New Report Condemns Harper Government's Assault on Canada's Freshwater

VO VANCOUVER

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A lake in Saskatchewan, Canada. PinP photo.

The Navigable Waters Protection Act no longer protects water. The Fisheries Act no longer protects fish. The Environmental Assessment Act... Story here. 

North America’s Oil And Gas Industry Has Taken Over 7 Million Acres Of Land Since 2000

climateprogress

Millions of acres of land across the U.S. and Canada has been taken over by oil and gas development in the last 12 years, according to a new study. Story here.

Strike a Blow for the Canadian Wheat Board! PLEASE SIGN!

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It's time to stand up for Canadian farmers. Let's save the Wheat Board. Please sign the petition!

RIP Earth Day: Voices Decry National Day of Corporate Greenwash

Common Dreams

Critics call for overhaul of the existing world system. Story here.

The Solution to Climate Change Right Under Our Feet

Common Dreams

New report spotlights how healthy soil takes CO2 out of the atmosphere to where it helps build climate resiliency. Story here.

New Hog Barns for Manitoba?

Manitoba Co-Operator

The rules haven’t changed but…Story here.

Excesses of the Walton Family Evident on the High Seas.

                                                  

Wal Mart uses this diesel-powered monster ship to bring goods from China to California. It can carry 15 thousand containers, is longer than a US aircraft carrier and is too big to fit through the Panama canal. Two more are in production. 

It then travels back to China empty. 

World Bank Fossil Fuel Financing Leapt in 2014 Despite its Calls to end Subsidies

theguardian

New analysis reveals funding of over $3bn for fossil fuel-related projects last year, despite repeated calls by bank’s president to scrap such ‘harmful’ global subsidies. Story here.

Small-Scale Farmers Cool the Planet (Video)

Manitoba Greens Call For Premier to Quash Energy East pipeline

Winnipeg Free Press

The Selinger government can — and should — slam the brakes on a proposed national pipeline that would pump diluted bitumen from the Alberta oil sands into eastern Canada, the Green Party says. Story here.

Out of Plaice: Popular UK Fish at Risk From Rising Temperatures

theguardian

Study predicts dinner favourites plaice and lemon sole facing severe depletion and rapid warming of North Sea already forcing haddock out of British waters. Story here.

Thousands March In Canada To Call For Action On Climate Change

ThinkProgress

Thousands of Canadians have taken to the streets of Quebec City to call on their country to curb tar sands growth and climate change. Story here.

Big Tobacco's Deadly Attack

AVAAZ

The tobacco giant Philip Morris is suing Uruguay for having some of the best anti-smoking laws in the world, and there’s a good chance it could win, unless we step in. Sign here.

Fracking Study on Water Contamination Under Ethics Review

Inside Climate News

Chesapeake Energy paid undisclosed fees to the lead author, whose study was based on water samples provided by the company. Story here.

Vanuatu: UN Urges Support for Government-led Relief Efforts One Month After Cyclone Pam

UN News Centre

Children examine the damage in Vanuatu. UNEP photo.

The Government of Vanuatu urgently needs funding to continue basic humanitarian relief efforts such as food, safe drinking water and shelter, according to the United Nations humanitarian mission helping the country respond to the effects of Cyclone Pam. Story here.

No Roundup Ready Alfalfa Production for 2015

Manitoba Co-Operator

Forage Genetics International will allow 20 demonstration plots in Eastern Canada. Story here.

Africa's Hunger Games - the Solution is in the Soil

By: Laura Rance

Some African farmers are turning the tables on starvation by no longer turning the soil. Story here.

Act Now: Sea Lion Pups Are Starving! Please Step Up and Sign!

OCEANA Protecting the

                      World’s Oceans

Emaciated and dehydrated sea lion pups are turning up stranded on California’s coasts. Act now.

Are Canadians Starting to "Catch On" to Harper? (Letter)

RELATED: "Blogger Takes Harper to Task for his War Games."

