.

It is thought that the explosion was caused when a tank of anhydrous ammonia, a fertilizer, exploded. Official records showed that up to 54,000lbs of the chemical were stored at the plant. It was fined in 2006 for deficiencies in its emergency plan.

Authorities were in the process of evacuating residents, including a nearby nursing home, when the explosion happened. It is thought that some 50 to 75 properties were damaged by the blast.

Among the buildings hit was a 50-unit apartment complex. Texas Public Safety Department spokesman D L Wilson told Reuters that it had been reduced to "a skeleton standing up". A middle school in West was also badly damaged.

Matt Nors said he felt the blast from his home five miles away. "The first thing that went into my mind was a nuclear bomb," he told the Guardian. "I was standing in my garage flipping meat on the grill. The shock wave felt like somebody hit me in the gut."

Shivering from the cold as he stood outside the family's restaurant, Nors Sausage and Burger House, Nors said his sister had a lucky escape. "My sister was really close to it," he said, adding that she lives within 500 yards of the blast. "I haven't seen the house but supposedly it's demolished," …more

by The Guardian UK – April 18, 2013

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Goldman Prize Winner Aleta Baun Decodes US Supreme Court Genetics Case

“We only sell what we create, and we will not sell what we do not create”

It would seem odd that an Indigenous woman from the hinterlands of Indonesian West Timor would help decide a case before the US Supreme Court, but that’s exactly what happened (in my head, at least) as I listened to Aleta Baun receive the Goldman Environmental Prize at the San Francisco Opera House on Monday night.

Photo Courtesy Goldman Environmental PrizeIn her Goldman Prize acceptance speech, Mama Aleta laid down a profound
intellectual challenge to the notion that scientific discovery automatically
confers ownership.

I know I’m connecting two dots that are very far apart, so let’s step back a minute.

First, the Supreme Court case. On Monday the justices heard oral arguments in the case, Association for Molecular Pathology v Myriad Genetics Inc. The court is deciding whether a private company, Myriad Genetics, deserves a patent for isolating a human gene that indicates a disposition to breast and ovarian cancers. A collection of organizations of physicians, researchers, patients, and geneticists are contesting Myriad’s patent claim. They say the DNA strands are “snippets of nature” and shouldn’t be given intellectual property rights protections. Here’s the how The Washington Post describes the importance of the case: “The decision could shape the future of medical and genetic research and have profound effects on pharmaceuticals and genetically modified crops.”

Along with another genetic patent case — Vernon Bowman vs Monsanto Company, which the Supreme Court heard in February — the justice’s decision in the cancer gene dispute will likely be a landmark ruling for how American law treats humans’ relationship with the building blocks of life itself.

Next, then, Aleta Baun, one of the winners of the 2013 Goldman Environmental Prize. Baun — or “Mama Aleta,” as everyone calls her at home — is a member of the Mollo nation on the island of Timor. In the 1980s, the local government issued permits for mining companies to begin cutting marble from the Mutis Mountains, a range that is home to the headwaters of West Timor’s major rivers. When the mining — and accompanying deforestation — began in earnest, the region started to experience landslides that clogged river waters, making life harder for downstream communities. Determined to halt the mining, Mama Aleta enlisted other women in a campaign to travel to the region’s villages and organize the local communities into a resistance …more

by Jason Mark – April 17, 2013

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Fair Winds for Global Commerce by Sail

Shipping industry is showing renewed interest in fleets powered by wind energy

International cargo ports in Europe and the Caribbean are occasionally treated to an unusual sight these days – cargo vessels with billowing sails slipping in to dock between hulking container ships. The vessels are a symbol of a possible renaissance of the golden age of sail, a period that historians say ended sometime around the last decades of the nineteenth century.

Photo courtesy Michel Floch/ TOWTThe 32-meter brigantine Tres Hombres has been in service since December 2009. She maintains a sustainable freight service between: Europe, the Atlantic islands, the Caribbean and America and has a cargo capacity of 35 tons.

There is once again sustained trade being conducted between Europe and the Caribbean, and in at least one case with South America thrown into the mix, powered exclusively by wind pressing upon sails.

