local activists · containing neonicotinoids as new and appropriate replacement products are...

VOLUME 45, NUMBER 3 | FALL 2015

LOCAL ACTIVISTS: OUR CHAMPIONS OF CHANGE

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2 Fall 2015 Friends of the Earth Newsmagazine WWW.FOE.ORG

Friends,

As I talk to members and supporters of Friends of the Earth, I am often asked this simple question: What worries you most? By nature, I am an optimist, but a range of things bubble to mind: how do we stop climate change; why is our political leadership so dysfunctional; am I doing enough to leave the world in a better place for my son; or will I ever see the Chicago Cubs win the World Series?

All kidding aside, the two things I worry about the most right now are the trade agreements being negotiated by President Obama with Europe and 12 Pacific Rim countries, and how-to reclaim our democracy. To me, these two issues are directly related and impact all the other campaigns and efforts that Friends of the Earth is running to create a healthier and just world.

As Jonathan Fox’s article on our democracy work points out, we are in a race to save our democratic institutions from being completely corrupted by corporate influences. The free flow of money into political campaigns, increased efforts to suppress the vote in African American and Hispanic populations and the gerrymandering of districts has created a political atmosphere that is hostile to all our efforts. More insidious though, is the way corporations are using this access to lock in their gain over the long-term.

This brings me to the trade agreements. Multinational corporations are using their access across the political spectrum to lock in global trade rules that would negatively impact our ability to fight fossil fuel development, take unhealthy and dangerous chemicals out of the market place, incentivize renewable energy or ensure that our food supply is safe and nutritious. The article by Bill Waren discusses the potential impact of these trade agreements on our ability to reign in corporate excess.

And while I ponder the things above, instead of worrying, I like to stir up trouble and take matters into my own hands to make change, just like many of you. Our Bee Actions Campaign led by your hard work and dedication is bypassing government laws and regulations, and forcing companies to change. Every protest, letter delivered to a store manager and bee-friendly plant purchase is creating change, regardless of corporate power dynamics.

Our compelling analysis is also making a difference and moving markets. Friends of the Earth is working to make the food supply safe and to reduce meat consumption and production. This summer, we published “Chain Reaction: How top restaurants rate on reducing use of antibiotics in their meat supply,” which analyzed whether the top fast food companies had policies that limited the unneeded use of antibiotics. We targeted Subway to change their policies, and after several months of public pressure they became the first company on our list to change their policy — another great victory.

Our campaigns are not just targeting corporations for change; we are also trying to change culture. In September, we partnered with some of the biggest names in music to release the song “Love Song to the Earth.” The Love Song is a call for leaders of the world to take real climate action during the Paris climate negotiations. It’s connecting millions of people, and is a way for Friends of the Earth to reach people through music.

When I describe Friends of the Earth, I always mention our mission to champion a healthy and just world. I am always humbled (growing more so) by the ongoing effort and success that we are achieving because of you, our members, our activists, our partners and the growing Friends of the Earth family. Your efforts, leadership and activism fuel the optimism I feel as we engage in the long-term fight before us. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Erich Pica

HUMBLED BY EVERYDAY HEROES

Erich Pica

president’s message

Get involved in issues and debates affecting human health and the planet by signing up for Friends of the Earth action alerts. Visit www.foe.org today!

WWW.FOE.ORG Friends of the Earth Newsmagazine Fall 2015 3

VOLUME 45, NUMBER 3 FALL 2015

HUMBLED BY EVERYDAY HEROES

2 PRESIDENT’S LETTER Humbled by everyday heroes

4 BUSY AS BEES

8 AIRCRAFT ON THE HOT SEAT Time for the industry to lead us to clearer

skies

9 IS YOUR MEAT RAISED ON DRUGS?

New scorecard shows most chain restaurants failing to address antibiotic crisis

12 WHY DEMOCRACY MATTERS TO THE ENVIRONMENT

15 THE REVOLVING DOOR Why trade agreements favor polluters

and bankers

18 WHO INSPIRES US?

19 ECO-BITES

contents

Get involved in issues and debates affecting human health and the planet by signing up for Friends of the Earth action alerts. Visit www.foe.org today!

Friends of the Earth Newsmagazine (ISSN: 1054-1829) is published quarterly by Friends of the Earth, 1101 15th St. NW, 11th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20005, phone 202-783-7400, fax 202-783-0444, e-mail: [email protected], website: www.foe.org. Annual membership dues are $25, which includes a subscription to the Friends of the Earth Newsmagazine. The words “Friends of the Earth” and the Friends of the Earth logo are exclusive trademarks of Friends of the Earth, all rights reserved. Requests to reprint articles should be submitted to Brittany Matter at [email protected]. Periodicals postage paid at Washington, D.C.

