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New Studies Show Farm Chemicals Are Affecting More Than Bees. Bird Populations are Declining, Too.

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Is modern agriculture’s hold on nature becoming a death grip?  By Larry Powell Another insectivorous species in decline,  the  purple  martin. Are they becoming "neonic" victims, too? PinP  photo. This summer, the tragedy of dying pollinators took on a new dimension. A team of Dutch researchers found that, in addition to bees, “significant declines in populations of insect-eating birds are also associated with high concentrations of neonicotinoids.” “Neonics,” as they are commonly called, have become the most widely used group of insecticides in the world – and, the most infamous. As well as killing the crop pests they are supposed to, they’ve been implicated in the deaths of billions of honeybees from near and far, for well over a decade. The European Union even clamped a two-year moratorium on their use, last year. Various formulations of the chemical are made by multinational corporations like Bayer CropScience, Syngenta and Monsanto. They’re used as seed dress

Fracking Chemicals Not on Canada’s Pollutant List

Metro OTTAWA – Environmentalists and legal experts are criticizing the federal government’s decision to leave toxic fracking chemicals off a list of pollutants going into Canada’s air, land and water. Full story here.

Disasters Poised to Sweep Away Development Gains

IPS Inter Press Service UXBRIDGE, Canada  - Extreme poverty and hunger can be eliminated, but only through far greater efforts to reduce carbon emissions that are overheating the planet and producing punishing droughts, catastrophic floods and ever wilder weather, said climate activists involved in talks to set the Sustainable Development Goals . Details here.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA US): Climate Change is Getting Worse

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The Hill Changes in the earth's climate are increasing at a steady rate, NOAA warned Thursday in a new report.  Read more here. Summer - 2014. This record flood in Brandon, MB shows a single street re-inforced by a dam, holding back water from a major shopping centre consisting of billions of dollars worth of big-box stores and merchandise in Manitoba's 2nd-biggest city. ( PLT photo.) Related: " Global Surface Temperatures Poised To Rise Rapidl y"

Australia Becomes First Developed Nation to Repeal Carbon Tax

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Wall Street Journal Prime Minister Tony Abbott pledged to get rid of the tax last year. Full story here. Climate thug Abbott (r.). Credit; Associated Press.

New Provincial Park For Polar Bears in Manitoba?

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While talk of jobs and economy have reverberated through the media coverage of our Premiere’s recent throne speech, the province’s significant protected areas announcement has yet to draw the attention it deserves. With the recent discovery of hugely significant polar bear denning areas near Manitoba’s Hudson Bay coast, the province announced a plan to begin consultation on the creation of a provincial park to protect these iconic animals.