The U.S. Republican Party must answer for what it did to Kansas and Louisiana – We are one election away from it being our national story

By Eric Levitz18 March 2016 (New York Magazine) – Over the course of 12 debates, the Republican presidential candidates were never asked to address the budget problems in Kansas. That may not sound like an odd omission but it is. To see why, let’s take a quick trip to a parallel political universe: In Bizarro […]

Fellow Honduran activist Nelson García murdered days after Berta Cáceres – Slain activist’s daughter says U.S. military aid fuels repression and violence

[It appears that U.S.-sponsored death squads have returned to Honduras, this time targeting environmental and indigenous-rights activists. – Des] By Nina Lakhani16 March 2016 MEXICO CITY (The Guardian) – Another indigenous activist has been murdered in Honduras amid an escalating wave of repression against the relatives and colleagues of renowned campaigner Berta Cáceres, who was […]

Honduras risks becoming ‘lawless killing zone’ for human rights and environment defenders – UN urges government to address ‘the flagrant impunity of the increased number of executions targeting those who defend environmental and land rights’

18 March 2016 (UN) – An independent United Nations expert on the situation of human rights defenders today urged the Government of Honduras “to take immediate and concrete actions, or risk turning the country into a lawless killing zone for human rights defenders.” UN Special Rapporteur Michel Forst’s appeal came after the killing of yet […]

Climate change could lead to changes in ecosystems, lifestyles – ‘That’s a fairly ominous change, especially when you think about fire’

By Melissa Jameson14 March 2016 (BC Local News) – Simply put, says Kootenay scientist Greg Utzig, climate change is about air. “What we’re talking about in terms of climate change is air,” said Utzig at a talk on climate change in Revelstoke last week. “That is what this issue is all about. You wouldn’t think […]

Graph of the Day: U.S. states with lead levels that exceed EPA limits

16 March 2016 (USA TODAY) – Since 2012, nearly 2,000 water systems across the U.S. have found elevated lead levels in tap water samples, a public health concern that requires them to notify customers and take action. Search or click the map to find systems in your area. The map table shows the state / […]

WHO: An estimated 12.6 million deaths each year are attributable to unhealthy environments

GENEVA, 15 March 2016 (WHO) – An estimated 12.6 million people died as a result of living or working in an unhealthy environment in 2012 – nearly 1 in 4 of total global deaths, according to new estimates from WHO. Environmental risk factors, such as air, water and soil pollution, chemical exposures, climate change, and […]

In the Iditarod, global warming makes it a year for the record books – ‘I’m not sure winter ever came to south-central Alaska’

By William Yardley and Kyle Hopkins15 March 2016 NOME, Alaska (Los Angeles Times) – The winters keep getting warmer. The racers keep getting faster. When Dallas Seavey and his team of sled dogs arrived in this remote old gold rush town on the Bering Sea shortly after 2 a.m. on Tuesday, Seavey celebrated his fourth […]

Puget Sound coho salmon return forecasts ‘critical’ – Tribes propose canceling fishing season – ‘The loss of coho fishing on the heels of losing chinook fishing last year would be absolutely devastating’

By Alison Morrow11 March 2016 (KING 5 News) – The Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission is asking wildlife officials to consider canceling the coho fishery across Puget Sound this year. Warmer water in the oceans has made it tough for all salmon returning to Puget Sound. Wild coho return forecasts are at historic lows. In some […]

In ‘unprecedented decision’, UN boosts food and cash assistance as El Niño’s grip on Zimbabwe tightens

HARARE, 16 March 2016 (WFP) – Vulnerable people in Zimbabwe will continue to receive relief assistance from the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) through what is usually a period of bounty but which this year has turned into a time of want. WFP is extending its relief programme due to the punishing impact of […]

The corrosive dangers lurking in America’s private wells

By M.B. Pell and Joshua Schneyer14 March 2016 (Reuters) – In this town of 2,800 just south of the Canadian border, residents have long worried about the water flowing from their taps. The water in one household is so corrosive it gutted three dishwashers and two washing machines. Another couple’s water is so salty the […]

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