Board of DirectorsArlie Schardt, chair; Soroush Shehabi, vice chair; Jeffrey Glueck, treasurer; Harriett Crosby, secretary; Whitey Bluestein; Jayni Chase; Cecil D. Corbin-Mark, Clarence Ditlow; Dan Gabel; Mike Herz; Stephen Nemeth; Chris Pabon; Chris Paine; Doria Steedman; Marc Zionts; Brent Blackwelder, advisor, president emeritus and ex-officio

StaffErich Pica, presidentLisa Archer, food and technology program directorJenny Bock, economic justice campaignerJudith Bourzutschky, bookkeeperCourtney Brown, senior stewardship officerMichelle Chan, vice president of programsKate Colwell, rapid response communications

specialistJeff Conant, senior international forests campaignerKate DeAngelis, international policy analyst Julie Dyer, director of operationsEA Dyson, communications directorTiffany Finck-Haynes, food futures campaignerJon Fox, senior democracy campaignerLuísa Abbott Galvão, climate and energy

campaignerKari Hamerschlag, senior program managerGary Hughes, california advocacy campaignerJohn Kaltenstein, marine policy analystMarcie Keever, oceans and vessels program

directorMarissa Knodel, climate change campaignerTony Lewis, operations associateAdam Lugg, donor services managerKatharine Lu, china sustainable finance campaignerCarrie Mann, digital membership coordinatorJosette Matoto, graphic designer/video producerBrittany Matter, associate editorDamon Moglen, senior strategic advisorDoug Norlen, senior program managerKaren Orenstein, senior international policy analystDana Perls, food and technology campaignerLukas Ross, climate and energy campaignerMadelyn Rygg, chief financial officerKathy Sawyer, director of foundation relationsBen Schreiber, climate and energy program directorSharon Smith, senior accountantPeter Stocker, director of developmentWilliam Waren, senior trade analyst

Consultants/AdvisorsAyres Law GroupBeehive Research, Inc.Capitol Nonprofit Solutions, LLCColin CarterCitrixCliftonLarsonAllenColleen CordesContent WorxJerry CopeDirect Mail Processors, Inc.EarthJusticeSamuel EvansFairewinds Associates, IncFenton Communications, Inc.Fred Felleman, Wildlife & Visual Ent.Free Range StudiosDavid FreemanGreg(g) Horgan Architecture Inc.Robert GuildHarmon, Curran, Spielberg & EisenbergJoram HopenfeldLayla HughesHumanautIan IlluminatoKeyes, Fox & Wiedman ,LLPDoug Koplow, EarthTrackLarge and AssociatesLiberty ConceptsDevine Mulvey Longabaugh, Wild Bunch MediaStacy MalkanManagement Assistance GroupMcGuireWoods, LLPMellman GroupMovement Strategy CenterBrihannala MorganRichelle MorganDiane MossSteven Moss, M.CubedNetwork AlliancePalmer Group MediaPathar Communications, LLCPesticide Research InstitutePowers EngineeringProfundo BVSalsaLabs, Inc.Gary SteinbergThe Sharpe GroupTalentfrontBill Walker, dba Deadline NowTina Weaver, The Ezra Company

Friends of the Earth’s Bee Action campaign is driving change across the country thanks

in large part to the thousands of volunteers that helped protect the bees this summer. Collaborating like a hive, they spread the word that bees are responsible for every one in three bites of our food and are essential to our ecosystems.

MARKETPLACE SHIFTThese volunteers, or bee-activists, compelled Ace Hardware and True Value, the third and fourth largest home improvement retailers in the U.S., to say they are willing to eliminate bee-killing pesticides in their products by 2019. Each bee-activist educated their community,

made phone calls, organized protests and delivered letters, and because of their efforts, the retailers are starting to listen.

These well-known retailers got an earful in June when their corporate headquarters received thousands of phone calls from caring people dispatching the same message. A couple months after delivering such a powerful, united statement, more than 2,000 people signed up to host a brunch for bees. People gathered with their friends and families over the popular meal to talk about the importance of bees and their contribution to many of the most delicious and nutritious foods on our plates – and what we stand to lose if

we don’t stop their continued decline. To celebrate our pollinator friends, everyone around their brunch table took two pictures: one with everything pollinated by bees and one without, with a sign that said, “Ace and True Value: save brunch! Stop selling bee-killing pesticides.” At the beginning of September, we delivered these pictures to Ace Hardware and True Value highlighting that it is their customers demanding this change.

In response to the brunches, Ace Hardware and True Value spoke to the Chicago Tribune, which ran an article covering our campaign and the growing calls for elimination of these harmful pesticides. True Value

By Tiffany Finck-Haynes, food futures campaigner


BUSY AS BEES

spoke publicly for the first time on this issue saying, “We’ll look to phase out the sale of products that contain neonic pesticides over the next three years” and that it is working with its suppliers, “to understand the research and science of neonicotinoids.” Ace Hardware stuck with their previous statement from the end of May that it’s “willing to move away from products containing neonicotinoids as new and appropriate replacement products are offered by” suppliers.

While these statements reflect progress, they do not go nearly far enough. Ace Hardware and True Value need to make time-bound public commitments to eliminate

these pesticides in both off-the-shelf products and garden plants. To demonstrate to these retailers that they must go much further to protect bees and other pollinators from neonics, over the month of October, more than 250 Friends of the Earth members signed up to host film screenings in their communities of the documentary “Nicotine Bees,” which outlines recent bee declines and explains how pesticides, including neonicotinoids, are a leading driver of their decline. These film screenings served as an opportunity for Friends of the Earth members and volunteers to educate their friends, families, neighbors and communities about the importance of bees, why we must eliminate

pesticides and why Ace Hardware and True Value must commit to doing so. After the film, every person at the screening picked up the phone and called the retailers to deliver this message.

