Quick Reads

Geoengineers to Foul Galapagos Seas-Defying Climate Panel Warning

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As the UN's top climate science panel, the IPCC, prepares to criticise the idea of geoengineering, one maverick geoengineering company, Planktos Inc, has announced it is about to dump several tonnes of tiny particles into the waters around the Galapagos Islands, covering an area larger than Puerto Rico. Doing so, they claim, will re-engineer the atmosphere, win them commercial carbon credits and perhaps a shot at the $25 million prize for greenhouse gas reduction put up by Richard Branson. Mainstream scientists are sceptical and environmental and social justice groups are crying foul.

¿Geoingeniería para arruinar los mares de las Islas Galápagos?

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Abierto desafío al Panel sobre Cambio Climático de la ONU

Mientras el IPCC (Panel Intergubernamental sobre Cambio Climático) —principal grupo científico de la ONU en el tema— se prepara para criticar el concepto de la geoingeniería, Planktos Inc., una impertinente empresa de geoingeniería, anunció estar lista para descargar varias toneladas de partículas minúsculas en las aguas alrededor de las Islas Galápagos, cubriendo un área más grande que Puerto Rico. La empresa asegura que a partir de ello podrá rediseñar la atmósfera, ganar créditos comerciales de carbono e inclusive obtener el premio de $ 25 millones de dólares por la reducción de gases de invernadero, ofrecido por Richard Branson. Gran cantidad de científicos de primer nivel son escépticos en torno a la geoingeniería y muchos grupos ambientalistas y organizaciones civiles están protestando airadamente por lo que consideran una estupidez.

REVOKED!! Monsanto Monopoly Nixed in Munich

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but little joy in foiling soy ploy at this late date

Munich – The European Patent Office put the brakes on Monsanto’s over-the-top corporate greed by revoking its species-wide patent on all genetically modified soybeans (EP0301749) – a patent unprecedented in its broad scope. ETC Group, an international civil society organization based in Canada, won its 13-year legal challenge against Monsanto’s species-wide soybean patent when an EPO appeal board ruled that the patent was not new or sufficient (i.e., the invention claimed was not sufficiently described for a skilled person to repeat it). The patent challenge was supported by Greenpeace and “No Patents on Life!” Dr. Ricarda Steinbrecher of UK-based EcoNexus also joined the opposition team in Munich as a scientific expert.

Patente de Monsanto sobre soya, cuestionada en Munich

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La Oficina Europea de Patentes decidirá el futuro de la patente monopólica sobre frijol de soya el 3 de mayo de 2007

l 3 de mayo de 2007, el Grupo ETC (organización internacional de la sociedad civil con sede en Canadá, conocida anteriormente como RAFI) junto con “No Patents on Life!” y Greenpeace continuarán una batalla legal de 13 años contra una de las patentes de biotecnología más tristemente célebres. En una audiencia que tendrá lugar en la Oficina Europea de Patentes, en Munich, organizaciones de la sociedad civil argumentarán que la patente de Monsanto (EP No. 301-749) sobre todas las variedades de soya transgénica —sin precedentes por su rango tan amplio— debe revocarse. “Ninguna patente simboliza la falibilidad del sistema de patentes mejor que la de Monsanto que cubre toda una especie, los frijoles de soya diseñados genéticamente”, dijo Hope Shand de el Grupo ETC. “La patente de Monsanto tiene graves fallas técnicas y es inaceptable del punto de vista moral”, afirmó Shand.

Monsanto's Soybean Monopoly Challenged in Munich

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European Patent Office Will Decide Fate of Species-Wide Soybean Patent on 3 May 2007

On 3 May 2007 ETC Group (a Canadian-based international civil society organization - formerly known as RAFI) together with "No Patents on Life!" and Greenpeace will continue a 13-year legal battle against one of biotech's most notorious patents. At an appeal hearing at the European Patent Office in Munich, civil society organizations will argue that Monsanto's patent (European Patent No. 301-749) on all genetically engineered soybeans - unprecedented in its broad scope - must be revoked. "No patent symbolizes the brokenness of the patent system better than Monsanto's species-wide patent on genetically engineered soybeans," said Hope Shand of ETC Group. "Monsanto's patent is both technically flawed and morally unacceptable," said Shand.

