Sunday, September 7, 2014

40 Percent of Countries with Largest Shale Deposits Face Water Stress

World Resources Institute

Right now, dozens of countries around the world are deciding whether or not to develop their shale gas and tight oil resources (tight oil deposits are trapped in fine-grained sedimentary rock, including shale). It’s easy to understand why: shale gas could boost the world’s recoverable natural gas resources by 47 percent, cut greenhouse gas emissions compared to coal, create new revenue and jobs, and raise national energy supplies.

However, extracting natural gas and tight oil from shale poses environmental risks, especially when it comes to water. Hydraulic fracturing requires up to 25 million liters of fresh water per well, meaning shale resources can be hard to develop where fresh water is hard to find—including in some of the world’s fastest-growing economies and populations. Details here.

Saturday, September 6, 2014

Canada's Transportation Safety Board (TSB) Warns, Dangerous Crude Could Still Travel in Misclassified Tank Cars

THE GLOBE AND MAIL

The TSB is raising concerns that dangerous crude oil could still be travelling by rail inside misclassified tank cars, despite assurances from the federal government that the problem has been fixed. STORY HERE.

Friday, September 5, 2014

Do Manitoba's Elected Politicians Care About the Health of Their People? A Food Safety Advocate Wonders...

The politicians are "no-shows" at a series of summer speaking events.
by Larry Powell

Organizers of a national speaking tour, designed to warn of the potential health impacts of genetically-engineered foods, had high hopes of winning the ear of governments when the tour arrived in Manitoba in July. The Co-ordinator for the "GE Foods and Health Cross-Canada Speakers Tour" in the province, Rose Stevens, personally sent e-mails to numerous Members of Parliament and MLAs in Manitoba. She invited them to attend one of the seven events held in the province that month. 

Some sent regrets, without further explanation. Others said they had other commitments, without saying what they were. One said he was going to be out of the country for one of the dates, but didn't mention the others. Several did not even respond.                                                                                                

Whatever their circumstance, not one of the invited politicians showed up! Some also declined invitations to send representatives, if they could not be there, themselves.

What might these politicians have heard, had they attended?

Expert speakers sounded alarm bells over glyphosate. That's the active ingredient in Roundup, a widely-used herbicide which kills broad-leaf weeds but spares crops which have been genetically-engineered to resist it. Crops altered in this way are referred to as "Roundup-Ready."

One speaker, Thierry Vrain, cited evidence that glyphosate depletes "GE" soybean crops of certain minerals, making them less nutritious. Dr. Vrain worked for Agriculture Canada for 30 years as a soil scientist and geneticist.

He referred to statistics from both the Centers for Disease Control and Department of Agriculture in the US which show "a very probable link between the amount of glyphosate sprayed on crops and the number of people coming down with gastrointestinal problems." And he pointed to many research studies which suggest a similar link to an increasing litany of human ailments like "kidney inflammation, liver damage, diabetes, celiac disease, autism, even cancer, premature births and miscarriages." 

Dr. Vrain concedes that these studies simply establish a link and are not "scientifically conclusive." But, he says they are like a road map, pointing to the critical need for further studies which will either prove or disprove "causation," once and for all. He suggests, to press ahead with such studies would be relatively easy and logical; not to do so, downright irresponsible.

He adds, the millions of kilograms of glyphosate now applied to crops in North America each year have dispersed so widely, they can be found "In our food, our drinking water, the rain and most importantly, in our bodies." 

Another speaker on the tour, BC activist and organic food advocate, Tony Mitra, pointed out, there is not a single laboratory in all of Canada which will test mothers' milk or our own blood or urine for glyphosate residue - even if we are prepared to pay for it! He calls this unacceptable. Mitra has embarked on a campaign to get such a lab up and running as a way of allowing ordinary people to find out just how much of the pesticide they are coping with in their bodies.

All of the major parties seemed to share equally in their disinterest. 

Since it is not practical to document all of the politicians’ responses (or non-responses) in this space, here's a sampling of one from each major party who were invited, but did not attend. 

