PLANET IN PERIL

The Guardian - Feb 4 - 2011 Scientists fear billions of tree deaths caused by 2010 drought could see vast forest turn from carbon sink to carbon source Hard-hit by a months-long drought, a waterway within the  Amazon  Basin trickles to a halt in Brazil Photo by National Geographic

Wiarton Willie Stephen Harper's new Chief of Climate Science

Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that it will once again allow unlimited, nation-wide commercial planting of Monsanto’s genetically-engineered (GE) Roundup Ready alfalfa.   This is a profoundly disappointing and disturbing decision. It was hoped by many in the organic farming community that the Obama USDA would recognize the major threat that GMO alfalfa represents to the survival of the thriving organic dairy industry.  But instead the agency decided to appease Monsanto and a handful of other companies that will profit from the additional sales of herbicide that are used on these gene altered plants. The good news is that we’ve stopped GMO alfalfa and beaten Monsanto and the USDA before. And we need your help to do it again. In 2007 we won a reversal of the approval of GE alfalfa.  The court ordered a halt to all sales and planting until the agency could ensure that the environmental and economic impacts could be adequately addresse

The Telegraph - Feb 3'11 Global food prices have hit a new record high, amid fears that the  escalating cost of bread and meat is adding to the turmoil in the Middle East.

Zachary Shahan - PlanetSave - Feb 3'11 The recent cyclone that nailed Australia, Cyclone Yasi (one of the worst in the country’s history) cannot be conclusively tied to climate change. However, it cannot not be tied to it either. ctv.ca