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"With an issue as sensitive as children’s health, it must be ensured that political pressures do not override scientific information and the need for sound methodology"
SW: corrected 2 broken links and the homepage link
The use of the phrase 'stakeholders in ...NGOs' manages to imply the engagement of NGOs, whilst in fact it is only a couple of individuals from NGOs. A similar phraseology is also used on press releases and other materials, to imply (incorrectly) that environmental NGOs were involved in setting up GreenFacts, for example:
"GreenFacts was formed in December 2001 by stakeholders from the academe, industrial groups and environmental NGOs concerned about the difficulties of communicating scientific information on environment and health issues." in [http://wwwabout.greenfactsfoundationgreenfacts.org/newspressroom/press-releases/1912092003/031219-pr-scale-en.htm this press release].
In reality, Greenfacts appears to have a rather dismissive view of environmental NGO activities. Under part 12 of the climate change page, it states that "some of their publications tend to minimise some uncertainties or overstate the human influence on climate change or the likelihood of some adverse consequences". [http://www.greenfacts.org/studies/climate_change/level_1.htm#90]
However, Green Facts has moved beyond summarising documents, and is now actively engaging in the policy debate. Its main target has been the European Union's [http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/health/index_en.htm Environment and Health process]. The chemical industry in Europe is also heavily engaged in lobbying around this process.
Following a meeting on this process in December 2003, GreenFacts put out a [http://wwwabout.greenfactsfoundationgreenfacts.org/newspressroom/press-releases/1912092003/031219-pr-scale-en.htm press release] entitled "GreenFacts reactions to the first EU SCALE consultative forum: GreenFacts welcomes the initiative and stresses the need for sound scientific approach", which quotes the GreenFacts general manager Jacques de Selliers: "With an issue as sensitive as children’s health, it must be ensured that political pressures do not override scientific information and the need for sound methodology".
It is unclear how policy statements such as this can be reconciled with the claimed aim of GreenFacts to be a 'non advocacy organisation', and indeed the comments in this press release are echoed by a [http://www.cefic.be/Files/NewsReleases/Cefic_Press_Release_SCALE.pdf press release] issued at the same time by CEFIC, the European Chemical Industry Council.
* "developing nuclear energy, which so far is, by many aspects, probably the safest, cleanest and most sustainable energy source, with a lot of potential for development."
* A [http://www.toxfacts.org/ link] - that currently does not work - to "ToxFacts.org, a website under construction which will soon publish the ATSDR studies."
* [http://www.sickoflawsuits.org/ www.sickoflawsuits.org], which claims to be a grassroots campaign against lawsuit abuse in the US. The US NGO Public Citizen has [http://www.citizen.org/congress/civjus/tort/articles.cfm?ID=800 gathered information] showing the role of the tobacco industry in supporting this organisation.
Fax : +32 (0)2 218 89 73 <br>
Email: 2007 AT greenfacts.org <br>
Website: http://aboutwww.greenfacts.org/organization/index.htm
==Resources==
