The slow death of the Green Revolution

CountryGuide

Even as the negative impacts of the great Green Revolution pile up, there is hope.  Story here.

"Before the Flood" - Watch the Preview to Leonardo DiCAprio's New Documentary

Yale Study Finds Fracking Linked to Cancer-Causing Chemicals

Nation of Change

The study also confirms the practice of fracking can contaminate both air and water in nearby communities. Story here.

Climate Change Denial Has Taken On A New, More Insidious Form

Huffington Post

Leaders are now acknowledging climate change. But you’d never know it by their actions! Story here.

Saskatchewan government "unlikely" to clean all of Husky oil spill

NATIONAL

OBSERVER

The reality of the disastrous Husky oil spill in Saskatchewan is finally starting to sink in — quite literally. Story here.

Mosul battle shows link between war and environmental degradation, says U.N. agency

The Washington Post

The United Nations Environment Programme is highlighting the battle by Iraqi forces to reclaim Mosul from the Islamic State as the latest instance in the complex but very real linkage between military conflicts around the world and extreme environmental degradation. Story here.

Scientists report ‘devastating’ coral death at Great Barrier Reef

The Washington Post

We knew this news was coming, perhaps. Now that it is here, it is no less shocking. Story here.

Living Planet Report 2016

World Wildlife Fund

Global wildlife populations face a plunge of more than two-thirds during the 50-year period ending in 2020 as a result of human activities, according to WWF’s Living Planet Report 2016. Story here.

Cape May warbler. PinP photo.

World Medical Association: We Know the Health Risks of Fossil Fuels. Divest.

CommonDreams

'The health consequences...are considerable. The world now needs to transfer to electricity suppliers who are renewable' Story here.

In a loss for ExxonMobil, NY Supreme Court orders oil giant to produce climate documents

The Washington Post

In a loss for ExxonMobil, the New York State Supreme Court has ordered the oil giant and its accounting firm to produce documents subpoenaed in a highly charged investigation of whether the company concealed from investors and the public what it knew about climate change as long as four decades ago. Story here.

Here's how much food Walmart throws away over 12 days

CBCnews

Marketplace finds discarded food well before the best-before date; retailer calls it unfit to consume. Story here.

The Flight of Reason

George Monbiot

Sorry, but you cannot build new runways and prevent climate breakdown. Story here.

The Thirst for Outdoor Hockey - Healthy Nostalgia or Dangerous Delusion?

Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent on refrigeration devices so tens of thousands of fans can watch a couple of "classic"outdoor hockey games in Winnipeg this weekend. It's been raining, so you can bet those devices are working overtime. Those in charge don't seem to know that it is a losing game. Without these artificial props, natural, outdoor rinks have become a shadow of their former self, with severely shortened seasons. Is it any wonder as Earth continues to get hotter, thanks to manmade climate change? Haven't you heard? September was the hottest September on record? The year 2016 will, with little doubt be the hottest year, as well. 

And oh by the way, devices such as those now working at top speed (so the fans and players can relive a past which is fading fast) will doubtlessly be using hydrofluorocarbons. They're the super-greenhouse gases, thousands of times more powerful than carbon dioxide in fuelling the dangerous heating of our planet. Amid much fanfare, many countries agreed last week to ban these products and have hailed their action as a major step in fighting climate change. 

I guess the NHL doesn't read the newspapers.

You know what they say.

Artificial intelligence is no match for human stupidity.

Nations sign major deal to curb warming chemicals used for air conditioning

SCIENCE

An international treaty originally created to save the ozone layer from destruction is now being enlisted to help tackle climate change. Story here.

Tribute to the Trees - a Manitoba Video!

Call Of The Forest - DIANA BERESFORD-KROEGER from Jeff McKay / Edgeland Films on Vimeo.

Dangerous Metals Found in Latest Duke Energy Coal Ash Spill

Waterkeeper Alliance

The record-breaking flood of the Neuse River inundated three inactive coal ash ponds for five days last week from the Duke Energy H.F. Lee facility, 10 miles upstream of Goldsboro, North Carolina. The flooded ponds are unlined and uncovered, containing more than 1 million tons of coal ash spread over more than 170 acres in a layer 4 to 10 feet deep. Story here.

