Democracy & Civics

El Salvador Amnesty Again Under Scrutiny

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A Spanish judge said he would prosecute 14 military officers from El Salvador for the 1989 massacre of eight Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her daughter. The case challenges El Salvador’s amnesty law, reports the Chicago Tribune, and also is a new test for the “universal jurisdiction” principal, which Spain used in 1998 in its attempt to extradite former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet for crimes against humanity. The soldiers involved in the killing were imprisoned for a few years, but have been free since the amnesty law was passed in 1993 after El Salvador’s 12-year civil war ended. Although human-rights campaigners are pushing for a change in the law, so far there is no drive inside the country to do so. Even the leftist front-runner in El Salvador’s upcoming presidential elections broke with his party’s position, saying that he would leave the amnesty law in place if he were to win the poll.

Environment

A Soft 'n' Gentle Forest Killer?

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The environmental costs of “luxury” toilet paper may exceed that of driving an SUV or eating fast food, reports the Guardian. Toilet paper made from virgin forests accounts for 98 percent of the U.S. domestic market, with tissue made from recycled paper, which doesn’t “fluff up” as easily, trailing behind. The United States is the world’s biggest consumer of paper, yet less than a third of all paper products used nationwide are recycled. One scientist told the Guardian, “People just don’t understand that softness equals ecological destruction.” In addition to causing deforestation, making toilet paper is water intensive and produces chemical pollution.

Featured

Diamonds in the Rough?

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Botswana’s diamond industry has been not only profitable, but beneficial to its people, bringing in funding for public health and more. But the global economic crash is cutting into diamond sales, raising questions for Botswana’s future. Photo: Botswana diamond mine/Esthr

Featured

Its Own Worst Enemy?

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Wolves may be in the cross hairs as the Alaska Board of Game debates predator control measures statewide — but a new report finds that they should also fear their fellows; a high percentage of fatal attacks on wolves in Denali National Park are by wolves from rival packs.Photo: Alaska wolf/Sean Clawson