The Anthropocene Is Here: Humanity Has Pushed Earth Into a New Epoch

CommonDreams

UN photo

The epoch is thought to have begun in the 1950s, when human activity set global systems on a different trajectory. Story here.

Yet Another Transatlantic Trade Deal Threatening Food Safety, Groups Warn

CommonDreams

CETA will force European farmers to compete with Canadian imports with 'no animal welfare penalties and lower safety standards' Story here.

RELATED: "Free trade. Pathway to prosperity or back road to corporatism?"

Five Years Since Irene, Report Warns of Severe Weather Damage From Climate Change

CommonDreams

BURLINGTON, Vt. - As Vermonters mark the fifth anniversary of Tropical Storm Irene, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) pointed to a new report from the Congressional Budget Office that warns damage from severe weather in future decades is expected to become increasingly common in Vermont and throughout the United States because of climate change. Story here.

Dalai Lama and Jimmy Carter Help Noam Chomsky Uncover Major Risks Humanity Faces From Pesticides

EcoWatch

Brazilians demonstrate against aerial spraying of a pesticide. Marcello Casal Jr/ABr
Did you know that American companies are legally permitted to manufacture dangerous pesticides for export—even after the chemicals have been banned in the U.S.? There are policies that create a "circle of poison"; toxic chemicals traveling around the world, ironically imported back to the U.S. through foodstuffs we eat. Story here.

OVER 200 LEADING SCHOLARS CALL ON GOVERNMENT TO SUSPEND SITE C DAM

The Royal Society of Canada

                      

An engineer's "wet dream" of another, useless mega-project.  

A BC Hydro image.

A group of leading Canadian scholars has raised serious concerns regarding the process used to approve the mega dam called Site C. The Royal Society of Canada has taken the unusual step of issuing a separate supporting letter addressed to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. To read the letter, please click here.

Durum Acres on the Canadian Prairies Fall Prey to Fusarium

THEWESTERN

PRODUCER

Fields that once grew profitable durum no longer do so because of fusarium, leaving some to speculate that prairie durum may go the way of the dinosaur. Story here.