Wed, 03 Feb 2010 18:23:42 +0000

NEW YORK, Feb. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Combining Dow Jones' business expertise and Ethisphere Institute's ethics expertise, the Global Ethics Summit will give corporate counsel and compliance officers the strategies, tools and insights they need to navigate an increasingly complex global corporate legal landscape. The Global Ethics Summit is scheduled for February 23-24 in New York.

Government officials, corporate executives, outside counsel and consultants will provide advice on what companies must do in today's business and legal environment to comply with legal requirements and cultivate a culture of ethics, and how both can create wealth and value for company stakeholders. Featured keynote speakers are:

• Brackett Denniston, senior vice president & general counsel, General Electric and Andy Hinton, chief compliance officer & associate general counsel, Google were both driving forces behind their companies being named to Ethisphere's "World's Most Ethical Companies" list for the last three years. During a joint keynote interview, Mr. Denniston and Mr. Hinton will candidly discuss how their companies are managing risk and avoiding trouble in today's global marketplace and how other corporations can adapt to an ever-changing legal landscape.
• Charles L. Harrington, chairman & CEO, Parsons. Mr. Harrington will discuss how his company cultivated an atmosphere where the question of deviating from the company's Core Values (safety, quality, integrity, diversity, innovation and sustainability), whether for perceived individual or corporate gain, is not an issue.
• Mitch Jackson, director, environmental affairs & sustainability, FedEx. Mr. Jackson provides strategic direction and management of environmental, energy management and sustainability issues at FedEx and will discuss how these efforts tie into the company's broader effort at ethics, compliance and corporate responsibility.
• Georg Kell, executive director, United Nations Global Compact. Mr. Kell will discuss the UN's current and forthcoming initiatives aimed at improving global human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption. He will also share how companies can scale up their efforts to exceed global expectations and how those efforts can impact the bottom line.
• Douglas M. Lankler, senior vice president & chief compliance officer, Pfizer. Mr. Lankler will share how he helped the world's largest pharmaceutical company recover from legal scrutiny and penalties by committing to a robust compliance program.
• Mark Mendelsohn, deputy chief, fraud sect! ion, cri minal division, U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Mr. Mendelsohn will detail how corporations can design, institute and maintain a compliance program that will keep the DOJ off their doorstep.
• C. Turney Stevens, dean, College of Business, Lipscomb University. Mr. Stevens led the creation of Lipscomb's Dean Institute for Corporate Governance and Integrity to serve as a forum where corporate leaders can learn to integrate and implement best practices in governance and has put in place a number of ethics-focused initiatives at the University.

The two-day conference will address today's evolving legal and business landscapes with keynote speakers and panel discussions providing insight on topics including:

• What 2010 will mean for the evolution and enforcement of compliance regulations.
• How to do compliance right, even during tough economic times.
• Determining the appropriate level and practice of transparency.
• Best practices for training a diverse workforce.
• Trends and tips for dealing with regulators and enforcement officials.
• Avoiding risks when selecting suppliers, partners, distributors, resellers and other third party agents.
• Opportunities, challenges and obligations of emerging markets.

Gold sponsors of the Global Ethics Summit are Baker & McKenzie, Daylight Forensic & Advisory, Dechert LLP, DLA Piper, Hogan & Hartson and The Corporate Executive Board. Silver sponsor is Kroll.

To register, learn more and get information about Continuing Legal Education credits, visit http://bit.ly/GES2010, call 866-291-1800, or email events.support@dowjones.com. Full-time journalists and members of the traditional media can request a press pass by contacting Kim Gagliardi at (603) 864-8873 or kimberly.gagliardi@dowjones.com.

ABOUT DOW JONES

Dow Jones & Company (www.dowjones.com) is a News Corporation company (Nasdaq: NWS) (Nasdaq: NWSA) (ASX: NWS) (ASX: NWSLV) and a leading provider of global news and business information. Its principal products include The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones Newswires, Dow Jones Factiva, Barron's, MarketWatch and Dow Jones Indexes. Its Local Media Group operates community-based newspapers and Web sites. Dow Jones also provides news content to television and radio stations.

ABOUT ETHISPHERE INSTITUTE

The research-based Ethisphere Institute is a leading international think-tank dedicated to the creation, advancement and sharing of best practices in business ethics, corporate social responsibility, anti-corruption and sustainability. The Institute's associated membership group, the Ethisphere Council, is a forum for business ethics that includes over 200 leading corporations, universities and institutions. The Ethisphere Council is dedicated to the development and advancement of individuals on its membership council through increased efficiency, innovation, tools, mentoring, advice, and unique career opportunities. Ethisphere Magazine, which publishes the globally recognized World's Most Ethical Companies Ranking, is the quarterly publication of the Institute. More information on the Ethisphere Institute, including ranking projects and membership, can be found at http://www.ethisphere.org.

SOURCE Dow Jones & Company

By Gene J. Koprowski

A United Nations report on climate change that has been lambasted for its faulty research is under new attack for yet another instance of what its critics say is sloppy science—adding to a growing scandal that has undermined the credibility of scientists and policymakers who back the U.N.‘s findings about global warming.

In the Fourth Assessment Report (AR4), issued in 2007 by the U.N.‘s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), scientists wrote that 40 percent of the Amazon rainforest in South America was endangered by global warming.

But that assertion was discredited this week when it emerged that the findings were based on numbers from a study by the World Wildlife Federation that had nothing to do with the issue of global warming—and that was written by a freelance journalist and green activist.

The IPCC report states that “up to 40 percent of the Amazonian forests could react drastically to even a slight reduction in precipitation”—highlighting the threat climate change poses to the Earth. The report goes on to say that “it is more probable that forests will be replaced by ecosystems ... such as tropical savannas.”

But it has now been revealed that the claim was based on a WWF study titled “Global Review of Forest Fires,” a paper barely related to the Amazon rainforest that was written “to secure essential policy reform at national and international level to provide a legislative and economic base for controlling harmful anthropogenic forest fires.”

[...]

The rapidly accumulating scandals surrounding climate change research appear to be driving the public away from its support for government measures to intervene. On Wednesday, Yale University and George Mason University released a survey showing that just 57 percent of respondents believe global warming “is happening.” That was down 14 percentage points, from 71 percent, in October 2008. Fifty percent of people said they were “very” or “somewhat” worried about global warming, down 13 points from two years ago.

Another poll released Monday by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press asked respondents to rank 21 issues in terms of their priority. Global warming came in last. 

Data faking scandal, phony glacier shrinking report, and now a false claim about rain forest endangerment.
What will it take to cut all our spending on this AGW hoax?