PLANET IN PERIL

PressProgress Premier Clark First the good news: After spending months ignoring the recommendations put forward by British Columbia's Climate Leadership team, Premier Christy Clark has finally found someone to take charge of this very important file.   Bad news? His experience includes serving as a director at the Fraser Institute, a right-wing think tank whose experts  question the science of climate change . Story here.

NATIONAL OBSERVER Rex Murphy caricature courtesy  of By the Bay Art Studio Climate change denier Rex Murphy took to the CBC Wednesday not so much to eulogize Calgary and its economic woes as to slap down anyone opposed to fossil fuel development. More here .

The editorial, below, appeared in the latest issue of the Neepawa Banner. It was written by Ken Waddell, the paper's publisher and long-time political, journalistic and religious voice in the community.

onEarth The Paris climate agreement just took away one of climate skeptics’ favourite arguments for inaction. More here.

NATIONAL OBSERVER Ecojustice, on behalf of a group of prominent Canadians, has filed a complaint with the federal Competition Bureau, asking it to investigate false and misleading representations made by climate change denier groups. More here.

The Washington Post The climate science sphere has been wrapped up in a major debate for the past several years: over the global warming “pause.” But now, a growing body of research has some scientists saying that the case may, in fact, be closed. They’re arguing that the pause never existed. Story here.

by Larry Powell It's time to wake up and smell the smoke! Forest fire smoke (from as far away as BC) over southern Manitoba.  PinP photo. As wildfires rage around us on the Canadian prairies, forcing thousands of poor souls from their homes, we click our tongues and complain about sore eyes and reduced visibility on the roads. (Trust me, reduced visibility is the least of our worries.)   We apparently lack the brain power to listen to and actually  hear  what the world's scientific community has been warning us about for over a generation. If we do nothing to curb our insatiable appetite for fossil fuels, we can expect more and worse heatwaves, droughts, wildfires and a host of other extreme weather events which are  decidedly not positive,  in our future .  Our relentless burning of gas, oil and coal, apparently without a thought for tomorrow, produces greenhouse gases which trap the sun's heat and cause the earth's average temperature to increase. 

Inside  climate  news Naomi Oreskes discusses the network of pundits and scientists who have delayed action on climate change, and how they did it. Story here.

Florida Center for Investigative Reporting. The state of Florida is the region most susceptible to the effects of global warming in the US. But you would not know that by talking to officials at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection... Story here.

National Geographic We live in an age when all manner of scientific knowledge—from climate change to vaccinations—faces furious opposition. Some even have doubts about the moon landing. Story here.

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.

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.

by Kasra Hassani - Canadian Science Writers' Association I, a scientist with a PhD in Microbiology and Immunology, was a climate change denialist. Wait, let me add, I was an effective climate change denialist: I would throw on a cloak of anecdotal evidence and biased one-sided skepticism and declare myself a skeptic. Good scientists are skeptics, right? I sallied forth and denied every piece of evidence that was presented to me, for a relatively long time.  Details here.   Photo  via  Shutterstock.

CLIMATE PROGRESS The National Review has held great influence among Republicans and conservative thought leaders for nearly 60 years, but a lawsuit from a climate scientist could threaten its very existence. Details here.

Brandon Sun A raging stream where none had been before during Manitoba's  epic flooding of 2011.  PLT photo. JAKARTA, Indonesia - Climate change may be the world's "most fearsome" weapon of mass destruction and urgent global action is needed to combat it, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Sunday. He compared those who deny its existence to people who insist the Earth is flat. Details here.

by Danny Dimwit ROBLIN, MB:  Wow! Sure has been windy lately, huh? We had two big trees blow down right beside our own house near Roblin late one night back in July. The top 8 or 10 feet of 6 others were ripped off and came crashing down at the same time. I even had a heart attack after cleaning up the mess in my yard. (Needed open-heart surgery - bypasses, the whole 9 yards!) (Later, I talked to a lady who had a bit of a heart attack, too, while cleaning up a campground near Portage, further to the east. She said a big wind kind of like a tornado had passed through!) The storm at our place (I think they called it a plow wind), damaged our sun porch, buckled our garage door and damaged our car. Cost a couple of thou to fix. As bad as it was, other poor souls in our neck of the woods also suffered damage from the wind which could have been even worse. We saw trees down everywhere, including some on top of houses and trailers in Roblin. Did you? Word is,

Ian Sample, science correspondent guardian.co.uk, 20 Oc '11 Cloud formation photo by PLT Independent investigation of the key issues sceptics claim can skew global warming figures reports that they have no real effect . Details here.

by Larry Rex Murphy, that pompous darling of the CBC's flagship TV newscast, "The National" and CBC Radio's "Cross-Country Checkup," seems about to jump into the murky waters of climate denial. Rex Murphy caricature courtesy  of By the Bay Art Studio "Friends of Science" is announcing  Murphy will speak to the student body at the University of Calgary on September 29th at an event called "Climate Change 101."  The dishonestly named "Friends....." is actually dedicated to sowing doubt and discrediting peer-reviewed science surrounding global warming.  According to the painstakingly-researched book, "Climate Cover-up," "Friends of Science" had its origins in the Calgary oil patch, among geologists and oil industry PR types determined to discredit the Kyoto Protocol. The main sponsor of the event on the 29th is the "Frontier Centre for Public Policy," a conservative &qu