Renewable Resources Coalition - Weekly News Update

Week of FEBRUARY 15, 2007:

Quote of the Week
"I think Jay would first and foremost think of protecting that area, mainly the fish and the game…Before Jay died, he attended a meeting in the Iliamna area and he was quoted as saying he couldn’t think of a worse place for a mine. I’ll always remember that remark.”

-Bella Hammond, widow of Governor Jay Hammond

What You Can Do (Right Now) to Protect Bristol Bay…
Get educated regarding HB 134, the Alaska Wild Salmon Protection Act, and SB 67, the Jay Hammond Refuge Bill (see below for more details). And stay tuned for a call to action!

Tip of the Week!
Cowboys of the Sea
National Geographic Channel

Set to air: Monday, February 26, 2007

Three captains must battle the elements, fiery competition, and the law during the 2006 sockeye salmon commercial fishing season in Bristol Bay, Alaska. For six weeks every summer, the tranquil Naknek River mouth becomes a bustling epicenter of commercial salmon fishing. Hundreds of fishermen come every year to stake their claims. The fishing district is small and the payoff can be huge. Captains have been known to make six figures in six weeks. One of the most competitive fishing seasons in existence.

For more information, click on

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/PT/popup/200702261800.html

Today’s Top Story: Bristol Bay Defender
Ex-governor’s widow supports bill to create a refuge protecting wildlife
By Tom Kizzia
Anchorage Daily News
February 15, 2007

A plan to create a Bristol Bay game refuge in honor of former Gov. Jay Hammond – and perhaps erect a new obstacle in the path of the proposed Pebble copper and gold mine – brought a rare visit to the state Capitol last week from Bella Hammond, the governor’s soft-spoken widow.

To view article in its entirety, please click on

http://www.adn.com/news/environment/story/8643244p-8535142c.html

Refuge Proposal
What is it: Senate Bill 67, a proposal to create a Jay Hammond State Game Refuge.
To view article in its entirety, please click on

http://www.adn.com/news/environment/story/8643244p-8535142c.html

Bella Hammond: Private Life
Anchorage Daily News
February 15, 2007

Bella Gardiner Hammond was a 17-year-old beauty in Dillingham when she met her future husband in 1950, Jay Hammond recalled in his autobiography. Her mother was Yup’ik, her father a professional soccer player from Scotland who had come to Alaska during the gold rush.

To view article in its entirety, please click on

http://www.adn.com/news/environment/story/8643244p-8535140c.html

HB134 The Alaska Wild Salmon Protection Act
To view the bill in its entirety, please click on

http://www.legis.state.ak.us/PDF/25/Bills/HB0134A.PDF

SB67 The Jay Hammond Refuge Act
To view the bill in its entirety, please click on

http://www.legis.state.ak.us/PDF/25/Bills/SB0067A.PDF

Proposed Glenn Highway strip mine would put tourist industry in a hole
By Donna Braendel
Letter to the Editor
Anchorage Daily News
February 11, 2007

Alaska has three National Scenic Byways. A 12-mile stretch along one of these, the Glenn Highway, has been leased by the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority for coal mining, from tree line to tree line along the Matanuska River. The pass is just over four miles wide where the leases are.

To view article in its entirety, please click on

http://www.adn.com/opinion/letters/story/8632999p-8525320c.html

Who is Rio Tinto?

Local Communities
RioTinto.com
Accessed February 15, 2007

“Good management of community relationships is as necessary to Rio Tinto’s business success as the management of operations. To achieve this, we require all managers and employees to accept responsibility for building strong relationships in the community.”

To view article in its entirety, please click on

http://www.riotinto.com/752_local_communities.asp

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Oceanic Islanders Win Appeal in Massive Claim against Mining Giant Rio Tinto for Alleged
Ecocide and Human Rights Crimes
Hagens-Berman
Press Release August 7, 2006

LOS ANGELES – The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals today reinstated the massive human rights claim brought by the people of the island of Bougainville against London-based Rio Tinto [NYSE:RTP], one of the world’s largest mining companies. The suit claims that Rio Tinto conspired with the government of Papua New Guinea (PNG) to savagely quell civil resistance to an environmentally devastating mining operation, actions that led to the deaths of thousands.

To view article in its entirety, please click on

http://www.hagens-berman.com/press_release_riotinto.htm;jsessionid=aBn3C7Qk_7T

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Rio Tinto evades questions on Panguna at AGM (and affirms riverine waste dumping as ‘best practise’ at the Freeport mine)
Mineral Policy Institute
Friday, May 5, 2006

Rio Tinto directors evaded questions over whether they would take responsibility for the legacy of environmental problems at the Panguna mine on Bougainville Island, and failed to make any clear commitments that they would engage the Indigenous traditional landowners before continuing discussions over resumption of the operations.

To view article in its entirety, please click on

http://www.mpi.org.au/campaigns/indigenous/panguna_agm/

Governor considers moving Habitat Division back to Fish and Game
DNR: Critics said change was to remove obstacles to coastal developments.
By Anne Sutton
Anchorage Daily News
February 13, 2007

JUNEAU – Gov. Sarah Palin will decide whether to restore the Division of Habitat to the Department of Fish and Game following a review of the program, said Palin’s legislative liaison on Monday.

To view article in its entirety, please click on

http://www.adn.com/news/government/legislature/story/8637969p-8530257c.html

Village tired of rejecting bridge proposal
NONDALTON: Officials protested before; now residents must vote.
By Elizabeth Bluemink
Anchorage Daily News
February 10, 2007

How many times to people have to say no for it to stick? In Nondalton, apparently, three times and counting.

To view article in its entirety, please click on

http://www.adn.com/front/story/8629556p-8521852c.html

Human rights groups and mining watchdogs call for immediate ban on waste dumping into rivers and oceans
Oxfam Australia, Mineral Policy Institute and Mining Watch Canada
Media release
13th February 2007

Australian, Canadian and US mining companies that persist in dumping billions of tones of toxic heavy metals such as mercury and lead into the rivers and oceans of some of the world’s poorest countries are causing irreversible environmental damage as well as driving human poverty. This warning by a coalition of human rights groups and mining watchdogs as mining ministers from the Asia-Pacific gather in Perth this week for a summit.

To view article in its entirety, please click on

http://www.mpi.org.au/campaigns/waste/bandumping/

All that glitters…
Decades of gold mining should have given Congo a ticket to prosperity. Instead, it is trapped in a cycle of violence and poverty.
Guardian Unlimited
February 13, 2007

Conflict over gold has cost thousands of lives in developing countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, the Philippines, Honduras and Guatemala.

To view article in its entirety, please click on

http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/jeanroger_kaseki/2007/02/gold_mining_in_the_drc.html

YouTube video of class rings company endorsing the Golden Rules

Check out the video that class rings company Commemorative Brands (parent of Balfour, ArtCarved, and Keystone class rings) made talking about their motivation for signing onto the Golden Rules.

To view article in its entirety, please click on

http://www.cleanclassrings.com/index.html