PLANET IN PERIL

Are the two already on a collision course, with Canadian train travellers caught in the middle? by Larry Powell  Uneventful?  Forgettable? Our Via Rail trip from Winnipeg to Toronto this week, would hardly fall into either of those categories. First,  as we waited to board,  our train, The Canadian, was over two hours late arriving at the Winnipeg station from the west.  Larry on a less "eventful" ride  to  Toronto a few years ago. PLT photo. Some of the  passengers who got off there made mention of white-out conditions before their arrival. But others seemed to think the delay was  mainly due to the number of freight trains they had to yield to by pulling over and stopping on sidings along the way. The CNR owns the rail line so their freights always have the right-of-way over trains carrying passengers. This has been the case for many years, so that part has not changed. What seems to be changing is the frequency and duration of those stops. For example,

CBC TV - The National  Duncan McCue looks at the booming business of renewable energy in the United States, in spite of its reputation for an addiction to cheap energy. Watch the video here. PLT: Obama puts Harper to shame by recognizing climate change for what it is and doing something about it. Harper has been criminally negligent on this file and ought to be brought up on charges.

John Vidal - The Guardian Organic Canadian potatoes. PLT photo In a village in India's poorest state, Bihar, farmers are growing world record amounts of rice, potatoes and wheat with no GM, and no herbicide. Is this one solution to world food shortages? Details here. PLT:  These breakthroughs need to be shouted from the rooftops. Do North American farmers even know about this?  Here in my home province of Manitoba, Canada, commercial potato-growers spray their crops up to 5 times a season with potent fungicides. How healthy is that?  Excellent story, John!

The Guardian By shunning all but organic farming techniques, the Himalayan state will cement its status as a paradigm of sustainability. Details here. PLT: How refreshing! If only our neanderthal leaders in North America would watch, listen and learn from this! 

Show Details Photo Credit - National Geographic. Dear Larry, Time’s running out to  show your support for the Peel ! An historic decision is about to be made about the future of Yukon’s world-famous  Peel Watershed. The  Yukon Government  is about to throw out six years of hard  work and compromise by a diverse range of  stakeholders on the Peel Commission's  proposed management plan for the region, in favour of a proposal  they developed  unilaterally  which would allow roads  and  surface access throughout the region. The battle for the protecting Peel Watershed has become as much an issue of  supporting democracy as it  is one  of  protecting  the landscape. Speak up now to  protect the Peel. We need YOUR voice  to support the Peel Commission’s Final Recommended Plan  for the  Peel. If we don’t  act  now to protect the  Peel, it will be too late.  Take action NOW!

living on earth Polar Bears have long been the poster species for the problem of climate change. But a new paper in Conservation Letters argues that supplemental feeding may be necessary to prevent polar bear populations from going extinct. Polar bear expert Andrew Derocher from the University of Alberta joins Host Steve Curwood to discuss how we can save the largest bear on the planet. Details here. OR; Listen to the podcast, here:

On February 19 - 22, 2013 the Alberta Prairie Conservation Forum and the Alberta Society of Professional Biologists will jointly host the 10 th Prairie Conservation and Endangered Species Conference (PCESC). Details here. PLT photo (r.) Cape May Warbler. "Use of certain insecticides to control spruce budworms causes steep declines in Cape May Warbler numbers. Logging, especially in the western portion of the species' range, may eventually pose risks to the Warbler because of reduced availability of the mature forests needed to support spruce budworms." (Source - Cornell Lab of Ornithology )