National Observer Momentum is building for an audacious plan to turn the prime minister’s official residence in Ottawa into a national showcase for super-energy-efficient housing, and a powerful symbol of Canada’s promise to make a difference on global climate change. Story here.

The Guardian Carnivorous birds, which help stem spread of disease by eating carcasses that would otherwise rot, targeted by poachers. Story here.

 The Nation While our political establishment dithers, the Pentagon recognizes that climate change is an immediate threat to national security.   Story here.

Plan Canada Early pregnancy is one of 6 barriers commonly keeping girls from school . In Nicaragua , where the rates of teen pregnancy are the highest in Latin America, the issue is spiraling out of control. Story here.

Think Progress This summer, a heat wave sent temperatures near the Persian Gulf skyrocketing, with outdoor temperatures reaching as high as 120°F throughout parts of Iraq and Iran. And while those temperatures might seem extreme, a new study published in Nature Climate Change suggests that scorching temperatures could become increasingly common in the region by the end of the century, if climate change is left unchecked. Story here.

Manitoba Co-Operator Many farmers are embracing small-scale, sustainable agriculture and are focusing on selling their food directly to families throughout the province by developing community food networks. Story here. Details here.

CBC News Climate change poses a rising global public health and safety threat, and children are particularly vulnerable, the American Academy of Pediatrics says in a new policy statement. Story here.

briarpatch According to the Treasury Board of Canada's "Contaminated Sites Inventory," of the 77 “high priority” contaminated sites in Manitoba, 70 are situated in First Nations communities. Story here.

inside climate news Collaborating with the Bush-Cheney White House, Exxon turned ordinary scientific uncertainties into weapons of mass confusion. Story here.

Common Dreams 'An extremely dangerous, potentially catastrophic hurricane,' warns the National Hurricane Center. Story here.

Briarpatch Magazine While environmentalists may not often approach the issue of the environment from the point of view of labour, they have made sincere efforts to link their concern with the issue of labour generally. STORY HERE.

PRESS PROGRESS After a long decade in power, the Stephen Harper years are now history. Here are 12 other Conservative stars who will no longer twinkle following Monday night's vote. Story here.

Common Dreams With many eyes turning to UN talks in Paris, Earth continues to exhibit symptoms of a planet on fire. Story here.

Manitoba Co-Operator Milk protein isolates will enter tariff free, making it even more difficult for Canada to dispose of surplus skim milk. Story here.

INTER PRESS SERVICE “Ever since we moved here, we all have sore throats and we cough all the time,” says a 40-  Details here.

theguardian Member states report a 23% drop since 1990, but the pace is slowing and several countries have missed renewable and energy efficiency targets.  Story here.

Common Dreams Canadians couldn’t have been much clearer on Monday when they hit the polls in numbers that haven’t been seen for decades… Story here.

Common Dreams Yes, Trudeau's sweeping win was a repudiation of "negative, divisive politics" in favor of "a positive vision that brings Canadians together"—but the new prime minister still has much to prove. Details here.

Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship advises that effective immediately, moose hunting is closed to all hunters in Game Hunting Areas (GHAs) 29 and 29A, in the Turtle Mountain area.  This conservation closure is in addition to previous closures in and around west-central and eastern Manitoba.  PinP   photo.

THINKPOL The Australian dirty tricks strategist brought in last month to salvage Stephen Harper’s re-election campaign has abandoned the Conservatives, according to the spin doctor’s partner. Story here.

inside climate news A comprehensive new look at a wide range of research concludes that fracking inevitably pollutes water and air and harms people. Story here.

Alberta Farmer "Farmers National" manages two million acres in the U.S. Details here.

theguardian The Conservative prime minister pledged to make the country an ‘energy superpower’, but with the election ahead and many Alberta residents struggling to make ends meet, a promise has become a liability for Harper. Story here.

Vice News Canada's Liberal party knew Dan Gagnier was working as co-chair of the Liberal campaign while he worked as a consultant for major pipeline company TransCanada. Story here.