To pressure Ace Hardware and True Value to make public, time-bound commitments to eliminate bee-killing pesticides, Friends of the Earth

Still from the documentary, “Nicotine Bees”

TOP: Friends of the Earth members and volunteers rally in front of North Carolina’s State Capitol to deliver petitions to Bayer. BOTTOM LEFT: Activists speak to an Ace employee about neonicitinoids during the Ace and True Value Week of Action. BOTTOM RIGHT: Volunteers hosting a brunch for bees.


Without Friends of the Earth members and volunteers devoting their time to educating and organizing in their communities to protect the bees, the shift we’re seeing in Ace Hardware and True Value’s willingness to eliminate these pesticides would not be possible.

and our allies organized swarms of people at Ace Hardware and True Value stores to urge for this change during a week of action in early November. 5,000 people signed up to swarm the retailers in person and deliver letters urging for immediate action for Ace and True Value to follow other industry leaders and stop the sale of bee-killing pesticides. In addition to individual deliveries, Friends of the Earth members and volunteers organized larger deliveries and storefront actions in more than 10 communities dressing up as bees and finding creative, fun ways to convey the message. In Chicago, Ace Hardware and True Value customers and our allies

visited the corporate headquarters to deliver more than 401,000 petition signatures on behalf of people urging the retailers stop selling bee-killing pesticides. During the week of action, Ace Hardware issued a new statement that it is, “willing to move away from the sale of products containing neonicotinoids by spring of 2019.

In addition to the pressure on these retailers, we have expanded our efforts to one of the sources. We have urged the Bayer Corporation, one of the top manufacturers of bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides, to stop using deceptive tobacco PR tactics to distract the press, public, regulators and elected officials from their contribution to the bee crisis and to stop producing these harmful chemicals. Friends of the Earth members and volunteers rallied this past September with the North Carolina community, beekeepers, farmers and State Representative Yvonne Holley, in front of North Carolina’s State Capitol to deliver more than 500,000 petition signatures to Bayer with this ask and to urge the state to act fast to protect bees from toxic pesticides. Without Friends of the Earth members and volunteers devoting their time to educating and organizing in their communities to protect the bees, the shift we’re seeing in Ace Hardware and True Value’s willingness to eliminate these pesticides would not be possible. In the coming months, we’ll need everyone to work together to ramp-up pressure on these retailers and manufacturers to ensure they make time-bound, public commitments to eliminate these pesticides and become champions for bees.

COMMUNITIES FOR BEESCommunities and universities across the U.S. are passing local resolutions, ordinances and policies to eliminate the use of bee-killing pesticides and actively plant pollinator-friendly, drought tolerant and native plants. Friends of the Earth members and volunteers from Massachusetts to California are taking the fight to protect bees to their own town hall, city council meetings or university administration to demand that their tax or tuition dollars support safe havens for bees and aren’t contributing to bee losses and environmental damage. The latest victory happened in October in Montgomery County, Maryland. The county council passed a bill to restrict the non-essential use of toxic lawn pesticides, including banning the use of bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides! This victory happened thanks to hundreds of Montgomery County residents and Friends of the Earth members that wrote and called Council Members, showed up to hearings and held their elected officials accountable for protecting bees and not pesticide industry profits.

One community at a time, we’re seeing change and building power, which we hope will have a ripple effect by influencing the EPA and Congress to act fast to protect bees by eliminating bee-killing pesticides.

THE SCIENCE IS CLEAREvidence continues to mount that bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides are contaminating our ecosystems and contributing to bee declines. In August, the U.S. Geological Survey released the first national-scale study of the presence of neonicotinoids in urban and agricultural landscapes and found


Evidence continues to mount that bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides are contaminating our ecosystems and contributing to bee declines.

over half of the steam samples contained neonicotinoids. The scientists of the study found that the insecticides applied in the previous year still may be found in waters

with the potential to continue endangering organisms a year later. In response to the preponderance of evidence, in September, the 9th Circuit Court ruled to revoke the EPA’s approval for sulfoxaflor — a bee-killing neonic pesticide — saying, “Leaving the EPA’s registration of sulfoxaflor in place risks more potential environmental harm than vacating it.” This decision sets a strong precedent that if the 9th Circuit Court believes one neonicotinoid pesticide is too toxic for the environment, all neonicotinoid pesticides are too toxic and the EPA should suspend all uses of these pesticides. BEE THE CHANGEAs new data continues to emerge making the case stronger that we must act fast to protect bees, it is all the more important that people organize to continue building

pressure in the marketplace and in their own communities for change. You can help us build the pressure that is needed at the local level to encourage the EPA to take action on these pesticides by volunteering with Friends of the Earth to pass a local policy in your community that will eliminate pesticides and create pollinator-friendly habitats. In the coming months, we’ll also need your help to take the Ace Hardware and True Value campaign to the next level and ensure our backyards and communities are truly safe havens for bees. Learn more at foe.org/beeaction

TOP: Activists take part in the Ace and True Value Week of Action outside a True Value store in Washington, D.C.


Aviation is one of the fastest-growing sources of global carbon pollution, accounting for 11 percent of carbon dioxide emissions and rising three to

five percent annually. The United States is responsible for nearly half of the world’s CO2 aircraft emissions. Globally airplane operations produced 705 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2013; quadrupling since 1960. Unless major changes and regulations are put in place, emissions are on pace to triple current figures by 2050.

U.S. domestic airlines improved their fuel efficiency almost 50 percent between 1993 and 2010. But since 2010, in the absence of any regulation, on average they have not made any further improvements. If aviation were a country, it would rank 7th overall in emissions, just below Germany and higher than Korea, Canada and others.

