Great Canadian Migrations

PinP; Any similarity this commentator bears to David Attenborough, the famous naturalist of BBC TV fame, is purely intentional!

With Wall Street Holding the Strings, Republican-Controlled U.S. Congress Moves to Deregulate Big Banks

Common Dreams

Just weeks after taking over both houses of Congress, the Republican party is already aggressively moving to weaken legislation aimed at reining in big banks and protecting the public. Story here.

Related: "Is Ottawa Bedding Down With Crooked Bankers?"

Trade Secrets

Monbiot.com

Why will no one answer the obvious, massive questions about TTIP? Story here.

Sound familiar? If not, read this - "Free Trade - Path to Prosperity or Back Road to Corporatism?"

Answering for America’s Madness

by Ann Jones 

TomDispatch

Americans who live abroad — more than six million of us worldwide (not counting those who work for the U.S. government) — often face hard questions about our country from people we live among. Europeans, Asians, and Africans ask us to explain everything that baffles them about the increasingly odd and troubling conduct of the United States.  Polite people, normally reluctant to risk offending a guest, complain that America’s trigger-happiness, cutthroat free-marketeering, and “exceptionality” have gone on for too long to be considered just an adolescent phase. Which means that we Americans abroad are regularly asked to account for the behavior of our rebranded “homeland,” now conspicuously in decline and increasingly out of step with the rest of the world.

Leave Most of Canada's Tar Sands in the Ground if You Want to Meet Climate Targets - Study.

The Globe and Mail

As U.S. President Barack Obama and a Republican-led Congress spar over the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, a new analysis of worldwide fossil-fuel reserves suggests that most of the Alberta oil the pipeline is meant to carry would need to remain in the ground if nations are to meet the goal of limiting global warming to two degrees Celsius. Story here.

Paving Path Towards Climate Goal, Denmark Sets World Record for Wind Power

Common Dreams

Wind turbine - Saskatchewan, Canada. Larry Powell PinP photo.

'It shows that we can reach our ultimate goal, namely to stop global warming,' said climate minister. Story here.

#SaveTheBees Campaign Update...

The Sierra Club Canada Foundation will be undertaking a cross-country speaking tour as part of our #SaveTheBees campaign.How can you help? Find out here.

Australia Is Burning, and Climate Change Is Making It Worse

Inside Climate News

It’s summertime in Australia, which means the fires are raging. Every year, the continent’s sweltering temperatures and dry conditions create a toxic combination for bush fires that can threaten homes and lead to injuries and deaths. This season’s wildfires are particularly damaging, destroying the largest amount of territory in more than three decades. The Insurance Council of Australia yesterday declared a catastrophe for regions near Adelaide in South Australia. Story here.

Related: Emissions for Power Sector Jump as Carbon Tax Ends in Australia

All Forms of Life Are Sacred

OpEdNews - Chris Hedges

Fowl on an organic farm in Canada. (Someone once said, 

"Livestock raised on organic farms each has one bad day in its life. 

For those raised in animal factories - every day is a living hell!") Larry Powell PinP photo.

The battle for the rights of animals is not only about animals. It is about us. Once we desanctify animals we desanctify all life. And once life is desanctified the industrial machines of death, and the drone-like bureaucrats, sadists and profiteers who operate them, carry out human carnage as easily as animal carnage. There is a direct link between our industrial slaughterhouses for animals and our industrial weapons used on the battlefields in the Middle East. Details here.

Climate Change Plan Should be Priority for Political Parties in 2015 Election

the Hill Times

All federal political parties face a spotlight glare on climate, says columnist David Crane. Which will be willing to offer real and clear choices on our energy-environment future, with credible policies to back their plans up? Story here.

2014 Was The Hottest Year On Record Globally By Far

Climate Progress

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) has announced that 2014 was the hottest year in more than 120 years of record-keeping — by far. NOAA (the US weather service) is expected to make a similar call in a couple of weeks and so is NASA. Story here.