By Larry Powell This book should be required reading for anyone who is concerned about the way hogs are raised in Manitoba. And that goes double for those who may still actually believe there's nothing to be concerned about.  Manitoba author Bill Massey (above) grew up in a troubled family with an abusive father. Despite all this, or perhaps because of it, he emerged with a heightened sense of what was fair and what was not. His toughness and perseverance would serve him well in the face of the challenges which lay ahead - ones he could not have possibly imagined.  Bill and his wife Dorothy have, for years, raised chickens and a few hogs on their little farm near Grosse Isle, northwest of Winnipeg. Both have also been teachers, he, a principal and an advocate for abused children.  In 2004, their lives would change, and not for the better. A nearby hog barn, operated by a Hutterite colony, announced it planned to expand. Right away, Bill smelled trouble ahead. And he was right. In

Monash University - Science Daily The Sparks fire during an historic heatwave in BC, Canada. A BC Wildfire Service photo June 20-21. The world's largest study of global climate related mortality found deaths related to hot temperatures increased in all regions from 2000 to 2019, indicating that global warming due to climate change will make this mortality figure worse in the future. The international research team looked at mortality and temperature data across the world.    Story here.

Bill Massey - author of, "Of Pork & Potatoes - a memoir" Massey made the presentation, below, to a Conditional Use Hearing at the RM of  Westlake-Gladstone Municipality on  July 8th 2021.     Thank you for the opportunity to speak at this hearing.  My name is Bill Massey and I have led a group called the Concerned Citizens of Grosse Isle in our struggle with a hog barn in our community.  I have written a book called Of Pork & Potatoes that chronicles the events of the past 15 years in our community.  I’ve been asked to speak by members of your municipality and I’m hoping my remarks will be helpful. I want to begin by describing the issue of odour that our community experienced.  People have been unable to enjoy their properties or care for their yards because of the smell.  Some of them had even confined themselves to their homes.  Others had disconnected fresh air intakes on air conditioning units to attempt to minimize the odor.  People without air conditioning and

      During the last days of June 2021, Pacific northwest areas of the U.S. and Canada experienced temperatures never previously observed, with records broken in many places by several degrees Celsius. Multiple cities in the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington and the western provinces of Canada recorded temperatures far above 40ºC (104 ºF), including setting a new all-time Canadian temperature record of 49.6ºC in the village of Lytton. Shortly after setting the record, Lytton was largely destroyed in a wildfire [ 1 , 2 ]. The exceptionally high temperatures led to spikes in sudden deaths, and sharp increases in hospital visits for heat-related illnesses and emergency calls [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]. Heatwaves are one of the deadliest natural hazards and this heatwave affected a population unaccustomed and unprepared for such extreme temperatures, for instance with most homes lacking air-conditioning [ 6 ]. Currently ava

 Why GMOs aren't bad but will still poison you with glyphosate (Roundup) and how they get past government regulations in Canada and the USA. Also learn what the mega agro corporations are doing to small farmers regarding seed. In a Nutshell's 'Are GMOs Good or Bad? Genetic Engineering & Our Food'. RELATED:  "GMOs Grab Headlines Again - and Not in a Good Way."

by Kate Storey - Citizen’s Climate lobby - Dauphin, Manitoba Farmers and ranchers are among those most affected by the climate, and yet agriculture is a contributor of climate changing greenhouse gas emissions.  As we work our fields and care for our livestock, it’s hard to imagine how our day to day farm decisions can have an impact on the atmosphere and on the heat, drought, floods, and weather extremes that affect our yields.  Farming activities can store carbon and nutrients in the soil and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Farming activities can also release chemicals into the air that accumulate, destabilizing the climate we depend on.  Fortunately, there are climate friendly farming practices that are both good for the environment and good for farm net incomes. Although the choices that we make on our individual farms may seem insignificant, the widespread adoption of climate friendly farm practices can lead to an agriculture system in which emissions are reduced and carbon is ca