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'Leaders Must act', Urges Ban, As New UN Report Warns Man's Impact on Climate May Soon Be 'Irreversible'

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UN News Centre Citing “clear and growing” human influence on the climate system, a United Nations report issued today has warned that if left unchecked, climate change will increase the likelihood of severe, pervasive and irreversible impacts for people and ecosystems. Story here. Historic flooding in Manitoba,  Canada, 2011.  A premonition?

Crisis Fuelled Resurgence of Horse-Drawn Carriages in Cuba

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INTERPRESS SERVICE HAVANA, Oct 30 2014 (IPS)  -  Up and down the streets  of towns and cities in Cuba go horse-drawn carriages  with black leather tops and large back wheels,  alongside more simple carts,  operating as public transportation.  Story here.

Fossil Fuels Must End By The End of the Century - United Nations.

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CBC News AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change releases its 4th, final climate assessment volume. Story here. Please also read:   "Sleep-deprived UN panel adopts landmark climate report." Check out the IPCC report, here.

Task Force on Systemic Pesticides - A Must-Watch Video!

At Least One California Town Is Now Bone-Dry As Megadrought Continues

AlterNet A poor, rural community in California's agricultural belt has run out of water. Story here.

Research Suggests Our Past, Prolific Use Of The Insecticide DDT May Still Be Contributing To A Scourge Of Modern-Day Diseases Related To Obesity.

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Is a world-wide ban now the only ethical thing to do? by Larry Powell Did your parents farm In Canada in the years following World War 11 , as mine did? If so, little would they have dreamed of the health dangers lurking within the popular chemical, DDT, which they might well have been spraying on their fields. The product was applied widely (some say indiscriminately) back then to kill bugs that were consuming food crops and forests and spreading human diseases like typhus and malaria. Just as common were assurances from government and industry that “all was well.” But DDT was banned in North America in the 70’s after Rachel Carson exposed it in her book, “Silent Spring” as the culprit in massive die-offs of birds and fish and as a “definite chemical carcinogen.” DDT made a significant resurgence in the early 2000’s, however.  That’s when the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Health Organization began promoting programs to control malari

Canada's Farm Protections a Remaining Hurdle to Major Trade Deal: U.S.

Winnipeg Free Press WASHINGTON - Access to Canada's tightly controlled agriculture market is among the main remaining hurdles to a historic 12-country free-trade deal, the U.S. administration said Thursday. Story here.

Livestock Die As The Caribbean Gets Hotter

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PARAMARIBO, Suriname, Oct 8 2014 (IPS) - Livestock farmers in the Caribbean are finding it increasingly difficult and expensive to rear healthy animals because of climate change, a situation that poses a significant threat to a region that is already too dependent on imports to feed its population. Story here. A cow skeleton in Canada. PinP photo.

Stop Cruel & Wasteful Fishing Practices - PLEASE SIGN!

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Hi Larry, I just wanted to check whether you saw my email from the other day, containing shocking footage from industrial tuna boats? Already an incredible 103,000 emails have gone to Princes and John West, demanding they clean up their tuna. The campaign is taking off - will you add your name too? https://secure.greenpeace.org.uk/dirty-tuna3   For the oceans, Victoria

Spring Heat Wave In Australia Breaks Records Across The Country

CLIMATE PROGRESS Australia’s summer doesn’t start until December, but the country is still baking in a record-breaking spring heat wave. Story here.

Bye Bye Bees? Not If We Can Help It!

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Pesticide giant  Bayer wants to introduce ANOTHER bee-killing pesticide  into Canada. We have just one week to convince Health Canada to stand up for the bees. Tell them not to approve this new pesticide! Add your voice Larry -- Pesticide giant Bayer wants our government to approve ANOTHER new bee-killing pesticide  -- and we have just one week to convince Health Canada to stand up for the bees.  If approved, this new pesticide will likely wreak further havoc on our bees, which are already dying in record numbers .  Last winter,  almost 30 percent of Canada's bee colonies were devastated , and strikingly, we lost over half of our bee colonies in Ontario alone. Judging by Bayer's deadly track record, this new pesticide could speed up the complete decimation of the local bee population, which would have catastrophic effects on Canada's food supplies.  The final decision lies in Health Canada's hands, and we have until November 1 to make our voice hear