March
25, 2019
33
global banks
have provided
$1.9 trillion
to fossil fuel
companies
since the
adoption of
the Paris
climate accord
at the end of
2015. The
amount of
financing has
risen in each
of the past
two years.
March
18, 2019
UN
Guterres Uses
Two 4x4s and 5
Guards
Arriving At
Publicly
Funded Mansion
Hypocrisy of
Sustainability
Like His
Censorship
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Exclusive, CJR Letter
PFTracker
UNITED
NATIONS GATE, March 16 – Before Inner City Press
was roughed
up by UN Secretary General Antonio
Guterres' Security on June 22 and July
3, 2018 and banned since then, it
insistently asked for disclosure of how many of
Guterres' publicly funded trips took him through
his real home, Lisbon. The questions are not
been answered by Spokesman Stephane Dujarric,
who on 2 November 2019 simply bicycled
away as Inner City Press asked about
Guterres' failure in Cameroon and attempt to get
even Park East Synagogue to oust Inner City
Press from covering his October 31 speech about
tolerance. Now on Saturday 16 March 2019,
the supposedly environmentalist UNSG Antonio
Guterres arrived at the $15 million publicly
funded mansion in which he lives alone in not
one but two large four by four vehicles, with
six guards. Video here.
What a waste, what hypocrisy. This was two days
after Guterres guards physically pushed
Inner City Press out of the line for a press
freedom event in the UN it was invited to and
had a ticket for, then refused to provide the
banned-by-Guterres list they said was the basis
of their action. Totally corrupt.
March 11, 2019
Erie
Coke is
situated in
what the DEP
has labeled an
environmental
justice area
because of the
number of
low-income and
minority
residents
living nearby.
Erie Coke must
perform
additional
public
outreach in
order to get a
new permit.
The number of
employees at
the plant has
been
unavailable....
Erie Coke’s
sister plant
outside
Buffalo,
Tonawanda
Coke, shut
down in
October less
than a week
after filing
for bankruptcy
protection.
Twenty
lawsuits have
been filed
against
Tonawanda
Coke.
March 4, 2019:
Online:
takeover of an
#HSBC branch
in Cambridge
last week.
Groups from
Reclaim the
Power,
Extinction
Rebellion and
FOE calling
out the banks
investments in
#fracking, tar
sands and arms
companies.
February 25,
2019
One
of the US'
biggest
seafood
companies has
agreed to
spend up to
$23 million to
fix serious
air pollution
issues with
its vessels
and land-based
facilities.
Trident
Seafoods will
also pay a
$900,000 fine
for Clean Air
Act violations
under a
settlement
agreement
filed Tuesday
in federal
court in
Alaska...
February
18, 2019
In the
NYC subways,
"the
diesel fumes
come from MTA
work trains,
which spew so
much soot that
subway
platforms
contain about
twice as much
carbon diesel
pollution as
the air above
ground" (DN)
February
11,
2019
Around
90 percent of
Dhaka city
residents are
affected by
severe air
pollution,
speakers at a
human chain
program said
last week.
They said that
dust pollution
tended to
increase
alarmingly in
the dry
season. At
this time of
the year,
brickfields
run their
operation in
full swing and
the civic
bodies and the
utility
service
providers are
engaged in
repair works.
February
4, 2019
In
Colombo
in Sri
Lanka,
the real
Real-time Air
Quality Index
(AQI) is 153,
ranked
Unhealthy.
A spike in the
number of
vehicles in
the city and
industrial
pollutants are
some of the
bigger
contributors
to the
increase of
Air Pollution
in Colombo...
January
28, 2019
South
Korea last
week sent
aircraft over
the Yellow Sea
to carry out
cloud-seeding
experiments in
an effort to
tackle air
pollution many
South Koreans
blame on
China. Air
quality in
South Korea is
generally
better than in
its giant
neighbour, the
world’s
biggest
polluter,
which is
periodically
affected by
choking bouts
of filthy air
and according
to the
International
Energy Agency
uses coal to
generate
around three
quarters of
its energy.
January
21, 2019
Something
we'll
be looking
into:
the festival on
27 April 2019 timed
to coincide
with the
annual
‘Sailing
Week’, in
Antigua and
Barbuda. "The
initiative is
meant to raise
awareness,
celebrate
successes, and
push forward
progress to
address
plastic
pollution."
January 14,
2019
Mining
Project in
French Guiana
Called
Out for
Hypocrisy and
No Consent
from Indigenous
By Matthew
Russell Lee, CJR
PFT
UNITED
NATIONS GATE, January 10 – You know France has
gone too far when even a committee of the UN,
which France games including to gain support for
its still colonial projects in Cameroon and
beyond, criticizes the country. But consider
this: "A gold mining project envisaged on the
territory of indigenous peoples in French Guiana
is sparking substantial criticism. In a rare
move, a UN committee is now requesting France to
secure the consent of affected indigenous
communities or suspend the project. The UN
Committee on the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination has just adopted an 'early
warning' asking France to secure the consent of
the indigenous communities affected by the
'Montagne d'Or' mining project or suspend it. In
a confidential decision adopted on 14 December
and released today, the Committee calls on
France to 'ensure the right to consultation and
free, prior and informed consent to all
indigenous peoples affected by the Montagne d’Or
project' and 'to consider the suspension' of the
project until such consent is obtained.
The move was prompted by a complaint lodged by
the Organization of the Native Nations of Guiana
(ONAG) with support from the International
Service for Human Rights (ISHR). According to
ONAG’s representative Alexandre
Sommer-Schaechtele, the Committee's decision
constitutes a major step forward. 'UN mechanisms
and UN member States have taken note of France’s
attitude on this matter. France has pledged to
"make the planet great again", yet it is
prepared to proceed with projects of that sort.
We indigenous peoples have expressed our
opposition to this project as it directly
affects our environment. Without our consent,
the Montagne d'Or project must be
withdrawn.' This early warning is the
first ever adopted by the Committee concerning a
situation in France. Traditional and customary
indigenous authorities in French Guiana have
voiced their opposition and concerns with the
direct and indirect impacts of the project on
their environment. The mine would cover an area
of more than 800 hectares in the heart of
pre-Columbian remains considered sacred by
indigenous peoples." January
7, 2019
And
now, the
censorship: "A
day after a US
based
journalist was
questioned by
police for
interviewing
people at
Tuticorin over
the Sterlite
plant issue,
authorities
are exploring
legal options,
including
filing a case
and deporting
him for
alleged
violation of
visa rules."
December
31, 2018
More from
Tamil Nadu: A
petrochemicals
firm was
instructed by
the Central
Pollution
Control Board
(CPCB) to shut
down one of
its plants in
Manali on
Tuesday. The
company was
served a
notice on
December 17
for abnormal
levels in the
treated
effluent water
discharged by
the plant.
According to a
report in The
Times of
India, Manali
Petrochemicals
Limited, in a
letter, told
the Bombay
Stock Exchange
that that it
received a
notice from
CPCB under
section 5 of
the
Environmental
Protection
Act, 1985,
that asked the
firm to stop
operations at
its Ponneri
High Road
plant.
December 24,
2018
Not
over? Vedanta
Ltd. said it
will move the
Supreme Court
to implement
the National
Green
Tribunal’s
order to
restart its
copper smelter
in Tamil Nadu,
which accounts
for nearly
half of
India’s
output, after
the Madras
High Court
restrained the
company from
taking any
steps to
reopen the
unit.
December
17, 2018
What's
in a name? In India the
so-called
National Green
Tribunal has
ordered the
Sterlite plan
to be
re-opened in
Tamil Nadu...
December
10, 2018
Since January
2016, 235
commercial
banks provided
over US$ 101
billion in
direct loans
to the 120 top
coal plant
developers.
The largest
lenders to
coal plant
developers are
the Japanese
banks Mizuho
Financial and
Mitsubishi UFJ
Financial with
US$ 12.8
billion and
US$ 9.9
billion
respectively.
December 3,
2018
The UN
praised the "Blue
Economy"
conference in Nairobi- which
was full of single-use
plastic including
water
bottles...
