Posts
What Alberta's New Climate Policy Really Means.
Cam Fenton - 350.org Friends, The government of Alberta made a pretty major announcement this week. They rolled out plans for a climate policy that includes a phase out of coal power, a price on carbon, and a cap on tar sands emissions. This announcement is huge. Some people are even calling it historic. But, like a lot of announcements related to climate change these days, it’s historic, it’s game changing -- and it’s neither of those things all at the same time.
Trudeau Orders Oil Tanker Ban That Could Kill Northern Gateway
NATIONAL OBSERVER Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a set of directives to his cabinet ministers Friday that included instructions to end oil tankers transits on B.C.’s northern coast — a move that observers say could finally kill the long embattled Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline proposal. Story here.
Maternal Deaths Fell 44% Since 1990 – UN
Report from WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank Group and the United Nations Population Division highlights progress GENEVA/NEW YORK, 12 November 2015 – Maternal mortality has fallen by 44% since 1990, United Nations agencies and the World Bank Group reported today. Maternal deaths around the world dropped from about 532 000 in 1990 to an estimated 303 000 this year, according to the report, the last in a series that has looked at progress under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This equates to an estimated global maternal mortality ratio (MMR) of 216 maternal deaths per 100 000 live births, down from 385 in 1990.
The Free Trade Agreement Between the EU and Canada Threatens Water Management
bilateral.org PinP photo During the secret negotiations of the free trade agreement between the European Union and Canada known as CETA, the European Commission always maintained that water would be excluded from the treaty, and that the choice on how to manage services related to the production and distribution of drinking water by the public authorities would not be questioned. But a careful reading of the consolidated text of CETA shows that the reality is different. Details here.
The Most Brazen Corporate Power Grab in American History
Chris Hedges If there is no sustained uprising to prevent the passage of the TPP in Congress this spring we will be shackled by corporate power. Wages will decline. Working conditions will deteriorate. Unemployment will rise. Our few remaining rights will be revoked. The assault on the ecosystem will be accelerated. Banks and global speculation will be beyond oversight or control. Food safety standards and regulations will be jettisoned. Story here.
Loved to Death (Video)
by George Monbiot The UK’s national parks should be redesignated as ecological disaster zones. A lecture to the UK National Parks conference, by George Monbiot, 14th October 2015 This is my ferocious attack on the dire state of the UK’s national parks, and my ideas for how they could be improved. (See Video, below.)
A Retired Professor Takes a Newspaper Columnist to Task for her Column About Tainted Milk and "Junk Science."
Dear Editor, Re; The phony tainted milk scare (Margaret Wente, Globe & Mail, October 29, 2015). In her preamble, Ms. Wente suggests that “we need to blow the whistle on junk science”. I agree, but we need to do the same on junk journalism, which is exemplified by her article. My understanding is that journalism’s first obligation is to tell the truth (i.e. the whole truth, and not half-truths & tainted opinions; as is the case with Ms Wente’s piece). For example, she states that: The (bovine) growth hormone, also known as rBST, which stimulates the cow’s milk production, is “the same hormone that is naturally produced in the cow’s pituitary gland.” Further: “Milk from treated cows is virtually identical to other milk.” And: “ there aren’t any effects of rBGH on human health”. These statements are not true; in fact, Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH or rBST) is a genetically engineered drug, originally developed by Monsanto, which la
In Attempt to Muzzle Opposition, 'Petro Dictatorship' Declares State of Emergency in Maldives
CommonDreams Questions rise as to whether imprisonment of former president and climate hero Mohamed Nasheed was an 'oil grab' as much as a power one. Story here. ===== These island states are literally beginning to submerge beneath the waves, and it's utterly unjust -- they have polluted way less than the rest of the world. Unless we act now, they could be wiped from the map forever, and their people will face the daunting choice of drowning or abandoning their lands. Avaaz. Please help with a donation!
Climate Change Could Make The Persian Gulf So Hot People Can’t Spend More Than A Few Hours Outside
Think Progress This summer, a heat wave sent temperatures near the Persian Gulf skyrocketing, with outdoor temperatures reaching as high as 120°F throughout parts of Iraq and Iran. And while those temperatures might seem extreme, a new study published in Nature Climate Change suggests that scorching temperatures could become increasingly common in the region by the end of the century, if climate change is left unchecked. Story here.