Posts

Welcome Them Home.

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Sierra Club Canada Foundation. Larry I'm devastated to report that the licence for oil and gas drilling has been approved in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and there’s not one thing whales can do to stop it. We're not giving up and neither are they. At this very moment – mile by mile, heading north – they’re coming back. Over the next few weeks, blue whales will be making their way back to Canadian waters. It’s a brave and often perilous journey.  But they do it because their ancient DNA tells them to come north, as they have for millennia. While some of these whales have been south this winter,  you and I have been working to keep their northern waters safe.

"The Monarch Butterfly Must Be – and Can Be – Saved" - An elaborate bit of greenwashing ala Monsanto Corp.

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Robb Fraley   Chief Technology Officer at Monsanto Recently, I had the opportunity to check a long-desired item off my bucket list; a visit to the winter home of millions of monarch butterflies in west central  Mexico.  Story here. A Monarch visits a flower-garden in Manitoba. PinP photo.

Around 22 million children could soon starve without urgent aid, UNICEF warns (+ video)

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UN News Centre Millions of children are on the brink of starvation in the worst humanitarian crisis in decades, the United Nations Children's Fund ( UNICEF ) has warned.  Story here.

4 tactics used by Monsanto to undermine potential link between glyphosate and cancer

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Nation of Change The revelations from the unsealed Monsanto emails underscore the vital need for independent science and transparency. Story here. Ground sprayer in Manitoba. PinP photo.

Trumping Canada’s Environment

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A/J Alternatives Journal by Bob Paehlke The election of Donald Trump is unlike any change in American history. It will transform America’s role in world politics. It is my view that Canadians should not pretend otherwise (however polite our government might choose to be in the diplomatic realm). Story here. Air pollutants from Texas used to be found in the Canadian Arctic. Will history now repeat itself?

Bad News for Bees. Really Bad.

Wild bees are going extinct, and yet the pesticide industry is lobbying hard to stop Canada banning one of the most widely used bee-killing pesticides in the world. Will you chip in CA$1 to help save the bees? DONATE CA$1 NOW Dear Larry, Beekeepers have warned us for years about entire bee colonies dying off and disappearing. Now researchers are telling us more than 700 wild bee species in North America are headed toward extinction -- that's more than half of the bee species tested. Canada has announced plans to ban imidacloprid, one of the most widely used bee-killing pesticides in the world, but the pesticide industry is lobbying hard to stop the ban being introduced. With so many bee species headed to extinction we’re redoubling our efforts to convince Canada to ban this bee-killer without delay. If we raise enough money we’ll buy full page “Save the Bees” ads in the Ottawa Hill Times -- the paper that politicians read  -- to make sure they know

More than 700 North American bee species are headed for extinction. (Video)

Weather extremes: Humans likely influence giant airstreams

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Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research The increase of devastating weather extremes in summer is likely linked to human-made climate change, mounting evidence shows. Details here. The "Stampede Grounds" in Calgary - 2013. Photo by  RAF-YYC

Europe poised for total ban on bee-harming pesticides

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theguardian Bumble bees forage on chives in Manitoba, CA.  PinP  photo. Exclusive: Draft regulations seen by the Guardian reveal the European commission wants to prohibit the insecticides that cause ‘acute risks to bees.’ Details here.

Warming earth threatens to release huge amounts of carbon – UN agency

UN News Centre Rising temperatures could release massive amounts of carbon trapped in the Earth's soil, the United Nations agricultural agency today reported. Details here.

World Meteorological Day celebrates importance of clouds for weather, climate and water

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UN News Centre A "thunderhead" in Manitoba, Canada. PinP photo. Clouds inspire art and thought, but few natural phenomena are as important to weather, climate or water, the United Nations meteorological agency today said, launching a digital cloud atlas to celebrate World Meteorological Day. Details here.