Friends of the Earth, Oceana, Earthjustice, NRDC and the Center for Biological Diversity petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2007 to address aircraft carbon pollution, followed by several rounds of successful litigation. In 2014, the EPA announced a domestic rulemaking process to determine whether the fast-growing carbon emissions from U.S. aircraft endanger public health and welfare, under the Clean Air Act.

Draft proposals, however, are weak. They rely upon what is coming out of the International Civil Aviation Organization – the UN specialized agency that sets standards for aircraft. Over the past decade, the ICAO has failed to implement any measures to curb carbon pollution from aviation. In addition, the standards discussed at ICAO proceedings would exempt existing aircraft and may only apply to future engine designs which would fail to reduce current aviation emissions and fail to meet international carbon reduction targets.

Given the 25- to 30-year operational lifetimes of aircraft, the four- to seven-year waiting period before the rule the ICAO is proposing goes into effect, and the organization’s

decision to set the stringency of the standard at 2016 technology levels (making the already weak standard eight to twelve years out of date when it goes into effect), the result will be a lowest common denominator standard with which nearly all airplanes will already comply and fail to encourage the phase out of older, more polluting aircraft potentially increasing the industry’s carbon emissions.

While the EPA’s announcement of a possible U.S. rule is an important step in the right direction, if it follows the lead of the ICAO, aircraft will continue to pump carbon into our atmosphere accelerating climate distruption.

Time for the industry to lead us to clearer skies

CHALLENGES • Most airplanes stay in service for 20 to 30 years, even as emission standards change and fuel efficiency technologies are created. • The EPA standards are expected to apply only to new aircraft designs certified from 2020, leaving most of the world’s existing fleets unaffected for years to come.

SOLUTIONS The EPA should immediately do the following: • Adopt its proposed finding that aircraft emissions endanger public health and adopt regulations that are broad in scope. • Cover not only new aircraft engines, but existing aircraft and apply to the entire aircraft and its operations. • Set emissions standards for all classes of aircraft in a way that technology is forcing to ensure the greatest reductions possible. • Follow the example that it has set for passenger and medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, and establish fleet-wide averages for aircraft.

By Marcie Keever, oceans and vessels program director and Kate DeAngelis, climate and energy campaigner


IS YOUR MEAT RAISED ON DRUGS?

From chicken nuggets to bacon double cheeseburgers, most meat served by leading chain

restaurants comes from animals raised on industrial farms, where excessive use of antibiotics in their feed is routine. This rampant misuse of antibiotics on factory farms reduces the drugs’ effectiveness when we need them most: when our parents get a life-threatening pneumonia or our kids get a staph infection. America’s top chain restaurants, which serve up huge portions of the nation’s meat, are doing little to address the growing public health crisis of antibiotic resistance, according to a report and scorecard released in September by Friends of the Earth, Natural Resources Defense Council, Consumers Union, FACT, Center for Food Safety and Keep Antibiotics Working.

Kari Hamerschlag, Friends of the Earth’s Food and Technology senior

program manager, coordinated the project and co-authored the report, which garnered extensive coverage in the media including most major outlets like Reuters, USA Today, LA Times, Washington Post, CNN and dozens of other outlets. Public health agencies have declared antibiotic resistance a top health threat in the U.S.— and the overuse of antibiotics in livestock production is a major cause. As the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control said in a 2013 report, “Up to half of antibiotic use in humans and much of antibiotic use in animals is unnecessary and inappropriate and makes everyone less safe.” According to the CDC, at least two million Americans contract antibiotic-resistant infections, each year and 23,000 die as a result. Despite the major health risk, most top chain restaurants have failed to take responsibility, or use their economic clout to demand meat produced without routine antibiotics,

shows the report, Chain Reaction: How Top Restaurants Rate on Reducing Use of Antibiotics in Their Meat Supply.

According to the scorecard, only a handful of the nation’s top restaurant chains have seized this opportunity to enhance public health and meet the growing consumer demand for meat raised without routine drugs. Panera Bread and Chipotle Mexican Grill—both of which scored A’s—are the only chains that primarily serve meat produced without antibiotics, hormones and other growth promoters.

A few other chains are making progress: “Chick-fil-A and McDonald’s have established policies limiting antibiotic use in their chicken with implementation timelines, while Dunkin’ Donuts has a policy covering all meats but has no reported timeline for implementation,” according to the report. The scorecard gives McDonald’s a C,

New scorecard shows most chain restaurants failing to address antibiotics crisis

By Kari Hamerschlag, senior program manager: food and technology program


healthy food, healthy planet

since it has only committed to eliminating routine antibiotics use in chicken, but has no similar policies for pork and beef; the company has yet to report how much chicken served in the restaurant meets its new policy. Burger King, Wendy’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken and 17 other restaurants, however, earned the grade: F.

A stunning 70 percent of all antibiotics important in human medicine are sold for use in animal agriculture, and fed routinely to animals that are not sick, to promote growth and prevent diseases that spread easily in crowded and unsanitary conditions.

