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Chevron Must Pay!

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Alternet - Feb. 19'11 An Ecuadorian judge ordered Chevron this week to pay $8.6 billion in damages for polluting the Amazon rainforest from 1964 until 1990. Incredibly, Chevron is known to refuse to pay such damages, even when a court orders it to do so! Read story here. 

The Body That Oversees Broadcasting in Canada, the CRTC, Drops Plan to Weaken Truth in Broadcasting Regulations

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February 18, 2011 — The Wire Report   OTTAWA—CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein says the Commission will not proceed with changes it had been considering, to its prohibition on false and misleading news. von Finckenstein says it's because the Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations, which had been pressing for the changes, will no longer persue the issue. The move follows a groundswell of protest and petitions which gathered tens of thousands of names in opposition to the idea. Many saw the proposed changes as a way to help prepare for the arrival of an American-style TV network in this country which skeptics have dubbed "Fox News North." Read full story here. Please aslso read: "Is Canada About to Descend Into An America-Style Abyss by Cheapening Our Broadcast Regulations?"

Permafrost Melt Soon Irreversible Without Major Fossil Fuel Cuts

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Stephen Leahy - Inter Press Service UXBRIDGE, Ontario, Canada, 17 Feb   Thawing permafrost is threatening to overwhelm attempts to keep the planet from getting too hot for human survival.  Read full story here.

Pipelines Carrying Oil From the Canadian Tar Sands Pose Serious Risks

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By Keith Schneider - Nat. Resources Defence Council  - OnEarth Magazine -  "A Survival Guide for the Planet" - Fe. 16 '11 NRDC photo. Just after dawn on July 26, 2010, homeowners along Talmadge Creek near Marshall, Michigan, awoke to the chemical stench of raw fuel. Full story here. Read Larry Powell's contributions to OnEarth magazine here.

TransCanada Runs Deceptive Ad Pushing Controversial Oil Pipeline

Friends of the Earth - Feb 17-'11 Canadian company misleads public, asserts pumping dirty Canadian tar sands oil into U.S. would reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

CBC Manitoba Thinks Nothing Can Be Done About Climate Change! Larry Writes Yet Another Letter-to-the-Editor

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Larry Powell I made what I thought was a reasonable request of CBC Manitoba the other day. I asked it to start including atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide (C02), in its weather casts. After consulting with John Sauder ( CBC photo - r. ), their extremely competent "weather guy"(John is Manitoba's only broadcast meteorologist), a CBC spokesperson told me, "no." Why? Because it might be "inflammatory!" The CBC further explained that, wind chill factors and UV levels, which they report regularly, were things upon which their listeners/viewers "can actually take some immediate, personal action." The implication in that response is that there is nothing we can actually do about climate change! That, I found, was the most chilling part of all. Apparently, we can no longer choose to drive smaller cars, take the bus, live close to work or just visit the Mayan Riviera every other year. By way of background, I'm someone who re

Reporting CO2 Levels on the Radio Might be "Inflammatory:" CBC

Below is the CBC's response to my request (please read - "'PLT' Publisher Asks for Help in Raising Awareness of  Global Warming") to report atmospheric C02 levels during their weathercasts. ======= Greetings Mr. Powell,   Through consulting with our meteorologist, we have determined that it would be inappropriate for us to consider a regular reporting of CO2 levels as a part of our regular weather reports, for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is simple time economics in a weather-cast.  Moreover, while the concerns may be great about the rising levels of CO2, an inclusion of this number in regular reports might be perceived and received as inflammatory, compared say to the UV levels or wind chills about which a listener can actually take some immediate personal action.   This subject is, however, something we are going to follow up on in terms of a story for one of our local radio programs.  We thank you for your interest and invite you to

"PLT" Publisher Asks for Help in Raising Awareness of Global Warming

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 Below is a message I sent today to Marilyn Maki, (lower r.) a weather specialist and radio host at CBC in Winnipeg. Keep watching this space for her reply! l.p. ===== Marilyn Maki, Host, Radio Noon, CBC Manitoba. Dear Marilyn, As a weather specialist, you will be aware that the science of climate change is now well-proven. Human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, mainly carbon dioxide (CO2), are still on the increase. And so are the earth's mean temperatures and the incidences of severe weather events. Considering the gravity of this situation, I would ask you to consider the following: Would you, at least periodically, report current CO2 levels in the atmosphere, as part of your weather casts?   As you will also be aware, those levels have, for some time now, been well above 350ppm. That's the level considerd by the world's leading climatologist, James Hansen, to be safe for human habitation. I would submit such a service would be at least as important as,

Is Canada About to Descend Into An America-Style Abyss by Cheapening Our Broadcast Regulations?

Below is my submission to the Canadian Radio, Television & Telecommunications Commission. That powerful body seems poised to grant the wishes of a parliamentary committee by loosening the rules governing truth and accuracy in broadcasting. (Anyone detect the heavy hand of Stephen Harper in all of this? Naaaaa!) l.p.  ====    1.    Dear CRTC - I am a journalist specializing in stories about the environment, especially global warming. Your proposed changes concern me deeply because, among other things:     2.    I fear they will provide yet another channel for climate skeptics/opportunists and fraudsters to peddle their lies and deception over a phenomenon which is real, which is happening now and which is posing a clear and present threat to this planet, not only for us but future generations, as well.     3.    I also fear these changes would shamefully cheapen the noble profession of Canadian journalism with its long-accepted high standard of checks and balances on the truth a

48 Hours to Save Canadian Journalism?

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COMMENT: Patti wrote: "This is just one in a long list of abuses and audacities that this PM and his government have perpetrated. How long are we going to stand for it? No credible opposition to challenge the abuses and no populace knowledgeable enough to vote this criminal and his party out."  Dear friends across Canada, Public protections against false and misleading news coverage could be destroyed by the CRTC -- paving the way for "Fox News North" to spread false information to the Canadian public that supports their political agenda. We have just two days to raise a national outcry and urge the CRTC to protect Canadian journalism!

Chevron Gets Dinged - Heavily!

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Chevron is guilty.  Tell CEO John Watson:  Clean up Ecuador NOW! Dear friend, Yesterday marked a historic day for corporate accountability. A judge in Ecuador found Chevron guilty of massive oil contamination in the Amazon rainforest and ordered the company to pay over $8 billion to clean it up. The verdict is the culmination of an 18-year struggle by the Indigenous and rural Ecuadoreans — the real heroes of this epic fight — who first sued Chevron to force the company to clean up its oily mess back in 1993. The battle is won, but the war for corporate accountability is far from over. Chevron has vowed to appeal the decision , and it’s all too clear that the company intends to never pay for its oil pollution in the Ama