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Jan-March 2002 |
Oct.-Dec. 2001 |
July-Sept. 2001 | April-June
2001 | Jan.-March 2001 |
Corporate Accountability Project Hosts NGO Dialogue with U.N. Human Rights
Official
The California Global Corporate Accountability Project (CAP) hosted a
dialogue in San Francisco on December 12 with Madame Fatma Vesely, Special
Rapporteur on Toxics to the Human Rights Commission. CAP Co-Director Lyuba
Zarsky presented the findings of five case studies of the global semiconductor industry demonstrating that, despite its 'clean and green' image, the high tech industry poses toxic risks, especially in
developing countries.
Some 30 NGO analysts participated in the dialogue, which Earth Justice
co-hosted.
New Voices Fellow Wins 2001 Focus Field Award for Innovative Research
Christine Ahn, a New Voices Fellow working with the Nautilus Institute,
received a 2001 Focus Field Award from the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary
Action for a paper she co-authored and presented at the 30th Annual
Conference on November 28-December 1 in Miami, Florida. Titled "Power,
Leadership and Money: Determining the Relationship of Women's Involvement in
Foundation Leadership to Grant Dollars Targeting Women's and Girls' Issues", the study examined the association between the flow of funding from private
foundations to women's and girls' issues and women's representation on
foundation boards of trustees.
The Pegasus Project Creates Online Photo, Poem, and Artwork Gallery
The Pegasus
Project, the youth and environmental community outreach project of the
Institute, has launched a new online
gallery of the
beautiful artwork and poetry that students produce after their experience
sailing aboard Pegasus. We have also updated the photo gallery with
students' photographs on sails from the last five seasons.
We will be adding to the collection in the coming months so please check
back soon. The generous support of the National
Fish and Wildlife Foundation made this gallery possible.
U.S. Department of Energy Supports Grid Project
The U.S. Department of Energy will support the Institute for our work on
grid interconnection in Northeast Asia with a grant of $150,000. The Grid Project aims
to increase energy security in the region, which in turn may help stabilize
the economic, environmental, and security situation.
Led by Masami Nakata, the project is a collaboration between the Nautilus
Institute and energy system experts in the region. Commissioned research and
the first Grid Interconnection Workshop formed the project's foundation,
which the next phase will build upon. Over the coming months we will conduct
research and analysis, training sessions, and pre-feasibility studies on
grid interconnection with participants.
Special Forum Essay Highlighted in San Francisco Chronicle
On December 7, the San Francisco Chronicle published Faruq Achikzad's
Special
Forum essay
"A Neutral Afghanistan". In the piece, Achikzad
continues to argue that the only hope for a long term, broad-based Afghan
government is through an enforced United Nations framework. A
letter by Ahmad Faruqui in response
and support of Acikzad's essay was also published.
Faruq Achikzad is a Senior Research Associate for the Nautilus Institute and
former UN Resident Coordinator for United Arab Emirates, Cypress, and North
Korea. Ahmad Faruqui is currently a Fellow at the American Institute of
International Studies and a regular contributor to the Nautilus Institute's
Special Forum.
Investment Rules Project Uses Scenarios to Identify Points of Entry
The Sustainable and Ethical Investment Rules Project held a strategic consultation
from December 2-5 with a group of 30 NGO, policy, foundation, and business
leaders from Latin America, Asia, Africa, and North America. Meeting at the
Pocantico Conference Center
of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the group
generated four distinct 10-year scenarios of globalization and identified
potential entry points for a sustainable investment rules framework. The
project is a collaboration with IISD, ECOS Fundacion Uruguay, and the
Singapore Institute for International Affairs.
Nautilus Institute Discloses Secret Nuclear Plan
In an article in Arms Control Today, Nautilus Institute
senior researcher Hans M. Kristensen discloses a secret Air Force
plan intended to return the B-1 bomber to its former nuclear
mission. The B-1 bomber is widely portrayed by the Air Force to be a "conventional-only" aircraft, but Kristensen
writes that the Air Force maintains nuclear bombs for the aircraft under a
B-1 Nuclear Rerole Plan.
The weapons for the B-1 are part of a secret reserve of thousands of nuclear
weapons that are not affected by the nuclear weapons cuts recently
announced by
President George W. Bush. Kristensen warns that the secret reserve
undermines U.S.-Russian relations.