Despite decades of public pressure, the meat and pharmaceutical industries have continually thwarted meaningful legislation restricting on the routine use of antibiotics in agriculture, and recent steps by the US FDA to enact voluntary measures

fall far short, the report concludes.Amid these policy failures, the report and a sign-on letter from 109 organizations urge the nation’s top restaurant chains to step up to the plate and help address the antibiotic resistance crisis, by committing to source their meat only from producers that prohibit routine antibiotics use. Restaurant chains that get failing grades for inaction on this critical health issue are missing a major business opportunity as consumers demand healthier, more sustainable meat. In a recent survey of American adults, Crain’s Chicago Business found at least 34 percent would be more likely to eat at McDonalds if they served meat raised without antibiotics and hormones. As the report documents, “Between 2009 and 2012, sales of meat raised without routine antibiotics rose by 25 percent and USDA certified organic meats (produced without antibiotics)

was the fastest growing segment of the $31 billion organic foods industry in 2011.”

Across the U.S., the rapid growth of regional restaurant chains such as Shake Shack, Elevation Burger, BurgerFi and Burgerville shows that offering organic, grass-fed, or other meat raised without antibiotics or hormones is good business.Restaurants like Subway are taking note of this shift and making changes.

SUBWAY MAKES HISTORIC CHANGE

While Subway received an F in this year’s scorecard, next year its grade will be much higher. Just one month after the scorecard’s release, the world’s largest restaurant chain announced that it will eliminate antibiotics use in all of its U.S. meat supplies. This announcement came after months of public campaigning and just days after Friends of the

Top chain restaurant antibiotics policies & sourcing practices*

* Information in this graphic regarding companies’ antibiotics policies and/or meat purhasing practices reflects “Reported Information” which comes from companies’ responses to the survey, follow up emails, public statements made by the companies and/or efforts by the report’s authors to locate such policies online.


The industry’s

overuse of

antibiotics

and hormones

reflects a larger

abandonment

of responsibility

and good farm

management.Earth, NRDC, PIRG, Center for Food Safety and food blogger Vani Hari informed the company of our plans to deliver more than a quarter of a million signatures demanding action on antibiotics.

This is a huge victory for our movement and a game-changing step that will drive major changes in U.S. livestock production. Friends of the Earth, however, believes that it is important for the sake of animal welfare — and for the economic well-being of producers — to allow antibiotics for treatment of sick animals. We are urging Subway take this approach and hope that other fast food giants like Wendy’s and Burger King will follow Subway’s lead to eliminate antibiotics in its supply chain.

Moving forward, Friends of the Earth will encourage Subway and other chains to increase vegan and vegetarian options and shift its sourcing of meat away from confinement-based polluting factory farms toward more sustainable pasture-based livestock systems that are healthier for people, animals and the environment.

Beyond the scope of this scorecard, leading restaurant chains face critical questions about the many labor, animal welfare or environmental impacts associated with the meat they source from industrial operations. Extensive research shows that so-called “cheap” fast food comes at a great cost to consumers and taxpayers, in the form of worker injuries, abusive animal welfare practices, air and water pollution, and public health costs.

Recognizing that these issues are all connected, Friends of the Earth, Center for Biological Diversity, Restaurant Opportunities Center-United, the Food Chain Workers Alliance, and others have launched a new campaign going beyond antibiotics asking Darden Restaurants to make its menu offerings more healthy, green, humane and fair, including paying its workers a living wage.

With more than 1,500 restaurants like Olive Garden and Longhorn Steakhouse, serving 320 million meals every year, Darden’s purchasing and menu decisions have

a huge impact on people’s health and our environment—as well the conditions for those who produce and serve our food.

The industry’s overuse of antibiotics and hormones reflects a larger abandonment of responsibility and good farm management. As the report states, “Restaurant chains must also play a role in encouraging their suppliers to improve management practices in their facilities. Reduced crowding, more hygienic conditions, better diets … among other changes, improve animal welfare and reduce the likelihood of disease and the need for routine drugs.”

Companies can change deplorable conditions for animals in these facilities — as well as improve conditions for workers — by demanding changes of their suppliers. Restaurants that show true leadership by responding to consumer demand for better sourcing practices will be rewarded in the marketplace, while others risk being left behind. Such improvements would be a true “win-win” for us all: consumers, companies, farm animals, workers and the environment.


democracy

W

hat do GMO labeling, restricting the use of toxic pesticides and banning secret outside political contributions all have in common?

They are all incredibly popular measures that are being blocked by deep-pocketed corporate interests empowered by the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling. The corporations involved are the same big polluters who harm our environment and are now leveraging their coffers to push policies and candidates that boost their profits at the expense of a clean, safe and sustainable planet. As such, the twin problem of money in politics and systematic voter suppression chal-lenges key democratic principles of equality, representation and fair-ness. These permeate every issue area including those of the environ-mental movement. Combined, these ensure that our political

institutions are neither responsive nor representative to the needs and desires of millions of Americans who care about the world around us. We’ve seen first hand that when our political institutions stop working for us, it’s harder to pass the rules and regulations necessary to keep our planet safe. As a community, Friends of the Earth cares deeply about broader social justice questions, including strength-ening and expanding our democratic institutions. We realize that in order to win on our number one issue – be it carbon reduction, environmental protection or food safety – we must first reduce the noxious influence of powerful anti-environmental inter-ests on our political system. During our 46 years, we never shied away from a hard fight. This year Friends of the Earth launched a new Democracy program pushing for the reforms that are needed, not merely the ones that are politically easy.

