World News

• Author: Nick Alarif - Kate Halloran
• Position: J.D. candidates, May 2011, at American University Washington College of Law
• Pages: 75-76

75 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT LAW & POLICY

worlD newS

by Nick Alarif and Kate Halloran*

*Nick Alarif and Kate Halloran are J.D. candidates, May 2011, a t American

University Washington College of Law.

americaS

The Caribbean’s fragile marine ecosystem is at a grave risk

due to a non-native intruder, the red lionf‌ish.1 The red lionf‌ish

is especially destructive to ecosystems because of its voracious

eating habit s.2 A single red lionf‌ish is ab le to reduce th e num-

ber o f small f‌ish in a coral pa tch reef by eighty percent in as

little as f‌ive weeks.3 It is believed that the red lionf‌ish was intro-

duced to the Atlantic during Hurricane Andrew in 1992, which

is thought to have shattered private aquariums releasing the f‌ish

into Miami’s Biscayne Bay.4 Covered with poisonous pector al

spines, the red lio nf‌ish has no natural predat or in the Atlantic

and has increased in numbers tenfold from 2005 through 2007.5

To try and solve this p otentially devastating ecolog ical

threat, conservationists ha ve developed an innovative plan by

combining business and conserv ation: sell the f‌ish to consum-

ers.6 Companies, such as Sea to Table, have begun to work with

local f‌ishermen in the Bahamas by helping the f‌ish ermen sell

their red lionf‌ish catch to upscale metropolitan restaurants in the

United States. 7 During initial tr ials in New York and Chicago,

restaurants sold out of the red lionf‌ish within two nights.8

aSia

A former luxury American ocean liner that is believed to be

laden with high quantities of toxins recently arrived in Alang,

India, the hub of India’s ship-breaking yards.9 The Platinum-II

was previous ly anchored forty miles from Alang as the Indian

government decided whether or not to allow the ship to be dis-

mantled on its shores.10 According to the Indi an Platform on

Ship-breaki ng, the Platinum-II contains close to 20 0 tons of

asbestos and about 210 tons of materials contaminated by toxic

polychl orinated biphen yls (“PCBs”) as well a s r adioactive

substances.11 Groups suc h as Greenpeace opine tha t Alang’s

ship-breaking yards are ill-equip ped to safely dismant le such

poison-laden ships.12

The scrapping of the Platin um-II is i n vi olation of the

Basel Tre aty,13 which bans signing countri es, including In dia,

from receiving hazardous waste from countries who have not

signed the treaty, which includes the United States.14 However,

Indian authorities have stipulated that the Platinum-II should be

beached and disassembled in Alang, citing safety concerns that

the Platinum-II was in too poor a condition and may break apart

in the open ocean.15 Earlier this year, the Environmental Protec-

tion Agency enacted f‌ines against the owners of the Platinum-II

in amounts close to $518,000 for illegal distribution and export

of a ship containing PCBs. The Platinum-II, however, was not

recalled to U.S. shores.16

In addition, the health costs of dismantling aging ocean-lin-

ers is extremely high to the local Indian shipyard workers; a 2006

report by India’s Supreme Court showed that one in six Alang

shipyard laborers was suffering from symptoms of asbestosis, a

fatal illness, and that the number of fatal accidents in the ship-

yard was six times higher than even the averag e in the nations

mining industry.17 Most shipyard laborers earn only about $2 to

$3 a day. Even with such risks to workers, Indian authorities are

hesitant to close down the shipyard as it is extremely prof‌itable;

