Factoid:
A study released in October 1998 in Switzerland from the World Wildlife Fund said that almost one-third of Earth's natural resources and animals were lost between 1970 and 1995. The report said that rivers and lakes were the worst hit.
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Factoid:
Cambodia's tropical forests are shrinking by an estimated 173,000 acres per year, due mostly to an illegal logging trade. If the trend continues, every commercially valuable tree in Cambodia could be cut down within five years.
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20th Century Fox Wrecking Beach for Film
Environmentalists are calling for a boycott of 20th Century Fox, saying the film company destroyed a protected beach in Thailand during shooting of a new film.
Start Date: 4/10/99
Film company 20th Century Fox is accused of destroying a protected beach on Phi Phi Leh Island, a national park of Thailand, during the shooting of their film "The Beach," starring Leonardo DiCaprio of "Titanic" fame. According to Thai environmental activists, the supposedly protected Maya Beach is being bulldozed to widen it for the film-shoot, and a great deal of native vegetation is being torn out and replaced with non-native coconut palms "to meet Hollywood's perception of paradise."
The Thai acitivists say they are deeply concerned that the loss of native vegetation on the once-pristine beach will leave it susceptible to erosion during the monsoon season. They are also incensed that Thai government officials apparently took what amounts to a pay-off from 20th Century Fox in the amount of 4 million Bhat to make an exception to regulations which would otherwise prevent the alteration or destruction of protected national park land.
A lawsuit was reportedly filed but a request for an injunction against the film company was denied. Thai activists are therefore asking prospective American film-goers to threaten a boycott of this film unless 20th Century Fox stops destroying Maya Beach. Letters can be sent to: Andrew MacDonald, Producer, c/o Carol Sewell, 10201 W. Pico Blvd., Building 89, Room 224, Los Angeles CA 90035. More information and photos are posted at http://www.wildrockies.org/WVE/beach.htm
 Excelsior, Michael Lindemann's new novel (written under the pen name Michael Paul), depicts a wholly plausible near future in which human cloning is both widespread and widely abused; terrorists have access to target-specific biological weapons; recreational space travel is commonplace; and mounting pressures of global climate change, environmental decline, population growth and civil unrest inspire radical new approaches to urban security.
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