Highest-ever temperature recorded in Norwegian Arctic archipelago: OSLO, NORWAY – Norway’s Arctic archipelago Svalbard on Saturday recorded its highest-ever temperature, the country’s meteorological institute reported.

According to scientific study, global warming in the Arctic is happening twice as fast as for the rest of the planet.

For the second day in a row, the archipelago registered 21.2 degrees Celsius in the afternoon, just under the 21.3 degrees recorded in 1979, meteorologist Kristen Gislefoss told AFP.

Later in the afternoon however, at around 6 p.m. local time, it recorded 21.7 degrees, setting a new all-time record.

Highest-ever temperature recorded in Norwegian Arctic archipelago: OSLO, NORWAY – Norway’s Arctic archipelago Svalbard on Saturday recorded its highest-ever temperature, the country’s meteorological institute reported.According to scientific study, global warming in the Arctic is happening twice as fast as for the rest of the planet.For the second day in a row, the archipelago registered 21.2 degrees Celsius in the afternoon, just under the 21.3 degrees recorded in 1979, meteorologist Kristen Gislefoss told AFP.Later in the afternoon however, at around 6 p.m. local time, it recorded 21.7 degrees, setting a new all-time record.Read More

If you think we’re getting a green recovery, think again – Below 2C: Governments around the world have given handouts and regulatory relief as part of their pandemic recovery programs. Yale Environment 360 reports that “oil and gas giants, mining interests, and coal-fired power plants have all received financial and regulatory relief as governments around the world enact pandemic recovery plans. These moves threaten to create a dirty, high-carbon legacy that long outlasts the current crisis.”

In Canada the post-pandemic recovery plan is anything but green. The following article, first published in The Energy Mix reveals that our pandemic response sends $16 billion to fossils but a meagre $300 million to clean energy.

“At this point in history it’s clear that investing in fossil fuels is as lethal to global economies as it is to life on Earth,” tweeted Climate Action Network-Canada Executive Director Catherine Abreu. “Yet Canada has funnelled at least US$11.86 BILLION to fossils in recent months, while directing only $222.78 million to clean energy.”

If you think we’re getting a green recovery, think again – Below 2C: Governments around the world have given handouts and regulatory relief as part of their pandemic recovery programs. Yale Environment 360 reports that “oil and gas giants, mining interests, and coal-fired power plants have all received financial and regulatory relief as governments around the world enact pandemic recovery plans. These moves threaten to create a dirty, high-carbon legacy that long outlasts the current crisis.”In Canada the post-pandemic recovery plan is anything but green. The following article, first published in The Energy Mix reveals that our pandemic response sends $16 billion to fossils but a meagre $300 million to clean energy.“At this point in history it’s clear that investing in fossil fuels is as lethal to global economies as it is to life on Earth,” tweeted Climate Action Network-Canada Executive Director Catherine Abreu. “Yet Canada has funnelled at least US$11.86 BILLION to fossils in recent months, while directing only $222.78 million to clean energy.”Read More

Where our forest is being sprayed this summer:

If you live in New Brunswick you can view a map to see where your forests are getting sprayed this year.

The map showing where the forests will be sprayed with herbicides during summer 2020 is now available.

Forestry companies spray large swaths of clearcuts with products containing glyphosate — a chemical linked to cancer and a slew of other health problems — beginning in August and continued through September.

The full 2020 spray map is available at forestinfo.ca, a partnership between government and the forestry industry. If you want to know if your community, favourite walking trail, or summer swimming hole is near a spray site you’ll have to zoom in on the map until herbicide spray zones appear.

Our team is poring over the map to help New Brunswickers identify the major spraying hotspots this summer. We will update this page with maps of concerning spraying hotspots. Stay tuned.

