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Winnipeg Busted for Illegal Poop Discharge

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Government of Manitoba Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship advises charges have been laid against the City of Winnipeg under the Environment Act as a result of the city’s South End Water Pollution Control Centre releasing a large amount of partially treated sewage into the Red River over a prolonged period of time.  Details here.

"Sandy," AKA "Frankenstorm" Lashes the East Coast

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New York Times: Hurricane Sandy, now battering the Bahamas, is expected to head up the East Coast over the weekend and possibly collide with a winter blast, producing what weather forecasters fear could be a historic and potentially devastating storm for a large swath of the Northeast and mid-Atlantic early next week. Details here. CARL JUSTE / TRIBUNE MEDIA / MCT Residents find higher ground as the water level continues to rise in Leogane, Haiti, Friday. Leogane has endured five consecutive days of rain due to the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. PLT: The deafening silence emanating from the US campaign trail about climate change can only be further evidence of the disconnect between politicians and power on the one hand, and reality and science on the other. How many "Frankenstorms" will we have to endure before they remove their heads from their a...., er I mean, the sand and start telling it like it is? Please also read: "IT'S GLOBAL WARMING, STUPID!"

Canadian Canola Production - a Riches-to-Rags Tale?

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Manitoba Co-Operator - Commodity News Service Canada A healthy canola field. PLT photo  Canadian canola exports during the 2012-13 crop year were expected to come in at a record-high level -- but smaller-than-anticipated production is now predicted to dim those prospects. Full story here. PLT: Crop production stories, chalk-full of numbers such as this one, are both important and interesting, I'm sure. But, as a consumer with an environmental conscience, I am frequently disappointed at the lack of context in such stories in the overall scheme of things. For example, in my own rural area, coffee-talk is rife with reports of a rare canola disease this year which, I am told, is a fungus spread by an insect which thrives in warm weather. That bug was apparently carried from the south where record heat and drought enabled it to thrive. I THINK the disease is called Aster Yellows (Phytoplasma) (l).  It was, this year, worse than it has ever been and shattered the hopes many fa

Italy's Earthquake Case Reeks of Hypocrisy

Puzzling, isn't it? Several scientists in Italy were recently tried, convicted and sentenced on criminal charges for failing to predict the unpredictable - a tragic and deadly earthquake there a few years ago. I didn't realize governments were all that interested in what scientists have to say, anyway. After all, leading climatologists the world over have been warning for decades that our planet is headed for a crisis due to human-caused climate change - a science that has accumulated years of painstaking data and meteorological records to back its findings. Nevertheless, such warnings have been systematically ignored by Presidents, Prime Ministers and governments everywhere. If it was possible to bring a class action against political leaders the world over (beginning with Canada's Stephen Harper) I'd be leading the charge. Think about it. A few hundred people died in the earthquake - a disaster, to be sure. But millions have died by now due to the catastrophi

Help Malala - She Deserves the Nobel Prize!

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  P l e a s e   sign the petition, here!

Ash Cloud

By George Monbiot, the Guardian How conservatism turned into an orgy of destruction. Details here. PLT: Sounds like Canadian-style corporatism is metastasizing!

Climate Scientist Sues for Defamation

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The Daily Climate Penn State climate scientist Michael Mann sues National Review, Competitive Enterprise Institute for 'maliciously' attacking his personal reputation. Details here. PLT: At left is Michael Mann's now-famous "hockey stick graph" which has drawn the anger, vitriol and even threats from many climate cranks. Mann and other scientists constructed the graph to show global patterns of annual surface temperature. Despite evidence that the graph is an accurate portrayal, the cranks continue to spew their hatred at this distinguished man.

MONARCH BUTTERFLIES Seeking Sanctuary

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Xerces Society Across North America, monarch butterflies are leaving their summer breeding grounds and making their epic journey to spend the winter in Mexico or along California's coast. Unfortunately, all is not well in the monarch world. Details here.

Farm Runoff is Speeding Demise of Protective Coastal Areas -- Study

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ClimateWire: PLT photo Pollution from agricultural production degrades coastal salt marshes more quickly than previously thought, according to a study published in the journal Nature. Details here.

Pollution as Harmful as Malaria, TB in Developing World - Study

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NEW YORK, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Pollution from factories and mines is putting the health of 125 million people at risk worldwide and is as dangerous in the developing world as malaria or tuberculosis, according to a… Full story here. PLT photo For a Canadian perspective, please read about a US-based corporation which was given permission a couple o f years ago, to actually i ncrease industrial e missions at its Manitoba wood pro ducts plant.

Framing the Future: Embracing the Low-Carbon Economy

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National Round Table on the Environment (NRTE) Manitoba Geothermal Energy Alliance. Framing the Future: Embracing the Low-Carbon Economy outlines the potential economic opportunity for Canada as the world transitions to a low-carbon economy. Details here. PLT: This is the last report from the NRTE, which the Harperites have killed. Heaven forbid they should retain an advisory to give them such "radical" advice! Make no mistake, this government represents industry, the top 1%, period. Not you. Not me.