Time for Big Green to Go Fossil Free

Naomi Klein - the Nation

The movement demanding that public interest institutions divest their holdings from fossil fuels is on a serious roll. At last count, there were active divestment campaigns on 305 campuses and in more than 100 US cities and states. The demand has spread to Canada...Full story here.

Bid For UNESCO World Heritage Designation Deferred One Year

Winnipeg Free Press

Mount Fuji in Japan looks like it will get the nod, but the east side of Lake Winnipeg will not — at least not yet. Details here.

Save the CBC From Harper! Please Sign!

Dear Larry, Prime Minister Harper is using his latest budget bill to seize unprecedented  power over the CBC. Independent public media is a cornerstone of a healthy democracy,  and we canot stand by and let the CBC be silenced and controlled for partisan political gain. We've teamed up with the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting to fight back --  Please join us and sign the urgent petition to Free the CBC from political interference,  then forward this to everyone. With hope and respect, Matthew on behalf of the Leadnow.ca ----- Forwarded Message ----- Dear Friend, Jian Ghomeshi, Carol Off, Peter  Mansbridge and every other journalist and creative person at the CBC  will be beholden to Stephen Harper if he succeeds in the biggest  and most sinister media takeover Canada has ever seen. Please help us to stop Harper by signing the Free CBC  petition right now.

The Counter-Enlightenment

George Monbiot- the Guardian

How government science advisers misrepresent science. Details here.

Pollinator Protection - Europe Shows Us How It's Done

Dear Editor, 

Oh, to be in Europe, now that they have put us to shame, once again! 

Member states of the European Union have just voted to clamp a temporary (2 year) ban on members of that "devil family" of bee-killing insecticides known as "neonicotinoids." It is now illegal to use the stuff anywhere over that entire continent! While Europe has finally seen the light, they're still applied prodigiously on food crops in North America. The seeds of crops such as corn and canola are now shot-full of them before they even go into the ground!

Bee-Harming Pesticides Banned in Europe

The Guardian

EU member states vote ushers in continent-wide suspension of neonicotinoid pesticides. Details here.

PLT: Below is a comment I left in the comments section following this story in "The Guardian."
"Damn straight, the EU did right by banning these chemicals! They are a curse & a threat to both the natural world and the future of many human food crops! As a blogger and journalist, I've written extensively on this topic, chronicling the disgusting and shameful, do-nothing approach of my own Canadian government, which acts more like an agent for Bayer et al than a representative of real people. I'd invite you to read one of my articles on this topic which I wrote some time ago."
"Are Canada's Pesticide Regulators on the Take? Canadian Authorities Refuse to Protect Precious Pollinators From Known Toxins. Is Something Crooked Going on Here? "