More than 100 people from the Cross Lake First Nation (Pimicikamak Cree Nation), located north of Lake Winnipeg, occupied the grounds of the Jenpeg hydro-dam last week. Chief Catherine Merrick said the First Nation is taking control of its traditional territory and evicting Manitoba Hydro. Story here.
In a troubling sign, data from the Energy Information Agency released today show that U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide emissions rose 2.5% in 2013. This increase comes after two years of declining emissions. Story here.
One year ago, when more than 20,000 barrels (3,528,000 Litre) of crude oil spilled from a pipeline and soaked a wheat field in Tioga, North Dakota, the public almost never knew about it. After the spill was discovered by a lone farmer, it was not reported for nearly two weeks, and only after reporters from the The Associated Press asked about it specifically. Details here.
Researchers have created conventionally bred varieties tolerant to drought and low nitrogen soils that can reduce poverty in 13 African countries by up to 9 %, far outperforming anything that genetic modification has achieved Prof Peter Saunders
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The latest government information about the scope of deforestation by Canada's oil and gas sector - predominantly the Boreal Plain forest destroyed by Alberta oilsands mining and production - will not be published until a year after the next federal election, according to information from the federal Natural Resources department. Story here.
With crude prices sharply down and the future of the Keystone XL pipeline in doubt, energy companies are dubious about investing in oil from the Alberta Tar Sands. OnEarth writer Brian Palmer discusses the problems facing the industry with host Steve Curwood. Story here.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued final approval this week, over the objections of more than a half-million citizens, of Dow AgroSciences' Enlist Duo, an herbicide made from a combination of 2,4-D (one of the active ingredients in Agent Orange) and glyphosate (the key ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide). Story here.
The benefits of agroecological methods are extremely broad, from the human health benefits of eating food grown in healthy and biologically diverse soils, to drastically reduced input costs for farmers... Story here.
BERLIN (Reuters) - Scientists from around the world met this week to decide whether to call time on the Holocene epoch after 11,700 years and begin a new geological age called the Anthropocene - to reflect humankind's deep impact on the planet. Story here.