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Directory of Products and Services, under Socially Responsible Shopping, Serrv International.
Directory of Products and Services, under Resources to Help You Decide: What's in a Fairtrade Label?. Also, the Resources section has been reorganized to be easier to follow.
Home page, under In the News/Products & Services: Beef recall
Directory of Products and Services, under Resources to Help You Decide: What's in the Organic Label?
In the News
Animals | | Corporations, in general | Corporations, specific companies | Discrimination | Alternative Energy | Global Warming | Human rights, China | Products & Services | Peace & Justice | Sweatshops | Torture | Voting
Animals
Crustacians and Pain
BBC article reports on research on hermit crabs that suggests they feel and remember pain. Professor Bob Elwood says there are no protections in the food industry for crustacians such as lobsters, prawns, and crabs because people assume they cannot feel pain, and this needs to be investigated.
Meat and Climate Change
2008 September 7 BBC article reports the chair of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, said UN figures estimate meat production causes "about 18% of the world's total greenhouse gas emissions", whereas transport accounts for 13%. Dr. Pachauri spoke at a lecture organized by Compassion in World Farming (CIWF), which works to end factory farming.
Recalled Beef
2008 February 18 post on website of Humane Society of the U.S. gives details of their investigation showing cruel treatment of downed cows (cows that are unable to walk). Existing laws and the presence of U.S. Dept. of Agriculture inspectors did not prevent this tragedy. The investigation led to the recall of 143 million pounds of beef deemed unsafe for human consumption. The Humane Society recommends passage of the Farm Animal Stewardship Purchasing Act, H.R. 1726 and the Downed Animal Protection Act (S. 394 and H.R. 661). Each of these sites provide links to contact your congresspersons.
Whales and sonar
2007 April 25 article in the Honolulu Weekly describes findings by marine mammal researchers protesting the "U.S. Department of Defense decision to exempt the Navy from the requirements of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which makes it a crime to harass, kill or injure marine mammals".
The protesters say Navy sonar testing in a Hawaiian breeding grounds for whales causes brain and inner ear hemorraghing in whales, leading to injury and death. They say reports of beached whales are a poor indication of the number of whales affected, because most whales harmed by sonar sink and die, never to be found, rather than beaching themselves.
The protesters' findings are disputed by the Office of Naval Research (ONR). The ONR plans to increase sonar blasts in Hawaii and has issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), which the protesters say is flawed. The protesters say the Navy funds most marine mammal research and has made life difficult for scientists on their payroll when those scientists report findings in conflict with Navy interests. One researcher likened "a Navy-sponsored panel of scientists discussing the effects of noise pollution" to a “special session on lung cancer held at a professional conference of oncologists funded by the tobacco industry.”
Wildlife trade
2007 February 5 BBC article: peace process diverts attention from illegal trade in endangered wildlife in Nepal
Dogs and China
2006 December 22 Environment News Service report: in response to national and international complaints, China Ends Dog Crackdown
Alternative Energy
Power grid hinders wind energy
2008 August 26 New York Times article says wind and solar companies have the ability to produce large amounts of energy in sparsely populated areas, but the current grid is unable to transmit the power to distant population centers. The solutions are political rather than technological. The solutions involve state and federal governments, many companies, property owners, and many permits.Corporations
Social responsibility standards
Inc.com in 2007 July profiles B Corporation in A New Kind of Company. (You have to wait for the ad to display for a moment and then disappear before the article becomes visible.)Several companies are developing standards for certifying socially responsible companies. B Corporation is unique in that it requires articles of incorporation holding companies responsible to stakeholders, not just shareholders, theoretically perpetuating social goals in the event such companies are sold. Legal questions remain.
Unintended consequences
2007 December 16 Los Angeles Times Investigation finds the Gates Foundation's focus on major diseases in Africa has drawn staff away from basic care into higher-paid specialties. The narrow focus has resulted in decreased death rates from diseases that can be treated or prevented with medicines or vaccines, but lack of improvement or worsening of such things as basic hygiene in hospitals, adequate numbers of life-saving oxygen tubes, and transportation to health care facilities.
Discrimination
Then and now
Counterpunch special, "The Legacy of Strom Thurmond", gives insight into history of race relations in U.S., and reminds us of discriminatory and segregationist practices in higher education as recently as 2000.
