'Dolphin-safe' label disputed
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Environmental groups sued Wednesday to block a federal
decision allowing tuna to be sold as "dolphin-safe" even when it is caught
with the huge, encircling nets once blamed for killing hundreds of
thousands of dolphins. "It's a death warrant for dolphins," said Sam
LaBudde, a marine biologist who led the "dolphin-safe" campaign in the
1980s after posing as a cook on a Mexican tuna boat for six months and
videotaping the slaughter. The decade-old "dolphin-safe" standard, which
bans such nets and requires observers on the tuna boats to certify that no
dolphins are harmed, has dramatically decreased dolphin deaths. But the
Latin American fleet has generally not complied and therefore is barred
from selling its tuna in lucrative U.S. markets. See full story
<http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2560769749-5c9>
Amazon replanting effort underway
PORTO TROMBETAS, Brazil (AP) - As a 12-mile conveyor belt carries freshly
mined bauxite through the Amazon jungle, the rust-colored earth suddenly
turns green with thousands of tiny saplings planted in 1998. When it
reaches an area replanted in 1982, the forest is so tall and thick it's
hard to distinguish it from the original. The reforestation project,
initiated by the Rio do Norte mining company, is changing the notion that
the jungle must be destroyed to tap its riches - and offers an opportunity
to learn how to repair degraded forests. See full story
<http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2560768029-5d6>
