Friday, 20 Jul 2001

I Could Have Had a G8!

One demonstrator has been killed and at least 46 demonstrators and 31 police officers have been hurt today in Genoa, Italy, where leaders of the Group of Eight nations have gathered for their annual summit. Barricades set up earlier this week have kept protesters far from the medieval palace in which the G8 leaders are meeting. Before today's protests turned violent, U.S. President Bush said of the tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in Genoa: "I reject the isolationism and protectionism that dominates those who would try to disrupt the meetings."

Global Heartwarming

After four days of slogging through dense text, clearing away underbrush, and settling some of the simpler issues before them, climate negotiators today got down to the real business at hand, writes Elliot Diringer from Bonn, Germany. And while no one with any sense would predict the outcome, it was possible for the first time in a long while to detect a few glimmers of hope. Read more from Diringer, a veteran environmental reporter now with the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, on the Grist Magazine website.

The Owl and the Pussycat

A single spotted owl roosting in an old-growth tree in British Columbia won a reprieve yesterday when a British Columbia Supreme Court judge overturned permits given to the Cattermole Timber company to log the area where the tree stands. Enviros believe the province's forestry ministry gave short shrift to a warning from the environment ministry that the area is owl habitat. Their court victory may be short-lived, however -- the judge sent the matter back to the forestry ministry for it to be reconsidered before the summer is out.

Fund for the Whole Family

To help fund its operations, the Sierra Club may start a mutual fund to invest in companies that pass a strict green test. The group's executive director, Carl Pope, said the fund would use a tougher investment screen than most other mutual funds marketed as being environmentally responsible. The fund would be managed by an outside firm and pay royalties to the club for the use of its name and investment screen. The club hopes to earn as much as $1 million from the fund within five years. But some board members haven't yet bought into the idea. "Selling the club's name cheapens it," said Phillip Berry, a former president, at a board meeting in May.

Ass Getting Whipped

The wild Persian ass is struggling to avoid extinction in Iran. The animals were once common across central Asia and the Middle East, but no more than 400 of them remain today. Since the Iranian revolution in 1978, uncontrolled hunting and habitat destruction have wiped out 90 percent of the population. Ass fans are pinning their hopes on a project begun four years ago to breed the wild animals in captivity; six of the captive animals are now reproducing successfully.