November
26, 2018
UN
Guterres Told
Solheim to
Pull Himself
For Travel
Spending No
Worse Than His
Own Per
Aftenposten
By Matthew
Russell Lee, CJR
PFT
UNITED
NATIONS GATE, November 24 – Even on the
environment, the UN's last refuge as it fails
under Antonio Guterres on conflict prevention
and anti-corruption, the UN is in decay. After
Erik Solheim of UNEP's travel spending reported
by Inner City Press and others earlier this
year, Solheim on November 20 resigned, effective
November 22. Inner City Press which asked
repeated about UNEP,
Solheim's MoBike
and China
trip favoritism for his son, Guterres own
travel waste and UNdisclosed business of son
Pedro Guimarăes e Melo De Oliveira Guterres and
continues to ask and film (here
and here)
amid its now 143 day retaliatory ban from the UN
by Guterres, linked Solheim's departure to
Guterres' own sins. And now Aftenposten
nails it, or at least part of it: "Monday, 19
November is far from a normal day for the former
Minister for the Environment and Development.
This day, in fact, a letter from António
Guterres, the UN's own Secretary-General, is
written. The wording of the letter is referred
to as "powerful" and "very clear" by people who
have seen it and as Aftenposten has talked to.
The message is this: You have to pull yourself.
Now." Some ask, and what did Guterres mean --
better you than me? Guterres has spent public
funds on fully 16 trips to his home in Lisbon,
refusing to disclose how much it costs and
roughing up and banning Inner City Press which
asks? Now Guterres is gone yet again, without
disclosing where. Guterres apparently thinks
that firing a person doing what he does gives
him additional immunity, and that no one can
hand him a letter saying, You have to pull
yourself, now. Aftenpost's three authors bylined
on story, Kristoffer Rřnneberg, Helene
Skjeggestad and Inger Lise Hammerstrřm report
Guterres lined up Norway against Solheim before
dropping the hammer. Why are Guterres' sleazy
firing reported so differently than Trump's? And
what of the China angle, and Guterres' actual
role? We'll have more on this. In the briefing
room, Guterres' spokesman Stephane Dujarric gave
the first question - of only four - to Al
Jazeera which conveniently asked only about
Solheim's travel, not Guterres. This is a
pattern. Even banned, Inner City Press has asked
in writing: "November 20-2: Confirm or deny that
UNEP's Erik Solheim is resigning and either way,
state when the OIOS report into his travel will
be made public, and state how much the SG has
spend on his 16 trips to Lisbon, including 2 UN
Security each time." And here is all that
Guterres' spokesmen sent back: "On your second
question, we have the following note: The
Secretary-General has accepted the resignation
of Erik Solheim, the Executive Director of the
UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
Mr. Solheim’s resignation is effective Thursday,
22 November.
The Secretary-General is grateful for Mr.
Solheim’s service and recognizes that he has
been a leading voice in drawing the world’s
attention to critical environmental challenges,
including plastics pollution and circularity;
climate action; the rights of environmental
defenders; biodiversity; and environmental
security.
He has led advocacy at the highest levels of
government, business and civil society to drive
the transformational change needed to make a
real difference in the lives of people and
promote the cause of the environment.
The Deputy Executive Director of UNEP, Ms. Joyce
Msuya of Tanzania, will be appointed as the
Acting Executive Director while the
Secretary-General launches a recruitment
process, in consultation with Member States, to
find a successor to Mr. Solheim. Ms. Msuya will
be granted all the necessary support to ensure a
smooth transition. New York, 20 November 2018."
Nothing on Guterres' spending. We'll have more
on this. Here was the fourth in Inner City
Press' exclusive series on corruption in UN
Environment, the re-branded UNEP, under Erik
Solheim of Norway. After publishing three,
Guterres had Inner City Press roughed up on June 22
and July
3, 2018 and banned since. It is pure censorship.
But still our reporting, and that of our sources
outraged at what Guterres is doing and others
scrutinizing the UN if only their home country
officials, see
below, continues. On September 17, Inner City
Press exclusively published the first in a
series on travel waste in UNDP, starting with
the bribery-used Office of South South
Cooperation, here.
This while Guterres' spokesman Stephane Dujarric
refuses to answer questions about the public
costs of travel, of Guterres or Solheim,
preferring to dissemble about why and on what
basis Guterres and Alison Smale have banned
Inner City Press. On August 27 Dujarric said it
was for creating a "hostile environment for
diplomats." Vine video here.
On September 17 he said, to the contrary, it was
all Guterres' Secretariat and there were not
"any inputs from any member states." Video here.
Which is it? November
17, 2018
For the first
time,
Australia’s
pollution has
been mapped by
postcode in a
report titled
The Dirty
Truth by the
Australian
Conservation
Foundation
(ACF).
Some of the
areas
identified as
being the most
polluted in
Australia’s
capital cities
include:
Botany Bay in
Sydney
Altona in
Melbourne
Port of
Brisbane
Parmelia near
Perth
November 12,
2018
From India:
"'There are no
non-smokers in
India,' says
doctor who
installed
artificial
lungs in Delhi
to create
awareness on
air pollution.
In New
York City, small
three or two
seat bus stops are
no place
for smoking...
November
5, 2018
On UK
bonfire night:
"Be it power
stations,
steel works,
or waste
incineration –
they all have
to invest a
lot to clean
these metals
and other
pollutants.
But yet on
fireworks
night we just
throw a load
of it into our
urban air
without
controls."
October 29,
2018
For more than
two decades,
residents of
Melbourne's
inner west
have been
fighting a
losing battle
to get trucks
off their
streets. So
the thought
that
Melbourne's
freight load
could triple
by 2050 is,
quite simply,
horrifying to
them. "I
can't imagine
what the
streets would
be like around
here if we had
a massive
increase in
the truck
numbers," said
Martin Wurt
from the
Maribyrnong
Transport
Action Group. "We
have got some
of the worst
health
statistics in
Australia
because of the
diesel
pollution we
are
experiencing
now."
October
22, 2018
UNlike
the UN, Pearl
Jam is
investing in a
carbon offset
project in
Alaska managed
by ClimeCo,
The American
Land
Conservancy,
and the Rocky
Mountain Elk
Foundation to
be
‘accountable’
for pollution
they created
on their 2018
tour. It is
the first of
its kind in
the region.
The project
will help to
protect the
coastal
temperate
rainforest
area of
Afognak Island
and to
preserve the
habitat for
many important
animal
species.
“As a band,
it’s important
for us to be
accountable
for the
pollution we
create. Since
2004 we’ve
invested in
projects
around the
world to
mitigate the
CO2 emissions
caused by our
tours” said
Pearl Jam’s
Stone Gossard,
who manages
the band’s
carbon
mitigation
program.
October
15, 2018
Coca-Cola,
Pepsi and
Nestle are
among the
companies that
contribute
most to ocean
pollution with
single-use
plastics,
according to a
study
presented on
Tuesday by the
"Break Free
from Plastic"
initiative.
The
environmental
movement,
launched in
2016, has
helped clear
the coasts of
42 countries
around the
world of
discarded
plastics.
October
8, 2018
THE
ASEAN
Specialised
Meteorological
Centre’s
(ASMC’s)
review and
outlook of the
weather and
smoke haze
situation for
the entire
region has
stated that
major climate
centres
forecast a 70
per cent
chance of weak
El Nino
conditions
developing
toward the end
of the year,
while current
conditions
remained
neutral
(neither El
Nino nor La
Nina).October
1, 2018
Headline:
"Norway
announces $200
million boost
to anti-ocean
plastic
efforts" -
while Norway's
Eric Solheim
wastes UN Environment
funds
flying for
personal reasons...
September 24 ,
2019
At UN
Environment
Solheim Blames
His Travel
Abuse On His
Staff In Email
Leaked to
Banned Inner
City Press
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Exclusive, CJR
PFT
UNITED
NATIONS GATE, September 18 – Even on the
environment, the UN's last refuge as it fails
under Antonio Guterres on conflict prevention
and anti-corruption, the UN is in decay. This
article is the fourth in Inner City Press'
exclusive series on corruption in UN
Environment, the re-branded UNEP, under Erik
Solheim of Norway. After publishing three,
Guterres had Inner City Press roughed up on June 22
and July
3, 2018 and banned since. It is pure censorship.
But still our reporting, and that of our sources
outraged at what Guterres is doing and others
scrutinizing the UN if only their home country
officials, see
below, continues. On September 17, Inner City
Press exclusively published the first in a
series on travel waste in UNDP, starting with
the bribery-used Office of South South
Cooperation, here.
This while Guterres' spokesman Stephane Dujarric
refuses to answer questions about the public
costs of travel, of Guterres or Solheim,
preferring to dissemble about why and on what
basis Guterres and Alison Smale have banned
Inner City Press. On August 27 Dujarric said it
was for creating a "hostile environment for
diplomats." Vine video here.
On September 17 he said, to the contrary, it was
all Guterres' Secretariat and there were not
"any inputs from any member states." Video here.
Which is it? This
is today's UN pattern of decision, replicated
from Guterres' 38th floor to UNEP, see Solheim's
September 17 internal mem, below. First, from
the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services
draft audit of Solheim: "Some of the trips to
Oslo and Paris were called 'bilateral meetings,'
even though they took place during weekends or
the Christmas holidays... On one occasion he
made an eight hour flight from Washington DC for
a weekend in Paris, before he boarded another
flight for New York." This is what Guterres has
been doing -- 15 times -- including this coming
weekend in Lisbon. And Guterres spokesmen refuse
to answer Inner City Press repeated questions
about the costs, choosing instead to work for
Inner City Press' roughing up and banning from
the UN, then to intimidate remaining
correspondents who attempt to ask about it. But
who will audit Guterres? Inner City Press has
provided extensive information to OIOS whose Ben
Swanson has to his credit confirmed receipt. Now
what? The draft OIOS audit of Solheim continues:
"The UNEP and UN’s Nairobi office should reclaim
from these employees (1) all travel expenses and
the related working hours which have not been
accounted for; and (2) all additional costs
incurred by the UNEP as a consequence of
uneconomic and inefficient decisions by the
management." So who will Guterres be returning
money to? And who will hold him accountable for
the retaliatory roughing up of the only
journalist who asked about his use of funds to
travel to Lisbon, and dared to document by
Periscope broadcast on Sutton Place the many
times Guterres has been out of New York without
disclosure? The use of UN Security to threat
Inner City Press against filming on a New York
City sidewalk - across the street from Guterres'
publicly funded mansion - and subsequent 3 July
2018 assault outside the UN Budget Committee
meeting including tearing of shirt, damaging of
laptop computer and twisting of arm? Aftenpost runs
this quote too: The two other senior staffers
were allegedly given permission by Erik Solheim
to work out of Paris, in spite of being formally
assigned to Nairobi. One of them allegedly
received more than 165 000 NOK (20 000 dollars)
in a special security allowance for Nairobi, in
spite of being relocated to Paris. Permitting
these leaders to work in Paris is a direct
violation of UN’s regulations, according to the
draft report. 'Such arrangements will set the
presedent [sic] for other employees who wish to
work out of a place of their own choice, and
probably lead to speculations about unfair
treatment or claims when such request are being
rejected.'" Inner City Press' September 13
question to Guterres' spokesmen has gone
entirely unanswered, despite the written
promises of Alison Smale. But here's from Erik
Solheim, leaked nearly immediately to Inner City
Press: "From: Erik Solheim
Date: 17 September 2018 at 16:42:10 CEST
To: unon.org
Subject: Update: ongoing audit of UN
Environment’s travel
Dear Colleagues,
I hope this email finds you well. As many of you
are aware, in recent days, several media
articles have referred to preliminary findings
of an ongoing audit of mission-related travel
within UN Environment.
I am writing to personally address these reports
and update you all on the current standing of
this audit.
First, I welcome a transparent and fact-seeking
audit of any part of our activities. When this
audit by the United Nations Office of Internal
Oversight Services has come to term, I am
certain the findings will help us in our
endeavor to continuously improve our work.
If the audit shows that we have made any
mistakes, we are committed to take immediate
action and rectify every one of them, with no
exception. We will admit to any mistakes that
may have occurred. Where administrative
shortcomings have been clearly identified, we
are already starting to take steps to improve
processes and procedural controls, particularly
as it relates to travel costs.
On this point allow me to state it clearly and
to avoid confusion. The Office of Internal
Oversight Services earlier this year
investigated all my travels in great detail and
found three instances of oversight out of all of
them. The money was refunded immediately. Better
administrative control systems would have helped
avoid these mistakes in the first place.
I believe this audit – which is not an
investigation but an audit of UN Environment
travel processes - will provide us with an
opportunity to revise and improve our systems.
Rest assured that this will be done in a
transparent and efficient manner.
In my two years, as Executive Director of UN
Environment, I have been proud to lead teams of
dedicated professionals working on the most
urgent environmental challenges of our time.
This requires global commitment to unprecedented
action, driven by new levels of personal action
and political will. During my tenure, I have
worked tirelessly to deliver such action and
mobilize that will for the success of our work
together.
Making good on this type of global agenda
demands engagement with the world and indeed an
expanded approach to our work. I am therefore
determined to continue to focus on our mandate –
to create real results for real people with real
impact on the ground. These necessary results
can only be obtained in close dialogue with
Member States, businesses and civil society.
This is in line with the Secretary-General’s
vision for a more impactful United Nations in
the 21th century.
At the same time, I want to reassure you that
all travel decisions are made with a focus on
maximizing the effectiveness of this
organization and meeting the urgent
environmental challenges we are facing together,
everywhere. If in pursuit of that goal,
administrative rules are found to have been
overlooked, I accept personal responsibility and
offer my strong commitment to immediately refine
this process going forward.
The leaked preliminary findings, on which these
media reports are based, were draft notes as a
starting point for consultations between the
Office of Internal Oversight Services and UN
Environment. As such it may, by its very nature,
contain misunderstandings or inaccuracies. As a
part of this process, we have provided extensive
follow-up information to the Office of Internal
Oversight Services. I ask that you keep in mind
that many of the findings are in the process of
validation. We are now awaiting a first
draft of the report for our comments prior to
the report being finalized.
Once the Office of Internal Oversight Services
completes its final report, it will be public on
its website, as is standard practice. We will
then work diligently to implement the auditor’s
recommendations.
I look forward to discussing this with you
tomorrow at the Townhall.\
Warm wishes,
Erik Solheim
Head of UN Environment
UN Environment." So Solheim blames his
administrative staff, while imposing on UNEP
staff more bureaucratic restrictions than UN
rules require. As with Guterres - and others at
the top of the UN, more on UNDP coming - it's a
case of "Do as I say, not as I do." Here's just
one of Inner City Press' questions to Guterres
spokesmen, entirely unanswered after five days:
"September 13-2: Regarding the UN system's rules
for use of UN funds for personal travel, and in
light of the OIOS criticism of Erik Solheim at
UNEP (below), what is the SG's comment and
action, will be ensure that the OIOS audit be
released to the public in its entirety and that
his own travel be subject to an independent
audit? See, “"Some of the trips to Oslo and
Paris were called 'bilateral meetings,' even
though they took place during weekends or the
Christmas holidays... On one occasion he made an
eight hour flight from Washington DC for a
weekend in Paris, before he boarded another
flight for New York." Has the SG done anything
similar since Jan 1, 2017?
"The UNEP and UN’s Nairobi office should reclaim
from these employees (1) all travel expenses and
the related working hours which have not been
accounted for; and (2) all additional costs
incurred by the UNEP as a consequence of
uneconomic and inefficient decisions by the
management." Should the money be returned, does
the SG think?
Finally, confirm that the two others at UNEP
subject to OIOS criticism are Anne Lemore and
Lisa Svensson, or state why you will not do so,
given the allegations of waste of public funds,
and when you would release the names." We'll
have more on this. Guterres' USG Alison Smale
twice promised that questions will be answered,
but like so much else she has said and written,
this is false. To continue reporting we ask
questions at the UN Delegates Entrance, or
seemingly in the "High Level" Week on Second
Avenue and 46th Street - and Smale says this
creates a "hostile environment for diplomats."
These people are censors and it must all be
reversed. They are further killing the UN, and
have assaulted press freedom. We will have more
on all this.
September 17,
2018
"A
strange mist
blew into one
town,
residents
said. There
and elsewhere,
people noticed
that metal
items like
children’s
swings were
rusting, and
they felt a
shortness of
breath. Fields
turned black. Ecologists
and doctors
say the
culprit was a
significant
release of
industrial
pollution, but
the ecological
disaster,
which began in
August, has an
added
complication.
The pollution
has been
blowing across
the de facto
border between
Russian-controlled
Crimea and
mainland
Ukraine..."
September
10, 2018
In
Tamil Nadu in
India, "the
State
government has
rejected the
study report
of the Central
Ground Water
Board (CGWB)
on the
groundwater
contamination
in
Thoothukudi,
which appears
to support
Sterlite
Copper. The
law and order
situation in
and around
Thoothukudi
has returned
to normality
(after the
police firing
in which 13
people died)
and an
unscientific
report would
aggravate the
situation,
Tamil Nadu
Chief
Secretary
Girija
Vaidyanathan
said, in a
letter to the
Secretary,
Union Ministry
of Water
Resources."
September
3, 2018
Cairo
ranked as the
most polluted
city on earth,
according to a
recent study
by Eco
Experts. The
study
classified
world cities
based on
various types
of
obstruction,
including air,
light, and
noise
pollution, followed
by Delhi,
Beijing,
Moscow,
Istanbul,
Guangzhou,
Shanghai,
Buenos Aires,
Paris, and Los
Angeles.
As on press
freedom, good
job, Sisi -
not.
August
27, 2018
In
Australia,
Sydney Water
is
investigating
ways to clean
up sewage
pollution on
Coogee Beach,
and will
release its
findings...
August
20, 2018
CANZ in
action:
Newcastle
couple buy New
Zealand navy
ship to fight
ocean
pollution Newcastle
couple Paul
and Wilma
Adams wanted a
boat for their
conservation
work
preserving
World War II
shipwrecks in
the Pacific.
Now they're
the owners of
an ex-New
Zealand Navy
warship. Step
onboard, in
part one of
your tour of
the 44-metre
Manawanui. audio
h/t
August 13,
2018
Arrest
in Bangalore
After
Testimony to
UNHRC To Be
Raised to UN
But Will Zeid
or Bachelet
Speak?
By Matthew
Russell Lee, CJR,
Petition,
Filing
UNITED NATIONS
GATE, August 9 – How does
today's UN under Secretary General Antonio
Guterres protect those who testify to it? Or
does his UN, as with whistleblowers
and the investigative Press,
leave them to be attacked, even by UN Security?
The question is raised by the case of
Thirumurugan Gandhi, a May 17 Movement activist
who after testifying about the the security
forces' Sterlite slaughter, has been arrested in
Bangalore. The May 17 Movement has messaged
Inner City Press, which has been banned from the
UN by Guterres for 37 days and counting, that
"Thirumurugan Gandhi has been arrested at the
Bangalore airport early morning today.
Thirumurugan Gandhi was traveling back from a
recent visit to Europe, where he addressed the
UNHRC [UN Human Rights Council] meeting in
Geneva where he spoke about the recent protest
against the sterlite plant in Tuticorin in which
13 people lost their lives in police firing. He
was en route to Chennai city, where he hails
from. This snooping upon him at the Bangalore
Airport, is a gross violation of his fundamental
rights. Though the police have just mentioned
two old cases in Tamil Nadu to arrest
Thirumurugan Gandhi, one wonders why this kind
of a operation in Bangalore at the early morning
hours as he was arriving here to reach Chennai.
Given the total disregard for law and
constitution by the State in general, especially
in the background of the tumultuous political
situation in Tamil Nadu, where the awakened
youth of the state are up against the proxy
government there, this arrest stinks. Chennai
police have even detained Thirumurugan Gandhi
even on flimsiest reasons in the recent times.
Treating him like a common criminal, is
Political Vendetta and nothing else.
Thirumurugan Gandhi and the May 17th movement
have been in the forefront of many pro-people
mass movements. #ReleaseThirumurugan." This is
something on which the UN should have to answer,
particularly given his testimony to the UNHRC.
Outgoing High Commissioner Zeid, and incoming
Bachelet, should speak on this and other recent
failures to protect (and worse) by the UN.
(Inner City Press' August 8 UN GATE video here.)
As to the UN Secretariat itself, when Inner City
Press e-mails in this question since it remains
banned by Guterres from the UN noon briefing,
will it remain unanswered like so many others,
as on Patton Boggs and Cameroon? Watch this
site. August
6, 2018
Wind
blowing in
from the
Arabian
Peninsula has
increased dust
pollution in
India...
July
30, 2018
Parts of
France are
taking
measures to
combat a rise
in pollution
seen in
several areas
of the country
as a result of
the scorching
summer
temperatures.Several
areas in the
south and
south west
have been
placed on
alert for
pollution
while other
regions such
as the greater
Paris region
of
Ile-de-France
are also
taking
measures to
deal with the
spike in dirty
air. The
rise in
pollution is a
result of the
rising heat
seen across
the country in
recent days
which had led
to 18
departments
being placed
on heatwave
alert on
Wednesday and
low wind
levels.
July
23, 2018
In
India, the State
government of
Punjab’s
Pollution
Control Board
(PPCB)
conducted a
stringent
check on
vehicle
pollution
monitoring
centers across
the state
recently. This
drive has
revealed
shocking
results. More
than half of
these centers
were blatantly
issuing clean
certificates
to vehicles
without even
undertaking
any pollution
checks.July
16, 2018
Now, the
Uttar Pradesh
government
implements a
sweeping ban
on plastic
products,
primarily
focusing on
the food
industry. The
state
government of
Maharashtra
announced a
similar ban
three weeks
ago on June
23.
July
9, 2018
Guam
Environmental
Protection
agency said
all 43 beaches
on Guam are
polluted
because of
heavy rainfall
Typhoon Maria
brought.
July 2,
2018
On
Libya Fighting
in Oil
Crescent Inner
City Press
Asked UN Which
Speaks After
UK, US, Italy
and France
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Vine,
Periscope
UNITED
NATIONS, June 27 – A week after Inner City Press
on Libya asked the UN about General Haftar's
moves on Derna, it was reported there that "UN"
envoy Ghassan Salame refused to meet with people
in Derna because Egypt, the UAE and France did
not want him too. Salame was largely selected /
placed in the position by France; Egypt backs
Haftar. The UAE bought the UN's previous envoy
Bernardino Leon. This is today's UN. On June 18,
Inner City Press asked UN spokesman Stephane
Dujarric, UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: In Libya, there's a lot of
fighting in the Oil Crescent, and it seems that
some large oil facilities are on fire in Ra's
Lanuf. So, I'm wondering, given Mr.
[Ghassan] Salamé… seems like it's both an
environmental as well as a political… pretty
much of a crisis. What's the UN system
doing about these burning oil tanks…?
Spokesman: "I did not get an update from
Libya today." Oh - is that all the UN
spokesman's job is, beyond evicting and restricting
the Press that asks? The next days, nothing from
Dujarric except more cutting off of questions by
calling on favored scribes, and from the UN an
ouster of Inner City Press, video
here,
story here.
Now this on June 27 - not from the UN which has
an envoy, but from the US, UK, Italy and France:
"The governments of France, Italy, the United
Kingdom, and the United States are deeply
concerned about the announcement that the Ras
Lanuf and Sidra oil fields and facilities will
be transferred to the control of an entity other
than the legitimate National Oil
Corporation. Libya’s oil facilities,
production, and revenues belong to the Libyan
people. These vital Libyan resources must
remain under the exclusive control of the
legitimate National Oil Corporation and the sole
oversight of the Government of National Accord
(GNA), as outlined in UN Security Council
Resolutions 2259 (2015), 2278 (2016), and 2362
(2017). UN Security Council Resolution
2362 (2017) condemns attempts to illicitly
export petroleum, including crude oil and
refined petroleum products, from Libya by
parallel institutions which are not acting under
the authority of the GNA. Any attempts to
circumvent the UN Security Council’s Libya
sanctions regime will cause deep harm to Libya’s
economy, exacerbate its humanitarian crisis, and
undermine its broader stability. The
international community will hold those who
undermine Libya’s peace, security, and stability
to account. We call for all armed actors
to cease hostilities and withdraw immediately
from oil installations without conditions before
further damage occurs. In September 2016,
the LNA supported the legitimate National Oil
Corporation’s work to rebuild Libya’s oil sector
for the benefit of the Libyan people. This
action served Libya’s national interest.
The legitimate National Oil Corporation must be
allowed again to take up unhindered work on
behalf of the Libyan people, to repair
infrastructure damaged after the attack by
forces under the direction of Ibrahim Jadhran,
and to restore the oil exports and production
disrupted by that attack." Only after the above
did UNSG Guterres belatedly speak, through his
(censoring) spokesman DujarricJune
25, 2018
Here is
a scam on
which we
aim to report:
the claim that
burning wood as
coal is good for
the
environment.
Bio-mass
indeed. Contact us,
and watch this
site.
June 18, 2018
In
Canada,
Ontario's
opposition
parties are against
PC
Premier-Designate
Doug Ford's
plan to scrap
the province's
cap-and-trade
system. Green
party official
Mike
Schreiner says
cancelling
pollution
pricing
without a
backup plan
sends a signal
to clean
companies that
the province
is not open
for business. NDP
rep
Peter Tabuns
questioned how
Ford will
replace the
$1.9 billion
per year that
the
cap-and-trade
auction brings
in for the
province. Environmental
groups also criticized
the move,
calling it a
bad idea for
the
environment
and Ontario's
economy."
June 11,
2018
In India,
South Delhi is
set to lose a
chunk of its
greens at the
altar of
'development'.
The city's
forest
department has
cleared the
NBCC's
proposal to
fell 3,748
fully-grown
and healthy
mango, neem,
banyan,
pilkhan,
guava, etc.
species of
trees at
Netaji Nagar
and Nauroji
Nagar.....
June
4, 2018
...Thousands had
gone to the
Thoothukudi
collector’s
office on May
22, the 100th
day of the
people’s
protest
against the
pollution
caused by the
copper smelter
plant of
Sterlite
Copper, a
subsidiary of
Vedanta
Resources. As
he, along with
the other
protesters,
barged into
the office
premises, the
Tamil Nadu
police gunned
him down,
without a
warning.
May 28, 2018
The crackdown
on the
environmental
protest
by Tamils in
Tamil Nadu
in India
is an
outrage...
May
21, 2018
So
there's the
European
Commission’s’
final warnings
to the UK and
other nations
to control
emissions and
reduce air
pollution. The
UK’s latest
plan to
control
emissions,
especially
fumes from
diesel cars
which have
been recorded
at illegal
levels since
2010, was
ruled
“inadequate”. In
Europe, 40,000
early deaths
have been
attributed to
air pollution.
Now, the
United Kingdom
has until the
end of 2018 to
implement
tighter
restrictions.
May 14, 2018
India's
struggles with
air pollution-- last
week, the
World Health
Organization
(WHO)
published a
report showing
that two of
the world's
most polluted
megacities—Delhi
and Mumbai—are
in India. But
a company
there, Chakr
Innovation,
now sells a
device that
captures 90
percent of the
soot particles
from diesel
generators and
sells them to
manufacturers
to make ink...
May 7,
2018
Indonesia's
Citarum River
is now
known as the
most polluted
river in the
world...
April
30, 2018
More
than 95% of
the world’s
population in
2016 (+7
billion) lived
in areas with
dangerously
high levels of
air pollution
— that is, in
areas where
WHO
organization
guidelines for
air quality
(themselves
likely an
underestimate)
were exceeded.
This is
according to a
new annual
report from
the Health
Effects
Institute
(HEI).
April
23, 2018
From Kenya: In
2016, after
Omido and a
team of
lawyers filed
a class action
lawsuit
alleging the
government and
the lead
factory owners
of violating
Kenyan law and
several
international
treaties, the
threats
intensified. Police
in Mombasa
began
investigating
the alleged
threats in
April, local
media
reported.
Police chief
for Mombasa
County, Peter
Omwana, told
CNN “the
matter had
been dealt
with,” while
declining to
provide
specifics. Public
prosecutors
contacted
local police
three times to
ask for any
findings, said
Mary Wanjiru,
a spokesperson
for the Office
of the
Director of
Public
Prosecutions.
They received
no response,
Wanjiru
said...
April 16, 2018
Duke
Energy Corp.
will pay a
$156,000
penalty for
polluting
ground and
surface waters
with
potentially
toxic coal-ash
waste around
three power
plants, an
amount one
critic
compared
Friday to a
couple of days
salary for the
utility’s top
executive. The
penalty is
less than a
slap on the
wrist for the
country’s No.
2 electricity
company, which
generated $23
billion in
revenue and
reported
paying its
chief
executive,
Lynn Good,
$21.4 million
last year...
April
9, 2018
South
Korea's
rapidly
worsening air
pollution has
forced the
country's
professional
baseball
league to
postpone three
games. The
Korea Baseball
Organization
on Friday
postponed the
games in
capital Seoul
and the nearby
cities of
Suwon and
Incheon after
the government
issued alerts
over high fine
dust levels in
the
metropolitan
area.
April 1, 2018
Censorship and
pollution: The
governor of
Thailand’s
Chiang Mai
province has
sued a local
magazine for
posting a
“blasphemous”
painting on
Facebook of
ancient kings
wearing
pollution
masks as part
of a campaign
to protest the
city’s
hazardous
smog.March
26, 2018
At UN
As Inner City
Press Covers
Guterres on
Water, UN
Requires
Minder, Cage,
Lake Chad
Dying, Pitbull
Cancels
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, March 22 – The UN Department of
Public Information, acting against Press
coverage of UN corruption cases, without
hearing or appeal had Inner City Press physically
ousted from the UN. Audio
here.
Since then
DPI's requirement that Inner City Press unlike
other media have minders to stake-out public
events in the UN has continued. On March
22 Inner City Press sought to cover the General
Assembly event on water, with for example Lake
Chad having shrunk by 90%. But to get to the GA,
unlike other state and sycophant journalists,
Inner City Press had to get a DPI minder, and
then had to build its own cage, admitted of blue
rope. There were already journalists there, with
no cage, including one from a country under
multiple sanction. But today's UN trusts their
state media, not the investigative Press. UNTV
didn't even have Antonio Guterres' speech on,
initially. But outside, even behind the rope,
Inner City Press was approached by the Permanent
Representative of out of the Lake Chad
countries, who said if nothing is done in ten
years the Lake is gone. The decade of water -
will today's UN fail again? The rapper Pitbull
cancelled on the UN, for an 11:15 am press
conference.March
19, 2018
India,
Tamil Nadu:
CHENNAI: The
state
pollution
control board
is yet to give
its nod for
the
India-based
Neutrino
project that
is proposed to
come up at
Pottipuram
village in
Uthamapalayam
taluk in Theni
district. A
senior
official from
the TN
pollution
control board
(PCB) said
that
considering
this as a
special case,
the Union
ministry of
environment,
forests and
climate change
had issued the
environmental
clearance for
the project a
couple of days
ago....
March 12, 2018
When UN
Guterres Did
Q&A With
Bloomberg,
Questions
Pre-Picked,
CEFC UN
Bribery
Ignored
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Photos, Periscope
UNITED NATIONS,
March 5 – When UN Secretary General Antonio
Guterres re-appointed Michael Bloomberg as UN
climate change envoy on March 5, nearly two
dozen media went up to the UN's 38th floor for
the press encounter. But Guterres' spokesman
Stephane Dujarric had clearly chosen the
questions in advance, calling on Agence France
Presse and then another media whom he was heard
calling by cell phone just before the press
encounter. The questions and Bloomberg's remarks
were directed at Trump, clearly the elephant in
the room. At the end, since this should not be
pre-scripted theater, Inner City Press asked if
oil companies like CEFC China
Energy should be in the UN Global Compact and UN
ECOSOC, in which CEFC remains in consultative
status months after the indictment of its UN
representative Patrick Ho, while buying stakes
in oil companies. This was not answered.
Periscope here. Back
on February 28 when Guterres met Egypt's new
Ambassador Mohamed Fathi Ahmed Edrees, Inner
City Press went through the UN's tourist
entrance and then UN Security on the 37th floor
to cover it. Still, before Guterres expressed
his warm regards for Sisi, who is arresting all
opponents, the UN Security officer who has
already checked Inner City Press' microphone
told it it could not record audio. This is
censorship, and it is ongoing -
they have not answered a petition with thousands
of signatures. Meanwhile Guterres and his Global
Communicator Alison Smale have purported to
assign Inner City Press' long time UN work space
to Sisi's no show state media, Sanaa Youssef of
Akhbar al Yom. We'll have more on this.March
5, 2018
UN
Environment
Pays EUR
500,000 To Be
in Volvo Ocean
Race, For Dee
Caffari, ICP
Asks
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Exclusive, Patreon
doc
UNITED
NATIONS, March 2 – Even on the environment, the
UN's last refuge as it fails under Antonio
Guterres on conflict prevention and
anti-corruption, the UN is in decay. UN
Environment, the re-branded UNEP, is paying over
EUR 500,000 in a (reverse) corporate partnership
with Volvo Ocean Races, see below. Guterres'
deputy Amina J. Mohammed has refused Press
questions since November on her role in signing
4000 certificates to export from Nigeria and
Cameroon endangered rosewood already in China.
Guterres, Mohammed and Alison Smale's only
response has been to censor
and continue to restrict the Press which
asks, despite 5000 signature petition,
UNanswered. Now whistleblowers in UNEP have
written to Guterres, and exclusively sent a copy
and documents to Inner City Press on UNEP mis
management, harassment and misuse of government
resources. Who authorized UNEP to spend EUR
500,000 in a mis-named corporate partnership
with Volvo Ocean Races? Before today publishing
the documents, Innr City Press on March 1 asked
Guterres' spokesman Stephane Dujarric about it,
video here,
UN
transcript here:
and below. Dujarric did not explain, then or for
the rest of the day; he said he hadn't spoken
with Guterres about it. Oh. Inner City Press is
today publishing in full, on Scribd
and Patreon,
the agreement with Volvo Ocean Races signed by
Erik Solheim, here,
and the EUR 500,000 agreement signed by UNEP's
Lisa Emilia Svensson, here
and
here. This UN agency is paying for "public
appearances by Dee Caffari and the crew" -- Ms.
Caffari is a British sailor -- and for
"hospitality activities." It's a new low. On
March 2, Inner City Press again asked Guterres'
spokesman Dujarric about it, from the UN transcript:
Inner City Press: I had asked you yesterday
about UNEP [United Nations Environment
Programme], and I've seen… seen it published its
agreement with Volvo Ocean Races, and it seems
as… as I asked you yesterday, it's actually not
dollars; it's euros. From some 518,000 €
paid by UNEP for this corporate partnership, so
many people that I've spoken to think it's
weird. They thought a corporate
partnership is the corporation is helping the
UN, not the UN helping the corporations.
Spokesman: There are… there are different
kinds of partnerships. I think the point
is that the leadership at UNEP has followed all
the rules and regulations. If people… if
people feel there is… there's anything untoward,
there are all sorts of mechanisms for people to…
to express… to express those sentiments, but I
think the question… the detailed questions as to
the partnership are questions you need to raise
to UNEP. Inner City Press: Because one of
the budget lines is “personal appearance by Dee
Caffari”, who I had not heard of, but it turns
out she's a big British sailor or
yachtswoman. Since the public sees
celebrities or various extraordinary individuals
sometimes speaking in favor of the UN, if you're
being paid, is there some way to know who's
being paid, who's not being paid?
Spokesman: "I don't… I don't know… you're
jumping a couple of steps ahead. I don't
know the details of the partnership. I
think you need to ask UNEP." From the March 1 UN
transcript: Inner City Press: I also wanted to
ask you about UNEP (United Nations Environment
Programme). Whistleblowers there
have alleged a number of irregularities, but the
one that caught my eye and I've published has to
do with the allegation is that UNEP, which
claims under Mr. [Erik] Solheim to have a number
of corporate partnerships is, in fact, in some
cases paying the corporation for the
partnership. I.e., it's not a partnership
like, you know, Barcelona Football Club with
UNICEF, where they pay. In this case,
they're alleged that, under Mr. Solheim, the UN
Environment, as it's now called, is paying
$500,000 to Volvo Ocean Races. And I
wanted to know is it… one, I don't know if it's
true, but they work there and they have a lot of
names and a lot of information. Spokesman:
I think you can ask those questions directly of
UNEP. I have no doubt that Mr. Solheim is
operating and running the agency in accordance
to all relevant rules and regulations. Inner
City Press: Did the Secretary-General receive
this e-mail? Because it was sent out as a
cri de coeur of the people who work
there, saying… Spokesman: I have not
spoken to him about it." Why not? Here's from
what Solheim as written: "Dear colleagues, You
may have received or heard about an anonymous
email sent to me this week and copied to many.
It consists of slander, rumors and false
allegations. Worse, the message contains
unfounded attacks on many good colleagues
working hard for UN Environment. This is
unacceptable. We must strive for openness."
February 26,
2018
"Minnesota
initially sued
3M for $5
billion in
damages for
contaminating
the
groundwater of
tens of
thousands of
east metro
residents. On
Tuesday, the
state settled
for $850
million.
While state
officials
cheered the
size
settlement and
benefits to
residents in
east metro,
Oliaei
believes it
may be too
small. "It's a
bit
disappointing,"
Olia esaid"
February
19, 2018
“We are
considering
public
transport free
of charge in
order to
reduce the
number of
private cars,”
three
ministers
including the
environment
minister,
Barbara
Hendricks,
wrote to the
EU environment
commissioner
Karmenu Vella.
“Effectively
fighting air
pollution
without any
further
unnecessary
delays is of
the highest
priority for
Germany,”
February
12, 2018
From
Ghana: The
Headmistress
of Osudoku
Senior High
Technical
School in the
Greater Accra
Region,
Sylvia Baaba
Yankey, has
confirmed to
Citi News that
the school has
been shutdown
temporarily
because they
can no longer
endure harmful
smoke emitted
by a
toiletries and
plastics
manufacturing
Chinese
company close
to the school. According
to her, the
pollution from
the company
has worsened
such that they
had no option
than to send
the students
home for
health and
safety
reasons."
February
5, 2018
On
Climate Risk,
ICP Asks of
CEFC, DSG
Rosewood
Signings,
Panel Cites
Transparency,
UNseen
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Periscope
UNITED
NATIONS, January 31 – A Climate Risk event was
held at the UN on January 31, complete with a
delayed press conference with four speakers.
Inner City Press asked them about the role of
the UN, not just as a venue but as an actor,
with a Deputy Secretary General Amina J.
Mohammed who in 2017 signed 4000 certificates
for already-exported endangered rosewood in
China. The UN Global Compact accepted CEFC China
Energy until Inner City Press repeated asking
about its role as beneficiary of a UN bribery
scheme to get oil in Uganda and Chad; China
Energy Fund Committee is *still* in Special
Consultative status with ECOSOC. Periscope video
here,
since the UN has withheld its, under UNTV boss
Alison Smale. Among the panelists, Betty
Yee, California's Controller, repeatedly cited
transparency. Fred Samama of Amundi to his
credit acknowledged there is a danger of
green-washing. Peter Damgaard Jensen of PKA said
the UN could / should help emerging markets.
(This is true, but today in Cameroon for
example, the UN only supports colonialism and
exploitation.) Iconic Jack Ehnes of CalSTRS
appeared sympathetic. But will they continue to
blithely provide a platform for the greenwashing
not only of oil companies like CEFC China
Energy, but of censoring UN officials like Amina
J. Mohammed, who helped export endangered
rosewood then refused all Press questions on it,
and continues to censor and restrict the Press
which asks? We'll have more on this - and on
“The Investor Agenda.”
January
29, 2018
Bangkok's
air pollution
which exceeds
health safety
levels has
improved but
it could
worsen at the
end of next
month,
according to
the Department
of Pollution
Control (DPC).
"Emergency
measures have
been
introduced in
the South
Korean capital
of Seoul to
combat a thick
layer of smog
that is
covering the
city. Public
transport was
free during
rush-hour as
of Monday 15
January, in
the hopes that
car use will
be reduced. The
measures were
introduced
after the
average daily
density of
ultra-fine
dust hit more
than 50
micrograms per
cubic meter"...
January
15, 2018
In
Kazakhstan's
Temirtau, the
snow is black.
Temirtau has
numerous
industrial
processing
facilities,
including the
country's
biggest
steel-production
plant, which
is owned by
ArcelorMittal
Temirtau.
Multiple
locals pointed
a finger at
the company,
and in a
statement to
the BBC,
ArcelorMittal
admitted that
its facility
may have
played a
decisive role
in the black
snow
phenomenon...
January 8,
2018
In
Nepal, A rally
was organized
in the capital
against the
rising level
of air
pollution in
Kathmandu on January
5. A
campaign
against the
air pollution
named
Swachchha Hawa
was organized
to create
awareness of
the air
pollution and
its
consequences
in public
health....
January
1, 2017
Delhi
is the most
polluted city
in India and
also the 2nd
most polluted
city in the
world. It is
indeed a
matter of
concern as the
pollution is
making
millions of
people
vulnerable to
physical
ailments. This
is a huge
matter of
concern
because this
city has one
of the maximum
populations in
the country.
The levels of
harmful
particles in
the air that
are less than
2.5
micrometres
(PM2.5) are
about
153µg/m3....
December
25, 2017
AP: In
Hoboken,
across the
Hudson River
from New York
City, the site
of a former
manufacturing
plant for
mercury vapor
lamps sits
within a mile
of almost
100,000
residents,
including
7,000 children
under 5.
December
18, 2017
In Nigeria,
"Onitsha, the
commercial hub
of the
South-East,
was the most
polluted city
in the world.
Then this
report that
says three of
our rivers are
among the 20
most polluted
globally. The
affected
rivers are:
Imo, Kwa Ibo
and Cross
River."
December
11, 2017
Rosewood
Scandal of UN
Deputy Amina
J. Mohammed
Reported by
France24 With
Amina Omitted
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, December 5 – The UN has dodged Press
questions for a month about UN Deputy Secretary
General Amina J. Mohammed signing thousands of
certificates for rosewood already exported from
Nigeria and it seems Cameroon to China, just
before she took up her UN position. Most
recently, after UN correspondents who tried to
help her evade the questions declared she is
being "vilified,"
now
France 24 runs a piece, here,
about the sell-out of rosewood by Nigeria
including that "Chinese businessmen paid bribes
to officials in Nigeria's Environment Ministry"
- without mentioning that the Minister at the
time was Amina J. Mohammed. Instead an Ibrahim
Jibril is shown saying it was before his time.
The UN through its Department of Public
Information under Alison Smale gives state media
France 24 two separate offices in its
headquarters, while evicting and restricting the
investigative Press which has insisted that
Mohammed should answer these questions, even
more so now that the CITES meeting in Geneva
declined China's
open and Nigeria's more stealth lobbying to
close the case, and issued a decision that "With
regard to trade in specimens of Pterocarpus
erinaceus: b) Parties should not accept any
CITES permit or certificate for Pterocarpus
erinaceus issued by Nigeria unless its
authenticity has been confirmed by the
Secretariat, noting that China and Nigeria
have existing CITES document exchanging
mechanism to verify the authenticity of all
CITES permits and certificates for Pterocarpus
erinaceus issued by Nigeria. c) Range States and
importing countries should pay particular
attention to trade in Pterocarpus erinaceus to
ensure that trade in this species only takes
place when Parties are satisfied that it is in
line with the requirements of the Convention. d)
The Standing Committee welcomed the invitation
by the Government of Nigeria to conduct a
technical mission to Nigeria and invited the
Secretariat to provide any relevant information
on compliance with the Convention related to
trade in Pterocarpus erinaceus to the Standing
Committee." So on December 4 Inner City Press
asked UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric about this
CITES decision. He insisted that all questions
have been answered, and ended up by running out
of the UN briefing room as Inner City Press
asked another question. From the UN transcriptDecember
4, 2017
Entergy on its
idled Vernon
nuclear plant
says
"invasive"
environmental
sampling could
cause
radiological
and
nonradiological
contamination
to spread. The
documents also
say such
sampling might
damage
buildings and
important
underground
cables or
pipes.
November
27, 2017
In 10
most polluted
cities
Bamenda,
Cameroon
- Air
quality: 132 micrograms of
particles per cubic meter
- Population: Approximately
500,000
November
20, 2017
More on
Detroit:
in the metro
area,
African-American
children suffered
2,402 asthma
attacks and
missed 1,751
school days
due to asthma
per year
November
13, 2017
In
Detroit, protesters
gathered
Thursday at
the Marathon
Petroleum
refinery to
voice concerns
about the
company's lack
of action. The
demonstration
came weeks
after a
federal
appeals court
ruled against
a district
court's
decision that
residents'
claims of
injury due to
harmful air
pollution from
the oil giant
fell past the
statute of
limitations,
the Detroit
News
reported...
November
6, 2017
"Exxon
Mobil will pay
$2.5 million
in fines for
flaring gases
at eight
plants along
the Gulf
Coast" - is
that enough?
October
30, 2017
"The
most air
polluted
country in the
world is
Saudi Arabia,
closely
followed by
Qatar."
October 23,
2017
As
Mugabe's A
Goodwill
Ambassador of
WHO, Guterres
Silent, Echo
of Biya &
North Korea
Cyanide
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, October 21 – Amid the outrage at
Robert Mugabe being named a Goodwill
Ambassador of the World Health Organization,
the head of the UN system Antonio Guterres has
been notably silent. He heads the system, but
is not providing leadership, at the very least
not publicly. The UN often blames similar
absurdities on "member states" - but this was
a decision by Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
(He's "listening" -
at least he hears, see below.) On a different
issue, when Inner City Press asked Guterres
spokespeople repeatedly this year why the UN
World Intellectual Property Organization
provides help to North Korea for patents on cyanide,
the UN refused to comment, just as it did on retaliation by
Francis Gurry against whistleblowers at WIPO
and other UN system agencies. Several Inner
City Press readers have recently mused that
perhaps Guterres will give some goodwill
position to Cameroon's Paul Biya, like Mugabe
a "long time President," in Biya's case for 34
years. This as the UN delivered a threat to
Inner City Press to “review” it accreditation
on Friday afternoon at 5 pm. The UN official
who signed the letter,
when Inner City Press went to ask about the
undefined violation of live-streaming
Periscope video at a photo op by UN Secretary
General Antonio Guterres, had already left,
minutes after sending the threat. What to make
of the letter's vague statement, "filming and
recording on the 38th floor are limited to
official photo opportunities, and recording
conversations of others in the room is not
permitted. It has been brought to our
attention that you breached that rule
recently"? It's not only vague as to when, but
absurd: once a Periscope is authorized to
start streaming, it is impossible to not
record someone who speaks loudly at the photo
op. This comes two days after Inner City Press asked Guterres
about the UN inaction on threatened genocide
in Cameroon, and the UN claimedGuterres
hadn't heard the 15-second long
question.
October
16, 2017
South
Sudan’s
undersecretary
in the
Ministry of
Petroleum on
Saturday
denied reports
of deaths due
to
environmental
pollution
caused by oil
exploration. Residents
of the former
Upper Nile,
who live near
the oil fields
in Palouch
(North),
complained of
environmental
pollution as a
result of oil
production. They
reported
outbreaks of
unidentified
diseases which
they said were
not there
before oil
production
started in the
area. These
include giving
birth to
deformed
babies and
miscarriages
by pregnant
women. “We
found that
most of the
companies
working on the
Oil fields are
not actually
doing the
right thing
especially to
our people,”
Josephine
Napon, the
Minister of
Environment,
said...
