February

Telco Business Report
Feb. 24, 2003
Environmental Groups Take FCC Tower Fight to D.C. Circuit

The American Bird Conservancy, Forest Conservation Council and Friends of the Earth asked the U.S. Appeals Court, D.C., to direct the FCC to prevent new towers from being built until it completed program environmental impact statements on its tower licensing decisions in the Gulf Coast area. The groups also want new tower approvals halted until the Commission implements requirements for bird protection measures and initiates certain public participation procedures.

Forest Conservation Council Conservation Dir. John Talberth said: "Today's lawsuit is the first step in a broader campaign to reform the haphazard and illegal way the FCC and the communications industry do business and to bring the public into the decision-making process."

Friends of the Earth Exec. Dir. Norman Dean said that for years, his group had "pressed numerous requests for the FCC to end this slaughter, but instead the agency has authorized thousands of new towers that have killed millions of birds."

Greenwire
Feb. 21, 2003
Water Privatization’s Full Benefits Remain Unseen, Experts Say
By Eryn Gable

The privatization of water systems around the world is dramatically increasing, but many of its supposed benefits -- including better water quality, greater access and improved public health -- have yet to be fully realized. And the sometimes tragic results of privatization, such as South Africa's worst cholera outbreak, have given new momentum to its opponents.

One of the strongest criticisms of privatization has been lack of government regulation. "I don't think we've seen so far the oversight and safeguards that need to be there," said David Waskow of Friends of the Earth.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Feb. 21, 2003
U.S. Will Hand Over $10 Million for Biotech Programs in Region; Legislation is Part of Effort to Create Hub of Plant Research Here
By Lisa Livermore

The government will finance a smorgasbord of local biotechnology programs in newly signed legislation that reflects the effort to create a national hub of plant science research in the St. Louis area and Southern Illinois.

Some environmental groups said that citizens should question government support of the industry because scientists have not yet sufficiently studied all the potential risks from genetically modified food.

"The funds the government spends on investigating environment or health impacts are tiny compared to the funds the government spends to promote biotechnology," said Larry Bohlen of Friends of the Earth, an environmental advocacy group.

The Washington Times
Feb. 21, 2003
Suit Says Cell Towers Kill Birds
By Chris Baker

Three environmental groups are suing the Federal Communications Commission to force it to do what Mother Nature cannot: Stop birds from slamming into cell phone towers.

The groups filed the lawsuit last week in federal court in Washington. It targets towers that are higher than 200 feet on land near the Gulf of Mexico, where many birds stop during spring and fall migrations.

The groups - the American Bird Conservancy, the Forest Conservation Council and the Friends of the Earth - say migratory birds are crucial to the nation's environmental and economic health, spokesmen said.

"These birds are part of the web of life," said Norman L. Dean, executive director of Friends of the Earth.

"Death by tower" is more of a threat than most Americans realize, according to the environmentalists, who cite federal research that could knock even a casual bird lover over with a feather.

Between 5 million and 50 million birds die each year when they slam into towers that are used to power cellular telephones, pagers, televisions and radios, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

"We're not trying to make cell phone users feel guilty. I have a cell phone," Mr. Dean said.

The Associated Press State & Local Wire
Feb. 19, 2003
Lawsuit Filed to Stop Logging Project

Three environmental groups have gone to court to block the first timber sale in the Green Mountain National Forest in five years.

Forest Watch, Friends of the Earth and Forest Conservation Council filed suit in U.S. District Court on Tuesday against the U.S. Forest Service's plan to cut 1 million board feet of timber in the Old Joe section of the forest in Rochester and Chittenden.

The groups say the Old Joe Project is the latest example of the Forest Service placing no value on the economical benefits of leaving the forest alone for recreation, and of its failure to do any analysis on that point.

"Those recreational dollars are a big part of Vermont's economy," said Brian Dunkiel, the Burlington lawyer for the three environmental groups.

"The question of whether or not lands in the Green Mountain National Forest and the Old Joe Project area are more valuable for non-timber uses or whether logging creates more socio-economic costs than benefits was never addressed," the lawsuit says.

The Associated Press State & Local Wire
Feb. 14, 2003
Environmental Groups Sue to Stop Gulf Coast Cell Towers

Three environmental groups are suing the Federal Communications Commission to halt the placement of cellular telephone towers along the Gulf Coast in five states, claiming towers have been responsible for killing thousands of birds.

The Forest Conservation Council of Santa Fe, N.M., and the American Bird Conservancy and Friends of the Earth, both based in Washington, say migratory birds collide with the towers and their support wires, particularly at night and other times when visibility is poor.

The same groups in September had asked the FCC for a voluntary moratorium on tower permits in the same area until an environmental assessment could be done.

The FCC instead has authorized more towers, said Norman L. Dean, executive director of Friends of the Earth.

"And they've done it behind closed doors, without environmental review and without public participation," Dean said.