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Showing posts from October, 2013

Reader Finds Me Disgusting

My  letter to the Editor, "Have our Servants Become Our Masters? - Why Fossil Fuels are No Longer Our Friends," published in The Roblin Review earlier this month, seems to have hit a nerve.  It led to a follow-up letter from a reader in the north, published the following week in the same paper. He accuses me of being out to kill Canadian jobs and finds my letter a "disgusting piece of drivel" in the way I insult Mr. Harper and the oil patch. Please read my response to that letter, below!   Larry ====== Dear Editor, I'm glad that John Titanich has seen fit to respond in the Review to my earlier letter about fossil fuels and why they are no longer our friends. After all, public debate is the bedrock of a healthy democracy.  Mind you,  John did get a tad personal. But that comes with the territory, I guess. As for his suggestion you can't be an environmentalist if you drive anything more modern than an ox-cart, well, I've heard th

Argentina Is Using More Pesticide Than Ever Before. And Now It Has Cancer Clusters.

Mother Jones In Chaco , birth defects quadrupled in the decade after biotechnology dramatically expanded farming in Argentina. Details here.

Breach of Trust

Ill-informed and incoherent: the head of (Britain's) the National Trust talks nonsense on fracking. By George Monbiot, published on the Guardian’s website, 24th October 2013 “It’s not for me to judge the relative merits of fracking versus wind turbines.”  So said Dame Helen Ghosh , the National Trust’s new director-general. To this there are two obvious responses. The first is: yes, as the head of Britain’s biggest conservation group, this is just the kind of judgement you should be making. You’ve been appointed to lead this organisation, and a crucial component of leadership is making judgements. Because it is a public organisation, these judgements should be explained to your membership and to others who take an interest in what the Trust does.

Important Update on our #Save the Bees Campaign

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Sierra Club of Canada SAVE THE BEES PLEASE:  CLICK HERE Sierra Club Canada National Office 412-1 Nicholas St Ottawa ,  ON   K1N 7B7 Canada

Less Than 2 Days Left to Help Manitoba's Caribou!

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Dear Larry, Only 48 hours left to join our Week for the Wild and   help the woodland caribou in Manitoba ! We gave ourselves just 7 days to find 50 people who  care to help the woodland caribou. With your help,  we’ve raised over $200 in Manitoba and we’re  not done yet! Can you help us reach our goal of finding 30 more people  who care about the woodland caribou? If you haven’t  already,  please consider making a special, one-time gift of just $11.50   to help protect the woodland caribou's remaining Boreal forest habitat. The woodland caribou needs our help. Let’s make the next 48 hours  count –  join our Week for the Wild now . Thanks for your continued support. Don't forget to follow us on  Facebook  and  Twitter  for updates! Yours in conservation, Ron Thiessen Executive Director, CPAWS Manitoba

Oklahoma 'Earthquake Swarm' May Be Linked to Fracking

Huffington Post The US Geological Survey suggests "injection-induced seismicity" may be playing a role in a spike in earthquake activity in the state. The term refers to pumping wastewater produced by fracking and other oil and gas projects into storage deep in the ground. Details here.

Writer Steps Up His Fight to Protect Water Resources (Letter)

Dear Editor; What will it take to convince the Manitoba government that  it  should never allow arsenic to be released into our surface  waters? I consider this action reprehensible, yet that is exactly what  the province has permitted (the Town of) Virden to do, with arsenic that  has been removed from the water source at the town's treatment plant. The following is my response to Premier Selinger and Minister Mackintosh in regard to their letter. It informs me that they’ll continue to allow the arsenic that’s recovered from the Virden water treatment plant to be released elsewhere. My concern is that this will, over time, only add to surface water contamination and pollute the environment. This will create unknown consequences for future generations. Many other substances that are considered toxic in other jurisdictions are obviously not of concern here. It seems this government has no problem with putting lives at risk.

Russia Reduces Piracy Charges Against Greenpeace Activists to Hooliganism

Huffington Post  Russia's main investigative agency said Wednesday that it has dropped piracy charges against jailed Greenpeace activists and… Details here.

