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Kerry: Climate Change is World's 'Most Fearsome' WMD; Slams Deniers as 'Flat-Earthers'

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Brandon Sun A raging stream where none had been before during Manitoba's  epic flooding of 2011.  PLT photo. JAKARTA, Indonesia - Climate change may be the world's "most fearsome" weapon of mass destruction and urgent global action is needed to combat it, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Sunday. He compared those who deny its existence to people who insist the Earth is flat. Details here.

Keystone XL Pipeline: 4 Animals and 3 Habitats in Its Path

National Geographic Power line impact on the whooping crane just one of the wildlife concerns. Details here. Please also read:  Unsung Victims of the XL Pipeline   Keystone XL's Ugly Toll on America's Endangered Species

Will Canada's Experimental Lakes Area Rise From the Dead?

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International Institute for Sustainable Development OTTAWA—The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) welcomes today’s announcement of proposed new regulations that would allow the important scientific research at the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA) to continue.  One of a countless number of freshwater lakes in Manitoba, Canada. PLT photo. The proposed regulations are published in the  Canada Gazette  and are entitled “ Experimental Lakes Area Research Activities Regulations ” and “ Regulations Establishing Conditions for Making Regulations under Subsection 36(5.2) of the  Fisheries Act . ” This step, together with the Ontario government’s  regulation proposal notice  last month, is of critical importance to allow the operation of ELA by a third party. IISD seeks to ensure that the long-term scientific work to understand Canada’s changing freshwater management challenges continues.  “IISD continues to negotiate with both Ontario and the federal go

California Farms Are Slow to Adopt Water-Saving Technology - Higher Food Prices on the Way.

Newsweek Coming soon to a grocery store near you: higher food prices, because California, which grows more than half of the nation's fresh fruits and vegetables, is in its third consecutive year of getting only about one-eighth the usual amount of water from snow melting in the High Sierras. Details here.

Beijing Smog Makes City 'Barely Suitable' For Life, Report Says

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Some Canadian-made pollution from an ethanol plant in Manitoba, CA. PLT photo. (Reuters) - Severe pollution in Beijing has made the Chinese capital "barely suitable" for living, according to an official Chinese report, as the world's second largest economy tries to reduce often hazardous levels of smog caused by decades of rapid growth. Full story here.

Roundup-Resistant Weeds a Clear and Present Danger

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the Manitoba Co-Operator Canadian farmers are being warned to be careful not to lose their most precious weed-control resource. Full story here. (l.) A newspaper ad showing the "kinder, gentler" side of present day agriculture. (Sarcasm intended.) PLT photo.

Fossil Fuel Subsidies Dampen Shift Towards Renewables

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INTER PRESS  News Agency Wind turbine in Saskatchewan, Canada. PLT photo. Despite evolving public awareness and alarm over climate change, subsidies for the production and consumption of fossil fuels remain a stubborn impediment to shifting the world’s energy matrix towards renewable sources. Full story here.

Group Wants Lac-MĆ©gantic Contamination Records Made Public

The Gazette The Canadian province of Quebec is refusing to make public all the information it has about the contamination of the ChaudiĆØre riverbed caused by the Lac-MĆ©gantic train derailment seven months ago. Details here. Related: "Have our Servants Become our Masters? Why fossil fuels are no longer our friends."

Call to Action! Let's Educate Ourselves About Pesticides!

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by David Neufeld Do you pay attention to which pesticides your municipality is using on your local public land – parks, ditches, etc.? This is the time to perk up and speak up. And to share this with your friends. A disposal site for pesticide containers in Manitoba. PLT photo Every spring our municipalities publish Public Notices on Pesticides – telling us which insecticides, herbicides and rodenticides they plan on using this summer. The notices are appearing in local papers now – as they do every spring around this time. Some names you’ll recognise – like Malathion, but mostly you won’t know what they’re talking about. Therein lies the problem. Manitoba Conservation gives us 15 days from the date of notice to comment on specific pesticide programs and specific products being used. Of course they don’t give us any links to information on the products - and - they make it difficult for us to comment by only giving us a postal address in the notices. There’s mounting ind

California Drought a "Train Wreck" for Central Valley Farms

SF Gate California's great Central Valley aquifer and the rivers that feed it, already losing water in the changing climate, are now being drained because of the drought, leaving water levels at… Details here.

Massive Bitumen Seepage in Alberta Continues Unabated

The Tyee Researchers say energy regulator and industry must do more to explain why. Full story here.