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Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on October 2nd, 2008 —–
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Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on September 24th, 2008 In The Light Of The Bush / Paulsen Demand For Full Reins To The Secretary of the Treasury In The Matter of Over 1.5 Trillion Dollars - What will be the role of Next US President? If Obama and McCain Accept the Proposed Set Of Rules They Might Just As Well Go Hunting Moose In Alaska Instead of Fighting for the Right To Become The White House Christmas Tree. We hope That Sarah Palin Was Able To Negotiate With Mr. Karzai to Get Some Afghan Hounds To Accompany Them.
We got the following e-mail from the Obama people: Pincas – The era of greed and irresponsibility on Wall Street and in Washington has created a financial crisis as profound as any we have faced since the Great Depression. Congress and the President are debating a bailout of our financial institutions with a price tag of $700 billion or more in taxpayer dollars. We cannot underestimate our responsibility in taking such an enormous step. Whatever shape our recovery plan takes, it must be guided by core principles of fairness, balance, and responsibility to one another. They Suggest - Please show your support for an economic recovery plan based on the following:
Show your support and encourage your friends and family to join you. The failed economic policies and the same corrupt culture that led us into this mess will not help get us out of it. We need to get to work immediately on reforming the broken government — and the broken politics — that allowed this crisis to happen in the first place. And we have to understand that a recovery package is just the beginning. We have a plan that will guarantee our long-term prosperity — including tax cuts for 95 percent of families, an economic stimulus package that creates millions of new jobs and leads us towards energy independence, and health care that is affordable to every American. It won’t be easy. The kind of change we’re looking for never is. But if we work together and stand by these principles, we can get through this crisis and emerge a stronger nation. Thank you, Barack ————— Our difficulty with the above is that the moment Obama accepts the proposed recovery plan - he loses the Presidency even if he wins the election. This because of the simple fact that it takes all the air out of his lungs - that is all the money that he could have used to change the system. What the Bushites do now is to perpetuate the present situation and make sure that nothing will change for many years to come - or ever. Ah! and you must buy this in a rush, right this week - because Congress must go home to campaign for their reelection - so they will buckle first. Will the Senate buckle also? Will they just be pushed around further by tales that the FBI will study next 15 years the wrong-doers and their institutions, and take this for their fig-leave and jump to the commands they were just given? Blah! Mc Cain / Palin can do what they want - but from Obama we expect now real show of backbone. He must stand up like Samson and say - with me the Philistines. He must dare Washington by saying that US Democracy requires that taxation of $1,5 Billion is a matter for Congress. The Giants in Cartoon #136 must be asked to raise from their graves - “Capitalism” and “Private Enterprise.” If things get worse and other companies fold - he will be accused of not playing the game set for him by the establishment in Washington - and it will be clear and evident for all to see who is the reformer and who is the dog musher. WE HOPE THAT THE OBAMA STAFF WILL STUDY THIS POSTING OF OURS, WITH ITS BORROWED CARTOON - AND OBAMA WILL CONSIDER IT WHEN HAVING THE UNENVIABLE TASK TO DECIDE HOW TO RUN HIS CAMPAIGN IN THE LIGHT OF THE BLOW THAT WAS Already PREDICTED SEVERAL MONTHS AGO BY FINANCIAL MAGICIAN GEORGE SOROS, BUT WAS LOWERED ON THE CAMPAIGNS ONLY NOW. OBAMA MUST ALSO DECIDE IN TWO DAYS HOW TO BUILD HIS POSITION AHEAD OF THE FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2008, FIRST DEBATE WITH MCCAIN IN MISSISSIPPI. THAT DEBATE COULD NOW GIVE THE REAL START OF THE ELECTION FINALS A COMPLETE NEW TURN. DO THE US CITIZENS WANT TO ALLOW THEMSELVES FLEECED FOR EVER, OR THEY ARE READY TO BE COUNTED SAYING: “DON’T TREAD ON ME.” ——————— Please Obama People - read also our other posting on this subject and see what a bright Journalist thinks of this. The bottom line is that whatever Obama decides to do - he will be blamed by the American people anyway - that is what the world thinks of the American electorate, so why not going out all the way and do the right thing? The hope here is that the better part of solid Republicans will vote Obama. Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on September 24th, 2008 Permalink | ### |
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Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on September 24th, 2008 Capitalism must be more regulated, says Sarkozy. French president Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency, on Tuesday (23 September) {in his speech before the UN General Assembly in New York City} called for an international summit to tackle the global finance crisis and its consequences, saying that capitalism should be more “regulated.”
