PACIFIC BRIEFS
Gas shortage in Solomons
HONIARA, Solomon Islands – People continue to line up at service stations in Honiara, as the two major fuel suppliers in the capital face a dwindling supply of gasoline.
Shell and Mobil announced that supplies will return to normal when the next fuel tanker arrives next week.
Diesel and kerosene remain easily available.
Last nerve gas being destroyed at Johnston Atoll
HONOLULU, Hawaii – The U.S. Army is now incinerating 13,000 VX-nerve gas land mines, the last group of chemical weapons on Johnston Atoll.
Their destruction is scheduled to be completed by the end of November, said Gary McLoesky, the director of the facility.
It will then take two more years to dismantle the existing incinerators and buildings and thoroughly decontaminate the island, he said, before Johnston reverts to fulltime wildlife preserve status.
Effort to save Suwarrow Atoll
RAROTONGA, Cook Islands – Environmentalists have launched a campaign to save Suwarrow, one of the South Pacific’s last pristine atolls, following release of an Australian company’s plans to develop it.
Suwarrow is and important breeding ground for birds, green turtles and coconut crabs.
A “Save Our Suwarrow Campaign” recommends making Suwarrow a national park.
The government has confirmed that it received a formal application to permit black pearl farming and tuna fishing projects on the atoll. (Pacific Islands Report)
