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About The North Coast times-eagle. (Wheeler, Oregon) 1971-2007 | View Entire Issue (March 1, 2001)
PAGE 9 NORTH COAST TIMES E A G L E , MARPRIL2001 We urge the UN and governments to create rural and urban training centers of excellence, North and South, vtfiich will serve to disseminate environmentally fnendly technologies to women Realizing that women's purchasing power is a powerful tool for holding the business community accountable for the environmentally friendly quality of their products, and knowing that woman can organize swiftly to boycott products or businesses: \Ne will boycott industries whose practices or products anywhere in the world are harmful to the environment or to health We will promote recycling, reduce consumption of all forms and purchase only ecologically friendly products. We will engage in campaigns supporting investment in environmentally sound and productive activities. We will reduce per capita energy use by promoting energy efficient technologies and research, development and funding of alternative energy sources. Realizing that there may be an attempt to create new institutions to manage the world's ecosystems based on the current economic growth model, and believing that those institutions might not have as primary objective the long-term sustainability of the Earth's species and ecosystems: knowing that new institutions would be costly and that funds would be better spent in repairing damaged ecosystems and providing sustenance to those who live in them: \Ne call for the creation of a permanent United Nations environmental commission to serve as omsbudsperson, receive individual complaints, monitor compliance and enforce principles of an international code of environmental ethics. We urge that all states and corporations that produce toxic chemical agents be required to dispose of their toxic wastes within their own borders. THE ART OF THE THE BOOK Concerned by the deterioration of habitats and eco systems that are home to billions of species with which we share the Earth, and realizing the tragic loss of species upon which our interdependent ecosystem depends: recognizing the treasure of plant and animal knowledge which is tended and passed on by the indigenous peoples of the world: knowing the attempt of commercial interests of the North to control the natural heritage of species of the South through gene banks: aware that genetically engineered organisms released into the environment pose a threat to bio-diversity: \Ne call for immediate and direct regulation of research and development in biotechnology We recommend that the testing and release of organ isms be done only in the country of origin and that biotechnology products which are not yet approved or which are restricted in their country of origin be prohibited from sale elsewhere. We recommend that there be no patenting of life forms to protect against the commercial exploitation of the genetic resources of the South We will work for a ban on bovine growth hormone and a boycott of milk products with that hormone. We recommend that new technologies be approved not only on the basis of efficacy and safety but also their social and economic impacts. We demand that the risks of biotechnology be widely available in clear, layperson's language We will support indigenous people in their efforts to protect their natural environment Believing it is a basic human right to have access to unbiased information about the quality of the environment in which we live, and recognizing the risk that the media may become dominated by forces which perpetuate a world view that ignores cultural diversity and integrity: believing that only through wide dissemination of information on environmental and develop mental issues will we be able to confront the challenges of environmental decline: aware that information concerning the environmental and health impact of military and industrial byproducts are often classified as secret for national security or proprietary reasons: \Ne demand that the UN monitor all activities of govern ments that threaten the environment, including space and ocean probing, and make information about such activities known to the world community We will work to create and strengthen formal and informal information systems and exchanges that adhere to COLUMBIA RIVER MARITIME MUSEUM 1792 MARINI DRIVI, ASTORIA, ORIGON (S03) 325-2323 the principles of openness and inclusiveness, giving voice to the majority of citizens, and reporting on violations of human and environmental nghts. We recommend that all countries offer environmental education at the primary and secondary levels, including ecology, consumer education and permaculture. We will promote environmental ethics education in our schools and in informal learning settings with the purpose of promoting harmony between all living systems and solidarity among peoples. We will strongly support the establishment of a non governmental organization whose mandate and operation on environmental emergencies and environmental rights would be similar to those of Amnesty International Knowing that military expenditures, the arms trade and armed conflict deprive billions of human beings of basic security and well-being, and realizing the disastrous environmental impact of all military activity, including research, development, production of weaponry, testing, maneuvers, presence of military bases, disposal of toxic materials, transport and resource use: aware that research on and use of military weaponry, including chemical, biological and nuclear weapons, contributes signifi cantly to environmental degradation, genetic mutation, illness and death: recognizing that militarism often leads to the occupation of lands and the denial of human and environmental rights: \Ne demand nuclear weapons be dismantled and destroyed, and that nuclear testing cease immediately. We demand that space activities and supersonic flight which threatens the ozone layer or releases carbon dioxide cease We urge an immediate 50% reduction in military spending We demand creation of national civilian commissions with 50% membership of women which would open to public scrutiny all military activities, expenditures, and research and development We demand that national armies be converted into environmental protection corps which would monitor and repair damage to natural systems, including clean up of the military bases, and be available to assist citizens in times of natural and man-made disasters We condemn governments that turn their armies against their citizens, leading millions of individuals to become refugees and displaced persons We will educate our daughters and sons to shun military service of governments which use military power to exploit the resources and people of other nations Believing that science and technology should be at the service of the many rather than for the profit of the few. and observing that, on the contrary, it is used to "harness" nature, contributing to the degradation of ecosystems for short-term profit witnessing the disempowerment of women through lack of access to appropriate and sustainable technology and the disregard for women's experiential knowledge because it is not considered 'scientific': aware that all too often women have been the victims of the misuse of scientific discoveries and inappro priate technologies We urge the marriage of ethical values with scientific investigation and use. and the development of criteria for all technologies concerning their appropriateness for both women and the environment We demand that all technology transfer should be appropnate and sustainable with special attention paid to long term costs and benefits for people and the environment We will urge support and promote communications strategies for disseminating information on appropnate and inappropriate technologies to women worldwide We demand resources be made available for research and development of appropnate technologies and training for vwmen We know that the major causes of environmental degradation are economic systems that exploit and misuse nature and people, pollutants, and the waste of industrial and military technologies. We are outraged by the suggestion that women's fertility rates (euphemistically called population pressures) are to blame Unchallenged, this analysis lays the groundwork for the reemergence of top-down, demographically driven population policies and programs that are deeply disre spectful of the basic human rights of women as guaranteed in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women Also, knowing the number of people plus their consumption of resources plus their waste determines their environmental impact, we recognize that a person in the industrialized world has far greater impact than a person living in a less wealthy nation. Aware that the right to reproductive health and choice is a basic human right of all individuals, we point out that the World Fertility Survey estimates that there are 500-million couples who wish to plan their family and have no access to the means to do so Fearful of the threat to women's lives by the HIV pandemic, and recognizing that women's ability to protect themselves from sexually transmitted diseases and when-and-ifto have children is prerequisite for women's health, self-determination and empowerment: We condemn any attempt to deprive women of repro ductive freedom or the knowledge to exercise that freedom. We demand woman-centered, woman-managed comprehensive reproductive health care and family planning, including the right to prenatal care, safe and legal voluntary contraceptives and abortion We urge governments, multilateral and donor agencies to increase investments in comprehensive reproductive health services and to include men as beneficianes of family planning and education We demand that all governments systematically alert their citizens to the danger of AIDS and provide them with the information on how to avoid contamination. Realizing that women and children are particularly vulnerable to cancer causing toxic chemicals, radiation and nuclear wastes \Ne demand that research be undertaken on women's and children's susceptibility to cancer causing agents and that remedial action be taken to eliminate such agents from all environments. We ask the World Health Organization, International Labor Organization, the Food & Agricultural Organization, national governments, public health groups, and corporations increase efforts to eliminate environmental occupational hazards in factones, offices, and on the land