Ecological Internet

Article originally published as "Resistance Growing to Ecologically Devastating Chinese Mining Invasion of Madang, Papua New Guinea" on rainforestportal.org o 1 Apr 10. What you can do: e-mail China Metallurgical Construction Corporation to let them know of your objection to their invasion of Madang.

Article originally published as "Resistance Growing to Ecologically Devastating Chinese Mining Invasion of Madang, Papua New Guinea" on rainforestportal.org o 1 Apr 10.

Chinese government owned China Metallurgical Construction (MCC) Corp. efforts to establish the massively destructive Ramu Nickel mine in Madang Province, Papua New Guinea -- the largest investment in metal exploration and mining by the Chinese outside of China -- is in serious jeopardy. Local landowners are initiating court cases and protests to demand the mine be stopped. The nearly completed Ramu project will mine nickel and cobalt ore at Kurumbukari -- which is located in the foothills of the Bismarck Ranges approximately 75km south west of the provincial capital of Madang. Topsoil will be scraped off a mountainous area and then the nickel-bearing soil will be mixed with water and the slurry sent down a 135 km pipeline through heavy rainforests to an ore refinery and treatment plant at pristine Basamuk Bay on the Bismarck Sea.  The ore will then be shipped to China, and the waste -- some 100 million tons over 20 years-- dumped directly into the sea.

The Ramu Mine's waste tailings will poison fish stocks and cause extreme ecological destruction of the seabed. Although the mining company describes the tailings disposal as "deep sea", tailings will be dumped at a depth of only 150 metres. Tailings will not be covered or otherwise secured -- rather they will simply be pumped out of the end of a pipeline and allowed to spread freely through spectacular Astrolabe Bay. Almost certainly the tailings will not remain where they are placed, and will spread widely in one of the last intact tuna fisheries globally. With work on the overland pipeline completed, the Chinese are now planning a series of underwater explosions to blast a way through coral reefs for the undersea section of the pipe.

Despite competing and still unresolved communal land right claims, the Kurumbukari people at the mine site have been devastated by their forced removal from their ancestral lands by police operating on behalf of MCC. People all along the project are extremely anxious about the ecological and social impact of the mine in their area, and the blatant corruption. They worry the mine will devastate the Ramu river, that the shoddy pipeline will leak - devastating rainforests and communities, and that the seabed tailings disposal will destroy their abundant marine resources. Local peoples feel impotent in the face of the ruthless indifference of the Chinese to PNG law, and the corruption of the national and local politicians who are lining their own pockets at the expense of Madang landowners.

MCC - managed by the local subsidiary Ramu Nico - was about to start blasting coral reefs to allow the laying of the tailings pipeline, when a court decision last week - on a case brought by local landowners - granted a temporary injunction stopping pipeline construction and work on the mine's seabed tailings disposal system. During court proceedings hundreds of landowners and local people protested peacefully outside the court house by holding placards showing their dismay, and were not intimidated by a heavy police presence. Representative signs read "Madang not China". "No Blasting, No dumping", and "Where is Justice?". Many countries have banned the dumping of mine waste in the sea, but Wari Iamo -- the deeply corrupted Secretary of the Department of Environment and Conservation -- has deemed it okay in Papua New Guinea.  MCC is to return to court in Madang on April 12.

The entire project has been mismanaged, marked by shoddy construction; and disregard for local rights, life, and marine and rainforest ecology. Recently a devastating fire at the mine site caused the destruction of the kitchen as plastic pipes that were used to feed diesel fuel to the kitchen melted. Sexually transmitted diseases are rampant as Chinese workers have forced prostitution and even rape upon local women. Construction work has already destroyed local drinking water supplies. Lack of drainage and retaining walls along the shoddy pipeline have already caused large landslips and blockage of the only highway into the province. The pipeline is extremely vulnerable to sabotage by disgruntled local peoples.

Papua New Guinea is not a brutal communist dictatorship, but a liberal democracy where free speech and human rights are respected and enshrined constitutionally. China's rising influence in PNG threatens the country's freedom of religion, speech and land rights. The mine was conceived in the capital Port Moresby and is being forced upon local peoples without prior and informed consent. It has been alleged in local media that MCC recently provided USD 10 million to the government of Michael Somare to defend itself against a vote of no confidence, and additional huge bribes have routinely been made previously throughout the approval and construction processes. A leading Papua New Guinea geologist says the Ramu Nickel mine has been massively undervalued -- that it was sold to the Chinese for just 5% of its true value, and is worth $US34 billion and not $US1.7 billion This is another example of the "broad daylight rape" and exploitation of Papua New Guinea's resources -- already evident in Madang with grossly inappropriate foreign owned, industrial tuna and timber projects. Chinese mining investment in Madang against local wishes can only be described as an invasion of sovereign peoples, and will be resisted at all costs.

