UK Drinking Water Could be Poisoned With Toxic Algae Linked to Alzheimer’s

The Telegraph

Blue-green algae is increasing in Britain's lakes and poses a serious threat to health, scientists have warned. Story here.

PinP photo.

Food Waste Is Costing Countries Billions Every Year And Contributing To Climate Change

ClimateProgress

Food waste is costing the global economy billions each year, and governments should act quickly to reduce it if they want to save money and scale back their carbon emissions, according to a new report. Story here.

Droughts of the Present? A "Walk-in-the-Park" Compared to the Droughts of our Grandchildren. (Video. Click full-screen.)

Save the CBC From the Harperites! Please Sign!

Please sign and show the Green Party of Canada you support their efforts to shield this precious Canadian treasure, the CBC, from the assault from the Harperites!
Thanks! Just click here!
PinP
Related: "Holding Power to Account - a Postmortem"

Documents Reveal Canadian Embassy Backed Mining Abuses in Mexico (video)

CBC TV

Critics say Canadian diplomats and trade commissioners went too far in protecting the interests of mining company Excellon Resources in a dispute with local workers and landowners at a silver mine in Mexico. Video here.

Lester Brown: 'Vast Dust Bowls Threaten Tens of Millions With Hunger'

The Guardian

Combining on a hot, dry day. © PinP photo.

Over his 50-year career, Lester Brown has become known for his accurate global environmental predictions. As he enters retirement, he warns the world may face the worst hunger crisis of our lifetimes. Story here.

The New MacDonald (Video)

‘Paradigm Shift’ Needed in the World's Agriculture - UN Agency Chief.

UN News

An organic market garden in Manitoba, Canada. © PinP photo.

Paris: The model of agricultural production that predominates today is not suitable for the new food security challenges of the 21st century and the need to be more sustainable, inclusive and resilient, the head of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said today. Story here.

Dear Government Spin Doctor: A Journalist's Final Warning

Sean Holman-The Tyee

One last shot at the tyranny of the talking point. Story here.

Ten Fuel-Hauling Trains Could Derail Every Year in the U.S.

fuel fix

The (US) federal government predicts that trains hauling crude oil or ethanol will derail an average of 10 times a year over the next two decades, causing more than $4 billion in damage and possibly killing hundreds of people if an accident happens in a densely populated part of the U.S. Story here.

Documents Reveal Fossil Fuel Fingerprints on Contrarian Climate Research

InsideClimate News

Scientist Willie Soon calls his papers 'deliverables' to fossil fuel executives, and grants a big coal utility pre-publication review and anonymity. Story here.

New Hopes That Canada's Tar Sands Could be Banned From Europe

theguardian

P in P publisher Larry Powell shows his support. 

(Does this put him on the RCMP's "extremist" list?)

Landmark EU fuel quality directive gets a reprieve, opening the way for more-polluting tar sands oil to be taxed at a higher rate effectively pricing it out of the market. Story here.

US Department of Agriculture Approves ‘Untested, Inherently Risky’ GMO Apple

Organic Consumers' Association

On Friday the 13th, the USDA approved the first genetically engineered apple, despite hundreds of thousands of petitions calling for its rejection. Story here.

What’s Happening to Canada? An Open Letter to Stephen Harper

by Ralph Nader - Common Dreams

Many Americans love Canada and the specific benefits that have come to our country from our northern neighbor’s many achievements (see Canada Firstsby Nader, Conacher and Milleron). Unfortunately, your latest proposed legislation—the new anti-terrorism act—is being described by leading Canadian civil liberties scholars as hazardous to Canadian democracy. Story here.

Winnipeg Homesless Shelters Packed as Mercury Plummets

CBCnews

Windchills hovering in the mid -40's have homeless shelters hopping. Story here.

After Latest US Oil Train Disaster, Expert Says Tens of Millions Living Inside 'Blast Zone'

Common Dreams

'We need to be moving away from production, transportation and use of fossil fuels, period—if we want a livable planet, that is.' Story here.

Document Shows Canadian Police View Environmentalists, Not Climate Change, as Real Security Threat

Common Dreams

RCMP document says 'small but violent-prone faction' of groups could pose 'a credible threat' to security. Story here.

Winter Storm Wallops Maritimes While Central Canada Spends Sunday in Deep Freeze.

CANADIAN PRESS

A savage winter storm pounded Maritimes on Sunday, causing damage, delays and dangerous driving conditions on Sunday while people in parts of southern Ontario and Quebec were braving biting winds and frigid Arctic temperatures. Story here.

Sun News Death a Victory for Intellect

The Tyee

The Canadian network took us for dummies from the start. In the end, it cost them millions. Story here.

Blaze From Fiery Derailment in Canada Continues Amid Renewed Call for Action on Oil Trains

Common Dreams

Oil cars on a Manitoba siding. PinP photo.

'Time and again we’ve seen these oil trails catch fire, spill oil, take lives and leave behind huge messes.' Story here.

Tell Food Companies to Reject the GE Apple!

Centre for Food Safety.

After decades of promises from the biotech industry that genetically engineered (GE) food would feed the world, cure the sick, reduce agricultural dependence on toxic chemicals, and save countless crops from imminent collapse, USDA has just approved…Story here.

Anti-Oil Sands Activists in the U.S. are Getting Visits From the FBI

The Canadian Press

Unexpected visitors have been dropping in on anti-oil activists in the United States — knocking on doors, calling, texting, contacting family members. The visitors are federal agents. Story here.

