Wednesday, November 30, 2016

The Fusarium-Glyphosate Connection - How an Amazingly Successful Weedkiller May Have Yet Another Dark Side. (Video)

Corporate Giants' "Sustainable" Palm Oil Revealed as Sham

CommonDreams


Nestlé, Kellogg's, Procter & Gamble, Unilever and others are linked to child labor and forced labor in Indonesia. Story here.

A vast palm oil plantation in Indonesia. 
Photo by Achmad Rabin Taim.

Prime Minister Trudeau, We Will Do What It Takes To Stop New Pipelines

350.org
Make Trudeau Listen; go here.

First Nations, environmentalists vow 'long battle' on approved Kinder Morgan pipeline

CBCnews

Kinder Morgan, business groups cheer announcement as 'defining moment' for Canada's energy industry. Story here.

Join the fight against Donald Trump's attacks on our environment.

Friends of the Earth

President Trump will be the greatest threat to the environment in living memory. To stop him from destroying the planet, we must join together and fight back. PLEASE DONATE NOW!

Sunday, November 27, 2016

Loss of sea ice, changes to tundra: Study says Arctic faces 19 tipping points

NATIONALOBSERVER

An international report says the Arctic is perched on the edge of fundamental social and environmental change as it faces 19 tipping points ranging from loss of summer sea ice to the slow creep of shrubs and trees across the tundra. Story here.

Grassy Narrows residents eating fish with highest mercury levels in province

thestar.com

New analysis using provincial data reveals that mercury in an average meal of walleye from Clay Lake is 15 times the daily intake limit for adults. Story here.

'We are in shock': historic Bolivia drought hammers homes and crops

theguardian

The country’s worst drought in 25 years, spurred by poor management, El Niño and climate change, has reservoirs drying up and hospitals struggling. Story here.

Saturday, November 26, 2016

Species On The Move

Inside Climate News
As climate change impacts habitats around the world, species are on the move, trying to adapt — and survive. Story here.

Wild turkey. Photo by MONGO

An Open Letter to the Premier of Manitoba.



Dear Premier Pallister: from John Fefchak.

I have concerns and am speaking out for the despair of Lake Winnipeg and our precious water sources in Manitoba.

Thursday, November 24, 2016

A Portrait of a Man Who Knows Nothing About Climate Change

New York

In his interview with the New York Times, Donald Trump expressed more flexibility on climate change, which he has previously called a hoax created by China. That is the good news. The bad news is that Trump’s lack of commitment to the cause of climate-science denial is rooted in a comprehensive failure to grasp the issue. Story here.

ALUS Canada to launch New Acre Project

Manitoba Co-Operator
Donor dollars will be matched with individual projects they choose. Story here.

Building a greener future

nature climate change
The built environment will play a key role in determining future emissions, so it is essential that low-carbon infrastructure and design are implemented. Story here.

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

'Shockingly Stupid' Attack on Science: Trump to Eliminate NASA Climate Research

CommonDreams
President-elect plans to entirely slash climate science in favor of deep space exploration. Story here.

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Global sea ice has reached a record low – should we be worried?

NewScientist

It’s an internet sensation. An alarming graph showing the global area of sea ice falling to unprecedented lows for this time of year has gone viral. Story here.

Friday, November 18, 2016

The North Pole is an insane 36 degrees warmer than normal as winter descends

The Washington Post

Political people in the United States are watching the chaos in Washington in the moment. But some people in the science community are watching the chaos somewhere else — the Arctic. Story here.

Monday, November 14, 2016

The tragic reason seabirds keep mistaking ocean plastic for food

The Washington Post

Each year, millions of tons of plastic waste end up in the ocean, where it often goes straight into the bellies of hungry birds, sea turtles and other marine animals. This is a big concern for scientists, who are still investigating the possible consequences for the marine ecosystem — but until now, researchers weren’t completely sure why so many animals were mistaking the plastic for food in the first place. Story here.

Saturday, November 12, 2016

Thousands of Dead Orangutans

Orangutans are being shot, starved, and burned into extinction by ruthless palm oil plantation expansion. We’re demanding that PepsiCo stop fuelling the demand for irresponsibly sourced palm oil, which is killing the orangutans. Will you chip in CA$2?