What you can do: e-mail China Metallurgical Construction Corporation to let them know of your objection to their invasion of Madang.

- President Obama now has chance to protect America's forest legacy, and allow Oregon and the nation's overworked forest biodiversity and carbon stores to recover ecologically.

December 10, 2008
By Earth's Newsdesk, a project of Ecological Internet
www.ecoearth.info/newsdesk

(Seattle, WA) -- Ecological Internet (EI) welcomes Oregon governor Ted Kulongoski's decision to block Bush administration plans to sharply increase logging on 2.2 million acres of BLM forests in Western Oregon. Kulongoski concluded that President Bush's hastily arrived at logging plan did not conform to federal environmental laws such as the Endangered Species Act, and failed to protect and restore mature forests to sequester carbon. It would have locked in Bush's anti-environment, industrial forestry model for decades.

By waiting until the deadline and calling for revisions and a 30-day extension for public comment, Kulongoski put off final approval until the administration of Democratic President- elect Barack Obama. This decision will ultimately be made by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior and Congress. This forbearance was not a foregone conclusion, as Oregon has a long history of forest patronage and destroying terrestrial ecosystems for short term economic gain causing long term environmental pain.

This is a major victory for Ecological Internet and others that campaigned for this outcome, and portends greater ecological restoration of America's biodiversity and carbon stores once the "Toxic Texan" has left town, and the much anticipated era of ecological hope commences. EI's Earth Action Network's got just what we asked for, and this most recent victory once again demonstrates our global leadership in using the Internet to facilitate environmental conservation.

"It is just amazing what can be done when global citizens speak loudly with one voice, demanding accountability from environmental policy-making," explains Dr. Glen Barry, EI's President. "The Earth has surpassed its carrying capacity, yet ecosystems continue to be wantonly destroyed. Oregon's decision represents further success of a growing global protest movement demanding dramatic transformation to ecological sustainability."

EI's brand of Internet protest -- where citizen activists personally contact decision-makers -- is hard to ignore, as environmental ill-doers are bombarded with specific, scientifically credible protest emails from around the globe. This approach ensures accountability from frequently anonymous bureaucrats who are determining the Earth's fate.

"We are well past the time where petitions, banner drops and light-bulbs will save us. Ecological Internet's Earth Action Network intends to continue rapidly intensifying protests both on and off the Internet, working for a global mass mobilization, which amongst other things ends ancient forest logging and the use of coal. There are many working on these matters around the world, the movement is growing, and we must ensure we act with all haste before global ecosystem collapse becomes unavoidable."

Dr. Glen Barry is a spokesperson on behalf of global ecological sustainability. Ecological Internet provides the world's leading forests, climate and environment portals at forests.org www.climateark.org and www.ecoearth.info. Contact Dr. Barry for interviews on the latest global environmental policy developments and sufficient ecological solutions at: glenbarry [AT] ecologicalinternet.org.

What you can do: Give generously to forests.org and other Ecological Internet projects to help them achieve more such wins for the environment.

Discuss release:
forests.org/blog/2008/12/oregons-governor-stymies-bushs.asp

Current alerts:
www.ecoearth.info/shared/alerts

See original article: "Oregon's Governor Stymies Bush's 'Midnight' Forest Raid" on forests.org.
See also: Oregon governor objects to Bureau of Land Management logging plan in Capital Press of 11 Dec 08, "Editorial: Kulongoski takes WOPR, tries to have it his way" in News Review Today of 11 Dec 08 (This editorial is somewhat critical of Governor Ted Kulongoski, but makes little sense to me - JS).

By Earth's Newsdesk, a project of Ecological Internet (www.ecologicalinternet.org) by Dr. Glen Barry, +1 (920) 776-1075Friday 15 September 08. Originally published here.

- Ecological Internet warns converging economic, climate, food and fuel crises are symptoms of massive global ecological bubble, and that without ecosystems there can be no economy

(Earth) -- Current economic difficulties are largely caused by failing global ecosystems and resource scarcity, and are not an excuse to reduce environmental commitments, warns Ecological Internet. The bursting of the mortgage and financial bubbles, and food and energy price increases, are the logical and inevitable economic consequences of over-population, inequitable and unreasonable consumption, and unsustainable economic growth. Environmentalism is the solution to, not the cause of, economic hard times.

