Ontario Stops Nestlé in its Tracks

+SumOfUs Larry, Huge news -- the government in Ontario, Canada just issued a moratorium to block Nestlé  from sucking up water from a small community experiencing drought conditions! Thanks  to tireless work from grassroots groups and with support from over 168,000 SumOfUs members  who spoke out, submitted public comments and donated to blanket the airwaves with radio ads,  corporate giant Nestlé has been stopped in its tracks.  But the fight to stop Nestlé from bullying local communities isn’t over. The state of Michigan is weeks away from deciding on a plan to charge Nestlé just $200  for a permit to double the amount of groundwater it can take to bottle and sell at a  massive profit. Residents in Evart, Michigan need your help to stand up to Nestlé once again. Tell the State of Michigan to say no to this massive corporate giveaway. Stop Nestlé now. Our original email from last month: Nestlé's at it again. This time, it  wants to suck up 100M gallons of  groundwater in a tiny U.S. town  for just $200. How can the government hand  over its water for pennies so a giant corporation can profit? Tell  the state of Michigan to reject  this ridiculous deal. SIGN THE PETITION Larry, Nestlé's about to lock down another massive corporate giveaway of precious fresh water -- unless we can pressure the U.S. state of Michigan to stand up to the water bottling behemoth. Only miles away from Flint, Michigan -- where the local government switched the water supply and poisoned the community's water to save a few bucks -- the Michigan water authority is considering letting Nestlé double the amount of groundwater it takes to bottle and sell for profit. The cost to Nestlé? $200 a year. Tell Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality to cancel this ridiculous plan.

A Foundation Controlled by a Wealthy Religious Leader Gets Millions of Taxpayer Dollars From Canadians.

by Larry Powell

Am I missing something? Or is it not just as scandalous that the Aga Khan Foundation gets our tax money, as it is that Trudeau has no ethics? (Justin is a politician. That's what politicians do.) But why in the world should a rich, religious leader born in Switzerland and who lives, God-knows-where, get welfare from we ordinary Canadians? The policy of separating affairs of state from affairs of religion is a sensible, time-honoured tradition which seems to have been thrown out the window here. Does anyone know just what Nizari Ismailism is anyway? The Foundation bills itself as a non-profit group which helps the poor. Fair enough.

His Highness, Aga Kahn 1V

But why does His Highness need a foundation (more importantly, why do we) when he could be turning over his personal riches directly to the less fortunate himself? I would personally feel more comfortable if we were to help our own poor, without filtering our tax money through a third party as non-transparent as this one, thanks very much.

Are the billionaire American Koch brothers playing climate politics in Alberta?

NATIONAL

OBSERVER

It’s a well-known fact that Charles and David Koch — owners of the second-largest private company in America — have been funding climate change denial in the U.S. for decades. Story here.

World’s Last Intact Forests Are Becoming Increasingly Fragmented

WORLD

RESOURCES

INSTITUTE

Clearing in the boreal forest, Canada. PinP photo.

Intact forest landscapes (IFLs), or vast stretches of unbroken forest wilderness, are some of the most important ecosystems in the world. And they are under threat. Story here.

Acclaimed Canadian author lays out dirty back story of fossil fuel industry and government

NATIONAL OBSERVER

Jessica Ernst, the biologist who on Friday, lost a split decision in the Supreme Court of Canada over suing the Alberta Energy Regulator, is no ordinary person. Story here.

Two richest Canadians have wealth equal to 11 million poorest

David Thomson (l.) and Galen Weston Sr. (r.) are as wealthy as the poorest 30 per cent of Canadians, combined, Oxfam calculates. Story here.

Mercury-tainted soil found upstream from Grassy Narrows First Nation

thestar.com

Reporters with the Toronton Star and volunteers from Earthroots took soil samples from behind an old paper mill, 100 kilometres upstream from Grassy Narrows, which revealed significantly elevated levels of mercury. Story here.

Climate change: The potential impacts of collective inaction

Nation of Change

Such irresponsible, reckless behaviour adds grist to the mill of those both inside America and throughout the world. Story here.

Another Blatant Conflict-of-Interest is Ignored on Our National Airwaves. Has CBC Radio's "The House" Let Us Down Again?

by Larry Powell

Will the CBC ever learn?

More than five years ago, the radio program "The House," interviewed their "go-to" guy on just about everything; corporate apologist and big-shot business tycoon Derek Burney (l.), a former Canadian ambassador to the U.S. and adviser to Brian Mulroney.  He sang the praises of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline (extremely controversial even then) and railed against the "violent emotion" being used by environmentalists to oppose it. He never gave, nor was he asked to give, examples of what he meant by violent. Neither did he nor the CBC ever mention that he (Burney) was then (and may still be, for all I know), a director of Trans Canada Pipelines, proponents of the project! It was only after I made a formal complaint to the CBC ombudsman that they apologized for the "oversight." 

Fast forward to this morning and, lo and behold, the same program interviewed the same Derek Burney! This time, in a spiel reminiscent of Nazi-appeaser Neville Chamberlain (the UK's PM at the start of the Second World War), Burney laid out his own blueprint for "getting along" with the incoming Trump administration. Once again, no mention of Burney's business interests! 

Do you suppose Burney just might have an ulterior motive here? Perhaps he doesn't want us to do anything that would rock the boat, or move Trump off his position of support for what is likely still one of Burney's pet projects, the Keystone XL pipeline?

In this age of fake news and rampant conflicts-of-interest, surely the CBC can do better. 

Ya think?

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Europe should expand the ban on bee-harming pesticide, say campaigners

theguardian

The threat posed to bees by neonicotinoid pesticides is greater than perceived in 2013 when the EU adopted a partial ban, new report concludes. Story here.

PinP photo

Please also read how the EPA is disgracefully bowing to pressure from industry in the fight to protect bees, here.

TELL PRESIDENT-ELECT TRUMP: NO DANGEROUS MONSANTO-BAYER MEGAMERGER!

Add your name and tell President-elect Trump: NO dangerous Bayer-Monsanto merger!

Larry,

On Wednesday, President-elect Trump sat down with Bayer CEO Werner Baumann and Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant at Trump Tower and had a “productive meeting” on “the future of the agriculture industry”¹ and the pending merger between the two companies.²

Trump has heard from the CEOs. Now we need you to make your voice heard. Add your name and tell President-elect Trump: NO to the dangerous Bayer-Monsanto merger >>