PLANET IN PERIL

Institute of Science in Society Researchers have created conventionally bred varieties tolerant to drought and low nitrogen soils that can reduce poverty in 13 African countries by up to 9 %, far outperforming anything that genetic modification has achieved  Prof Peter Saunders Please circulate widely and repost, but you must give the URL of the original and preserve all the links back to articles on our website. If you find this report useful, please support ISIS by subscribing to our magazine  Science in Society , and encourage your friends to do so. Or have a look at the  ISIS bookstore  for other publications. A  fully referenced version  of this article is posted on ISIS members website and is otherwise available for download  here

        THE  HILL TIMESonline The latest government information about the scope of deforestation by Canada's oil and gas sector - predominantly the Boreal Plain forest destroyed by Alberta oilsands mining and production - will not be published until a year after the next federal election, according to information from the federal Natural Resources department. Story here.

Living on Earth With crude prices sharply down and the future of the Keystone XL pipeline in doubt, energy companies are dubious about investing in oil from the Alberta Tar Sands. OnEarth writer Brian Palmer discusses the problems facing the industry with host Steve Curwood.   Story here .

Organic Consumers Association The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued final approval this week, over the objections of more than a half-million citizens, of Dow AgroSciences' Enlist Duo, an herbicide made from a combination of 2,4-D (one of the active ingredients in Agent Orange) and glyphosate (the key ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide).   Story here. Crop-duster. Larry Powell  P in P  photo   Related: New GMOs Doctors Are Warning About .

Our Food Future The benefits of agroecological methods are extremely broad, from the human health benefits of eating food grown in healthy and biologically diverse soils, to drastically reduced input costs for farmers... Story here. Related: The Solution Is the Soil: How Organic Farming Can Feed the World and Save the Planet  A farmers' market on the farm.  Larry Powell P in P photo.

Huffington Post BERLIN (Reuters) - Scientists from around the world met this week to decide whether to call time on the Holocene epoch after 11,700 years and begin a new geological age called the Anthropocene - to reflect humankind's deep impact on the planet. Story here.

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Since last Nov., John Bennett of the Sierra Club has been raising the alarm.... Story here. Studies show chemicals which some of  Croplife's  member companies peddle,  contribute to the decline of  insect-eating birds.  (r.) An insectivorous bird, the purple  martin, which is in decline.   P in P  photo.  Please also read: " Blogger Responds to Accusations from CropLife Canada"                            

Huffington Post One of Canada’s top biologists says he will not stop talking to the media after a government memo accused him of bias and speaking out of turn about the environmental impact of Alberta’s oilsands. Story here.

CommonDreams One man, backed by many, marches on Washington to tell lawmakers and the world that 'there is hope right beneath our feet.' Story here.

CLIMATE PROGRESS NOAA said in a news release Tuesday that “as counterintuitive as expanding winter Antarctic sea ice may appear on a warming planet, it may actually be a manifestation of recent warming.” Details here.

Andrew Nikiforuk - The Tyee Signs mount that Canada's government is beholden to a religious agenda averse to science and rational debate. Story here.