‘Disturbing’: weedkiller ingredient tied to cancer found in 80% of US urine samples:

     Note: No doubt this is a problem in Canada too.

More than 80% of urine samples drawn from children and adults in a US health study contained a weedkilling chemical linked to cancer, a finding scientists have called “disturbing” and “concerning”.

The report by a unit of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that out of 2,310 urine samples, taken from a group of Americans intended to be representative of the US population, 1,885 were laced with detectable traces of glyphosate. This is the active ingredient in herbicides sold around the world, including the widely used Roundup brand. Almost a third of the participants were children ranging from six to 18.

‘Disturbing’: weedkiller ingredient tied to cancer found in 80% of US urine samples:      Note: No doubt this is a problem in Canada too.More than 80% of urine samples drawn from children and adults in a US health study contained a weedkilling chemical linked to cancer, a finding scientists have called “disturbing” and “concerning”.

The report by a unit of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that out of 2,310 urine samples, taken from a group of Americans intended to be representative of the US population, 1,885 were laced with detectable traces of glyphosate. This is the active ingredient in herbicides sold around the world, including the widely used Roundup brand. Almost a third of the participants were children ranging from six to 18.Read More

As Toronto gets hotter, not everyone is sweating equally | The Narwhal:

When a heat wave hits the city, it doesn’t
impact everyone the same way. The residents of St. James Town are
exposed and vulnerable to heat every way you look at it. They live in
homes with limited or no access to air conditioning, and are at higher
risk of the illnesses worst affected by extreme heat, like diabetes or
heart disease. They have fewer parks and trees in their neighbourhood
compared to wealthier, whiter communities. They’re more likely to work
in hot conditions, like construction or manufacturing, or physically
intensive roles that require them to be on their feet all day. And they’re not alone in their
experiences. Across the city, low-income and racialized communities,
including in inner-suburban areas like Scarborough, North York and parts
of Etobicoke, are suffering disproportionately during heat waves.

While
you can’t control when a heat wave will strike, you can control how
people experience it. The city has recently instituted policies designed
to mitigate the risks of heat, but it is unclear if they can adequately
meet the needs of Toronto’s most vulnerable communities. And while the
work of people like Ferreira and her volunteers is vital, if Toronto is
going to build any form of resilience to the climate crisis, and prevent
needless suffering and death, it’ll need to do more than rely on the
kindness of neighbours. 

As Toronto gets hotter, not everyone is sweating equally | The Narwhal: When a heat wave hits the city, it doesn’t
impact everyone the same way. The residents of St. James Town are
exposed and vulnerable to heat every way you look at it. They live in
homes with limited or no access to air conditioning, and are at higher
risk of the illnesses worst affected by extreme heat, like diabetes or
heart disease. They have fewer parks and trees in their neighbourhood
compared to wealthier, whiter communities. They’re more likely to work
in hot conditions, like construction or manufacturing, or physically
intensive roles that require them to be on their feet all day. And they’re not alone in their
experiences. Across the city, low-income and racialized communities,
including in inner-suburban areas like Scarborough, North York and parts
of Etobicoke, are suffering disproportionately during heat waves. While
you can’t control when a heat wave will strike, you can control how
people experience it. The city has recently instituted policies designed
to mitigate the risks of heat, but it is unclear if they can adequately
meet the needs of Toronto’s most vulnerable communities. And while the
work of people like Ferreira and her volunteers is vital, if Toronto is
going to build any form of resilience to the climate crisis, and prevent
needless suffering and death, it’ll need to do more than rely on the
kindness of neighbours. Read More

Small Modular Nukes Produce More Radioactive Waste than Traditional Ones, Study Finds | The Energy Mix:

The United States, the United Kingdom, and
Canada are among the countries investing in SMRs on the hope of a
cheaper, faster way to build out nuclear capacity. In Canada, the
federal government is leading
and funding a “Team Canada” approach involving several provinces,
industry players, and others, envisioning SMRs as “a source of safe,
clean, affordable energy, opening opportunities for a resilient,
low-carbon future and capturing benefits for Canada and Canadians.”