A combination of factors – including a greater awareness of global wind patterns, advances in material design of sailing ships, and the economy of scale reached by the great “Clipper Ships” of the mid-nineteenth century – led to the first golden age of shipping. Today a rebirth of sail-powered commerce may be brought about by similar technological changes, as well as by the economic and environmental pressures that are making carbon-based fuels increasingly expensive.

Many cargo companies have already given up half of the advantage that the internal combustion engines gave over wind power – speed – as they have reduced ship speeds in order to conserve fuel and reduce costs.

Currently, a handful of ships and a few boats, mostly tied together in a common effort by Trans-Oceanic Wind Transport (TOWT), a new company based in Brest, France, lug cargos consisting of fine food products, robust wines, quality liquors (especially rum), and other luxury items,across the ocean and to European ports. Moreover, they are doing it in "traditional" ships. Think three masts and at least some square sails.

Founded in 2009 by Guillaume Le Grande, TOWT is essentially an import-export company that makes its mark by booking cargo only on sailing ships. Despite massive advances in material sciences and modern sailboat design, Le Grande’s company is not taking advantage of any of these changes. This is in part because modern shipping design companies are still just playing with the idea of using wind power.

Although shipping accounts for 90 percent of international trade …more

by Robert Bateman – April 16, 2013

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Goldman Environmental Prize Winners Offer a Spark of Inspiration

Six eco leaders from around the world receive a cash prize and international recognition for their accomplishments

Environmental activism — like any other attempt at social change — is a slog. Victories are often tempered by setbacks and even the most clear cut wins can seem provisional. As David Brower, the founder of Earth Island Journal, famously said, speaking about how environmental defense is a constant struggle: “All of our victories are temporary, and all of our defeats are permanent.” The effort for sustainability will always be a work in progress.

Photo courtesy The Goldman AwardsThe winners (clockwise from top left): Jonathan Deal, South Africa; Kimberly Wasserman, USA; Azzam Alwash, Iraq; Rossano Ercolini, Italy; Aleta Baun, Indonesia; and Nohra Padilla, Colombia.

It’s essential, then, that we take time to step back and recognize environmental victories when they come. It’s a matter of sanity, if nothing else.

By identifying and celebrating some of the most courageous environmental activists around the world, the Goldman Environmental Prize delivers a much-needed jolt of inspiration. Yes, Earth is beleaguered. But, even more important, there are people who are dedicating their lives to ensuring that we leave the planet as healthy as we found it.

Now in its twenty-fourth year, the Goldman Environmental Prize is sometimes called the Nobel Prize for the environmental movement. Winners — who come from every continent as well as island states — receive a $150,000 cash prize and the kind of international attention that offers a huge boost to local campaigns. Past winners include Wangari Maathai, founder of Africa’s Green Belt Movement, anti-mountaintop removal coal mining activist Judy Bonds, and Nigerian Ken Saro-Wiwa, among many others. 

The 2013 prizewinners were announced Monday morning. From the Goldman Prize’s press release about this year’s recipients:

JONATHAN DEAL, South Africa
With no prior experience in grassroots organizing, Jonathan Deal led a successful campaign against fracking in South Africa to protect the Karoo, a semi-desert region treasured for its agriculture, beauty and wildlife.

AZZAM ALWASH, Iraq
Giving up a comfortable living and family life in California, Azzam Alwash returned to war-torn Iraq to lead local communities in restoring the once-lush marshes that were turned to dustbowls during Saddam Hussein's rule.

ROSSANO ERCOLINI, Italy
An elementary school teacher, Rossano Ercolini began a public education campaign about the dangers of incinerators in his small Tuscan town that grew into a national Zero Waste movement.

ALETA BAUN, Indonesia
By …more

by Jason Mark – April 15, 2013

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South Korea Theme Park Forced to Return Dolphins Back to the Sea

Dolphins' journey to freedom highlights ethical issues of keeping cetaceans in captivity

In a landmark ruling, the South Korean supreme court has ordered Pacific Land, a dolphinarium on the south coast of Jeju Island, to free four of its dolphins.

