Posts

LOUISIANA PACIFIC TAKES POLLUTION CONTROLS OFFLINE IN MANITOBA - UNACCEPTABLE IN U.S!

THE BOREAL ACTION PROJECT. 205-180 Market Avenue Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, R3B 0P7 Susanne McCrea (204) 297-0321 Coordinator For immediate release MARCH 6, 2009 Manitoba’s Louisiana Pacific Plant Takes Pollution Controls Offline Unacceptable in the U.S. Even the neighbours of Louisiana Pacific’s Swan River OSB plant didn’t know the pollution controls had been taken offline, until local resident, Margaret Romak went and knocked on some doors. Louisiana Pacific’s Swan Valley OSB mill, near Minitonas, has been releasing more toxic chemicals into the air since, last January. “I stopped at a house about one mile in each of the four directions from the plant. Not one person knew that this had already been done”, said Romak. “There is something very badly wrong with that. The Province granted “temporary” discontinuation of the RTO pollution control system to LP, in spite of the Clean Environment Commission’s insistence on it as a condition of the company’s operation in the province. “There

TELL THE EPA TO PROTECT HONEY BEES FROM A TOXIC PESTICIDE!

Just click here to find out how!

FOOTNOTE BY DAN SOPROVICH, AN ECOLOGIST, FORESTRY EXPERT AND LONG-TIME WATCHDOG OF "LP" OPERATIONS

Some 8 years or so ago, natural gas came to Swan River, primarily as an aid to LP because this would be cheaper than the propane that the Company was using to power its RTOs. My recollection is that LP were to use about 88% of the gas initially, per figures provided to the Public Utilities Board. LP put in a bit of money, I think $300,000 or something. The feds were in for about $1.7 million, the province for $1.7 million, and local ratepayers for about $1.7 million. At the time, my calculation was that the three local ratepayers who were not on gas would subsidize the one ratepayer who signed up to the tune of about $1000 each, or $3000. Some absurd estimate of ultimate signup by local ratepayers was presented to the Board, perhaps 8 of 10; it never happened. Bottom line on this issue, if the province allows LP to shut down its RTOs (justifiably or otherwise), this will represent an approximate $5 million subsidy to LP that will be mostly lost. This subsidy occurred un

LARRY GETS PUBLISHED!

Image
Friends - Just wanted to let you know, my article "Lament for the Honeybee, " has now been published in the online magazine, "OnEarth." "OnEarth" is produced by the Natural Resources Defense Council, a major international environmental organization with more than a million members! ABOUT: "OnEarth, the award-winning environmental magazine, explores politics, nature, wildlife, culture, science, health, the challenges that confront our planet, and the solutions that promise to heal and protect it. Our contributors include (North) America's finest writers and poets whose original works appear on pages filled with prize-winning photography and splendid art. Are you curious about who's cutting down (North) America's great forests... the newest plan to save Congo's last primates...why Detroit is stuck in reverse… the sex life of the poisonous moonflower… how Aboriginal Australians set the land on fire…a journey through Canada's wild nor

NORTHERN CARIBOU POPULATIONS CRASH

Image
PHOTO COURTESY JOHN NAGY, GNWT WINNIPEG FREE PRESS; Caribou herds across Canada’s North have dropped drastically. Some place the blame on increasing development; others blame climate change or say it’s just "*the cycle of life. by Bruce Owen Winnipeg Free Press February 22, 2009 Caribou, the 'heart and soul' of the Far North and its most important food source, have begun disappearing in staggering numbers that have left stunned observers desperately searching for answers.

THE TENNESSEE COAL ASH DISASTER - PODCAST

COMMENT: "The Tennessee coal ash disaster -podcast" entry in Paths Less Travelled made me discover your excellent blog that I look up regularly now. Thanks! Johanne ===== The worst environmental disaster in US history - ever! That's how some are describing the huge spill of coal fly ash at a holding pond before Christmas. Matt Landon, a volunteer with United Mountain Defense, talks with Emily Voigt about the magnitude of the coal ash disaster at the Tennessee Valley Authority power plant in Kingston, Tennessee. Listen here. Running time: 6 minutes, 32 seconds.

Media Commentators. Responsible Citizens, or Junk Scientists?

Image
Dear Editor, Are our "opinion-leaders" doing their jobs? Or, are they letting us down? I will defend to the death the right of media commentators to speak their minds on any issue. But what if those opinions are based on fairy tales rather than facts? When addressing global warming, for example, are they seeking out the best evidence on which to craft their editorials? Or are they simply being contrary, making their pronouncements based on nothing more than junk science or personal bias? One doesn't have to look very far for media diatribes that label environmentalists as troublemakers or even "wackos." According to these "opinion-leaders," those who drive hybrid cars or buy carbon offsets when they travel are wasting their time. And lawmakers who clamp down on idling vehicles, are Communists! They would have us believe that either global warming isn't happening at all, or is being caused by just about anything other than human activity. So what is