Occupy Movement Stands With Farmers, Says Enough! to Monsanto

January 31, 2012 by Common Dreams 

Movement is calling for protests to support 60 family farmers, small seed businesses, organizations challenging Monsanto's patents on genetically modified seed. Details here.

Damning Evidence Points to Pesticide as Cause of Massive Bee Dieoffs

If you like my blog, please consider a donation. Thanks! Larry

January 30, 2012 by Common DreamsHoney bee hive. PLT photo

Bayer-produced imidacloprid harmful to bees even at very low levels. Details here.
PLT: Here we go again. The overwhelming preponderance of scientific evidence matters not in this world. It is the economic power wielded by Multinationals such as Bayer. That's all.  Sad, isn't it?
Please also read a couple of my own, earlier stories on this issue: 

• "Are Pesticide Regulators on the Take?" 
• "Lament for the Honey Bee 

Morbid, but Funny

Big Oil Gets "Fact-Checked!" (Video)

Rick Mercer Mocks Government Attacks on Pipeline Opponents. (Video)

"EthicalOil.org" Exposed

Dear Editor,

I see the powerful tentacles of Big Oil are tightening around us again.

The "grassroots" group known as EthicalOil.org is reaching out through a compliant media, to spread its fear campaign that "foreign hordes," not Canadians, are going to decide whether the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline will be approved.

Grassroots, my ass! 

The talented, dedicated group of researchers who publishes *DESMOGBLOG.COM has exposed "EthicalOil.org" for what it is; "A small industry front group with secretive funding sources." As DESMOG explains, EthicalOil's message is being amplified through an "echo chamber" of powerful allies, including Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Sun Media ("Fox News North") to which Harper has close connections. (Not to mention Harper minions like Joe Oliver, whose earlier, infamous letter accused pipeline opponents of being a bunch of "radicals.")

The EthicalOil message? Foreign, deep-pocketed environmental "activists" wanting "veto power" are taking over the public hearings now underway on the project.

If approved, Northern Gateway will carry dirty, corrosive tar from the Alberta "oil sands" to the west coast of BC, then, via tankers, to China.

Conveniently missing from EthicalOil's message are the "hordes" of ordinary Canadians like myself, not to mention the First Nations people living along the proposed, environmentally-sensitive route, who have valid, legitimate concerns about this mega-project.

I guess the People's Republic of China, British Petroleum or Exxon just don't qualify as the kind of "foreign hordes" included in EthicalOil's lexicon! (All of these have monumental amounts of cash invested in either the tar sands, the proposed pipeline, or both.)

The pipeline will have to cross a thousand rivers and streams, at least three prime salmon river-systems, the Great Bear rainforest and the Continental Divide by the time it is completed.

(Enbridge, wanna-be builders of the line, had more than 600 leaks over a ten-year period, in pipelines they already operate! That's over a leak-a-week.)

Once the tar gets to the sea, it will have to be loaded onto huge oil  tankers.The long-standing moratorium on such ocean traffic off Beautiful British Columbia will need to be lifted. But oil installations never blow up, sink or leak, do they? (Just blot out from your mind the big, Italian cruise ship - while not an oil tanker - still has half a million gallons of oil on board, the Exxon Valdez, countless others and, of course, the Daddy of them all, the BP spill in the Gulf and you'll be OK.)

Put that in your next mass-mailing to all the news media you just know won't be asking any questions about your background!

Funny, isn't it. Your pompous bragging about the tar sands being "ethical" obviously assumes the following:

    •    Bulldozing of vast, pristine boreal forest is also "ethical."
    •    Widespread destruction of habitat for woodland caribou, migratory birds and other wildlife is "ethical."
    •    Damaging the "lungs" of our planet, hindering her very ability to "breathe," is "ethical."
    •    Poisoning of the waterways and killing fish is "ethical."
    •    Making those who live downstream sick, is "ethical."
    •    Using our life-giving atmosphere as a dumping-ground for increasing volumes of polluting greenhouse gases which cause catastrophic climate change, creating an uncertain future for our children is "ethical." (After all, the ravages of climate change/global warming stop obediently at international boundaries, don't they?)
    •    When the shoe is on the other foot, lobbying by Harper operatives (such as his Ambassador to the US, Gary Doer, former "environmentalist-turned tar sands promoter"), to get the US to weaken its resolve to protect its own air, water and soil and approve a pipeline through that country, is "ethical!"

