Haudenosaunee Environmental News Report
October Vol.1
#3 2001
Prepared by Kanatiiosh (B. Gray),
HETF Environmental Law Researcher
The purpose of this report is to share current developments in Environmental and Federal Indian Law issues that may have an effect on our nations. In this report, you will find summaries of information, including My Comments, which is a discussion of issues and possible impacts to our territories and people, and then included, is a link(s) to the full text of the article, code, law case, etc. I have included some links to new environmental Websites that offer good online research material.
Excerpt:
MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, September 24, 2001 (ENS) _ Milkweeds growing in cornfields sometimes support monarch butterfly larvae at the same time the corn is shedding its pollen, according to a survey of cornfields in the Midwest, Maryland and Ontario. The overlap implies that monarchs feeding next to genetically engineered corn that produces the insecticide known as Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) could be exposed to the toxin.
My Comments:
What is Bacillus thuringiensis (BT)? It is a bacteria, a species, that has been developed as a microbial insecticide. While it does occur within nature, scientists have altered "genetically engineered" seeds, such as corn, to produce the bacteria, which is not natural, in an attempt to kill corn borers and corn ear worms. Scientists are researching the impacts on non-target insects that may be contaminated by corn pollen, which carries BT in the wind to adjacent plants. While most scientists agree that not enough data exists to determine if there is no effect on non-target insects, I could not locate any data about possible human impacts.
As native nations, we have additional concerns, and there is a need to strengthen and create preventative measures. One thing that concerns me is whether engineered seeds, in this case, BT engineered corn seeds have altered the food and medicinal properties of corn? There are many uses for corn, food being one, and another being medicine. Corn silk, for example, is an important woman's medicine. Importantly, we do not know if that same healing power exists in the genetically engineered corn seeds.
In addition, we do not know how the Great Circle of Life will be impacted by the introduction of genetically engineered seeds, especially, ones that have been altered to produce toxins that do not occur naturally within the species. Some people with short-sighted vision and who prefer economics over humans and the rest of the Natural Word, might only think about the reduction of some non-target butterflies, but many animals and birds depend upon eating insect larva, and they might also be negatively impacted.
What can we do as native nations? We need to protect the integrity of our traditional seeds. Some ways in which to do this is with traditional seed keepers, and another way is through our environmental standards. We need to make sure that our own people do not bring such genetically engineered seed stock into our territories, and we do not allow those who are leasing our lands for farming to do so either.
Excerpt taken from:
http://ens-news.com/ens/sep2001/2001L-09-24-09.html
To read more about Bacillus thuringiensis (BT)
http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/ent/biocontrol/pathogens/bacteria.html
To Read: Effects of exposure to event 176 Bacillus thuringiensis corn pollen on monarch and black swallowtail caterpillars under field conditions
PNAS published September 14, 2001, 10.1073/pnas.171315698 ( Agricultural Sciences )
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/171315698v1
ALMATY, Kazakhstan, _ It is the forces of poverty, environmental degradation and hatred that give birth to the intolerance that can lead to fundamentalism and terrorist acts, Klaus Toepfer said today. Executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Toepfer is in Almaty to launch a regional environmental action plan for Central Asia.
He declared that the world must address the roots of terrorism. "We must be determined and united in our efforts to bring those responsible to justice," Toepfer said. "What happened in the United States was a crime against humanity, an act of horrendous violence against all races and creeds. But we must also expose the forces that create poverty, intolerance, hatred and environmental degradation that can lead to an unstable world."
At a press conference in Almaty, Toepfer said, "I am not suggesting for a moment that poverty and environmental degradation are factors on their own. Intolerance also has its role. But it can fan the flames of hate and ignite a belief that terrorism is the only solution to a community's or nation's ills." New York's World Trade Center towers struck by two hijacked airplanes.
"When people are denied access to clean water, soil, and air to meet their basic human needs, we see the rise of poverty, ill health and a sense of hopelessness. Desperate people can resort to desperate solutions. They may care little about themselves and the people they hurt," he said. He congratulated the Central Asian countries for their cooperation on the Regional Environment Action Plan since it was adopted in May 2000 to address the degradation of the Aral Sea and the other trans_boundary problems.
