PLANET IN PERIL

IPS An estimated one billion small farmers scratching out a living growing diverse crops and raising animals in developing countries represent the key to maintaining food production in the face of hotter temperatures and drought, especially in the tropical regions, says Sarah Elton, author of the book, “Consumed: Food for a Finite Planet.” Full story here. Backyard chickens on a small,  organic farm in Manitoba. PLT photo.

CBC News Environment Canada commissioned report by international experts. Details here. Related:  Have Our Servants Become Our Masters? Why Fossil Fuels Are No Longer Our Friends. Don't Believe the Harperites! There are Downsides to Free Trade!

Earth Policy Institute Worldwide, a trillion single-use plastic bags are used each year, nearly 2 million each minute. Usage varies widely among countries, from over 400 a year for many East Europeans, to just four a year for people in Denmark and Finland. Plastic bags, made of depletable natural gas or petroleum resources, are often used only for a matter of minutes. Yet they last in the environment for hundreds of years, shredding into ever-smaller pieces but never fully breaking down. Full story here.

WHO Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) threatens the effective prevention and treatment of an ever-increasing range of infections caused by bacteria, parasites, viruses and fungi. Details here.

ScienceDaily Despite overwhelming scientific evidence for the impending dangers of human-made climate change, policy decisions leading to substantial emissions reduction have been slow. New research shows that even as extreme weather events influence those who experience them to support policy to address climate change, waiting for the majority of people to live through such conditions firsthand could delay meaningful action by decades. Full story here.

David Suzuki  It's fitting that the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report was released during Earth Month . Details here.

Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. In Maine study, rates of contamination exceed WHO and EPA guidelines. Details here. Related: Keep Arsenic Out of the Water in Virden, Manitoba - an Open Letter to the Minister of Environment.

Climate Progress An El Niño appears increasingly likely this year, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). If it starts relatively quickly, then 2014 could well be the hottest year on record. But if it is a strong El Niño, then 2015 would likely break all previous global records. Details here. ========= In January of 2011, I wrote the following here on PLT in a post I entitled: Is Canada's Flagship TV Newscast Telling the Whole Story of Climate Change? Both La Niñas (cooling trends) and El Niños (warming ones), have been scientifically shown to be behaving strangely in recent years, with the onset of global warming. In the early ‘90s, several El Niños were recorded, but with no  La Niñas in between! The IPCC describes this occurrence as "highly unusual and very unlikely to be accounted for solely by natural variability.” In a research paper in 1996, Dr. Trenberth noted this same event was “ the longest on record…and

CBC Radio - The Current. Hayes has spent his career studying the effects of one particular herbicide - Atrazine - on frogs. When he presented the maker Syngenta with results that he said showed sexual abnormalities in frogs, Dr. Hayes says the company tried to launch a campaign to discredit his work. Listen here.

Gov't of Manitoba First-of-its-kind Legislation in Canada would offer Synthetic Chemical Pesticide-free Zones  On School, Daycare, Hospital Grounds:  Minister Mackintosh To mark Earth Day, Conservation and Water Stewardship Minister Gord Mackintosh outlined proposals today that would protect children and reduce their exposure to potentially harmful synthetic chemical pesticides.

ScienceDaily If you guessed that trees are all that's being affected by the recent infestation of the pine bark beetle, guess again. Full story here.