Once again, the mass media needs to be reminded, it is we opponents of these mega pipelines, which would carry tar to the far reaches of our planet, who have science on our side, not the EthicalOils of this world.

They are obviously four-square behind a continuance of our nearly-total addiction to fossil fuels and unprepared to even consider a greater role for renewable, sustainable energy sources in our future. Nope, let's not talk about that. Let's not even look at conservation. Let's just continue with our orgy of gas-guzzling and diesel-burning as if there's no tomorrow.

In short, the EthicalOils of this world want it all.

One should also note that EthicalOil describes itself, not as an "activist" group, heaven forbid. Rather, they are a "grassroots, advocacy" organization.

Yeah, right!



And, make no mistake, EthicalOil, I say keep the damn tar in the ground. And I'm no rich, foreign radical. I'm an ordinary Canadian. I'm a senior on fixed income, I get no "hidden funding" from shadowy sources. At least I am who I say I am. You, on the other hand, are not.

*The stated mission of these DESMOG folks is to "Clear the PR pollution that clouds climate science." In this era of climate cranks, vested interests and lying propagandists, they have their work cut out for them. As far as I'm concerned, they deserve a medal!

Larry Powell
Roblin, MB  
If you like my blog, please consider a donation. Thanks! Larry

Global Warming the Cause of Heat Waves in US & Russia - Hansen

Planetsave-Jan 25'12

 

Sunset on the Canadian Prairie - PLT photo

"We conclude that extreme heat waves, such as that in Texas and Oklahoma in 2011 and Moscow in 2010, were 'caused' by global warming,"....Details here.

It Takes a Village to Raise a Vegetable

January, 2012 by Steven Wendland - The Dominion

Food consciousness coalesces at ACORN conference. Details here.

PLT photo

If you enjoy my blog, please consider a donation. Thanks! Larry

Many Support Occupy Movement, Global Poll Finds

Melissa Martin Wpg. Free Press 01/21/2012

"Occupy Winnipeg" in Oct. PLT photo

 Results from a new global poll suggest if the Occupy Winnipeg camp is indeed reborn in the spring, many Manitobans might be sharing some goodwill. Details here.
Please also watch my video here.  Larry.

Prison Farm Activists say Government's Actions Forced Them to Organize Protests

The Canadian Press (via the Wpg. Free Press) - 01/17/2012

KINGSTON, Ont. - The federal government refused to let democracy run its course when it decided to close Canada's prison farms before a House of Commons vote, eight activists argued in court Tuesday. Read more here.

Sierra Club Canada Welcomes Obama Administration Decision on the Keystone XL Pipeline.

MEDIA RELEASE, January 18, 2012 "We welcome the decision by the Obama Administration to say no to the Keystone XL pipeline," said John Bennett, Executive Director of Sierra Club Canada. “Obama listened to Americans and shared their concerns about the environmental and social impacts. He made the right decision.” "The Keystone XL pipeline is a bad idea based on bad economics. Today is a victory for the environment and future generations,” said Mr. Bennett. "We only wish the Canadian government would act as thoughtfully when it comes to other proposed mega-Tar Sands projects like the Northern Gateway Pipeline.” John Bennett, Executive Director Sierra Club Canada jb@sierraclub.ca 613-291-6888 Follow John Bennett on Twitter

Boreal Forest Along Manitoba, Ontario Boundaries Proposed as World Heritage Site

The Winnipeg Free Press - 01/18/2012
WINNIPEG - A United Nations organization will soon have before it a bid to designate a huge tract of boreal forest along the Manitoba-Ontario boundaries as a world heritage site. Read more here.

Goodbye, Fish: Rising CO2 Direct Threat to Sea Life

Common Dreams Jan 16-'12
Study: Rising CO2 affecting brains, central nervous systems of sea fish. Details here.

Honeybee Problem Nearing a ‘Critical Point'

Grist - Jan 13-2012 Claire Robinson

"We are inching our way toward a critical tipping point," said Steve Ellis, secretary of the National Honey Bee Advisory Board…Details here.

Honeybees photo by PLT

Please also read: "Scientists Link Mass Death of British Bees to Farm Pesticides

The Rise and Fall of our Manitoba Water Stewardship Ministers.

