Dolphin-safe tuna law upheld
 Attempts
by the Bush Administration to weaken ‘dolphin-safe’ regulations
for tuna fishing have been overturned by a Federal Court this week,
in a move that has been welcomed by activists. The Government had
been seeking to lessen the legislation in order to allow imports from
poorly regulated South America tuna fisheries.
More than seven million dolphins have been killed in the last forty
years through tuna fisheries, but the rate dropped massively after
the introduction of dolphin-friendly techniques.
"Before the dolphin-safe label on tuna, tens of thousands of
dolphins were dying annually as a result of reckless tuna fishing
practices. Since the inception of the label program, dolphin deaths
have dropped an astonishing 90 percent," said Rodger Schlickeisen,
from Defenders of Wildlife. "Nonetheless, the President sought
to weaken this popular and successful program and once again allow
'dolphin-deadly' tuna to be imported into the U.S. We are greatly
relieved that the Court put a stop to the Bush plan before it did
any lasting damage."
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The
Government’s household recycling and composting target of 25%
by 2005 is set to be missed despite an overall improvement, according
to environmental group Friends of the Earth. Environment Minister
Elliot Morley revealed earlier in the week that the average rate of
recycling around the country had reached an all-time high of 14.5%,
and called for a greater push to meet the impending 25% target. The
2003 increase represented a 2% jump in twelve months, building on
the 1% achieved over previous years. 
Five
members of an illegal wildlife trade syndicate were convicted this
week in Indonesia, for poaching and trading of the endangered Sumatran
Tiger. The men were given a total jail sentence of six years, and
fined 70m Rupiah, which equates to about £5000. Authorities
hope that the sentencing will give a strong signal to other poachers
and prospective traders of the protected species. 
The
UK Government’s methods of tackling the issue of climate change
have been deemed inadequate and ineffectual by a group of cross party
MPs. The Environmental Audit Committee, which earlier criticised the
Government’s approach to environmental crime, reveals in a report
that it believes carbon dioxide cuts of 20% (on 1990 levels) by 2010
are unattainable at the current rate.
European regulations that aim to tackle the growing problem of electronic
waste - from items such as computers and phones – have been
implemented into the national law of just one member state, as last
week’s deadline passed without action. So far only Greece has
passed national legislation giving effect to the measures, that demand
electronic products are not simply thrown away. Most other Member
States are currently adopting legislation into their national law.