See, Full Article With Photos:
http://ens-news.com/ens/sep2001/2001L-09-21-02.html
Excerpt:
As the World Trade Center was being built in the late 1960's and early 1970's, scientists were learning that asbestos fibers in materials commonly used to fireproof steel beams could cause cancer in workers and bystanders who were intensively exposed to the fibers, especially around mines and manufacturing plants dealing with asbestos. Anticipating a ban, the builders stopped using the materials by the time they reached the 40th floor of the north tower, the first one to go up. Now some engineers and scientists _ including at least one whose research supported an asbestos ban in New York City _ are haunted by a troubling question: were the substitute materials as effective in protecting against fire as the asbestos_containing materials they replaced?
My Comments:
Since both towers collapsed, and I believe the second tower went down prior to the first, even though it was hit first, I do not believe the asbestos ban lead to the loss of life in the buildings. Although, I do think that the ban on asbestos might have saved the life of people breathing in the dust, including our steelworkers who have been at site zero helping in the rescue and removal process. Seems to me that the ban on asbestos was a good move.
Source: The New York Times (free registration and 'cookies' requried) http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/18/health/anatomy/18ASBE.html
To Read more about EPA Air Monitoring in NYC for Asbestos (once at the site select monitoring sites to see actual data):
My Review
I really liked EcoPals.com, which is part of EcoISP.com,* it is a wonderful learning tool for children. The site can be accessed without belonging to the Eco Internet Service Provider.
EcoPals.com has 7 animal characters that have been entrusted with the job of teaching human children about how to live in balance with the environment. The site educates children through interactive educational games, jokes, riddles, projects, coloring pages, and other written information. There is also a parent/ teacher guide provided.
The site has contests for children and offers postcards. Everything is geared to educate children about how to live responsibly with Mother Earth. In one game, the children can drag trash (by using the mouse (clicker)) into the correct recycling bins. After trash is moved, the child clicks the "why" button, and they are told information about how and why the item belongs in different bins.
Website:
*Note: EcoISP.com is a new Internet Service Provider (ISP) that costs 15.95 a year. A portion of the monthly service fee goes to an environmental organization of your choice. The only problem with the service is that it does not have, as of yet, any local call numbers for the Haudenosaunee Nations.
Excerpt:
On October 1, 2001, the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded its first contract to a company owned by an Indian tribe or an Alaska Native Corporation to support the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER). It is also the second largest contract in the history of EPA awarded to a company owned by an Indian economic enterprise. Bristol Environmental and Engineering Services Corp.(BEESC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Bristol Bay Native Corporation and an 8(a) Alaska Native Corp., Anchorage, Alaska, was selected as the contractor to support the mission of OSWER's Office of Underground Storage Tanks. The task is to ensure that leaking underground storage tanks (LUST) no longer pose a threat to human health and the environment. Under the contract, BEESC will conduct site assessments, design corrective action plans, and/or monitor remediation activities required to clean up petroleum releases at LUST-eligible sites, primarily at underground storage tanks in Indian Country throughout the United States. This contract provides the mechanism for EPA to ensure that public health and the environment are protected in Indian Country if owners and operators are unable to fulfill their responsibilities should releases occur at the approximately 2,600 active underground storage tanks in Indian Country. EPA may also use this contract to deal with contamination from releases from abandoned underground storage tanks. The term of the contract is up to five years, with an estimated amount of up to $15.5 million over the life of the contract.
See for more EPA news:
http://www.usnewswire.com/topnews/Current_Releases/1004-142.html
By AP / Statewire A northern Wisconsin American Indian tribe has full authority to regulate the water quality on its reservation downstream from a proposed zinc and copper mine, a federal court ruled.
The ruling by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago could put another obstacle in the path of the proposed mine south of Crandon.
The court ruled Friday the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency can allow the Sokaogon Chippewa band to regulate waters on its reservation because tribal members have shown the waters are essential to their survival.
" This decision means that this ecosystem, which has sustained the tribe for all these centuries, will survive, " the tribe' s attorney, Glenn Reynolds of Madison, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. " Any upstream activity cannot produce change of water quality on tribal lands."
