Green Peace Support & Updates Here!

[MeMing]

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Greenpeace: Quarantine US rice shipment until proven GMO-free
February 28, 2008

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Greenpeace activists on inflatable rubber rafts hang a banner stating "GMO RICE RISK" on the hull of MV Liberty Eagle February 2.2008 at a Subic Bay pier in Olongapo City, Zambales northeast of Manila, Philippines. Greenpeace warned Philippine authorities that the shipment of rice from the USA may be contaminated with genetically modified rice which is illegal under Philippine laws.

Greenpeace activists on inflatable rubber rafts hang a banner stating "GMO RICE RISK" on the hull of MV Liberty Eagle February 2.2008 at a Subic Bay pier in Olongapo City, Zambales northeast of Manila, Philippines. Greenpeace warned Philippine authorities that the shipment of rice from the USA may be contaminated with genetically modified rice which is illegal under Philippine laws.
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Subic Bay, PHILIPPINES — Greenpeace today warned Philippine authorities that a shipment of rice from the USA, currently being offloaded at Subic port, may be contaminated with genetically modified rice which is illegal under Philippine laws. Greenpeace activists on rubber inflatables hung a banner stating "GMO RICE RISK" on the hull of MV Liberty Eagle, the container ship that is unloading about 44,000 metric tonnes of the suspect rice.
"The NFA must quarantine this shipment and run stringent tests based on EU protocols before the rice is distributed to the public. The US and Philippine GMO testing procedures are grossly inadequate," said Daniel M. Ocampo, Genetic Engineering Campaigner of Greenpeace Southeast Asia. “GMO rice has not been proven safe for human consumption and should never be allowed in the country.”

The NFA and US testing procedures require a GMO test sample of 100 grams out of 50,000 tons. That means about one grain out of every 500 million grains is tested. In contrast, the EU requires a minimum of 2.5 kilogram sample for testing, making it easier to detect the presence of GMO grains.

From 2007 to 2008, twenty three US rice shipments cleared by American authorities were barred in the EU for GMO contamination. In 2006, Greenpeace also revealed the presence of GMO-contaminated rice from the US (Bayer’s herbicide resistant LL601 rice) in supermarkets in Manila. This prompted the NFA to issue an order requiring imported rice to be free from GMOs and has stopped the importation of rice from the US since late 2006. Purefeeds, the distributor of American GMO-contaminated rice, had to recall the remaining stocks from store shelves and replaced it with rice from Thailand.

Bayer, the developer of GMO rice varieties that contaminated the US rice supply is facing lawsuits from farmers and US rice traders whose combined losses are estimated at around US$ 1.2 billion. The adverse impacts of GMO rice contamination in the US still lingers in many countries around the world including the Philippines.

“Rice is the most important food for Filipinos. Importing rice from the US exposes Filipinos to the inherent risks of GMOs on human health and threatens our staple food with genetic contamination. The NFA should stop the distribution of this rice from the US unless they can prove beyond reasonable doubt that it is indeed free from GMOs,” Ocampo said.

[lalee]

wow greenpeace! been interested ani ever since. dugay nko ngita wer makajoin ani. one day kita ko sa ayala, but wa ko kajoin coz kuyog ko sa kong miga and dili man sya ganahan. sayang! that could be my chance! im an environmentalist too!!!

[MeMing]

you can always join anytime if you really want miss ^^

[lalee]

how? do they have a site?

[maia21]

how? do they have a site?

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/
http://www.donategreenpeace.org/?appeal_id=000

[lalee]

thank you so much friend! :mrgreen:

[maia21]

thank you so much friend! :mrgreen:

you're welcome..

[MeMing]

thanks for helping out maia21!

i will also try to post a number of the local person-in-charge as soon as possible.........

[maia21]

thanks for helping out maia21!

no prob.. :mrgreen:

i will also try to post a number of the local person-in-charge as soon as possible.........

that's great. i know some but they're from iloilo..

[MeMing]

Greenpeace dumps coal at DENR: calls for cancellation of IloIlo Coal plant
April 17, 2008

Security personnel try to remove a pile of coal dumped by Greenpeace activists at the entrance of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). The activists are demanding that Secretary Lito Atienza immediately reject all plans to construct a dangerous coal-fired power plant in Iloilo City.

Security personnel try to remove a pile of coal dumped by Greenpeace activists at the entrance of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). The activists are demanding that Secretary Lito Atienza immediately reject all plans to construct a dangerous coal-fired power plant in Iloilo City.
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Manila, PHILIPPINES — Greenpeace activists dumped half a ton of coal at the entrance of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) today and unfurled a banner with the message “Atienza, don’t be a climate criminal.” The activists are demanding that Secretary Lito Atienza immediately reject all plans to construct a dangerous coal-fired power plant in Iloilo City.
Instead of actual coal, the activists used charcoal, which is safer than the coal used in power plants. Coal, when burnt, releases a cocktail of toxic gases that have deadly health impacts on downwind communities. It is also a major contributor to climate change, the most serious environmental threat facing the world today.

“It is a crime against humanity to abet climate change—a crime that Secretary Atienza can stop by denying the issuance on an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) to the Iloilo Coal plant,” said Greenpeace Climate and Energy Campaigner Jasper Inventor. “If Mr. Atienza is, as he claims, serious about working toward solutions to the climate problem, then he should take the lead in blocking the construction and expansion of the Iloilo plant and any other similar coal project in the country.”

Greenpeace also reminded Secretary Atienza about his own pronouncements at the UN climate change meeting in Bali in December last year, where he called on world governments to act urgently and decisively to reverse climate change. Mr. Atienza at Bali had emphasized that climate change will condemn the Philippines to poverty, and, worldwide, will displace some 340 million people while depriving 1.8 billion people of drinking water.


“And it is under his stewardship that the DENR is due to decide on the issuance of an ECC for the Iloilo coal plant whose construction plans have been met with massive resistance from civil society, church, and community groups in the city. We have brought this charcoal to him today to remind him of his words—if he eats them, then he can eat coal as well,” challenged Inventor during the activity.

Coal is the dirtiest, most carbon intensive of all fossil fuels. Emitting 29 percent more carbon per unit of energy than oil and 80 percent more than gas, it is one of the leading contributors to climate change. Although coal-fired power plants already account for 36% of the country’s carbon dioxide emissions from the energy sector, there are still at least eight coal-fired plants lined up for construction or expansion in the Philippines, including the 165 MW coal-fired power plant in Iloilo.

“Iloilo does not need this coal plant. At present, there is an oversupply of 85MW in Panay Island and Guimaras. Beginning October 2008, there will be an additional oversupply when the existing submarine cable linking Panay Island to the Negros geothermal grid starts providing an additional 30MW of electricity. On top of that, when the submarine cable is upgraded also later this year, Iloilo will receive an additional 100MW, bringing the total electricity oversupply to 215MW,” said Melvin Purzuelo of Responsible Ilonggos for Sustainable Energy (RISE).

Greenpeace and RISE maintain that needed power additions can be supplied by a range of renewable energy alternatives from small hydro, biomass and wind within Panay, and the expansion of geothermal power plants within the Visayas grid, eliminating the need for coal.