Dear Editor,

I think the Government of Manitoba has some explaining to do. 

With Lake Winnipeg's water quality getting progressively worse through the years, why has Premier Selinger done away with the Ministry of Water Stewardship?

Former Premier Gary Doer created the Department almost a decade ago. Since then, the government has bragged about it being "the first in Canada," suggesting it was needed to deal with mounting problems such as floods, agricultural and industrial impacts, eutrophication, excessive algae bloom, climate change and a growing population. 

Then, with the stroke of a pen last week, the Premier has reduced Water Stewardship to a branch of the Department of Conservation. Why?

It seems to me that the stewardship of Manitoba waters was the beginning of a life line for the survival of Lake Winnipeg. Now it has been taken away.

At no time in Manitoba's history has there been such a need for a Department of Water Stewardship as there is now. 

I believe there is a requirement for leadership to truly save Lake Winnipeg and our precious waters, rather than just the advertisements. The people of Manitoba have a right to stand up and fight for what is right, and what is honourable and decent,as do all the people in Canada.

The abuse and pollution of our water sources has been tolerated and accepted for far too long, and government actions have not been successful to indicate any beneficial recovery of Lake Winnipeg waters.

It is long past time for all politicians to dedicate themselves,and work together in an all out effort to do whatever is necessary to clean up Lake Winnipeg and save our Manitoba water sources. It is time to put their political identities aside and help bring back the health,the beauty and colour of Lake Winnipeg.

So, come clean, Mr. Selinger. Why did you do it?

John Fefchak;

Virden, Manitoba.

Roundup-Resistant Weed Spreads to Canadian Prairies

Jan 11, 2012 Reuters Canada

WINNIPEG, Manitoba - A weed resistant to a widely used chemical to protect crops has spread for the first time to Western Canada, the country's grain and canola belt. Read more here. 

Kochia, Kochia scoparia.  

Photo by Jack Kelly Clark.

Ex-Bloc MP Takes Harper Government to Court for Ditching Kyoto

The Canadian Press - 01/13/2012

MONTREAL - A group led by a former Bloc Quebecois MP is taking the Canadian government to court in the hope of overturning Ottawa's decision to withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol. Read more.

Sea Level Rise - an Emerging Hockey Stick (Video)

An open letter to Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver

Greenpeace - Jan 10-2012

Between 1999 and 2008 Enbridge pipelines spilled oil 610 times. Details here.
A bunch of "radicals" at a Regina 
demo about 2 yrs ago - PLT photo

So Stephen Thinks We're Radicals!

Hi Larry,

Holy smokes! Stephen Harper’s Conservatives entered 2012 with guns blazing, accusing “environmentalists and other radical groups” opposing the Northern Gateway pipeline of having a “radical ideological agenda” in an unprecedented open letter. That’s you and me they’re talking about, Larry.

Since day one of the No Tankers movement, our position has been that British Columbians should have a say in how their air, land and water is managed.  We don’t call that having a radical agenda, we call it democracy. Yet Harper and the oil industry seem increasingly threatened by reasonable citizens expressing reasonable concerns about our country and its resources. That’s why they’ve launched a coordinated American-style attack on opponents of Enbridge’s Northern Gateway pipeline.

What can we do about it? We’ve been striking back in the media, but we’ve got to think bigger. We’re never going to have as much money as them, but what we can do is beat them with our size and our diversity.  The movement to stop oil tankers on the coast is growing, but Harper’s scare tactics prove that big is not good enough … we need to be huge.

Here’s where you come in. Northern Gateway will continue to be all over the news this week. Can you help us capture the national zeitgeist by talking about this issue with 5 people you know? Getting new signatures on our No Tankers petition is the number one way that we can grow our movement. Once people sign, they become a part of our network . And when a massive group of diverse people starts working together in a coordinated way, that’s when Harper and the oil industry start to sweat.

So, who should you talk to? Your friends and family are a good place to start, but you can think broader, too. What about business owners in your community? Talk to them in person, talk to them on Facebook, dust off your old telegraph and break out the morse code … we don’t care! Just let people know that the single most effective thing they can do right now is to sign our petition and join our movement.

We’ll have lots more strategic actions for you to take in the coming months, but right now, let’s just concentrate on getting huge.

