|
12/19/03
**************************************************************************
1. CSP Rule Released to Mixed
Reviews
2. Global Temperature and Costs Rising
3. Thomas Dorr: Bush Appointee Prevails
4. Forgotten but Not Gone?
***************************************************************************
1. CSP RULE RELEASED TO MIXED
REVIEWS
Many thanks to all of you who
responded to our December 1 action alert asking the USDA to
release the draft rule for implementation of the Conservation
Security Program. At long last, the NRCS this week has done just
that!
Farm conservation advocates are
delighted at the release of the rule, which clears the way for
implementation of the innovative program to begin by summer, but
are less enthusiastic about the contents of the rule. The rule
summary acknowledges that appropriations wrangling in Congress
and failure to fund the CSP as it was originally enacted,
"created a paradox: to design a new conservation
entitlement program with a cap on its expenditures." The
NRCS is proposing to deal with this by limiting enrollment to
discreet sign-ups, each targeting priority watersheds chosen on
the basis of "vulnerability of surface and groundwater
quality, the potential for excessive soil quality degradation,
and the condition of grazing land in the watershed." No one
outside of the watersheds chosen at each sign-up would be
allowed to enroll.
Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), the
author of the program, released a statement saying he was
"pleased" at the rules release, but said, " I
have concerns that the opportunities for enrollment in the
program may be too restricted, and that the administration may
be offering a greatly downsized program compared to what was
enacted in the 2002 farm bill. The NRCS has said that it will
offer "listening" sessions around the country to get
public input. Rural UPdates! will keep readers informed of this.
The proposed
rule will be open for comment for 60 days.
2. GLOBAL TEMPERATURE AND
COSTS RISING
According to a new report
released today the Atlantic Ocean is becoming saltier,
evaporating faster and such changes potentially affect large
scale climate circulations that govern global weather patterns.
The report, released in this weeks edition of the journal Nature
examined Atlantic Ocean salinity records dating back to 1955.
The researcher found tropical waters are becoming saltier while
freshwater is increasing in northern areas coinciding with
higher surface temperatures and increased melting of the
Greenland ice sheets.
Meanwhile, world leaders at a
United Nations conference on climate change last week listened
to insurance companies and other economic interests and
concluded that not only is the world heating up, but the change
is costing billions more every year in damages, due to a growing
number of extreme events.
Michael Condon, quoted in
Australia's ABC's
Rural News said climate change related events such as
"floods, cyclones or drought, cost more than $81 billion in
2003, up from some $70 billion in damages in 2002. Europe's
heatwave was the biggest single item with $10 billion in
agricultural losses alone, while flooding in China cost that
country $8 billion."
3. THOMAS DORR: BUSH APPOINTEE
PREVAILS
Last week Agriculture Secretary
Anne Veneman announced she would name Thomas Dorr as her senior
advisor of rural development for the US Department of
Agriculture. Dorr had been previously appointed by President
Bush as undersecretary for rural development via a "recess
appointment," but his confirmation was later rejected by
the Senate after family farmers mounted a national campaigning
decrying Dorr as the "poster boy" for corporate
agriculture. Trouble surfaced for Dorr after reports revealed
that speech he made at Iowa State University in 1999 claimed
that the "most successful rural areas in Iowa were 'not
particularly diverse' in their ethnic and religious
backgrounds."
Later Dorr was investigated for
improprieties in farm subsidy payments. He was required to pay
$17,000 to the Department of Agriculture. Investigations
revealed he had "misrepresented the nature of the farm's
operations in papers filed the three previous years." In a
letter that Veneman wrote to state development administrators
and directors announcing Dorr's position she said she was
disappointed by the Senate's unwillingness to confirm Dorr and
said she would "continue to utilize Tom's vison on my
team."
4. FORGOTTEN BUT NOT GONE?
StarLink continues to rear its
ugly head, according to a December 1 article in the San Jose
"Mercury News." The genetically engineered corn gained
infamy in 2000 when it was discovered in taco shells chips and
muffin mixes, despite the fact that it had not been approved for
human consumption. Three years later, traces of the corn are
still present "in more than 1 percent of samples submitted
by growers and grain handlers in the past 12 months." The
case exemplifies how difficult it is to remove a contaminant
completely once it enters the food supply.
StarLink
corn, which was modified to produce a pesticide, reportedly
caused allergies in dozens of people. In an attempt to protect
farmers and consumers, Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) has
introduced The Genetically
Engineered Crop and Animal Farmer Protection Act of 2003 (H.R.
2918). The bill would: require disclosure of possible risks
posed by GMOs; prohibit contract provisions that shift liability
to farmers or restrict farmers' rights; restrict noncompetitive
practices involved in the sale of genetically modified seeds;
prohibit "terminator" seeds; and enact measures to
prevent cross-pollination and pesticide resistance resulting
from GM crops.
Cultivating a vision where
rural and urban communities join together
to ensure abundant family farms, healthy critters, clean water and
a wild Earth.
If you would like to subscribe or unsubscribe to this list,
visit our
Rural
Updates Subscriber Center. Read previous issues by
visiting our Rural
Updates Archive.
Rural Updates!
Scotty Johnson and Aimee Delach
National Rural Community Outreach Campaign
sjohnson@defenders.org
|
