(ELOZETES A GAIA SAJTOSZEMLEBOL,  http://www.foek.hu/gaia)
KORNYESZ 473, 1998. februar 7
Donella Meadows: Junk Mail In A Time Of Declining Trees (Papirszemet
kuldemeny a pusztulo erdok idejen) Ismered azt, mikor az ertesulesek
egeszen kulonbozo forrasokbol erkeznek s egy varatlan fordulattal
radobbentenek valamire? Ez tortent velem a mult heten. Eloszor
Vermontbol, Putneybol kaptam egy levelet Mary Zabriskie-tol. Egy evvel
ezelott tele lett a hocipoje a postaladajaba nap mint nap erkezo
papirszemet-aradattal.  Elhataroztam, hogy osszegyujtom az osszes
katalogust, amit 1997 januar elseje es december 31-e kozott erkezik,"
- irja - " A mellekelt fenykep mutatja az eredmenyt." A kepen Ms.
Zabirskie mosolyog, egyik kezevel a kataloguskupacon tamaszkodva, ami
a konyokeig er. Osszesen 371 darab, irja. A sulyuk 104 font. A
fobunosok a kovetkezok:Vermont Country Store (27 ismerteto), L.L. Bean
(26), Earth Care/Real Goods (20 - nekik ezt jobban kene tudni!),
Land`s End (20), J. Crew (17), Eddie Bauer (16), Garnet Hill (15). Ha
feltetelezzuk, hogy Ms. Zabirskie egy atlagos haztartassal
rendelkezik, akkor 100 fontnyi ismerteto szorozva 100 millio amerikai
csaladdal, osszesen 10 milliard font vagy maskepp 5 millio tonna
papirt jelent evente. Ebbol 4,6 millio tonna postan erkezik - tobb
mint 1000 vaskos boritek, benne a  fontos uzleti levelekkel", minden
ferfinak, nonek es gyereknek.Panaszkodhatnek emiatt a sok nemkivanatos
papir miatt, ami a szemettelepekre kerul (kevesebb mint a felet
hasznositjak ujra). Megemlithetnek egy a vilaghalorol szarmazo,
ijeszto statisztikat, miszerint minden ember az eletebol 8 honapot
veszteget el arra, hogy ezeket a papirszemeteket kibontogassa. (Nem
ertek egyet ezzel a szammal egyet, mivel en soha nem bontom fel.) Ms.
Zabirskie-nak azt az altalanos tanacsot tudnam adni, hogy forduljon a
Direct Marketing Association-hoz (Kozvetlen Kereskedelmi Szovetseg)
(1120 Avenue of the Americas, New York NY 10036-6700) es kerje, hogy
nevet toroljek a szemetkuldemeny listarol. (Miert nekunk kell kernunk,
hogy NE kapjuk ezt a szemetet? Miert nem nekik kell kerni a mi
engedelyunket, hogy elkuldhessek?) De igazabol a fak jutottak
minderrol eszembe. Ugyanis evente 100 milliot vagnak ki csak azert,
hogy a szennypostankhoz szukseges papirt eloteremtsek. Nem lennek
ennyire erzekeny a fakkal kapcsolatban, ha nem epp most eltunk volna
at egy olyan jegvihart, ami a tolunk 50 merfoldre eszakra es/vagy 1000
labnyival magasabban levo fakat elhajlitotta, kettetorte s a
domboldalakon, ahol a vihar egesz fakat tepett ki, csak a csupasz
tonkok maradtak. Az ujsagok szerint ilyen - vihar altal kitepett - fak
fogjak elarasztani az uzemeket, majd hirtelen hiany lesz beloluk. Es
ekkor jottek az erdeszek az osztalyomba.

Scot Zens a Washintoni Egyetemen tanult erdeszetet es diploma utan
okologiabol ir disszertaciot Dartmouthban. Az erdok hosszu tavu
novekedeset vizsgalja Vancouver Islandon, ahol felnott. Kathy Fallon
Lambert a Yale Erdeszeti Iskola vegzos diakja, most a Hubbard Patak
Kutato Alapitvanyt vezeti. A feladata, hogy a New England erdeivel
kapcsolatos okologiai kutatasokat osszegyujtse es ezeket az adatokat
elerhetove tegye a nagykozonseg es a politikusok szamara. 

