Posts

Ottawa to Unveil Weakened Emissions Rules for Coal-Fired Power

Globe and Mail After a year of tough negotiations with companies and premiers that tested Ottawa’s resolve to fight climate change, Environment Minister Peter Kent is finally ready to present the final version of regulations to curtail greenhouse gas emissions from the coal-fired electricity sector. Full story here.

Field of Nightmares

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Ottawa continues to embrace the widespread use of Roundup on Canadian farms by letting corporate seduction trump scientific evidence. by Larry Powell A crop-duster sprays a GMO crop in western MB. A PinP photo. In its quest to dominate the planet's agricultural biotechnology sector, Monsanto's business model has produced significant collateral damage. Generations of farming families in South America, India and other robustly developing regions have been devastated by the US-based multinational’s product line, namely its flagship herbicide Roundup and the patented seeds that go with it.  In the 1970s, the company began genetically modifying canola, and they’ve since created their own patented versions of soybeans, corn, cotton and a range of other crops. The havoc wreaked by Monsanto’s remarkable growth in the interim includes widespread claims of pollution, illegal activity and damage to health and livelihoods, as well as a systematic effort to crush detr

Staples Canada Picks up Straw-Based Paper

Manitoba Co-operator Step Forward Paper is made with 80 per cent straw Manitoba farmers could see a lucrative new market for straw emerge, as the province moves closer to becoming the site of North America's first pulp and paper mill using straw. Full story here.

Welcome to the Anthropocene - a New Geologic Era (Radio podcast + video)

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This podcast has been airing on the CBC Radio program, "The Current." It suggests human activity has now placed us in an entirely new geologic epoc. And not a good one! Listen here.                           (PLT video & photo) I shot this video of my home (above) just after these winds toppled two mature spruce trees, narrowly missing our house as we slept. The still photo (r.) shows the gap left in the shelterbelt which protects us from the elements. To me, climate change is now personal! Larry Powell. 

Food Prices Set to Soar. Reducing Poverty in Manitoba Just Got Harder.

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Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Early last year stories hit the news about the potential for food prices to rise throughout 2011.    PLT photo Commodities prices for wheat, corn, sugar, and others were all on the rise which ultimately resulted in a 4.4% rise in the cost of food to December 2011. Full story here

Shockwaves in Manitoba's Hog Industry Over Investigation

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                                                  CBC  Courtesy of SteinbachOnline.com People in Manitoba's hog industry are shocked a farm in the western part of the province is under investigation for animal cruelty. Full story here.

Latest Hurricane Shows Interesting Timing

Sooo.....Hurricane Isaac has forced the Republican National Convention to take a recess.....couldn't happen to a nicer group of climate-deniers.  PLT

Are Canada's Pesticide Regulators on the Take? (Opinion)

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  Canadian Authorities Refuse to Protect Precious Pollinators From Known Toxins. Is Something Crooked Going on Here?        by Larry Powell Bumblebees forage on organic chives. A  PinP  photo For way too many years now, they and their political masters have been stubbornly refusing to protect our precious plant pollinators such as bees from known toxins.  Isn’t it high time we found out why? It’s gotten to the point where, to me, the failure of these individuals to lift a finger to save collapsing world populations of these creatures, borders on the criminal. It even smacks of collusion between them and the agro-chemical industry. For years, scientific research teams both far and near, have been documenting dwindling numbers, even extinctions, of several populations of honey bees and bumble bees. Scores of reputable groups, including The Canadian Pollination Institute (CANPOLIN), the Xerces Society and the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in the ‘States, are all sound

Very Few Canadians Doubt Climate Change

Vancouver Sun Only two per cent of Canadians who responded to a new opinion poll believed climate change is not occurring. Full story here.

Stop Great Barrier Coal - Sign the Petition. Please

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.

Manitoba's Lakes Have High Concentrations of Algae-Produced Toxin

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.