PLANET IN PERIL

(Video by Kirk Lyttle) What caused the fish-kill (or the extent of it) are still unknown. Was it the dramatically-lower lake levels caused when the authorities deliberately "drew them down," in anticipation of serious flooding this spring? Was it lack of oxygen? Or both? Lake of the Prairies formed decades ago with the construction of the Shellmouth dam on the Assiniboine River, near Russell, MB. This year, authorities have drawn its water levels down dramatically, in anticipation of serious flooding this spring. See "then" and "now" shots below, both taken at the bridge which crosses the lake, east of Yorkton, SK. Above, during the record flood on the Assiniboine in 2011. Note the high water levels below the bridge. Below, note the low levels and exposed abutments,  in full "pre-flood" mode this past weekend.  (PLT photos)

Winnipeg Free Press Frank Kenyon wants to sell fish. Not let them die. Details here.

Canadian Press TORONTO – A Health Canada study suggests most Canadians have the chemical bisphenol A in their urine and all have traces of lead in their blood. Details here.

the star.com - Clayton Ruby In exploiting every last drop of tar sands crude, the government is impoverishing our country, its democratic freedoms and its future prosperity. Full story here.

National Geographic Ducks in a nutrient-rich river. PLT photo If we don’t watch out, agriculture could destroy our planet. Here’s how to grow all the food we need with fewer chemicals. Details here. Related articles: Field of Nightmares -  Ottawa continues to embrace the widespread use of Roundup on Canadian farms by letting corporate seduction trump scientific evidence. Ditches of Destruction  -  Manitoba’s “war on weeds” comes complete with powerful herbicides, questionable spraying practices and collateral damage.

CANBERRA (Reuters) - The summer ice melt in parts of Antarctica is at its highest level in 1,000 years, Australian and British researchers reported on Monday, adding new evidence of the impact of global warming on sensitive Antarctic glaciers and ice shelves. Researchers from the Australian National University and the British Antarctic Survey found data taken from an ice core also shows the summer ice melt has been 10 times more intense over the past 50 years compared with 600 years ago. "It's definitely evidence that the climate and the environment is changing in this part of Antarctica," lead researcher Nerilie Abram said.

The Nation Never have I witnessed a gap between the mainstream media and the public quite like the last twenty-four hours since the death of Margaret Thatcher. Details here.

The Guardian Global warming is exacerbating political instability as tensions brought on by food insecurity rise. With research suggesting the issue can only get worse we examine the risks around the world. Details here. Manitoba corn following a freak frost; Aug.'07 PLT photo PLT: As a Canadian, I'm getting quite tired of coverage such as this, concentrating on the US as centre of the universe, then radiating outward in any direction except Canada! The only reference I can find in this entire article to my country is this: "Canada will be a winner, as crops move north." Say what?   I've lived most of my 70+ years on the Canadian prairies & the only crop "moving north" that I'm aware of is a rare disease of canola, purportedly carried north on the wind and thriving due to drought. (Kuz we had drought here, too, last summer!)  As I look out my window this mid-April day, I see mounds of snow with more forecast. And I hear on the

  Grandview:    The Green Party of Canada calls on the  federal government to keep the  Experimental Lakes  Area (ELA) research station open. Closure of ELA will  cost Canadian tax payers $50 million to decommission  the site while keeping it open would only be $2 million  a year.  “Do the math,” says Kate Storey, of the Dauphin  Swan River Marquette Green Party. “This attack on  science is a financial blunder.” Giving no reasons, the Harper government terminated  funding to the facility, forcing it to close this March.  Concerned citizens  have suggested that the closure is  a vendetta against environmentalists. Research coming  out of the experimental lakes could be inconvenient to  those wishing to ignore the effects of toxins on the water  and on the health of Canadians. The Experimental Lakes station  has operated as a unique,  world-renowned centre for freshwater research in  northwestern Ontario for about half-a-century. Studies  done there hav

Greens do politics differently (But not in the way that Rex Murphy thinks) By Elizabeth May In his Saturday National Post column , Rex Murphy claimed that Canada’s  Green party has no  goal other than to get me elected as an MP —  and that this has been the case for “two or three general elections.”   Full story here. Rex Murphy caricature courtesy  of By the Bay Art Studio

The Globe & Mail The Alberta government has quietly presented a proposal to sharply increase levies on carbon production and force large oil-industry producers to slash greenhouse gas.... Details here.