The Washington Post referenced Kristensen's article in a report on the
START treaty.
Sam Lin Demands High Tech Companies Be Held Accountable for Their Pollution
The Globalization and Governance Program
hosted Sam Lin, a leader of the environmental movement in Taiwan, at a
Nautilus brownbag on Wednesday, November 28. According to Lin, many high
tech companies have left a legacy of severe pollution in the communities
surrounding the Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park. Lin discussed the
struggles of local peoples to hold corporations in Hsinchu accountable.
Accompanying Lin was Dr. Ken Geiser, who discussed his new book
'Materials Matter', and staff of
the Silicon Valley Toxics
Coalition. The
brownbag was sponsored by the California Global Corporate Accountability Project, which recently produced a case-study that evaluated the
social and environmental performance of high tech companies in Taiwan.
Diplomacy More Effective Than Missile Defense in Northeast Asia, Savage
Argues
The threats most often cited to justify U.S. development of missile defense
can more effectively be addressed through diplomacy, Nautilus Senior Program
Officer Timothy Savage argued at the conference Moving Beyond Missile Defense, held in Shanghai, China
November 30-December 2. He warned that far from making the U.S. and its
allies secure against attack from North Korea or China, missile defense will
only further exacerbate tensions and fuel a regional arms race. The
conference was sponsored by the International Network of Engineers and
Scientists Against Proliferation and the Nuclear
Age Peace Foundation and hosted by the Center for
American Studies at Fudan University.
Rosa Parks Students Enjoy Sail on Pegasus
It was a windy day out with a few rain showers, which made for an exciting,
fast sail. The wind was gusting over 30 knots! Several students said their
favorite part of the sail was standing on the bow and watching the water
slip past below their feet. Thanks again to the dedicated captain and crew
that made this sail happen.
Merck Fund Grants $25,000 to Support NAPSNet
The John Merck Fund granted $25,000 to support the outreach and publicity
work on nuclear proliferation issues in East Asia, especially the
Northeast
Asian Peace and Security Network.
Le Monde Features Nautilus Nuclear Research
The French newspaper Le Monde quoted Nautilus
Institute Senior Program Officer Hans M. Kristensen in an
article about the
potential role of nuclear weapons in the war in Afghanistan. Kristensen
said the U.S. was unlikely to use nuclear weapons in the war against
terrorism at the current level of hostilities, but warned that existing
U.S. nuclear policy sees a role for nuclear weapons in regional conflicts
against actors armed with weapons of mass destruction.
The Le Monde article also referenced a military
document obtained by Kristensen under the
Freedom of Information Act
, which illustrates how an advisory
group to U.S. Strategic Command assessed the
role of nuclear deterrence in the post-Cold War Era. The Bush
administration is expected to finish a major review of U.S. nuclear policy
in December.
English translation:
Pegasus Team Completes Haulout and Hull Paint
Nautilus Receives Grant to Support Korean Researcher
The W. Alton Jones Foundation approved a $60,000 grant to Nautilus Institute to support the research of Nautilus Associate Dr. Jungmin Kang. Dr. Kang, based in Seoul, Republic of Korea, brings to the study of nuclear policy issues considerable expertise in technical analyses of nuclear energy issues, based on his studies in South Korea, Japan, and the United States. His research will focus on ending North Korea's plutonium program and establishing alternatives to spent-fuel reprocessing and plutonium recycling in South Korea.
Ford Foundation Supports Sustainable and Ethical Investment Rules Project
The Ford Foundation has granted $300,000 to the Institute's Globalization and Governance Program to promote a framework of international investment rules that balances private investor rights with environmental and social responsibilities.
Directed by Lyuba Zarsky and Sandy Buffett, the project is a collaboration of the Nautilus Institute, the International Institute for Sustainable Development, the Singapore Institute for International Affairs, and Fundacion ECOS Uruguay. Over the next three years, the partners will build a global advocacy coalition to implement the framework and build capacity in the Global South to influence the scope and content of international investment rules.
Hayes Stresses Scenarios Are Critical to Identify Energy Insecurity in East
Asia
At a seminar sponsored by the Center for International Security and Arms
Control at Stanford University on November 14, 2001, Peter Hayes outlined the Institute's
work on defining and realizing energy security in East Asia.