Moose poachers nabbed by Manitoba conservation workers

CBCnews

Conservation officers charged eight hunters with alleged moose poaching, a provincial news release said Thursday. Story here.

PinP photo.

We Never Voted for Corporate Rule

CommonDreams

The $66 billion sale of Monsanto is yet another reminder of how corporations have colonized the world and subverted democracy. To regain our future, we must claim our right to popular sovereignty. Story here.

Rising Temperatures Load the Dice for Megadrought Risk

State of the Planet.

As the American Southwest grows hotter, the risk of severe, long-lasting megadroughts rises, passing 90 percent likelihood by the end of the century if greenhouse gas emissions continue at their current pace, a new study says. If we aggressively reduce emissions, however, we can cut that risk substantially, the authors write. Story here.

UN: Global agriculture needs a ‘profound transformation’ to fight climate change and protect food security

The Washington Post

Climate change has already begun to affect the world’s food production, a new report from the United Nations warns — and unless significant action is taken, it could put millions more people at risk of hunger and poverty in the next few decades. Story here. 

Changing Climate Threatens World’s Smallholder Farmers

UNITED NATIONS (IPS) - Farmers are already experiencing the effects of climate change but can also help to fight it, according to a new report released by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Story here.

Hundreds of deep-sea vents found spewing methane off US coast

New Scientist

Methane is gushing forth from hundreds of newly-discovered deep-sea vents all along the US’s western seaboard. Story here.

World's Mammals Being Eaten Into Extinction, Report Warns

theguardian

First global assessment finds 301 species are primarily at risk from human hunting for the bushmeat trade. Story here.

TV 'Cast Takes a Snapshot of the State-of-the-World.

HOT OFF THE PRESSES! Watch Larry's latest newscast, below, produced for NACTV, his local community access channel in Neepawa, Manitoba, Canada. Find out how monster, killer windstorms, fuelled by warming oceans, are continuing reminders of just how vulnerable Earth is to the powerful forces man is unleashing on this place we call "home." Find out why a new name for the era in which we live, is so significant; and how the riches of our oceans are under threat as never before.

Hottest September on Record Basically "Locks In" 2016 as Hottest Year: NASA

CommonDreams

Latest statistics follow several consecutive precedent-setting periods, including August tying July for hottest month since record-keeping began. Story here.


Sunset in Manitoba PinP photo.

First Nation Considering Lawsuit After Diesel Spill Destroys Clam Beds

NATIONAL

OBSERVER

Salvage crews have removed more than 23,000 litres of diesel from a sunken tug on British Columbia's central coast, but a local First Nation said Tuesday that the damage has already been done and a lawsuit could be on its way. Story here.

Millions Face Hunger by 2030 Without 'Deep Transformation' of Agriculture: UN

CommonDreams

An additional 122 million people could be pushed into extreme poverty and hunger as a result of climate change impacts on small-scale farmers. Story here.

Diesel Containment Failing After Spill on B.C. Coast

NATIONAL

OBSERVER

Efforts to contain a diesel spill on the British Columbia coast are failing after more than three days of round-the-clock efforts by first responders. Story here.

Millions of Chickens Feared Dead at Factory Farms in Wake of Hurricane Matthew

EcoWatch

After surveying the damage, environmentalists are expressing concerns after they found flooding at factory farms and coal ash sites fearing toxins could spread through miles of waterways. Story here.

Backyard chickens in Manitoba. PinP photo.

World's First Farm to Use Solar Power and Seawater Opens in Australia

EcoWatch

Instead of soil, pesticides, fossil fuels and groundwater, Sundrop Farms uses only solar power and desalinated seawater to grow tomatoes. Story here.

Are the Days of Some Farm Fertilizers Numbered, in The Battle to Fight Global Warming?

Manitoba Co-Operator

But soil scientist Mario Tenuta says there are things farmers can do to help themselves.

More here.                                                    

PinP photo.