Dear Larry,
Thousands of orangutans in Borneo are killed every year -- shot, starved, and burned to death as their rainforest home is destroyed. Unless action is taken to protect them, they will likely be extinct in ten years.
It's all because of a ruthless effort by the palm oil industry to deforest as much of the island as possible to make room for their destructive palm oil plantations.
As their habitat burns, orangutans go hungry. Many starve, while others leave the forest in a desperate search for food and are then often shot by palm oil plantation workers.
The only way that orangutans will be saved is if big food corporations like PepsiCo stop buying palm oil from producers that are destroying the orangutans' habitat. Will you chip in CA$2 to help turn up the pressure on PepsiCo before it's too late?
Already, almost half of Borneo's forests have been destroyed, as industrial palm oil has taken over the island. And this summer, the Bornean orangutan was designated as critically endangered--that means it's just short of complete extinction.


Tell President Obama: Stop the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Friends of the Earth Logo Donate

Dear Larry,
As you read this, thousands of Indigenous Peoples are camped along the banks of the Missouri River in North Dakota. They’re fighting to protect their land and water from the construction of the Dakota Access oil and gas pipeline. And it’s up to the President to decide.

Friday, November 11, 2016

Protect the Bees! PLEASE SIGN!

We Can't Let This Happen

Greenpeace Logo
Larry,
In a matter of weeks, the Canadian government will approve or deny the Kinder Morgan tar sands pipeline. This decision could put the B.C. coast and our fragile climate at risk. 

We’ve heard that the decision is coming soon and that the government is leaning toward approving the pipeline. There’s not a moment to lose.

We can’t let this happen. It’s time to scale up our resistance. Sign the petition to send Trudeau a message: climate leaders don’t build pipelines!

Just last week, the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement came into force. The Trudeau government wants us to believe that we can meet our new climate targets and build new tar sands pipelines. But you and I know that’s not true.

More than eighty-five tribes and First Nations are standing up to tar sands expansion, and we are standing with them. 

Time is running out. The decision on Kinder Morgan is due in a few weeks. But together we can turn the tide and stop this devastating project. 

In solidarity,

-Mike

Mike Hudema
Climate & Energy Campaigner, Greenpeace Canada
We don't accept any money from companies or governments so we can be independent and challenge anyone who threatens the planet or peace. To help us keep fighting climate change, defending our oceans and protecting ancient forests, please make a donation. Thank you!
If you no longer want to be in the loop with the latest news from these emails, we'll be sad, but you can unsubscribe here.
Greenpeace Canada, 33 Cecil Street, Toronto, ON M5T 1N1
This email was sent to: planetwatch1@yahoo.ca

This Story Will Make You Angry



Dear Larry,

This is a story of an arrogant government agency more dedicated to helping pesticide manufacturers to profit than doing its job to protect human health and the environment.

It’s a story that will make you angry.

It proves beyond a doubt that pesticide management in Canada must be fixed.

Here’s our story. It starts three years ago.

Back in 2013, Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) was faced with the evidence of catastrophic bee kills by neonicotinoids used to coat corn and soy seeds.  Honey beekeepers were finding millions of dead and dying bees during spring planting. No one knows how many millions of wild bees were also killed on contact since no one was counting wild bees.

The European Union had just decided to ban the use of three neonicotinoids until more research has done on their impact on bees - thiamethoxam, clothianidin and imidacloprid.

Faced with millions of dead bees and the important precautionary steps by the European Union, PMRA announced it was launching a three-year review of bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides.

“Right on!” we said.

But then the PMRA broke our hearts by quietly re-registering clothianidin in July 2013. How can you be concerned enough to review a pesticide and re-register it “conditionally” at the same time? How is that reasonable?

So Friends of the Earth followed the rules and filed a Notice of Objection in September 2013. We were clear that this product should be taken off the market until the review was done.

So we filed. Nothing was heard for 6 months when we received a letter saying our objection had enough science to be considered. The two more months passed and the PMRA said it would get back to us in the fall of 2014.

We had reasonable expectations based on what the Pest Control Products Act says – that the Health Minister may establish a panel to review a decision in response to an objection if there is evidence of "scientifically founded doubt."

It took over 1000 days – nearly three years – before we heard back from the PMRA!

When the PMRA makes a decision, you and I have 60 days to react. Too late? Too bad! You can’t participate.

When a pesticide company wants an approval, the PMRA gives it to them within 285 to 655 days. This is called PMRA’s standard of service.

