PLANET IN PERIL

The Guardian Canadian government closely monitoring how legal rulings and aboriginal protest pose an increasing ‘risk’ for multi-billion dollar oil and mining plans. Details here. Photo Credit - Idle No More.

By PAUL KRUGMAN  - New York Times -  AUG. 10, 2014 In the latest Times Magazine, Robert Draper profiled youngish libertarians — roughly speaking, people who combine free-market economics with permissive social views — and asked whether we might be heading for a “libertarian moment.” Well, probably not. Polling suggest s that young Americans tend, if anything, to be more supportive of the case for a bigger government than their elders. But I’d like to ask a different question: Is libertarian economics at all realistic? The answer is no. And the reason can be summed up in one word: phosphorus.

Sum Of +Us The results are in! Apparently the residents of Likely, BC are safe to drink the water after 4.5 million cubic metres of toxic material from Mount Polley Mine’s tailings pond poured into their water supply. But when we look a bit closer, we know things aren’t right. Details here. Related: " Huge Environmental Disaster at a British Columbia Gold Mine Follows Years of Government Warnings"

Columbus Dispatch Scientists say climate change is exacerbating toxic-algae problems in Lake Erie and across the country. Details here.

David Suzuki Foundation British Columbians watched news coverage of the Mount Polley Mine disaster with shock and concern after a collapsed dam released almost 15 million cubic metres of toxic effluent into the salmon-rich Quesnel River systems. In addition to concerns for area residents' immediate health and safety, dead fish are appearing and there are fears the spill could cause harm right up to the Fraser River. Details here. Please Also read:  " Huge Environmental Disaster at a British Columbia Gold Mine Follows Years of Government Warnings." 

By David Suzuki and Ian Hanington. The Heartland Institute's recent International Climate Change Conference in Las Vegas illustrates climate change deniers' desperate confusion. Details here.

CBC News The operator of the Mount Polley mine, Imperial Metals, was warned as recently as a few months ago that levels of wastewater in its tailings pond were too high!  Details here.

Common Dreams “We hope to stay here indefinitely,” says activist. Details here.

The Hill Times online If the pharmaceutical giant succeeds, it will have effectively found a mechanism to override the Supreme Court of Canada and hold Canadian taxpayers liable for hundreds of millions in damages in the process. The cost to the health-care system could be enormous as the two Eli Lilly patents may be the proverbial tip of the iceberg and claims from other pharmaceutical companies could soon follow. Details here. Please also read: Free Trade: Path to Prosperity - or Back Road to Corporatism? - by Larry Powell

thestar.com Proposed answers from Environment Canada to questions about a 2013 oilsands leak triggered emails suggesting the department “limit information” given to media. Details here.

ClimateProgress Massive highway repair and infrastructure renewal in Manitoba (above),  clearly show the need for some sanity aimed at controlling emissions. PLT photo  Washington State is poised to join California and several Canadian provinces, including Manitoba, in a carbon trading system, according to a Monday memoranda from the governor’s office. Details here.