scrapping a single ship can bring in revenues o f close to $10

million.18

africa

The proposed construction of a hydroelectric dam along

the Zambezi River in Mozambique has stirred conf‌lict between

locals and environmental advo cates.19 While gover nment off‌i-

cials argue the dam w ill bene f‌it loca l villag es by supplying

electricity and fostering development, environmental ac tivists

assert the constructio n will displace approximately 1,400 small

farmers.20 The advocates also contend that another dam on the

Zambezi River has negatively affected the ecology of the river,

disrupting f‌ishing and agriculture in the area, and that a second

dam would on ly worsen the situation.21 The Mozambican gov-

ernment believes it can build the dam and minimize impacts to

the environment.22 Construction is scheduled to begin in 2011.23

In eastern Africa, the United Nations World Food Pro-

gramme proje cts that $285 million is needed to stem a hunger

crisis resulting from disastrous drought conditions.24 Some har-

vests have been completely wiped out.25 A severe lack of rainfall

has contributed to the crisis and forced residents to drink water

from contaminated sources.26 Oxfam argues that, in addition to

addressing the immediate food needs of eastern Africa, better

irrigation and wells are essential tools to reduce the impact of

drought in the future.27 The Food and Agricultural Organization

advocates a re silient variety of rice p acked with more nutrition

that could help curb the food crisis.28

76FALL 2009

europe

Swedes are gaining a fresh perspective on their food as

many markets and restaurants are listing the amount of carbon

dioxide emitted on package labels and menus.29 This initiative

follows new nutritional guidelines released over the summer by

the Swedish Natio nal Food Administration.30 The pi oneering

labels couple environmental concerns over climate change with

health concerns.31 The guidelines advocate choosing vegetables

and mea ts that requ ire less ener gy to produce and do not rec-

ommend consuming f‌ish due to Europe’s suffering f‌ish stocks.32

Critics argue that the average consumer may feel overwhelmed

by the deluge of considerations when buying a bunch of carrots,

and that it is diff‌icult to accurately calculate the emissions gener-

ated by a food product.33

1 See Invasive Red Lionf‌ish Threatens Reef Fish in Caribbean, yale

env’t 360, Aug. 15, 2008, available at http://e360.yale.edu/content/digest.

msp?id=1383.

2 See id.

3 See id.

4 See David McFadden, Red lionf‌ish invade the Caribbean, l.a. timeS, Aug.

16, 2008, available at http://articles.latimes.com/2008/aug/16/science/sci-

lionf‌ish16.

5 National Aquarium Waterlog, Now serving, red lionf‌ish, Oct. 14, 2009,

available at http://nationalaquarium.wordpress.com/2009/10/14/now-serving-

red-lionf‌ish/.

6 See Science & Technology, Eat for the ecosystem, economiSt.com, Oct.

15, 2009, available at http://www.economist.com/sciencetechnology/Printer-

Friendly.cfm?story_id=14637325.

7 See id.

8 See id.

9 Common Dreams, US Toxic Ship Lands in India, Oct. 23, 2009, available

at http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2009/10/23 [hereinafter Common

Dreams].

10 Suda Ramachandran, Toxic Alert as US Ship Heads for India, aSia timeS

online, Oct. 24, 2009, available at http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/

KJ24Df01.html.

11 See id.

12 See id.

13 Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazard-

ous Wastes and their Disposal, March 22, 1989, 1673 UNTS 126, available at

http://basel.int/text/text.html.

14 Common Dreams, supra note 9.

15 Nitin Sethi, Toxic Waste on U.S. Ship: Gujarat Panel, timeS of inDia,

Oct. 17, 2009, available at http://timesof india.com/articleshow/msid-

5132641,prtpage-1.cms.

16 Ramachandran, supra note 10.

17 Jacob Baynham, India, World Shipping’s Toxic Waste Dump, Sfgate,

July 6, 2008, available at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/

c/a/2008/07/06/MN2510MASF.DTL&type.

18 See id.

19 Pete Browne, Debate Over Dams on Africa’s Zambezi River, n.y. timeS,

Oct. 19, 2009, available at http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/19/

debate-over-dams-on-africas-zambezi-river/.

20 Zenaida Machado, Watching the Water Flow Away, allafrica.com, Oct.

23, 2009, available at http://allafrica.com/stories/200910230853.html.

21 See id.

22 See Browne, supra note 19.

23 See id.

24 Ethiopia asks for Urgent Food Aid, bbc newS, Oct. 22, 2009, available at

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8319741.stm.

25 See id.

26 Millions Facing Famine in Ethiopia as Rain Fails, the inDepenDent, Aug.

30, 2009, available at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/mil-

lions-facing-famine-in-ethiopia-as-rains-fail-1779376.html.

27 See Machado, supra note 20.

28 Mark Kapchanga, FAO Introduces New Rice to Fight Food Shortages in

Region, allafrica.com, Oct. 19, 2009, available at http://allafrica.com/sto-

ries/200910210461.html.

29 Elizabeth Rosenthal, To Cut Global Warming, Swedes Study Their Plates,

n.y. timeS, Oct. 22, 2009, available at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/23/

world/europe/23degrees.html?_r=1&ref=europe.

30 See id.

31 Jennifer LaRue Huget, For Food Labels, First Calories, Now Carbon Foot-

prints?, waShington poSt, Oct. 26, 2009, available at http://voices.washington-

post.com/checkup/2009/10/folks_in_the_us_who.html.

32 See Rosenthal, supra note 29.

33 Madeleine Kennedy, Is Carbon Counting the New Calorie Counting?,

atlantic, Oct. 30, 2009, available at http://business.theatlantic.com/2009/10/_

earlier_this_month_the.php.

Endnotes: World News