THE GALLON ENVIRONMENT LETTER
Canadian Institute for Business and the Environment
Institut Canadien du Commerce et de l'environnement
506 Victoria Ave., Montreal, Quebec H3Y 2R5
Ph. (514) 369- 0230, Fax (514) 369- 3282
Email [log in to unmask]
Vol. 2, No. 26, October 8, 1998
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INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL
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NEW ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM IN
EASTERN EUROPE
A new partnership has been launched in Central and Eastern Europe
to revolutionize the energy business by promoting the concept of
energy efficiency. In March 1998, the US Agency for International
Development (US AID), the Alliance to Save Energy and the Regional
Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC) launched
a three-year energy efficiency project in five countries in the region
Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. The partnership aims to
assist NGOs and businesses learn about the economic and environmental
values of reducing energy consumption. For more information about the
project's partners, please visit their web sites
<http://www.ase.org/>http://www.ase.org and
<http://www.rec.org/REC/Programs/Energy>http://www.rec.org/REC/Programs/Energy
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HARVARD WORKSHOP ON MARKET BASED INSTRUMENTS
CALL FOR PAPERS
Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts will host to a
"Workshop on Market-Based Instruments for Environmental
Protection", July 18 to 20, 1999. The workshop is being co-
sponsored by the Association of Environmental and Resource
Economists (AERE), the John F. Kennedy School of Government,
and the Harvard University Committee on Environment. The
workshop will provide an opportunity for scholars and practitioners
to engage in a series of sessions that will analyze a full range of market
based environmental policy instruments, including retrospective
assessments of previous and current use of marketbased instruments
and prospective investigations of potential new applications. A call
for papers will be mailed to all AERE members. Those wishing to
present a paper should submit to the Workshop chairman, Robert
Stavins, a threepage abstract describing the proposed paper,
preferably via email and no later than December 15, 1998.
Contact, Robert N. Stavins, Albert Pratt Professor of Business
and Government, John F. Kennedy School of Government,
Harvard University, 79 John F. Kennedy Street, Cambridge,
Massachusetts 02138, Ph. (617) 4951820, Fax (617) 4963783,
email [log in to unmask] , AERE Website
<http://www.ecu.edu/econ/aere>http://www.ecu.edu/econ/aere/
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WORLD BANK REPORT ON ENVIRONMENTAL TAX OPTIONS
Researchers from the World Bank, Gunnar Eskeland and Shantayanan
Devarajan, just finished a book entitled, "Taxing Bads by Taxing Goods,
Pollution Control with Presumptive Charges". The book explores whether
presumptive charges can be important complementary measures
in a cost-effective pollution control program. Presumptive charges are
indirect taxes levied on polluting inputs and outputs, designed to reduce
the scale in polluting activities. Since they tax activities associated
with emissions rather than emissions themselves, they can typically be
combined with other instruments that make the activity cleaner per unit of
output, such emission standards. Their analysis concludes one can tax a
bad - such as pollution - by taxing a good or product - such as fuel - when
the monitoring of emissions is prohibitively expensive. To illustrate
their argument, the researchers use taxation of fuel use, and other
examples of effective indirect instruments. For more on this report,
visit the website,
<http://www.worldbank.org/nipr/work_paper/taxbads/index.htm>http://www.world
bank.org/nipr/work_paper/taxbads/index.htm
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EXPLORING GREEN TAX OPTIONS FOR THE
STATES IN THE U.S.
On December 10 and 11, 1998, in Seattle, Washington, the Energy
Outreach Center (EOC) and the Washington D.C. based Center for
a Sustainable Economy (CSE) will team up to host "Greening State
Taxes," the first national conference of state leaders interested using
the tax code to promote a sustainable economy. This event will be a
unique opportunity for state-level policy experts, advocates, and public
officials to learn the status of tax shifting and environmental tax reforms
across the country, share experiences, network, and participate in panel
discussions and strategy workshops on how to move these promising
reforms from theory to reality. More specifically, the conference will
provide a general background on tax shifting and environmental
taxes; review the successes and failures of the three-year old Minnesota
campaign to pass a carbon-based tax shift, and provide a valuable
legislative perspective on tax reform for a sustainable economy.