Global warming
Energy Star Computers
Home page for U.S. Energy Star program says "if all computers sold in the United States meet the ENERGY STAR requirements, the savings in energy costs will grow to about $2 billion each year and greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by the equivalent of those from 2 million cars."
Tibet
2007 July 22 BBC report: Quinghai Province in Tibet already experiencing effects of climate change.
Visual guide
Past, present, and future: 2007 February 2 BBC visual guide.
Local control
How one village is working toward energy independence, financial savings, and helping the environment: 2008 June 23 article from Le Monde, in English ; in French.
Post Carbon Institute advocates moving toward local control of environmental, economic, and social justice issues.
IPCC
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) releases new report. Brief synopsis, 2007 February: BBC's At a glance: IPCC report . More about the IPCC: IPCC website's About page and Wikipedia. The report in full: Special Report on Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage.
Collaborative effort: Global Warming: Early Warning Signs includes map of world's hot spots.
Human rights, China
Oppression of Citizen Bloggers
2008 January 11 article in La Rue, available in English from Truthout or in French from La Rue,
Communist Party
2007 February 25 New York Times article says people fighting to expand freedom, political openness, and the rule of law in China disagree on whether to work within the Communist Party system or seek to end it. Chinese leaders eager to improve their image in the modern world tolerate an informal network of rights activists working within China's legal system and news media, but crush organized opposition. Rights workers operating within the system focus on fighting abuses at the local level. They say top leaders are more likely to enforce law at the local level to bolster their own popularity, and enable rights defenders to get around local authorities who play by their own rules rather than consitutional law. Rights workers who believe this is a futile tactic say President Hu Jintao has increased Communist Party control over courts and journalists. Dissidents critical of the government have been harassed, physically attacked, or given long prison sentences.
Peace & Justice
Department of Peace
2007 February 5: HR808 reintroduces legislation to create a U.S. Department of Peace. Proposed by U.S. Congressman Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, the legislation would require the U.S. to put as much energy into peacemaking (domestic as well as international) as it does into making war.
Negotiation
Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In, by Roger Fisher, William Ury, and Bruce Patton explains principled negotiation, which can be used by individuals, businesses, or nations, even when only one of the parties uses it. This enlightening and practical book can be ordered online from Amazon.com.
Restorative justice
The website Restorative Justice describes resources, principles, programs and outcomes for this alternative approach to traditional punishment that "emphasizes repairing the harm caused or revealed by criminal behaviour".
Weapons of mass destruction
2007 January 26 Truthout article: China's ballistic missile increases India's motives for collaborating with U.S. on building its nuclear missile program.
Products & Services
Beef recall
2009 June 28: JBS-Swift Beef Co recalls beef due to possible bacterial contamination that could potentially cause serious illnesses.
Sweatshops
Nike
2008 August 5: The Oregonian reports on criticisms of conditions in Nike factories and Nike's response. Worker rights advocates say pressure from Nike on contractors to lower prices forces contractors to pay sweatshop wages and maintain sweatshop conditions. Nike counters that they can't change conditions "without help from other companies, governments and workers' rights groups". Consumers have not been boycotting Nike products as the did in the 90's; critics say this is because Nike's public relations efforts have been hugely successful even though they have not helped workers.China
2007 August 22 New York Times article, available from Truthout, reports U.S.-based China Labor Watch alleges widespread violations of Chinese labor law in toy factories in China. The factories include toys made for Hasbro and Walt Disney. "China Labor Watch assigned part of the blame to multinational corporations that focus on keeping costs low."
Torture
Guantanamo
2007 March 9 BBC article on hearings on 14 Guantanamo defendants transfered from secret CIA prisons says there are no reporters or defense lawyers at the hearings, which may consider evidence obtained by force.
Voting
Florida
Being able to cast a vote that is counted accurately is a prerequisite to all other human rights. Problems with electronic voting machines with no auditable paper trails have compromised the integrity of elections. Kindra Muntz, President, Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections (SAFE) in a 2007 May 3 press release states "In a historic vote, the Florida House today unanimously passed CS/HB 537, already passed in the Senate, that provides almost all voters paper ballots in time for the 2008 Presidential election, and bans paperless DREs [direct record electronic voting machines] outright by 2012. The bill now goes to the Governor [Crist] where he’s sure to sign it since it’s his initiative."