VICE NEWS One of the lucky ones. A turtle rescued  from the Gulf and nursed back to health. Photo credit-New England Aquarium.  Tens of thousands of dead birds. More than 170,000 turtles. A billion newly hatched fish — and maybe as many as 8 billion oysters.That's the federal government's estimated toll on wildlife from the undersea blowout..... Story here.

treehugger The material will soon be used by Boeing in airplanes and rockets to cut down on their weight, create more room within the fuselage and increase fuel efficiency. Story here.

MyToba If you live in Winnipeg, Manitoba, you may have noticed ladybugs lately.  A lot of ladybugs.  It turns out our unseasonably warm weather is to blame. Ladybugs hibernate, and the warmer weather fooled them into thinking it was spring. Story here. RELATED:  " Climate Change Will Have Big Effects On Spring And Winter "

bilaterals.org Public services in the European Union (EU) are under threat from international trade negotiations that endanger governments’ ability to regulate and citizens’ rights to access basic services like water, health, and energy, for the sake of corporate profits. Story here. 

iPolitics Former Liberal campaign co-chair Daniel Gagnier has been working for months for TransCanada Corp., helping it with its controversial Energy East pipeline, while at the same time working as an key advisor to Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau. Details here.

ClimateProgress A robin shivers in a Canadian "false spring." PinP photo. Climate change will shorten winters by about three weeks by the beginning of next century, according to a new study. Story here. RELATED: "Invasion of the Ladybugs."

CBC News Two-thirds of First Nations have been under at least 1 water advisory between 2004 and 2014. Story here.

Common Dreams The Credit Suisse report shows worldwide inequality growing even faster than experts had predicted. Story here.

Common Dreams 'Out of love for our grandchildren, it’s our responsibility to work towards a more harmonious world for both present and future generations.’ Story here.

CBC News Manitoba Hydro crews wait for first light to fly into communities left without power Sunday. Details here.

CommonDreams Canadian journalist Mohamed Fahmy says he'll continue to advocate for press freedoms and the rights of other detained journalists. Story here. RELATED: "Pick up the Phone, Steve. Demand Freedom for Mohamed Fahmy!"

AgroNews Austrian Health Minister Sabine Oberhauser and a number of Italian Ministries have confirmed that both countries are officially requesting an opt-out from growing the eight varieties of  GM maize permitted or set to be permitted at the EU level, thus there will now be a full ban on GM crops in both countries under new EU regulations. Story here.

Agro News Identifying a major health hazard, the government has found residues of pesticides in a significant proportion of vegetables, fruits, milk and other food items collected from various retail and wholesale outlets across the country. Story here.

Common Dreams The establishment of an independent climate tribunal to hold wealthy nations accountable emerged as a central goal of conference in Bolivia. Story here.

CBC News Zebra mussel infestation 'beyond the point now of being able to do anything,' says scientist Eva Pip.  Story here.

Manitoba Co-Operator CNS Canada – – Farmers have seen more weather-related hardships this year than normal, made evident by an above-average amount of hail and reseed damage claims. Story here.

The Nation The signatories of the Trans-Pacific Partnership just announced that they have inked the final agreement, ending years of secret negotiations and back-room corporate deal-making. And still, the full text, which will set trade rules for roughly 40 percent of global commerce in a dozen Pacific Rim countries, remains a secret, even as the accord hurtles toward Congress for an accelerated vote.   Story here. RELATED:   " Free Trade: Path to Prosperity - or Back Road to Corporatism?"

International Institute for Sustainable Development IISD Experimental Lakes Area (IISD-ELA) was pleased to welcome Premier of Ontario Kathleen Wynne and her partner Jane Rounthwaite for a visit on August 30, 2015. Story here.

Dear Editor,  I’m disappointed that our Conservative Member of Parliament, Robert Sopuck did not attend the forum on child poverty here in Neepawa recently. 

CBC TV News. Watch video here.

bilateral.org Another polluting Canadian mining company throws its weight around in a developing country. Story here.

theguardian Cactus display at the International Peace Garden,  Manitoba.  PinP  photo. Illegal trade is causing shocking decline in plants that are vital to desert ecosystems, most comprehensive global assessment yet reveals. Details here.