We recognize that for the environ-mental movement to win on the political front, we need to ensure that all Americans have an equal voice in our political system. Our plan includes short-term measures to minimize the most egregious anti-democratic manifestations, and also long-term systemic changes fundamentally changing how Americans fund and conduct elec-tions. The program will allow Friends of the Earth to expand into new constituencies and build its power as a leader in the Democracy move-ment. By increasing the involvement of our community, other environ-mental groups and environmentally concerned voters, we will drive the democracy reforms needed to protect our planet. UNEQUAL UNDER MONEY

In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) and in McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commision (2014),

WHY DEMOCRACY

MATTERSBy Jon Fox, senior democracy campaigner

TO THE ENVIRONMENT


We’ve seen first

hand that when

our political

institutions stop

working for us,

it’s harder to

pass the rules

and regulations

necessary to keep

our planet safe.

limits on financial contributions corporations and people can give directly to candidates, parties and party committees has all but disappeared.

Powerful moneyed interests, both corporate and individual, have happily stepped into the regulatory void left by these two rulings, and are actively using their deep pockets to influence our government and shape its policies. If money = free speech, then Citizens United led us down a path where some Americans have more free speech than others. We think that equation is wrong.

When 158 families are responsible for almost half the money raised in the 2016 presidential campaign, they have a greater say than you and I in elections. This handful of elites runs the first primary – the money primary – deciding behind closed doors who are the viable political candidates. Political candidates naturally lean to the green (and not the environmental kind) letting influential donors decide the tone and boundaries of our political

discourse. Not surprisingly, mega- donors like the Koch brothers are pouring in unprecedented amounts of money to ensure that pro-carbon candidates win elections.

With today’s incentives, polluters like Exxon who spent over $12 million on political lobbying and the Koch industries that made $9.5 million in political contributions (in 2014 alone) have more influence over candidates and politicians than everyday citizens. Dependent on their continued financial support, politicians work harder representing the needs of their donors then of their voting constituents. This distortion has changed the political mechanisms through which Friends of the Earth drives positive environmental and social justice change, blocking popular environmental policy solutions supported by the majority of Americans.

VOTERS NEED NOT APPLY

Billions of unaccountable outside dollars aren’t the only thing damaging our democracy. In recent years, restricting voting rights and gerrymandered districts have allowed politicians to choose voters that best suit their needs, instead of the other way around.

Voter suppression happens to varying degrees throughout the United States. In 2015, 22 states have

voting restrictions in place; 30 states enacted some form of voter identification laws; and in the past four years every state but one considered legislation to make it harder for eligible citizens to vote. Voter suppression impacts everyone who cares for the planet by creating powerful conservative voting blocks in Congress that prevent progressive and environmental reform efforts. Conservative politicians today are implementing a range of subtle changes to make sure progressive environmental voices have limited impact through the ballot — ranging from Texas-style voter picture ID requirements to partisan purging of voter roles. All are heavy-handed policies designed to purposefully limit the number of Americans who participate in elections and influence their outcomes. For example, a study in Wisconsin found just sevencases of fraud out of three million votes cast during the 2004 election, none of which were the kind of in-person voter fraud that voter ID laws

Sources: Mother Jones/Brennan Center for Justice

WWW.FOE.ORG Friends of the Earth Newsmagazine Summer 2014 13

seek to prevent. Yet laws put in place to curb the nearly non-existent problem of voter impersonation, potentially deny the vote to 11 percent of U.S. voters, or roughly 21 million citizens.

New restrictions on voting are neither neutral nor accidental. Statistics show that young people, minorities and urban populations are more likely to support progressive and environmental causes. Across the country conservative legislative majorities are weakening voting rights and erecting new barriers to the ballot directly impacting the economic and racial classes more likely to support progressive and environmental policies. In fact, 18 of the 22 states restricting voter rights passed them through entirely Republican-

controlled state legislatures. And in every case, it’s our constituencies that are most affected. The American public is primed and ready for this conversation. The close relationship between corporate power, social and political inequality and money in politics has moved to the center of public consciousness and media coverage. Whether through blocking access to the vote or by buying out the political process, Friends of the Earth believes weakening our democracy is wrong. City by city, state by state, we are fighting to restore a government of the many and not the money so that our voice for the environment is heard.

Recent studies found a correlation between increases in minority and working-class voter turnout and the increased likelihood of laws restricting voting rights. Specifically:

Of the 11 states with the highest black voter turnout in the 2008 elections, seven passed laws making it harder for citizens to vote.

Of the 12 states with the largest Hispanic population growth in the 2010 Census, nine states made it harder for citizens to vote.

Of the 15 states that were previ- ously under special federal monitoring because of a history of racial discrimination in elections, nine passed laws that make it more difficult for citizens to vote.

States With New Voting Restrictions Since the 2010 Election

*Reprinted courtesy of Brennan Center for Justice/Art: Mary Parsons, (July 2015)


T he making of international trade policy is an exercise in corporate power. Moneyed special interests, including

Wall Street financiers, polluting industries and big oil companies, exercise behind-the-scenes influence over the negotiating process and even help write the text, which in the most recent negotiations is kept secret from the public and press until the trade deal is complete. One of the major players participating in this secrecy is the office of the U.S. Trade Representative, which treats major corporations and the

wealthy as preferred clients. Reports on U.S. positions and proposals in trade agreements negotiations such as the Trans Pacific Partnership and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership deals are currently given only to USTR trade advisory committee members, most all of whom represent major multinational corporations and industry associations.

