PLANET IN PERIL

In the past few years, the government of Canada has cut funding to hundreds of renowned research institutes and programs. Ottawa has dismissed more than 2,000 federal scientists and researchers and has drastically cut or ended programs that monitored smoke stack emissions, food inspections, oil spills, water quality and climate change. Now some scientists have become unlikely radicals, denouncing what they call is a politically-driven war on knowledge. In 'Silence of the Labs', Linden MacIntyre tells the story of scientists - and what is at stake for Canadians - from Nova Scotia to the B.C. Pacific Coast to the far Arctic Circle. Go here to watch video. PLT: This episode will air on January 10th .

Canadian Press A southern Alberta city and an oil and gas company are asking the courts to quash a federal emergency order that protects the sage grouse. Full story here.

OnEarth 'Poultry litter' is exactly what it sounds like: the filthy stuff scraped off the floor of a chicken coop. Feeding it to cattle (yes, that happens) risks the spread of mad cow disease—yet the FDA has done nothing to stop it. Full story here.

BBC News Wal-Mart has recalled a donkey meat product in China after tests showed that it contained DNA of other animals. Full story here.

theStar.com Green Party leader Elizabeth May says the ballot-box question in 2015 should focus on what's happening to our democracy in Canada. Full story here. Related: " A Wakeup Call From Canada's Green Party Leader. Will Anyone Listen? "

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Five years after a global recession knocked the wind out of Canada’s labour market,  the compensation of Canada’s CEO elite continues to sail along.  Details here. Fall of 2011. Ordinary Canadians  rally at  the Manitoba legislature  to protest against  corporate  greed.  Has anything changed? (PLT Photo)

Summit County Citizens Voice Cattle on a prairie feed lot. PLT photo. Massive use of antibiotics for food (livestock) production is only marginally beneficial and poses a huge long-term risk to human health, researchers in Canada say. Details here.