Hayes explained the relationship between linear energy path modeling and the
narrative scenarios conducted by the Institute with partners in each country in East Asia. He asserted that most of the uncertainty that affects national and regional energy planning arises from non-energy factors. Therefore, he concluded, creating scenarios focused on identifying critical uncertainties that may interrupt future energy paths is key in avoiding energy insecurity.
Ford Foundation Supports Sustainable and Ethical Investment Rules Project
The Ford Foundation has granted $300,000 to the Institute's Globalization and Governance Program to promote a framework of international investment rules that balances private investor rights with environmental and social responsibilities.
Directed by Lyuba Zarsky and Sandy Buffett, the project is a collaboration of the Nautilus Institute, the International Institute for Sustainable Development, the Singapore Institute for International Affairs, and Fundacion ECOS Uruguay. Over the next three years, the partners will build a global advocacy coalition to implement the framework and build capacity in the Global South to influence the scope and content of international investment rules.
Hayes Stresses Scenarios Are Critical to Identify Energy Insecurity in East
Asia
At a seminar sponsored by the Center for International Security and Arms
Control at Stanford University on November 14, 2001, Peter Hayes outlined the Institute's
work on defining and realizing energy security in East Asia.
Hayes explained the relationship between linear energy path modeling and the
narrative scenarios conducted by the Institute with partners in each country in East Asia. He asserted that most of the uncertainty that affects national and regional energy planning arises from non-energy factors. Therefore, he concluded, creating scenarios focused on identifying critical uncertainties that may interrupt future energy paths is key in avoiding energy insecurity.
Environmental Security in a World of Perpetual War
Corporate Responsibility and the Exxon Valdez Spill
In an article featured on Tidepool: News for the Rainforest Coast, Program Officer Leif Brottem argued that Exxon must take responsibility and compensate Alaskans who have been affected by the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The article was a response to a recent court ruling that a 1994 punitive award to victims of the spill was excessive.
Hayes Calls for Regional Cooperation on DPRK Grid
In Peter Hayes' address to 300 utility executives in Toyama, Japan, he asserted that it is critical to overcome the DPRK power grid problem to keep the Korean Peninsula stable at this crucial juncture in global affairs.
Peter spoke at the 2001 Electricity Summit organized by the Northeast Asian Economic Forum.
Barriers to Grid Connection Are Political and Economic Uncertainties, argues Nakata
Regional energy security is enhanced by grid connections, argued Nautilus Energy Researcher Masami Nakata, at the United Nations ESCAP's Northeast Asia Expert Group Meeting on Inter-Country Cooperation in Electric Power Sector Development, October 23-24 in Khabarovsk, Russia. She emphasized that the main barriers to this kind of cooperation in the region were political and economic uncertainties and the lack of political will among participating parties.
The Nautilus Grid Project was recognized as one of few collaborative and pragmatic energy projects on regional power grid interconnection.
High Tech: Clean & Green or Toxic & Mean?
View
presentation
The United States must engage the DPRK, says Peter Hayes
Globalization and Governance Program launches new listserve on investment rules
The Globalization and Governance
Program has a new bi-weekly listserve entitled Ethical Governance of Investment Network (INVnet). INVnet provides timely news and analyses on the emerging intersections of international investment and the environment, human rights, economic justice, and transparency. The listserve is part of the collaborative International Investment Rules Project. To join, visit our signup page.
The next edition to be released Monday, November 5 will look at the potential for an international agreement on investment and the upcoming World Trade Organization Ministerial in Doha, Qatar set for November 9-15.
New papers detail costs, benefits, and economic considerations of grid
interconnection
Grid interconnection in Northeast Asia appears economically sound, particularly between hydroelectric plants in the Russian Far East that connect to China, North Korea, and nuclear power plants in South Korea. The costs and benefits of
this scenario are compared to another route of connection in David
von Hippel's paper, "Estimated Costs and Benefits of Power Grid Interconnection in Northeast Asia."[1]
In another paper titled "Economic Considerations for International
Electricity Interconnection in Northeast Asia,"[2] Karsten Neuhoff pointed
out that all parties participating in the trade must complete accurate
energy demand projections in order to calculate the potential economic
benefits of interconnection options. Neuhoff is a PhD student at the
University of Cambridge.
Both papers were part of Nautilus Institute's
Workshop on Power
Grid Interconnection in Northeast Asia, May 14-16, 2001.