News Release: Food Sovereignty or Green Revolution 2.0?

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This time the “silver bullet” has a gun

ETC Group released a 16-page review of five new initiatives intended to launch what ETC dubs “Green Revolution 2.0” in Africa. Leading the charge is a plan to construct four Centers of Excellence together with a second initiative called the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation. “The Green Revolution that followed World War II focused on semi-dwarf, high-yielding plant varieties” says Pat Mooney, ETC Group’s Executive Director. “It was a one-size-fits-all, take-it-or-leave-it silver bullet,” Mooney adds, “Africa left it.” In other words, Green Revolution technologies were inappropriate for the needs and resources of African farmers. ETC Group’s communiqué warns that, in Green Revolution 2.0, “big-box” science is being buttressed by a strategy to restructure African agriculture. Although the cornerstone of the new revolution will still be high-tech seeds, the G-8 and private foundations also want continental changes in market structure, intellectual property laws, and seed regulation so that agribusiness suppliers can profitably sell seeds, chemicals, and other inputs to farmers. “Big-box science will be linked to small box suppliers,” Mooney argues, “This time, the silver bullet has a gun.”

Civil Society/Labor Coalition Rejects Fundamentally Flawed Dupont-ED Proposed Nanotechnology Framework

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Urges All Parties To Reject The Public Relations Campaign

To All Interested Parties:

We, the undersigned, submit this open letter to the international nanotechnology community at large. We are a coalition of public interest, non-profit and labor organizations that actively work on nanotechnology issues, including workplace safety, consumer health, environmental welfare, and broader societal impacts.

DuPont Chemical Company (DuPont) and Environmental Defense (ED) jointly have proposed a voluntary “risk assessment” framework for nanotechnology. These groups intend to circulate their proposed framework both in the U.S. and abroad for consideration and/or adoption by various relevant oversight organizations, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Jugando con Gaia

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Al ver cómo agoniza el Protocolo de Kioto, algunos gobiernos concluyen que una reestructuración planetaria es la única salida posible

Al tiempo que el Panel Internacional de Naciones Unidas sobre Cambio Climático (IPPC) hará pública su alarma más contundente hasta el momento, el Grupo ETC advierte que algunos países de la OCDE, encabezados por Estados Unidos, empujan por que se hagan solamente “arreglos técnicos” para enfrentar el cambio climático. El más extremo —la “geoingeniería”— se refiere a la manipulación intencional del ambiente a gran escala, para ocasionar cambios ambientales. Sin esperanzas de que funcione el Protocolo de Kioto, sin voluntad política para pedir a la industria y a los electores los necesarios cambios de producción y estilo de vida y sin poder negar las evidencias de que el comercio de emisiones de carbono es una farsa, algunos gobiernos empiezan a argumentar que la reestructuración masiva de la Tierra es la única salida. The Guardian reportó a principios de esta semana que el gobierno de Estados Unidos está cabildeando al IPCC para que promueva soluciones de geoingeniería, como contaminar deliberadamente la estratósfera para desviar la luz del sol y abatir las temperaturas.

Gambling with Gaia

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ETC Group Warns that US Government’s Push for Geoengineering is Unacceptable

On the day before the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) sounds its loudest alarm yet, ETC Group warns that some OECD states, led by the United States, are betting on a pie-in-the-sky techno-fix to address climate change. “Geoengineering” refers to the intentional, large-scale manipulation of the environment to bring about environmental change. With no hope for Kyoto, little political will to ask industry or voters to change lifestyles and a growing recognition that carbon trading is a farce, some governments are concluding that massive earth restructuring is the only way out. The Guardian reported earlier this week that the US government is lobbying the IPCC to promote geoengineering activities, such as deliberately polluting the stratosphere to deflect sunlight and lower temperatures. (1)

Ganadores de la competencia para un logo de peligro nanotecnológico, anunciados en el Foro Social Mundial en Nairobi

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Cientos de las 30 mil personas reunidas en el Foro Social Mundial celebrado esta semana en Nairobi, Kenya, votaron por su símbolo favorito para advertir contra el peligro nanotecnológico o los materiales diseñados con nanotecnologías (un nanómetro es inconcebiblemente pequeño: equivale a una mil millonésima parte de un metro).

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