PLANET IN PERIL

Council of Canadians The Council of Canadians applauds the Tsilhqot’in Nation and celebrates the federal decision to reject the contentious Taseko Mines Limited New Prosperity Mine. Details here. Fish Lk. Environment CA

New York Times A United States-Canadian agency called on Wednesday for swift and sweeping limits on the use of fertilizer around Lake Erie to reduce the amount of phosphorus entering the water and creating a vast blanket of algae each summer, threatening fisheries, tourism and even drinking water. Details here.  A duck family labours through an algae-clogged river in Manitoba, CA. PLT photo.

Eco Watch - by David Suzuki It would be difficult to live without oil and gas. But it would be impossible to live without water. Yet, in our mad rush to extract and sell every drop of gas and oil as quickly as possible, we’re trading precious water for fossil fuels. Details here. A Canadian waterfall. Quantity? For now .  Quality? Not so much! PLT photo.

INTER PRESS SERVICE The Jangwani slum in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania,  was flooded during recent heavy rain . Credit: Muhidin Issa Michuzi/IPS When the U.N.’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) reach their deadline in 2015, there will still be a critical setback: millions of people in the developing world without full access to safe drinking water, proper sanitation and electricity in their homes. Details here.

International Institute for Sustainable Development OTTAWA—The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) welcomes today’s announcement of proposed new regulations that would allow the important scientific research at the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA) to continue.  One of a countless number of freshwater lakes in Manitoba, Canada. PLT photo. The proposed regulations are published in the  Canada Gazette  and are entitled “ Experimental Lakes Area Research Activities Regulations ” and “ Regulations Establishing Conditions for Making Regulations under Subsection 36(5.2) of the  Fisheries Act . ” This step, together with the Ontario government’s  regulation proposal notice  last month, is of critical importance to allow the operation of ELA by a third party. IISD seeks to ensure that the long-term scientific work to understand Canada’s changing freshwater management challenges continues.  “IISD continues to negotiate with both Ontario and the federal go

Winnipeg Free Press Opponents outraged as St. Clement's lagoon OK'd. Details here. Related:  The Rural Municipality of Shell River, Manitoba, Scraps Plans for a New Sewage Lagoon at a Controversial Location "Born of the Stump"

Preamble by  by Larry Powell This article sprouts from the fertile mind of John Fefchak, a writer from Virden, Manitoba and a regular contributor to this blog. (It's a refinement of a piece he did, which appeared here some time ago.) I believe you'll find it both funny and provocative. In it, he speaks of modern-day policy-makers forsaking their God-given duty to care for planet Earth. Instead, they have turned their backs on ancient biblical teachings and  abandoned their sacred duty as stewards of our water resources, from which all life springs. "There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jessie,  and a branch shall grow out of his roots." Isaiah 11:1-10  by John Fefchak  INTRODUCTION….THE AGREEMENT. Before there was anything, there was GOD, a few angels and huge swirling globs of rocks and water with no place to go.  The angels asked GOD: "Why don't you clean up this mess"? So GOD collected rocks from the huge swirling

Canada.com More than $100 million in cuts are underway at the federal department in charge of protecting Canada’s water and oceans, despite recommendations from top bureaucrats that it needs to increase spending for both environmental and economic reasons. Full story here.

by Larry Powell Why is the Government of Manitoba clinging to its monumentally callous practise of releasing arsenic into the environment? After all, the deadly nature of the poison is hardly a deep, dark secret. Have Premier Selinger and his Minister responsible for the environment, Gord Mackintosh, never heard of the Borgias? They're the infamous Italian family who rose to power in the Church, using arsenic to murder people for their money and property. And that was way back in the middle ages.  Known even then as "The King of Poisons," a single dose the size of a pea was said to dispatch a victim with "violent abdominal cramping, diarrhea, vomiting and shock."  Has no one with our provincial government ever read the classic, groundbreaking book, "Silent Spring?" It was written back in the 60s, but has well stood the test of time. In it, its highly-respected author, Rachel Carson reminded the world that arsenic found in chim

Winnipeg Free Press  A Canadian expert on lake sturgeon poured cold water Wednesday on Manitoba Hydro’s plans to re-stock the Nelson River with the prehistoric fish after the Keeyask generating station is built. Full story here.

OnEarth Parched for more than half a century, California’s San Joaquin -- and its salmon -- are coming back. Details here.

Dear Editor; What will it take to convince the Manitoba government that  it  should never allow arsenic to be released into our surface  waters? I consider this action reprehensible, yet that is exactly what  the province has permitted (the Town of) Virden to do, with arsenic that  has been removed from the water source at the town's treatment plant. The following is my response to Premier Selinger and Minister Mackintosh in regard to their letter. It informs me that they’ll continue to allow the arsenic that’s recovered from the Virden water treatment plant to be released elsewhere. My concern is that this will, over time, only add to surface water contamination and pollute the environment. This will create unknown consequences for future generations. Many other substances that are considered toxic in other jurisdictions are obviously not of concern here. It seems this government has no problem with putting lives at risk.

Science Daily Oct. 10, 2013 — Thirty-eight U.S. national parks are experiencing "accidental fertilization" at or above a critical threshold for ecological damage, according to a study published in… Details here.

Winnipeg Free Press SANTIAGO, Chile - Just how to define a glacier is at the heart of a Chilean congressional battle that could determine the future of mining in the world's largest copper-producing country. Details here.

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Beaverlodge Lake, a 57 square kilometer water body, and three other watersheds in northern Saskatchewan are seriously contaminated with uranium and selenium. Details here. Related: Uranium City - a Legacy of Cancer.

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.