"Canadian Majority Opposes Syrian Airstrikes: Poll"

Well-Known Meteorologist Runs for Greens

My name is Claire Martin, and I am excited to announce that I am running as the Green Party candidate for the riding of North Vancouver. During my twenty-year career as a meteorologist and broadcaster, including nine years with CBC’s The National, I have been committed to making the subject of environmental science accessible to Canadians. Over this period, I have seen first-hand the impacts of the climate crisis grow worse, and the need for decisive action become more urgent. I am running in 2015 because I care about building a stronger, more sustainable Canada that confronts the climate crisis head-on, and doesn’t ignore this challenge to the detriment of our society, our economy, and our future. Over the last four years, Elizabeth May has shown us how much a Green MP can achieve, and I can’t wait to join her and many more Green MPs in Ottawa after the next election. In order to make that happen, we need your help! The election could be called at any point in the next six months -- make sure your local candidate has the support they need, volunteer today. No matter how much or how little time you have to give, it is valuable. From making phone-calls a couple nights a week, to baking cookies to keep our canvassing teams energized and ready to spread our positive message. Together, we will make the 2015 election the one that changes everything. Join the team: greenparty.ca/volunteer Thanks, Claire Claire Martin Candidate - North Vancouver Green Party of Canada

Council of Canadians Calls for Immediate Halt to Crude Shipments After Derailments and Explosions in Ontario

Common Dreams

ONTARIO - The Council of Canadians is calling on the federal government to immediately halt rail shipments of crude oil in Canada following a series of derailments and explosions. These incidents all involved new rail tank cars promoted by federal Transport Minister Lisa Raitt as being safer than those that exploded in Lac Mégantic, killing 47 people. Story here.

Canadian News Probe Gives Families of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women a Voice

Common Dreams

Underscoring failures of police, many said the call from CBC News was the first time they had been contacted about their relative. Story here.

No More Gentle Reminders: California Naming and Shaming Water Wasters as Drought Intensifies

Canadian Press

California is done with gentle nudges and polite reminders to deal with its devastating drought. Story here.

Life Above the Alberta Tar Sands – Why We're Taking the Government to Court

Oil sands  Keep it in the ground - campaign updates theguardian

Oil spills are threatening our way of life. But indigenous people – with help from the international climate movement – can curtail the industry’s expansion. Story here. 

Canadian Majority Opposes Syrian Airstrikes: Poll

The Hill Times online

Fully 55 per cent of voting-age Canadians oppose the Syrian air strikes, while those who oppose the broader Iraq mission now outnumber those who support it, says a Forum Research poll. Story here.

TransCanada Applies Keystone's Lessons to Energy East Pipeline

(Reuters) - After six years battling bitter opposition to its Keystone XL pipeline project in the United States, TransCanada Corp has learned where and when to pick its fights, to consult early and often - and to retreat when prudent. Story here.

New Publication - Seed Laws That Criminalise Farmers: Resistance and Fightback

La Via Campesina

Peasant seeds – the pillar of food production – are under attack everywhere. Under corporate pressure, laws in many countries... Story here. 

Attend Important Climate Conference

On April 11, Canada’s premiers are heading to Quebec City to talk climate.  Confirm your presence here. 

Northern Fires Caused Almost a Quarter of Global Forest Loss, Study Shows

theguardian

Forest fires destroyed vast areas of woodland in Canada and Russia between 2011 and 2013, greatly contributing to greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change, satellite data reveals. Story here.

Related: Only 'Heroic Efforts' Will Spare Earth's Mighty Boreal Forest From the Worst Ravages of Climate Change.

In Dry California, Thirsty Oil and Big-Ag Industries Exempt from Water Regulations

Common Dreams

Despite historic drought, Governor Jerry Brown has not put restrictions on oil drilling and fracking, but is focusing on urban usage of water. Story here.

Deepwater Oil Spill: BP Steps up PR Effort to Insist all is Well in the Gulf of Mexico

the guardian

Could pelicans like this, in far-away Manitoba, 

Canada, even contain remnants of the spill? PinP photo.

Oil giant says area is making a rapid recovery but evidence mounts that wildlife is still struggling to rebound, five years after Deepwater Horizon spill. Story here.

The Guardian Media Group Begins Divesting its Huge Fossil Fuels Portfolio

The Guardian

 It is the largest fund globally to make such a commitment. Story here. 

Monsanto Murders Almost a Billion Monarch Butterflies and Now Uses Them for PR

OpEdNews - Kenneth Eade

The Monarch butterfly depends on milkweed to feed its larvae. Without milkweed, the Monarch will surely go extinct. Over the past 18 years, the Monarch population has been….Story here. 

U.S. Climate Commitment Should Spur Other Countries to Act

World Resources Institute

The proposed U.S. commitment to tackling climate change in support of a new international climate agreement is a serious and achievable plan…story here. 

Limiting Climate Change Could Have Huge Economic Benefits, Study Finds

the guardian

Stopping global warming at two degrees would create nearly half a million jobs in Europe and save over a million lives in China, analysis of emissions pledges says. Story here.