May
May 15, 2000
Walterton, Ontario -- Residents of this small town simultaneously experience serious symptoms of E. coli infection. The Walkerton Public Utilities Commission insists that there are no problems with the water, even though they have lab tests confirming contamination. Seven people die and 2,500 -- about half the town -- becomes ill. Finally, after regional medical officials step in, the extent of the problem is uncovered. Two untrained city water sytstem managers are briefly jailed in the aftermath of the Walkerton tragedy.
May 20, 2000
Bruno Manser, a Swiss artist working with the Penan people in Sarawak, Malaysia trying to protect rainforests, disappears. The repressive Malaysian government had long seen Manser as a troublemaker. "My own purpose in going to Sarawak," Manser said, "was never to go there as an environmentalist, or make politics. I wanted to experience for myself how an indigenous people lived outside the money economy. But somehow it became a question of humanity--to help the indigenous people whose pleas fell on deaf ears from the companies and the government." The Penan people are perhaps the last nomadic tribe in southeast Asia. They sheltered Manser and taught him how to live and survive in the rain forest. In turn, Manser helped organize Sabat Alam Malaysia. Many belive Mansur was killed by logging operators. He was declared legally dead in 2005.
May 10, 2001
The George W. Bush energy plan emphasizes oil exploration and new construction of coal and nuclear power plants. Conservation and renewables are also mentioned more or less in passing -- funding cuts for research are requested. The Wilderness Society says the plan is a half century out of date.
May 25, 2001
Gilbert Grosvenor, chairman of the National Geographic Society and former editor of National Geographic magazine, is elected to yet another term on the Board of Directors of the Ethyl Corp., manufacturers of dangerous lead additives for gasoline. Meanwhile, the worldwide public health campaign against use of leaded gasoline continues. By 2004 Grosvenor will retire from the board.