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The report is based on well drilling and water use data from FracFocus.org and water stress indicator maps developed by the World Resources Institute (WRI). The research shows nearly 47 percent of the wells were developed in water basins with high or extremely high water stress. The research was based on FracFocus data collected on 25,450 wells in operation from January 2011 through September 2012.

"These findings highlight emerging tensions in many U.S. regions between growing hydraulic fracturing activity and localized water supply needs," said Ceres president Mindy Lubber.

Ceres is an advocate for sustainability leadership. Ceres mobilizes a powerful coalition of investors, companies and public interest groups to accelerate and expand the adoption of sustainable business practices and solutions to build a healthy global economy.

"Elijah was a wonderful man, father, partner. He was a true leader and visionary in every sense of the word," the family said in a statement.

"He will have a place in Canadian history forever for his devotion to public service and uniting his fellow First Nations with pride, determination and resolve."

The soft-spoken former chief of the Ojibwa-Cree Red Sucker Lake First Nation in Manitoba was an NDP opposition member of the legislature in 1990 when he prevented the accord from being ratified by Ottawa's deadline. Harper said the deal, designed to win Quebec's signature on the Constitution, ignored aboriginal rights.

Elijah Harper was first elected to the Manitoba Legislature in 1981, and was appointed to cabinet in 1986.

Source: Lyle Stafford

"Even a few Green MLAs will make a difference in the legislature," a confident Weaver predicted Tuesday night as he arrived at his victory party at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel. "Change for the best, one seat at a time." The riding was one of the most hotly contested races in B.C.'s recent provincial election.

Weaver defeated NDP rival Jessica Van der Veen and long-time Liberal incumbent Ida Chong. The B.C. Green party fielded 61 candidates in the B.C. election, but Weaver represented its best chance for election.

Weaver was a member of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize along with former U.S. vice-president Al Gore. Elizabeth May's solid victory in 2011 in the federal riding of Saanich-Gulf Islands raised the Green Party's profile in B.C.

"It's a technical question. Normally, when you have a credible environmental regulation system, this kind of thing can be observed, but there is no system of environmental regulation in Canada, with Stephen Harper. So, people have to say 'no' to this, because you absolutely cannot trust them to produce a result that is safe for the environment." Mulcair said in an interview.

Enbridge has applied to the National Energy Board to change Line 9's flow direction, so it can carry western oil eastward. It also wants to boost the flow to 300,000 barrels a day of either conventional crude or diluted bitumen (called dilbit) from the Alberta oilsands.

Environmentalists have decried the federal government's scaling back of environmental regulation. Environmental Defence and Greenpeace Canada argue that "the application is very difficult to find online" and "the basis on which participants will be rejected or accepted is unclear."

While submissions from Intervenors and the first pre hearing conference are almost immediate, Manitoba Hydro does not file its information under end of summer 2013. The public hearings are likely to be held between February and April 2013, with a final report, and rulings due June 2014.

The Bipole III transmission project to provide a 1400 km direct current system from northern Manitoba to converter stations near Winnipeg is not included in the NFAT review.

The scope for the NFAT terms of reference require that Manitoba Hydro's Plan must be "justified as superior to potential alternatives that could fulfill the ( energy ) need."

When Manitoba (the Crown) issued leases and licenses to three peat mining companies (Sunterra, Berger, Sungro) it did not consult with the First Nations in the region. Recently two peat mining licenses were re-issued in the Washow Peninsula, a kidney for Lake Winnipeg.

Peguis First Nation, Fisher River First Nation and Kinonjeoshtegon First Nation are requesting an immediate moratorium on all leases and licenses for peat mining operations in the Interlake. Furthermore, the three First Nations are requesting that all peat mining leases and licenses in the Interlake be revoked.

The Experimental Lakes Area (ELA), while not well known outside scientific circles, has become a political embarrassment for the government, a lightning rod for critics who say the spendthrift Conservatives are hacking away at environmental science while spending huge amounts on advertising and communications.

The Harper Government isn't the first government to threaten it with the axe, said scientist David Schindler, one of the ELA founders. The University of Alberta ecologist said putting the facility under the care of the IISD is a good fit.

"It wouldn't take much to be a better home than DFO, which I've always felt was a wicked stepmother to a Cinderella project." He said this is the fourth time a government has tried to close the project. "It will, I think, be good for the ELA to be free of that curse," said Schindler.

"We are at a critical moment," says the letter. "In the words of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, 'each additional ton of greenhouse gases emitted commits us to further change and greater risks.' The longer we delay the transition to low-carbon economy, the more drastic, disruptive and costly that transition will be." The letter is dated May 7 and signed by a dozen scientists at universities across Canada.

Canada's natural resources minister insists the federal government believes climate change is an urgent matter and says his recent comments on climate science will not erode Canada's credibility or chances at U.S. approval for the Keystone XL pipeline.

In Ottawa, John Stone, a professor of environmental studies and geography at Carleton University, said time is rapidly running out. "I don't think he fully appreciates what the science behind climate change is saying," said Stone. "We are offering to help better inform a much needed debate on the biggest problem we are facing."

"The AFN and First Nation leaders have been advocating for Dr. James Anaya, Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to visit Canada. This will be an important opportunity to build awareness of indigenous issues and solutions at the international level," said AFN National Chief Shawn a-in-chut Atleo.

"First Nations in Canada have suffered from historic injustices, dispossession and denial of our lands, territories and resources. We must move forward respectfully towards recognition of title and implementation of Treaty and these visits can play an important role in affirming that action on these measures is needed now."

Last year, the Harper government condemned the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Olivier De Schutter, after he decried Canada's 'self-righteous' attitude towards hunger and poverty.

"I wish it weren't true, but it looks like the world is going to blow through the 400-ppm level without losing a beat," said Scripps Institution geochemist Ralph Keeling in a press statement. Keeling's late father began taking the measurements have come to form the 'Keeling Curve' At this pace we'll hit 450 ppm within a few decades," he added.

The Mauna Loa carbon dioxide (CO2) record, also known as the "Keeling Curve," is the world's longest unbroken record of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. This record, from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) operated Mauna Loa Observatory, near the top of Mauna Loa on the big island of Hawaii, shows that carbon dioxide has been increasing steadily from values around 317 parts per million (ppm) when Charles D. Keeling began measurements in 1958, to nearly 400 ppm today.

The EC action comes as scientists and regulators have grown increasingly concerned about the impact of colony collapse disorder on the world's food supply, given that the majority of the planet's 100 most important food crops depend on insect pollination.

"Too many products contain chemicals that do not belong in items we give our kids. To truly protect children, manufacturers need to identify safer ways to make their products and stop using harmful chemicals," said Erika Schreder, science director for the Washington Toxics Coalition. "These reports are critical for understanding the presence of toxic chemicals in our homes and the marketplace." Many of these same products are marketed and available in Canada.

The Washington Toxics Coalition is a nonprofit organization that works to protect public health and the environment from toxic chemicals in Washington state. www.watoxics.org, www.facebook.com/watoxics or @WA_Toxics