PLANET IN PERIL

George Monbiot - the Guardian The remarkable decline in violence between humans suggests that we could also restrain our violence against the planet. More here.

New Internationalist ‘If the dam had collapsed at night, everyone would have died.’ These chilling words came from…. More here.

CIEL Center for International Environmental Law This summer, we celebrated a big win for the climate.  In a lawsuit brought by Urgenda and nearly 900 co-plaintiffs against the Dutch government ( Urgenda Foundation et al. v. The Netherlands ), the District Court of The Hague found that the government “acted negligently” when it adopted an unambitious climate policy that poses a threat to human rights in the Netherlands. More here.

CLIMATEPROGRESS Organic squash in Manitoba.   PinP  photo. With all that’s going on in the world — from record-breaking warm spells to rapidly melting ice sheets — it’s easy to ignore something so seemingly mundane as dirt. But scientists at the University of Sheffield’s Grantham Center for Sustainable Futures suggest that we ignore dirt at our own peril. Details here.

Reuters British lawmakers have voted in favour of the use of fracking to extract shale gas under national parks, weakening a decision against fracking in national parks made earlier this year and giving shale gas explorers access to more resources. More here.

The editorial, below, appeared in the latest issue of the Neepawa Banner. It was written by Ken Waddell, the paper's publisher and long-time political, journalistic and religious voice in the community.

onEarth The Paris climate agreement just took away one of climate skeptics’ favourite arguments for inaction. More here.

on Earth - NRDC Meadowlark  PinP  photo. North Dakota’s oil and gas boom is scaring away grassland birds. More here.

The Tyee The $9 billion flaying, then drowning of a fertile zone has begun. We still don't know why. More here. More here.

Munchies Earlier this year, the Associated Press conducted a startling undercover investigation which found that seafood caught by slaves in Myanmar was reaching the shelves of American supermarkets. But now, AP says that a further investigation has revealed that global restaurants and stores—including supposedly conscientious retailers like Whole Foods—are also selling shrimp peeled by slaves. More here.

IATP Is there an understanding between world governments that any new climate deal shall not include any mention of trade? Some fear that may be the case. More here.