Posts

Canadian Researchers Open a Door to Saving Threatened Bats

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Bat Conservation International. Dear supporters, A research team led by the University of Winnipeg in Canada recently confirmed that the Geomyces  Courtesy of "Bats About Our Town." destructans fungus that causes White-nose Syndrome in North America originated in Europe, where it is still found but does not  cause mass deaths of bats. This suggests that European bats may have faced WNS sometime in the past and the bats that survived evolved to have immunological or behavioral resistance to the disease. This research also demonstrates that the WNS fungus was almost certainly carried, inadvertently, by humans from an infected European cave to North America. Since it was first reported on the muzzles of little brown bats in New York’s Howes Cave, WNS has killed more than 5.7 million bats, according to federal biologists. This new evidence that humans can carry and spread the fungus reinforces the need for targeted closures of caves used by bats, as we

How the European Commission is Responding to the Sahel Food Crisis

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European Union - Europa - Apr 12 2012 1. How big is the food crisis in the Sahel in 2012? This is one of the biggest humanitarian crises in the world today. Details here.

Harperites Chop Trees in Latest Austerity Revelations!

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By: Jennifer Graham, CP SASKATOON - Canada's agriculture minister is defending the government's decision to put a pasture program and a shelterbelt tree program on the chopping block to save money. Details here. PLT shelterbelt photo. PLT: Trees are the latest declared "enemies" of the Harperites. What's next? Motherhood?

How the Big Energy Companies Plan to Turn the US & Canada Into a Third-World Petro-State

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Alternet Apr '12                        Will North America become not just the next boom continent for energy bonanzas, but a new energy Third World? Details here. Geese fly over an open pit mine in the Alberta tar sands. Courtesy of Beautiful Destruction

Surface Water Strategy is Imperative

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By: Henry Venema 04/4/2012 - Winnipeg Free Press What a difference a year makes. Last year at this time, all of southern Manitoba was in various stages of panic as forecasts revealed just how bad the 2011 flood might be.  Details here.                                 Shellmouth dam - flood of 2011. PLT photo PLT: I defer to your expertise on this topic, Dr. Venema. But I do have a question for you, if you read this. Did the IISD itself not (prophetically), a few years ago, come out with a report(s), warning of increased extreme weather such as floods and droughts on the Prairies, DUE TO ANTHROPOGENIC CLIMATE CHANGE? You do not mention this in your article, this time. Is this not rather significant? Such climate change is caused by humans, burning too many fossil fuels, is it not? Have you and the Institute given up on reminding the public that this is a fact of life? I'm sure what you suggest in your article is valid - managing our surface waters in a sustainable way

Texas Tornadoes Spark Climate Change Discussion (Video)

PLT: Right! Seeing loaded semis hurtling through the air is not that unusual, is it? Only in the fevered brain of a climate-denier!

Harperites Cast a Long Shadow Over Canada's Natural Places

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EcoJustice  Last week, our Finance Minister stood up in the House of Commons and made good on the rumours. The federal government is going to use the budget to change Canada’s environmental laws and speed up approvals          Jasper Nat'l. Park PLT photo   for “major economic projects” – including Enbridge’s Northern Gateway pipeline and other industrial development. Details here.

Organic Growers to Appeal Court Loss Against Monsanto

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Manitoba Co-Operator    Non-GMO plaintiffs wanted company to waive any future patent claim. Details here.

Federal Budget a Disaster for the Environment, MPs Say

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John Size, CTVNews.ca Staff   The federal budget dealt a massive blow to the environmental movement and will result in protests across the country, two opposition MPs say. Details here.

The Bee’s Needs

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Miranda Holmes - the Common Sense Canadian When the final tally is done on humanity’s many post-Industrial Revolution screw ups, it is likely that the top of the list will be: They let the bees die . Details here. Many foods, including apples, depend on  pollinators, like bees, to produce. PLT photo

Pesticides Linked to Honeybee Decline - Again

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Mar 29th - the Guardian The first study conducted in a natural environment has shown that systemic pesticides damage bees' ability to navigate. Details here.   PinP photo PinP : And the beat goes on! Meanwhile, the honeybee killers roam our streets, apparently not even on parole, but with complete pardons! Please also read: "Are Canada's Pesticide Regulators on the Take? Authorities Refuse to Protect Precious Pollinators from Known Toxins. Is Something Crooked Going on Here?"  Below is a summary of the scientific study, itself. It adds yet another layer of proof to the fear that these chemicals render the bees incapable of navigating & finding their way back to the hives. Hence, the piece in the "Colony Collapse Disorder" puzzle, involving disappearing bees, seems now to have been found! So what are we waiting for? Extinctions?  Criminal charges must surely be in order now!    ==== "Nonlethal exposure of honey bees to thiamethoxa