Mr Sarkozy hopes to see an international meeting to discuss the crisis, the worst the world has seen, he said, since the Great Depression.
Mr Sarkozy did not specify where the summit should take place, saying that it could be anywhere from Washington or New York, to London, Brussels and Paris. ***
Additionally, the French president suggested a general overhaul of the financial system should be considered, where capitalism would be more “regulated.” His comments come just a day after MEPs also called on the European Commission to come up with legislation plans to regulate the activities of hedge funds and private equity funds. *** However, EU internal market commissioner Charlie McCreevy told MEPs he did not believe it was “necessary at this stage to tar hedge funds and private equity with the same brush as we use for the regulated sector. The issues relating to the current turmoil are different.” One should “analyse the impact of the existing EU provisions and of additional member states’ rules in this field before one embarks on introducing any new legislation,” said the commissioner. *** EU-Russia economic space: Separately, the EU president-in-office also suggested establishing “a common economic space that would unite Russia and Europe.” “What Europe is telling Russia is that we want links with Russia, that we want to build a shared future with Russia, we want to be Russia’s partner,” Mr Sarkozy said. According to him, the initiative for a common economic space would go “beyond the strategic partnership as thought of until now,” but would not aim to establish “a common market” either. However, the French president also referred to Russia’s war with Georgia this summer and underlined that the EU “cannot compromise on the principal of sovereignty and independence of states.” Permalink | ### |
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Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on September 19th, 2008 From: conference at brazilcham.com How Is Brazil Holding Up in the Wall Street Turmoil? “Brazil’s Central Bank has not needed to supply liquidity to local financial markets despite the turmoil roiling global markets, the bank’s president said on Monday. Henrique Meirelles also stressed that Brazilian banks are weathering the market mayhem well because they have healthy levels of liquidity, above those required by the Central Bank. ‘A full decoupling doesn’t exist for any economy but what does exist is an increase in the resistance to the crisis,’ Meirelles told reporters.” (Reuters, September 15, 2008) 2008 Brazil Economic Conference - Monday, October 13, 2008, Washington DC. HE Guido Mantega HE Henrique Meirelles on Confirmed Speakers: HE Antonio de Aguiar Patriota, Brazilian Ambassador to the United States, Brazilian Embassy Luiz Fernando Figueiredo, Founding Partner and Head Portfolio Manager, Mauá Investimentos Sergio Ribeiro da Costa Werlang, Executive Officer and Chief Risk Officer, Banco Itau Holdings Financeira S.A. Paulo Leme, Director of Emerging Markets, Goldman, Sachs & Co. The Mayflower Hotel Sponsorship and table reservations: ————– Brazil is in a favored position because of the simple reality that for years it started to address the problem of dependency on a world energy market that is out of the hands of an aspiring fast developing nation. They did not just talk about it but actually made progress towards the goal of energy independence. When luck stroke, and Brazil even found oil - they are now in a position that they do not have to develop these resources unless it is in their national interest. They are probably the only country in the world today that can even tell the international oil corporations - please stay home. In the meantime they have the luxury of conquering the world with their ingenuity in the beer market, and offer for sale also ethanol. If you did not notice - both products contain biofuels. Brazil’s economy can afford to continue a strong reliance on agriculture for food and fuels and keep foreign gold-diggers at bay. We hope thus that the effort at bringing investments to Brazil will not weaken the scrutiny of the intent of the foreign corporations. Further, we are heartened by information we get from Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil, about interest of continuing above by an extrapolation into the area of GREEN CHEMISTRY. This is the natural development of the future of a strong and independent Brazil. The following event will take place in New York, in conjunction with the Brazilian President being the Traditional First Speaker at the UN General Assembly Opening Session - further - in recognition of the Brazilian success story:
