PLANET IN PERIL

Future of water is in agriculture FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf has called for more attention to be paid to water management in agriculture and for increased support and guidance for farmers in developing countries to tackle water scarcity and the related problem of hunger. Meanwhile, the FAO has urged policy-makers to include agriculture in negotiations for a new climate change treaty to replace the 1997 Kyoto protocol. Photo courtesty of www.treehugger.com

The Trouble With Sea Cucumbers - Sea cucumber stocks are under intense fishing pressure throughout the world, according to a new report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. In a majority of countries reviewed and in the African and Indian Ocean regions, stocks are overfished. In the Asian Pacific region the most sought-after species are largely depleted. [more... (Photos courtesy of FAO) Large-scale sea cucumber harvesting operation in Canada. (left).

New Bill threatens Canada’s grain safety and quality: study March 31, 2009 OTTAWA—A controversial bill to change Canada’s grain regulatory system threatens Canada’s grain safety and quality, says a study released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). "Threatened Harvest: Protecting Canada’s World-Class Grain System" is available from the CCPA website. (Regina Leader-Post photo)

Dam Building Is Booming, But Is it the Right Path to Clean Energy? By David Biello, Yale Environment 360. Posted February 24, 2009. Dam proponents are touting hydropower as renewable energy in an era of global warming. But the human and environmental costs are high. (China's 3-Gorges, the largest hydro dam in the world. Wikipedia photo) (Story Courtesy of Alternet.) (Read more by clicking headline.)

Courtesy of CommonDreams.org CHICAGO - When it comes to global warming, hamburgers are the Hummers of ... (Photo by AFP)

(See update in newer post.) A long-time resident of the Roblin area of western Manitoba, Ray Spencer, has asked the Manitoba Department of Water Stewardship to look into an intensive livestock operation north of the town, near Boggy Creek. The cattle in question with Langen Lk. in b.g. He says too many cattle (perhaps hundreds) are being fed in a field which slopes directly into Langen Lake, used for years by anglers in the area. Many are members of the local San Clara/Boggy Creek Metis community. The Lake itself was named for Pat Langen, who used to live nearby. Spencer, an angler, hunting guide, retired farmer and former livestock specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, has talked to some of the people who fish there. And they are worried the waste from the cattle is polluting the lake. (r.) He says some even fear the lake, noted for its walleye, may even die in a few years as a result. Another Beasley herd in the area, but away from the lake. Hundreds of Black Angus cattle are w