PLANET IN PERIL

PLT: The CBC Radio program, "The Current," interviewed a UN climate expert on the flooding in Alberta this morning. (Ironically, he is from Canmore, one of the hardest-hit communities in the province, himself.) He laid out the climate change connection to the disaster in no uncertain terms. But, like so many others, he did not mention humanity's role in the very creation of this horrible "new normal." Below is a copy of an email I subsequently sent to "The Current" after hearing the interview. Dear Erika, I listened with interest to your excellent interview this morning with the UN scientist, Bob Sanford, commenting on the serious flooding in Alberta. His assessment that climate change was behind the profound changes we are seeing    in hydrologic cycles , worldwide was, I thought, "bang-on." At least as far as it went. He emphasized the need to "adapt" to "the new normal" by building better infrastructure,

CBC News Canada's birds in better shape than most, study says, but situation still dire.  Details here. Birds like these rose-breasted grosbeak have declined by 10%  since1970 in part due to the loss of mature forests through logging & invasive species like the pine beetle.  (Source: Birdlife International) Barn swallows nest under a  bridge in Manitoba. PLT photos. Related:  Changing climate poses severe risks to birds, Utah waterfowl

Tonu - Tony Mitra Bt. Cotton enters India through the backdoor.  Details here.

Huffington Post Alberta's environmental regulatory agency   waited 11 days to tell the public about what many are calling the biggest wastewater spill in recent North American history . Details here.

Horrific abuse. Rampant contamination. And the crime is…exposing it? Details here.

Western Producer Should we not look beyond mere “price”  and protect ongoing “value?”  Full story here. Goats graze on a community pasture.  Courtesy  of Trevor Herriot's Grass Notes.

Daily Express PESTICIDES which have been linked with the decline in bees could also harm other wildlife such as butterflies, mice and partridges, it has emerged. Full story here. Swallowtail butterfly. PLT photo