For further information contact the Paul Horton of the Energy Outreach
Centre, 610 East 4th Ave., Olympia, Washington, at
ph. 360-943-4595, or Scott Anders of CSE at 202-234-9665.
email [log in to unmask],
<http://www.eoc.org/greening.html>http://www.eoc.org/greening.html
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ATTEND WORLD BANK WORKSHOP ON ENVIRONMENT
PUBLIC/PRIVATE SECTOR COLLABORATION
The World Bank is hosting a conference/workshop on public-
private sector collaboration for cost-effective pollution management,
October 26th, 1998. Hosted by the World Bank's Economic
Development Institute, it will be a worldwide policy dialogue between
the public and private sectors on the fact that working with the
industry sectors can be a more cost-effective alternative to
pollution control than traditional regulation and enforcement
mechanisms. Industry has also learned that collaborative approaches
with regulators can reduce their production costs, and both improved
the quality of their product and their image to consumers. For more
information contact the website, http://www.worldbank.org/edi/pubpriv/ni.htm
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BURMA LOSING ITS TREES TO ILLEGAL LOGGING
Burma holds more than half of mainland Southeast Asia's closed forest,
and is often called "the last frontier of biodiversity in Asia." Having
clear cut of burned virtually all of their original forest cover, Burma's
neighbors -- China, India, and Thailand -- rely increasingly on Burma
as a source of timber. The World Resources Institute (WRI) has
documented the race to pillage one of the last major stands of virgin,
high quality forests in Asia in its report, "Logging Burma's Frontier
Forests, Resources and the Regime". WRI uses satellite data,
sophisticated computer mapping, and data collected on the ground to
assess the impact of unsustainable logging on Burma's forests. The
report was coauthored by Jake Brunner (WRI), Kirk Talbott
(Conservation International-U.S.), and Chantal Elkin (Conservation
International-UK). For more information contact, Forest Frontiers Initiative,
World Resources Institute, 1709 New York Avenue, NW, Washington,
DC 20006, tel. (202) 638- 6300, fax (202) 638- 0036
Website, <http://www.wri.org/wri/ffi/burma>http://www.wri.org/wri/ffi/burma/,
email [log in to unmask]
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REPUBLICANS IN U.S. ADD RIDERS ON U.S. LEGISLATION
THAT ATTACKS ENVIRONMENT
In the unusual U.S. system, legitimate bills to protect the environment
can be loaded up with extra clauses that pervert the bill to the point
that the environment is not being protected. This has been the tactic of
the Republicans on almost every piece of legislation having to do with
the environment or with funding measures — add new loop holes that
prevent serious environmental protection. In the last few days of the
Congress, Republican Jim Hansen of Utah, chairman of the House
National Parks Subcommittee, has cobbled together a 300-page mega-
bill that includes numerous anti-environment bills that have been
introduced this year. These bills would never pass on their own, but
tucked into one monster bill and sweetened with a few non- controversial
provisions they might take on new life.
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OPPOSE H.R. 4570, CALL YOUR CONGRESSMAN NOW
The Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth, and other environmental groups in
the U.S. are urging the public to call their members of the House of
Representatives immediately to oppose H.R. 4570, the Omnibus National
Parks and Public Lands Act. H.R. The Sierra Club reports that, “the bill is
a poorly-disguised attempt to advance an anti-environment agenda. It
includes many provisions that have not even been reviewed by
congressional committees”. The Sierra Club asks company representatives
and the public to call your U.S. Member of Congress at ph. (202) 224-3121
and tell him/her to vote NO on HR 4570. Call Katie McGinty at the Council
for Environmental Quality, ph. (202-456-6224), Ron Klain, Al Gore's Chief
of Staff (202-456-6605), and the White House comment line (202-456-1414).
Additional Congressional contact information available at website,
<http:/www.defenders.org/stat.html>http:/www.defenders.org/stat.html
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CORNELL UNIVERSITY FINDS 40% OF DEATHS CAUSED
BY POLLUTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS
Forty percent of deaths worldwide are caused by pollution and other
environmental factors, and climate change will make matters worse,
Cornell University scientists found in a study released September
1998. After studying population trends, climate change, increasing
pollution levels and emerging diseases, 11 graduate student researchers
led by Cornell ecology professor David Pimentel concluded that human
inability to control their own pollution is killing them. And they found
that increased temperatures caused by global climate change will lead
to a whole new round of deaths and injury related to extreme weather
events and tropic diseases moving north. This they wrote in the
October 1998 issue of the BioScience Journal.
The study group found that millions of people would become
''environmental refugees'', forced to flee their home areas in a desperate
search for fuel wood, building materials, and food, as they strip their
land bare of trees and fertile soils. They found that over population and
crowding in villages and cities would lead to the re emergence of old
deadly diseases like the “Black Plague”.
They also found that each year air pollutants adversely affect the health
of 4-5 billion people, and the trend looks likely to worsen, with the
number of automobiles growing three times faster than the rate of
population growth. The snail-borne disease schistosomiasis causes an
estimated 1 million deaths annually and is expanding its range as human
activities provide more suitable habitats in contaminated fresh water.