Az erdeszeket azert hivtam meg, mert a diakjaim megprobaltak valaszt
keresni arra a kerdesre, hogy az erdosegek fenntarthatok-e az Egyesult
Allamokban. Kathy es Scot sokfele erdorol, bennuk elo fajokrol,
korszerkezetrol es novekedesi mertekrol beszelt es megprobaltak
megadni a  fenntarthatosag" szo meghatarozasat. Ovatosak es
tudomanyosak voltak: szamokkal es grafikonokkal bombaztak minket. Az
ora vegen megprobaltam  sarokba szoritani" oket. Az o szakmai 
maganvelemenyuk szerint folytathatjuk-e az ilyen merteku erdoirtast? A
valasz rovid csend volt, aztan Scot felallt es egy grafikont rajzolt a
tablara.  Itt van valami, ami megremit" mondta. Megmutatta
Washingtonban es Oregonban az evtizedek soran kivagott fak
mennyiseget, ami fel-le hullamzo volt, de altalanos csokkenes
jellemezte. Ezutan megmutatta a hivatalos becsleseket, amelyeket
evente keszitenek arrol, hogy ezen erdoknek mennyi a fennmarado
hozama. Azok a tanulmanyok, amelyek ezt az elmeleti hozamot
meghatarozzak, nagyon alaposak. Tobbek kozott erdoszamlalason,
szamitogepes modellezesen es erdogazdalkodason alapulnak. Ez a
grafikon azt mutatja, hogy minden   evben az igy kiszamolt kivaghato
mennyiseg - azaz az erdok hosszu tavu hozama - nagymertekben csokkent.
 Miert?" - kerdeztuk. Reszben azert, mert az erdoket kivagjak, hogy a
teruleteket mas celra hasznositsak, volt a valasz, de foleg azert,
mert sokkal gyorsabban vagjak ki a fakat, mint ahogy az erdo potolni
tudna. Ekkorra mar Kathy is ott allt a tablanal es azt mondta,  En is
lattam egy grafikont, ami ENGEM remiszt meg." Egy eloszor folyamatosan
emelkedo, majd hirtelen csokkeno vonalat rajzolt. 
 Ez a Hubbard patak (New Hampshire) vizgyujto teruleten talalhato fak
 tomege az 1960-as 
evektol kezdodoen." mondta. A fak boldogan novekedtek evtizedeken
keresztul, de azutan csokkent a novekedesi arany, megkozelitette a
nullat.
 Micsoda?" kerdeztuk. Senki sem tudja biztosan, de a tudosok szerint
 ez a legszennyezes 
es a savas eso hatasa. Az agyamban osszealltak a kepkockak es kiugrott
egy nagy MIERT? Ha az egyik legfobb erdosegunk famennyisege ennyire
csokken es a fak novekedesi aranya zuhan egy masik erdoben mialatt
csokken a jovoben kivaghato fa mennyisege, akkor MIERT hasznalunk el
100 millio fat evente arra, hogy az embereket olyan reklamujsagokkal
arasztjuk el, amelyeket a legtobben nem kernek, nem akarnak, es meg
sem neznek?
 Verus

a kovetkezo felhivas a Meadows-ek alapitotta Balaton csoporttol 
erkezett.  Ha nem is ertesz egyet a felhivassal, maga a targy 
erdekes!
Diana
------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
A petition request from Steven McFadeen, a Balaton Group member,
about the terminator gene.  FYI.

Subject: Terminating the Terminator
--------------------------------------
       Help Stop the Terminator
Jump to: http://www.rafi.org/usda.html
--------------------------------------
Monsanto in Closed Negotiations with the US Department of Agriculture 
to Finalize Control of Terminator Technology
        --------------------------------------------------------
        Monsanto is moving swiftly to finalize its control over
        the Terminator technology.  The company may extract an
        exclusive license from the US Department of Agriculture
        (USDA) within weeks.   RAFI is initiating an urgent
        internet-based international campaign to stop the USDA -
        Monsanto negotiations before it's too late.  A special
        WWW page has been set up at http://www.rafi.org/usda.html
        to enable anyone with internet access to send a customized
        message to the USDA asking it to cease negotiations and
        bury this anti-farmer, anti-biodiversity technology.
        Additional contact details are provided below.
        ----------------------------------------------------------
A Monsanto subsidiary, Delta & Pine Land (D&PL), is currently 
negotiating with the USDA to exclusively license the US Government's 
interest in the controversial Terminator technology patent, a genetic 
technique that renders farm-saved seed sterile. The seed-sterilizing 
technology -developed with US taxpayer dollars - will prevent farmers 
from saving seed from their harvest, forcing them to return to the 
commercial seed market every year. 

The Terminator patent (US # 5,723,765) is jointly owned by D&PL and the
USDA.  Under US law, since D&PL worked with USDA to develop the
technology, the company has the option to negotiate an exclusive license. 
Hoping to find a gullible international public, Monsanto's PR machine in
Brussels, New Delhi, Harare, St. Louis, and points in between, are
massaging jittery governments and publicly trying to distance the company
from the Terminator technology by referring to it as "conceptual" and "not
yet proven."  But the company's move to negotiate an exclusive license
with USDA confirms that Monsanto is eager to commercialize Terminator
seeds. 

