20 Percent of Plant Species Could Go Extinct

One out of every five plant species on Earth is now threatened with extinction. That's the disturbing conclusion of a major report released this week by scientists at Britain's Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. The planet's vegetation—from grasslands to deserts to tropical rainforests—is being hit hard by human activity. And deforestation, pollution, agriculture, and climate change are all playing a role.

Unprecedented ocean acidification from greenhouse gases putting Canadian waters at risk, says report

OTTAWA – Canada’s Atlantic waters may be “particularly vulnerable” to increased carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere that are causing “unprecedented” acidification of the planet’s oceans, says a report by scientists at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

Quoting from numerous scientific publications, the government report, posted on a website without a formal announcement or news release, noted that the world’s oceans have absorbed a significant amount of carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere since the industrial revolution, with profound effects on marine ecosystems that could damage the Canadian economy.

Alberta's floods and corporate power in an age of climate disaster

Perhaps the only thing more stunning than Alberta's ruinous flooding has been the realization that not even a disaster of this magnitude, right in the heart of oil country, seems sufficient to break the torpor surrounding climate change.

Indeed, federal and Alberta authorities seem undeterred in their dream of turning Canada into an energy superpower, even if it means immersing the country neck-deep in water.