PLANET IN PERIL

by Larry Powell Below is a copy of an e-mail I just sent to Chris Hall, host of the CBC Radio program, "The House." It concerns an interview he did this morning with Manitoba's Premier, Brian Pallister on the Premier's move to withdraw from the federal carbon tax plan. If you didn't hear it, Pallister announced to the world that a carbon tax is not needed in Manitoba because both he and his government are already green! Manitoba Premier, Brian Pallister. Photo by grainnews.ca Hi Chris! I'm a native Manitoban who has, as a journalist, researcher and citizen, long been immersed in the politics of this province. I could hear the lies dripping from Premier Pallister's mouth as you interviewed him on the carbon tax this morning. His assertion that both he and Manitoba are already green, comes less than a year after his government slashed important legislation. It once provided us with a measure of health and environmental protection from the mass polluti

The Washington Post. A much-awaited report from the U.N.'s top climate science panel will show an enormous gap between where we are and where we need to be to prevent dangerous levels of warming. Story here. Hurricane Florence. NASA

The New York Times The Trump administration has completed its plan to roll back major offshore-drilling safety regulations that were put in place after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster in 2010 that killed 11 people and caused the worst oil spill in American history. Story here. The Deepwater Horizon oil slick from space. Photo by NASA.

The Guardian International agreement will protect vast areas of sea that have opened up as the ice melts . Story here.  Fishboats in Norway. Photo by Kristian Magnus Kenstad.

Greenpeace -   More here. Poster by Jessica - NOAA marine debris program.

folio New research from University of Alberta ecologists show "mineral weathering" can be a significant contributor to Arctic climate change.  More here. Melting permafrost in Alaska. Photo by the US Geological Survey.

The Guardian Banned PCB chemicals are still severely harming the animals - but the Arctic could be a refuge.  More here. An orca breaches. Photo by  H. Zell.