"The global growth machine is seizing up because it is hitting ecological limits and because of its own greed. Current global economic difficulties must not stop urgent ecological measures -- like dramatic emission reductions and natural habitat protection and restoration -- necessary to maintain a habitable Earth. Without ecosystems there can be no economic recovery," warns Dr. Glen Barry.

Sufficient environmental policies find it difficult to achieve political support even in times of rapid economic growth, yet this growth is the primary factor driving greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental ills. Human needs for water, air, food and housing are no less in hard times. More than ever ecological sustainability depends critically upon establishing a steady state economy, whereby production is right-sized to not diminish natural capital. Whole industries like coal and ancient forest logging will be eliminated even as new economic opportunities emerge in solar energy and ecological restoration.

This economic cooling may offer a welcome respite to reconsider the growth at any cost madness devouring the Earth’s life giving ecosystems. Growth and livelihoods based upon over resource use from dwindling ecosystems, that mostly benefit the elites, are a dangerous, unprecedented "ecological bubble" that threatens not only widespread economic hardship, but the future of civilization and terrible human suffering.

"In the mortgage bubble's bursting, we see signs of ecological bubbles to come. The world is not only at peak oil, but at or near peak water, land, climate, oceans, food and usable energy. The human enterprise and each global citizen's family size and consumption aspirations must be downsized to a scale appropriate to ecosystem limits. Or the Earth herself, with the assistance of the human created economic system, will do so brutally. Even the best high-yield financial instrument is ultimately only paper and cannot be eaten," observes Dr. Barry.

For further information : ecologicalinternet.org, phone Dr. Glen Barry on +1 (920) 776-1075, or e-mail info [AT] ecologicalinternet org

New ecological science increases calls for forest protection movement to unite in campaign to protect all ancient forests.

September 11, 2008 By Earth's Newsdesk, a project of Ecological Internet (EI)
www.ecoearth.info/newsdesk

A new study in the journal Nature finds old-growth forests are "carbon sinks" and continually absorb carbon dioxide_#main-fn1">1. Australian researchers recently found logging primary forests releases 40 percent of their carbon_#main-fn2">2. These findings discredit decades of thought that primary forests are carbon neutral and only young forests continue to remove carbon.

The Earth's remaining ancient forests need to be fully protected not just because destroying them will release huge stores of greenhouse gases while destroying biodiversity -- but because science now knows what many of us intuited -- they continue in perpetuity to absorb massive amounts of new carbon dioxide. The environmental movement must respond accordingly.

This causes discomfort for groups like Greenpeace and the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) that actively support ancient forest logging. They campaign for certified industrial first-time harvest of primary forests, and to establish some protected areas, while acquiescing to ancient forest logging elsewhere. They work to end coal use, but not ancient forest logging. New ecological science indicates their discredited forest campaigns cause climate change and block ecologically sufficient policies.

Thirty percent of global forests are unmanaged primary forests or regenerating old-growth forests. These ancient forests in Canada, Russia and Alaska alone absorb 1.3 gigatonnes of carbon annually, about ten percent of global emissions. Much of their carbon, including in the soil, "will move back to the atmosphere if these forests are disturbed... Carbon accounting rules for forests should give credit for leaving old-growth forest intact," conclude Oregon State University researchers in Nature.

Greenpeace and RAN -- and virtually every major forest campaign -- continue to focus upon establishing protected areas in some remaining wildernesses, and making first-time industrial logging less damaging elsewhere. After millennia of terrestrial ecosystem destruction by humans, and over a century of failed logging reform, ecologically driven activists question the dominant failed paradigm that logging primeval forests can ever be justified. This has led to a major schism in the forest protection movement, which is not going to go away easily.

Both RAN and Greenpeace recently celebrated Ontario, Canada's promise to protect Boreal Forests in coming decades in exchange for continued industrial development now. Since the announcement, plans to log old-growth forests in Ontario's Temagami region have been fast-tracked, and logging giant AbitibiBowater has taken the agreement as a green light to intensify logging. This occurs with Greenpeace and RAN's blessing, because there may be some protections in 15 years.

Greenpeace activists last week boarded a logging ship in Papua New Guinea (PNG) to prevent Malaysian-owned logging company Rimbunan Hijau from exporting timber to China. "We need to urgently protect these ancient forests to save our climate... Greenpeace is asking the PNG government to establish a moratorium on any new large-scale logging," said campaigner Sam Moko. Given PNG's two earlier, largely Greenpeace inspired, temporary moratoriums in past decades, that led to no changes in forest policy, perhaps Greenpeace should work to END ancient forest logging in PNG and globally, before the forests are gone.

