In his much-anticipated report on the decline of Fraser River sockeye salmon in B.C., former B.C. Supreme Court Justice Bruce Cohen took aim at the federal government Wednesday. He said he was “troubled” by recent amendments to the environmental process and the Fisheries Act by Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative
Continue readingTag: conservation
earthgauge: Costa Rica passes ban on shark finning
Continuing Earthgauge’s past coverage of the campaign to ban shark finning, Reuters is reporting that Costa Rica is the latest country to ban the practice, which involves catching sharks, slicing off their fins and throwing them back in the ocean to die. As always with such bans, it remains to
Continue readingearthgauge: Great Barrier Reef Has Seen Major Decline In Past 3 Decades
New research is showing that Australia’s iconic Great Barrier Reef, one of the world’s largest, is in steep decline, with half of the reef vanishing in the past 27 years. And the culprit? You guessed it. It seems our unending addiction to burning carbon is playing a big role. There
Continue readingearthgauge: Costa Rica poised to ban hunting as sport
An environmentalist wearing a frog mask is seen near members of Congress (rear) who are voting on an anti-hunting law inside the Legislative Assembly building in San Jose, Costa Rica. The country’s name in English means “Rich Coast” and it looks as though law makers in Costa Rica want
Continue readingearthgauge: Climate Change: Coral Reefs Expected To Suffer Greatly, Study Finds
Did you know that coral reefs are home to fully 25% of the world’s marine life? Me neither. This latest report on the state of the world’s coral reefs would have been bad enough in its own right. Seems, once again, that climate change is a major culprit. Here’s an
Continue readingearthgauge: Earthgauge Radio September 13, 2012: From the frontlines of the Northern Gateway pipeline struggle
Download: earthgauge-podcast-sept13-2012-northerngateway.mp3 I’m excited to be back at CKCU to kick off the second season of Earthgauge Radio! On this the September 13 edition of the program, we hear a couple of interviews live from the frontlines of the Northern Gateway pipeline struggle in B.C. On the show today: Art Sterritt –
Continue readingearthgauge: Pro-development B.C. community says no to Northern Gateway
In Public Opinion Research conducted by the District of Fort St. James 198 respondents indicated a significant majority (86%) opposed the Northern Gateway pipeline proposal. The following letter was put on the Joint Review Panel registry last Friday, and spells out the enormous difficulty industry and the Harper government face
Continue readingearthgauge: A World Without Coral Reefs – NYTimes.com
Just to brighten your day a little more, check out this astonishing article from the NY Times on the state of the world’s coral reefs. It ain’t pretty. The article is written by an ecologist in Australia where the world’s largest reef, the Great Barrier, is experiencing unprecedented declines in
Continue readingearthgauge: Earthgauge Radio June 28, 2012: Rio +20 Earth Summit in review and the Emerald Ash Borer beetle
Download: earthgaugeradio-podcast-june28-2012.mp3 On Earthgauge Radio this week, we take a look at the recently concluded Rio +20 Earth Summit and we discuss Ottawa’s Emerald Ash Borer beetle infestation, which is becoming a growing problem in regions across North America. I have two interviews on today’s program: David Suzuki (courtesy of
Continue readingearthgauge: Will UN Summit on Sustainable Development make anyone happy?
What on Earth is going on at the Rio +20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro? Well, this article might provide some indication. If you had low expectations for the so-called Sustainable Development Summit, you’re not alone. Here’s an excerpt from the article that tells you just about everything you need
Continue readingearthgauge: Woolly mammoth extinction has lessons for modern climate change
Check this out. In a paper published June 12 in the journal Nature Communications, UCLA researchers and colleagues reveal that not long after the last ice age, the last woolly mammoths succumbed to a lethal combination of climate warming, encroaching humans and habitat change — the same threats facing many
Continue readingearthgauge: Earthgauge Radio June 7, 2012: State of the Global Environment
Download: earthgaugeradio-podcast-june7-20121.mp3 On Earthgauge Radio this week, we’re taking a look at the state of the global environment and we talk to the founder of the Ottawa-based organization One Change. We hear a recent speech to the United Nations by the esteemed economist Jeffrey Sachs who offers a dire warning
Continue readingearthgauge: United Nations Rio+20 Summit: Global Environment Outlook Report Warns Of Irreversible Damage
The much anticipated U.N. GEO 5 Report came out today. At this point, is anyone surprised by its findings? * Only 4 of 90 international environmental goals making significant progress * Climate change, fish stocks showing little or no progress Time is running very short, U.N. Under-Secretary General and UNEP
Continue readingearthgauge: June 8 is World Oceans Day
The following is a guest post from WorldOceansDay.org. This is an important event and deserves our attention so I am reposting it on Earthgauge. World Oceans Day, the UN-designated day for the global community to celebrate and take action for our shared ocean. This year, take a moment to make
Continue readingearthgauge: #BlackOutSpeakOut today to protest the environmental assaults of Conservative Budget Bill C-38
For more info: http://www.blackoutspeakout.ca/index.php
Continue readingearthgauge: An unprecedented letter to PM Harper from former Fisheries Ministers
Four former ministers of Fisheries and Oceans – from both Progressive Conservative and Liberal governments – took the extraordinary step of writing an open letter to “Prime Minister” Stephen Harper this week. They expressed their deep concern over the changes to Fisheries regulations in the omnibus Budget Implementation Bill C-38,
Continue readingearthgauge: Earthgauge Radio May 31 2012: Shark conservation and Capital Velo Fest
Download: earthgaugeradio-podcast-may31-2012-sharkconservation.mp3 On Earthgauge Radio this week, we’re taking a look at shark conservation and the Ottawa bike festival called Capital Velo Fest. The award-winning film Sharkwater will be screened this Tuesday, June 5 at 7:00PM at the Mayfair Theatre in Ottawa (a CKCU co-presentation) I have three interviews for you
Continue readingearthgauge: “Dark Age” for Canadian Science
In yet another example of the Canadian government’s antipathy toward science and hatred of all things environmental, check out this article from the excellent journalist Andrew Nikiforuk. Here’s an excerpt: Just as citizens flocked to their cottages and launched their boats, the government of Stephen Harper pulled the plug on
Continue readingFusing and Musing: Why ‘Moderation’ is a big deal…
Why moderation? Why would one want to stay closer to the political center? Is there empirical or even theoretical proof that such a stance would be the ideal? It is safe to say there are as many theories and their advocates as the day is long. Before we proceed I
Continue readingMind of Dan: Planet3.0 Launches!!!
This news is a little stale by now, but the big skunk-works project that has monopolized my time and preventing me from getting podcasts out has launched. Planet3.0 is a new attempt at sustainability journalism. An attempt to present the news that should be on the front page. An attempt to remove the sense of […]
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