Bolivia: 70 Governments Confirm for Climate Summit

Seventy Governments at Global Climate Conference

LA PAZ.- Some 70 governments have confirmed their attendance at the First World Conference of the People on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth to be held from April 20 to 22 in Bolivia, the Bolivian Executive announced.

The invitation was launched by the government for social organizations, indigenous peoples, farmers, scientists, universities and all governments to join in the demands of their peoples.

Various representatives of civil society from 94 countries and delegates from 70 governments will be attending. In Cochabamba they will discuss global action plans such as demonstrations, but also the global referendum proposed by President Morales at the Copenhagen summit last December.

The meeting called by Morales will be held in advance of the next presidential conference on the same topic to be held in Mexico later this year. (Source: Granma Daily)

Bolivia creates new opportunity for climate talks that failed in Copenhagen
Pablo Solón Romero
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
Friday 19 March 2010 07.00 GMT

In the aftermath of the Copenhagen climate conference, those who defended the widely condemned outcome tended to talk about it as a "step in the right direction". This was always a tendentious argument, given that tackling climate change can not be addressed by half measures. We can't make compromises with nature.

Bolivia, however, believed that Copenhagen marked a backwards step, undoing the work built on since the climate talks in Kyoto. That is why, against strong pressure from industrialised countries, we and other developing nations refused to sign the Copenhagen accord and why we are hosting an international meeting on climate change next month. In the words of the Tuvalu negotiator, we were not prepared to "betray our people for 30 pieces of silver".

Our position was strongly criticised by several industrialised countries, who did their brazen best to blame the victims of climate change for their own unwillingness to act. However, recent communications by the European Commission have confirmed why we were right to oppose the Copenhagen accord.

In a report called International climate policy post-Copenhagen (pdf), the commission confirmed that the pledges by developed countries are equal to between 13.2% and 17.8% in emissions reductions by 2020 – far below the required 40%-plus reductions needed to keep global temperature rise to less than 2C degrees.

The situation is even worse once you take into account what are called "banking of surplus emission budgets" and "accounting rules for land use, land use change and forestry". The Copenhagen accord would actually allow for an increase in developed country emissions of 2.6% above 1990 levels. This is hardly a forward step.

This is not just about gravely inadequate commitments, it is also about process. Whereas before, under the Kyoto protocol, developed countries were legally bound to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by a certain percentage, now countries can submit whatever targets they want without a binding commitment.

This dangerous approach to climate negotiations is like building a dam where everyone contributes as many bricks as they want regardless of whether it stops the river.

The Copenhagen accord opens the dam and condemns millions. Various estimates suggest that the commitments made under the accord would lead to increases of between three to four degrees celsius – a level that many scientists consider disastrous for human life and our ecosystems.

For Bolivia, the disastrous outcome of Copenhagen was further proof that climate change is not the central issue in negotiations. For rich countries, the key issues in negotiations were finance, carbon markets, competitiveness of countries and corporations, business opportunities along with discussions about the political makeup of the US Senate. There was surprisingly little focus on effective solutions for reducing carbon emissions.

President Evo Morales of Bolivia observed that the best way to put climate change solutions at the heart of the talks was to involve the people. In contrast to much of the official talks, the hundreds of civil society organisations, communities, scientists and faith leaders present in Copenhagen clearly prioritised the search for effective, just solutions to climate change against narrow economic interests.

To advance an agenda based on effective just solutions, Bolivia is therefore hosting a Peoples' Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth on 19-22 April, and inviting everyone to participate. Unlike Copenhagen, there will be no secret discussions behind closed doors. Moreover the debate and proposals will be led by communities on the frontlines of climate change and by organisations and individuals dedicated to tackling the climate crisis. All 192 governments in the UN have also been invited to attend and encouraged to listen to the voices of civil society and together develop common proposals.

We hope that this unique format will help shift power back to the people, which is where it needs to be on this critical issue for all humanity. We don't expect agreement on everything, but at least we can start to discuss openly and sincerely in a way that didn't happen in Copenhagen.

• Pablo Solón is Ambassador to the UN for the Plurinational State of Bolivia. He is a sociologist and economist, was active in Bolivia's social movements before entering government, and is an expert on issues of trade, integration, natural resources and water.

