Here's What The Science Really Says About Fort McMurray

NATIONAL OBSERVER

Canada’s well-above-average wildfire activity of the past few years can be linked to manmade climate change.  Story here.

Malawi’s Drought Leaves Millions High and Dry

INTER PRESS SERVICE

Almost half of the country’s population is facing hunger this year due to no or low harvests, resulting from the effects of El Nino which hit most parts of the southern and northern regions late last year. Story here.

35% of Northern and Central Great Barrier Reef Is Dead or Dying

EcoWatch

According to Australian scientists, more than a third of the central and northern Great Barrier Reef has died as a result of mass bleaching in the last three months. Story here.

Scientists Say Canada's Proposed LNG Port Threatens Paris Climate Accord

CommonDreams

The British Columbia project 'will emit at least 11.5 million tonnes of CO2 per year, not including downstream emissions when the gas is burned in Asia' Story here.

The Great Wildfire Debate Lights Up Editorial Pages in Manitoba Again (Letters)

It all started when I wrote the letter, immediately below right after the Manitoba election in April. It was published in the Neepawa Banner and Roblin Review. It prompted an angry response in "The Review" from Brian Burtnack, which appears right after that. Then, my own response to Mr. Burtnack. 

I've numbered the letters 1,2,3 & 4, putting them in chronological order.

Happy reading!

Larry

=========

-1-

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

Dear Editor,

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. 

Except for the cranks, the pseudo-scientists pimping for Big Oil, those living on the moon or the stupid, the science is now accepted. It’s settled. Our earthly home is warming dangerously because we’re burning too much fossil fuel. This is already creating conditions that have, for one thing, been making wildfires happen more, come earlier and last longer. (And oh, by the way, as I write this, Fort McMurray is burning.  

UNESCO Recommends Canada’s First Mixed World Heritage Site

THE GLOBE AND MAIL

The Bloodvein River within the planned heritage site.

Photo credit - Wikipedia.

A massive tract of boreal forest straddling the Ontario and Manitoba borders that is known as the “Land that Gives Life” to the Anishinaabe people is recommended to become Canada’s first mixed World Heritage site. Story here.

My Way or the Highway - the EcoCannabis Car (Video)

Unmanned Solar Boat to Make Solo Trip From California to Hawaii

EcoWatch

The Seacharger, a solar-powered boat built by “a couple of hobbyists” in a garage, will set sail for a solo, 2,000-mile ocean journey from California to Hawaii on Memorial Day. Story here.

Monsanto Ordered to Pay $46.5 Million in PCB Lawsuit in Rare Win for Plaintiffs

Nation of Change

A St. Louis jury has awarded three plaintiffs a total of $46.5 million in damages in a lawsuit alleging that Monsanto and three other companies were negligent in its handling of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, a highly toxic and carcinogenic group of chemicals. Story here.

Blogger Implores His Country to Make (at the Very Least) a Small, Symbolic Gesture in Defence of the Planet

Dear PinP Friends,

In hopes that Canada can make at least SOME SMALL GESTURE in the service of battling climate change, I have forwarded an idea on Fort MacMurray to the Prime Minister, Premier Notley and several officials in government and opposition . It simply asks that the new buildings which will replace the ones destroyed in the wildfire, be built to standards as energy-efficient (& fossil-free) as possible. 

I have handwritten it in hopes it might be given more than a computer-generated response. After sending a surface-mail copy to the PM last week, and sending it out to all via e-mail yesterday (with the letter attached as a .jpg), I have received TWO computer-generated responses - one from the Alberta Minister of Parks, the other from the GPC. I'm going to post updates on responses I get as frequently as I am able, here on FB.

Environmentally yours,

Larry

P.S. Please check the comments section of this story for responses received, so far.

Wildfires in Alberta Will Hurt Economic Growth, Bank of Canada Says

NATIONAL

OBSERVER

The economy will be weaker than expected in the second quarter due to the Alberta wildfires, the Bank of Canada said Wednesday as it kept its key interest rate steady at 0.5 per cent. Story here.