Droughts Will Hammer U.S. West as 21st Century Unfolds

Inside Climate News

Human-caused global warming will create conditions more severe than any in past 1,000 years, new research shows. Story here.

Sun News Network to Shut Down Permanently: Sources

CBC News

Right-of-centre news network had trouble attracting viewers

Why the Secret Criminal Investigation of WikiLeaks Should Trouble Journalists.

Columbia Journalism Review

The media is overlooking the details of an investigation that could have implications for all news organizations. Story here.

Harper's Police State Law

The Tyee

Passing it means 'death of freedom' writes Green leader Elizabeth May. Story here.

Manitoba’s Small Scale Food Report is Food for Thought

Kate Storey - Manitoba Co-Operator

More and more people are interested in buying food direct from the farm. Story here.

Canadian Climate Scientist Wins $50,000 In Libel Lawsuit Against Conservative Newspaper

climateprogress

A prominent Canadian climatologist, Andrew Weaver (l.),  has won his libel lawsuit against The National Post, after a judge decided that the newspaper had published several articles that were both inaccurate and defamatory to his character. Story here.

Energy East 101

A Shock to the System - Fish for the Killing?

by George Monbiot - the Guardian

A new form of marine mass destruction is outrageously being justified by the EU and its member states in the name of “scientific research." Story here.

California Pledges Changes In Protecting Underground Water

Huffington Post

California has proposed closing by October up to 140 oilfield wells that state regulators had allowed to inject into federally protected drinking water aquifers, state officials said Monday. Story here.

The Fiery Cage and the Lynching Tree. Brutality is Never Far Away

Common Dreams

They burned him alive in an iron cage, and as he screamed and writhed in the agony of hell they made a sport of his death. Story here.

Who Should Clean Up Big Ag’s Mess in the US? In Canada?

Organic Consumers' Association

A “Cow Palace” in Washington State threatens public health with its acres of untreated animal waste. A city in Iowa spends nearly $1 million a year to keep…Story here.

Southern Forests' Ability to Suck Carbon From the Air May Be Slowing

inside

climate

news

The Missouri River in the US midwest. PinP photo.

New findings concern team of scientists who studied data from 40,000 sites in 11 US states. Story here.

Wales Says No To Fracking Until ‘Proven Safe’

climateprogress

On Wednesday, the Welsh parliament voted in favor of a measure calling on the government to prevent fracking from taking place “until it is proven to be safe in both an environmental and public health context.” Story here.

Who Owns Stephen Harper - Canada's Prime Minister?

NOW - Linda McQuaig

More than $2 million was donated to the Prime Minister's two leadership bids, but the identities of his major backers have never been publicly disclosed. Story here.

Flooded Manitoba Fields Require Special Rehab; Agronomist.

THEWESTERNPRODUCER

A sodden farm field near Neepawa, MB. Summer, 2014. PinP photo.

Fields covered in residue may need burning or tillage. Story here.

The Province of Manitoba, Canada May Relax Stringent Rules for New Hog Barns.

Western Producer

Operations in phosphorus-deficient areas of the central Canadian province may be allowed to build new barns without anaerobic digesters. Story here.

Don't Stop Planting Milkweed

OnEarth

New research shows a certain type of milkweed can harm monarchs—but they still need something to snack on. Story here.

Photo credit - OnEarth.

Apparently, Canada's Peter Mansbridge (Anchor, CBC TV's Flagship Newscast "The National") Still Doesn’t Get it.

iPolitics

“Courage is contagious.” With that saccharine bromide, Peter Mansbridge ended a pep talk he gave to a conclave of investigative reporters in Manitoba several months ago. Story here.

Lowest Common Denominator. How the Proposed EU-US Trade Deal Will Lower Protection From Toxic Pesticides.

Centre for International Environmental Law

Ground sprayer. PinP photo.

A new analysis exposes how the American and European pesticide industry is using ongoing EU-US trade negotiations to lower human health and environmental standards in order to increase trade in toxic pesticides. Details here.

Endangered Perspective: An Ocean in Peril, a Gulf in Need

A\J Alternatives Journal

A new study predicts a marine mass extinction – but there's still time to prevent it. Story here.

As California Water Resources Dwindle, New Fears Over Drilling Waste Contamination

CommonDreams

Situation described as 'unfolding catastrophe' as investigation finds oil drilling companies injected untold amounts of waste into protected groundwater reserves. Story here.

Peru's Indigenous People Protest Against Relicensing of Oil Concession

theguardian

Kichwa communities along an Amazon tributary, string cables to stop oil company boats from passing. They accuse government of turning a blind eye to contamination from oil operations in the forest. Story here.

Big Majority of Americans Want Genetically Modified Foods Labelled. Poll.

The Canadian Press

WASHINGTON - A large majority of Americans support labeling of GMO foods, whether they care about eating them or not. Story here.

Government by Neglect. Manitoba Plays "Ostrich" Over Neonicotinoids.

by Larry Powell

In the face of fierce, even ugly opposition from the head of "CropLife" Canada, Ted Menzies, the Government of Ontario is doing the right thing. Ontario's Liberal government has moved to restrict the use of "CropLife's" bee-killing insecticides known as neonicotinoids, or "neonics." The NDP government of Manitoba, on the other hand - one which often likes to cloak itself in a "green" mantle of environmentalism - is remaining silent. It has done nothing to curb their unlimited use. It doesn't even have the guts to admit it. Over two months ago, I emailed these two ministers (environment and agriculture, respectively), to ask if they may take action similar to Ontario's. 

                                         

At the time of this posting, I've had no response!  

Government by neglect!