Where our forest is being sprayed this summer: If you live in New Brunswick you can view a map to see where your forests are getting sprayed this year.The map showing where the forests will be sprayed with herbicides during summer 2020 is now available.Forestry companies spray large swaths of clearcuts with products containing glyphosate — a chemical linked to cancer and a slew of other health problems — beginning in August and continued through September.The full 2020 spray map is available at forestinfo.ca, a partnership between government and the forestry industry. If you want to know if your community, favourite walking trail, or summer swimming hole is near a spray site you’ll have to zoom in on the map until herbicide spray zones appear.Our team is poring over the map to help New Brunswickers identify the major spraying hotspots this summer. We will update this page with maps of concerning spraying hotspots. Stay tuned.Read More

Ontario government’s Bill 195: On behalf of Canada’s nurses, I would like to express my grave
concerns with your government’s Bill 195. While your government moves to
reopen the province, it is working to strip nurses and other frontline
workers of their constitutionally enshrined rights. This is simply
unacceptable.

If passed, Bill 195 would allow employers to override collective
agreement provisions and the grievance arbitration procedure for
Ontario’s frontline workers. The very workers your government has
depended on to bring us to the possibility of reopening the economy are
the ones being thrown under the bus through this proposed legislation.
It is appalling that the rights of these workers are at stake –
especially at a time when they are being rightfully touted as heroes and
heroines.

It is difficult to comprehend the degree of stress nurses and other
health care workers are currently under. Over the course of the
pandemic, I have heard regularly from nurses about having to sleep in
their basement after working a double shift, being deprived of the
chance to spend time with loved ones. They are terrified of contracting
the virus and are deeply frustrated by the lack of PPE made available in
their workplaces.

Ontario government’s Bill 195: On behalf of Canada’s nurses, I would like to express my grave
concerns with your government’s Bill 195. While your government moves to
reopen the province, it is working to strip nurses and other frontline
workers of their constitutionally enshrined rights. This is simply
unacceptable.If passed, Bill 195 would allow employers to override collective
agreement provisions and the grievance arbitration procedure for
Ontario’s frontline workers. The very workers your government has
depended on to bring us to the possibility of reopening the economy are
the ones being thrown under the bus through this proposed legislation.
It is appalling that the rights of these workers are at stake –
especially at a time when they are being rightfully touted as heroes and
heroines.It is difficult to comprehend the degree of stress nurses and other
health care workers are currently under. Over the course of the
pandemic, I have heard regularly from nurses about having to sleep in
their basement after working a double shift, being deprived of the
chance to spend time with loved ones. They are terrified of contracting
the virus and are deeply frustrated by the lack of PPE made available in
their workplaces.Read More

Activists Ramp Up Pressure on Other Insurers After Swiss Company Ditches ‘Climate-Wrecking’ Trans Mountain Pipeline: “Zurich’s decision to drop Trans Mountain demonstrates that it’s waking up the risks of this toxic project to Indigenous land rights, local ecosystems, and the planet,” said Elana Sulakshana, energy finance campaigner at Rainforest Action Network (RAN).

The decades-old pipeline has a long history of spills—including one at a pump station in British Columbia last month—and Indigenous groups and climate campaigners have spent years in court fighting against the expansion project known as TMX.

“Some of Zuirch’s peers in the global insurance industry are also taking note, as eight companies now have policies that limit or end insurance coverage for tar sands,” said Sulakshana. “It’s way past time for Liberty Mutual and Chubb to follow suit.”

Activists Ramp Up Pressure on Other Insurers After Swiss Company Ditches ‘Climate-Wrecking’ Trans Mountain Pipeline: “Zurich’s decision to drop Trans Mountain demonstrates that it’s waking up the risks of this toxic project to Indigenous land rights, local ecosystems, and the planet,” said Elana Sulakshana, energy finance campaigner at Rainforest Action Network (RAN).The decades-old pipeline has a long history of spills—including one at a pump station in British Columbia last month—and Indigenous groups and climate campaigners have spent years in court fighting against the expansion project known as TMX.“Some of Zuirch’s peers in the global insurance industry are also taking note, as eight companies now have policies that limit or end insurance coverage for tar sands,” said Sulakshana. “It’s way past time for Liberty Mutual and Chubb to follow suit.”Read More