Monday, June 27, 2011

Canada's Lentil Industry Wants Europeon Union to Allow More Roundup on its Product

Apr 13, 2011 Manitoba Co-Operator
Canada's lentil industry wants to see the European Union afford the same tolerances for glyphosate residue on lentils as it does on other pulse crops. Details here.

PLT: With evidence mounting around the world about health risks associated with Roundup, the clamor for it just increases. I fear Monsanto will win this race to the bottom! 

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Warming Oceans Cause Largest Movement of Marine Species in Two Million Years

Richard Gray - The Telegraph - 26 Jun 2011
Swarms of venomous jelly fish and poisonous algae are migrating into British waters due to changes in the ocean temperatures, a major new study has revealed.
Details here.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Sea Levels Rising At Fastest Rate In 2,100 Years: Study

By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID  HuffPost Green -  06/20/11
WASHINGTON -- Sea level has been rising significantly over the past century of global warming, according to a study that offers the most detailed look yet at the changes in ocean levels during the last 2,100 years. Details here.

Churchill Mayor Pleads for Canadian Wheat Board

Mia Rabson - Winnipeg Free Press - 06/22/2011
Wheat board's end will devastate port, he says
. Details here.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Canada’s Common Songbird Populations Plummet - 
Report Reveals Boreal Birds Particularly Hard Hit



Nature Canada - On June 15, the National Audubon Society in the United States released a startling report; many of our most recognized birds are experiencing steep population declines. 

Monday, June 20, 2011

'Shocking' Report Warns Of Mass Extinction From Current Rate Of Marine Distress

Travis Donovan  Huffpost Green 20/6/11
If the current actions contributing to a multifaceted degradation of the world's oceans aren't curbed, a mass extinction unlike anything…. Details here.




Please also read, "The Gulf of Mexico is Dying." 
PLT: I first posted this story with some reluctance & trepidation,  fearing it may be a bit "over the top." I no longer believe this to be the case.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Where Have All the Flowers Gone? High-Mountain Wildflower Season Reduced, Affecting Pollinators Like Bees, Hummingbirds

ScienceDaily (June 17, 2011) — It's summer wildflower season in the Rocky Mountains, a time when high-peaks meadows are dotted with riotous color. But for how long? Details here.

Bee photo by l.p.

Greenpeace Leader Boards an Arctic Drilling Rig - & Pays a Price! (Video)


PLT: This is precicely the madness I was referring to in my article, "Are Business Interests Giving Bad Advice to the Government of Canada on Climate Change?" Greenpeace is once again to be commended for their courageous action!

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Natural Gas Is No Climate Change 'Panacea', Warns International Energy Agency

The Guardian - June '11
Reliance on gas would lead the world to a 3.5C temperature rise, and out-of-control global warming, says new research. Details here.

WATCH: Dangers of Natural Gas Extraction (Video)



Fracking is a burgeoning technology being used to extract natural gas locked 
within rock formations. Fluid is pumped into natural or man made fractures 
under high pressure to open up cracks and access hard to reach reservoirs. 
Critics are calling for a moratorium on fracking, saying it poses serious health 
risks to nearby residents, damages the environment and could even cause 
small earthquakes. Supporters say those claims are overblown, and fracking is 
essential to Alberta's natural gas industry. Is fracking dangerous? Is it critical 
to our economic future? How should Alberta proceed? Joining us for this 
discussion is Jessica Ernst, Rosebud resident and former energy sector 
consultant is now suing Encana; Tim Marchant, Adjunct Professor of Strategy 
and Energy Geopolitics at the University of Calgary; and Ben Parfitt, Resource 
Policy Analyst with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. 
Watch video here.
  (l.) Once quite farmland, turned into a "fracking" 
site in the US.
"Although no complete list of 
the cocktail of chemicals used 
in this process exists, information 
obtained from environmental 
clean-up sites demonstrates that 
known toxins are routinely being used, including hydrochloric acid, 
diesel fuel (which contains benzene, tuolene, and xylene) as well as 
formaldehyde, polyacrylimides, arsenic, and chromates." Sourcewatch.org
=====
COMMENT: "I wish, just once, these corporations would admit to what they are doing, instead of always denying the obvious."  Margaret Romak 

Manitoba Search Crews Enter Flood Zone

CBC News - Jun 16, 2011 Teams will stabilize properties so that owners can safely retrieve items. Details here. 

Toronto Star photo 
PLT: According to the provincial government's latest flood bulletin, 2,527 Manitobans have now been forced from their homes by the massive flooding. This has surely become an event "of biblical proportions." Except, in this case, does God really have that much to do with it?

Oil giant broke deal to deactivate thousands of pipelines and faced no penalty, documents reveal

The Investigate Journalism Foundation. Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. promised to deactivate thousands of inactive pipelines under a specia...