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Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on September 16th, 2008 The original September 15th posting: Bolivia crisis summit for Latin American leaders: guardian.co.uk, Monday September 15 2008 Latin American leaders are to gather in Chile today in an attempt to end a political crisis in Bolivia that has seen more than a dozen people killed. Violent clashes between supporters of Bolivia’s president, Evo Morales, and his opponents have led to concern among neighbouring countries. Chile’s president, Michelle Bachelet, who is the temporary president of the 12-member Union of South American Nations, called the emergency summit late last week. The scale of the protests against Morales’s plans to rewrite Bolivia’s constitution and redirect gas revenues has forced the president to declare a state of siege in some opposition-led provinces. Bachelet said: “We can’t remain impassive in the face of a situation that worries us all.” ***
“If the two sides haven’t asked us to meet and we make a decision that neither side will respect, the meeting will end up being useless,” Lula said.
————— IN THE MEANTIME THE US AMBASSADORS WERE EXPELLED FROM VENEZUELA AND BOLIVIA - WILL THIS MOVE EXPAND TO A FEW MORE LA STATES? ————– At least 28 have died in violence. Evo Morales’ government and the opposition accuse each other of arming paramilitaries. SANTA CRUZ, BOLIVIA — The death toll in last week’s violence in a remote northern province rose to more than two dozen, Bolivia’s government said Sunday, as it held frantic talks with opponents to avert further bloodshed. Sporadic clashes were reported Sunday on roads outside this eastern city, center of opposition to President Evo Morales. Many Bolivians expressed fears that a tense situation could spin out of control if a deal was not reached. *** *** “Better that we take action now, before we have 100 or 1,000 dead,” said Gov. Mario Cossio of Tarija province, designated negotiator for the states opposed to Morales. There was no immediate word on the outcome of the talks in La Paz, the capital. Rifts have been widening for two years, with intermittent outbursts of violence, but so far Bolivia has avoided falling into full-fledged civil conflict. However, many analysts call the current crisis the nation’s most perilous point in decades. “Political, civic and union leaders must know that whatever happens from now on — whether this country becomes a peaceful and harmonious society or a battleground — will be because of their work,” the daily La Razon editorialized Sunday. The government and the opposition called Sunday for an independent investigation into Thursday’s killings in Pando, a sparsely populated province along the Amazonian frontiers with Brazil and Peru. In La Paz, Interior Minister Alfredo Rada said 10 more bodies had been found. That would bring the death toll to at least 26 in Thursday’s confrontation. Two more deaths were reported Friday in Pando, when the army retook control of the airport in Cobija, the provincial capital. The army is now patrolling the province, which is under martial law. Rada labeled Thursday’s killings near the town of Porvenir a genocide organized by Pando Gov. Leopoldo Fernandez, an opponent of Morales. The government has accused the governor and his allies of importing sicarios, or hired killers, from Peru and Brazil to shoot down defenseless peasants allied with the president. Fernandez has denied provoking the violence and blamed the central government for the clash. On Saturday, Morales called the killings a massacre and told a crowd in the central city of Cochabamba that a “fascist, racist coup” was being mounted. The conservative leaders of five of Bolivia’s nine provinces are aligned against Morales and his socialist program of nationalizations, land reform and stiff resistance to what he calls U.S. imperialism. *** Foes of Morales are seeking greater autonomy for their provinces and a bigger share of revenue from gas and oil fields, which are concentrated in the dissident regions. Morales says his rivals want to take away funds that aid the poor and put the cash into plans to break away from Bolivia. The opposition denies separatist or violent motivations. “We want peace, but with dignity,” said Ruben Costas, the governor of Santa Cruz province and a central opposition figure. The president has frequently accused Washington of collaborating with his enemies and last week expelled U.S. Ambassador Philip S. Goldberg for allegedly fomenting rebellion. In his farewell address Sunday, Greenberg called Morales’ charges against him “false and unjustified,” and said his expulsion would have “serious effects in many forms.” Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a close Morales ally, tossed out the U.S. envoy in Caracas, saying he acted in solidarity with the Bolivian president. Washington responded by expelling both the Venezuelan and Bolivian ambassadors. The deteriorating scenario has alarmed Latin American leaders, who have expressed support for Morales. Several nations, including neighboring Brazil and Argentina, have offered to help mediate, but Morales has not agreed. Today, South American leaders are to gather in Chile for an emergency session aimed at preventing Bolivia’s slide into civil war. Morales reportedly planned to travel to Santiago. The Bolivian opposition has also asked to attend. The crisis has strong ethnic and regional roots. “Their plan is to topple the Indian,” Morales told the crowd in Cochabamba this weekend. “They may topple the Indian, but they won’t topple the Bolivian people.” patrick.mcdonnell @latimes.com ========== A Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA) Press Release - September 16th Bolivia: A Profound Breakdown of Communication with Latin America. With UNASUR having just met in Santiago, Chile to discuss the escalating crisis in Bolivia, the stage is set for a huge surge of autonomy for Latin America, owing to a series of newly auto-generated, self-managed and extensive regional initiatives. In an extraordinary shift from a decades-long hegemonic status-quo during which Washington exercised de facto hemispheric supremacy, the U.S. role has dramatically diminished, at times becoming almost irrelevant. In fact, even though U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Thomas Shannon, is a relatively enlightened figure who at times has stressed a rational dialogue between Venezuela, Bolivia, and Washington, U.S. attention toward the region, when at all focused, has been willful, narrow-minded, and self-absorbed. Once installed in office, the Bush administration found itself distracted from Latin American issues by the Iraq war, giving the region the required space to develop its own consensus on regional developments, regardless of Washington’s ululations. This has heightened the ability of hemispheric leaders to halt or reverse some of the most imprudent U.S. policies that had gained ascendancy starting in the Clinton administration, and which then blossomed under Bush. Nevertheless, despite all signs to the contrary, the Bush administration continues to act as if its fiat still is supreme in Latin America, when, in fact, it has rapidly shrunk. An example of this is the revival of the Fourth Fleet as a Washington policy riposte, and with it the pretense of gunboat diplomacy on the ready, after a half-a-century of the fleet being dismasted, and the use of the “terrorism” factor to reassert an authority that is no longer exercisable. Washington cannot continue to conduct itself as if it had a backyard in which Latin America could be firmly found. The U.S. has been absent from the region for far too long to attempt to roll back the tide of anti-private capital, anti-U.S. sentiment that has swept over much of the region. In its stead, the region yearns for a “third way” and for change. In fact, during this period of unilateral neglect, due to Iraq, the hemispheres started going its own way, coming up with new formulas in its quest to diversify relationships, pluralize its world trade contracts and engage in constructive relations across the board, including forming ties to what Washington, at the time, sees as “rogue” nations. During this period of transition, more left-leaning presidents were being elected president than ever before in the Americas’ history, a raft of regional organizations (which did not include the U.S. as a member) were formed, the region suddenly saw a remarkable rise in its importance on the world stage as its metal and agricultural commodities increased in relevancy and value during the current fuel and food crisis, and new links emerged between Latin America and India, China, Russia, and the EU. *** The Breakdown of Bilateral Relations:
