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Breaking News: New Ontario Law on Toxic Chemical Reduction

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This just in from Environmental Defence - The province of Ontario has introduced new legislation designed to persuade companies to reduce their use of toxic chemicals. It will be the first jurisdiction in the country to produce such a strategy. Read more....

Should Pesticide "Regulators" & Politicians Face Penalties for Refusing to Protect Honeybees?

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By Larry Powell. Over the past several months, I have politely asked the federal Minister of Health, the Hon.Leona Aglukkaq , (r.) who is responsible for the Pest Management Regulatory Agency, at least three times to comment on the issues outlined in my article, below. She has not responded. ================== As many of you will know, populations of honeybees have, in recent years, been tragically and "mysteriously" disappearing around the world. I say "mysteriously" with some sarcasm, because pesticides are already known to be one of the factors. Yet, instead of removing these known toxins from the market, they continue to be allowed, while ever-more harmful ones are being approved! Not only do the bees produce our honey, they are our most important pollinators, responsible for the production of up to one-third of the human food supply! Despite numerous and now frantic studies into the phenomenon, which has been dubbed "Colony Collapse Disorder," n

Farmers Need Help to Grow More Food With Less Water - FAO

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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

Canada Plunders Our Oceans With the "Best" of Them!

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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).

Is the Harper Deregulation Agenda Running Amok?

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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)

A Question for Premier Doer and Manitoba Hydro

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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.)