PLANET IN PERIL

Avaaz.org Australia could let mining magnates build one of the world's largest coal ports on top of the Great Barrier Reef ecosystem -- opening access to 8 billion extra tonnes of planet-killing coal and risking the survival of this entire amazing world heritage site. Details here.

By: Jenny Ford - Winnipeg Free Press Manitoba lakes have some of the highest concentrations of a potent toxin produced by blue-green algae, a study published today found. Details here.

Laura Rance - Winnipeg Free Press   Harper's act of clemency hits at CWB   PLT photo As the new marketing era dawned Aug. 1, Canada's prime minister took his revisionist view of history and his ideological vendetta against the Canadian Wheat Board to a new level. Full story here.

IPS - Interpress Service BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe, Aug 8 2012 (IPS) - Humanity is living beyond its means with the growing demand for food, medicines and other nature-based products, making sustainable consumption and conservation a matter of life and death. This is according to the world’s oldest and largest global environmental network, the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Details here.

Reuters Irrigation pivots sit idle in winter, in the US midwest. PLT photo. LONDON, Aug 8 (Reuters) - The world is depleting underground water reserves faster than they can be replenished due to over-exploitation, according to scientists in Canada and the Netherlands. Details here.

Dear Reader, By way of explaining why my blog has been so dormant, I suffered a heart attack about a month ago. They rushed me by ambulance from Roblin (MB) to the cardiac wing in the Regina General hospital. There, they installed a "stent" in a blocked artery, then did open hearts surgery during which they bypassed six other arteries. Lucky for me, the cardiac ward in Regina and the people who work there, are world-class. I'm home now, recovering. But I'll now have to visit a sleep clinic in order to deal with my Sleep Apnea which appears to have returned. I may have to start using (for lack of the correct, technical term) a "sleep machine" to help me at night. Should be able to get back to posting regularly, in short order. Thinking of you all. Larry