BRIEFS. reactors, and neutron bombs. The Dene say they are not opposed to development and are not opposed ·to all mining in the North, but only when the ~nd product will be used for destructive purposes. They want to control development so their own people will benefit. I • Deadly Tide ofPlastic Plastic pollution is killing milliohs of birds, fish, whales, seals, and sea turtles, marine scientists report. Their research has shown that the animals die after becoming entangled with discarded or broken plastic fish nets, straps, trawls, seines and snares, and also after eating pieces or tiny spherules of plastic that ate being dumped into all of the world's marine-waters. The problem has b~come so·serious that 150 marine wildlife researchers from 10 countries met recently at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu·for t~e first international conference on the issue. The meeting focused on the impact of nonbiodegradable plastic wast~s and section of untended nets have on animals that live in or depend on the ocean. Many groups have expressed alarm,·including the National Academy of Sciences, the World Wildlife Fund, the Environmental Network, a consortium of 14 environmental and marine wildlife conservation groups, arid individuals from other research groups and universities. Conservation groups are pushing for federal and-local legislation to restrict the outpouring of plastic debris into oceans. Other proposals include requiring fish nets be made of biodegradable materials. The Future Makes News A column about the future is no~ appearing in U.S. newpapers. It is written by Edward C.ornish, president of the World Future Society, an international association of people interested in what the future holds in technology, lifestyles, government, business, and other areas. · Futurists do not use crystal balls but rather make educated guesses about what might happen in the coming years · by studying current trends, such as rising population and income, and new technological breakthroughs. Business and government now employ a growing number of futurists to help them anticipate future developments. The name of the column is "Your Changing World" and is distributed by Sunfeatures, 7720 El Camino Road, Rancho La Costa, CA 92008. Reagan's Solar Suit President Reagan and five Cabinet officers were sued in January in U.S.·District Court for the Southern District of New York for an allegedly illegal attempt to retrieve from March/April 1985 RAIN Page 5 the st?tes certain funds obligated for the Solar Energy and Energy Conservation Bank but not spent by March 1. The suit asks that the president and the five cabinet officers on the bank's board be cited for contempt. It estimates that the proposed bank action would deprive p'otential customers of at.least $25 million of promised federal subsid~es for home energy improvements. The plaintiffs-five U.S. congressmen, two cities, one state and a.handful of.energy and consumer groups and individuals-will return'. to the same court that upheld them 30 months ago, ordering the administration to create the bank as soon as possible. That suit prompted the agministration to release money it had initially withheld. The suit focuses on congressional orders for the bank to spend 70 percent of conservation and.80 percent of solar funds'in the years in which they are obligated. The bank has fallen fai: short of the percentages. The unspent portion could be about $33-$34 million. Although more funds are likely to go out before the March 1 deadline, the recapture could ii11volve $25 million. The plaintiffs are particularly annoyed that the bank, which has considered the recapture for a year, has taken so long in getting the funds to the states. Some Fiscal Year 1983 money was not given out until the end of 1984. No N,,ikes Atoll Heads of state at the August 1984 meeting of the South Pacific Forum, representing all the independent nations in the.Pacific, agreed to draft a South Pacific nuclear free zone proposal for consideration at their 1985 meeting. The treaty proposal, accepted unanimously by the forum leaders would ban testing, acquisition, and storage of nuclear weapons and prohibit the dumping of n,uclear waste in the region. While Vanuatu and New Zealand currently ban visits of nuclear warships, the proposal states that each Pacific nation is free to make its own decision on nuclear warship transits. Japan and Micronesia-especially the Marshall Islandsexp_erienced first hand the consequences of the nuclear age. Marshallese people endured resettleme'nts in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. At Kwajalein Atoll, the Marshallese also encounter other aspects of the nuclear arms race. Since , U.S. assumed Trusteeship of the Marshal Islands, racism, job and wage discrimination, and life threatening conditions occured, asserts Akwesasne Notes. The Marshallese have protested in forms of "sail-ins" to show they have the power to prevent missile testing at Kwajalein. But the. islartders' economic dependency on the military presence poses a difficult dilemma. For current information contact the Kwajalein Atoll Corporation, PO Box 5220, Ebey~, Marshall Islands 96970. Also, a quarte_rly newsletter on Micronesian and Paci~ic issues is available from the U.S. Pacific Network, 1346 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 533, Washington, DC 20036; 202/296-8152.
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