Monday, 13 Aug 2001

Smacked Down

The World Wildlife Fund won a legal battle on Friday to limit the World Wrestling Federation's use of the initials WWF. A High Court judge in London ruled that the federation broke a 1994 agreement with the enviro group, under which the wrestlers agreed to restrict their use of the initials in promoting their, um, "sport." In particular, the enviro group says the court victory means the wrestlers will have to stop using www.wwf.com as their website address.

Oil Is Thicker Than Blood

Police in Nigeria this weekend shot and killed a demonstrator who was protesting against an oil spill at a Royal Dutch/Shell field, reports the independent newspaper ThisDay. Gabriel Ayoko, a 23-year-old student, died accusing Shell of stalling efforts to clean up the spill, which occurred months ago. Protesters said the police, who were escorting a contractor and a team sent by Shell to attend to the spill, opened fire on them. But a police spokesperson said Ayoko was shot as he reached for an officer's gun. One protester said, "When an oil spill happens in developed countries, how many hours does it take Shell to start a cleanup exercise?"

Oh Baby, Baby, It's Dry World

Some 450 million people in the world are now confronting water-shortage problems. That's grim enough -- but experts meeting this week in Stockholm to discuss water scarcity say the number could grow to 2.7 billion within 25 years. North Africa, the Middle East, Pakistan, and parts of India and China, as well as areas in southern Europe, are most hurt by current shortages. Parts of the U.S., however, aren't far behind. Warmer temperatures, the loss of wetlands to sprawl, and the growing demands of agriculture are accelerating shortages across the U.S. Major U.S. cities could go dry in 10 to 20 years.

Time Off for Bad Behavior?

U.S. President Bush told ABC News on Friday that his administration could have done a better job spinning its environmental policies. Bush, in an interview from his Texas ranch, where he is vacationing for the month, said, "My administration's made a lot of very thoughtful and environmentally sensitive decisions, but you get no credit for it. ... Listen, ours is an administration that's going to put forth good, balanced environmental policy, policy that understands you can have economic growth and ... at the same time protect the environment. Policy that'll base decisions on science, not on some fad or, you know, politics." Later this week, in what could be Bush's biggest enviro decision yet, the administration is expected to recommend easing Clean Air Act restrictions on industrial polluters.

In for a Penny, in for a Pound

Assets of socially responsible funds grew five times faster than those of other funds over the past three decades, according to a report released last week by Pax World Funds. The funds focus on different issues, screening out companies with poor records in areas like the environment, diversity, and health. Pax World said the assets in the funds reached $103 billion by mid-2001, up from $150 million in 1971. Pax World President Thomas Grant said, "We have busted the underperformance myth that is associated with many socially responsible mutual funds."