PLANET IN PERIL

EcoWatch The Seacharger , a solar-powered boat built by “ a couple of hobbyists ” in a garage, will set sail for a solo, 2,000-mile ocean journey from California to Hawaii on Memorial Day. Story here.

Nation of Change A St. Louis jury has awarded three plaintiffs a total of $46.5 million in damages in a lawsuit alleging that Monsanto and three other companies were negligent in its handling of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs , a highly toxic and carcinogenic group of chemicals. Story here.

Dear PinP Friends, In hopes that Canada can make at least SOME SMALL GESTURE in the service of battling climate change, I have forwarded an idea on Fort MacMurray to the Prime Minister, Premier Notley and several officials in government and opposition . It simply asks that the new buildings which will replace the ones destroyed in the wildfire, be built to standards as energy-efficient (& fossil-free) as possible.  I have handwritten it in hopes it might be given more than a computer-generated response. After sending a surface-mail copy to the PM last week, and sending it out to all via e-mail yesterday (with the letter attached as a .jpg), I have received TWO computer-generated responses - one from the Alberta Minister of Parks, the other from the GPC. I'm going to post updates on responses I get as frequently as I am able, here on FB. Environmentally yours, Larry P.S. Please check the comments section of this story for responses received, so far.

NATIONAL OBSERVER The economy will be weaker than expected in the second quarter due to the Alberta wildfires , the Bank of Canada said Wednesday as it kept its key interest rate steady at 0.5 per cent. Story here.

NATIONAL OBSERVER The forests around Fort McMurray and the tar sands, the epicentre of Canada’s contribution to fossil fuel extraction and global greenhouse gas production, have been ablaze for many weeks, with a heat and ferocity not seen in living memory. Story here.