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Help bust the biofuels myth The rush for biofuels – crops grown on a massive scale to meet the fuel demands of the rich world – is pushing people such as Halima off their land, driving up food prices and fuelling climate change. Yet a myth pervades that they are a clean and sustainable fuel that can bring development. Take action today to help bust the biofuels myth. “All the promises were fake. The biofuels company promised they would first fulfil their promises before they started using our land. That was in 2006.” Halima Ali, Kisarawe district, Tanzania. PHOTO: TOM PIETRASIK/ACTIONAID Myth: Biofuels are cleaner than fossil fuels. Fact: The biofuels needed to meet UK energy plans will release the same amount of greenhouse gas as putting up to six million extra cars on UK roads in 2020. Most biofuels release more greenhouse gases than fossil fuels through tearing down rainforests, ploughing up land and in growing, processing and transport. Over 370,000km2 an area larger than Germany, has been taken around the world to grow biofuels. And as crops go into cars rather than food, millions are forced into hunger as food prices spiral. Myth: Biofuels bring opportunities for poor people. Fact: Biofuels have devastating impacts on poor communities who are pushed out by land grabs and hit by rising food prices. Halima’s community had 11,000 football pitches’ worth of land grabbed to make way for biofuels. The promised investment, including wells, schools and clinics failed to materialise and many have still not been paid for their land. Myth: But there are lots of ‘good’ biofuels. Fact: Some biofuels, produced locally from genuine waste such as used cooking oil, can generate sustainable energy. However, these can never be produced on a large enough scale to meet the energy targets of rich nations. Myth: We can’t do anything. Fact: Targets set by the UK and Europe are driving the rush for biofuels. You can help end government support for biofuels by signing the petition below. Or sign the petition online at: www.actionaid.org.uk/biofuelspetition Just cut out the form, fill in your details, pop it in an envelope and post it back to us. I urge the UK government and European Commission to end their support for biofuels, because of the negative effect these policies are having on the food and land rights of people in poor countries. !ACT1205BN I Full name: Address: Postcode: Email: By giving your details, you will automatically receive information about ActionAid’s work, including by electronic mail. We will never sell or swap your details. For a copy of our data protection policy or to unsubscribe simply email dataprotection@actionaid.org or call us on 0800 012 2038. Please post to: ActionAid Freepost BS4868 CHARD TA20 1BR (no stamp needed) ActionAid is a registered charity, number 274467.
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NEW INTERNATIONALIST The New Internationalist workers’ co-operative exists to report on the issues of world poverty and inequality; to focus attention on the unjust relationship between the powerful and powerless worldwide; to debate and campaign for the radical changes necessary to meet the basic needs of all; and to bring to life the people, the ideas and the action in the f ight for global justice. The New Internationalist magazine was founded by Peter and Lesley Adamson in 1970. Together with a range of other publications it is published by New Internationalist Publications Ltd which is wholly owned by the New Internationalist Trust and co-operatively managed: Accounts: Frank Syratt. Advertising: Michael York. Administration: Anna Weston. Design: Alan Hughes, Andrew Kokotka, Ian Nixon. Editorial (Magazine): Vanessa Baird, Dinyar Godrej, Jo Lateu, Hazel Healy, Nick Harvey, Jamie Kelsey-Fry. Editorial (Publications): Chris Brazier. Mail Order: Bev Dawes, James Rowland. Marketing (Magazine): Amanda Synnott, Rob Norman, Xanna Ward-Dixon. North American Publisher: Ian McKelvie. Marketing (Publications): Dan Raymond-Barker, Sherri Jordan. Production: Fran Harvey. Web and IT: Tom Ash, Charlie Harvey. SUBSCRIPTIONS Website: www.newint.org/subscribe Email: subscriptions@newint.org Phone: +44 (0) 1604 251 046 Phone (from Ireland): CallSave 1850 924 331 Fax: +44 (0)1604 251031 Post: New Internationalist, McGowan House, 10 Waterside Way, Northampton NN4 7XD, UK. ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION PRICES UK: £39.85; Unwaged £24 (please telephone for further information); Institutions £65. Ireland: �47 Rest of World: Individuals: £44.85/�58/ US$68/ZAR 300. Institutions £70. Despatch by air only. Subscribers in Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand and Japan should contact their local subscriptions of f ice whose addresses can be found at www.newint.org/about/contact/ UK OFFICE New Internationalist, 55 Rectory Road, Oxford OX4 1BW. Tel: +44 (0)1865 811400 Fax: +44 (0)1865 793152 Email: ni@newint.org Advertising (magazine & web): Michael York 01865 811420 michaely@newint.org Contract enquiries: ni_cg@newint.org Web queries: tech@newint.org Permissions & general enquiries: Anna Weston 01865 811401 annaw@newint.org News trade distributor: COMAG Specialist Division, Tavistock Works, Tavistock Road, West Drayton, Middlesex UB7 7QX, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1895 433800. Fax: +44 (0)1895 433801. The New Internationalist is published monthly except that the Jan/Feb and July/Aug issues are combined. facebook.com/newint @newint It helps us occasionally to allow carefully screened organizations to mail our subscribers. If you do not wish to receive their material please write to your subscription office. © New Internationalist Publications Ltd. 2012 ISN 0305-9529 ISO accreditation 9001-2008 Editors’ letter www.newint.org Time to lift fig-leaves and see through greenwash The United Nations says the global earth summit it is holding in Rio this month ‘is a chance to move away from business as usual and to act to end poverty, address environmental destruction and build a bridge to the future’. Splendid aims. However, a great many of those involved in shaping the outcome are from the fossil-fuel, mining, banking and carbon-trading sectors. So we reckon a reality check is in order. This month’s issue gives you the ‘unofficial guide’ to Rio+20, as the summit is called. Writer and activist Danny Chivers also removes the fig-leaves from a selection of corporate miscreants in his exposé of ‘Eight Great Greenwashers’. Some on the list are household names; others may be new to you. Also this month, Richard Swift answers the tricky question of why the political Right gained and the Left lost ground in the wake of the financial crisis. This essay won him the prestigious US Daniel Singer Millennium Prize. Time will tell if the tide can really be turned, in Europe at any rate, following the French and Greek elections. Elsewhere, intrepid filmmaker Nadia El Fani explains why she had to leave her native Tunisia. Outspoken US scholar Norman Finkelstein posits that Jewish Americans are falling out of love with Israel – and discusses what that could mean for peace in the Middle East. Charismatic Indian activist Bunker Roy talks about ‘granny power’, and British comedian Jeremy Hardy reflects on being a Marxist at the tender age of 10. ■ Vanessa Baird and Jo Lateu for the New Internationalist Co-operative www.newint.org This month’s contributors include... Richard Swift is a former editor with New Internationalist. These days he survives as a freelance writer and activist. His most recent book is Gangs (Groundwoodbooks 2011). Ruth Buendía Mestoaquiari is an Asháninka indigenous leader from the Peruvian Amazon. She has campaigned internationally against mega-dam projects and is president of the River Ene organization CARE. Paco Chuquiure has worked as a photojournalist for several Peruvian newspapers and magazines and as a photographer for Spanish News Agency EFE. He now works as a full-time freelancer. Danny Chivers is an environmental writer, researcher, professional carbon footprint analyst and activist. He is the author of the No-Nonsense Guide to Climate Change – the science, the solutions and the way forward. Coming next month... What’s so funny about peace, love and – co-operation? Look around for a moment. The world appears a pretty unco-operative place, torn by vicious squabbles and bloody violence. Indeed, ‘watch out for number one’ seems to be the driving credo behind a global economy ruled by greed, blind ambition and self-interest. But there’s more to the story than that. There’s another approach to human affairs that has yet to receive its due and is exactly the opposite of the cutthroat, competitive model which drives corporations and agitates governments. Co-operation: we would never have progressed as far as we have as a species without it. You could even say it’s in our genes, as the new scholars of evolution have shown. Next month’s New Internationalist marks the UN’s International Year of Co-operatives. Around the world more than a billion people are involved in co-ops – as members, customers, employees or worker/owners. The crisis in growth and the global economic slump have uncovered an urgent need and a deep yearning for doing things differently. The continued success and growth of co-ops proves that’s possible. N ew I n t e r nat i o nal i s t ● J U N E 2 012 ● 3

