Population Growth Increases Climate Fear

San Francisco Chronicle

"The combination of climate change and 9 billion people to me is one that is just fraught with potential catastrophes," said…Full story here.

Golden Rice: No Silver Bullet

Organic Consumers Association

The biotech industry is trying to revive Golden Rice in the consciousness of the public, even though it still remains a largely theoretical product. In the absense of any real news on a crop that hasn't gained traction in more than a decade, the move looks more like an act of desperation than a legitimate defence of biotechnology. Details here.

Is Global Warming Really Slowing Down?

Mother Jones

Skeptics say global warming is over. They're wrong. Full story here.

No Thanks to Canada's Prime Minister, Stephen Harper And His "Wrecking Crew," Resurrection of the Priceless Experimental Lakes Area Again Looks Promising

The Province of Manitoba is distributing this news release on behalf of the Government of Manitoba and the International Institute of Sustainable Development.

News Release

September 2, 2013

MANITOBA TO HELP ENSURE CONTINUED OPERATION OF EXPERIMENTAL LAKES AREA WITH LONG-TERM FUNDING TO IISD, FRESHWATER RESEARCH 
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ELA Research Invaluable in Saving Lake Winnipeg:  Premier

The Manitoba government is providing the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) ongoing, secure funding as the organization takes over operation of the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA), Premier Greg Selinger announced today.  The new, more than $6 million, six-year agreement includes $900,000 to be dedicated to funding freshwater research and technology at the ELA.  

"The ELA will be invaluable to helping us solve the complex issues surrounding the health of Lake Winnipeg and basin waterway challenges," said Selinger.  "Stable long-term funding is critical for the nationally and internationally important work that is conducted at this facility."

The premier noted the government of Manitoba is the largest core funder of the IISD.  

Bayer Sues EC for Saving Bees

Sum of + Us
Larry,

Wow. Bayer has just sued the European Commission to overturn a ban on the pesticides that are killing millions of bees around the world. A huge public push won this landmark ban only months ago -- and we can't sit back and let Big Pesticide overturn it while the bees vanish.

Bayer and Syngenta, two of the world's largest chemical corporations, claim that the ban is "unjustified" and "disproportionate." But clear scientific evidence shows their products are behind the massive bee die-off that puts our entire food chain in peril. 

Just last month, 37 million bees were discovered dead on a single Canadian farm. And unless we act now, the bees will keep dying. We have to show Bayer now that we won't tolerate it putting its profits ahead of our planet's health. If this giant corporation manages to bully Europe into submission, it would spell disaster for the bees.

Sign the petition to tell Bayer and Syngenta to drop their bee-killing lawsuits now.

New Studies Show The Oceans Are Acidifying at the Fastest Rate in 300 Million Years. Should We Be Concerned?

Washington Post

The results, published this week in Nature Climate Change, aren’t exactly encouraging: “Our analysis demonstrates that the groups studied - corals, molluscs, echinoderms, crustaceans and fishes - are all impacted negatively, albeit differently, even by moderate acidification.” Details here.

American Authorities Work to Ensure There is no "Lac-Mégantic Disaster" on Their Doorstep

Bloomberg News - U.S. rail-safety regulators began a “Bakken blitz” of inspections of crude oil tank cars this week as they seek to prevent a railroad disaster in the U.S. similar to July’s fatal inferno in Quebec. Full story here.