Nevada Indian Nations: Halt Barrick Gold

Halt Barrick Gold Mine Expansion, Nevada Tribes Urge Court
March 19, 2010, 6:52 PM EDT
By Joe Schneider

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-19/halt-barrick-gold-mine-expansion-nevada-tribes-urge-court.html

March 19 (Bloomberg) -- Barrick Gold Corp.’s expansion of a Nevada mine must be halted until the federal government completes an environmental analysis to comply with an appeals court order, American Indian tribes said today.
An appeals court in San Francisco on Dec. 4 ordered U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks in Reno, Nevada, to limit production from the mine pending a study of the effect of the extraction of ore by the Bureau of Land Management, or BLM. Specifics were left to Hicks.
“There is no question that the Cortez Hills Project will result in irreparable harm to the environment and the Tribes,” the Shoshone Indians said in court documents filed in federal court in Reno today. “An injunction suspending the project is required until BLM complies with the law.”
The tribes claim the company and government failed to analyze the effect of air pollution resulting from the transportation of ore to a processing facility from Cortez Hills, an expansion of Barrick’s Cortez mine.
The tribes urged Hicks, in a response to a proposal from Barrick for a limited injunction, not to let the Toronto-based mining company relitigate the issues. They say the appeals court had upheld their claims, reversing Hicks’s initial approval of the expansion.
“Allowing Barrick and BLM another bite at the apple in their attempt to avoid any meaningful restriction on operation of the Cortez Hills Project does not comport with applicable law or the facts of this case,” the Tribes said.
Cortez Hills
The Cortez Hills mine is 98 percent complete, with Barrick having spent $543 million on the construction and development, Daniel Banghart, the project manager, said in court papers.
Barrick spent $90 million on exploration of the site and found two gold deposits from 1999 to 2004. The discovery prompted the company to propose expansion of the operation, which includes digging an 850-acre mine pit and adding areas for the disposal of about 1.5 billion tons of waste.
The deposits, near Mount Tenabo, a Western Shoshone sacred site, contain about $10 billion of gold at current prices.
“There is nothing in the Court of Appeals’ order or mandate that requires this court to issue a blanket injunction,” Francis M. Wikstrom, Barrick’s lawyer, said in a March 8 filing.
Barrick urged the judge to issue a limited injunction which would allow it to mine the property while prohibiting the trucking of some ore to an offsite plant during the environmental review. The so-called refractory ore, representing 3 percent of production, must be oxidized at the plant 70 miles away.
“The economic well-being of employees and the community must also be considered,” as well as environmental concerns, the company said.
Barrick’s gold mines generated 84 percent of its $7.9 billion in 2008 sales. The precious metal rose more than fourfold in nine straight years of gains through 2009, touching a high of $1,227.50 on Dec. 3.
The case is South Fork Band Council of Western Shoshone of Nevada v. U.S. Department of the Interior, 3:08-cv-00616, U.S. District Court, District of Nevada (Reno).
--Editors: Peter Blumberg, Glenn Holdcraft
To contact the reporter on this story: Joe Schneider in Toronto at jschneider5@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: David E. Rovella at drovella@bloomberg.net

Carter Camp: White Buffalo: 'Hunt or Murder?'