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NEW INTERNATIONALIST The New Internationalist workers’ co-operative exists to report on the issues of world poverty and inequality; to focus attention on the unjust relationship between the powerful and powerless worldwide; to debate and campaign for the radical changes necessary to meet the basic needs of all; and to bring to life the people, the ideas and the action in the f ight for global justice.

The New Internationalist magazine was founded by Peter and Lesley Adamson in 1970. Together with a range of other publications it is published by New Internationalist Publications Ltd which is wholly owned by the New Internationalist Trust and co-operatively managed: Accounts: Frank Syratt. Advertising: Michael York. Administration: Anna Weston. Design: Alan Hughes, Andrew Kokotka, Ian Nixon. Editorial (Magazine): Vanessa Baird, Dinyar Godrej, Jo Lateu, Hazel Healy, Nick Harvey, Jamie Kelsey-Fry. Editorial (Publications): Chris Brazier. Mail Order: Bev Dawes, James Rowland. Marketing (Magazine): Amanda Synnott, Rob Norman, Xanna Ward-Dixon. North American Publisher: Ian McKelvie. Marketing (Publications): Dan Raymond-Barker, Sherri Jordan. Production: Fran Harvey. Web and IT: Tom Ash, Charlie Harvey.

SUBSCRIPTIONS Website: www.newint.org/subscribe Email: subscriptions@newint.org Phone: +44 (0) 1604 251 046 Phone (from Ireland): CallSave 1850 924 331 Fax: +44 (0)1604 251031 Post: New Internationalist, McGowan House, 10 Waterside Way, Northampton NN4 7XD, UK.

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION PRICES UK: £39.85; Unwaged £24 (please telephone for further information); Institutions £65. Ireland: �47 Rest of World: Individuals: £44.85/�58/ US$68/ZAR 300. Institutions £70. Despatch by air only. Subscribers in Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand and Japan should contact their local subscriptions of f ice whose addresses can be found at www.newint.org/about/contact/

UK OFFICE New Internationalist, 55 Rectory Road, Oxford OX4 1BW. Tel: +44 (0)1865 811400 Fax: +44 (0)1865 793152 Email: ni@newint.org

Advertising (magazine & web): Michael York 01865 811420 michaely@newint.org Contract enquiries: ni_cg@newint.org Web queries: tech@newint.org Permissions & general enquiries: Anna Weston 01865 811401 annaw@newint.org

News trade distributor: COMAG Specialist Division, Tavistock Works, Tavistock Road, West Drayton, Middlesex UB7 7QX, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1895 433800. Fax: +44 (0)1895 433801.

The New Internationalist is published monthly except that the Jan/Feb and July/Aug issues are combined.

facebook.com/newint

@newint

It helps us occasionally to allow carefully screened organizations to mail our subscribers. If you do not wish to receive their material please write to your subscription office. © New Internationalist Publications Ltd. 2012 ISN 0305-9529

ISO accreditation 9001-2008

Editors’ letter www.newint.org

Time to lift fig-leaves and see through greenwash

The United Nations says the global earth summit it is holding in Rio this month ‘is a chance to move away from business as usual and to act to end poverty, address environmental destruction and build a bridge to the future’.

Splendid aims. However, a great many of those involved in shaping the outcome are from the fossil-fuel, mining, banking and carbon-trading sectors.

So we reckon a reality check is in order. This month’s issue gives you the ‘unofficial guide’ to Rio+20, as the summit is called. Writer and activist Danny Chivers also removes the fig-leaves from a selection of corporate miscreants in his exposé of ‘Eight Great Greenwashers’. Some on the list are household names; others may be new to you.

Also this month, Richard Swift answers the tricky question of why the political Right gained and the Left lost ground in the wake of the financial crisis. This essay won him the prestigious US Daniel Singer Millennium Prize. Time will tell if the tide can really be turned, in Europe at any rate, following the French and Greek elections.

Elsewhere, intrepid filmmaker Nadia El Fani explains why she had to leave her native Tunisia. Outspoken US scholar Norman Finkelstein posits that Jewish Americans are falling out of love with Israel – and discusses what that could mean for peace in the Middle East. Charismatic Indian activist Bunker Roy talks about ‘granny power’, and British comedian Jeremy Hardy reflects on being a Marxist at the tender age of 10. ■

Vanessa Baird and Jo Lateu for the New Internationalist Co-operative www.newint.org

This month’s contributors include...

Richard Swift is a former editor with New Internationalist. These days he survives as a freelance writer and activist. His most recent book is Gangs (Groundwoodbooks 2011).

Ruth Buendía Mestoaquiari is an Asháninka indigenous leader from the Peruvian Amazon. She has campaigned internationally against mega-dam projects and is president of the River Ene organization CARE.

Paco Chuquiure has worked as a photojournalist for several Peruvian newspapers and magazines and as a photographer for Spanish News Agency EFE. He now works as a full-time freelancer.

Danny Chivers is an environmental writer, researcher, professional carbon footprint analyst and activist. He is the author of the No-Nonsense Guide to Climate Change – the science, the solutions and the way forward.

Coming next month...

What’s so funny about peace, love and – co-operation? Look around for a moment. The world appears a pretty unco-operative place, torn by vicious squabbles and bloody violence. Indeed, ‘watch out for number one’ seems to be the driving credo behind a global economy ruled by greed, blind ambition and self-interest.

But there’s more to the story than that. There’s another approach to human affairs that has yet to receive its due and is exactly the opposite of the cutthroat, competitive model which drives corporations and agitates governments.

Co-operation: we would never have progressed as far as we have as a species without it. You could even say it’s in our genes, as the new scholars of evolution have shown.

Next month’s New Internationalist marks the UN’s International Year of Co-operatives. Around the world more than a billion people are involved in co-ops – as members, customers, employees or worker/owners.

The crisis in growth and the global economic slump have uncovered an urgent need and a deep yearning for doing things differently. The continued success and growth of co-ops proves that’s possible.

N ew I n t e r nat i o nal i s t ● J U N E 2 012 ● 3

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