PLANET IN PERIL

CBC news UBC researchers found BMAA toxin in high concentrations in 25% of algal blooms tested in Manitoba lake. Story here. Lake Winnipeg. Greenpeace photo. A FOOTNOTE: In the interests of fairness and accuracy, it should be pointed out that it was Eva Pip, a long-time water expert at the University of Winnipeg, and a colleague who are on the record as first confirming BMAA in Lake Winnipeg, NOT the BC research team referenced in the CBC story.   PinP Find Prof. Pip's research here.

DESMOG Clovelly Oil is not quite a household name, as far as oil and natural gas companies go, though it recently gained attention when its oil and natural gas storage rig exploded on October 15 in Louisiana. Story here.

EcoWatch Wildfires like this can send harmful air particles continent-wide. Wikimedia Commons. "For decades,  pollution  and its harmful effects on people's health, the environment, and the planet have been neglected both by Governments and the international development agenda. Yet, pollution is the largest environmental cause of disease and death in the world today, responsible for an estimated 9 million premature deaths."  Story here. RELATED: Please watch my TV newscast, below, which aired some months ago. A segment contained within it references the severe cost of pollution on the world's population.

|NATIONAL OBSERVER Ron Plain will most likely be dead in 24 months. In November 2016, his doctors diagnosed him with a rare form of cancer… Story here.

NATIONAL  OBSERVER This investigation is the first chapter in an  unprecedented series   investigating the power and influence of the oil and gas industry, and its impacts on Canadian communities. Story here. A Trans Canada Pipeline facility in Nebraska. shannonpatrick17 Nebraska, U.S.A.

Nation of Change Living within a 1/2 mile of these production facilities is clearly correlated with negative health impacts. Story here. PinP photo.

ScienceNews As governments decide what to do about air quality, studies connect an array of health problems to dirty air. Story here.

EcoWatch Photo of a dead zone with sediment from the Mississippi River  carrying fertilizer to the Gulf of Mexico. Photo by NOAA. Scientists predict  that so much pollution is pouring into the Gulf of Mexico this year that it is creating a larger-than-ever " dead zone " in which low to no oxygen can suffocate or kill fish and other marine life. Details here.

The Western Producer Several cattle producers along the Wood River in south-central Saskatchewan have to move about 1,000 head to different pastures after water quality in the river declined unexpectedly. Story here.

H2O: Ideas & Action for Canada's Water A blog about the Lake Winnipeg Watershed  The hot summer weather  in Manitoba has brought along another reminder that all is not well in our great Lake Winnipeg, the 10th largest freshwater lake in the world. Story here.

ScienceDaily In-car air study of commuting cars finds dangers to human health. Story here. Traffic jam in Jasper Nat'l. Park CA. PinP photo.

The Washington Post More than 9 billion tons of plastic has been produced since 1950, and the vast majority of it is still around. Story here. Plastic waste on a beach in India. Photo by  Hajj0 ms

Nature Human activity has been a major source of mercury pollution in  the Arctic, and a new  study   has identified the form most often  taken by the pollutant: gaseous elemental  mercury  (GEM). The  present  News & Views  article discusses how the Arctic tundra  acts as a major sink for mercury, as the local plants uptake GEM  from  the atmosphere; and  what this means for the global mercury  cycle as  global temperatures warm. Isotopic data  collected in the  original study  by Obrist  et al.  reveal that GEM accounts for 90% of  the  mercury in plants,  and the uptake of GEM by plants is  especially  high in the summer. Since  plant matter decomposes  into the soil,  the Arctic soil may soon become  a substantial  mercury sink. ======== Editor's summary Anthropogenic activities have led to large-scale mercury pollution in the Arctic, but it remains uncertain whether wet deposition of oxidized mercury via precipitation and sea-salt-induced ch

EcoWatch Green Sea Turtles in Australia's Great Barrier Reef are some of the world's most majestic creatures. They have a lifespan of up to 50 years, but after recent results from blood tests on the marine animals, their health might be in jeopardy. Story here.   Photo by Nize @ English Wikipedi

Environmental Defence New research shows that methane emissions from Canadian oil and gas operations are much higher than previously thought.  Demand action on methane now! 

Green Wall Warriors Villagers of Gunjur in the Gambia, thought they already had experienced the worst as they found out today that their wildlife reserve Bolong Fenyo seems to be poisoned by the Chinese Golden Lead Factory…. Story here.

Associated Press When researchers traveled to a tiny, uninhabited island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, they were astonished to find an estimated 38 million pieces of trash washed up on the beaches. Story here. What's left of an albatross chick (found on another remote island) after  ingesting bottle caps & other plastic debris.  

The Washington Post The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has curtailed work on a natural-gas pipeline in Ohio after the owner, Energy Transfer Partners, reported 18 leaks and spilled more than 2 million gallons of drilling materials.  Story here.

SumOfUs It has been two years since a deadly spill contaminated La Pasión River and destroyed the livelihoods of communities in Guatemala. The corporation responsible, REPSA, has yet to take real steps to address the environmental and social damages it has caused. PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION!

iPOLITICS Ottawa won’t revisit delaying cuts to a troublesome greenhouse gas despite a report published today that claimed its emissions could be much worse than previously thought. Story here.