35% of Northern and Central Great Barrier Reef Is Dead or Dying

EcoWatch

According to Australian scientists, more than a third of the central and northern Great Barrier Reef has died as a result of mass bleaching in the last three months. Story here.

Scientists Say Canada's Proposed LNG Port Threatens Paris Climate Accord

CommonDreams

The British Columbia project 'will emit at least 11.5 million tonnes of CO2 per year, not including downstream emissions when the gas is burned in Asia' Story here.

The Great Wildfire Debate Lights Up Editorial Pages in Manitoba Again (Letters)

It all started when I wrote the letter, immediately below right after the Manitoba election in April. It was published in the Neepawa Banner and Roblin Review. It prompted an angry response in "The Review" from Brian Burtnack, which appears right after that. Then, my own response to Mr. Burtnack. 

I've numbered the letters 1,2,3 & 4, putting them in chronological order.

Happy reading!

Larry

=========

-1-

Is Manitoba's New Government Already Failing the Environment? (Editorial)

Dear Editor,

Well, another Manitoba election has come and gone. And we got the change we wanted. 

Or did we?

To me, it still seems like the goal of “evidence-based” policy-making, often promised by politicians of every stripe, remains as elusive as ever.

Take climate change, for example. 

Except for the cranks, the pseudo-scientists pimping for Big Oil, those living on the moon or the stupid, the science is now accepted. It’s settled. Our earthly home is warming dangerously because we’re burning too much fossil fuel. This is already creating conditions that have, for one thing, been making wildfires happen more, come earlier and last longer. (And oh, by the way, as I write this, Fort McMurray is burning.  

UNESCO Recommends Canada’s First Mixed World Heritage Site

THE GLOBE AND MAIL

The Bloodvein River within the planned heritage site.

Photo credit - Wikipedia.

A massive tract of boreal forest straddling the Ontario and Manitoba borders that is known as the “Land that Gives Life” to the Anishinaabe people is recommended to become Canada’s first mixed World Heritage site. Story here.

My Way or the Highway - the EcoCannabis Car (Video)

Unmanned Solar Boat to Make Solo Trip From California to Hawaii

EcoWatch

The Seacharger, a solar-powered boat built by “a couple of hobbyists” in a garage, will set sail for a solo, 2,000-mile ocean journey from California to Hawaii on Memorial Day. Story here.

Monsanto Ordered to Pay $46.5 Million in PCB Lawsuit in Rare Win for Plaintiffs

Nation of Change

A St. Louis jury has awarded three plaintiffs a total of $46.5 million in damages in a lawsuit alleging that Monsanto and three other companies were negligent in its handling of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, a highly toxic and carcinogenic group of chemicals. Story here.