China Has Good Reason to Embrace a Carbon Tax

By: Gwynne Dyer

The announcement last week by China’s ministry of finance that the country will introduce a carbon tax, probably in the next two years, did not dominate the international headlines. It was too vague about the timetable and the rate at which the tax would be levied, and fossil fuel lobbyists were quick to portray it as meaningless. But the Chinese are deadly serious about fighting global warming, because they are really scared. Details here.

Unsung Victims of the XL Pipeline

by Larry Powell

It's nothing but another act of criminal negligence. In their coverage of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) into the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, our corporate media have flagrantly ignored the lowly creatures we share Planet Earth with; creatures which will be pushed closer to extinction if this project proceeds.

According to that same EIS, no less than 13 animal species, already declared endangered under federal "laws," "could be impacted" by the proposed project. 

Impacted? They're already endangered! Ah, what the Hell! Let's run 'em down! They don't count anyway! 

Here is the havoc this massive, misguided project will wreck on the plants and animals of our natural world which happen to be in its way.

Remember, the passages below are taken directly from the EIS.

"• Habitat loss, alteration, and fragmentation; 

• Direct mortality during construction and operation, including collision with power lines; 

• Indirect mortality due to stress or avoidance of feeding, and/or reduced breeding success due to exposure to noise and/or increased human activity; and 

• Reduced survival or reproduction due to decreased abundance of food or reduced cover."

Here are some of the unfortunate plants and animals who are guilty of nothing more than that they happen to live, or pass over, the proposed route!

The Whooping Crane

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

"Whooping cranes could be impacted by collisions with power lines associated with the proposed Project. The majority of the proposed project route crosses the central flyway whooping crane migration corridor in South Dakota and Nebraska, and the Rainwater Basin in south central Nebraska provides whooping crane migration habitat."

Greater Sage-Grouse 

"Approximately 190 miles of the proposed Project route would cross areas with greater sage-grouse habitat in Montana, of which 94 miles are classified as moderate to high-quality habitat for greater sage-grouse."

Western Prairie Fringed Orchid

"The western prairie fringed orchid (Platanthera leucophaea) (l.) is federally listed as threatened, state-listed as threatened in Nebraska, and is a species of conservation concern in South Dakota. The proposed project would pass near known populations of western prairie fringed orchid in Nebraska, and through land where the orchid may potentially occur in South Dakota. Clearing and grading of land associated with construction of the proposed Project (including pipeline and ancillary facilities) may potentially disturb western prairie fringed orchids, and may introduce or expand invasive species that already contribute to the orchid’s decline." 

Photo credit: US Fish and Wildlife

American Burying Beetle 

"Approximately 50 miles of the proposed 

Project Route in Nebraska would affect American burying beetle habitat; approximately 43 miles in South Dakota would affect suitable habitat for the species. The proposed project could affect, and would be likely to adversely affect the American burying beetle, resulting in incidental takes (unintended death of individual beetles) during construction or operations." 

This lowly creature is already in serious decline due to human activity, likely including - wait for it - pesticide use. As a carrion-eater, it is part of nature's "clean-up crew," an unattractive but essential part of Earth's endless cycle of life and death.

If the corporate media are to be believed, this report "removes a hurdle" in the way of the project. That's hardly surprising. Does anyone seriously believe that other living creatures we share space with on this earth will have any impact whatever on the collective consciousness of the hollow men of Capitol Hill, Parliament Hill or, perhaps least of all, the denizens of those sterile, unforgiving glass towers of the Calgary oil patch?
l.p.

Pressure Mounting to Ban Bee-Killing Pesticides

Glasgow Herald

Scottish ministers are under mounting pressure to defy the Westminster government and back a European ban on toxic pesticides which are blamed for killing bees. Details here.

Bumble Bees on sunflower. PLT photo

PLT; At least civilized societies such as this see the need for action. Sadly, here in Canada, the hearts and brains of the Harperites turned to stone long ago.

A Better Plan Than 'Endless Growth': Enough Is Enough

Common

Dreams

by Rob Dietz and Dan O'Neill

The World Economic Forum held its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland last month.  The official theme was "Resilient Dynamism," a catchphrase that makes about as much sense as...Details here.

Loss of Wild Pollinators Serious Threat to Crop Yields, Study Finds

theguardian

                                                        Photo credit: Graham Powell photography.

Wild bees and other insects are twice as effective as honeybees in producing seeds and fruit on crops. Details here.

Manitobans Want a Pesticide Ban

Save Lake (Winnipeg) Or Live By 'Open-Air Sewer'

Winnipeg Free Press.

Author warns province of growing threat. Full story here.

Manitoba Bans Peat Mining In Parks

as well as the site nominated for the UNESCO world heritage site.

Government of Manitoba.

No New Peat Licences in the Province Until Peatland Stewardship Strategy in Place

Manitoba is banning peat mining in provincial parks and in the nominated UNESCO World Heritage Site on the east side of Lake Winnipeg as one of several new peatland protection initiatives through TomorrowNow - Manitoba's Green Plan, Conservation and Water Stewardship Minister Gord Mackintosh announced today.

Peat bogs (r.) provide habitat for rare plants. 
They also store vast amounts of carbon, which 
helps mitigate the impacts of climate change. 
Source: Wilderness Committee.  

"I am proud of our record on parks and protected areas.  Seven million hectares of land, which amounts to almost 11 per cent of the province, are already fully protected and we will continue our work on reducing industrial developments in parks," said Mackintosh.  "While I recognize the value of more jobs and continued economic growth in Manitoba, there will never be a peat mine in a provincial park."

The Green Party of Manitoba Calls for a Moratorium on Mining in Provincial Parks

GRANDVIEW:  The Green Party of Manitoba condemns the NDP government for allowing the Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting company to start construction of a mine in Grass River Provincial Park without approval or public consultation. “If allowed to proceed, the Reed Lake Mine will destroy the woodland Caribou herd which the Park was intended to protect,” says Kate Storey, Green Party councillor and former researcher of the Reed Lake woodland caribou herd.

Kate uses radio telemetry to track movements 

of woodland caribou at  Reed Lake

Grass River Provincial Park is a small park surrounding Reed Lake. This park is a rare area of ideal woodland caribou habitat. Woodland caribou depend on the islands of Reed Lake for protection of their young calves from wolves. Every spring the caribou mothers leave their wintering grounds in old growth forest and swim out to the many islands on Reed Lake where their calves are born in safety.

Kate examines a caribou calf. 

Editorial: Unmuzzle Our Scientists

Edmonton Journal

A bid by Ottawa to impose sweeping confidentiality rules on an Arctic science project is the latest in a disturbing trend that suggests federal environmental scientists are being systematically silenced from communicating their findings to the public. Details here.

Record Area of Biotech Crops Used in 2012 - Report

Reuters

U.S. farmers still lead world in planting GMO crops. Details here.

PLT: Unelected agrifood giants like Bayer and Monsanto continue to throw their weight around, dictating the shape of our world food system, while yellow-bellied, elected "lawmakers" sit back and say nothing. They are no better than those who hunker down while the school yard bully beats up on little kids.