We'll see examples of how Sweden is weaving sustainability into agriculture, business, education, culture & more. From the city of Stockholm to the Land of the Midnight Sun, we'll enjoy in-depth seminars as well as some of the country's most gorgeous cities and landscapes.

You can take action on this alert via the web at: http://actionnetwork.org/take-action.tcl?key=790449A20230B0416080756C230

Visit the web address below and tell your friends to take action, too! Time is of the essence, and the more people that voice their opinions, the better chance we have of saving our last wild forests for future generations.
http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/ourforests2001/forward?rk=Md1ezwS1Xp1.W

New website targets Bush bankrollers (www.boycottbush.net)
If you feel strongly about President Bush's position on environmental protection (or lack of it) and want to know how to use your consumer power to try to influence American politics - check out this useful new website recommended by ethicalconsumer.org. It lists the top twenty corporate donors to the Republican Party with consumer brands, while at the same time noting more ethical alternatives.

www.boycottbush.net has been set up to allow individuals to influence the global politics of climate change. In March, President George Bush abandoned the USA's commitment to the Kyoto climate agreement, attracting worldwide condemnation. This new website, set up by UK-based campaign organisation ECRA, seeks to show that by targeting the companies that bankrolled Bush to victory in November, individuals can force his hand at climate talks in Bonn this July.

Planetary Sustainability
Why are Environmentalists Concerned about FTAA?
It appears that free trade agreements, while breaking down frivolous and significant barriers to trade between nations, have gone too far. They also have been used to neutralize efforts by countries to protect their environment and to properly manage their renewable and non-renewable natural resources. Some feel that free trade should be just that - - all out free trade, no holds barred. Everything is fair game. However, we've learned that unfettered free trade, even within nations, can harm social systems, take advantage of labour, and ruin the environment, if there are no laws. That is what is needed with free trade and with the proposed new Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) - - rules for the game. But the rules, if any appear to be minimal and unenforceable. That is why thousands of environmentalists [went] to Quebec City to protest. That is why those that [did not go] to Quebec City [held] demonstrations in their own cities. They have already seen what can go wrong with agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). Listed below are the problems:

• Natural resources such as water, forests and oil reserves area expedited in their extraction and consumption by outside countries, providing no protection or conservation for the people and their economies within the host countries
• Specific measures taken to protect endangered species such as requiring special nets to catch shrimp without killing sea turtles are viewed as non-tariff trade barriers and are disallowed by free trade dispute tribunals
• Chapter 11 challenges under NAFTA has been used to distort trade protection as a perverse way of being compensated for monies lost due to environmental laws and environmental measures
• The proposed FTAA would give transnational corporations unequalled new "rights" to challenge and compete for every publicly funded service now provided by governments - from health care and education to social security, culture and environmental protection. If adopted, it could remove the ability of every government to create or maintain laws and regulations protecting the health, safety and well-being of their citizens and the environment they share.