Instead, for a number of months U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg assumed the role of quarterback at meetings with the opposition, discussing strategies with his team. He did this even though the opposition figures had clearly called for extra-constitutional actions against democratically-elected Evo Morales, even his ouster, and in spite of the fact that his widespread support was affirmed in July’s recall elections. (For more information, see COHA Research Associates Chris Sweeney and Jessica Bryant’s article, “Bolivia in Crisis”). It also insisted that he categorically denies La Paz’s accusations of his signaling support behind the opposition, let alone any involvement in secret plots against the central government. Yet, complicating matters in the Andean country is the fact that any number of U.S. ambassadors throughout Latin America –particularly dating back to the inauguration of the present U.S. administration– have a lengthy record of intervention in the domestic affairs of the countries to which they have been accredited. It is no secret that the State Department has had a long history of inappropriate and often covert intervention in Latin American internal affairs, often making use of a Reagan-era institutional facility known as the National Endowment for Democracy. Goldberg’s predecessors, Manuel Rocha and David Greenlee, persistently inserted themselves into Bolivian domestic issues. This scenario often involved U.S. ambassadors on station elsewhere in the region, where they openly threatening the end of remittances, trade benefits, or U.S. development assistance to a given country, if a leftist regime was elected to office –El Salvador and Nicaragua would be some examples of these. They also have pressured conservative political parties in such countries as Bolivia, El Salvador and Nicaragua to unite behind one candidate in order not to split the vote, allowing the otherwise weaker leftist candidate to ship into office. Ultimately, a historical memory was invoked of humiliation, plunder and such transgressions as the Chaco war and a spate of U.S.-backed military Juntas under which the largely aboriginal majority of Bolivians have suffered as a result of self-serving past U.S. policies. Such acts of arrogance and intolerance that Washington recurrently has visited upon the region, served to incite the unbridled passions of a man with the Brobdingnagian temper of Hugo Chávez and even the more self-disciplined Evo Morales. *** Washington Diplomacy or Lack of it: It is clear that the U.S. remains largely oblivious to the multifaceted developments that are taking place in an increasingly self-confident Latin America. Washington would do well to introduce a sense of perspective on Iraq and terrorism, and turn its attention once again to its vital national interests in this hemisphere. These issues go far beyond drugs, terrorism and security concerns. If the U.S. is to play a constructive role there, it must architect a new relationship with the region that can be deemed credible and taken to heart. Its investment must be more than just a Parthian shot aimed at a token act of respect for their sovereignty and must display an earnest concern for the area’s well-being. *** UNASUR’s Debuting Role: *** The near breakdown of relations between Washington and La Paz in the midst of the Bolivia crisis, perfectly exemplifies the disastrous consequences of the inherent intolerance and disrespect that the U.S. has long exhibited towards the region. Despite La Paz and Washington’s ideological differences, Assistant Secretary Shannon, while being a very significant improvement over his two most recent predecessors, Otto Reich and Roger Noriega, might have used this opportunity to more clearly indicate a U.S. commitment to the spirit as well as the letter of democratically-elected governance in the region, and that any form of separatism would be condemn. More vigorous support of Morales and the central government in the face of the reckless and greedy same plan of the pro-autonomy leaders in Bolivia might have provided a compelling reason for the secessionists to preserve order and avoid the violence