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How Felton, Calif., Achieved Water Independence

by Tara Lohan - Yes! magazine How a Tiny town beat a big corporation.

Toward Sustainable Agriculture - US National Academy of Sciences

One Year After Ontario Ban: Over 80% Decline of Most Common Pesticides in Surface Waters

Christine Lepisto Berlin - treehugger In April 2009, it became...

Pesticide Ban a Big Win for Italian Honey Bees

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By Larry Powell -  If you enjoy this blog, please consider  donating to the author to keep it going.  Just click on the link below . Thanks! - Larry                                                                                                        ROBLIN, MB Jul 8 -2010 I began worrying the other day about my last story on this topic "Are Pesticide Regulators on the Take?". Bee photo by l.p. In it I raised some hard questions about the behaviour of those who are supposed to protect you, me and our environment from harmful pesticides in Canada. A mounting body of evidence shows several such products are killing valuable pollinating insects like bees, essential to the production of many of our food crops. Their populations are crashing alarmingly in many regions of the world, including Canada. Yet our politicians and "regulators" party on, allowing bee-killing poisons to continue in heavy use, as if none of this was going on. Still, I worried, h

Ag Input Sales Slump Due to Heavy Rains on Prairies

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Manitoba Co-Operator - Staff - 7/8/2010 New estimates show... EDITOR'S NOTE: Climate change? Naah! That's just hooey! l.p. Big farm rig. l.p. photo

UK Inquiry Into "Climategate" Scandal Vindicates Researchers

.......but also finds lack of openness By RAPHAEL G. SATTER 
Associated Press Writer LONDON (AP) -- An independent report into….

Protecting the Urban Forest

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Wpeg. Free Press July 2- 2010 Winnipeg's canopy of trees, its urban forest, is….

Leaked G20 Documents: Canada Won't Cut Extra Subsidies for Fossil Fuels

Clare Demers - Pembina Institute Despite the Harper…. EDITOR'S NOTE: Shame on you, Harper! You are doubtlessly the worse Prime Minister my country has ever known! l.p.

Louisiana Calls on BP to Fund Mental Health Programs

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by Sasha Chavkin - 
ProPublica, July 1, 2010 As Louisiana officials….

Whale Killing - We Were Heard!

Dear friends, We did it! The proposal to legalise whale killing went down in flames in Morocco -- and our campaign helped to tip the balance. In a few short weeks, we built the biggest whale-saving petition in history, signed by an extraordinary 1.2 million of us worldwide, and delivered it directly to key delegates at the International Whaling Commission meeting. In the end, the 24 year old whaling ban was upheld. The pro-whaling lobby tried to use political favours to win a so called 'compromise' that amounts to a quota for hunting whales, but as tension grew in the closed-door talks, our massive petition became a top story on the BBC’s world news , and we worked with friendly negotiators and other allies to put pressure where it was most needed and draw greater global attention. The Australian environment minister Peter Garrett received our petition for like-minded governments in front of the world's media and said “Thank you very much Avaaz. It is a g

'Balanced' Ecosystems Seen in Organic Agriculture Better at Controlling Pests, Research Finds

ScienceDaily (July 1, 2010) There really is... Editor's note: "See interesting footnote below from the Organic Food Council of MB. l.p. Late Blight Update There have been three additional confirmed cases of late blight in commercial conventional potato fields in the province this week. One case is in the central region, one in the western region and one is near Winnipeg. The Disease Severity Values (DSVs) for late blight risk have gone over the threshold values in many parts of the province, which increases the risk of infection. With widespread rains and very moist conditions, areas with low DSVs could also have localized high-risk spots (such as low spots, areas near tree lines, etc). With the high moisture in fields in many parts of Manitoba, the risk of late blight is high. To help prevent late blight, organic potato and tomato producers in high-risk areas must follow a five-day spray schedule using approved copper products, making sure to always follow