PLANET IN PERIL

Dear Editor: Complacency about water safety thrives in Manitoba. What are we putting into our water ? PLT photo We are putting toxic waste (poison) into our water.   Toxic = dangerous, immediate or long term effects.  In the absence of scientific research, no one should  simply claim those products are safe and acceptable, then  allow them to be discarded into a water source. There is absolutely no legitimate government interest fulfilled, by allowing arsenic, lead and other contaminants  into a water source. Yet, that is exactly what is happening! The town of Virden, Manitoba, for instance,  has been issued  a  licence by the province   to dump arsenic taken from the  water treatment plant, into a  surface water  source, which downstream, enters into the Assiniboine River. The questions then that need to be answered are: Why does government, the province of Manitoba  condone and permit such a disdainful action? Why ar

by John Fefchak Canada has more lakes than the rest of the world combined. Water is the life blood of all living things. It just seems we have so much fresh water in Canada, we don't  look after it, as we know we should. (U.S. and Canada need to  reduce algae bloom on Lake Erie, WFP 29 Aug) It is clear that governments have ignored the basic principles of water stewardship for too many years in the pursuit of narrow economic interests. Lake Winnipeg has become a horrid reminder of devastation, that we are  leaving our children and their children to bear alone. Now Lake Erie has a sickness that has returned. So many of our Lakes have become diseased. The name of this disease is 'human complacency.' Slime on a Lake Winnipeg beach near  Gimli. PLT photo.

Vancouver Sun Chiefs want compensation for removal of water from their traditional territories. Details here.

The Independent Water quality was once a source of pride for a town in the shadow of an arms factory. Now, 500 cancers have been diagnosed. Details here.

Dear Larry, There is only a week left to have your say on Taseko’s proposed open-pit mine at pristine  Fish Lake, a sacred place of ceremony and gathering for the  Tsilqhot’in people  and the  heart of a watershed that supports unique rainbow trout, at-risk grizzly bears, and  sustainable  local economies that respect the ecosystem.  Take action.

by John Fefchak Dear Minister Mackintosh.  Your department staff  says it's OK to get rid of arsenic into a surface water source. However,  this only leads to more questions that  need answers. (Photo, l. courtesy of Food & Water Watch)

Globe and Mail As resource companies look to northern forests in search of untapped minerals and energy, scientists and conservancy groups say too little heed is being paid to the environmental wealth created by Canada’s boreal regions. Full story here.

KCCU - the salt A Canadian farm. PLT photo Farming already "fingered" as leading cause of water pollution south of the border. Officials there try to find out more. Details here.

The Tyee Report details how industry, climate change could 'eat up' the Mackenzie River Basin and its vital ecological services. Full story here.

QUITO, (Inter Press Service) - The “páramos” or high plateaus of Ecuador, a crucial source of water, are showing signs of extreme fragility and a troubling loss of capacity to conserve this vital resource and sustain the survival of numerous species found nowhere else on earth. Full story here.

Globe and Mail It’s been more than 15 years since her husband died of a brain tumour, but Candide Bélanger feels she may finally get some answers about why he died. Details here.

Winnipeg Free Press The International Institute for Sustainable Development (a Winnipeg-based think tank) will step in to operate experimental lakes. Full story here. Related: Experimental Lakes Closure a Financial Blunder - Greens.

Cheryl Kennedy Courcelles - CBC  Here we go again, the province has sent out their email, Facebook, Twitter and media announcements that they shall be operating the floodway gates… Details here. "We aren't the only species on Earth. We just act like it!" Anon

Show Detail Friends, I have big news to share with you on the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA). The e-mails and letters you sent calling for the ELA to be saved, the petitions you signed, the pressure you helped to mount on social media – it has all paid off. Today the Ontario government announced that it will step in to help keep the world-renowned Experimental Lakes Area operating. Public pressure from concerned citizens like you made this happen. Your support enabled the Council of Canadians to join other groups in sustaining a broad and effective campaign over the last several months. Our efforts culminated last month with our urgent '48 Hours to Save the ELA' action alert, in which nearly 4,000 Council members sent messages to Ontario Premier Wynne and Manitoba Premier Selinger calling on them to intervene – and today, they did! You and I must build on the momentum of this victory for the next fight to protect water. We must challenge the Harper Conservative

  Grandview:    The Green Party of Canada calls on the  federal government to keep the  Experimental Lakes  Area (ELA) research station open. Closure of ELA will  cost Canadian tax payers $50 million to decommission  the site while keeping it open would only be $2 million  a year.  “Do the math,” says Kate Storey, of the Dauphin  Swan River Marquette Green Party. “This attack on  science is a financial blunder.” Giving no reasons, the Harper government terminated  funding to the facility, forcing it to close this March.  Concerned citizens  have suggested that the closure is  a vendetta against environmentalists. Research coming  out of the experimental lakes could be inconvenient to  those wishing to ignore the effects of toxins on the water  and on the health of Canadians. The Experimental Lakes station  has operated as a unique,  world-renowned centre for freshwater research in  northwestern Ontario for about half-a-century. Studies  done there hav

CBC News Alberta scientist calls for research on fish malformations in Lower Athabasca River. Details here.

Winnipeg Free Press Skeptics wonder about the sincerity of the federal government to get a new operator for ELA. Details here.

CBC Radio Pharmaceutical waste, fertilizers and climate change all new threats to fresh water. Full story here.

Winnipeg Free Press. Author warns province of growing threat. Full story here.

Manitoba Eco-Network The largest remaining undammed river in this province's north, the wild, unspoiled essence of the Seal and the lands that feed it, hold a mythic quality in the hearts and minds of those aware of it natural richness. Details here.  Another Manitoba river which, to me, evokes similar sentiments, is the Waterhen, above. PLT photo.