PLANET IN PERIL

Common Dreams  'If there is no justice, there is no deal' Story here.

Sum of Us Photo credit -  Narwhal News Network Oil exploration and offshore drilling destroys aquatic ecosystems, putting both the narwhal and Inuit communities at risk. Don't allow Big Oil to wreck the Arctic Ocean.  PLEASE SIGN!

National Farmers Union A canola field in Manitoba. Larry Powell PinP photo The NFU tells  the House of Commons Agriculture and Agri-Food Committee, "CETA" would provide little or no benefit to farmers. Story here. Related:  " Free Trade: Path to Prosperity - or Back Road to Corporatism? "

The Guardian As global environmental delegates gather in Peru for the UN climate talks, five oil spills in the country’s Amazon jungle are causing a hidden environmental disaster. Story here.

Two Canadian citizens’ respond to the pro-GMO propaganda of American Professor, Dr Kevin Folta, while lecturing in Winnipeg during late October 2014.  Letter to the Editor:  by-- Rose Stevens, Winnipeg , and John Balatinecz, PhD, Toronto We are two Canadians, one a hobby organic farmer (RS), the other a retired university professor (JB).  We are deeply concerned about the impacts GMO crops have on human and environmental health. In fact, that concern is what brought us to meet on the web. And if that concern makes us into “ACTIVISTS”, so be it. At least we care about people and environmental health.  The same cannot be said of the corporate transnational agri-giant cartels, the producers and promoters of GMOs, with their so-called “gifts of “modern agriculture”. You can not grow healthy foods with poison! Cartoon credit - www.seppo.net Dr Folta was quoted in the  Winnipeg Free Press,  as   saying:  “Concerns about GMOs are based on misinformation and fear

CLIMATE PROGRESS A study published on Wednesday estimates that the ocean contains over 260,000 tons, or 5.25 trillion pieces, of plastic. The study found that the amount of microplastics, pieces of plastic that are less than half a centimeter, found on the ocean’s surface were much smaller than expected. Story here.

Via Business Insider: "As the war over income inequality wages on, super-rich Seattle entrepreneur Nick Hanauer has been raising the hackles of his fellow 1-percenters, espousing the contrarian argument that rich people don't actually create jobs. The position is controversial — so much so that TED is refusing to post a talk that Hanauer gave on the subject. National Journal reports today that TED officials decided not to put Hanauer's March 1 speech up online after deeming his remarks "too politically controversial" for the site...".

The Co-Operator The grain firm formerly known as the Canadian Wheat Board wants it known the company’s looking for an industry partner, not a new owner — and not just any partner. Story here. Related: "Canadian Wheat Board Prepares for Corporate Takeover."

by Larry Powell It is a common human trait to embrace nature - or at least the notion of nature - in our everyday pop culture and in the ways we portray our civilization to others. Animals abound in TV and print commercials as they obviously strike a chord within the customers who buy the "stuff" being advertised. Not a strong enough chord, however, for us to actually preserve the habitat they need for their survival; and that you and I may well need for our own emotional wellbeing. 

Government of Manitoba. Screen image from 'Crated Cruelty,  Canada's pork industry  animal abuse exposed' website.  A Mercy For Animals Canada  undercover investigation  t hat took place in  2012 looked into animal  abuse  at Puratone,  one of the nation's largest pork  producers located in Arborg, Manitoba. Hog producers will benefit from research on switching from gestation stalls to loose sow housing as a result of a pilot project underway at a Maple Leaf Foods barn near Steinbach, Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development Minister Ron Kostyshyn announced today.