[1]
Estimated Costs and Benefits of Power Grid Interconnection in Northeast
Asia
Use a two-level response to September 11, says Peter Hayes
Responses to the September 11 attacks should be both at home and abroad,
argued Peter when he addressed students and parents at
Head-Royce School
in Oakland. At home, he said that in addition to supporting the humanitarian
relief effort underway in New York and Washington DC, it is essential to
invest locally in community development activities such as the
Pegasus Project. He also argued that responding globally with policing, peacemaking, and reconstruction in conflict zones was the only way to counter a networked, transnational insurgency on its own terms.
Peter addressed students on October 19th and parents on October 24th, after
which Head-Royce parents contributed $500 to the Pegasus Project.
HKH Foundation supports Nautilus' response to September 11th
The HKH Foundation awarded $40,000 to Nautilus Institute to respond to the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. The grant will support the Institute's research on the potential escalation of the current conflict that could lead to use of weapons of mass destruction. It will also support a Bay Area scenarios workshop on transnational civil defense strategies.
No new investment issues should be discussed at the WTO Ministerial,
experts agree
Lyuba Zarsky participated in an expert-level symposium at the Brookings
Institute that examined linkages between trade agreements and environmental and
labor standards. The symposium aimed at promoting dialogue between those for
and against the inclusion of environmental and labor standards in the WTO.
The experts agreed that no new issues, especially investment, should be
discussed at the WTO Ministerial, set for November 9-14 in Doha, Qatar.
The symposium was organized by the India-based Consumer, Unity and Trust
Society (CUTS), which aims to 'build capacity' of northern NGOs to better
understand the views of the Global South. Lyuba Zarsky, Director of the
Globalization and Governance Program, heads the International 'Sustainable and Ethical' Investment Rules Project at Nautilus.
Nautilus welcomes South Asia Program Officer Zulfiqar Ahmad
International peace and security must be a priority for environmental donors, argues Peter Hayes
The best response to the attacks in New York and the war underway in
Afghanistan is
to build international civil society, suggested Peter Hayes at the
Environmental Grantmaker's Fall Retreat on October 15
in Brainerd, Minnesota. In his presentation, Hayes called
on donors to invest in partnerships between domestic and international
environmental groups, and
between environmental and peace-security groups.
"War, the preparation for war, the aftermath of war, and the costs of
contained conflict that are not resolved, all impose enormous direct and
indirect environmental costs that could be avoided," Hayes said. "Well-tested
means of conflict avoidance, conflict resolution, and consensus-building
are available, and can be used to build international and domestic
partnerships
to increase environmental security."
He concluded that, "Environmentalists must focus on building the
foundations of peace
and security in order to secure the environment. This is an imperative,
not a choice."
Environmental Security in a World of Perpetual War
Bush administration's nuclear deterrence policy "hollow", paper argues
President Bush's labeling of nuclear deterrence as a tired, stale strategy
and a relic of the Cold War may only be true for the U.S., writes professor
Ehsan Ahrari in the Taipei Times. No other nuclear power, especially those
in Southern Asia, is likely to agree, he concludes.
Ahrari, professor of national security and strategy at the Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk, pointed to a declassified
study
by the U.S. Strategic Command obtained by the Nautilus Institute under the Freedom of Information Act as evidence of the "hollowness" of the Bush
administration's downgrading of nuclear deterrence. Ahrari concludes that the Bush administration should reexamine the relevance of missile defense systems and retake the moral lead in nuclear nonproliferation.
Nautilus board elects new chair
The Nautilus Board elected Thomas Miller as Chair at the October 2001 Board
meeting. Miller, Senior Partner at the Law Firm of Miller & Ngo, is a
founding board member. He is an attorney and graduate of Yale and Stanford
Law School, where he founded the International Law Club. He also serves as
general counsel to the non-profit human rights organization, Global
Exchange; helped establish The Peace Corps and La Pena Cultural Center in
Berkeley; established the first post-war U.S. law office in Vietnam and is
active in supporting improved U.S. relations with Cuba.
