Covert Campaign Against the Precautionary Principle ...

[Guest guest]

Thought this might be of interest. I'm not sure what to make of it...

From: " Dawn Rider " <israelswarrior@...>

To:

Subject: Covert Campaign Against the " Precautionary Principle "

Date: Tue, 16 Dec 2003 03:34:54 -0700

Oh my....

Thanks so much for sending this, . I'm not sure what to think, but

I can tell you that nothing surprises me anymore. I'm not sure what

relationship the other pharmaceutical firms (in addition to Bayer and

BASF)have to the chemical industry, but it makes me wonder if they would

resort to such tactics as well, especially now that the SSRIS (which have

produced tremendous profits for them), are in danger.

In any event, I will forward this information to my network (I'll leave out

all information that identifies you as the informant).

I'll be back in touch with you after this has had time to make the rounds...

Best, as always,

Dawn

===============================================================================

From:

israelswarrior@...

Subject: Re:

Date: Mon, 15 Dec 2003 16:46:14 -0800 (PST)

Here is message I was telling you about:

The precautionary principle, a policy that says new chemicals should not be

allowed on the market unless they´re proven safe, has gained a strong

foothold in Europe. The American chemical industry now plans to conduct a

covert campaign attacking the growing movement in California for more

chemical safety testing, with tactics including the creation of phony front

groups and spying on activists, according to an internal American Chemistry

Council (ACC) memo obtained by Environmental Working Group (EWG). The ACC

comprises more than 100 companies - among them Dow, Du Pont, Bayer, BASF and

Monsanto.

CHEMICAL INDUSTRY'S SECRET PLAN TO ATTACK CALIFORNIA'S ANTI-TOXICS TREND

Memo Calls for Phony Front Groups, Spying on Activists

The memo, available at www.ewg.org, offers a rare inside glimpse of the

deceptive and underhanded tactics used by some corporations and public

relations firms to lobby against tougher environmental regulations. It

recommends that ACC, the lobbying association for U.S. chemical companies,

hire a crisis communications firm that promotes itself as the attack dog of

the public relations industry to fight back against California's adoption of

laws and regulations that embrace the " precautionary principle. "

The precautionary principle, a policy that says new chemicals should not be

allowed on the market unless they're proven safe, has gained a strong

foothold in Europe, and in recent years California has enacted measures

applying the principle to several pollutants including, most recently,

chemical flame retardants. Despite the fact that two-thirds of the public

believes that such protections are in place already, the Bush Administration

has opposed their realization here in the U.S.

The memo warns that the state's embrace of the precautionary principle is a

threat to the entire U.S. chemical industry because " California's political

climate makes the state more susceptible to policy and thinking inspired by

the PP [precautionary principle] than other geographic region... California

is a bellwether state, and any success enjoyed here could readily spill over

to other parts of the country. "

It recommends to ACC members that they pay $120,000 a year to

Nichols-Dezenhall, a Washington-based firm that hires former FBI and CIA

agents, to conduct " selective intelligence gathering ... about the plans,

motivations and allies of opposition activists... Focus on the PP 'movement

leadership' in the U.S., and in particular, California. "

The memo says Nichols-Dezenhall would also " create an independent PP

watchdog group to act as an information clearinghouse and criticize the PP

in public and media forums... The group could be structured as a tax-exempt

organization. "

EWG obtained the document from a confidential source outside the chemical

industry who received it from ACC, which was recruiting other industries as

allies in the campaign. Microsoft Word data embedded in the document

confirms that it was written in July by Tim W. Shestek, an ACC lobbyist in

Sacramento.

In a Nov. 19 letter to ACC's President Greg Lebedev and Vice President for

State Governmental Affairs Bernstein, EWG asked if the association had

hired the firm to execute the plan. Among Nichols -Dezenhall's reported

tactics are digging through the trash of its' clients opponents. (The letter

is available at www.ewg.org/briefings/acc/index.php)

Creating phony front groups is " patently deceptive in its effort to use

third parties to carry the message because, understandably, the ACC lacks

credibility and trust in any discussion of the safety of its members'

products, " said the letter from Bill , EWG's vice president for the

West Coast. " However, the third tactic, " selective intelligence gathering, "

pushes the ethical envelope toward dirty tricks, given Nichols-Dezenhall's

reputation for such techniques. "

" As someone whose trash might be searched, " said today, " I'd at least

like to know the lengths ACC is planning on going to in order to stop

common-sense public protections in the State of California. ACC has spent

millions on advertising and corporate PR to position itself as a solid

corporate citizen, with nothing to hide from the public. "

Environmental Working Group.

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