Himalayan Glaciers Retreating in Some Regions but Not Others

Planetsave

The consequences for the Himalayan water supply depend heavily on the region’s thousands of glaciers… Full story here.

Photo courtesy of MailOnline

Pork Industry's Muddy Image

Winnipeg Free Press - Laura Rance

Austin tragedy didn't help. Full story here.

Please also read:
Pork Council Must Focus More on Farmers' Needs 

Parents Need to Act Against Climate Change for Their Kids’ Sake

by Mark Hertsgaard - The Daily Beast

Droughts, heat waves, with the evidence mounting of major climate change, why aren’t parents taking action to protect their children from its dire effects? Mark Hertsgaard calls for parents to act just like they would if a train was heading toward their children. Full story here.

Damage from a wicked plow wind which struck a wide area of western Manitoba in July. PLT photos

Why Organic?

Rodale's - A note from our Executive Director   

The news has been flooded with all sorts of noise about the Stanford meta-analysis “Are Organic Foods Safer or Healthier Than Conventional Alternatives?” Although both the researchers themselves and the media made it sound as if conventional came out on top, the numbers clearly made the case for organic. Here is what we saw when we read the report:

PLT photo 

Where Cows Are Happy and Food Is Healthy

New York Times

Don’t laugh, but maybe milk is tastier and healthier if it comes from a cow with a name. Full story here.
PLT photo

Weathergirl Goes Rogue

In Defence of Science

Schindler's Pissed - Alternatives Journal - Canada's Environment Magazine. 

Freshwater science pioneer David Schindler fires back about tar sands development, closing the Experimental Lakes Area, and why researchers should speak out. Full story here.

Also in this issue, "Field of Nightmares," exposing the dark side of Roundup. 

Ottawa to Unveil Weakened Emissions Rules for Coal-Fired Power

Globe and Mail

After a year of tough negotiations with companies and premiers that tested Ottawa’s resolve to fight climate change, Environment Minister Peter Kent is finally ready to present the final version of regulations to curtail greenhouse gas emissions from the coal-fired electricity sector. Full story here.

Field of Nightmares

Ottawa continues to embrace the widespread use of Roundup on Canadian farms by letting corporate seduction trump scientific evidence.

by Larry Powell

A crop-duster sprays a GMO crop in western MB. A PinP photo.

In its quest to dominate the planet's agricultural biotechnology sector, Monsanto's business model has produced significant collateral damage.

Generations of farming families in South America, India and other robustly developing regions have been devastated by the US-based multinational’s product line, namely its flagship herbicide Roundup and the patented seeds that go with it. 

In the 1970s, the company began genetically modifying canola, and they’ve since created their own patented versions of soybeans, corn, cotton and a range of other crops. The havoc wreaked by Monsanto’s remarkable growth in the interim includes widespread claims of pollution, illegal activity and damage to health and livelihoods, as well as a systematic effort to crush detractors and monopolize new markets with its financial heft.

Staples Canada Picks up Straw-Based Paper

Manitoba Co-operator

Step Forward Paper is made with 80 per cent straw

Manitoba farmers could see a lucrative new market for straw emerge, as the province moves closer to becoming the site of North America's first pulp and paper mill using straw. Full story here.

Welcome to the Anthropocene - a New Geologic Era (Radio podcast + video)

This podcast has been airing on the CBC Radio program, "The Current." It suggests human activity has now placed us in an entirely new geologic epoc. And not a good one! Listen here.

                         (PLT video & photo)

I shot this video of my home (above) just after these winds toppled two mature spruce trees, narrowly missing our house as we slept. The still photo (r.) shows the gap left in the shelterbelt which protects us from the elements. To me, climate change is now personal! Larry Powell.