For the coast,

Eric, Celine, Emma, Erika & Karl

P.S. If you’re a real keener, download our new Find Allies Action Kit. We estimate it’s about 30 hours work, and it’s a comprehensive way to make a big difference.

https://www.gifttool.com/donations/Donate?ID=1745&AID=1818

Adam Beach is My Hero

If you like my blog, I hope you'll consider a donation. Thanks! Larry

by Larry Powell

I don't spend a lot of my life adulating celebrities. In this case, I'm making an exception.

Adam had a rough life, growing up as a native kid on a Manitoba reserve. Now, he's an established television star. 

But wait, there's more. 

He has a social conscience! 

He's already made his mark as a cop on "Law and Order." Fame-wise, how much further can you go!

Now, he's starring in a new CBC TV series called "Arctic Air." At first, I was leary. The promos hinted at a show all about exploitation of northern resources. So, I watched, with low expectations. 

But Adam's character, an executive of  an aviation company, actually shows a sensitivity for the people there who are being affected by the ravages of climate change. 

(I really liked it when he punched out a mouthy Calgary mining millionaire. The millionaire showed his ugly, racist side, calling Adam's character "Chief" for not selling out a friend on a mining claim the friend had staked.)

But Adam Beach isn't just living out a fantasy on TV.

In real life, he has come out in defense of native communities trying to resist the Northern Gateway pipeline. In this era of ruthless government, hell-bent on making the world safe for multinational corporations, we need "equalizers" like Adam. 


Adam is also a friend of Mark Ruffalo, another amazing actor who has rallied in support of the Occupy Protest Movement!

Go Adam, go! 

Larry

Greens Join Forces With Liberals and Environmental Groups Against NDP’s Plan For Mining In Provincial Parks

"The idea of a peat mine inside a provincial park is simply sickening,” says Beddome
(January 10, 2012)
WINNIPEG – Green Party Leader James Beddome, joined by Liberal Leader Jon Gerrard, Manitoba Wildlands Director Gaile Whelan Enns, and Wilderness Committee Campaign Director Eric Reder spoke out against the NDP allowance of peat mining in provincial parks today at the Manitoba Legislature.  The Hecla/Grindstone Provincial Park, adjacent to Lake Winnipeg, may be home to a 531-hectare peat mine if an Environment Act license is granted. 
“Regulations are urgently needed to allow continued, and environmentally sustainable, harvesting of peat for gardens and related purposes,” says Gerrard.  “While there is a place for peat harvesting in Manitoba, there is no place for mining in provincial parks.”
Beddome added that a provincial compost strategy is also needed, because compost can be used as a replacement for peat in gardens.
“Using compost and other alternatives, rather than peat whenever possible, would reduce the need for peat mining, thereby reducing the associated damage and emissions caused by peat mining, while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions from landfills,” said Beddome. 
The NDP have had 12 years to develop a peat land management strategy and regulations.  Instead, they have issued a temporary moratorium on peat mining in Manitoba.  Even with the moratorium, a loophole is allowing the NDP to permit new peat mines -- including in provincial parks.  Environmental groups see this as a tactic to get around the moratorium legislated in 2011 and for the NDP to collect revenue through new peat leases and mines, including in parks. 
“The NDP moratorium is in fact not a moratorium, as there are more than 200 pending and granted peat leases in Manitoba right now,” adds Gaile Whelan Enns, with Manitoba Wildlands.  “Rather, it is part of a twisted pattern of the NDP saying they have a moratorium and doing the opposite. This is no way to manage our province.” 
“Peat is a vital tool to preserve the health of our waterways and the temperature of our planet,” says James Beddome.  “Provincial parks are intended to preserve natural landscapes, not to serve as places of industrial development. The idea of a peat mine inside a provincial park is simply sickening.”
-30-
For more information, please contact:
Caitlin McIntyre,
Green Party of Manitoba Press Secretary
204-990-4064
Please also read: "Peat Mines Comment Period Extended."

Tar Sands Pipeline Critics Hit Back at 'Radical' Claims

Jan 10'12 CommonDreams.org

Canadian Minister blames environmental, other "radical" groups for blocking Enbridge pipeline. Details here.

Calling All Radicals - Now is the Time for Good Folks Like us to Show Joe Oliver & His Motley Crew What we are Capable Of! Sign the Letter!