My Comments:
The Sokaogon Chippewa Water Quality Standards is one of 16 "tribal" water Quality Standards approved by EPA. The Chippewa culture and economy is dependent on the protection of their water quality, which would be degraded and destroy the designated use of the water, if a mine were to be allowed to discharge waste into the waters up stream from the reservation.
In reading the law case, I have included the link for those that might like to read it, one can see the animosity that states, oft times, have for our First Nations. It is also interesting to see the analytical framework that the court used in this case.
It is a good development that the nation’s right to regulate water quality on the reservation that has an effect of regulating up river uses was found in favor of the nation. The Plaintiff (Wisconsin) attempted to argue Hicks v Nevada, but the court held that:
The Supreme Court addressed one aspect of that relationship in its 2000 Term in Nevada v. Hicks, 121 S. Ct. 2304 (2001), which held that tribal authorities lacked legislative jurisdiction to regulate the activities of state officials on reservation land when those officials were investigating off-reservation violations of state law. Id. at 2318. A different aspect of the same relationship is before us here: namely, whether the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), acting through authority delegated to it by statute, was empowered to treat a particular tribe as a "state" for purposes of certain water quality rules. Like the district court, we conclude that the EPA acted properly in doing so, and we thus affirm the district court's judgment rejecting the challenge Wisconsin has brought to the EPA's action.
To Read full article:
http://www2.startribune.com/stOnLine/cgi-bin/article?thisStory=85016975
To Read the Law Case:
http://laws.lp.findlaw.com/7th/992618.html
My Review
Enature.com is a wonderful new Website. The site offers detailed information and photos of plants, mammals, and birds. There are free e-cards featuring numerous plants, animals, and stars that can be sent, in email, to friends and loved ones.
The site has an area where people can write to environmental experts. I really like the online field guides. There are eleven guides: Amphibians, Birds, Butterflies, Fish, Insects, Mammals, Reptiles, Seashells, Seashore Creatures, Spiders, Trees, and Wild Flowers. All of the guides contain photos, species information, and a life checklist. The bird field guide allows you to hear each species. I looked at the Eastern White Pine, in the tree guide, and it shows you a picture of the full tree, the bark, and the cone. All these features make learning and identifying the species easy and fun.
The site has a zip code search engine for common and endangered species living in your location. Sorry it doesn’t have Canada yet. You can even see a chart of the night sky with the Sky Guide. If you get a chance, check out the site. Save it for future reference.
Website:
Excerpt:
By Margaret Munro
THE NATIONAL POST ONLINE: It has been a remarkable turn around. Thirty years ago the Great Lakes were so polluted fish were dying in droves and the baby birds that hatched near the lakes were born with crossed beaks. One of the rivers flowing into the lakes was so contaminated it caught fire. In the early 1970s, Lake Erie was
declared dead.
Today, it is usually safe to swim in the lakes, which serve as both a sewer and a source of drinking water for 16 million Canadians. Bald eagles and peregrine falcons are returning, and the fish appear to be
thriving.
But official lake-watchers say looks can be deceiving. Yes, there have been huge gains in the battle to save the Earth's largest freshwater ecosystem. Unfortunately, there are still plenty of historic contaminants lurking on the lake bottoms and bioaccumulating in fish. And a host of new problems -- such as the ever-expanding animal farms that generate more sewage than 100 million people -- are real threats.
"The future of the [Great Lakes] basin is at risk," federal Environment Commissioner Johanne Gélinas, said this week in her scathing report on the federal government's failure to safeguard the lakes.
At a time when the government should be dealing with the many threats to the lakes, she said, "there is an overwhelming sense of resignation and complacency."
Health Canada, she says, does not have a strategy to determine whether drinking water from the Great Lakes is safe. Nor has the
federal government lived up to a 1985 agreement with the United States to clean up 16 highly contaminated hot spots on the Canadian
side of the lakes.
Those sites, which include parts of Hamilton Harbour, the Detroit and Niagara rivers and Toronto's waterfront, are laden with heavy metals
and persistent toxins like PCBs, furans and dioxins.
To read the rest of the Article see:
http://www.nationalpost.com/features/1001/100601lake.html
If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please contact Kanatiiosh
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