Glyphosate Is a ‘Probable Human Carcinogen.’ Why Is It Still Being Used? | The Tyee: Over the past two years, three U.S. juries have awarded multimillion-dollar verdicts to plaintiffs who asserted that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, gave them non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system. Bayer, a German chemical company, bought
Roundup’s inventor, Monsanto, in 2018 and inherited some 125,000
pending lawsuits, of which it has settled all but about 30,000. The
company is now considering ending U.S. retail sales of Roundup to reduce
the risk of further lawsuits from residential users, who have been the main source of legal claims.

As scholars who study global trade, food systems and their effects on the environment, we see a bigger story: generic glyphosate is ubiquitous around the globe. Farmers use it on a majority of the world’s agricultural fields. Humans spray enough glyphosate to coat every acre of farmland in the world with half a pound of it every year.

Glyphosate is now showing up in humans, but scientists are still debating its health effects. One thing is clear, though: Because it’s an effective and very cheap weedkiller, it has become pervasive.  

Glyphosate Is a ‘Probable Human Carcinogen.’ Why Is It Still Being Used? | The Tyee: Over the past two years, three U.S. juries have awarded multimillion-dollar verdicts to plaintiffs who asserted that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, gave them non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system. Bayer, a German chemical company, bought
Roundup’s inventor, Monsanto, in 2018 and inherited some 125,000
pending lawsuits, of which it has settled all but about 30,000. The
company is now considering ending U.S. retail sales of Roundup to reduce
the risk of further lawsuits from residential users, who have been the main source of legal claims.As scholars who study global trade, food systems and their effects on the environment, we see a bigger story: generic glyphosate is ubiquitous around the globe. Farmers use it on a majority of the world’s agricultural fields. Humans spray enough glyphosate to coat every acre of farmland in the world with half a pound of it every year.Glyphosate is now showing up in humans, but scientists are still debating its health effects. One thing is clear, though: Because it’s an effective and very cheap weedkiller, it has become pervasive.  Read More

Oilsands carbon cuts come with $60 billion bill, loose ends: … good deal of the costs
borne by taxpayers and many loose ends yet to be tied up, according to
two of the Canadian industry’s top CEOs.

To achieve the goal announced last month, about half of the emission
cuts would need to come from capturing carbon at oilsands sites and
sequestering it deep underground, which may require as much as
two-thirds government capital like in Norway, Mark Little, chief
executive office of Suncor Energy Inc., said in an interview.

It’s still unclear how and when most of the projects will be
implemented, or which agreements will be needed, but it’s clear the
industry doesn’t want to do it alone.

Oilsands carbon cuts come with $60 billion bill, loose ends: … good deal of the costs
borne by taxpayers and many loose ends yet to be tied up, according to
two of the Canadian industry’s top CEOs.To achieve the goal announced last month, about half of the emission
cuts would need to come from capturing carbon at oilsands sites and
sequestering it deep underground, which may require as much as
two-thirds government capital like in Norway, Mark Little, chief
executive office of Suncor Energy Inc., said in an interview.It’s still unclear how and when most of the projects will be
implemented, or which agreements will be needed, but it’s clear the
industry doesn’t want to do it alone.Read More

B.C. Plan Risks GHG Emissions from ‘Blue’ Hydrogen – The Energy Mix: “While B.C.’s new strategy promises to ramp up production of green
hydrogen, made from the province’s abundant renewable energy resources,
it also encourages continued development of natural gas for the
production of blue hydrogen, which still has significant greenhouse gas
emissions,” Karen Tam Wu, the Pembina Institute’s B.C. regional
director, said in a release.

By failing to prioritize green hydrogen production, the strategy
“misses B.C.’s clear regional opportunity to build a hydrogen economy on
a renewable energy foundation rather than on fossil fuels and maximize
the potential climate benefits hydrogen has to offer,” she added.

B.C. Plan Risks GHG Emissions from ‘Blue’ Hydrogen – The Energy Mix: “While B.C.’s new strategy promises to ramp up production of green
hydrogen, made from the province’s abundant renewable energy resources,
it also encourages continued development of natural gas for the
production of blue hydrogen, which still has significant greenhouse gas
emissions,” Karen Tam Wu, the Pembina Institute’s B.C. regional
director, said in a release.By failing to prioritize green hydrogen production, the strategy
“misses B.C.’s clear regional opportunity to build a hydrogen economy on
a renewable energy foundation rather than on fossil fuels and maximize
the potential climate benefits hydrogen has to offer,” she added.Read More

1 Billion Sea Creatures Cooked to Death in Pacific Northwest Heat Wave: Chris Harley, a marine biologist at the University of British Columbia, told the CBC
that he was “pretty stunned” walking along Vancouver’s Kitsilano Beach
late last month, where was able to smell the mass death and see endless
amounts of mussels cracked open with meat inside—which indicates they
had recently died.

The incredibly hot
temperatures in Vancouver and some poor timing with the tides seem to
have combined to create an incredibly sad situation for the region’s
crustaceans. During the heatwave in late June, when temperatures reached
104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius) in Vancouver, Harley’s lab
recorded temperatures up to 122 degrees F (50 degrees Celsius) along the
shoreline using a thermal imaging camera.
Crustaceans like mussels and clams were then exposed to these crazy
high temperatures for more than six hours when the tide went out.

1 Billion Sea Creatures Cooked to Death in Pacific Northwest Heat Wave: Chris Harley, a marine biologist at the University of British Columbia, told the CBC
that he was “pretty stunned” walking along Vancouver’s Kitsilano Beach
late last month, where was able to smell the mass death and see endless
amounts of mussels cracked open with meat inside—which indicates they
had recently died.The incredibly hot
temperatures in Vancouver and some poor timing with the tides seem to
have combined to create an incredibly sad situation for the region’s
crustaceans. During the heatwave in late June, when temperatures reached
104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius) in Vancouver, Harley’s lab
recorded temperatures up to 122 degrees F (50 degrees Celsius) along the
shoreline using a thermal imaging camera.
Crustaceans like mussels and clams were then exposed to these crazy
high temperatures for more than six hours when the tide went out.Read More

Manitoba municipality declares state of agricultural disaster due to drought, record-breaking heat | CBC News: Relentless heat, record-breaking temperatures and a lack of rain are pushing some Manitoba farmers over the edge.

The Rural Municipality of St. Laurent, in the Interlake region, declared an agricultural state of disaster on Monday after weekend temperatures reached the mid-30s C over the weekend.

The municipality says it has received less than 40 per cent of the normal amount of rain so far this year, crop yields are coming in at excessively low volumes, and dugouts and wells are dry or drying up.

Water supply and water quality is a growing concern, while a grasshopper infestation is compounding the lack of forage, the municipality said.  

Manitoba municipality declares state of agricultural disaster due to drought, record-breaking heat | CBC News: Relentless heat, record-breaking temperatures and a lack of rain are pushing some Manitoba farmers over the edge.The Rural Municipality of St. Laurent, in the Interlake region, declared an agricultural state of disaster on Monday after weekend temperatures reached the mid-30s C over the weekend. The municipality says it has received less than 40 per cent of the normal amount of rain so far this year, crop yields are coming in at excessively low volumes, and dugouts and wells are dry or drying up.Water supply and water quality is a growing concern, while a grasshopper infestation is compounding the lack of forage, the municipality said.  Read More