Dear Larry , I don't know what it is about today but I'm feeling slightly,  well … radical. How about you? When I wrote before Christmas about an impending government  attack on Canada's environment movement, I wasn't expecting  a formal Declaration of War just 9 days into the New Year. It  came in the form of an "open letter" from Natural Resources  Minister Joe Oliver that’s receiving heavy media coverage all  across the country. The open letter is in response to public hearings into the  Gateway Pipeline that got underway earlier today in BC. The  Gateway project consists of two parallel pipelines between  an inland terminal at Bruderheim, Alberta, and a marine  terminal near Kitimat, British Columbia, each a length of  1,177 kilometers. The plan to build pipelines over mountains to ship Tar Sands  oil to China will put some of our most pristine forests, lakes  and salmon rivers at risk (not to mention the impact of climate  change when the dirty oil is processed and burned). If the scheme  goes ahead, the moratorium on oil tankers off the BC coast  will be lifted. The moratorium has been in place since the  1970s. Successive Liberal, NDP, Conservative and even  Social Credit governments have kept it in place because  the people in BC support it. So, here is a little of what Minister Oliver (read Federal  Cabinet) had to say in his open letter about people like  you and me: “Unfortunately, there are environmental and other radical groups that would seek to block this opportunity to diversify our trade. Their goal is to stop any major project no matter what the cost to Canadian families in lost jobs and economic growth.” “No forestry. No mining. No oil. No gas. No more hydro-electric dams.”“These groups threaten to hijack our regulatory           system to achieve their radical ideological agenda.” Radical ideological agenda? Highjack the system? Do you agree environmental groups and supporters who make  their work possible are "radical?" Are you pushing an ideological agenda when you express  concern over environmental impacts from mega-projects like  Gateway? Is it "radical" to participate in open public hearings  meant to gather input toward a thoroughly studied, transparent  and politically neutral decision? I say if this is the government's operating definition, then  absolutely—I AM A RADICAL. I know the Exxon Valdez story so I know the facts don't support  lifting the moratorium on oil tankers along the BC coastline. I  know there are real, legitimate concerns about moving Tar Sands  bitumen through 1177 kilometers of pristine wilderness and First  Nations territory. And I know investor impatience is no reason to  try to fast-track Mother Nature. So … let's get a little radical! We e think Joe Oliver, Environment  Minister Peter Kent, Prime Minister Harper and Opposition Party  Critics will all appreciate hearing from you! Send them a letter  explaining why you are a radical. Change it around to make it your own. CLICK HERE TO SEND YOUR LETTER

Stop Privatization of Canada's National Parks - Please Sign Petition!

A waterfall along the Icefields Parkway - Jasper Nat'l. Park. PLT photo

 In days, the Harper Government will privatize a section of Jasper National Park and let an American-owned company blast a 300m metal walkway into our World Heritage mountains -- but Jasper's Superintendent has the power to stop them.
Jasper Park's Superintendent Greg Fenton, a local Jasperite, has the ability to stop the privatisation of the park that he grew up in and loves. Fenton is currently bending to the Harper Government's demands, but by sending a strong message of public disapproval to Fenton – he can not only save the park that he loves from corporate ownership but can also ensure that our other treasured National Parks remain publicly-owned and run.
Private international companies should not be profiteering off our national treasures. Click here to ensure our parks stay in public hands -- sign the petition calling on Fenton to save Jasper National Park before it's too late!

PLT: Harper-creep!

Peat Mine Comments Deadline Extended

  The Government of Manitoba is actually considering a proposal to mine peat inside Hecla/Grindstone provincial park. If you are concerned about this, the deadline for expressing that concern to the government has been extended. Read more here. Peat Mine Comments Deadline Extended

What if a Supertanker Tanks?

Vancouver Sun January 8, 2012

Enbridge promises tough safeguards against a spill if its Northern Gateway pipeline is approved. Details here. 

A sheen on the water from the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989. 

Please also read: "A Quiet Shift in the Federal Criteria for Approval of the Gateway Pipeline."

U.S. Judge OKs Alfalfa Strain Made by Monsanto Co.

San Francisco Chronicle 1/7/12
A federal judge has upheld the government's decision to let the nation's alfalfa growers plant the genetically engineered, herbicide-resistant strain manufactured by Monsanto Co., Details here.