By Carter Camp
Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com

Some ignorant wasicu are offering to let anyone kill our relative for money. I'm outraged by this. In fact I think they should be shot instead of thebuffalo. I don't know if it's still on ebay but I think we should spread this all over Indian country and also contact the Lone Star Ranch and ebay to let them know just how wrong this is.
Spread the word and call them.
--Carter Camp, Ponca
(NOTE: Although ebay has removed the ad, the Lone Star Ranch still has buffalo/bison listed on its exotic hunts, along with hunts of gazelles, wildebeest and antelope at: http://www.lonestarranchexotichunts.com/ )
RARE EXOTIC WHITE BUFFALO BULL offered on EBAY for "Hunting"
http://cgi.ebay.com/...
WE ARE OFFERING A UNIQUE HUNTING OPPORTUNITY FOR THE EXCLUSIVE RARE EXOTIC WHITE BUFFALO BULL ALL INCLUSIVE HUNT. THIS IS A MAJESTIC BEAST, AND ONE YOU WILL PROUDLY MOUNT ON YOUR TROPHY ROOM WALL. THIS EXOTIC SPECIES IS EXCEPTIONALLY HARD TO COME BY. THIS ALL INCLUSIVE PACKAGE INCLUDES A 3DAY/2 NIGHT STAY IN OUR FIRST CLASS LODGE AND A PROFESSIONAL ANDKNOWLEDGABLE GUIDE. THERE ARE NO TROPHY, KILL, DAY OR GUN HUNT FEES ATTACHED TO ANY OF OUR HUNTS. THIS HUNT NOT ONLY PROVIDES YOU WITH A RARE AND UNIQUE MOUNT, BUT PLENTY OF PREMIUM HIGH QUALITY MEAT ALSO. TO FIND OUT ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON OUR RANCH OR SERVICES YOU CAN GO TO http://www.lonestarranchexotichunts.com/ , OR TO CHECK ON OUR OPEN AVAILABILITY OF DATES FOR THIS HUNT YOU CAN CONTACT US DIRECTLY AT 830-669-2085. WE ARE LOOKING EXTREMELY FORWARD TO PROVIDING YOU WITH A SUCCESSFUL HUNTING EXPERIENCE WITH US HERE, AT LONE STAR RANCH EXOTIC HUNTS.

Australian Aboriginals Audio: No to Nuclear Dump at Muckaty

WGAR: Working Group for Aboriginal Rights (Australia)
AUSTRALIA: MUCKATY STATION NUCLEAR WASTE DUMP
http://wgar.info/
http://beyondnuclearinitiative.wordpress.com/
Nuclear waste dump in the Northern Territory (2 Mar 10)http://indymedia.org.au/2010/03/02/wgar-news-nuclear-waste-dump-in-the-northern-territory-2-mar-10-
Audio from Public meeting
Beyond Nuclear Initiative's weblog: New audio uploaded
http://beyondnuclearinitiative.wordpress.com/2010/03/06/new-audio-uploaded/
6 Mar 10: Audio from the public meeting in Tennant Creek (held Wednesday March 3) about the Muckaty radioactivewaste dump is now uploaded on the audio page- click here"[Includes audio of: Bunny Napurula-Muckaty Traditional Owner, Doris Nakamarra Kelly-Muckaty Traditional Owner, Minister Gerry McCarthy-MLA Barkly (NT Government), Senator Scott Ludlam, Richard Downs-Alyawarr Walk Off Spokesperson, Barbara Shaw-Intervention Rollback Action Group, Dianne Nampin Stokes-Muckaty Traditional Owner]
Read more at:
http://censored-news.blogspot.com/2010/03/australian-aboriginals-no-to.html

Repatriation of Native Remains

Native Remains Will Be Repatriated

http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/03/19/Federal_Regulations.htm
WASHINGTON (CN) - The Department of the Interior will release human remains from museums and natural history collections to Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations that had a historic or prehistoric presence on the land from which the remains originally were taken. This will be true even when the remains cannot be definitively traced to the tribe or organization, according to new department rules, effective May 14.
Under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, culturally unidentifiable Native American remains have been repatriated for burial or other disposition only after consultation with a Review Committee that advises the Secretary of the Interior on disposition approval. The new regulation will eliminate the review process, and the remains would be turned over to the requesting tribe or native organization after the request was announced in the Federal Register.
The act, which was passed in 1990, requires all museums and federal agencies to identify Native American cultural items in their collections, such as human remains, funerary objects, and sacred objects, to lineal descendents and culturally affiliated Indian tribes. As of Sept. 2009, museums and federal agencies have listed the remains of nearly 40,000 individuals and almost one million funerary objects on their inventories.
The most famous case of unaffiliated remains was the discovery in 1996 of the skeleton of a prehistoric man on a bank of the Columbia River in Kennewick Washington on land owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Five Indian tribes claimed ownership of the remains, which became known as Kennewick Man, and sought to dispose of the remains according to traditional burial practices without subjecting them to scientific examination.
In 2004 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected the claims of the tribes because they could not establish cultural affiliation or kinship to the remains. Later testing revealed that Kennewick Man was approximately 9,000 years old and that his DNA could not be definitively tied to any modern Native American tribes.