PLANET IN PERIL

EcoWatch Despite having their “threat level" lowered a bit recently, snow leopards are still faced with the same consumer demand which is driving the  poaching  and trafficking of  tigers  and leopards across  Asia .   Story here. Snow Leopard taken at Marwell Wildlife Park, Hampshire, UK Greg Townsend

CBC news For every degree the temperature rises, there's a 12 per cent increase in lightning. Story here. Ashcroft Reserve wildfire as seen across Loon Lake, BC.  Shawn Cahill

DESMOG Clovelly Oil is not quite a household name, as far as oil and natural gas companies go, though it recently gained attention when its oil and natural gas storage rig exploded on October 15 in Louisiana. Story here.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Labortory An influx of warm water into the bay where they're located are likely behind a speedup in the movement of  Antarctic glaciers . Details here.

EcoWatch Wildfires like this can send harmful air particles continent-wide. Wikimedia Commons. "For decades,  pollution  and its harmful effects on people's health, the environment, and the planet have been neglected both by Governments and the international development agenda. Yet, pollution is the largest environmental cause of disease and death in the world today, responsible for an estimated 9 million premature deaths."  Story here. RELATED: Please watch my TV newscast, below, which aired some months ago. A segment contained within it references the severe cost of pollution on the world's population.

YaleEnvironment 360 Major dam and irrigation projects are drying up the wetlands that sustain life in the arid Sahel region of Africa. The result has been a wave of environmental refugees, as thousands of people flee, many on boats to Europe.   Story here. Egypt's Aswan High Dam.  Photo by  Hajor .

the guardian Three-quarters of flying insects in nature reserves across Germany have vanished in 25 years, with serious implications for all life on Earth, scientists say. Story here. A purple martin with a dragonfly.  PinP photo.

CBC news Evacuation orders have been issued for towns of Leader, Burstall and Liebenthal. Story here.

EcoWatch - by David Suzuki The Canadian government is  banning plastic microbeads  in toiletries. Although designed to clean us, they're polluting the environment, putting the health of fish, wildlife and people at risk. Manufacturers and consumers ushered  plastic microbeads  into the marketplace, but when we learned of their dangers, we moved to phase them out. Story here. RELATED:  Tainted honey spells more trouble for bees. Are we losing the battle to save them?

|NATIONAL OBSERVER Ron Plain will most likely be dead in 24 months. In November 2016, his doctors diagnosed him with a rare form of cancer… Story here.

The Guardian - George Monbiot We are still living in the long 20 th  Century. We are stuck with its redundant technologies: the internal combustion engine; thermal power plants; factory farms. We are stuck with its redundant politics: unfair electoral systems; their capture by funders and lobbyists; the failure to temper representation with real participation. Story here.