Senior staffers often rotate between the private sector and USTR positions. USTRs, themselves, frequently rotate through the revolving door

to and from positions in Wall Street law firms, investment banks and corporate executive suites. Campaign contributions also compromise the integrity of USTR, which is not a normal government agency but part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States. Presidential campaigns depend on vast financial contributions from the wealthy, many of whom tacitly expect preferential treatment in the trade policymaking process.

For example, Ambassador Michael Froman is the current U.S. Trade

THE REVOLVING DOOR: WHY TRADE AGREEMENTS FAVOR

POLLUTERS AND BANKERSBy Bill Waren, trade policy analyst


One of the major

players participating

in this secrecy is

the office of the U.S.

Trade Representative

which treats major

corporations and the

wealthy as preferred

clients.

Representative and a former Citigroup executive and bundler of Wall Street and other contributions to the 2008 Obama presidential campaign. Froman has been through this revolving door between Wall Street and government service a couple of times.

Froman was a classmate of President Barack Obama at Harvard Law School and they served together on the staff of the Harvard Law Review. Froman and Obama have been close friends ever since.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a “crony” as: “: a close friend of someone; especially: a friend of someone powerful (such as a politician) who is unfairly given special treatment or favors.” Unfortunately for the American public, Froman fits this definition to a tee.

In the Clinton Administration, Froman served as chief of staff to Treasury Secretary Bob Rubin (and former head of Goldman Sachs) where he pushed legislation to deregulate the financial services industry: a root cause of the 2008 financial crisis and the subsequent Great Recession. At

the end of the Clinton Administration, Froman followed Rubin to Citigroup where they engaged in alleged casino gambling investments that broke Citi when the House of Cards tumbled. U.S. taxpayers spent billions to bail out Citi and other Wall Street institutions.

However, Froman did not go to jail or lose his shirt but rather pocketed millions in compensation at Citi. He was then given a bonus or golden parachute by Citi to join the Obama administration first on the White House staff proper and now as U.S. Trade Representative – where he is pushing for a Trans Pacific Partnership and other trade agreements to deregulate financial services and to roll back environmental and climate safeguards.

The TPP and similar deals were negotiated by Michael Froman, a man who, by background and mindset, responds to financiers and corporate chieftains rather than ordinary people. The TPP benefits corporate insiders — like Wall Street banks, big oil companies, tar sands pipeline companies, fossil fuel exporters and other polluting industries – at the expense of sound environmental and climate policy.

As another example of how the political revolving door works, consider the case of Peter Allgeier, the president of the Coalition of Services Industries — a powerful trade lobbying group representing Wall Street and other service industry players with atrocious environmental records. Allgeier was formerly a Deputy and Acting U.S. Trade Representative. Allgeier is also a former president of C&M International, where he is alleged to have represented big tobacco companies in their global

fight against smoking regulations. Philip Morris, for example, is using international investment treaties to sue Uruguay and Australia for regulating cigarette packaging as part of their anti-smoking campaigns.

Allgeier and the members of CSI are strong supporters of Ambassador Froman’s push for the Trans Pacific Partnership and similar deals. And, they mostly got all they wanted out of the final TPP deal, although not everything. Reportedly, President Obama intervened personally to somewhat limit Philip Morris’ capacity to use the TPP investment chapter to roll back anti-smoking regulations, although it should be noted that Wall Street remains fully empowered to file TPP investment suits.

The career paths of Froman and Allgeier are not unusual for USTR officials. Froman succeeded Ron Kirk as Obama’s U.S. Trade Representative. Before he was appointed USTR, Kirk was a former mayor of Dallas who, at the time he was appointed, worked as a lobbyist in Texas representing Wall Street giant Merrill Lynch and Fort Worth-based Energy Future Holdings Corporation. Kirk currently serves a lawyer-lobbyist at the giant corporate law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher where he leads the international trade practice group.

PHOTO: U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Michael Froman, via Wikimedia Commons.


The TPP would

undercut sensible

safeguards related

to food and chemical

safety, financial

industry abuses and

global warming, among

many others.

This revolving door pattern also includes Michael “Mickey” Kantor, the USTR for Bill Clinton who pushed the NAFTA and World Trade Organization deals through Congress. He was the national chair for the Clinton-Gore Campaign in 1992 and a major fund-raiser.

After leaving the government,

Kantor practiced law and served as an advisor to the Wall Street firm of Morgan Stanley, ING Americas, Oilspace, Inc., the Council for Biotechnology, the Federation of Korean Industries, the Mayor of Shanghai’s WTO Advisory Committee and the Capital Markets Commission of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He is also a former member on the boards of Korea First Bank, Pharmacia Corporation and the Monsanto Company.

In short, the revolving door at the office of the USTR results in an institutional culture rife with dysfunction. The senior staff at USTR is dominated by: big firm corporate lawyers, Wall Street investment bankers, trade association lobbyists, campaign fundraisers and political operatives. USTR conducts little independent policy analysis, and is dependent on lobbyists for information. The consequences for the environment and public interest are terrible, as illustrated by the TPP

deal with Japan and 11 other Pacific Rim countries which may soon be voted on in Congress.

With the TPP deal, Mike Froman is attempting to lower so-called non-tariff barriers to trade such as economic and environmental regulations. The TPP would undercut sensible safeguards related to food and chemical safety, financial industry abuses and global warming, among many others. Even worse, the TPP contains an investor-state dispute settlement provision which would create ‘private courts’ for multinational corporations to sue governments for millions or even billions in compensation for the cost of complying with environmental and public interest regulations.

