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Growth of Ocean ‘Garbage Patch’ Alarms Experts

Published on Friday, August 28, 2009 by The Associated Press Three-week Pacific voyage highlights ‘shocking’ amount of plastic debris.

Desperate Food Industry Tries to Tar Michael Pollan and Organic Produce

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By Vanessa Barrington, EcoSalon. August 24, 2009. (A busy market in Regina, SK. Photo by l.p.) With growing numbers of food-conscious consumers, big corporations are trying to sully the reputation of alternatives to their style of agriculture.

Native Americans to Join London Protest Over Tar Sands

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Terry Macalister - guardian.co.uk, Sunday 23 August 2009 Canadian First Nations seek to highlight UK's 'criminal' role in CO2-heavy oil schemes . Activist protests against the Alberta tar sands at a recent rally in Regina, SK. Photo by l.p.

LP Relents on Plant Inspection by Outside Experts - But Will There be One?"

- by Larry Powell Louisiana Pacific Canada Ltd. has apparently had a change of heart. Initially, the company refused to allow an inspection of its wood products plant in the Swan Valley of western Manitoba by outside experts. But after a request from the Clean Environment Commission, (CEC) it has agreed. But only with strict conditions attached. LP must be given 5 business days advance notice. All those taking part must identify themselves with valid IDs in advance. The tour must be limited to six people. No photographs or recordings will be allowed. Participants must undergo a safety orientation. They must sign a waiver in order to get into the plant's production areas. The company will not answer any technical questions because "all pertinent technical information is already on the public record." LP agreed after the Clean Environment Commission supported the request for the outside inspection from two citizens' groups; Concerned Citizens of the Valley and the Borea

Climate Change May Cause Crops to Emit Methane

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Staff - Manitoba Co-Operator - 8/18/2009 Canola Crop by L.P. Crop stresses typically linked to climate change, such as increased temperatures, drought and UV-B radiation, might actually hasten climate change by causing crops to emit more methane into the atmosphere.

U.S. State Department OKs Pipeline From Canada's Oil Sands

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WASHINGTON, DC, August 21, 2009 (Environment News Service) The U.S. State Department has issued a permit for a multibillion-dollar pipeline to carry crude oil from Canadian oil sands to refineries south of the border, triggering a court challenge... ===== (AFP/Getty image) Editor's note...Surely this can only underline the urgency with which the U.S. should implement Barak Obama's commitment to CLEAN energy! l.p.

Manitoba Logging Road May Spark Court Battle

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Winnipeg Free Press - By: Bruce Owen - 20/08/2009 Environmentalists oppose park route. (Click headline.) Also read "Environmentalists pan new road...." and how James Beddome, leader of the Green Party of Manitoba feels about the decision. Ghost Pines 11 by Mary Jane Eichler

U.S.-Based Logging Corporation Refuses an Outside Inspection of its Manitoba Wood Plant

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Environmentalists Cry Foul - by Larry Powell Louisiana Pacific Canada Limited operates an "Oriented Strand Board" plant in the Swan Valley of western Manitoba. It's been at odds with critics ever since the provincial government allowed it to shut down its pollution control equipment last January. Following an uproar from community members and environmentalists, the government instructed an advisory committee, the Clean Environment Commission (CEC), to review that decision. It conducted public meetings earlier this summer in Swan River. Participants argued for and against LP's application to make the shutdown permanent. Then, two groups critical of LP's proposal, joined forces. "Concerned Citizens of the Valley" and "The Boreal Forest Network" tried to arrange for scientific experts to tour the plant. They argued this was the only way for them to fully take part in the process, since the format of the public meetings did not

O2 Dropping Faster than CO2 Rising

ISIS Report 19/08/09 ========= Implications for Climate Change Policies New research shows oxygen depletion in the atmosphere accelerating since 2003, coinciding with the biofuels boom; climate policies that focus exclusively on carbon sequestration could be disastrous for all oxygen-breathing organisms including humans Dr. Mae-Wan Ho Threat of oxygen depletion Mention climate change and everyone thinks of CO2 increasing in the atmosphere, the greenhouse effect heating the earth, glaciers melting, rising sea levels, floods, hurricanes, droughts, and a host of other environmental catastrophes. Climate mitigating policies are almost all aimed at reducing CO2, by whatever means. Within the past several years, however, scientists have found that oxygen (O2) in the atmosphere has been dropping, and at higher rates than just the amount that goes into the increase of CO2 from burning fossil fuels, some 2

Scientists Uncover New Ocean Threat From Plastics

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By Steve Connor, Science Editor - the Independent - Thursday, 20 August 2009 . Plastic pollution is not just unsightly but it could be to toxic to humans and animals. The North Pacific Gyre, which traps untold amounts of plastic particles in its eddies. (Credit: Algalita Marine Research Foundation)

A Cleanup Begins - but Concerns Remain Over the Massive Straw-Bale Piles at Elie, Manitoba

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by Larry Powell - (Please also note comments at bottom.) A resident of Elie, Manitoba, Linda Aquin, says she worries that the massive backlog of straw-bales stored near the town will catch fire, resulting in the release of toxic chemicals. Aquin and her husband operate a bed-&-breakfast in the small town on the Trans Canada Highway, west of Winnipeg. She says Dow Bio Products which owns the now defunct s t rawboard plant, has hired exterminators to control the rodents living in the straw. She believes they used a poison possibly containing arsenic for this purpose. If a fire breaks out, she adds, she doesn't know what could happen. But, it could be like a chemical fire and if the wind is in the wrong direction, results could be serious. She says a fire at the Elie school some time ago produced toxic smoke when some plastic chairs burned. "We couldn't breath and had to get out of there," she remarked. She fears a similar incident, only on a larger scale, c