Vultures are Revolting. Here’s Why We need to Save Them

NATIONAL

GEOGRAPHIC

The scavengers do the dirty work of cleaning up after death. With their numbers plummeting, we’re learning how much we need to keep them alive. More here.

Have Investment Treaties Put a Scare Into Government Regulators, Who Are Supposed to Protect Our Health and Environment?

bilaterals.org

Many such treaties give foreign investors a free hand to sue sovereign governments for pretty much any amount they choose, if those regulations interfere with a company’s business plan. Read about Ontario’s experience here. 

RELATED: "Free Trade: Path to Prosperity - or Back Road to Corporatism?"

When Planting Trees Hurts the Environment

THE

NATION

In Paris this week, policy-makers are considering an ambitious new plan to cover 50 million acres of South American land with trees. That might not be a good idea. More here.

Floods (Story & Video)

Hi Larry,

As you read this email, vast swathes of the UK are underwater. Buckling from the strain of torrential rains, rivers have overflowed and flood defences have been breached. Hundreds of families have been forced to evacuate their homes [1].



David Cameron has pledged to help people suffering in the wake of the destruction. That’s a start. But in the aftermath of such ferocious storms, we need to make sure he joins the dots to climate change.

Canada Shocks COP21 With Big New Climate Commitment

NATIONAL OBSERVER

Canada has surprised a world of nations and negotiators in closed-door climate talks in Paris by endorsing a bolder, more ambitious target for cutting greenhouse gases than the UN climate change summit is officially aiming for. More here.

'Huge Error': Former US Military Chief Admits Iraq Invasion Spawned ISIS

CommonDreams

The U.S. is poised to repeat all the same mistakes in Syria that it made in Iraq after 9/11, says former head of Defense Intelligence Agency. Story here.