which, tragically, has already claimed upwards of thirty lives. This analysis was prepared by COHA Director Larry Birns and COHA Research Associate Raylsiyaly Rivero *** COHA Forthcoming Research Puerto Rico: Another Lone Star? Venezuela’s Military in the Hugo Chávez Era A Closer Look at the Violence in Bolivia Raul Castro and the Recent Reforms in Cuba Venezuela: Internal Opposition to Chávez This analysis was prepared by COHA Tuesday, September 16, 2008 | Press release 08.96 The Council on Hemispheric Affairs, founded in 1975, is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan, tax-exempt research and information organization. It has been described on the Senate floor as being “one of the nation’s most respected bodies of scholars and policy makers.” For more information, please see our web page at www.coha.org; or contact our Washington offices by phone (202) 223-4975, fax (202) 223-4979, or email coha at coha.org. Permalink | ### |
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Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on September 15th, 2008 Sugarcane ethanol: a sweet solution for Europe’s fuel addiction? Corporate Europe Observatory ?? {we would like to know what Observatory and What Corporations it Represents} Brazil’s agribusiness is lobbying to make the case, but people and the environment are paying the price. {This last title is correct - Brazil agribusiness does lobby in Europe for opening the door to exports of ethanol for the octane-boosting market as an additive to gasoline. The subject must be understood in this context. As we were involved in this for 30 years, we learned to smell rat when articles do not present the full truth. Sorry Roberto Savio, we like you, but this time you represent the wrong cause. We rather smell here petroleum and not cachaca. Our comments will be presented in this type of paratheses - Pincas Jawetz - of www.SustainabiliTank.info} However, sugarcane is far from a sustainable source of energy. {this per coment in the article - that we regard as not even a half backed truth.} Certification initiatives such as the ‘Better Sugarcane Initiative’ are top down approaches that lack support from small producers or affected communities. {??} *** That same ITRE Committee however voted on 1st September to significantly dilute proposals for fuel efficiency standards for cars. Car manufacturers will be able to use agrofuels as a ‘get out clause’ to avoid having to abide by standards. This shows clearly that agrofuels are being promoted in the EU largely to make up for the lack of real measures to reduce emissions from cars and fuels, or to change the transport model. EU decision makers have turned agrofuels into an escape route for the car and the oil industry, who will have to invest less in more efficient cars, or in a clean-up of oil operations. {yes, but these arguments have nothing to do with the Brazilian sugar-cane ethanol and its use as an octane boosting additive to gasoline. The last comment is related to the fact that in a replacement of 10% low octane gasoline part of the total gasoline pool, one increases the octane value of the gasoline by 3 points. Had one prepared the octane boosting component of that gasoline from petroleum alone, that would have required higher petroleum crude inputs - and there is here a factor equal to 1.6 in favor of the ethanol. So, by replacing 10% of that gasoline one saved X1.6 in terms of crude. If ones target is to displace fossil fuels, we have here a built in X1.6 factor when the ethanol is used this way. Now, folks from that “Corporate Observatory” - please go back to your drawing boards and ask Mr. Savio to retract your diatribe, so he is not accused for your lack of sincerity. You must figure that the achievements of the renewable energy biofuel are in their use - and that must be a “cradle-to-grave” analysis if you want to convey your ideas about efficiency of fossil fuel replacements.} *** Brazil’s push for EU target: Brazil is the world’s largest producer of sugarcane and its government has been at the forefront in pushing sugarcane onto the agrofuel agenda. Backed by the sugarcane industry, Brazil is keen to see the EU introduce higher targets for agrofuels. It claims that Europe can fuel its cars on ethanol made from sugarcane, reducing greenhouse gas emissions without affecting food prices; and without deforestation or damage in rural communities.