The corporate capture of the USTR’s office and its revolving door employment practices have resulted in a TPP deal that constrains the capacity of governments to act in the public interest.

PHOTO: Brent Blackwelder speaks at TPP Death Star Rally in Washington, D.C.


who inspires us?

Long before 1985’s iconic “We Are the World,” musi-cians have periodically united to raise awareness and funds for causes. Through “Love Song to the Earth,” Friends of the Earth U.S. hoped to capture the same

magic to address climate change ahead of December’s United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris. Written by Toby Gad, John Shanks, Natasha Bedingfield and Sean Paul, the song raises money for Friends of the Earth U.S. and the UN Foundation each time it is purchased, or earns royalties. Friends of the Earth will use its share of the revenue to keep fossil fuels in the ground and advocate for lower carbon emissions, while the UN Foundation seeks to inspire international action on climate change. “My friends and I wrote ‘Love Song to the Earth’, focusing on a positive message about how precious our only planet is,” said Gad. “I hope this song will broaden the audience for this urgent message and give the politicians emotional support for meaningful climate agreement in Paris 2015.”“We wanted to write a song that is about how when you love something, you look after it,” said Bedingfield. “The song reminds us that having ownership of our world means taking care of it … With this song we wanted to talk about the environment in a way that would help people feel empowered to do something rather than be paralyzed by fear.”

Six of the song’s artists were able to take their involvement in the project a step further by performing at the Moral Action on Climate Change rally in Washington, D.C., steps away from Pope Francis’s congressional address. For the performers, it was important to be present, not just a voice on a song.

“Climate change is affecting all seven billion people on this planet, so we’re all in this together,” Victoria Justice

commented. “Being part of this project has really opened my eyes about this issue.” Q’orianka Kilcher is noted for her activism, having been arrested at the White House for civil disobedience while protesting human rights abuses. “This song is important to me,” she said. “We really must make the change and understand that all it takes is one grain of sand to tip the scale in a different direction. I’m thrilled to be here helping to contribute to the global warming of hearts on this issue.” Dedicated activist and producer Jerry Cope produced a lyric video for “Love Song” that depicts people around the world, including many Friends of the Earth members. “The earth’s climate supports the rhythm of life and music touches our very souls,” Cope said. “It is critically important that we take the actions necessary to ensure a stable, safe climate system for all life on the planet. It is our Love Song to the Earth.”

“The climate crisis is near a global tipping point, we hope everyone who hears this anthem takes action to encourage our political leaders to keep our planet safe, by keeping fossil fuels in the ground and moving toward 100 percent renewable energy,” said Erich Pica, president of Friends of the Earth U.S. during the D.C. climate rally. “The time for leadership and action is now; if our political leaders cannot or will not lead, then a people’s movement must.” Can a song change the world? Eighteen singers, three producers, two organizations and thousands of people who have downloaded “Love Song to the Earth” hope it will. “When you put something you care about in a song, people will listen to it,” said Christina Grimmie.

Listen for yourself and take action at www.lovesongtotheearth.org.

PHOTO: A small sample of the artists featured on the “Love Song to the Earth” track.


KEEP IT IN THE GROUND! The potential emissions from developing publicly owned coal, oil shale, natural gas, crude oil and tar sands on federally-controlled lands and offshore ocean areas far exceed the U.S.’s fair share of the remaining global carbon limit, according to a first- of-its-kind report from Friends of the Earth and the Center for Biological Diversity. Written by Ecoshift Consulting, “The potential greenhouse gas emissions of U.S. federal fossil fuels” report, establishes a new bottom line and rallying cry for the climate movement: Keep it in the ground! President Obama has 13 months left to end federal fossil fuel leasing, and to become the climate President the American people, and the world, expect and deserve.

DECLARING PRINCIPLES FOR THE OVERSIGHT OF SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY

While synthetic biology may be a useful tool in helping to better understand biological systems, it could deepen social and economic injustices around the world as it carries too many risks and unanswered questions to be allowed outside the lab at this time. Synthetic biology is extreme genetic engineering and an emerging technology that’s developing rapidly without regulations, therefore we have released a collaborative report that has been endorsed by 111 organizations around the world. The report, “Principles for oversight of synthetic biology”, is the first global declaration from civil society to outline principles that must be adopted to protect public health and our environment from risks posed by synthetic biology. The broad coalition calls for seven principles to safeguard public health and the environment from the novel risks of synthetic biology and to ensure open, meaningful and full public participation in decisions regarding its uses.

HIDDEN FRACKING SUBSIDY Our peer-reviewed report, “A Flaring Shame: North Dakota & the hidden fracking subsidy,” brings to light one of Big Oil’s most overlooked freebies: royalty-free flaringon public and tribal lands. As the fracking boom spreads across the country, companies eager to tap profitable shale oil are burning away — or flaring — natural gas in record amounts. This practice increases air pollution and sends climate-busting carbon dioxide directly into the atmosphere. Last updated 35 years ago, existing federal guidelines allow widespread flaring on public and tribal lands that is — almost always — exempt from royalties. The report focuses on North Dakota’s Bakken shale, the national epicenter of the flaring boom, and it uses Bureau of Land Management data to reveal the exact amount of gas wasted by individual companies.

eco-bites


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