PLANET IN PERIL

INTER PRESS  News Agency Wind turbine in Saskatchewan, Canada. PLT photo. Despite evolving public awareness and alarm over climate change, subsidies for the production and consumption of fossil fuels remain a stubborn impediment to shifting the world’s energy matrix towards renewable sources. Full story here.

Huffington Post The Obama administration wants to reduce the amount of ethanol in the nation's fuel supply, acknowledging the biofuel law championed by both parties in 2007 is not working as well as expected. Full story here. Related: Bursting the ethanol bubble.

by Lester Brown A wheatfield in Manitoba, Canada. PLT photo Agriculture as it exists today developed over 11,000 years of rather remarkable climate  stability.  It has evolved to maximize production within that climate system. Now,  suddenly, the climate  is changing.  Details here.

PEOPLE IN ACTION  Reah Janise Kauffman and Julianne Simpson www.earth-policy.org/action_center/C27 Earth Policy Release August 13, 2013 We love hearing about how our publications inspire others to take action and share their stories  on our website. From the classroom to the political arena, people are spreading the word about  Plan B and EPI’s work to create a roadmap to sustainability.  In 2007, Dr. Bonnie Winslow-Garvin, a school psychologist and  long-time fan of Lester’s work, gave her husband Michael Garvin a  copy of  Plan B 2.0 . Garvin was so inspired by Lester’s call to action  that he left his national security consulting work to focus on moving  the world to a carbon-free energy economy. In 2009 they founded  RENAIS, a renewable energy technology and financing consultancy  specializing in wind power, in their home state of Iowa. Garvin also wanted to act internationally. He decided to begin with  the Caribbean, a region heavily dependent upon f

Naomi Klein - the Nation The movement demanding that public interest institutions divest their holdings from fossil fuels is on a serious roll. At last count, there were active divestment campaigns on 305 campuses and in more than 100 US cities and states. The demand has spread to Canada... Full story here.

CBC News Chat over beer generates lower-cost way to make hydrogen from water. Details here.

CBC SK:  Whiteout conditions are said to have contributed to the stranding of more than 150 people near Unity, SK since early yesterday. Details here. A wintry view from the train. Winnipeg to Toronto in Feb.'13. A PLT video. Please also read:  "Climate Change and the CNR. -  Are the two already on a collision course, with train travellers caught in the middle?"

CBC TV - The National  Duncan McCue looks at the booming business of renewable energy in the United States, in spite of its reputation for an addiction to cheap energy. Watch the video here. PLT: Obama puts Harper to shame by recognizing climate change for what it is and doing something about it. Harper has been criminally negligent on this file and ought to be brought up on charges.

John Vidal - The Guardian Organic Canadian potatoes. PLT photo In a village in India's poorest state, Bihar, farmers are growing world record amounts of rice, potatoes and wheat with no GM, and no herbicide. Is this one solution to world food shortages? Details here. PLT:  These breakthroughs need to be shouted from the rooftops. Do North American farmers even know about this?  Here in my home province of Manitoba, Canada, commercial potato-growers spray their crops up to 5 times a season with potent fungicides. How healthy is that?  Excellent story, John!

guardian.co.uk 9 May 2011 UN's climate change science body says renewables supply, particularly solar power, can meet global demand. Details here.

Please check out this interesting video here!