As American resistance to genetically modified (GMO) foods appears to grow — with several states proposing labeling laws and Internet chatter on the issue at an all-time high*– a new GMO surprise has sprouted.
Tags: · BarbaraKesslerBlog, exports, GE foods, GMO foods, Japan, Monsanto, Roundup, South Korea, wheat
High Speed Rail presents so much promise: It’s the greenest way to travel on anything powered by an engine. It bolsters economic development and connects cities. Its build-out creates thousands of jobs. And riding on it comes with WiFi and doesn’t require a body search. At least not yet.
So why aren’t we moving faster in the U.S. toward this 21st Century vision?
Tags: · Asia, BarbaraKesslerBlog, capital costs of infrastructure, connecting with rail, Europe, high-speed rail, India, Japan, passenger rail, U.S.
A pair of Greenpeace activists have been sentenced to suspended one-year jail terms after the two were found guilty of stealing a box of whale meat the group claimed provided proof of embezzlement in state-run research whaling.
The Aomori district court convicted Junichi Sato, 33, and Toru Suzuki, 43, of theft and trespass charges. The one-year jail terms were suspended for three years.
Sato and Suzuki admitted they stole a box of salted whale meat in 2008, but claimed they acted in the public interest to highlight embezzlement in Japan’s whaling program. Greenpeace executive director Kumi Naidoo, who was in Japan for the reading of the verdict, said, “Activists are not criminals and to treat them as such has a chilling effect in society, undermining the quality of democracy.”
Tags: · Greenpeace, Iceland, illegal whale hunts, Institute of Cetacean Research, International Whaling Commission, Japan, Junichi Sato, Kumi Naidoo, Norway, Toru Suzuki, whale hunts, whale meat, whaling
Whale conservation groups were steeling themselves for the worst, but they were in for a surprise.
A 24-year ban on commercial whaling that was in danger of being lifted will remain in place. The International Whaling Commission, which was created by the United Nations in the 1980s to regulate whale hunting worldwide, decided Wednesday that there was too much opposition and too many unanswered questions to allow some countries to hunt whales with fewer restrictions. The decision came at the end of the commission’s three-day meeting this year in Morocco.
Tags: · Greenland, Greenland and killing whales, Iceland, Iceland and killing whales, International Whaling Commission, IWC, Japan, Japan and killing whales, Norway, Norway and killing whales, Southern Ocean, whale, whale hunting, whale meat, Whales, whaling
Whatever the state of the political debate about climate change, the issue increasingly looks settled in the board room. Despite challenging economic conditions and regulatory uncertainty, global executives believe that the climate change agenda will significantly impact business performance and strategy over the next few years according to a new survey by Ernst & Young.
Tags: · Action amid uncertainty: the business response to climate change, Australia, Canada, China, Corporate leaders, energy efficiency, Ernst & Young, France, Germany, India, Japan, Spending on climate change, U.S.
By Melissa Segrest
Green Right Now
This is an interesting time to be Ric O’Barry.
On one hand, the marine mammal activist is counting down the hours until Sunday, when he may win an Oscar for his role in the documentary The Cove – a compelling and gruesome expose about the secret slaughter of dolphins in Japan.
Tags: · Academy Award and The Cove, Dawn Brancheau, dolphins, Endangered animals, Fishing, Japan, Japan and killing whales, killer whales, Oceans, orca, Oscars and The Cove, Ric O'Barry, Save Japan Dolphins, seafood, seaquariums, SeaWorld, SeaWorld trainer killed, Taiji Japan and dolphins, The Cove, The Earth Island Institute, Tilikum, Whales
Barbara Kessler
Andrew Winston
Danielle Nierenberg
Anthony Swift