Will the rich escape climate apocalypse?

New Internationalist

The dirty grey is smoke from Alberta wildfires this year.
Photo by NASA.
The billionaire class is preparing for doomsday. Only problem is, the rest of us aren't invited. Story here.

Albertans lose more than they gain with carbon tax repeal

PEMBINA INSTITUTE

Slave Lake, Alberta, June 2011. The aftermath of the wildfire 
that destroyed one third of the town. Photo by Mrsramsey.

Pembina Institute reacts to repeal of Alberta’s Climate Leadership Act. Story here.

Manitoba's "Protein Advantage"

A few months ago, the Government of Manitoba invited input from the public on a proposal to expand production of protein-rich food, whether plant or animal-based, in this province. It claims, meeting this fast-growing global demand offers much bigger opportunities than those which have existed before, for both farmers and investors. The province has embarked on a massive expansion of its industrial pork industry by relaxing both health and environmental regulations and obviously hopes through this new initiative,  to make it even bigger.

In this in-depth article, long-time farm activist and livestock producer, Ruth Pryzer, offers many valuable insights into why this all needs to be taken with several grains of salt.

PinP

Reckless farming is harming the planet. This could save it

CNN Business 

A common site on the Canadian prairies at seeding time. Two big tractors
with air seeders and chemical tanks attached, ready to roll. A PinP photo.

The United Nations released a dire warning recently: Climate change is here and it's a clear and present danger to our entire planet. Of course, we didn't need another report to tell us that — we see it in extreme and unusual weather, disappearing wildlife and falling farm yields. But there is one major cause of this global catastrophe that doesn't get the attention it deserves: industrial-scale chemical agriculture. Story here.

Plastic Proliferation Threatens the Climate on a Global Scale

CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW.

A crab trapped in a plastic cup.

The plastic pollution crisis that overwhelms our oceans is also a significant and growing threat to the Earth’s climate. At current levels, greenhouse gas emissions from the plastic lifecycle threaten the ability of the global community to keep global temperature rise below 1.5°C. With the petrochemical and plastic industries planning a massive expansion in production, the problem is on track to get much worse. Story here. 

‘Extraordinary thinning’ of ice sheets revealed deep inside Antarctica

The Guardian

Antarctica. Wikimedia public domain. 

New research shows affected areas are losing ice five times faster than in the 1990s, with more than 100m of thickness gone in some places. Story here.

Two-thirds of world's longest rivers throttled by mankind: study

PHYS ORG

The design of the "site c" dam in B.C.

Almost two in three of Earth's longest rivers have been severed by dams, reservoirs or other manmade constructions, severely damaging some of the most important ecosystems on the planet, researchers said Wednesday. Story here.