Canada’s Common Songbird Populations Plummet - Report Reveals Boreal Birds Particularly Hard Hit

Nature Canada - On June 15, the National Audubon Society in the United States released a startling report; many of our most recognized birds are experiencing steep population declines. 

Details here.

'Shocking' Report Warns Of Mass Extinction From Current Rate Of Marine Distress

Travis Donovan  Huffpost Green 20/6/11
If the current actions contributing to a multifaceted degradation of the world's oceans aren't curbed, a mass extinction unlike anything…. Details here.



Please also read, "The Gulf of Mexico is Dying." 
PLT: I first posted this story with some reluctance & trepidation,  fearing it may be a bit "over the top." I no longer believe this to be the case.

Where Have All the Flowers Gone? High-Mountain Wildflower Season Reduced, Affecting Pollinators Like Bees, Hummingbirds

ScienceDaily (June 17, 2011) — It's summer wildflower season in the Rocky Mountains, a time when high-peaks meadows are dotted with riotous color. But for how long? Details here.

Bee photo by l.p.

Greenpeace Leader Boards an Arctic Drilling Rig - & Pays a Price! (Video)

PLT: This is precicely the madness I was referring to in my article, "Are Business Interests Giving Bad Advice to the Government of Canada on Climate Change?" Greenpeace is once again to be commended for their courageous action!

Natural Gas Is No Climate Change 'Panacea', Warns International Energy Agency

The Guardian - June '11
Reliance on gas would lead the world to a 3.5C temperature rise, and out-of-control global warming, says new research. Details here.

WATCH: Dangers of Natural Gas Extraction (Video)

Fracking is a burgeoning technology being used to extract natural gas locked  within rock formations. Fluid is pumped into natural or man made fractures  under high pressure to open up cracks and access hard to reach reservoirs.  Critics are calling for a moratorium on fracking, saying it poses serious health  risks to nearby residents, damages the environment and could even cause  small earthquakes. Supporters say those claims are overblown, and fracking is  essential to Alberta's natural gas industry. Is fracking dangerous? Is it critical  to our economic future? How should Alberta proceed? Joining us for this  discussion is Jessica Ernst, Rosebud resident and former energy sector  consultant is now suing Encana; Tim Marchant, Adjunct Professor of Strategy  and Energy Geopolitics at the University of Calgary; and Ben Parfitt, Resource  Policy Analyst with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.  Watch video here.   (l.) Once quite farmland, turned into a "fracking"  site in the US. "Although no complete list of  the cocktail of chemicals used  in this process exists, information  obtained from environmental  clean-up sites demonstrates that  known toxins are routinely being used, including hydrochloric acid,  diesel fuel (which contains benzene, tuolene, and xylene) as well as  formaldehyde, polyacrylimides, arsenic, and chromates." Sourcewatch.org ===== COMMENT: "I wish, just once, these corporations would admit to what they are doing, instead of always denying the obvious."  Margaret Romak

Manitoba Search Crews Enter Flood Zone

CBC News - Jun 16, 2011 Teams will stabilize properties so that owners can safely retrieve items. Details here. 

Toronto Star photo 

PLT: According to the provincial government's latest flood bulletin, 2,527 Manitobans have now been forced from their homes by the massive flooding. This has surely become an event "of biblical proportions." Except, in this case, does God really have that much to do with it?