Friends of the Earth is one of the most effective environmental groups in the world today. Although FOE publishes its own journala monthly tabloid called Not Man Apartfar too few of MOTHER's readers regularly see a copy of NMA ... which is why we've agreed to publish this column, written by the FOE/NMA staff.
As you may recall, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) decided last June to ban all hunting of bowhead whales ... much to the delight of whale-lovers around the world. Friends of the Earth, however, realized at that time that such a complete ban would constitute a serious threat to the centuries-old subsistence culture of the Inupiat Eskimo ( which relics heavily on bow head- hunting for survival). FOE therefore called on the U.S. Government to mitigate the ban, allow for more Eskimo participation in IWC decisions, and institute a quota on bowhead-taking that both Eskimos and whales could live with.
Now the U.S. Governmentafter weeks of intense pressure from all sideshas decided not to object to the IWC's ban on subsistence hunting of bowheads by Eskimos. So the ban will go unchallenged ... although Secretary of State Cyrus Vance has announced that the U.S. will seek an amendment to the IWC decision which would permit a subsistence hunt of the whale by Eskimos this spring. (Eskimos normally hunt in the spring and fall. Since the fall hunt is over, the ban will not have any impact until this spring.)
"For Native Alaskan Eskimos,'' said Secretary Vance, "termination of whaling would cause a sudden disruption of their way of life. Therefore, in response to the IWC action, the U.S. Government is developing a program to obtain IWC approval of Eskimo subsistence hunting based upon the establishment of a scientific research program and a conservation regime.''
The Administration is trying now to involve Eskimos in the development of a research program and a conservation plan which will limit the number of whales killed and reduce or eliminate the number struck and lost. (By the time this appears in print, U.S. representatives will have consulted informally with members of the IWC Scientific Committee on the research and conservation proposals at a meeting in Australia.)
The position taken by the U.S. closely reflects the position urged by Friends of the Earth and the National Audubon SocietyIt is based on the belief that the IWC can be convinced that a substantial difference exists between whaling for subsistence living and whaling for commercial purposes ... and it recognizes the need for a firm U.S. commitment to guarantee the rights of the Eskimos to put-sup their traditional practices. That the Administration would take the stand that it has on this matter was not at all certain a month or two before Secretary Vance's statement.
Calls for moratoriums on nuclear power development are being heard all over the globe.
In France, Francois Mitterand has asked for an 18- to 24-month moratorium on further development of the French nuclear program, including the Super Phenix breeder reactor (Mitterand heads the French Socialist Party and will probably lead the French leftist coalition that may come to power in the country's next election.) Speculation has it that the Mitterand move may be a political ploy designed to gain the support of the increasingly influential French ecologists, whoaccording to the pollsrepresent 3% of the country's vote.
In the Netherlands, the nation's largest political forcethe PPVDA, or socialist partyhas requested that both current and future nuclear activity in that country be brought to a halt. The request (if it is honored) is certain to complicate matters for the next government as it tries to pick its way through nuclear policy.
Meanwhile, the Basel, Switzerland city referendum against nuclear powerwhich passed last spring by a three-toone margin (see Friends of the Earth, MOTHER NO. 47, page 127) only to be challenged by a group of prominent Swiss citizensstill stands: The government has announced it will forgo new plant construction until a national referendum on nuclear power is held next year. ( That referendum is said to stand a solid chance of passing as Swiss citizens become more and more skeptical about the government's electric power program.)
New Zealandin an about-face from earlier policyhas declared that nuclear power generation is unnecessary for at least another 15 years. This change in plans (which was announced to Parliament in the annual report given by the Planning Committee on Electrical Power Developments) is the direct result of a slowdown in what had formerly been a constantly growing demand for electricity in New Zealand.
Two FOE spokespersons recently met separately with President Jimmy Carter.
Amory B. LovinsFOE's British Representativevisited the White House last October 18, at the invitation of the President. The Lovins/Carter meeting (which was quite brief ... about 30 minutes) was attended also by Energy Secretary James Schlesinger, Frank Press (the President's science advisor), and Stewart Eizenstat and Kitty Schirmer of the Domestic Council. Most of the discussion centered around soft energy policies. According to Lovinswho described the meeting as "very cordial"Mr. Carter is conversant and familiar with the thesis and arguments behind the soft energy path.
On November 4, a day before President Carter announced his veto of the Clinch River Breeder Reactor appropriations bill, FOE's David R. Broweralong with representatives of eight other environmental groupsmet with Mr. Carter. Nuclear energy was among the topics discussed.
More than 60,000 people marched in major Australian cities on October 22, 1977 to protest their country's uranium mining and export policies. The demonstrations followed Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser's announcement that his Liberal Party government intends to fill existing orders for uranium despite the growing opposition to uranium mining in Australia . . . New York State has been told that it will cost $150 million to dredge a 35.7-mile length of the Hudson River that's badly contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB's). Meanwhile, upstate communities use Hudson River water for drinking, despite recent studies indicating that the toxic PCB's aren't removed by water purification systems ... The snail darterthat tiny ''endangered species" fish that (last February) stopped construction of the Tennessee Valley Authority's almost-completed $116 million Tellico Damis dying out, evidently because dam construction has prevented the fish from swimming upstream to spawn. A University of Tennessee ichthyologist suggests that part of the dam be taken down to allow the snail darter to return to its natural habitat. The TVA is not enthusiastic.
To become a member of Friends of the Earth and receive their excellent publication, Not Man Apart, year round remit $20 to FOE at 124, Spear, San Francisco, Calif. 94105. MOTHER.
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