globalbriefs


News and resources to inspire concerned citizens to work together in building a healthier, stronger society that benefits all.


Corporate Climate Companies Slowly Embrace Sustainability


The 2015 State of Green Business report (Tinyurl. com/2015GreenBusinessReport), which assesses the environmental performances of companies world- wide, along with the trends to watch, is produced by GreenBiz, in partnership with Trucost. Collectively, companies have been nibbling at


the edges of challenges such as climate change, food security, ecosystems preservation and resource effi- ciency. One measure of corporate engagement going


forward will be proactive involvement on political issues that could accelerate the transition to a low-carbon and more sustainable economy. It remains to be seen whether companies can afford to sit on the sidelines, letting the political process unfold, or worse, play defense against changes that might roil their status quo. 2015 will be an interesting year on multiple fronts, especially with the launch of the new sustainable development goals at the United Nations (UN) in New York this fall, along with UN climate talks in Paris in December. Both will be tests of corporate engagement and resolve in driving the kinds of change many of their CEOs publicly call for. The reports’ findings of companies’ progress in greenhouse gas and emissions, air pollutants, water use and solid waste production are all leveling off or even declining.


Animal Genocide ‘Lethal Control’ Trades Off Species


Over the next four years, the U. S. Army Corps of En- gineers will shoot 16,000 double-crested cormorants nesting near the Columbia River, in Oregon, at a cost of $1.5 million a year and eliminate almost 100 sea lions because both feed on endangered salmon and steelhead trout. “If people knew how many animals are killed at taxpayer expense, they’d be horrified,” says Camilla Fox, executive director of Project Coyote, a San Francisco Bay Area nonprofit. Termed “lethal control”, there’s a growing trend to kill one species to protect another, and not all methods used are humane. In 2012, Dennis Orthmeyer, acting director of California’s Wildlife Services, said, “We pride ourselves on our ability to get it done without many people knowing about it.” Climate change, reduced habitat and food supplies, and the introduction of


non-native species are the result of human interference. “With society’s growing footprint, lethal control can only increase,” observes Michael Scott, a University of Idaho ecologist.


A plan to poison 4,000 ravens will protect greater sage grouse. More moun- tain lions will be killed to save bighorn sheep. The human rampage goes on, and concerned citizens are advised to urge lawmakers to end lethal control and protect wildlife habitat sustainably.


Take action at Tinyurl.com/AnimalLiberationFrontCampaign. 10 Twin Cities Edition


NaturalTwinCities.com


Dirty Dollars Stores Filled with Toxic Products


HealthyStuff, a project of the Michi- gan-based Ecology Center, in collabo- ration with the Campaign for Healthier Solutions (CHS), has released a report, A Day Late and a Dollar Short: Dis- count Retailers are Falling Behind on Safer Chemicals, about toxic chem- icals found in dollar store products. It includes test results for 164 dollar store products such as toys, jewelry, school supplies and household items and found that 81 percent contained at least one hazardous chemical above a level that generates concern. The campaign sent a letter to the CEOs of the four largest dollar store chains, including Family Dollar, Dollar Tree, Dollar General, and 99 Cents Only, urging them to stop the sale of these unsafe products, espe- cially to communities of low-income and ethnic families that already live in more polluted areas and food deserts, and adopt policies that will instead protect both customers and their own businesses. Combined, these discount chains have annual sales totaling more than $36 billion and operate more stores nationally than Walmart. The CHS is asking for a compre-


hensive set of reforms; communities need to let dollar store chains know that they want safer products and join local and national efforts advocating for nontoxic products.


Scroll to Dollar Store Report at Healthy Stuff.org for the complete test results. Take action at NontoxicDollarStores.org.


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