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The Washington Post - Cool rainforests store more carbon per acre than tropical rainforests, according to a new book that synthesizes the work of 30 international scientists, a finding that could shift the way policymakers approach climate policy.

Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve on the west coast of Scotland includes outstanding examples of old Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) - downy birch (Betula pubescens) rainforests. (Paul Alaback) "Temperate and Boreal Rainforests of the World: Ecology and Conservation," published by Island Press, documents that in 2007 the 250 million acres of temperate and high-latitude forests stored 196 gigatons of carbon--the equivalent of six times the amount of carbon dioxide humans emit each year by burning fossil fuels. Read The Full News Item Here

“Our report shows Premier Dalton McGuinty and Northern Development, Mines and Forestry Minister Michael Gravelle that they have a real opportunity now in northwestern Ontario to get the forestry industry back on track,” said Catharine Grant, Greenpeace forest campaigner. “By following through with the recommendations in this report, they can help the forestry industry prosper through diversification and access to expanding green markets.”

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Manitoba Wildlands.org - The United Nations (UN) Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples celebrated its third anniversary September 13th, 2010. Indigenous peoples and civil society marked the anniversary by urging the Government of Canada to move ahead with signing the Declaration for Canada.

Canada's federal government committed to endorsing the UN Declaration in the Speech from the Throne delivered in March 2010. These intentions were confirmed to the international community at the April 2010 United Nations Permanent Forum on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. No formal steps have been taken. Read The Full News Item Here

IQra.ca - Traditional knowledge is very powerful. This knowledge is our birthright. It was given to our people when we were placed here on Mother Earth with sacred instructions on how to live as caretakers of Mother Earth. But if it is not used and shared, then it becomes useless.

My uncle used to say the transmission of traditional knowledge is a sacred process. There is a protocol to it: Presenting tobacco, having the elders speak, listening carefully while they shared teachings and history and stories. That’s how we learned.

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Eye-popping footage of a recent rare close encounter with a humpback whale off the coast of BC's spectacular Great Bear Rainforest. Whales like this one and many other coastal species are at grave risk from Enbridge's proposed pipeline to pump oil from the Tar Sands across BC and into supertankers in Kitimat, before plying some of the world's most treacherous waters en route to Asia. This awesome creature approached a boat carrying among others filmmaker Damien Gillis, and proceeded to interact playfully with the crew for 45 minutes! Watch highlights of this amazing and unique west coast experience - caught on camera.

Manitoba Wildlands - A new database for Alberta tar sands was released July 30, 2010. It compiles more than 6,600 reports of spills, leaks and other environmental problems. Most records had to be obtained using federal and provincial freedom-of-information legislation.

Compiled by ecologist Dr. Kevin Timoney, with the support of Greenpeace Canada, Sierra Club Prairie, Keepers of the Athabasca and Global Forest Watch Canada, the database shows a consistent pattern of infractions going unpunished by government regulators. Read The Full News Item Here

Manitoba Wildlands - After more than a decade of hard work, the global water justice movement achieved a major victory July 28, 2010 when the U.N. General Assembly asserted a global right to water and sanitation. The resolution, initiated by the Bolivian government and sponsored by 32 others, passed with 122 in favour, none opposed, and 41 abstentions, including Canada.

"When the 1948 Universal Declaration on Human Rights was written, no one could foresee a day when water would be a contested area. But in 2010, it is not an exaggeration to say that the lack of access to clean water is the greatest human rights violation in the world," declared Maude Barlow, who chairs both the Council Of Canadians and Washington based Food and Water Watch. Read The Full News Item Here

Manitoba Wildlands - On July 15th, 2010, four Alberta First Nations communities - Beaver Lake Cree Nation, Enoch Cree Nation, Chipewyan Prairie Dene First Nation and Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation - have called on Canada's Minister of the Environment to issue an emergency order to protect the Woodland Caribou in Alberta from further industrial development.

The coalition of First Nations states the situation is dire. The government of Canada failed to issue a recovery plan for Woodland Caribou by it's own mandated deadline of three years ago, and most of Alberta's Woodland Caribou populations are in decline. Read The Full News item Here

Manitoba Wildlands - On April 22, 2009 Ontario regulations came into effect to ban pesticide use for most cosmetic purposes on lawns and gardens. The goal was to decrease water contamination and protect its citizens from toxic chemicals and pollutants.

Authorities analyzed water samples over two years for pesticide concentration. In summers 2008 and 2009 (before and after the ban took effect), staff from Ontario Ministry of Environment and five conservation authorities conducted water quality monitoring studies of ten urban streams and creeks. Read The Full News Item Here

Manitoba Wildlands -More than  7000 residents in Port Colborne, Ontario, whose class action lawsuit against Inco Ltd. for dumping nickel oxide on their properties have been awarded $36 million in damages by the Ontario Superior Court.

The plaintiffs claimed property values didn't rise as rapidly as those in surrounding areas after the Ontario Ministry of the Environment report said land near the Inco refinery was polluted, posing a risk to people's health. Read The Full News Item Here

Manitoba Wildlands - On June 7, 2010 the Canadian Parliament unanimously passed an amendment to the Canada National Marine Conservation Areas Act establishing the Gwaii Haanas marine conservation area.

"Today's milestone is the result of an historic and outstanding collaborative partnership between the Government of Canada and the Haida Nation," said Environment Minister Jim Prentice.Read The Full Article Here