PLANET IN PERIL

Greenpeace Photo by  Evan-Amos Oreo products found on Canadian supermarket shelves list palm oil as an ingredient, the cultivation of which in Indonesia is a major driver of orangutan habitat loss Story here.

YaleEnvironment360 Rapid warming and vanishing sea ice in the Arctic has enabled new species, from humpback whales to white-tailed deer, to spread northward. Scientists are increasingly concerned that some of these new arrivals may be bringing dangerous pathogens that could disrupt the region’s fragile ecosystems.  Details here. White-tailed deer feed on hay-bales in Manitoba. A PinP photo.

Science Daily Hay fever allergy. Photo by championswimmer. A new predictive model developed by ecologists and climate scientists suggests that climate change may allow common ragweed to extend its growing range northward and into major northeast metro areas, worsening conditions for millions of people with hay fever and asthma. Details here.

Rainforest Action Network  The Borneo file-eared frog ( Polypedates otilophus ). Photo by Charlels J. Sharp. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics are likely built on the backs of endangered species. That’s because the very timber being used to build the Olympic venues is being sourced from Indonesia’s rainforests. So much for being “one of the most sustainable Olympics yet!” Details here.

Clean Energy Canada A new form of denial has risen from the ashes of the old: denying the solutions that empower us to minimize climate change. Details here.

Dear Editor, Politics, not law, are driving Yellowhead Council’s response to  Hog  Watch Manitoba’s revelations about a hog barn expansion  near  Strathclair.     (See B.G. story, here.) Claims that its “investigation” reveals the operator was “found to  be in compliance with laws and regulations” as reported in the  October 24   Brandon Sun   are false. Council’s informal plan to have taxpayers pay someone to count  the Maple Leaf-owned pigs at this so-called family farm is a  diversion designed to give the offender time to fix problems  documented by Hog Watch. Counting pigs helps them evade their  responsibility to regulate on the maximum number and type of pigs  a barn can hold.   Governments’ honour system has led to the approval of a new barn  without making sure there is sufficient capacity to stor e  manure.    Only after the barn was built, over a thousand pigs put in  it this spring, Hog Watch sounded an alarm and municipal