PLANET IN PERIL

CBC SK:  Whiteout conditions are said to have contributed to the stranding of more than 150 people near Unity, SK since early yesterday. Details here. A wintry view from the train. Winnipeg to Toronto in Feb.'13. A PLT video. Please also read:  "Climate Change and the CNR. -  Are the two already on a collision course, with train travellers caught in the middle?"

Dear Editor, Is it now old-fashioned to expect those who govern us, to do so in a decent, respectful way? If it is, then call me old-fashioned. Even for someone painfully aware of the depths to which our democratic system has sunk, especially since the Harperites took over, I was shocked to learn about a bullying incident which played out on Parliament Hill earlier this month.  The Commons Agriculture Committee was meeting to talk about "low-level presence." Before you doze off, it's a topic which everyone who puts food in his mouth, should care about! This government actually wants Canada to start accepting traces of genetically-modified (GM) genes in the food we import, even though those genes have neither been inspected nor approved by our own domestic regulators! A guest appearing before the committee, Lucy Sharratt of the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN), opposed this idea. This was hardly surprising, since CBAN's very reason for being is to

Canadian rock-and-roll legend Randy Bachman will be sharing  Environmental Defence’s campaign message , “We Gotta Change” with thousands of people in cities across the country during his current nation-wide tour -  Vinyl Tap Tour: Every  Song Tells A Story .  He’ll assist in raising awareness both on and off stage about chemicals with links to cancer that are found in many commonly used household products in Canada, and share with fans the effects on human health and the environment. If you’re interested in attending one of Randy’s concerts during his tour, visit  his website  for tour dates and to purchase tickets. Photo courtesy of  Randy Bachman's website

CTV News YELLOWKNIFE -- Federal officials are scrambling to clean up a crumbling, abandoned northern gold mine that is in imminent danger of releasing massive amounts of arsenic, asbestos and other toxins. Details here.

The Sunday Leader - an English-language, Sri Lankan newspaper. Although the Health Ministry denies that the Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) slowly killing thousands in the North Central, Eastern, Wayamba, Ruhuna and Uva Provinces is due to pesticides and fertilisers containing arsenic being used for agriculture, studies now confirm that the use of fertilizer has contaminated… Details here.

Winnipeg Free Press Scientists have a good sense of what the Earth’s climate has been like over the past handful of centuries. But what about many thousands of years back? Details here.

CBC Radio Pharmaceutical waste, fertilizers and climate change all new threats to fresh water. Full story here.

the guardian Environment secretary not expected to support proposal despite poll showing almost three-quarters of the UK public wants ban. Details here. Bumble bees on chives.  PLT photo

Laura Rance - Winnipeg Free Press It doesn't matter how you dice it, the discovery of horsemeat in European meat products raises some awkward questions for the global meat industry. Details here. PLT photo

Winnipeg Free Press The dead pigs started appearing on the riverbanks of Shanghai’s iconic Huangpu River on March 4, and by the weekend, state media were reporting that 900 had been found floating in the river, the source of much of the city’s water supply. Details here.

The Tyee A conservation group says British Columbia should establish "safe havens" for wildlife in the southern Rockies to preserve habitat where animals will be able to flee the effects of climate change. Details here.