*** The dark side of sugarcane: Sugarcane is grown as a monocrop, predominantly in southern and central Brazil as well as in parts of Asia and Africa. It relies on heavy quantities of inputs, particularly fertilizer. Harvesting is often done by hand, and working conditions are notoriously harsh. A number of studies in Brazil have shown that demand for land for sugarcane is leading to the conversion of grasslands and wooded savannah for crops, releasing stored carbon dioxide, and displacing previous users like cattle farmers who move into tropical forests. Sugarcane also has devastating effects on biodiversity - with the Cerrado savannah of Central Brazil, where sugarcane is grown, being one of the world’s most biodiverse and also most threatened habitats. Sugarcane expansion is also affecting Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, and indirectly the Amazon, as cattle farmers move into the forest in the search for new pasture. Sugarcane expansion is leading to land conflicts, as rural communities are forced off land to make way for the plantations. Small-scale farming has become unviable in the plantation areas and many small farmers feel they have no financial choice but to sell up.[3] Sugar plantations are displacing small farms, food crops and subsistence food systems - leading to food shortages and price rises.[4] In a report by Maria Luisa Mendonca, farmer Gaudino Correia explains the problems with leasing out the land. “The contracts are for 12 years, and after that the sugarcane has destroyed everything. The mill uses heavy machines to prepare the land, and it causes soil erosion. They burn sugarcane, and the ashes spread throughout the region. I did not want to lease out my land, and now I’m surrounded by sugarcane. Here there is no more land for farming, and therefore food prices have risen a lot. My neighbours have stopped producing corn, beans, coffee, and milk, and leased out their lands. I still plant corn, beans, and produce milk, but for small producers the price did not increase, only for the middleman and for consumers.”[5] Indigenous leaders say that their traditional lands are being taken for plantations, despite a programme to recognise indigenous territories.[6] The Fact Finding Mission of NGOs to Brazil, organised by the organisation FIAN in spring 2008, found that “..the process of expansion of sugar cane plantations has postponed the demarcation of indigenous lands in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, further worsening the violations of the right to land and food of indigenous peoples, particularly the Guarani Kaiow, are subjected to.”[7] Working conditions on the plantations are harsh, with poor accommodation and food, little health care and in some remote areas effective imprisonment. There are reports of workers dying because of overwork, of plantations using slave labour and child labour at harvest time.[8] The heavy reliance on nitrogen fertilisers adds to sugarcane’s climate impacts and results in water pollution, leading to eutrophication of coastal waters and estuaries. Pesticides also increase the pollution, building up in rivers and streams. Sugarcane cultivation damages the soil, depleting the nutrients and leading to erosion. Burning of sugarcane fields is widespread, causing damage to the soil, adding to greenhouse gas emissions as well as causing serious problems for the local population including respiratory diseases related to smoke and ash, fire risk, heat, air pollution.[9] Furthermore, for every litre of ethanol, 10-13 litres of a residue called vinhoto or stillage are produced. At least 170 billion litres of stillage are deposited in Brazil’s sugar growing regions, contaminating rivers and groundwater.[10] Certifying “Better” Sugarcane ethanol? Given the problems associated with many sources of agrofuel, certification schemes have been put forward as a way of identifying “sustainable” sources of the fuel. A number of voluntary schemes have been developed by the private sector, sometimes in partnership with some NGOs. BSI was set up to develop baseline criteria for sourcing and producing sustainable sugar cane, although, like the other Round Tables, it is a voluntary scheme. As yet, however, it has not published any standards or any form of framework for monitoring the chain of custody. Nor do its staff appear to be particularly qualified in issues concerning sustainable agriculture. BSI’s project manager, David Wilders, previously worked as an overseas representative for the South African Sugar Association (SASA), representing the interests of the South African sugar industry. The heads of two of the technical working groups in charge of formulating standards were consultants for SASA. Power with a price tag: The only Brazilian stakeholder wealthy enough to get involved is UNICA. UNICA’s executive board members include Bioenergia, the Brazilian representative of Louis Dreyfus (a global commodity processing and trading company), and two powerful sugar conglomerates in Brazil, the Santa Elisa and Cosan groups. It is in fact perhaps unlikely that grassroots organisations would chose to sit down with multinational like Cargill, currently vice chair of the steering committee. In 2007, 900 sugar cane workers and peasants lead a protest against Cargill’s CEVASA operations in Sao Paulo State, which they said were responsible for the death of 17 women working on the plantations, as well as having destroyed opportunities for subsistence farming in the rural communities.