Britain's Prince Charles called yesterday for the world to act with a "sense of wartime urgency" to protect the rainforests, warning they were "umbilically connected" to the phenomenon of climate change. The heir to the British throne says rainforests "are the world's lifebelt", acting as the "world's air conditioning system" and helping store the largest body of flowing water on the planet. Such ambitious, ecologically- based policy is welcome from the nation that unleashed industrialism.

For over a decade, Ecological Internet (EI) -- the world's leading exclusively Internet-based forest and climate campaigners -- has called for an end to all primary and old- growth forest logging as necessary to save the Earth's climate and biodiversity. Active campaigns seek to end ancient forest logging in Tasmania, Australia and British Columbia, Canada. EI has campaigned to have Greenpeace and RAN change their forest policies, and given current science, their hand to continue doing so has been strengthened.

The response has been nearly total silence, with some ridicule and questioning of motives. Yet, there are important discussions regarding how forests relate to global ecological sustainability that must be held, and EI and allies will persevere. Are there enough ancient forests remaining to sustain atmospheric processes? Can first time industrial logging of ancient forests ever be done carefully enough to maintain carbon, species and other values? Is wide-scale industrial development of primary forests acceptable if indigenous peoples so desire? Why are Greenpeace and RAN stonewalling such important questions?

According to EI President, Dr. Glen Barry, "Greenpeace and RAN must engage in public dialogue, and review their forest campaigns, to bring them up to date with ecological science and planetary conditions. Emphasis must be upon requirements to maintain the Earth's atmosphere and all life's habitats -- regardless of difficulty -- and this means leaving old-growth standing. Until all forest defenders embrace full protection for ancient forests, ecologically sufficient forest campaigns cannot succeed. Continued refusal makes Greenpeace and RAN legitimate targets of protest."

Discuss this article : forests.org/blog/2008/09/feature-old-growth-carbon-find.asp

Footnotes

#main-fn1" id="main-fn1">1. #main-fn1-txt">↑ Old-growth forests as global carbon sinks. Nature 455, 213-215 (September 11, 2008).

#main-fn2" id="main-fn2">2. #main-fn2-txt">↑ Green Carbon: The role of natural forests in carbon storage. ANU E Press (July 2008).

Media release

September 8, 2008
By Earth's Newsdesk, a project of Ecological Internet (EI)
www.ecoearth.info/newsdesk
Contact: Dr. Glen Barry, +1 (920) 776-1075

(Earth) -- A new type of environmental news service launches this week, as "Earth's Newsdesk" will report upon ecological science, policy and advocacy from the Earth's perspective. Ecological Internet will begin regularly providing biocentric media releases and feature articles for publication elsewhere. This continues a long list of firsts from EI and its predecessors, including the web's first blog and environmental search engine.

The free service will build upon Ecological Internet's constant tracking of environmental science, policy and advocacy -- and years of deep green analysis and action -- and will report upon major threats and opportunities facing forests, climate, water and oceans. It will focus upon environmental sustainability and the needs of the biosphere, and her ability to continue maintaining a habitable Earth for all life.

"The emphasis will be upon fully and truthfully knowing the magnitude of global ecological crises, and reporting upon ambitious yet attainable ecological sustainability solutions," explains Ecological Internet's President, Dr. Glen Barry.

"There is something deeply wrong when foundation-fed environmental groups tell us logging ancient forests protects them, and governments fail miserably to promote adequate climate policies. 'Earth's Newsdesk' will be a fierce, independent voice for ecological sufficiency. No government or organization's greenwash will be safe from criticism."

This new news service, along with the soon to launch "New Earth Rising" e-zine, will substantially increase Ecological Internet's original content offerings. EI continues to recruit essayists and guest bloggers. These writings will compliment Ecological Internet's unmatched environmental search, news tracking, deep ecological analysis and action alerts.

Those subscribed to Ecological Internet's Climate and Forest News Today email lists, and extensive global media list, will already receive the releases. Subscribers belonging only to Ecological Internet's "Earth Action Network" will need to add Earth's Newsdesk to their subscriber settings at: http://www.ecoearth.info/shared/subscribe/

Discuss this media release at www.ecoearth.info/blog/2008/09/release_earths_newsdesk_launch.asp.

