Big Three Cars Emit 230 Million Tons of Greenhouse Gas
June 29, 2006 — By Deborah Zabarenko, Reuters
WASHINGTON — Cars built by the Big Three automakers gave off 230 million metric tons of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide in the United States in a year, more than the biggest U.S. electric utility, environmental researchers said Wednesday.
General Motors, Ford and DaimlerChrysler cars and light trucks emitted nearly three-fourths of all carbon dioxide from vehicles on U.S. roads in 2004, the year for which statistics were available, according to the watchdog group Environmental Defense.
Nine other car manufacturers with vehicles on the U.S. market accounted for an additional 84 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, bringing the total for all cars and light trucks in operation in 2004 to 314 million metric tons, the report found.
General Motors vehicles gave off 99 million metric tons or 31 percent of the total; Ford vehicles emitted 80 million metric tons or 25 percent and DaimlerChrysler vehicles emitted 51 million metric tons or 16 percent, according to the report.
By comparison, the largest U.S. electric utility, American Electric Power, had emissions of 41 million metric tons.
Greenhouse gases, notably carbon dioxide, contribute to global warming, which in turn has been blamed for more severe hurricanes, rising seas and other environmental ills. Though greenhouse gas emissions have most frequently been associated with coal-fired power plants, the new report aims to point up comparable emissions from automobiles.
"The image of the power plant, with a smokestack and stuff billowing out of it, creates that sense of a lot of pollution in one place," John DeCicco, co-author of the report, said by telephone. "People don't necessarily understand that the millions of vehicles are part of the problem that is a really comparable scale."
He stressed a shared responsibility among consumers, auto manufacturers and policy makers.
"It's hard to pin just on General Motors the responsibility for that 20-year-old Chevy that's putting carbon up into the air," DeCicco said.
With just 5 percent of the world's population, the United States has 30 percent of the world's automobiles and produces 45 percent of the world's automotive carbon dioxide emissions, the report said. U.S. cars are driven more and burn more fuel per mile than the international average.
Source: Reuters
Monday, July 24, 2006
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Bicolanos, Environmental activists file case against Lafayette, DENR
July 20, 2006
Bicolanos, Environmental activists file case against Lafayette, DENR
In a new bid to stop the polymetallic mining project in Rapurapu, residents of the island, Sorsogon and Albay, environmental activist groups, fisher folk organizations, church people, militant organizations and television personalities filed a class suit against Lafayette Philippines, Inc., an Australian mining firm, and DENR Secretary Angelo Reyes today at the Makati Regional Trial Court today.
The suit sought to halt the 30-day test run granted by the DENR Secretary to Lafayette, on June 13, 2006. It similarly petitioned for the permanent injunction of the Lafayette mining operation, as it demanded compensation for the damages the company has done to the environment and the surrounding communities.
"We filed a case because we want to stop the destruction La Fayette is causing in our island, in our environment, our future and our children's future. (Sumama po kami sa pagasampa ng kaso upang mapigilan ang ginagawang pagsira ng Lafayette di lamang sa aming kapaligiran kundi sa aming kinabukasan at ng aming mga anak)," says Nenita Cotorno, a 60-year old grandmother of 7 and a local resident of Rapu-rapu.
Another Bicolana and international Beauty Queen Miriam Quiambao also signed as a petitioner. "It is a shame that people's lives and the environment are being put at risk for the sake of the mining operation. I hope that people in the government will make decisions that will be beneficial to more people than a few. Lives, especially
people's lives, are too precious.
Television personalities, musicians and environmentalists like Chin-chin Gutierrez, Gary Granada, Chickoy Pura and Roy Alvarez are also petitioners of the suit.
"We are not against mining. We are against how mining is being done in this country, without regard for our people, our environment, and our country's future. The cannot guarantee Rapurapu Island's preservation and barely provides enough for the economic, social or cultural sustainability of the present generation. Why should people and
the environment always have to pay the cost to benefit the few?" averred Chin-chin Gutierrez.
"The petitioners, who are both residents and non-residents of Rapurapu, share a common concern for the environmental, economic and health-related problems caused by the mining operations in the island. They are invoking their constitutionally guaranteed right to a balanced and healthful ecology as well as their right to health," explains Atty. Howard Calleja, one of the lawyers who filed the case.
"The most compelling reason to restrain Lafayette's mining operation is the occurrence of acid mine drainage (AMD). This environmental concern is something that even the DENR admits Lafayette could not control," added Calleja.
"Rapurapu should be immediately rehabilitated. The acid mine drainage and its effects in the island should be addressed, not exacerbated by allowing the island to be mined further by Lafayette," said Frances Quimpo of the Center for Environmental Concerns-Philippines.
"It is very difficult to understand how the government can allow Lafayette to continue mining when it has already seen how Lafayette violated our laws, cheated the government of taxes, undermined the safety of the communities, and caused irreversible damages to our environment," pointed out Antonio Casetas, Head Servant of Sagip Isla, Sagip Kapwa, an island-wide environmental organization in Rapurapu.
"We have remained vigilant and have continued to protest in the streets, in spite the fact that the island is now being militarized, because this is the only way we can express our position. Our once peaceful island is not only being destroyed, it is now wrapped in apprehension and fear. We hope Lafayette and the government will let us be, " averred Ariel Arieto, leader of Lambat-Bicol, a fisherfok federation in the Bicol region.
