It's Just "Nature"

PLT: Just watching the news tonight. According to CTV, the latest, terrible storms, this time in Ontario & Quebec, are due to "nature." All the damage from high winds - trees crushing cars, damaging houses, knocking out power for up to a million people and killing a woman in Quebec, was just because of "nature." So is the heat wave now plaguing the maritimes, apparently. The only mention of global warming came in a promo for some stupid movie involving sharks flying through the air. With this kind of negligence, deceit and ignorance rampant in our mass media concerning the most serious environmental problem facing our planet today, God help us all. 

It's not nature, media! It's climate change! This is what it looks like! And we are to blame! 

Get used to it! Step up! Tell it like it is, you bozos!!!

P.S. CTV is not alone in its malfeasance. While most media are now mentioning the term "climate change" more than they used to, they might as well not. Without the added, necessary explanation that the reason much of this is happening is our excessive burning of fossil fuels which emits greenhouse gases which causes global warming which spawns much of these extreme weather events, it's useless. 

"Nobody Understands" Spills at Alberta Oil Sands Operation

TheStar

Oil spills at a major oil sands operation in Alberta have been ongoing for at least six weeks and have cast doubts on the safety of underground extraction methods, according to documents obtained by the Star and a government scientist who has been on site. Full story here.

Organophosphates: A Common But Deadly Pesticide

National Geographic

The pesticides blamed for killing at least 25 children in India are widely used around the world, including North America, and health experts have raised safety concerns about this class of chemicals in the past. Full story here.

Related: Are Canada's Pesticide Regulators on the Take?

Chilean Court Sides With Indians, Blocks Mine Until Barrick Gold Keeps Environmental Promises

WashingtonPost

A Chilean appeals court ruled against the world’s largest gold mining company on Monday, favouring Chilean Indians who accuse Barrick Gold Corp. of contaminating their water downstream and creating more doubts about the future of the world’s highest gold mine. Full story here.

One Step Forward, Two Back for Canada’s Parks: CPAWS’ 2013 State of Canada’s Parks Report.

Canadian Parks & Wilderness Society (CPAWS)

In the run-up to Canada's Parks Day on the 3rd Saturday in July, the CPAWS is releasing is 5th annual report on how Canada's parks are faring. Full story here.

A magnificent vista in Jasper National Park, 

Alberta, Canada. PLT photo.

Confirmed: Fracking Triggers Quakes and Seismic Chaos

Mother Jones

Major earthquakes thousands of miles away can trigger reflex quakes in areas where fluids have been injected into the ground from fracking and other industrial operations, according to a study published in the journal Science on Thursday. Details here.

Don't Give Up Yet! The Bees Still Need Us!

Larry, 

Last month, 50,000 dead bees were discovered littering a parking lot in Oregon.

PinP photo  
Then last week, a shocking 37 million bees were reported dead across a single farm in Ontario.

After years of research, scientists have finally figured out what’s causing the massive bee die-offs all around the world, from China to the UK: It’s a class of dangerous pesticides called neonics. And here’s the wildest thing -- even though we know they’re killing the bees, in most parts of the world, neonics are still in widespread use.