PLANET IN PERIL

by Larry Powell NEEPAWA, MB:   Even tho I live in a little landlocked town on the Canadian prairies, I’ve long been fascinated with the role our oceans play in the evolution of manmade climate change. And, as a science writer, I also do lots of research, trying to keep on top of the issue.  So, when I learned that  “The Science Media Centre of Canada,”  was sponsoring a “webinar” on climate change and sea level rise, I jumped at the chance to take part. (A webinar is a live, online event, a bit like a modern day teleconference.) So I tuned in and listened eagerly as four leading experts, three Canadians and an American, laid out in ways that were at once matter-of-fact and alarming, how the phenomenon of rising ocean levels is impacting our planet.  Please read on, listen to the podcast below, or both! Predictions surrounding rising sea levels around the world and the threat they pose to millions of coastal dwellers are sounding mo

VANCOUVER SUN The largest, most expensive project in B.C. history continued to degenerate into a political mess Wednesday, after B.C.’s Green party leader crashed a media briefing on the proposed $9-billion Site C dam and publicly rebuked top B.C. Hydro officials for misleading numbers. Story here.

NATIONAL OBSERVER Horizon Project. Alberta tar sands. Photo by "Beautiful Destruction." Two nations. Opposite tactics, opposite results. As the United Kingdom racks up climate wins, Canada might want to be taking notes.  More here.

Universal agreement on need for measures to reverse ocean deterioration. Details here.

NATIONAL OBSERVER Port Stanley, Falkland Islands. Photo by  Tom L-C . The melting of ice in Antarctica due to a warming climate threatens to upend the economic livelihoods of Falkland Islands residents, says its representative to Canada. STORY HERE.

CNW a CISION company Some populations of Lake Sturgeon (above), a large, very long-lived species affected by historical  overfishing, are now on the endangered list (COSEWIC). US Fish & Wildlife photo. Atlantic Walrus and Eastern Migratory Caribou are at risk of extinction. So concluded the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC), which met recently in Whitehorse. The number of Canadian northern wildlife species considered to be at risk now stands at 62. Details here.