8. ABOUT THE SVTC, OPPORTUNITY TO DOUBLE YOUR DOLLAR POWER
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1. CELEBRATE MULTI-CULTURAL EARTH DAY - APRIL 21
SVTC's Health and Environmental Justice Project is sponsoring San Jose's
first Multicultural EARTH Day at Roosevelt Park on Sunday, April 21st from
1-4 PM. Sponsored by the Health and Environmental Justice project of the
Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (SVTC), the E.A.R.T.H (Education and
Access for Reclaiming Total Health) Day festivities will celebrate the
diversity of San Jose's communities while highlighting the importance of
education, empowerment and action to protect community health.
Visit Earth Day 2002
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2. HEALTH STUDIES RECOMMENDED FOR ELECTRONICS WORKERS
In response to another stalling tactic from the Semiconductor Industry
Association on a long awaited health study, activists from around the world
-- who are leaders in environmental and occupational health and workers
rights -- issued a blistering criticism of the industry's inaction despite
recommendations from its own advisory committee that a health study be
performed.
Read more
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3. EXPORTING HARM RAISING ALARM!
Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, Basel Action Network, SCOPE of Pakistan
and Toxics Link India, released a groundbreaking exposé entitled "Exporting
Harm: The High-Tech Trashing of Asia" on 25 February. It received
sensational coverage around the world and was featured in the New York
Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Le Monde, Los Angeles Times, Seattle Times,
Seattle Post Intelligencer, AP, Reuters, BBC, NPR, Der Spiegel, Al-Jazeera,
CNN etc. Read the report.
In March, SVTC attended the Electronic Products Recycling and Recovery
(EPR2) Conference and the National Electronic Product Stewardship
Initiative (NEPSI) in Washington, DC. The "Exporting Harm" report created a
great deal of discussion and the political will for the electronics
industry too seriously move towards front-end fees. Also at the meeting, a
draft pledge for best practices among recyclers was written. This will be
presented at the May conference of the International Electrical and
Electronic Engineers in San Francisco.
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4. TAKE BACK MOVES FORWARD - Olga Meydbray
a. EUROPEAN RECYCLING INITIATIVES
On April 10, 2002 the European Parliament, again, upheld both the Waste
Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive and the Reduction of
Hazardous Substances (ROHS) Directive. A series of amendments was
accepted, including two very important points: member states are required
to collect all electronic equipment and there is a legally binding target
of 6kg per household by Dec. 2005.
Likewise, the European Parliament supported the effective date of Dec. 2006
for the phaseouts of lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, and two
flame retardants: PBB and PBDE listed in the ROHS Directive.
The WEEE Directive will apply to "anything with a cord" from PCs to
hairdryers to telephones and beyond. All this equipment will have to be
separated from the municipal waste stream by 2005. The recycling targets
are 75% for large appliances and 65% PCs, telephones and stereos also by
that year.
This proposal will now be directed for approval by member governments.
++++++++++++++++++++++
b. Japan's Recycling Law
By Fall of 2003, Japan will be recycling PCs by law. The Japanese Appliance
Recycling Law went into effect in April of 2001 which mandates recycling of
air conditioners, TVs, washing machines and refrigerators.
Advanced Disposal Fees paid at the point of purchase by consumers would
fund the PC recycling addition. The Japan Electronics and Information
Technology Association will hold this money to fund transportation and
recycling of this equipment when it enters the recycling stream in a 2-3
years.
No details have been released about Japan's PC recycling program. It is
not known whether the e-waste will be recycled on shore or dumped offshore,
or whether it will first go the route of reuse before dissassembly and
treatment. The details will be determined within this next year before
implementation of the program.
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c. ONE SMALL STEP ......... FOR ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
In March 2002, the Dutch Environment Minister banned a form of the chemical
TBBPA (FR-720) "on the grounds of absence of evidence of safety rather
than the presence of evidence of risk." Although, FR-720 is not the
brominated flame retardant that is used in a large portion of the computers
and circuit boards in existence, "a key factor behind the decision was the
substance's structural similarity with flame retardant TBBPA, about which
there were concerns."
This is the first time a country has banned a chemical due to the lack of
safety data rather than the presence of risk. This signifies a major shift
in environmental health philosophy in this part of the world. The
prevalent philosophy, thus far, has been that a chemical is "innocent until
proven guilty". This has led to many tragedies including DDT, PCBs, PBDE,
and potentially, TBBPA. There must be a method for determining whether a
chemical is allowed to be used before lives are damaged or lost. This is a
good first step.
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5. NGOs ANGERED BY GOVERNMENTS CHIPPING AWAY AT INTERNATIONAL POLLUTANT REGISTERS PROTOCOL - by Michael Stanley Jones
A Special Report on UN Economic Commission for Europe Negotiations to
Establish an International Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers Protocol
Environmental activists expressed frustration at government moves to chip
away progressive elements of a proposed international agreement on design
of national pollutant registers, at the close of a week-long meeting in
Geneva, March 25-28, 2002. SVTC Program Manager Michael Stanley-Jones
attended the 4th meeting of the UN Working Group on Pollutant Release and
Transfer Registers on behalf of the International Campaign for Responsible
Technology and the NGO network IHEAL. "There is a real danger now that the
PRTR Protocol will fall well short of the expectations set by ministers and
NGOs in Aarhus in 1998," reports Michael. 1998 saw the signing of the
historic UN ECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation
in Decision Making, and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters, in
Aarhus, Denmark. SVTC has encouraged the NGO PRTR coalition to rethink its
strategy as it moves into the final phase of the PRTR negotiation.
Here are some of the issues being contested in the negotiations.