CommonDreams Officials warned that the historic deluge will likely worsen as climate experts discussed connections between warming planet and extreme weather. Story here.

Common Frontiers In 2007, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Canada’s new “Americas Policy,” through which Canada would build trade ties with governments that shared Canada’s values of “democracy, human rights, rule-of-law and good governance.” The Canadian government then announced negotiations for a free trade and investment deal with Colombia, the country with the worst human rights record in the hemisphere. Story here.

Independent        Australia Despite being a Canadian going back fourteen generations to 1587, Sea Shepherd captain and anti-whaling activist Paul Watson can no longer enter Canada because Stephen Harper took away his passport to placate Japanese whalers. Story here.

bilaterals.org Rankin, an NDP MP, acted on behalf of an American mining corporation in its successful bid to sue Canada using NAFTA. Story here.

GENEVA - The World Health Organization (WHO) deplores the bombing of a clinic run by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) in Kunduz, Afghanistan, and extends its sincere condolences to the families and colleagues of those killed and injured. This represents a major loss for MSF and the affected community - to whom WHO offers its sympathy and support - and a serious challenge to humanitarian work in Afghanistan.

NATIONAL OBSERVER Beginning in 2008 — at the height of the global financial crisis — the federal government spent over $20 million on Christian religious groups and schools, including $495,600 for the Wycliffe Bible Translators in Langley, B.C. and $3.7 million transferred from federal funds to “Youth for Christ” in Winnipeg. It also set up…. STORY HERE.

NATIONAL OBSERVER Canadian journalist Mohamed Fahmy wasted no time in blasting the Harper government just 18 days before the federal election for overstating its role in securing his recent release from an Egyptian jail. Details here. RELATED: "Pick up the Phone, Steve! Demand Justice for Mohamed Fahmy!"

care2 It has been hailed as one of the greenest countries on Earth . Currently, the country’s carbon emissions rate is a negligible 0.8 metric tons per capita , according to the World Bank. Not only is it  carbon neutral , it’s also a carbon sink—making it one of the few countries in the world to have negative carbon emissions. Story here.

News Release - Green Party of Canada.  GRANDVIEW October 2, 2015 – Despite efforts by the Greens and the major national English language television broadcasters, the NDP have withdrawn from the national leaders' debate and today the debate has been cancelled. “Cancellation of the National leader’s debate is a huge blow to democracy and to Canadian voters." said Kate Storey, local Green Party candidate for Dauphin Swan River Neepawa (above). 

by Larry Powell Planet In Peril has sorted through some of the confusion surrounding the absence of Robert Sopuck (above), the Conservative Member of Parliament for Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa,  from a candidates' forum on child poverty in Neepawa on Wednesday.  About a month ago, his office told forum organizers that he would be attending.  But his office manager in Neepawa, Christine Waddell, later announced he could not attend due to "scheduling conflicts." She said the night of the event, he was in Inglis, a small town in the western part of his riding.  This morning, however, Sopuck himself told PinP he had actually been in Roblin, a larger town just north of Inglis. A newspaper ad indicated it was a "meet and greet" affair. But that was in the morning in Roblin, a town within a 3-hour drive of Neepawa. So it's still not clear what the event in Inglis was which took priority over a candidate's forum. The MP bristled at my suggestion th

Are hungry kids a priority for the Harper government? by Larry Powell The forum (for the riding of Dauphin - Swan River - Neepawa) was sponsored by the Mission and Services Committee of the Neepawa United Church. It drew about 80 people to the church on Wednesday. But only four of the five candidates (see below) took part in the debate -  Ray  Piché  (Liberal),   Kate Storey (Green Party),  Inky Mark (Ind.) and  Laverne Lewycky (NDP) . The 5th candidate, the sitting Conservative MP for the area, Robert Sopuck (represented by the empty chair on the right), did not attend. His office manager in Neepawa, Christine Waddell, said he was in Inglis, a small community in the western part of the riding for the evening. She did not elaborate. But she did explain that a campaign worker was mistaken when he told forum organizers earlier that Mr. Sopuck would, in fact be there. Piché , the Liberal candidate, said the MP's absence showed “disrespect” for the rest of the candidates