All Give & No Take

Do those negotiating the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership have any interest in democracy? Here’s a test.

By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian 11th March 2014

Nothing threatens democracy as much as corporate power. Nowhere do corporations operate with greater freedom than between nations, for here there is no competition. With the exception of the European parliament there is no transnational democracy, anywhere. All other supranational bodies – the IMF, the World Bank, the United Nations, trade organisations and the rest – work on the principle of photocopy democracy (presumed consent is transferred, copy by copy, to ever greyer and more remote institutions) or no democracy at all(1).

The Great Divide - Canadian Tar Spreads its Filth Everywhere

OnEarth

What is happening along the Rocky Mountain Front is what happens whenever big energy arrives in small places. It offers a devil’s bargain: a choice between the lure of prosperity and the preservation of place. It pits neighbour against neighbour, family against family, and whatever the eventual outcome, a lot of people are probably going to be unhappy. Details here.

Canada's Dep't of Fisheries & Oceans ‘Fudging Numbers,’ Court Finds; Bars Commercial Fishery off Vancouver Island

The Globe and Mail

An unprecedented court injunction has barred the DFO from opening a commercial fishery off Vancouver Island after a judge concluded DFO was “fudging the numbers” and that the federal minister declared it open against her own bureaucrats’ advice. Details here.

New England on 'High Alert' After Canadian Pipeline Reversal Approved

Common Dreams

Environmental groups raise alarm over potential transport of tar sands oil from western regions to New England coast. Detail here.

Have Western Farmers Been Sacrificed For Big Oil?

Council of Canadians

Oil pipe awaiting allocation on the CN line in Manitoba. PLT photo.

Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow Tweeted these questions this week. "Were western farmers sacrificed so that Big Oil could take over the trains? Is that why Harper killed the Wheat Board?" Details here.

Sandhill Cranes Face Shut-Off as Colorado Weighs Who Gets Scarce Water

The Denver Post

Sandhill Cranes Over Manitoba, Canada. PLT photo.

Colorado's effort to replenish its aquifers by cracking down on pumping groundwater threatens to leave the thousands of sandhill cranes that arrive here each February without the water they need. Details here.

500 Million Family Farmers Have Enormous Potential to Feed the World. New Research.

FoodTank.com

Family Farmers conserve environmental resources, protect biodiversity, and increase incomes while feeding nine billion people by 2050. Details here.

A farmer's market in Regina, 

Saskatchewan, Canada. PLT photo.

Sochi Olympics Going For Gold, But Not Green

A\J Alternatives Journal

Russia has not lived up to the environmental promises made for the 2014 Winter Olympics, and is cracking down on environmentalists for pointing this out. Full story here.

Aboriginal Rights a Threat to Canada's Resource Agenda, Documents Reveal

theguardian

Canadian government closely monitoring how legal rulings and aboriginal protest pose an increasing ‘risk’ for multi-billion dollar oil and mining plans. Details here.

A First Nations protester 
in Regina. PLT photo

City of Winnipeg Needs to Prepare Better for Changing Climate: Councillor Vandal

Winnipeg Free Press

A veteran city councillor says emergency situations resulting from climate change will be more frequent in the future and the city needs to be better prepared to deal with them. Details here.

CWB Alliance to Hold Public Meeting Updating Farmers on Marketing Chaos

                                 Canadian Wheat Board Alliance

PinP photo 

 www.cwbfacts.ca

   

(Pelly, Sk., March 3, 2014)  The Canadian Wheat Board Alliance is inviting farmers to a public meeting, Sunday, March 9^th, one PM, at the Elks Hall in Raymore, Saskatchewan.