Meanwhile, Defend Patrimony Spokesperson Trixie Concepcion asserted that Lafayette's operations in Rapu-rapu are still rife with irregularities, including under-declared revenues and falsification of public documents. "We are asking the Court to stop what DENR itself further affirmed as a grossly unfavorable mining project to the government," adds Concepcion.
"The mining issue in Rapu-Rapu is a matter of public interest in view of the environmental hazards and adverse health impacts that Lafayette mining operation poses. The people of Sorsogon are supporting the class suit, and we hope we can get justice," says Bishop Aruturo Bastes who headed the defunct Rapu-rapu Fact-Finding Commission.
"We do not trust that the Arroyo Administration, including the DENR, will heed our demands. She has after all already demonstrated her bias for the Australian mining firm and has intransigently clung to her mining liberalization policy to protect the interest of foreign transnational mining," said Clemente Bautista, national coordinator of the environmental activist group Kalikasan-PNE.
"This class suit is a fight not only against Lafayette but also a fight in defense of our patrimony," added Bautista. ###
Bicolanos, Environmental activists file case against Lafayette, DENR
In a new bid to stop the polymetallic mining project in Rapurapu, residents of the island, Sorsogon and Albay, environmental activist groups, fisher folk organizations, church people, militant organizations and television personalities filed a class suit against Lafayette Philippines, Inc., an Australian mining firm, and DENR Secretary Angelo Reyes today at the Makati Regional Trial Court today.
The suit sought to halt the 30-day test run granted by the DENR Secretary to Lafayette, on June 13, 2006. It similarly petitioned for the permanent injunction of the Lafayette mining operation, as it demanded compensation for the damages the company has done to the environment and the surrounding communities.
"We filed a case because we want to stop the destruction La Fayette is causing in our island, in our environment, our future and our children's future. (Sumama po kami sa pagasampa ng kaso upang mapigilan ang ginagawang pagsira ng Lafayette di lamang sa aming kapaligiran kundi sa aming kinabukasan at ng aming mga anak)," says Nenita Cotorno, a 60-year old grandmother of 7 and a local resident of Rapu-rapu.
Another Bicolana and international Beauty Queen Miriam Quiambao also signed as a petitioner. "It is a shame that people's lives and the environment are being put at risk for the sake of the mining operation. I hope that people in the government will make decisions that will be beneficial to more people than a few. Lives, especially
people's lives, are too precious.
Television personalities, musicians and environmentalists like Chin-chin Gutierrez, Gary Granada, Chickoy Pura and Roy Alvarez are also petitioners of the suit.
"We are not against mining. We are against how mining is being done in this country, without regard for our people, our environment, and our country's future. The cannot guarantee Rapurapu Island's preservation and barely provides enough for the economic, social or cultural sustainability of the present generation. Why should people and
the environment always have to pay the cost to benefit the few?" averred Chin-chin Gutierrez.
"The petitioners, who are both residents and non-residents of Rapurapu, share a common concern for the environmental, economic and health-related problems caused by the mining operations in the island. They are invoking their constitutionally guaranteed right to a balanced and healthful ecology as well as their right to health," explains Atty. Howard Calleja, one of the lawyers who filed the case.
"The most compelling reason to restrain Lafayette's mining operation is the occurrence of acid mine drainage (AMD). This environmental concern is something that even the DENR admits Lafayette could not control," added Calleja.
"Rapurapu should be immediately rehabilitated. The acid mine drainage and its effects in the island should be addressed, not exacerbated by allowing the island to be mined further by Lafayette," said Frances Quimpo of the Center for Environmental Concerns-Philippines.
"It is very difficult to understand how the government can allow Lafayette to continue mining when it has already seen how Lafayette violated our laws, cheated the government of taxes, undermined the safety of the communities, and caused irreversible damages to our environment," pointed out Antonio Casetas, Head Servant of Sagip Isla, Sagip Kapwa, an island-wide environmental organization in Rapurapu.
"We have remained vigilant and have continued to protest in the streets, in spite the fact that the island is now being militarized, because this is the only way we can express our position. Our once peaceful island is not only being destroyed, it is now wrapped in apprehension and fear. We hope Lafayette and the government will let us be, " averred Ariel Arieto, leader of Lambat-Bicol, a fisherfok federation in the Bicol region.
Meanwhile, Defend Patrimony Spokesperson Trixie Concepcion asserted that Lafayette's operations in Rapu-rapu are still rife with irregularities, including under-declared revenues and falsification of public documents. "We are asking the Court to stop what DENR itself further affirmed as a grossly unfavorable mining project to the government," adds Concepcion.
"The mining issue in Rapu-Rapu is a matter of public interest in view of the environmental hazards and adverse health impacts that Lafayette mining operation poses. The people of Sorsogon are supporting the class suit, and we hope we can get justice," says Bishop Aruturo Bastes who headed the defunct Rapu-rapu Fact-Finding Commission.
"We do not trust that the Arroyo Administration, including the DENR, will heed our demands. She has after all already demonstrated her bias for the Australian mining firm and has intransigently clung to her mining liberalization policy to protect the interest of foreign transnational mining," said Clemente Bautista, national coordinator of the environmental activist group Kalikasan-PNE.
"This class suit is a fight not only against Lafayette but also a fight in defense of our patrimony," added Bautista. ###
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