PLANET IN PERIL

by Larry Powell It's time to wake up and smell the smoke! Forest fire smoke (from as far away as BC) over southern Manitoba.  PinP photo. As wildfires rage around us on the Canadian prairies, forcing thousands of poor souls from their homes, we click our tongues and complain about sore eyes and reduced visibility on the roads. (Trust me, reduced visibility is the least of our worries.)   We apparently lack the brain power to listen to and actually  hear  what the world's scientific community has been warning us about for over a generation. If we do nothing to curb our insatiable appetite for fossil fuels, we can expect more and worse heatwaves, droughts, wildfires and a host of other extreme weather events which are  decidedly not positive,  in our future .  Our relentless burning of gas, oil and coal, apparently without a thought for tomorrow, produces greenhouse gases which trap the sun's heat and cause the earth's average temperature to increase. 

Manitoba Co-Operator Smokey western MB.  PinP photo. Thick smoke from neighbouring forest fires has been lingering over Manitoba  but experts say it’s unlikely to impact plant growth. Story here.

by David Suzuki - Common Dreams My hometown, Vancouver, is in a rainforest, so we celebrate sunny days. People I talk to are enjoying the recent warm, dry weather , but they invariably add, "This isn't normal" — especially with all the smoke from nearby forest fires. Story here.

Common Dreams Workers find 39-inch hole in hull of Shell vessel meant to safeguard controversial drilling operation in vulnerable Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. Story here.

Manitoba Co-Operator A new educational site is being developed in Rivers, Man., with the goal of immersing youth in natural surroundings to instil the importance of environmental issues. Story here.

Climate Progress Sixty years ago, Nobel laureates gathered on a tiny island in Western Europe and warned the world of the dangerous effects of nuclear weapons.  Last Friday, on the same island, 36 Nobel Prize winners took up another cause: climate change, which they said poses a “threat of comparable magnitude” to nuclear war . Story here.

Eulogy by family, below. During his long and meaningful time here on Earth, Clare came to mean many things to many people. His life embraced family, journalism, broadcasting, activism, trade unionism and a dash of politics.

Agro Pages Personalities from the eco-scientific and organic agriculture environments are speaking up against the letter from the American Embassy, in which the Costa Rican government is put under pressure to adopt transgenic seeds. Story here.

Wall Street Journal CALGARY—An oil industry consortium including Exxon Mobil Corp. and BP PLC has suspended its Canadian arctic exploration program in the Beaufort Sea, citing insufficient time to begin test drilling before its lease expires in 2020.  Story here.

inside climate news Tar sands' carbon emissions will continue to rise, but the province's new government signals a change in direction. Story here.

The Guardian Social activist ‘surprised but delighted’ to join top cardinal in high-level environment conference at the Vatican. Story here.