PLT. Canada hasn't proceeded with GM alfalfa - yet. But it will, whether farmers or the public want it or not.

Bird Deaths Explained! The United States Department of Agriculture is Killing Them!

January 6, 2012 By Zachary Shahan - Planetsave

The birds were killed by the USDA! Details here.




PLT: What about Canada? Are we doing it here too? Hmmm.

If You Liked Bovine Growth Hormone, You’ll Love "Beta Agonists"

Counterpunch Feb 2010 - MARTHA ROSENBERG 
While researchers and scientists investigate the cause of our diabetes, obesity, asthma and ADHD epidemics, they should ask why the FDA approved a livestock drug banned in 160 nations…details here.


Photo courtesy of Alternet.

Climate Change 'In Front Of Us'

Winnipeg Free Press - Jan 6 '12
A top climate scientists, David Barber of the University of Manitoba warns, if the (warming) trend continues, we may see the increasing pattern of warm days as more curse than blessing. Details here. 

The normally tranquil Big Boggy Crk. in western Manitoba, 

swollen by the record floodwaters of 2011. PLT photo.

Organic Farmers' Suit Against Monsanto Goes to Hearing

Manitoba Co-Operator - Jan 5'12

 A court hearing in New York City at the end of this month will determine if a "pre-emptive" lawsuit by a clutch of U.S. and Canadian organic producers against seed and ag chem firm Monsanto will go ahead. Details here.


An organic market in rural Manitoba.  (PLT photo)

Berens River is out of Gasoline. Emergency Evacuations Being Considered.

CBC Radio is reporting that the northern Manitoba community of Berens River is out of gasoline. The reason?  


Melting ice roads aren't new. This CBC photo shows a truck stuck last year.
Record warm weather is making it impossible to use the winter road to bring in supplies from the south. Emergency evacuations of people who may need medical help, are apparently being considered.  

PLT: This has to be the final irony. Failure of the winter ice roads, an emergency more than likely caused by global warming, in turn caused by the burning of fossil fuels by we humans, is now leaving communities like Berens River without - fossil fuels! And people are supposed to be the smartest species!

Canada’s Asbestos Industry on its Last Legs

Globe & Mail Jan 4-'12

The “miracle fibre” that helped drive Quebec's economy for more than a century now represents an industry near death, despite government efforts to keep it afloat. Details here.

Please also read: "Harper Disgraces Us All Once Again."

Citing Drug Resistance, U.S. Restricts More Antibiotics for Livestock

GARDINER HARRIS - New York Times - January 4'12

WASHINGTON — Federal drug regulators announced on Wednesday that farmers and ranchers must restrict their use of a critical class of antibiotics in cattle, pigs, chickens and turkeys because such practices may have contributed to the growing threat in people of bacterial infections that are resistant to treatment. Details here.
PLT photo
PLT: What about Canada?

Harper's office Won't Comment on Lockout at Plant he Used to Tout Business Tax Cuts

By: Bruce Cheadle, The Canadian Press - 01/4/2012

OTTAWA - The Conservative government is washing its hands of a nasty labour lockout at a locomotive plant in London, Ont., that was once used by Prime Minister Stephen Harper as a backdrop to tout business tax breaks. Details here.

Canadian CEOs vs. the 99%: No Contest When it Comes to Pay

Jan 3'12 - Cdn. Centre for Policy Alternatives

TORONTO—The highest paid 100 CEOs on Canada’s TSX Index had reason to cheer the New Year: By noon January 3, they had already pocketed $44,366 – what it takes the average wage earner an entire year to make. Details here.

Please also read: "The People's Corporation Loses the Common Touch"    and "Of Banksters, Occupiers and Head-Knockers."

Canada's Top Ten Weather Stories for 2011

Environment Canada 

1. Historic Flood Fights in the West. Details here.

2. Please also read: "Second Warmest Year on Record for the United Kingdom" 

 Ice suspended in roadshide shrubs, 

a testament to how deep the floodwater 

had been in the ditch before it subsideed.

Spring '11 - western Manitoba. PLT photo

Spill Makes Waves Amid Brazil Oil Boom

Vincent Bevins, Los Angeles Times De 31 '11

Brazil's plan to become a top petroleum producer is grounded in the state-run oil company's difficult deep-water extraction project. So a relatively small offshore spill has stirred big concern. Details here.