Did Climate Change Contribute to The Fort McMurray Fire?

MACLEAN’S

Smoke  from the Fort McMurray fires has now spread over the eastern Canadian prairies and much of the US. NOAA map.

Experts say forest fires are more frequent, and more intense, due to climate change. Story here.

Destructive Wildfire Near Canada's Oil Sands May Have Been Fueled by Global Warming

SCIENTIFIC

AMERICAN
The devastating natural disaster in Fort McMurray is “consistent” with climate change. More here.

Photo by DarrenRD

Bakken Oil Field In North Dakota Causing a Rise in Air Pollution, Study Says

BILLINGS GAZETTE

An oil and natural gas field in the western United States is largely responsible for a global uptick of the air pollutant ethane, according to a new study. More here.

Mass Evacuation as 'Apocalyptic' Inferno Engulfs Canadian Tar Sands City

A view from the south...

Common Dreams

'There was smoke everywhere and it was raining ash,' says Fort McMurray evacuee. More here.

Is Manitoba's New Government Already Failing the Environment? (Editorial)

by Larry Powell

Well, another Manitoba election has come and gone. And we got the change we wanted. 

Or did we?

To me, it still seems like the goal of “evidence-based” policy-making, often promised by politicians of every stripe, remains as elusive as ever.

Take climate change, for example. 

Wildfire Destroys Fort McMurray Homes, Most of City Evacuated

CBC News

Alberta has had many severe wildfires over the years. While none has been quite as bad as Fort McMurray, the smoke from this one in 2011 near the Alberta-Saskatchewan border, could be seen from space. (NASA photo.)

Thousands of people are fleeing Fort McMurray as wildfire leaps highway and into city. More here.

Mind the Climate Gap, Mr. Trudeau

NationalObserver

Alberta tar sands. Howl Arts Collective

Last week our new Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, galloped onto the world stage to once again promise big cuts in Canada's climate pollution. Will he be able to deliver? Story here.

Large Swaths Of The Pacific Ocean May Actually Suffocate In Just 15 Years

Huffington Post

Photo by William Roger Uzun

Take a wild guess what the culprit is. More here.

Historic Ivory Burn Covers the Sky in Smoke and Ash

CNN

Twelve ivory towers burned in Kenya on Saturday, sending thick plumes of ash and smoke over Nairobi National Park as elephant and rhino tusks smoldered. More here.

Calls for Investigation Grow as ‘Exxon Knew’ Scandal Spills Into Canada

Greenpeace Canada

There is a growing call for the federal government to investigate Imperial Oil, the Canadian arm of ExxonMobil, for its role in the oil giant’s global effort to spread doubt about climate science and delay policy action by governments, even though the company’s own researchers were telling them that global warming was a serious threat and the company was adjusting its operations in the Canadian Arctic to deal with a warming world. More here.

Researchers Say Only Way to Guarantee Enough Food in 2050 Is if the World Turns Vegan

EcoWatch

It is possible to produce enough food to feed a growing population without another tree being felled, according to new research. But there’s a catch. More here.