PLANET IN PERIL

climate progress A vicious plow-wind tore through wide areas of central Manitoba and Saskatchewan in the summer of 2012. It knocked out power and caused widespread damage. PLT video. The next big report from the world’s leading climate scientists is on impacts, it’s due the end of March, and it isn’t pretty. As the AP summarized the draft report on “Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability” from The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, “starvation, poverty, flooding, heat waves, droughts, war and disease [are] likely to worsen as the world warms from man-made climate change.” Full story here.

Environmental Health News Scientist Peter Ross has dedicated his life to understanding ocean inhabitants, or as he calls them, his “colleagues.” As one of the world’s leading ecotoxicologists, Ross examined how ocean pollution harms some of the world’s most compelling creatures, including killer whales, ....  Full story here. A dolphin park in Mexico. PLT photo.

The RAM'S HORN - Brewster Kneen There is a cancer referred to as The Economy which is growing world-wide – in Canada, the USA, Brazil, Indonesia, Nigeria, Turkey, Mexico. It accompanies a notion – nay, ideological fantasy – that growth is a universal remedy for an ailing – or failing – economy. This is profoundly odd since the primary characteristic of cancer is that it endeavours to consume its host. Details here. The City of Vancouver, CA - another of the  world's "growth centres." PLT photo.

CLIMATE PROGRESS The National Review has held great influence among Republicans and conservative thought leaders for nearly 60 years, but a lawsuit from a climate scientist could threaten its very existence. Details here.

Sierra Club BC Court rules federal government acted ‘unlawfully’ in delaying recovery strategies for at-risk species. Details here. Whooping crane.  US Fish & Wildlife Service.

Eco Watch - by David Suzuki It would be difficult to live without oil and gas. But it would be impossible to live without water. Yet, in our mad rush to extract and sell every drop of gas and oil as quickly as possible, we’re trading precious water for fossil fuels. Details here. A Canadian waterfall. Quantity? For now .  Quality? Not so much! PLT photo.

INTER PRESS SERVICE The Jangwani slum in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania,  was flooded during recent heavy rain . Credit: Muhidin Issa Michuzi/IPS When the U.N.’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) reach their deadline in 2015, there will still be a critical setback: millions of people in the developing world without full access to safe drinking water, proper sanitation and electricity in their homes. Details here.

La Via Campesina (Brazilia) The ministry esplanade was covered in red yesterday afternoon. Around 16 thousand landless workers participating in the 6th Landless Workers’ Movement National Congress made the 9km journey to the Plaza and back. Details here.

The Washington Post The H1N1 virus responsible for the 2009 global pandemic is back. State health officials from across the country say the resurgence is resulting in a dramatic rise in flu deaths in young and middle-aged adults and in children this season. Full story here.

Transparency,Please! Time to Come Clean, Rex! - Sierra Club Should a CBC radio & TV  commentator be  accepting speaking fees for pro-Tar Sands speeches on the side without publicly disclosing the financial conflict of interest to viewers? Should a national newspaper consider--let alone sign--a strategic partnership with the oil industry (a.k.a. Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers) to produce content? Would such a move render the paper a non-news organization? Should it? Rex Murphy caricature courtesy  of By the Bay Art Studio These two stories emerged over the last week and received almost no attention in the media. There has to be a better explanation than Olympic coverage eating up air time.

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.