 A dolphin being transfered out of the Pacific Land facility. The theme park originally bought 11
illegally. By the time the courts finally ordered their release, seven had died. Of the four remaining,
two are in critical condition.

Between 2009 and 2010, Pacific Land Illegally purchased 11 dolphins from fishermen, without the approval of the Korean Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry. The ministry is supposed to approve marine mammal capture "for educational, performance, and exhibition" after it evaluates the animals and the organization wanting to use them. Pacific Lands had not given the ministry the opportunity to evaluate the dolphins.

“These dolphins are being kept in abysmal conditions, with barely enough room to dive in their cramped tank. They are good candidates for release and so they should be returned to the ocean.” says Ric O’Barry, director of Earth Island Institute’s Dolphin Project.  O’Barry had been invited by the Korean Animal Welfare Association to assess the condition of the dolphins and make recommendations for their rehabilitation and release back into the ocean.

Only five of the original 11 dolphins survived at the time the courts initially ordered their forfeiture last November. Pacific Land appealed that decision, and another dolphin died in the ensuing administrative delay.  This is a typical pattern, as most dolphins do not do well in captivity.  The supreme court hearing, in January resulted in a “Recommendation for Comprise” ruling decreeing that Pacific Land give up ownership of the dolphins.

On April 3, the four remaining dolphins were confiscated. Two of the dolphins are in critical  condition and are refusing to eat. Last Saturday, April 6 they were sent to Seoul Zoo, where they are being force fed so that they may gain weight in order to be released into a sea pen for further rehabilitation and eventual release. That same day, the two healthy dolphins were sent to a temporary sea pen, returning to the ocean for the first time in almost three years.

This case highlights important ethical questions, namely whether dolphins should continue to be treated as property under the law. Scientific discoveries over the last five decades clearly demonstrate that dolphins …more

by Laura Bridgeman – April 12, 2013

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Proposed Copper Mine in Arizona Highlights Weakness of Federal Mining Laws

Rosemont mine would impact ecology of Arizona’s unique “sky islands”

An ongoing battle between local residents and environmentalists and a Canadian mining company eager to dig for copper in the spectacular Santa Rita Mountains in southern Arizona’s Coronado National Forest has become the poster child for the need to reform a 141-year-old law that governs hard rock mining on federal lands.

Photo by Tom Vezo/Save the Scenic Santa Ritas
A state fish and game department report says the mine would render the northern parts of the Santa Rita Mountains "almost useless.”

Vancouver-based speculative mining company, Augusta Resource Corporation and its Arizona subsidiary, Rosemont Copper Company, plan to blast a mile-wide, half-mile deep copper mine on 4,000 acres of the mountains, 50 miles southeast of Tucson. If its proposal goes through, Rosemont claims the mine could supply 5 percent of the country’s copper needs and will bring “thousands of jobs” and “$19 billion in economic stimulus” to southern Arizona.

But opponents of the mine — including the mayor of Tucson, local citizens’ groups, farmers and ranchers, and environmentalists — say these purported economic gains will be negated by the impact of mining activities on the environment and hurt the arid region’s water supply and tourism industry that relies heavily on preserving the mountains’ “sky island” ecosystem. (Tourism and outdoor recreation is Southern Arizona bring in about $2.95 billion a year in revenues, according to a 2007 study by the Sonoran Institute, a land-use advocacy group based in Tucson.)

“This is a high desert grassland area; it is an area where we still have ocelots and jaguars and all kinds of birds and endangered species, it is home to one of the last free running streams in Arizona… it attracts lots of tourists… we could lose all of that,” says Nan Walden, whose family owns a 7,000-acre partly-organic pecan farm to the west of the mountains. The mine, which would draw 5,000 to 6,000 acre-feet of water every year from local aquifers, would affect their farm’s water supply, Walden says.

The project would also bury more than 3,000-acres of mountains, canyons and streams beneath billions of tons of mining waste and pollute the land and water,. Mining activity would also disturb more than 60 sacred sites of the Tohono O’odham nation.

Walden and her husband, Dick, were in the San Francisco Bay Area this week to promote Cyanide Beach …more

by Maureen Nandini Mitra – April 11, 2013

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