U.S. Carbon Dioxide Emissions From Energy Consumption Drop To Lowest Level Since 1994

Huffington Post The decline of coal as a power source in favour of natural gas in the U.S. is a big part... Full story here.

Trapped in a Russian Jail

Avaaz Help free 30 brave men and women of Greenpeace. They face long prison terms for simply protesting against oil drilling in the fragile Arctic eco-system. Please sign the petition! You can help!

Alberta Landowners Dispute Energy Regulator Over Polluted Well

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Couple says 'glaring' data on industry-caused water contamination is ignored. Details here.

Monitoring Food Loss and Waste Essential to Hunger Fight - FAO

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FAO calls for “innovative thinking” to measure and cut global food loss and waste along the food chain. Details here.

The Folly of Empire

TruthDig.com The final days of empire give ample employment and power to the feckless, the insane and the idiotic. Details here.

TODAY is the Global Frackdown

food&waterwatch Click here to join the global movement to ban fracking!

Canadian Fracking Protests Turn Violent; Police Cars Set On Fire

Huffington Post Police in the eastern Canadian province of New Brunswick arrested about 40 people on Thursday after efforts to dismantle a highway barricade turned violent and protesters against shale gas exploration set several police vehicles on fire. Full story here.

World Action Now on Fukushima - Harvey Wasserman (Video)

Hi, The danger of huge radiation releases from Fukushima 4 has taken on a new dimension; the world community must step in! Please sign the petition to Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary-General, United Nations and Barack Obama, President, United States of America, which says: "At Fukushima Unit 4, the impending removal of hugely radioactive spent fuel rods from a pool 100 feet in the air presents unparalleled scientific and engineering challenges. With the potential for 15,000 times more fallout than was released at Hiroshima, we ask the world community, through the United Nations, to take control of this uniquely perilous task." Click here to add your name: http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/the-world-community-must?source=s.fwd&r_by=9196165  Thanks! 

Ontario's Environment Minister Vetoes an Environmental Assessment for GM Alfalfa

Manitoba Organic Alliance Ontario’s Minister of the Environment has denied a request for an environmental assessment of genetically modified (GM) alfalfa. The request for an assessment was made by two farmers in Ontario, on behalf of many. The Minister decided that "a new provincial regulation making activities on the sale and distribution of GM seed subject to the EAA [Environmental Assessment Act] would overlap with the existing federal regulation. Therefore, the public interest does not warrant an EBR [Environmental Bill of Rights] review by the ministry." Read the  decision summary Read the  request for an environmental assessment Related:   Canada Kills Genetically Modified Alfalfa - at Least for Now

Speak Up For Democracy Rally - Winnipeg. (Video) Elizabeth May and Others

Related: A Wake-Up Call From the Green Party Leader - Will Anyone Listen?

Mexico Bans Transgenic Corn

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GEO Watch Judge rules that GMOs are imminent threat. Monsanto, Pioneer, prohibited from marketing transgenic seed. Full story here. PLT photo

Alberta's Current Carbon Strategy No Match for Keystone's Emissions

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inside climate news The pipeline would increase carbon emissions by 20M tons a year. Despite claims, Alberta's offset schemes would negate just a fraction of those emissions. Details here

Stop a Human Rights Tragedy - Put a Heartless Billionaire in His Place at the Same Time

Warren Buffett is investing in a steel company that's planning to kick 22,000 Indian villagers from their homes. The UN's top experts have condemned the project -- tell Buffett to stop this human rights disaster now! Larry, Warren Buffett is investing in a massive steel company that's planning to force 22,0000 Indian villagers from their homes. Now, eight of the UN's top human rights officials have called for an immediate halt to the project -- and we need to make sure Buffett acts. If this project goes ahead, thousands of acres of forest will be flattened, and tens of thousands of poor Indian villagers will lose their homes and livelihoods. The company behind this disaster is Posco Steel, a South Korean giant, in which Warren Buffett has invested more than $1 billion. If Buffett uses his financial might, he can push Posco Steel to address the UN's human rights concerns or stop the project. He claims to uphold the "highest level

Unregulated Ammonia, Increasingly From Industrial Farming, Threatens U.S. National Parks

Science Daily Oct. 10, 2013 — Thirty-eight U.S. national parks are experiencing "accidental fertilization" at or above a critical threshold for ecological damage, according to a study published in… Details here.

