JANUARY MEDALS OF HONOR

TOP VICTORIES OF THE REVOLUTION,

JANUARY 2008

Every day is a good news day here at ¡Hasta La Victoria Siempre!, but it is still worthwhile to stop and reflect on some of the victories that have been fought and won throughout the month. And so, dear reader, I submit my Medals of Honor: the top three good news stories of the month.

January was a particularly good month for the Revolution. I had a hard time picking just three top stories. I admit that this is a completely arbitrary list - how can you rate the worth of hydrogen boats over endangered vultures, for example – but I have made my decision based on the overall impact the story might have on the planet in general. You can click on the headings to read the original story.

As usual, any comments are welcome.
- Nigel

1. ISRAEL GOES ELECTRIC

What do you do when you’re a tiny, oil-poor country surrounded by oil-rich neighbors who don’t like you, and the price of gas is at an all-time high? If you’re Israel, you invest a load of money in electric cars.

This is an important story because of the big-name players involved: Israel and Renault-Nissan. Israel is a technologically advanced country with a population of over 7 million people, an economic powerhouse, and perhaps the most progressive country in the Middle East. Renault-Nissan is an alliance between two of the world’s largest auto manufacturers. In other words, there is a lot at stake – over $200 million dollars in seed money, a cross-country network of 500,000 battery charge stations, and as many as 50,000 new jobs, for starters.

In a world where reducing reliance on oil is more political posturing than reality, Israel and Renault-Nissan have raised the bar by promising an electric alternative to gasoline engines that would eliminate carbon and noise emissions… within three years. Kind of makes all those other greenhouse emissions targets look like a joke, doesn’t it? This story is proof that meaningful change can happen if government and industry work together to find solutions.

2. CHINA BANS PLASTIC SHOPPING BAGS

In the grand scheme of ecological collapse, the plastic shopping bag may seem a trivial player. The entire nation of China with its 1 billion citizens, however, is not. And so when the government of China suddenly announced that it was banning all plastic shopping bags by June 1 due to pollution and energy concerns, the world paid attention.

The lowly plastic shopping bag, it seems, has become a symbol of the environmental apocalypse. More than 500 billion get tossed every year, choking our landfills and clogging our gutters. From San Francisco to Sydney, communities are beginning to shake off their plastic shackles in favor of reusable alternatives. But nowhere has it been done as effectively and as dramatically as in China, where companies still manufacturing plastic bags will face heavy fines or seizure of goods and property.

Keep your eyes peeled for more news about the war on plastic shopping bags over the next couple of weeks, exclusively on ¡Hasta La Victoria Siempre!.

3. TOTAL PAYS FOR FRANCE’S WORST OIL SPILL

Oil companies are so big and so rich and have so much influence that sometimes it seems like they are above the law. In fact, sometimes they are. But the courts of France showed South African oil giant Total who was boss this month when they ordered Total to pay $285 million dollars in compensation for a 1999 oil spill. The spill, France’s worst ever, dumped 230,000 tons of crude oil and polluted 320 kms of French coast, killing tens of thousands of seabirds. The money was ordered to be paid to over a hundred civil parties, mostly associations involved in the cleanup and ecology groups.

Despite the large payout, the victory is largely symbolic. The $285 million dollars will barely make a dent in Total’s bottom line, but the decision sends a clear message that industry will be held accountable for damaging the environment and ignoring safety concerns.