Climate Change: IPCC Cites Global Temperature Rise Over Last Century

The Guardian

More than half a trillion tonnes of carbon have been burned since the industrial revolution, according to an IPCC report. Full story here.

PLT: What doesn't get burned, gets spilled!

Protest Song - Save BC's Wilderness

Rachelle Van Zanten - My Country (Official Video) from Taylor F. on Vimeo.

Environmental Report Details Extent of Contamination in the Quebec Runaway Train Disaster

(The Toronto Star)

There was never doubt that the deadly train derailment in Lac-Mégantic caused an environmental disaster, but a report made public this week by Quebec's ministry of the environment details the extent of the devastation to the soil, river and lake near the disaster zone. Details here.

Related: "Have Our Servants Become Our Masters?"

Water is Our Most Precious Resource

by John Fefchak

Canada has more lakes than the rest of the world combined.

Water is the life blood of all living things.

It just seems we have so much fresh water in Canada, we don't look after it, as we know we should. (U.S. and Canada need to reduce algae bloom on Lake Erie, WFP 29 Aug)

It is clear that governments have ignored the basic principles of water stewardship for too many years in the pursuit of narrow economic interests.

Lake Winnipeg has become a horrid reminder of devastation, that we are leaving our children and their children to bear alone.

Now Lake Erie has a sickness that has returned.

So many of our Lakes have become diseased.

The name of this disease is 'human complacency.'

Slime on a Lake Winnipeg beach near 

Gimli. PLT photo.

Food Crisis Fears Prompt UN Wake-Up Call to World Leaders

UN Conference on Trade & Development

Wake up before it is too late: Make agriculture truly sustainable now for food security in a changing climate. Full story here.

Read Guardian story here.

Family From Turtle Mountain in Southwestern Manitoba Says Crop-Dusting Spray Made Them Ill

CBC Radio

Woman says she had allergic reaction to pesticide sprayed on canola field. Details here.

A "crop-duster" similar to the one said to be involved in this latest incident. PLT photo.

Related: 

• Family Believes it was Poisoned by Crop Spray
• Are Crop Sprays Making Us Sick?

CDC Study on Superbugs Does Not Reflect Well on Factory Farming Methods

Centers for Disease Control - Threat Report 2013

This report, Antibiotic resistance threats in the United States, 2013, gives a first-ever snapshot of the burden and threats posed by the antibiotic-resistant germs having the most impact on human health. Each year in the United States, at least 2 million people become infected with bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics and at least 23,000 people die each year...Details here.

Related: 

• CDC Reveals Scary Truth About Factory Farms and Superbugs
• Could Antibiotics Actually be Killing You?

World 'Not On Track' To Prevent Warming - UN Climate Official

Huffington Post

Appealing directly to the world's voters to pressure their politicians into taking tougher action against the buildup of greenhouse gases, a top climate official with the United Nations says, international leaders are failing to fight global warming. Details here.



A brooding skyline in Manitoba, CA. PLT photo.

Help Coming for the Greater sage-grouse

Larry,

It took nearly two years of legal wrangling, but it looks like the federal government is finally prepared to introduce emergency protections for Canada’s endangered Greater sage-grouse.

The announcement, made this morning, is a welcome breath of fresh air to a case that’s been mired in secrecy, delays and procedural roadblocks. In fact, our efforts may well have helped set another important legal precedent. To our knowledge, this is the first time Ottawa has explicitly stated its intention to introduce emergency protections for an endangered species.

Thank you. None of this would have been possible without you. 

Thanks to your support, we were able to bring forward a series of legal challenges that have forced the federal government to act. But as I told CBC’s The National (10 p.m. local), we know all too well that the devil will be in the details and that our work is far from done. 

We’re still waiting to learn when the emergency order will be implemented and what it will include.

Dangers Pesticides Pose To Workers Force Farmers To Look For Alternatives

Fox News Latino

California's $2.3 billion strawberry industry edging toward non-chemical alternatives to pesticides. Details here.

Organic strawberries in Manitoba. PLT photo

Wilderness Committee: Tanco Mine Disaster Risk in Manitoba, Canada

Manitoba Wilderness Committee

According to an engineering report filed with the Manitoba government on August 30,  an underground mine is on the verge of collapse under Bernic Lake in eastern Manitoba.  Details here.