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Dr. Glen Barry is a leading global spokesperson on global forest and climate policy. Ecological Internet provides the web's leading environment, climate and forest web portals at www.ecoearth.info, www.climateark.org and forests.org. Dr. Barry frequently conducts interviews on the latest global environmental policy developments and can be reached at: glenbarry [AT] ecologicalinternet org (note confirmation email response required) and +1 (920) 776-1075.

August 28, 2008
Media release by Earth News, a project of Ecological Internet
Dr. Glen Barry, +1 (920) 776-1075
Originally published on 28 Aug 08 on forests.org.

(Earth) -- Rainforest Action Network (ran.org) of San Francisco has long been one of America's leading rainforest campaign organizations. Yet in July their campaign to protect Ontario, Canada's boreal forests doomed half this vital global ecological system to industrial destruction. In return, RAN and other proponents received vague promises of protections over a decade from now, but no protected area boundaries or protection plans.

Canada's boreal forests are home to hundreds of sensitive species of animals including polar bears, caribou and wolverines. Boreal forests are some of the world's largest carbon storehouses, with holdings equal to decades of global emissions from fossil fuels, while continually absorbing new emissions. The boreal region is also the world's largest reservoir of clean fresh water.

"Just how much longer do you think environmentalists can strike deals that give up half of large wilderness ecosystems to industrial development for vague promises of protection? Simply, more ecologically attuned folks know no more natural habitats can be lost and expect to survive climate change," explains Ecological Internet's President, Dr. Glen Barry.

Neither RAN, WWF or even Greenpeace realize that there is no longer any acceptable reason to industrially destroy or diminish an intact natural ecosystem -- not if falsely FSC certified, not to briefly alleviate poverty, and not because indigenous people are in favor. The state of the Earth is so grim, and the needs to protect and restore natural ecosystem so large, that only sufficient campaigns seeking to end industrial cutting and burning are worthwhile any longer. The rest is greenwash.

It is unknown if 50 percent protection -- of unknown strength and placement -- will be enough to fully sustain Ontario's biodiversity and ecosystem services. Future protections will likely center on the sparsely populated and largely unthreatened northern boreal, while with its promotion and endorsement of the vague plan, RAN has greenwashed intensified forestry and mining in the already heavily fragmented southern boreal.

"The only meaningful forest protection is to work to keep all ancient primary forests standing, and to meet needs for forest products from secondary forests regenerating into old-growth. There is no chance of achieving global ecological sustainability until ecological destruction ends, what remains is fully protected, and restoration begins," explains Dr. Barry.

Further developments

This is the second time in recent history -- the other being in British Columbia, Canada's priceless Great Bear temperate rainforest -- that RAN has been a driving force in continuing industrial loss of the world's most important remaining large, intact forest wildernesses. Greenwashing millions of acres of industrial wilderness destruction in the name of indigenous rights is not doing these people or the environment any favors. Thankfully, RAN now does little tropical rainforest campaigning, so they may be safe. With more victories like this, soon there will be no ancient forests or an operable climate.

RAN's slide from a force for forest good to a force for forest greenwash must not go unchallenged. This is particularly difficult for Ecological Internet, as President Dr. Glen Barry is a RAN rainforest award recipient, and has worked collaboratively with them for decades. Yet RAN's string of blunders -- also including occupying campaign offices of Al Gore to protest oil investments (which Nader also had), possibly swinging the 2000 election -- cannot be forgotten nor forgiven, particularly while ill-informed appeasement continues. RAN has censored those questioning these policies on their blog.

Dr. Barry laments, "You can?t present yourselves as cutting edge, selfless and knowledgeable forest protestors and be routinely cutting deals to turn over millions of acres of ancient forests to fatcat loggers and minders. We need to focus on how many ecosystems are necessary to maintain the Earth's habitability, and reaching these levels of protection and restoration, not upon what can be indelicately and easily negotiated.

RAN is called upon to get on board protecting all ancient forests and working to restore mature, old-growth forests; or they, like so much of the mainstream environmental movement, are part of the climate and biodiversity crises. "Giving up on half of Canada's boreal forests for a pocket full is mumbles is not the role of the Rainforest Action Network, members or donors. They have no authority or expertise to be pursuing such deals."

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Dr. Glen Barry is a leading global spokesperson on global forest and climate policy. Ecological Internet provides the world's leading climate and forest web portals at www.climateark.org and forests.org. Dr. Barry frequently conducts interviews on the latest environmental policy developments and can be reached at: glenbarry [AT] ecologicalinternet org (note confirmation email response required) and +1 (920) 776-1075.