PLANET IN PERIL

  Dear Larry, Tell the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Protect the rusty-patched bumblebee! It’s been a long and disappointing week. Donald Trump was elected to be our next President. Our planet is in real trouble. But even as we face the prospect of a Trump White House, there are still many ways you can help protect the planet. Right now, one of our crucial wild bees -- the rusty-patched bumblebee -- is on the brink of extinction. And you can help save it!

Larry, In a matter of weeks, the Canadian government will approve or deny the Kinder Morgan tar sands pipeline. This decision could put the B.C. coast and our fragile climate at risk.  We’ve heard that the decision is coming soon and that the government is leaning toward approving the pipeline. There’s not a moment to lose. We can’t let this happen. It’s time to scale up our resistance.  Sign the petition to send Trudeau a message: climate leaders don’t build pipelines! Just last week, the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement came into force. The Trudeau government wants us to believe that we can meet our new climate targets  and  build new tar sands pipelines. But you and I know that’s not true. More than eighty-five tribes and First Nations are standing up to tar sands expansion, and we are standing with them.  Time is running out. The decision on Kinder Morgan is due in a few weeks. But together we can turn the tide and stop this devastating project.  Add your name to th

Dear Larry, This is a story of an arrogant government agency more dedicated to helping pesticide manufacturers to profit than doing its job to protect human health and the environment. It’s a story that  will make you angry . It proves beyond a doubt that pesticide management in Canada must be fixed. Here’s our story. It starts three years ago. Back in 2013, Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) was faced with the evidence of catastrophic bee kills by neonicotinoids used to coat corn and soy seeds.  Honey beekeepers were finding millions of dead and dying bees during spring planting. No one knows how many millions of wild bees were also killed on contact since no one was counting wild bees. The European Union had just decided to ban the use of three neonicotinoids until more research has done on their impact on bees - thiamethoxam, clothianidin and imidacloprid. Faced with millions of dead bees and the important precautionary ste

Washington Post After Tuesday’s U.S. election upset, climate change watchers and wonks are scrambling to assess what it would really mean if Donald Trump, true to his word, ditches or simply fails to participate in the Paris climate change agreement (which he could do through a  variety of mechanisms ). And it does indeed appear that the consequences for international diplomacy, and for the planet, would be considerable. Story here.

Scientific American Is there anything positive to say on the climate front after the US election result? Well, the rest of the world may finally get serious about preparing for a world more than 3 o C warmer, because make no mistake that is where we are heading. Story here.

theguardian Many fear Donald Trump will reverse the ambitious course set by Barack Obama, withdraw the US from the accord and increase fossil-fuel spending.  Story here.