A Lake in Washington State Holds a Century of Canadian Pollution

Wenatchee World People along Lake Roosevelt, a 150-mile-long stretch of the Columbia River, worry that their waterways have become the repository for much of the 10 million tons of slag that a Canadian smelter just north of the border dumped into the river for decades. Full story here.

Blizzard Ravages South Dakota's Livestock Industry

Los Angeles Times Tens of thousands of cattle are killed, found huddled and frozen after the surprise storm. The 6,000 ranching operations that were hit have no safety net, thanks to the federal government shutdown. Details here.

Stop Further Tragedy in Brazil. Say NO to the Disastrous Canadian Mine, the "Belo Sun."

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PortuguĆŖs  |  EspaƱol  |  Deutsch  |  More Belo Sun No! Stop further tragedy on the Xingu River This week Amazon Watch joined a global coalition of organizations to launch a campaign in defense of indigenous and traditional communities threatened by the Canadian mining company Belo Sun. The Toronto-based company plans to build Brazil's largest gold mine on the banks of the Amazon's Xingu River in the very area that is most impacted by the disastrous Belo Monte dam.

And the Award Goes to....Monsanto? Please Sign the Petition!

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This year’s World Food Prize will be awarded to top executives at Monsanto and Syngenta for creating GE crops.  GE crops are about feeding the profits of biotech giants, not the world’s hungry. 

Gas Flare in Atlantic Canada Draws Thousands of Birds to Their Deaths, and Ignites Questions

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E & E Publishing The conditions that night were a perfect storm -- foggy, low cloud cover, an early fall evening that was right for flight. Full story here. Goldfinch. PIP photo

Toward an Evidence-Based Fracking Debate

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Centre for Science & Democracy Science, Democracy, and Community Right to Know in Unconventional Oil and Gas Development. Full story here. Courtesy of LiveScience

Mining Industry Frets Over Legislation to Protect Chile's Glaciers and Water Supplies

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Winnipeg Free Press SANTIAGO, Chile - Just how to define a glacier is at the heart of a Chilean congressional battle that could determine the future of mining in the world's largest copper-producing country. Details here.

Brazil Set to Unleash Terminator Threat

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Fast-tracked Legislation to Allow Sterile Seeds Would Harm Farmers, Food Security. Full story here.

Royal Proclamation, Environmental Laws Highlighted at Idle No More Rally

Winnipeg Free Press More than 200 people attended an Idle No More rally held this evening at the Manitoba legislature. Details here.

Diesel Exhaust Stops Honeybees from Finding the Flowers They Want to Forage

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Science News  Exposure to common air pollutants found in diesel exhaust pollution can affect the ability of honeybees to recognize floral odours, new University of Southampton research shows. Details here. PLT photo

The Government of CanadaŹ¼s Legacy of Contamination in Northern Saskatchewan Watersheds

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Beaverlodge Lake, a 57 square kilometer water body, and three other watersheds in northern Saskatchewan are seriously contaminated with uranium and selenium. Details here. Related: Uranium City - a Legacy of Cancer.

Climate Breakdown

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by George Monbiot - The Guardian PLT photo How governments bemoan the problem but keep stoking the fires. Details here.

Find Out How YOUR Watershed is Doing! Check Out This WWF Video!

Court Rules Alberta Improperly Excluded Pembina Institute From Oilsands Regulatory Process

Pembina Institute EDMONTON — Alberta’s Court of Queen’s Bench has quashed a government decision not to allow the Pembina Institute and the Fort McMurray Environmental Association to participate in the regulatory review of a proposed oilsands project. Full story here.

Free Our Greenpeace Heroes From Russian Oppressors

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E-mail the Russian Embassy to protest against the charging of these activists with piracy when they were only protecting the Arctic. =====