In Ontario, the Ford government selected GE Hitachi to build an SMR at the Darlington nuclear plant site, with a projected in-service date of 2028.

Now,
however, the first-ever independent assessment of radioactive waste
from SMRs has modelled the waste from three different SMR designs,
Toshiba, NuScale, and Terrestrial Energy. The conclusion: “SMRs could
increase the volume of short-lived low and intermediate level wastes… by
up to 35 times compared to a large conventional reactor,” New Scientist
reports.

Small Modular Nukes Produce More Radioactive Waste than Traditional Ones, Study Finds | The Energy Mix: The United States, the United Kingdom, and
Canada are among the countries investing in SMRs on the hope of a
cheaper, faster way to build out nuclear capacity. In Canada, the
federal government is leading
and funding a “Team Canada” approach involving several provinces,
industry players, and others, envisioning SMRs as “a source of safe,
clean, affordable energy, opening opportunities for a resilient,
low-carbon future and capturing benefits for Canada and Canadians.”In Ontario, the Ford government selected GE Hitachi to build an SMR at the Darlington nuclear plant site, with a projected in-service date of 2028.Now,
however, the first-ever independent assessment of radioactive waste
from SMRs has modelled the waste from three different SMR designs,
Toshiba, NuScale, and Terrestrial Energy. The conclusion: “SMRs could
increase the volume of short-lived low and intermediate level wastes… by
up to 35 times compared to a large conventional reactor,” New Scientist
reports.Read More

Ten Climate Reasons To Defeat Doug Ford:

“Premier Doug Ford is making the climate crisis worse. His
government’s arrogance, climate recklessness and willful negligence,
threatens our future. His government, consisting of 68 elected
Conservative MPPs – less than six dozen individuals – are putting the
rest of us in peril.” — Ten Climate Reasons to Defeat Doug Ford

Ten Climate Reasons to Defeat Ford

The background and context for Ten Climate Reasons to Defeat Ford are provided by this PDF which documents how the Ford government has no credible climate plan, no climate adaptation plan and no just transition plan.

Ten Climate Reasons To Defeat Doug Ford: “Premier Doug Ford is making the climate crisis worse. His
government’s arrogance, climate recklessness and willful negligence,
threatens our future. His government, consisting of 68 elected
Conservative MPPs – less than six dozen individuals – are putting the
rest of us in peril.” — Ten Climate Reasons to Defeat Doug FordTen Climate Reasons to Defeat FordThe background and context for Ten Climate Reasons to Defeat Ford are provided by this PDF which documents how the Ford government has no credible climate plan, no climate adaptation plan and no just transition plan.Read More

‘Fossil Fuelled 5’ Put 1.5° in Jeopardy, Report Finds – The Energy Mix:

The report, The Fossil Fuelled 5, says the gap between climate rhetoric and reality is dangerously wide, with wealthy nations—Canada, the U.K., the United States, Norway, and Australia—planning to approve (and subsidize) new fossil fuel projects, a contradiction which it says undermines their recent claims of leadership in tackling the climate crisis.

The Fossil Fuelled 5, released on the final day of COP 26, is shows that several of the world’s wealthiest nations “are doubling down on fossil fuel production,” which will “have disastrous impacts for all life on our planet, but especially those communities in the Global South who have done the least to create this crisis and have the fewest resources to adapt to its impacts.”

‘Fossil Fuelled 5’ Put 1.5° in Jeopardy, Report Finds – The Energy Mix: The report, The Fossil Fuelled 5, says the gap between climate rhetoric and reality is dangerously wide, with wealthy nations—Canada, the U.K., the United States, Norway, and Australia—planning to approve (and subsidize) new fossil fuel projects, a contradiction which it says undermines their recent claims of leadership in tackling the climate crisis.The Fossil Fuelled 5, released on the final day of COP 26, is shows that several of the world’s wealthiest nations “are doubling down on fossil fuel production,” which will “have disastrous impacts for all life on our planet, but especially those communities in the Global South who have done the least to create this crisis and have the fewest resources to adapt to its impacts.”Read More