PLANET IN PERIL

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Migrant Workers in Manitoba. Details here.

Washington (CNN) -- The Supreme Court ruled for agribusiness giant Monsanto on Monday in a patent case that could have an enormous impact on a variety of biotech fields. The justices unanimously found the world's largest seed producer has intellectual property control over its best-selling "Roundup Ready" soybeans. That means the product cannot be reproduced without paying the company a fee. Details here.

Los Angeles Times Richardson's Ground Squirrel. PLT photo. WASHINGTON -- Climate change could lead to the widespread loss of common plants and animals around the world, according to a new study released Sunday in the journal Nature Climate Change. Details here.

Mother Jones Over the last couple weeks, scientists and environmentalists have been keeping a particularly close eye on the Hawaii-based monitoring station that tracks how much carbon dioxide is in the atmosphere, as the count tiptoed closer to a record-smashing 400 parts per million. Yesterday, we finally got there : The daily mean concentration was higher than at any time in human history, NOAA reported today.  Details here.   Poster designed by PLT. PLT: Authorities did a "double-check" of the number and announced it was a fraction of a ppm below 400. But I think we all get the idea!

United Nations News Centre Yellow-headed blackbird. PinP photo. As an estimated 50 billion birds commence their annual migrations, the critical staging areas they need to complete these journeys continue to be degraded or are disappearing completely, the United Nations today warned on this year's World Migratory Bird Day.  Details here. Brush-clearing on a Manitoba farm. PinP photos.

Winnipeg Free Press The International Institute for Sustainable Development (a Winnipeg-based think tank) will step in to operate experimental lakes. Full story here. Related: Experimental Lakes Closure a Financial Blunder - Greens.