Desertification Too Important For Canada To Ignore - Suzuki

Photo Credit: Kevin Pluc The federal government recently  pulled out of an important global  treaty: the UN Convention to  Combat Desertification. It’s aimed  at fighting drought, a problem that  affects almost 30 per cent of Earth’s  land surface and threatens the  well-being of more than a billion  people worldwide, including in our  Prairie provinces.  Every year, the cumulative effects of overgrazing, over-cultivation, deforestation,  poor irrigation and increasing extreme weather events – including those that  cause drought – permanently degrade close to 10 million hectares of land.  This has led to a creeping loss of places where food can easily be grown.

For Climate Action, 2013 “Good As It’ll Get”: Nicholas Stern

INTER PRESS SERVICE

Manitoba sunset. PLT photo

WASHINGTON (IPS) - A confluence of factors could make 2013 the most fruitful opportunity in years for potentially major action on climate change, according to a leading voice on climate change policy, the British economist Nicholas Stern. Full story here.

United Nations Calls Canada's Pullout From Drought Convention 'Regrettable'

United Nations

The United Nations says it's 'regrettable' that the Government of Canada is withdrawing from the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the only legally binding instrument that addresses desertification, land degradation and drought. Details here.

Related story: Desertification Too Important For Canada To Ignore - Suzuki

Fish Deformities Linked to Oil Pollution in U.S. and Alberta

CBC News

Alberta scientist calls for research on fish malformations in Lower Athabasca River. Details here.

Cheaper Green Energy Storage Solution Invented by Calgary Professors

CBC News

Chat over beer generates lower-cost way to make hydrogen from water. Details here.

Saskatoon Scientist Breaks Silence About Muzzling

CBC Radio

A retired federal researcher based in Saskatoon is going public with concerns Ottawa is muzzling scientists like her. Details here.

Not a Robin, But, I'll Take It!

Not exactly the harbinger of spring we look forward to most. I spotted this "gopher," actually a Richardson's ground squirrel, in a field near Roblin, (western) Manitoba today. PLT photo.