The US has asked for elimination of greenhouse gas emissions from the
proposed register. At minimum, US requires an "opt out" loophole. They are
waffling on "annual reporting" due to a technicality in the US legislation
that leaves the reporting term up to the discretion of the Administrator.
In principle, they don't want anything in the protocol that would require
any changes in US law. However, the US is still fighting for inclusion of
off-site transfers of waste and "future release estimates".
The European Community (EC) countries are waffling on inclusion of major
diffuse source emissions (i.e., in agriculture and transport), and
torpedoing radioactive substances, noise, GMOs (genetically modified
organisms), releases in products and reduction targets...in fact the whole
range of items from the progressive instrument agenda. And they are
battling against chemically specific reporting of offsite transfers. It
appears the US and EC will compromise on this last point and allow some
kind of dual reporting system.
Draft language calling for establishment of Regional Register(s) found
little support outside of the NGO community. Instead we are likely to get
some kind of nouveau "electronic environment" or web portal for sharing
national best practices, lessons, training in access etc.
The Step-by-Step approach to implementation of the Protocol already agreed
by the Working Group is also under attack from the US and being interpreted
in a severely limited way by EU countries. Step-by-Step was seen by NGOs as
a way of winning support for a strong PRTR instrument from the less
developed countries in transition. The US and EC are close to agreement on
ditching phased implementation of progressive elements in a 2nd or 3rd step
of the Protocol.
The US delegation is still sitting on the fence while the White House makes
up its mind about whether to negotiate the agreement or not. With the US
Departments of State, Commerce, and EPA all recommending US participation,
NGOs are beginning to suspect US fence sitting is tactical, i.e., that the
threat that they won't formally negotiate the Protocol is being used to win
concessions on the content of the agreement from the Europeans. Canada too
has not yet committed to being a negotiating partner.
One brighter side, two non-European countries-Jamaica and Fiji-have
expressed interest in joining the eventual PRTR Protocol. The
participation of island nations in the instrument would greatly bolster the
case for inclusion of greenhouse gas emissions and help popularize the
Protocol among nations of the Global South.
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6. CLEAN STREAMS/CLEAN BAY STUDENTS PRESENT WATERSHED MONITORING AT CONFERENCES by Amy Hui
Students from San Jose's Pioneer High School participated in this year's
National Learning Experience Conference in Seattle. Our students, along
with Pioneer High School teachers, and Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition
representatives, made a presentation highlighting Clean Streams Clean Bay
as a successful community watershed monitoring program that is integrated
into school curriculum.
Students from San Jose's Oak Grove High School participated in this year's
Bay Area Environmental Youth Quest Conference hosted by the Headlands
National Institute in beautiful Marin County. This student-facilitated
event attracted a diverse array of active environmental youth from as far
as Sonoma and San Jose. Students educated and inspired peers during
Saturday's workshops on such topics from environmental justice and
globalization to improving recycling programs at school and urban youth
justice issues.
See the pictures from the Headlandsand from Seattle.
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7. TAKING ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE TO CREEKS by Virginia Robinson and Amy Hui
Water. Meandering, flowing, swirling. Eddies and pools, riffles, glides,
and runs. Boulder, rock, stone, and root mass. Caddis fly and dragon fly,
crayfish and black fly. Salmon and steelhead. Red winged blackbird, scrub
jay, robin, and heron. Sycamore, willow, cottonwood.
Coyote, Guadalupe, Uvas, San Francisquito, Stevens.
What these watersheds and countless others have in common is more than
riparian habitat, more than aquatic, terrestrial, and avian species.
Human impacts have created an out of balance state. Loss of species
diversity. Loss of species. Loss of connection. Declining physical,
chemical, and biological integrity of our watersheds. Creeks suffering from
cumulative exposure.
The ecological and human communities that belong to watersheds depend on
the continuance of water flowing and water providing life. So we monitor
and restore, adopt and protect. We get in the creeks and take water tests
and collect evidence of pollution. We attend meetings, share data, and
discuss pollution prevention. We fight culverts and channelization while
trying to educate managers and engineers on natural flood control measures.
We educate and reach out. We fight for what we know is important to all
communities and all watersheds.
The struggle to reach our communities contending with multiple jobs,
multiple family members to care for, multiple toxins in the air, water, and
land, multiple health effects- multiple challenges for survival- can seem
trite. To see beyond the every day challenges of existence and notice the
creeks in our neighborhoods. To seek attention for our watersheds, when
attention is lacking all over our cities and towns, our homes, our living
day to day. To understand that our watersheds' needs for attention are a
reflection of our loss of connection with life itself. How do we reach
justice- for our environment, for our selves?
We can look beyond the trash and stagnant flows. Find life in each
eco-system.
We teach so as to help neighborhoods connect with creeks, to understand the
plight and struggles of water, much as our own. This is one great
challenge. Greater to overcome the momentum of stagnation and carelessness
in order to cultivate appreciation and care than to begin anew.
Ideas circulate as to how to diversify, how to address issues of
environmental justice and creeks. How to capture the attention of all who
live near and amongst watersheds? We are all a part of a watershed, a part
of an ecosystem, a part of our environment. To restore and clean up our
creeks benefits everyone- wildlife, habitat, humans. Advocating for healthy
watersheds means pollution prevention and smart consumption or limited
consumption. It means knowing where your food comes from, and why fish
consumption is an issue in the San Francisco Bay area. Understanding
watershed sinuosity, geography, and habitat connects with people living in
the flatlands and empowers communities to become informed decision-makers
when it comes to flood control policy. Understanding the cultural history
of the watershed can be eye opening, knowing what was once here, what can
be again. Watershed restoration can be the transition to a healthy
community. The vision of one's future, of continued relationships,
beginning anew in a sense.
Actions for engaging a diverse participation, of reaching our communities,
the heart and soul of our cities and towns:
