GOOD LINKS - Jo'burg is HUGE
As you'd expect an Earth Summit to be.Good for them - the politicians, ngos, bureaucrats, ecologists--just all of them! Yeay they're for the good of us all and goodonem!
Elsewhere, and in this week before that Summit an International Ecological Conf. of a more dedicated kind got together. I'm here to point you to a couple of specialists whose vital work for the environment and sustainability deserves a much wider understanding.
You'll find them at:
'Science-in-the-City' - http://jsp.antville.org - title:
Temperatures - Now or mebbe Never..? AND
Robert Ayres Begs to Differ and Makes More Sense.

THERE'S A STOUSH IN THE HOUSE..
The Consumer Federation of America today stepped up its fight against
pending bankruptcy legislation (HR 333) that would force more people to repay their debts. The org. released a study showing that credit card companies, which have lobbied furiously for the bill, sent out 5 billion solicitations in 2001, up from 3.5 billion the year before. "Credit card issuers are shamelessly escalating their marketing and
available credit to strato-spheric levels while demanding that Congress give them relief by making it harder for consumers to declare bankruptcy," said Travis Plunkett, the federation's legislative director. Given the
state of the economy, he said, "Congress couldn't pick a worse time to make it more difficult for families to get back on track financially." -[CQ]

BRITISH BRANDS VOW A BETTER WORLD
British business has embraced the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR), with nine in ten companies (88 percent)
"actively and voluntarily seeking to contribute to a better society and a cleaner environment." We await their works!

National Taxpayer's Union and the Congressional Accountability Project, a group affiliated with consumer
advocate Ralph Nader, urged senators in a letter to oppose the pay raise of $4700 pa to members of Congress.

Heard about an accident or two at Federal Lab facilities..?
Like a couple of pros blown up last Sunday doing 'routine' work.In safe housing (for explosives) you understand, but the accident unexplained. Making others like supervisors nervous. One upshot and so no surprise at the news..
The US Energy Department is expected to move as much as
several tons of plutonium and weapons-grade uranium from a
federal research laboratory in New Mexico to Nevada because of
security concerns. In a dept memo, John C. Browne, director
of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, called the proposed
move "the best overall decision to meet the post-September 11th challenges for the long-term security of nuclear activities."
On the budget front Congress had incl. $138M for the Dept of Energy's nuclear security emergency response program within the supplemental $5.1B the President has this week said he will not be spending. Which leaves the liabilities on the ground up in the air, eh!
Re future nuke waste containment take a look at "Science-in-the-City"
http://jsp.antville.org - a four part rundown on new ideas

BIGBro Bites Bullets Too. AT & T's Latin America Corporation unit has taken a hammering in currency value shifts and lost spending powers(revenues) in Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Chile.
ENDS-jonz-