Nearly 200 Nations Agree to Cut HFCs to Reduce Greenhouse Gases

CBCnews

HFCs considered the world's fastest-growing climate pollutant. Story here.

Millions of Chickens Reported Dead in Hurricane Matthew Floods

Manitoba Co-Operator

Backyard chickens in Manitoba. PinP photo.
Hog manure pits also reported swamped by floodwaters. Story here.

First Nation Urges Trudeau to Rush Tanker Ban After Diesel Spill in Great Bear Rainforest

NATIONAL OBSERVER

First responders are working quickly to contain a diesel spill in British Columbia's Great Bear Rainforest after a 10,000-tonne tanker barge and tug unit ran aground on the central Pacific coast around 1 a.m. on Thursday morning. Story here.

TransCanada Shuts Down Keystone After Oil Seeps to Surface

NATIONAL OBSERVER

Alberta-based TransCanada Corp has shut down its Keystone pipeline after crews spotted oil near a pump station in South Dakota, the company said in a statement on Monday. Story here.

U of M Lab Abuzz After Bee House Wins Sustainability Design Award

CBCnews

Competition recognizes post-secondary schools working to improve sustainability. Story here.

Honeybee on blossom. Wikimedia Commons photo.

Conservationists Announce New Protected Areas For Great Bear Rainforest

NATIONAL

OBSERVER

PinP photo

Four private parcels of land have been added to protected zones in the largest coastal temperate rainforest left on Earth, ensuring their permanent protection from commercial logging, conservationists announced Thursday. Story here.

Man-Made Climate Change Making Kindling of America's Forestlands

CommonDreams

Researchers found that wildfires will worsen exponentially until there are no longer enough trees to sustain them. Story here.

'This Is My Act of Love': Climate Activists Shut Down All US-Canada Tar Sands Pipelines

CommonDreams

Coordinated show of resistance executed in solidarity with those fighting against Dakota Access pipeline. Story here.

Famous Rare Frog Dies, Sending Species to Extinction

EcoWatch

The last known member of a rare tree frog species died last week at the Atlanta Botanical Garden causing many to fear his species is now extinct. Story here.

Wheat Growers Seek Carbon Signatures

THE WESTERN

PRODUCER

Carbon taxes are not popular with many producers, and the Western Canadian Wheat Growers group is setting out to capture those signatures. Story here.

Groups Urge UNESCO to Put Wood Buffalo National Park on 'In Danger' List

CBC News 

'It's beautiful but severely impacted in terms of water loss.’ Story here.

Gros Beak Lk. Wood Buffalo Park. Ansgar Walk photo.

BP Platform Leaks Oil Into North Sea With No Plans to Clean It Up

EcoWatch

About 95 metric tons of oil leaked into the North Sea on Sunday from BP's Clair platform, and it will be left in the ocean. BP says the oil is moving away from land and dispersing naturally, but the spill is a reminder that accidents happen as more oil development is eyed for the Arctic. Story here.

The Clair platform. BP photo.

Canada’s New Carbon Price: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

DesmogCanada

Canadians could be forgiven for being a bit confused about how Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is doing on climate change these days. Story here

Reservoirs Are a Major Source of Global Greenhouse Gases, Scientists Say

The Washington Post

If a new study is correct, there’s a big problem.  Story here.

Lake of the Prairies, a large reservoir in west-central Manitoba, formed by the Shellmouth dam. PinP photo.

Crops That Account For Half the World’s Calories Will Struggle to Adapt to Climate Change

ThinkProgress

Grasses like wheat and rice won’t be able to adapt in time, according to a new study. Story here.
Wheat - Wikimedia

Forget Paris, Scientists Say 'Radical Change' Only Way to Stay Below 2 Degrees

Common Dreams

Study by former IPCC chair comes amid rash of new research, all predicting the Earth will soon blow by key global warming thresholds. Story here.

Pulling For Plovers: Group Heaves Weeds From Sandy Manitoba Habitat of Endangered Bird

CBC News

Piping Plovers Wikimedia

Volunteers remove invasive sweet clover by hand from Riverton Sandy Bar on Lake Winnipeg. Story here.