San Francisco Chronicle publishes Faruq Achikzad's Essay
( from left to right: Abdul Kayoumy and Faruq Achikzad)
Faruq Achikzad is a former UN resident coordinator in United Arab Emirates,
Cyprus, and North Korea. He now advises Children of War on humanitarian aid
to children in Kabul and Peshawar. With respect to the recent US strikes
upon Afghanistan, Achikzad warns that if the Taliban are in fact removed
from power, the US must not repeat its past mistake of abandoning a
war-battered Afghanistan to outside regional powers.
New Report Reveals Worker and Environmental Impacts in Malaysia's High Tech Sector
A new case study produced for the California Global Corporate Accountability Project examines the social costs of rapid growth of Malaysia's high tech industry. Since the 1970s, Malaysia has emerged as a major supply chain hub for multinational corporations in the high tech sector.
Based on extensive field research at the Penang Development Corporation, the report found that toxic waste disposal is a significant environmental problem, largely due to the lack of effective regulation and facilities. Health and safety protection for workers also suffers due to a lack of expertise and information on impacts of worker exposure to toxic chemicals. Constraints on workers' rights to associate and organize are major impediments to adequate monitoring of health and safety.
Nautilus receives Global Korea Award
The Nautilus Institute was a 2001 recipient of the seventh annual Global Korea Award, given by the Coalition for Korean Studies at Michigan State University. The Global Korea Award was created in 1995 to recognize individuals or groups who have made significant contribution to cross-cultural understanding, global education, and well-being of Korean people around the world. Nautilus received the award in recognition of its work on Korea, including its US-DPRK Village Wind Power Pilot Project. Senior Program Officer Timothy Savage accepted the award on behalf of the institute.
Nautilus Welcomes Brandon Yu as Security Program Officer
Brandon recently graduated magna cum laude from UC Berkeley where he earned
a B.A. in political economy with an emphasis in Northeast Asian
International Relations. While at UC Berkeley, he served as a research
assistant at the
UC Berkeley Center for the Study of Law and Society, as well as at the Berkeley APEC Study Center. He is continuing his Co-editor position with long time China scholar and Dean of UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism, Orville Schell, on a monthly series of internationally published columns on China.
United Nations 'umbrella' is solution to Afghanistan problems, experts argue
They briefed Nautilus staff on the history and current status of the Afghan
problem, and stressed that rebuilding Afghanistan without stability will
not solve the problem.
Bush Missile Defense Plans Could Aid China
The Bush Administration's plans to develop expansive missile defense capabilities and to withdraw from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty could actually benefit China's security interests, Nautilus Peace and Security Program Director Wade Huntley argued in a paper presented at the Ninth International Castiglioncello Conference, "Missiles, Missile Defenses, and WMD Proliferation," held in Castiglioncello, Italy, on September 20-23, 2001.
A critical uncertainty, Huntley asserted, is whether or not the United States and Russia reach agreement to modify the ABM treaty. Ironically, failing to reach such an agreement might have implications that would mollify Chinese missile defense concerns. Huntley also took part in the conference's extensive discussions of how the September 11 attacks might affect US missile defense planning and global WMD proliferation concerns.
New Papers Examine Safety and Environmental Issues of Grid Interconnection
Grid interconnection in Northeast Asia may benefit the environment by exporting cleaner fuels in replace of coal. Dr. David Streets examines this possible benefit in his paper "Environmental Aspects of Electricity Grid Interconnection in Northeast Asia". Dr. Streets is Senior Scientist in the Decision & Information Sciences Division of Argonne National Laboratory.
Ensuring safety in a power grid that includes nuclear power plants requires specific design requirements and these are outlined by Dr. John Bickel in his paper, "Grid Stability and Safety Issues Associated with Nuclear Power Plants". Bickel is Director of Evergreen Safety & Reliability Technologies.
Both papers were part of Nautilus Institute's Workshop on Power Grid Interconnection in Northeast Asia, May 14-16, 2001.
Anuradha Mittal of Food First! Discusses Economic and Social Human Rights
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Oct.-Dec.. 2001 |
July-Sept. 2001 | April-June
2001 | Jan.-March 2001 |
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A group of fifth grade students from Rosa Parks Elementary School in
Berkeley sailed aboard Pegasus on November 28, 2001. The voyage was an
after school sail organized with the Berkeley Boosters.
Anuradha Mittal says it is critically important for human rights groups to promote international co-operation through strengthening global institutions, such as the International War Crimes Tribunal. The Co-Director of The Institute for Food and Development Policy, also known as