Despite international controversy boiling over in at least two UN agencies
rather than engage in public dialog, a leaked internal memo by Deputy
Administrator K. Darwin Murrell reveals that USDA hopes to quietly manage
controversy over the patent.  The memo warns USDA employees that
Terminator research is "a sensitive issue that requires an extra level of
review" to help "avoid potential political and legal pitfalls." But the
USDA insists that the Terminator is a beneficial technology and confirms
that its scientists are themselves interested in developing the seed
sterilizing technique as platform to host a package of "stacked" traits in
genetically engineered plants. 

SAY NO TO TERMINATOR!

RAFI invites you to join an international e-mail campaign being initiated
today to protest the licensing and commercial development of the
Terminator technology.  RAFI has set up a special web page
(http://www.rafi.org/usda.html) that automatically sends a customized
e-mail to US Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman (also see address
information below).  We urge you to write to US Department of Agriculture
officials to demand that USDA cease licensing negotiations and abandon all
international patent applications on a dangerous and immoral technology
that should never see the commercial light of day. 

RAFI is urging government institutions to hold public inquiries on the
alarming rate of seed industry consolidation, and to take steps to
safeguard - not eliminate - the fundamental right of farmers to save seed
and breed crops. 

Global Issue

The potential impact of the Terminator technology goes far beyond US
borders. It is an international issue, with global implications. Delta &
Pine Land says that it will target the use of Terminator seeds in the
South, where over 1.4 billion people - primarily poor farmers - depend on
farm-saved seed as their primary seed source. Monsanto, which recently
merged with American Home Products, is the world's second largest seed
corporation and the number one agrochemical corporation. 

The owners of the Terminator patent have indicated that they will apply
for patents in 87 countries worldwide. The patent is pending at the
European Patent Office, in Canada, Australia, Japan and South Africa. USDA
should be asked to abandon all international patent applications, and to
revoke Terminator patents that have already issued, on the basis of public
morality as provided in Article 27(2) of GATT TRIPS. 

The Terminator technology is the subject of controversy and debate
worldwide. For example: 

_ In May, the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological
Diversity (COP IV) recommended that the precautionary principle be applied
to the Terminator technology. COP IV also directed its scientific body to
examine the technology's impact on farmers and biodiversity.  In light of
the Biodiversity Convention's ongoing assessment, USDA should cease
negotiations that will lead to its commercial development. 

_ India's agriculture minister Som Pal told the Indian parliament in
August that he has banned the import of seeds containing the terminator
gene because of the potential harm to Indian agriculture. 

_ By majority vote, the Dutch Parliament recently moved to oppose the
European Patent Directive by appealing to the European Court of Justice. 
The Terminator patent is one of the key issues that prompted the Dutch to
renew objections to the Patent Directive that was passed by the European
Parliament earier this year. 

Negotiations between USDA and Monsanto are now underway, it is important
to act now! Stop Monsanto's bid to license and control the dangerous
Terminator technology. E-mail messages and/or faxes should be sent to the
following USDA officials and members of Congress. To see sample letters,
and automatic sending options, go to RAFI's web site: 
http://www.rafi.org/usda.html

-----

Energy Foundation
PROGRAM OFFICER
Job Opening

The Energy Foundation is a private grant-making
foundation whose mission is to assist in the global
transition to a sustainable energy future by promoting
energy efficiency and renewable energy. Based in the
Presidio, in San Francisco, the Foundation has a small
professional staff which runs a grants program, and
launches initiatives where there is an unmet need.  The
Foundation has programs in the utilities, buildings,
transportation, and renewable energy sectors.

The Foundation is governed by an independent Board of
Directors, and is funded by The Joyce Mertz-Gilmore
Foundation, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur
Foundation, The Pew Charitable Trusts, and The
Rockefeller Foundation.

Responsibilities:

Working with grantees and other Foundation staff, the Program
Officer will refine funding strategies, solicit (and
sometimes help develop) proposals, write dockets for
our board to consider, and evaluate grants after they
are funded. The Program Officer will also initiate and
convene strategy sessions, and may run some programs
directly. With the Executive Director, Senior Program
Officer, and other Program Officers, the successful
candidate will help set budgets, set priorities, and
develop foundation materials. The Program Officer will
also represent the foundation at meetings around the
country.

Qualifications:

o	Excellent writing skills.
o	Excellent verbaland presentation skills.
o	Strong background inenergy and/or environmental policy.
o	Insight on howchange occurs in society; political savvy.
o	Incisive, independent, analytic mind.
o	Likesteamwork; enthusiastic personality.
o	Proven abilityto initiate and manage projects.
o	Good sense ofhumor.
o	Willingness to travel.

Start Date:  Immediate

Compensation:  Competitive salary with an outstanding
benefits package.

The Energy Foundation is and Equal Opportunity
Employer.

Please send resume and cover letter to Robert J.
OOConnor, Administrative Director, The Energy
Foundation, P.O. Box 29905, San Francisco, CA
94129-0905 or fax documents to 415-561-6709, or email
'to >. NO PHONECALLS PLEASE.

Sandra Dovali
(510)642-1640
310 Barrows Hall
ERG/Front Desk