> The New York Times
> October 6, 2006
> A Mix of Oil and Environmentalism
> By ANDREW E. KRAMER
>
> "We signed a deal with the company to drill for oil and gas," Mr.
> Mitvol said. "Cutting trees in a nature preserve is something else,
> excuse me."
>
> Mr. Mitvol, interviewed in a muddy field beside a pipeline, said Shell
> could face as much as $50 billion in fines and fees if it wanted to
> remain in Russia. He later said the figure was a rough estimate. He
> also threatened to "open a criminal case for every tree they cut down."
Delightful. Putin, incidentally, rerouted a major pipeline away from Lake Baikal, one of the freshwater wonders of the Earth. This is straight out of the Central European playbook -- environmentalism is a key productive force of the Eurostate.
-- DRR