[14] Shell, another member of the steering committee, has a number of lawsuits pending in the US and the UK for its involvement in human rights and environmental violations in Argentina and Nigeria, including torture and murder.[15] { as we debunked the energy question above, we must also look at this seeming NGO proposed criticism that we smell rather comming from the economy sector that is reased by fossil carbon oil. Like decent NGOs we also think that corporations must be held accountable for their deeds, but we also think that people must get employment - so having a sugar-cane agriculture is important if you have a poor, unschooled population that must find employment. Checking into the working conditions - YES, cutting the employment from under their feet - NO. Further, we talk here about sugar-cane in Brazil, not palm tres in Malaysia, so please stick to the point. We also do not talk here about Genetically Engineered plantations - the world has many problems - but the one and only problem the Brazilians came to Brussels to fight for - is their right to make money from displacing some of the reliance on fossil carbon spewing petroleum fuels, with much more benevolent biologically recycled CO2 that its efficiency is calculated in cradle to grave arithmetics.} *** GM ‘better’ sugarcane? There is little clear indication of the BSI’s position on genetically modified sugarcane. GM sugar cane varieties are currently being tested in Brazil. [16] If the experience of the other Roundtables is anything to go by, industry is unlikely to accept the exclusion of GM crops from ’sustainable’ certification, regardless of environmental and social impacts of GM crops. A number of BSI members, including BP, Shell, and Cargill are involved in collaborations or have investments in the biotech companies such as Monsanto, Du-pont, and Bayer [17] - while SASA has been linked to open field trials of GM sugar cane.[18] *** Promoting sugarcane in Brussels: The Brazilian government and the producers’ organisation UNICA have been actively lobbying in Brussels ahead of key votes on agrofuels. UNICA hired the lobby consultancy firm Fleishman-Hillard in May 2008 to help push its call on the EU to stick to the original Commission proposal for a 10% agrofuel target by 2020. In a press release, the newly appointed UNICA representative in Brussels, Emmanuel Desplechin, declared that “Sugarcane ethanol, produced with environmental and social care, will quickly become a global energy commodity. Sugarcane production can boost economies in developing nations and contribute significantly in the search for solutions to the global challenges of energy security and climate change”.[19] With Brazilian interests expanding into African countries (who have privileged access to the EU market), the Brazilian government has also mobilised African farmers and government representatives to help make their case to MEPs. The Argentinean, Brazilian, Indonesian, Malawian, Malaysian, Mozambican and South African embassies to the EU sent a joint letter to members of the Environment Committee saying that the sustainability criteria “should not disproportionately penalise countries rich in biodiversity with unjustified, wide-ranging restrictions on the sustainable use of their territories”. Due to the ‘uncertainties’, the letter argues that the crucial issue of indirect land use change should be postponed to a ‘future stage’. Whereas the European Commission (EC) has always refused to include social impacts, most environmental impacts and indirect land use change in the Renewables Directive, these embassies claim in their letter that the EC has “convincingly demonstrated” that the 10% target can be “reached on a sustainable basis”. One UNICA representative, who gave a presentation at a seminar on agrofuels in the European Parliament, despite not being on the panel, argued that sugarcane ethanol would mean a democratisation of production and access to energy, and denied that it contributed to deforestation and arguing that food production was continuing to increase alongside increasing production of sugarcane in Brazil. The advertisement also claimed that sugarcane production had no impact on the Amazon, despite the strong evidence that it is displacing other types of agriculture and cattle ranching into the Amazon basin. In addition, other agrofuel monocrops that Brazil could export to the EU, in order to meet this agrofuel target, are directly impacting the Amazon, in particular soy expansion. At the same time, sugarcane production is damaging other precious ecosystems, like the Cerrado and the Atlantic Forest - earlier this year Brazil’s Environment Minister Carlos Minc fined 24 sugar and ethanol mills in the North East of the country, declaring them an environmental “disaster of disasters” responsible for the loss of 85,000 hectares of Atlantic rain fore |