Smoke from indoor cooking fires that burn wood and dung is estimated
to kill 4 million children each year. -- Lack of sanitary conditions
contributes
to 4 million deaths worldwide each year, mostly among infants and young
children in developing countries. Contact the Cornell research group
coordinator, Dr. David Pimentel at email address, [log in to unmask]
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RAMPANT POLLUTION HARMS PEOPLE IN RUSSIA
As Russia backs away from cleaning up its very polluted environment,
its people and its productive workforce continue to suffer. The latest
report is that authorities in former Soviet Georgia has banned residents
from drinking tap water in the Black Sea resort of Kobuleti after
hundreds of people fell ill with suspected salmonella poisoning.
About 40 people were taken to hospital over the weekend.
Officials said they had salmonella poisoning that they say resulted
from city water supplies being taken from lakes and rivers around
town that are being severely polluted by concentrations of poultry
and cattle farm operations. Source, (C) Reuters Limited 1998.
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INDIA CREATES SOCIETY FOR ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS (INSEE)
The Indian Society for Ecological Economics was launched at a meeting held
in Delhi on September 24, 1998. A cross section of economists, ecologists
and senior policy analysts participated in the one day inaugural workshop.
The Society shall comprise the India chapter of the International Society
of Ecological Economics with a mandate, to promote research on the
integration of economics and ecology, to promote policy for sustainable
development at the regional, national and global levels and to promote
interdisciplinary discourse between and within the natural and social
sciences. Dr. Richard Norgaard, Professor of Energy and Resources at
the University of California, Berkeley and President of the International
Society for Ecological Economics set the stage for the day's deliberations
with his keynote address on "The Challenges of Ecological Economics".
For further information and membership details, write to or contact
Prof. Kanchan Chopra, Institute of Economic Growth, University
Enclave, Delhi, India, 110007, ph. 91-11-7257288, 91-11-7257570,
Fax 91-11-7257410, email [log in to unmask]
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INCINERATOR ASH DISPOSAL HARMING JAPAN FISHERIES
Municipal and hazardous waste is being dumped on a deserted island
in the Seto Inland Sea, near Hiroshima in Japan. The run off is killing
the shellfish and is having adverse effects on the commercial fisheries
in the area. Approximately one-third of Kamiguro Island is used as a
landfill for industrial waste since 1989. A Tokyo- based waste disposal
company has been dumping incinerator ash and industrial sludge there,
amounting to 62,000 tons in 1997 alone. Ninety-seven percent of this
general waste came from outside Hiroshima Prefecture. Incinerator
ash is being dumped on the island from nine sanitation departments in
the Kanto area of Japan, including Odawara and Yamato cities.
Contact, the, “Japan Environment Monitor”,
email [log in to unmask],
Website, <http://www.yin.or.jp/user/rdavis>http://www.yin.or.jp/user/rdavis/
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FIVE DUTCH RESEARCH INSTITUTE JOIN TO DEVELOP
TECHNOLOGIES FOR CLIMATE CHANGE
MATTER is a joint project of 5 Dutch institutes, coordinated by
ECN, in the framework of the National Research Programme on
Global Air Pollution and Climate Change (NOP-MLK). MATTER
is an acronym for MATerials Technologies for greenhouse gas
Emission Reduction. In the first phase, the material flows in Western
Europe have been analysed for the period 1990-2000 by the Dutch
Bureau B&G. The results became available in 1997. ECN has
simultaneously developed the energy system model for Western
Europe. The Universities of Groningen and Utrecht analysed the
improvement potentials for metals and the transportation
industry, and organic materials and packaging, respectively. ECN
studies the ceramic and inorganic materials and the building and
construction sector. For further information on the project, contact
Dolf Gielen of ECN Policy Studies email [log in to unmask]
Background information and recent MARKAL results can now
be found at the website
<http://www.ecn.nl/unit_bs/etsap/markal/matter>http://www.ecn.nl/unit_bs/ets
ap/markal/matter
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HURRICANES PART OF CLIMATE CHANGE — UNEP
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is taking it
seriously. There are strong scientific evidence that the new extreme
weather events associated with “La Nina” which is causing destructive
hurricanes like “Georges” which killed over 300 people and did more
than US$5 billion in damages, are being caused by global warming.
Peter Usher, Chief of UNEP's Atmosphere Unit, said that, La Nina
may be making conditions favourable for frequent and dangerous
Caribbean hurricanes like Georges". UNEP co-sponsored the US
National Centre for Atmospheric Research, in Boulder, Colorado,
a workshop on the “Review of the causes and consequences of cold
events, A La Nina Summit", from 15-17 July 1998. In recent months
many countries around the world, such as China and Bangladesh, have
experienced unusually large amounts of rainfall. Some meteorologists
are attributing the torrential rains around the globe to La Nina, or "little
girl" (in Spanish).
The resulting floods have had huge social, economic and environmental
consequences, says UNEP Executive Director Klaus Toepfer. "For the last
18 months or so, the talk has been only of El Nino whenever unusual and
destructive weather has made the headlines, whether it has been drought
and forest fires in Indonesia or floods in California", said Mr. Toepfer.
