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Tribunal says Mexico violated trade agreement in banning GM corn

By Douglas Main

An international tribunal set up to resolve disputes between the United States, Mexico, and Canada has ruled that Mexico violated the terms of the international trade agreement in banning the import of genetically modified (GM) corn for human consumption.

The decision, handed down by a commission set up under the auspices of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), was criticized by over a dozen civil and environmental groups, who argue that Mexico is well within its rights to restrict the import of this material for health precautions and others reasons.

Mexico has argued that it needs to ban GM corn to protect its citizens and the environment. Earlier this year, it filed a 189-page document with the tribunal outlining what it sees as the risks posed by GM corn and glyphosate.

“Mexico has legitimate concerns about the safety and innocuousness of genetically modified corn… and its indissoluble relationship with its technological package that includes glyphosate,” the Mexican government’s report states. There is “clear scientific evidence of the harmful effects of direct consumption of GM corn grain in corn flour, dough, tortilla and related products,” Mexico stated. More evidence is needed, Mexico says, to determine “whether and to what extent, such risks are transmitted to food products further downstream.”

The Mexican government said in a statement it would comply with the ruling. “The Government of Mexico does not share the panel’s determination, as it considers that the measures in question are in line with the principles of protection of public health and the rights of indigenous peoples, established in national legislation and in the international treaties to which it is a party.”

Genetically modified corn is used by most US growers; companies have engineered the crop to be toxic to certain insects and to tolerate being sprayed with certain herbicides. Corn, and products made with corn, have often been found to be contaminated with glyphosate, one of the active ingredients in Roundup weed killer, for instance, because farmers can spray the pesticide directly over the growing crop to kill surrounding weeds.

The U.S. has not done or commissioned the research necessary to really determine if GM corn has long-term effects on human health, said Chuck Benbrook, a long-time consultant and expert who worked with Friends of the Earth in defending the Mexican position. “The US government never did [an] appropriate risk assessment of GM corn, period,” he said.

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Boosting LNG exports would harm people and the planet, DOE report concludes

By Shannon Kelleher

The US Department of Energy (DOE) this week released a report that concludes a rise in exports from the booming natural gas industry would lead to greater global fossil fuel emissions, expose already-vulnerable communities to more pollution and raise gas prices for consumers.

The publication “reinforces that a business as-usual approach is neither sustainable nor advisable,” said US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm in a statement.

“Unfettered” liquified natural gas (LNG) exports would increase the price of wholesale natural gas in the US by over 30%, said Granholm, impacting households, farmers and industry. The study also concluded that current US LNG exports are “already more than enough to meet global demand,” she said, and that while LNG has been suggested as an alternative to coal for some countries, the study “shows a world in which additional US LNG exports displace more renewables than coal globally.”

The report, published Dec. 17, comes after the Biden administration last January announced a pause on pending applications for facilities that export liquified natural gas (LNG) while the DOE reviewed the approval process, citing climate change considerations. In September, more than 125 scientists signed a letter addressed to Granholm and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, warning that the increase in natural gas production threatens to worsen climate change and jeopardize public health and the environment.

“Our hope is that we can now assess the future of natural gas exports based on the facts and ensure authorizations are reviewed in a manner that truly advances the public interest of all the American people,” said Granholm. “Special scrutiny needs to be applied toward very large LNG projects,” she added, noting that a project that exports 4 billion cubic feet of LNG per day would singlehandedly emit more climate-warming greenhouse gases than almost three-quarters of the world’s countries each did in 2023.

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Montana Supreme Court upholds historic youth climate lawsuit win

By Dana Drugmand

The Montana Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a trial court ruling in a youth-led case against the Montana state government, affirming that the sixteen young plaintiffs have a right to a “stable climate system.” The decision marks what legal observers say is a landmark achievement in US climate litigation that is likely to inspire more lawsuits seeking to hold governments accountable for climate change harms in the US and around the world.

In the 6-1 decision, the court ruled against the state in its appeal of the August 2023 verdict in Held et al. v. State of Montana, which went to trial in June 2023. Seeley found that a pair of state laws effectively shielding fossil fuel projects from public scrutiny over their climate impacts, and from judicial review of those impacts under the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA), violate the state’s constitution, including the right to a clean and healthful environment. That environmental right includes the climate system, the court determined, and every additional ton of greenhouse gases emitted from fossil fuels – including from projects like coal mine expansion authorized by Montana regulatory agencies – exacerbates climate change damages and harms to Montana’s environment and the youth plaintiffs.

“This is a monumental moment for Montana, our youth, and the future of our planet,” Nate Bellinger, lead counsel for plaintiffs and a senior attorney with the nonprofit law firm Our Children’s Trust, said in a statement. “Today, the Montana Supreme Court has affirmed the constitutional rights of youth to a safe and livable climate, confirming that the future of our children cannot be sacrificed for fossil fuel interests.”

“This ruling is a victory not just for us, but for every young person whose future is threatened by climate change,” said lead plaintiff Rikki Held.

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Beware the air you breathe – more evidence links microplastics to health problems

By Carey Gillam

People diagnosed with infertility and certain cancers may have to blame the very air they breathe, according to a new report that adds to evidence that tiny plastic particles in air pollution and other environmental sources could be causing these and other diseases and illnesses.

Researchers at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) said they reviewed approximately 3,000 studies in determining that exposure to microplastics – plastic particles less than 5 millimeters – may be causing a host of health problems in people, including colon cancer; chronic pulmonary inflammation, which can increase the risk of lung cancer; and infertility issues in both men and women.

The paper was published Wednesday in the Environmental Science & Technology journal.

“We urge regulatory agencies and policy leaders to consider the growing evidence of health harms from microplastics, including colon and lung cancer,” study lead author Nicholas Chartres said in a statement. Chartres, formerly with the UCSF Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, is now with the University of Sydney.

The study expands on a 2023 collaboration between the research team and other experts aimed at informing state lawmakers.

Microplastics are increasingly drawing concerns from public and environmental health scientists as evidence builds showing they’ve become essentially ubiquitous, found in air, water, food, and within human tissues. One recent study that has not been peer reviewed found particularly concerning accumulation of microplastics in brain samples. The microplastics in air pollution can come from many sources, including tires and degrading garbage that shed tiny pieces of plastic into the air.

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