“Most of our
people are
dying, most of
the children
are born blind
and most of
them are dying
just because
of the
pollution the
oil companies
have caused in
those areas,”
she stressed.
October
9, 2017
For
UN Guterres
Trip to
Caribbean, 4 Qs
All on Climate,
No Pool UNlike
Sisi Scam,
Cameroon
Ignored
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Video
UNITED
NATIONS, October 7 – UN Secretary General
Antonio Guterres is on a trip to the Caribbean,
to Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica in the wake
of recent storms. But despite the UN having
dozens of communications staff, as of 2 pm on
the first of his only two day trip there had
been no information much less analysis from the
trip so far. Past two pm, Guterres' own - if he
writes them - tweet:
"People of Barbuda face months of recovery after
devastating #Irma. They urgently need help to
rebuild their lives & a more resilient
future." And the replies to that were largely
about Southern Cameroons, and Biafra, and the
Rohingya, decrying UN inaction. A sample:
"Meanwhile people including children are being
killed in Southern Cameroons by Biya's brutal
regime you remained quiet with no action." Now
past 6 PM the UN has provided a transcript of
Guterres' press conference in Antigua - except
they only summarized the questions, all four "on
topic," on climate change. Guterres as he did
has his similarly one-topic stakeout at the UN
cited the World Bank's loans to Lebanon and
Jordan, on which Inner City Press questioned him
before he was Secretary General, here.
Now he is supposed to speak to pressing issues,
including whatever he may think Cameroon and the
UN's controversial role in the Kenyan elections.
Even as to Barbuda, some independent coverage is
needed. Guterres' UN does not have “pool”
reporting of such trips -- in fact, they refused
to tell Inner City Press for two weeks this
summer even where Guterres was. During the
recent General Assembly high level week, the UN
denied Inner City Press the ability to cover
Guterres' meeting with Egypt's Sisi, claiming
that Sisi's state media Akhbar al Yom would be
“pooling.” But when Inner City Press asked if
their rarely present correspondent Sanaa Youssef
who was allowed in the meeting ostensibly as
pooler would say who was in the meeting, for
example UN human rights staff, no information
was provided. It wasn't a pool - it was a
cover-up. This has been raised to the UN's new
head of Global Communications and the Department
of Public Information Alison Smale, still
without any response. The team, we learn from
gushing tweets, is in Vienna, while questions
about killings in such places as Cameroon go
unanswered. Ah, communications, UNcommunicative.October 2,
2017
Hurricanes I:
"When the St.
Johns River
broke its
banks during
Hurricane
Irma, it
wasn’t just
homeowners
caught
unprepared.
The
historic
flooding also
inundated
industrial
operations,
like factories
and power
plants. The
impact on
sewage systems
is well
documented –
and frankly
hard to
ignore. But
Irma’s rains
also flooded
industrial
wastewater
ponds, causing
tons of
accidental
pollution. It’s
not clear if
those
polluters will
be held to
account."
September
25, 2017
UNEP's
Erik Solheim said,
“The
profit of
destroying
nature or
polluting the
planet is
nearly always
privatised,
while the
costs of
polluting the
planet or the
cost of
destroying
ecosystems is
nearly always
socialised."
September
18, 2017
On
Hurricane
Irma, UN Spox
Cuts Off Press
Q on Debt
Moratorium,
Gives 3 Minute
Notice
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, September 16 – While the UN
system's International
Monetary Fund has yet to
announce any debt moratorium
for countries impacted by
Hurricane Irma, UN Secretary
General Antonio Guterres'
spokesman Stephane
Dujarric gave the press a
mere three minutes to
sign up to attend the
UN's September 18
meeting about Irma, see below.
When the IMF re-started
its biweekly embargoed press
briefings on
September 14, Inner City Press submitted a
question
about Hurricane
Irma and moratoria:
"On Antigua
and Barbuda,
and Hurricane
Irma impacted
countries more
generally... will
there be no
moratoria?
What is the
IMF doing?" IMF spokesperson
Gerry
Rice said,
"There's a
question from
Matthew Lee on
moratorium...
on that, I
would refer to
what Mme
Lagarde said a
few days ago,
of course the
IMF has
tremendous
sympathy. She
also said we
stand ready to
help. There
are a number
of options we
can look at in
that context.
At the moment
we are still
trying to make
an assessment.
As a factual
member, none
of our members
including
Antigua and
Barbuda have
formally
requested
assistance
from the
Fund." Oh. On
September 15,
when
Inner City
Press at the
UN asked Patti
Smith about it,
UN spokesman Stephane
Dujarric
cut off the
question saying he
would answer
it at his
forthcoming briefing.
He did not.
Instead, with
a mere three minutes'
notice, at 3:57 pm
on September
15 he told the
Press it had until 4
pm to request
a seat to
cover the UN's
meeting on
Irma. He also
excluded
Inner City Press
from information
about his
"background"
briefing on UN
General Assembly week.
Here's
Dujarric's
Irma e-mail,
with invitees:
"From: UN
Spokesperson -
Do Not Reply
Date: Fri, Sep
15, 2017 at
3:57 PM
Subject: Media
Advisory:
Meeting on
Hurricane Irma
To: MEDIA
ADVISORY
Meeting on
Hurricane Irma United
Nations, 15
September 2017
— On 18
September
2017, the
President of
the
seventy-second
session of the
United Nations
General
Assembly, H.E.
Mr. Miroslav
Lajčák, and
the
Secretary-General
of the United
Nations, H.E.
Mr. António
Guterres, will
co-host a
High-Level
Meeting on
Hurricane Irma
at United
Nations
Headquarters. The
meeting will
be an
opportunity to
draw political
attention to
the
devastation
caused by
Hurricane
Irma. It will
aim to
increase
solidarity
with those
affected and
highlight the
need for
building
communities
that are more
resilient to
natural
disasters and
climate
change.
Information
will also be
shared on what
is being done
at the
national,
regional and
global levels
to respond to
the disaster.
The event will
bring together
United Nations
Member States,
United Nations
agencies and
other relevant
stakeholders. WHAT
High-Level
Meeting on
Hurricane Irma WHO
expected
speakers to
include:
·
H.E. Mr.
Miroslav
Lajčák,
President of
the General
Assembly
·
H.E. Mr.
António
Guterres,
Secretary-General
·
H.E. Mr.
Gaston Browne,
Prime Minister
of Antigua and
Barbuda
·
H.E. Mr.
Darren
Henfield,
Minister of
Foreign
Affairs of the
Bahamas
·
H.E. Mr. Bert
Koenders,
Minister of
Foreign
Affairs of the
Netherlands
·
The Rt Hon
Alistair Burt
MP, Minister
of State for
International
Development
and the
Foreign and
Commonwealth
Office, United
Kingdom
·
Mr. Achim
Steiner, UNDP
Administrator
·
Mr. Mark
Lowcock, UN
Under-Secretary-General
for
Humanitarian
Affairs
·
Ms. Kristalina
Georgieva,
Chief
Executive
Officer of the
International
Bank for
Reconstruction
and
Development
and
International
Development
Association,
World
Bank
WHEN Monday,
18 September;
12:00 pm –
1:00 pm EDT WHERE: Trusteeship
Council
Chamber HOW: There
is limited
seating at the
event. UN
journalists
wishing to
cover it can
request
special passes
from the UN
Media
Accreditation
and Liaison
Unit.
External print
journalists
must register
here by 4pm
EDT on Friday,
15 September" -
this is, in
three minutes...September
11, 2017
Sign o'
the
times: "The
public is
being urged
Saturday by
Heal the Bay
to avoid the
waters of the
Los Angeles
River this
weekend due to
“alarmingly”
high levels of
bacterial
pollution."
September
4, 2017
Post
Harvey,
"Fourteen
plants,
operated by
firms
including
Shell and Dow
Chemical, have
also reported
wastewater
overflows
following the
hurricane."
August
28, 2017
Dutch environmentalists
went to court
last
week to
demand that
the Dutch
government
take urgent
action to
improve air
quality,
arguing that
authorities
haven’t done
enough to meet
European
Union-mandated
targets. The
summary
hearing in The
Hague was part
of a