"The La Nina Summit has concluded that El Nino is now over and the
other side of the coin, the less frequent La Nina, is under way. A public
charity established by Ted Turner, Co-Chairman of Time Warner Inc.,
has approved $US 650,000 for the UNEP project for "Reducing the
Impact of Environmental Emergencies Through Early Warning and
Preparedness - The Case of El Nino Southern Oscillation". For more
information, please contact, Tore Brevik, Director, UNEP Information
and Public Affairs, Nairobi, Tel+254-2-623292, Fax+254-2-623927,
Email [log in to unmask]
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SWITCH TO GREEN TAXES AND CUT OVERALL TAX LOAD
What to reduce taxes? Then switch to a green tax approach.
It will solve many of the current resource management problems,
clean up the environment and help economies actually achieve
sustainability. This is according to the new study released by the
New York based Worldwatch Institute in September 1998, entitled
“The Natural Wealth of Nations: Harnessing the Market for
Environment”. First it reports that ending unnecessary subsidies
to the energy, forestry, and fisheries industries would save US$ 650
billion in taxes. Then it reports that adding a modest levy for
pollutant releases and resource depletion would add $1.5 trillion
to the tax income. As a result, a U.S. family of four could have
tax cuts of $2,000 per year. In the 1990s, China cut subsidies for
fossil fuel consumption from $26 billion to $11 billion a year. The
U.K. cut subsidies for coal production coal by 91 % in the first half
of the 1990s. An example of using green taxes effectively, Germany
used taxes to cut the production of toxic wastes by 15 percent in three
years. Australia, Denmark and the U.S. used taxes on CFCs to help
phase out these chemical. These are just some of the finds of the
study. For a copy contact, [log in to unmask]
Website http://www.worldwatch.org
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THE RIGHT MOBILIZES AGAINST THE ENVIRONMENT
ON CLIMATE CHANGE
In the United States and Canada, strong organizations have been funded
to fight environmental protection efforts. The latest effort was an massive
email call to arms by the conservative think tank, the “American Policy
Centre. It used an email program called “Sledgehammer” to send out the
alarm to hundreds of thousands of calling them to action. The American
Policy Centre warned that, “Radical Greens Are Using Churches to Force
Senate Support of the UN’s Global Warming Treaty”. The following is a
selection of the exact wording of the action alert — , *******
“URGENT! URGENT! URGENT! URGENT!
The National Council of Churches (NCC) is urging churches nation-
wide to enlist congregations in a massive letter-writing campaign in
support of the UN's global warming treaty. NCC has a long history of
radical leftist activity. This effort by the NCC, along with the U.S.
Catholic Conference and the National Association of Evangelicals,
is part of a nation-wide drive by radical greens to influence
American churches with green propaganda. If you need more
information, a packet about the "Green Invasion of Christian Churches"
is available from the American Policy Center at website
http://www.americanpolicy.org
DO NOT LET ANTI-CHRISTIAN PAGANS STEAL YOUR
CHURCH FROM YOU!”
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NEW STUDY SHOWS THAT ENERGY EFFICIENCY CAN
REDUCE GLOBAL WARMING EMISSIONS WHILE SAVING MONEY
A new study by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient
Economy (ACEEE) titled Approaching the Kyoto Targets Five
Key Strategies for the United States, shows how the United
States can achieve over 60 percent of the carbon emissions reduction
necessary for meeting the Kyoto Protocol target through actions in the
United States that will save consumers and businesses money. The five
strategies stimulate widespread energy efficiency improvements in all
sectors of the American economy. They are:
o New Appliance and Equipment Efficiency Standards and Related Voluntary
Programs
o Public Benefit Trust Fund as Part of Electric Utility Industry
Restructuring
o Fuel Economy Standards and Market Incentives to Improve Vehicle Fuel
Economy
o Removing Barriers Inhibiting Greater Use of Combined Heat and Power Systems
o Power Plant Efficiency Standards
"These five initiatives could cut U.S. carbon emissions in 2010 by 310
million tons per year--17 percent of the emissions expected in 2010 given
business-as-usual trends and policies while actually saving consumers
money. Furthermore, the emissions reductions could nearly double by
2020 as efficiency improvements continue to be made and more appliances,
buildings, vehicles, and power plants are replaced," said Howard Geller,
Executive Director of ACEEE and co-author of the study. Leaders should
realize that meeting the Kyoto Protocol is feasible and need not harm to a
national economy" Geller concluded. For copies of Approaching the Kyoto
Targets, Five Key Strategies for the United States, contact the ACEEE
publications office, ph. (202) 429-0063; email [log in to unmask]
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Copyright (c) 1998 Canadian Institute for
Business and the Environment, Montreal
All rights reserved.
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