The Purse is Mightier Than the Pen

by George Monbiot

What is salient is not important. What is important is not salient. The media turns us away from the issues that will determine the course of our lives, and towards topics of brain-melting irrelevance. Story here.

Pesticides Ban Protects Health

Winnipeg Free Press

To the surprise of many, the recently elected provincial government has reopened the public debate on Manitoba’s regulations on cosmetic pesticides. Story here.

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.