Category: RT Newswire

Published on Tuesday, August 12, 2008 by The Leader-Post (Saskatchewan)
Group Concerned About Climate Change Challenges Oil Sands Development
by Angela Hall

SASKATCHEWAN – As companies bid Monday for the chance to explore Saskatchewan’s oilsands, those opposed to such development made their voices heard at the Legislative Building.

About a dozen people with placards reading “Tar Sands = Climate Change” and “Get informed Saskatchewan” urged the provincial government to stop issuing exploratory permits for the oilsands until further study is done.

The event, organized by the local chapter of the Council of Canadians, coincided with the province’s August sale of oil and natural gas rights, which offered oilsands rights for only the second time.

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Human activity, El Nino warming West Antarctic: study
Tue Aug 12, 2008 5:37pm EDT 

.NEW YORK (Reuters) – Human activity and the El Nino weather pattern over the last century have warmed West Antarctica, part of the world’s coldest continent, according to a study based on four years of collecting ice core data.

The West Antarctic warmed in response to higher temperatures in the tropical Pacific, which itself has been warming due to weather patterns like a major El Nino event from 1939 to 1942 and greenhouse emissions from cars and factories, according to the study.

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It may be a temporary thing, lasting only ’til
the next president restores what Bush taketh away.
Or not.
Lance

Associated Press
Bush to relax protected species rules

By DINA CAPPIELLO – 49 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AP) – Parts of the Endangered Species
Act may soon be extinct. The Bush administration
wants federal agencies to decide for themselves
whether highways, dams, mines and other
construction projects might harm endangered
animals and plants.

New regulations, which don’t require the approval
of Congress, would reduce the mandatory,
independent reviews government scientists have
been performing for 35 years, according to a
draft first obtained by The Associated Press.

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“The worst storms in over two centuries
have led to devastating flooding …”
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ReliefWeb
Date: 08 Aug 2008

Source: Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)

<http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/KKAA-7HC54H?OpenDocument>

Canada to assist flood victims in Ukraine and Moldova

Ottawa – The Honourable Beverley J. Oda, Minister
of International Cooperation, announced today
that Canada is providing a total of $100,000 to
assist people affected by recent flooding in
Ukraine and Moldova. This assistance includes
$75,000 in response to an Emergency Appeal
launched by the International Federation of Red
Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and
$25,000 through the Canada Fund for Local
Initiatives (CFLI) to support the relief efforts
of local non-governmental organizations.

‘On behalf of all Canadians, I’d like to extend
my deepest sympathies to the victims and their
families,’ said Minister Oda. ‘In response to an
emergency appeal from the International
Federation of the Red Cross, the Government of
Canada will contribute to international relief
efforts to meet the basic needs of flood-affected
households by providing food and clean water, in
addition to supporting the efforts of local NGOs
on the ground’

  in some of the most impoverished parts of
Ukraine and Moldova. The floods have resulted in
at least 30 deaths and dozens of missing persons.
Six regions with some 655 settlements and around
40,000 houses were affected in western Ukraine.
Additionally, more than 30,000 hectares of arable
land and 680 kilometers of roads have been
damaged.

CIDA’s contribution will help support the Red
Cross in assisting 60,000 people in Ukraine and
Moldova over the next eight months by providing
water, emergency food aid, hygiene supplies,
household kits, bedding, repairs to damaged
buildings and psychological support.

-30-

Information:

Joanna Bailey
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of International Cooperation
819-953-6238

Media Relations Office
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)
Telephone: 819-953-6534
E-mail: media@acdi-cida.gc.ca

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