But when you and I question the PMRA, it takes over 1000 days.

As if that’s not bad enough, PMRA told us in July that rather than follow the rules and establish a “review panel” of independent scientists it had conducted its own preliminary review in secret and determined no action was required.

The PMRA investigated its own decision to re-register clothianidin, denied public participation and disallowed our objection. PMRA said it contacted independent scientists but didn’t disclose who or what the scientists had to say. Critically, we were denied an opportunity to testify!

We don’t let the police investigate themselves anymore but apparently it’s alright to have pesticide regulators investigate themselves and their decision to allow inadequately tested bee-killing pesticides to be spread on millions of acres!

Where is the justice? Why would you and I trust these regulators?

“Canadians need to have faith in their government’s honesty and willingness to listen. I expect that our work will be informed by performance measurement, evidence, and feedback from Canadians,” said Prime Minister Trudeau in his mandate letter to Health Minister Philpott.

Yet, her Pest Management Regulatory Agency continues to behave in the same arrogant anti-democratic manner it did under the Harper Government.

It gets worse. Next month, the PMRA is about to release the results of their in-house review with US EPA of the three neonics: thiamethoxam, clothianidin and imidacloprid.

Join us in demanding Health Minister Philpott take immediate steps to fix pesticide regulation in Canada.


We made progress this year. Getting rid of “conditional registrations” of pesticides was a great victory, but the arrogance of the PMRA demonstrates we have a lot more work to do. Our Bee Cause Campaign relies entirely on your individual donation.  So please make your contribution today.
Sincerely yours,
Beatrice Olivastri, CEOBeatrice Olivastri Signature
Beatrice Olivastri
CEO
Friends of the Earth Canada
signature
John Bennett
Senior Policy Advisor
Friends of the Earth Canada
Copyright © 2016 Friends of the Earth Canada, All rights reserved.

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Visit our website: www.foecanada.org

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Thursday, November 10, 2016

What it would really mean if Trump pulls the U.S. out of the Paris climate agreement

Washington Post

After Tuesday’s U.S. election upset, climate change watchers and wonks are scrambling to assess what it would really mean if Donald Trump, true to his word, ditches or simply fails to participate in the Paris climate change agreement (which he could do through a variety of mechanisms). And it does indeed appear that the consequences for international diplomacy, and for the planet, would be considerable. Story here.

President Trump means we can’t escape a dangerously warmer world

Scientific American

Is there anything positive to say on the climate front after the US election result? Well, the rest of the world may finally get serious about preparing for a world more than 3 oC warmer, because make no mistake that is where we are heading. Story here.

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Paris climate deal thrown into uncertainty by US election result

theguardian
Many fear Donald Trump will reverse the ambitious course set by Barack Obama, withdraw the US from the accord and increase fossil-fuel spending.  Story here.

DumpTrump

Hey Larry,

Today, around the world, SumOfUs members are in shock. Many of you, like me, probably had a sleepless night.
I’m shocked and afraid for what the future holds for the United States, and the world. Donald Trump and the Republicans will control the White House, Congress and the Senate.
SumOfUs members are part of a global community. There are millions of people in the United States and around the world who will be directly impacted by this result. Many of them are feeling anxious and afraid right now. We’re sending our thoughts to them all.
In this moment we need to reaffirm the values and mission of our community. Our mission is to fight for people over profit. But what does that mean in a world where Donald Trump is President?
I want to know how you are feeling right now, and what your reaction to the election result is. What do you think our community should focus on in the coming months?
It’s at times like this I remember why I joined SumOfUs. I, like you, am part of a global community, of millions of people who take action every day to make our planet safer and fairer.
I, together with you, stand toe to toe against the most powerful corporations in the world to protect our rights and our democracy. We are not alone.
Thank you, 
China, on behalf of Alison, Fatah, Glen, Ivan, John, Neal, Nicole, Reem, Sarah, Tara, Toni, Tuuli and the whole team at SumOfUs



SumOfUs is a worldwide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy.
Please help keep SumOfUs strong by chipping in CA$3 or become a SumOfUs core member with a regular monthly donation.
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Are CBC’s science reporters violating Mother Corp’s own Journalistic Standards and Practices? (Opinion)

According to the JSP, “We do not promote any particular point of view.” Yet if you heard our Senior Science Reporter talk about the first pr...