PLANET IN PERIL

Common  Dreams Mt. Herschel, Antarctica. Photo by  Andrew Mandemaker. "We are in desperate need for governments to come together and do what is best for these amazing ecosystems." More here.

by Larry Powell A "Snowy" swoops down on its prey (probably a lemming). Photo credit - Government of Quebec. The beautiful Snowy Owl, like so many other wild creatures on Earth, faces an uncertain future. The  “Red List,”  a British agency, has just put the graceful, white bird of prey on the “vulnerable” list for the first time. It has drastically downgraded earlier estimates of 200 thousand individuals, worldwide, to as low as 10 thousand.  Snowy Owl numbers have proven hard to judge since they fluctuate so widely, depending on the availability of food. Factors in their decline may include illegal hunting, collisions with vehicles and power lines and climate change, which can affect the availability of prey. So the agency’s prognosis is a somber one.  “This species faces a high risk of extinction in the wild in the medium-term future.”  Snowy Owls nest in the Arctic, but have a range that spans the northern hemisphere.”  A conservation spe

ScienceNews Rising temperatures are skewing population ratios toward extreme imbalance. Story here. Photo by Karla

The Washington Post The Trump administration is prohibiting officials at the nation’s top public health agency from using a list of seven words or phrases — including “fetus” and “transgender” — in official documents being prepared for next year’s budget. More here.

NATIONAL OBSERVER Five years ago, Superstorm Sandy ripped through the most populous city in the United States, spreading destruction fueled by climate change. Today, New York City's mayor said it was time to "break the cycle" by suing the culprits — fossil fuel companies. Story here.

Common Dreams Experts say this "historic and unprecedented year of disastrous extremes" reinforces "the fact that climate change is a threat to our health, and also a threat to our economy." More here.

NATIONAL OBSERVER A Mexican beach. PinP photo. Almost two dozen marine scientists from around the world have issued a warning about an often-overlooked side effect of climate change and pollution. Story here.

Common Dreams "We see very clearly that chlorine from CFCs is going down in the ozone hole, and that less ozone depletion is occurring because of it." More here.

ScienceNews Bleached coral off Florida.  U.S. Geological Survey Warming tropical waters are largely responsible, researchers say . Story here.

John Fefchak of Virden (L.) has been a critic of the hog industry for years. An Air Force veteran now in his eighties, he writes many letters to the editor. They're often in a losing cause, and often at odds with the "pro-hog" editorial stance of many mainstream media. But neither circumstance nor time have deterred him. His letters drive home the wrong-headedness of politicians who "cheerlead" for an industry with so many downsides, including a propensity to pollute our precious waterways. Below is John's latest letter, telling of his experiences with the Sun, a daily newspaper in Brandon, Manitoba.   (PinP) ======= Is The Brandon Sun Newspaper Applying a Double Standard? On Nov. 14th, 2017, the Sun published yet another story about yet another hog producer complaining of being "hard done by." This after the Pallister government had already passed legislation recklessly slashing health and environmental protections, in order to pave t

Nation of Change If Earth’s temperature goes up by 2 degrees Celsius by 2050, more than one-quarter of the world would live in a state of drought. Story here. Parched ground in the southern US. 2011. Photo by Aljazeera English.