Manitoba's (NDP) Minister of Healthy Living, Sharon Blady, (above) did notrespond, to either of Ms. Stevens' two invitations to attend. (On her webside, Ms. Blady promises to "create environments that support health and wellness in our communities.")
Larry Maquire, the Conservative MP for Brandon-Souris (above), did not respond to two invitation from Ms. Stevens, either. (In June, Maquire announced a joint grant from both Ottawa and Manitoba, of $1.8 million, to develop new varieties of sunflower seed which would be, among other things, "herbicide tolerant." That's usually code for "Roundup-Ready.") 
Kevin Lamoureux (above), Liberal MP for Winnipeg North was invited, too. He simply said he was "unavailable" due to "scheduling conflicts."
Mayor Sam Katz (above) and the entire city council of Winnipeg were also invited. No one replied.
Kate Story (above), a candidate and official of both the federal and provincial Green Parties (believed to be the only unelected politician to be invited), did not attend, either. Ironically, she was in the Maritimes at the time, at a party convention where she was instrumental in defeating a motion that would have weakened the party's anti-GMO stance. (Other Green Party supporters did attend the speaking events. And one "Green" candidate, Janine Gibson, actually chaired one of them.)

Rose Stevens, the tour organizer, is satisfied with the response of the Green Party. But she is both frustrated and disappointed with the rest. 

"We elect our politicians because we feel they will represent our best interests.  After such a poor response from all of them on such an important health issue it really makes me wonder why we bother to vote for them? Are they more interested in protecting big corporations and not making waves so they can remain in good favour with the highly influential biotech companies?"

Canada Largest Contributor To Deforestation Worldwide: Study

The Huffington Post
P in P photo.
Add another black mark to Canada’s environmental image around the world: The country now leads the planet in the degradation of untouched forests, according to a study from Forest Watch.  Story here.

As Aircraft Emissions Skyrocket, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Looks Into Regulation For First Time

CLIMATEPROGRESS

Air travel is a carbon-intensive industry, and just like vehicles and power plants, its rising carbon pollution may soon be curtailed due to efforts from the Obama administration. Story here.
                



                P in P photo

Massive Canadian Mining Waste Spill Was Nearly 70 Percent Larger Than Previous Estimates

CLIMATEPROGRESS
Photo courtesy of "Cowichan Conversations."
The mining waste spill that led to water bans for hundreds of British Columbians was almost 70 percent larger than previously estimated, according to the company in charge of the mine. Story here.

Thursday, September 4, 2014

British Petroleum's Recklessness Caused Gulf Oil Spill, U.S. Judge Rules


HuffingtonPost
A U.S. judge has ruled that BP's recklessness caused 2010's massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill, a move that could cost the company billions. Earlier this week Halliburton, the company in charge of sealing the completed Deepwater Horizon well that spewed millions of gallons of oil into the gulf, agreed to pay $1.1 billion to settle claims arising from its negligence. Story here.

Canadian Beekeepers Sue Bayer, Syngenta Over Neonicotinoid Pesticides

Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Energy Generation in Australia Jump Most in Eight Years After Carbon Price Axed

The Sydney Morning Herald

Carbon emissions from the country's main electricity grid have risen since the end of the carbon tax by the largest amount in nearly eight years. Story here.

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

"Limit to Growth" Was Right. New Research Shows We're Nearing Collapse

TheGuardian

Four decades after the book was published, Limit to Growth’s forecasts have been vindicated by new Australian research. Expect the early stages of global collapse to start appearing soon. Story here.

Government of Nova Scotia, Canada to Prohibit Hydraulic Fracturing

Government Of Nova Scotia

Energy Minister Andrew Younger has announced, the government of Nova Scotia will introduce legislation this fall to prohibit high volume hydraulic fracturing for onshore shale gas. Story here.

Health Canada probes claim that government officials helped pesticide company overturn a ban

CANADA'S                                                                                                                                ...