Pesticides Stop Bumblebees From Pollinating Apple Trees, Research Shows

theguardian

An abundant apple tree. PinP photo.

New findings on neonicotinoids have important implications as many food crops and wildflowers rely on bee pollination to reproduce. Details here.

Declining Snowpack Threatens Water Supply for Billions Worldwide

CommonDreams

'Water managers in a lot of places may need to prepare for a world where the snow reservoir no longer exists.' Story here.

Canada to Ban Tankers on North Pacific Coast in Blow to Enbridge

BloombergBusiness

Canada plans to formally ban oil tanker traffic on the northern coast of British Columbia, adding another hurdle to Enbridge Inc.’s Northern Gateway pipeline proposal. Story here.

Climate Scientist Michael Mann: Exxon Story 'Confirmed Things We Long Suspected'

inside

climate

news

In this interview, Mann, a key figure in the climate wars, reacts to the recent revelations about what Exxon knew about global warming science. Story here.

Investors Urge Exxon to Take Moral Responsibility for Global Warming

  inside

climate

  news

Faith-based shareholder groups have begun filing resolutions, as Exxon faces a NY probe and rising calls for federal prosecution of its climate duplicity.  Story here.

As Mining Giant Flails, Human Toll from Brazil Dam Disaster Ticks Up (& Video)

CommonDreams

Mud and wastewater from the burst dams are complicating search and rescue efforts while raising health and environmental concerns. Story here.

Trudeau Orders Oil Tanker Ban That Could Kill Northern Gateway

NATIONAL

OBSERVER

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a set of directives to his cabinet ministers Friday that included instructions to end oil tankers transits on B.C.’s northern coast — a move that observers say could finally kill the long embattled Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline proposal. Story here.

24 Hours of Live Earth and Reality: The World is Watching (2015 - Video).

TPP Caves to The Tobacco Industry, Threatens Public Health

bilaterals.org

The vacuous “tobacco control” provision in the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) virtually capitulates to the demands of multinational tobacco corporations, jeopardizing nations’ health and economic welfare. Story here.

TPP is About Many Things,But Free Trade? Not So Much

The Globe and Mail

Let’s be clear about the just-released, negotiated-in-secret Trans-Pacific Partnership deal. Despite how it’s being referred to, it is definitely not a “free-trade” agreement. It’s much more than that. Story here.

Maternal Deaths Fell 44% Since 1990 – UN

Report from WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank Group and the United Nations Population Division highlights progress 

GENEVA/NEW YORK, 12 November 2015 – Maternal mortality has fallen by 44% since 1990, United Nations agencies and the World Bank Group reported today.

Maternal deaths around the world dropped from about 532 000 in 1990 to an estimated 303 000 this year, according to the report, the last in a series that has looked at progress under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).  This equates to an estimated global maternal mortality ratio (MMR) of 216 maternal deaths per 100 000 live births, down from 385 in 1990.