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All this is happening despite the new environment licence requiring Berger Peat Moss to file a satisfactory wildlife, habitat and vegetation inventory with Manitoba Conservation before they disturb the land.

Councillor Mike Sutherland of Peguis First Nation indicated, "We thought Berger Peat Moss was a better corporate citizen than this. They are road building and clear cutting forest and bogs instead of fulfilling their environment licence. The Manitoba Conservation Minister needs to order a stop work order immediately."

"It seems Berger and our government are intent on draining the Washow Peninsula, that is so important for the health of Lake Winnipeg. The Peninsula is also our pharmacy for medicinal plants, used daily by our people. Berger Moss is operating in our treaty land entitlement area."

Lake Winnipeg was named most threatened lake of 2013 by the Global Nature Fund.

Friday March 22, 2013 is World Water Day.

"When you work in uncontrolled lakes, near towns, there are so many things happening at once that it's hard to say which factor is responsible for what you see, and uncertainty doesn't lead to sound policy," said Dr. Carol Kelly, a scientist who has been doing research at the ELA since 1978. "At the ELA, we change one thing at a time, such as phosphorus input, acid rain input, or mercury input, and we see how the whole ecosystem responds. This brings a certainty to environmental policy formulation that no other approach can provide."

Low annual operating costs for the ELA facility are multiplied by value added research from scientists around the world.

In 2011 the Wilderness Committee sought legal clarification on whether, under the newly enacted park logging ban, a logging road is considered logging, and second, whether a logging road is prohibited in a provincial park where logging is banned.

Given the first court decision provided no clarity on whether or not the park logging ban was in fact legally binding. The Wilderness Committee appealed the decision.

In the appeal decision, Judge Steel ruled that according to the park logging ban, "...it is only commercial timber cutting rights that authorize logging that are restricted..."

"This has been an extremely draining and very disappointing process. We took the government at their word when they said were banning logging in provincial parks, but now we've seen how far their commitment to protecting parks really goes," said Reder.

The Wilderness Committee is asking that the government rectify the situation by enacting legislation that actually bans logging in provincial parks.

By 2091, the north will have seasons, temperatures and possibly vegetation comparable to those found today 20 to 25 degrees of latitude further south, said Ranga Myneni of the Department of Earth and Environment, Boston University.

Canada, Northern Eurasia and the Arctic are warming faster than elsewhere as a result of the loss of snow and ice, he said. In 90 years, Alaska or Canada's Baffin Island in the Arctic may have seasons and temperatures comparable to those in today's Oregon and southern Ontario. Summer 2012's record melt of sea ice was 80 percent greater when compared to summers 30 or more years ago. This winter, most of the ice in the Arctic is thin, first-year ice that is more easily fractured and likely to melt quickly when the summer comes.

The ramifications of this planetary-scale change are just beginning to be understood.

"Every segment of the insurance industry faces climate risks, yet the industry's response has been highly uneven," said Ceres president Mindy Lubber, who wrote the report foreword. "The implications of this are profound because the insurance sector is a key driver of the economy. If climate change undermines the future availability of insurance products and risk management services in major markets throughout the US, it threatens the economy and taxpayers as well."

Ceres is an advocate for sustainability leadership. Ceres mobilizes a powerful network 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.

Source: The Huffington Post

In a statement, the Shanghai municipal government said that the water in Huangpu River, which is a major source of drinking water for Shanghai, was safe. It also said that no diseased pork had been detected in markets.

The government statement said that the number of pigs being salvaged from the river appeared to be decreasing. Laboratory tests have identified that some of the pigs had porcine circovirus, a common disease that affects pigs but does not affect humans. Reports suggest the dead pigs may have been dumped from pig farms in Jiaxing, upstream of Shanghai.

Manitoba currently protected 9% of its lands protected from industrial activity. The province led all jurisdictions in Canada as of 2000 for the proportion of its lands protected during the preceding decade.

While Manitoba Conservation identifies revenue to upgrade existing recreational parks and recreation zones in parks, there are still huge gaps between protected areas establishment commitments and actions.

Recent promises to expand Whiteshell Park protected lands, and connect other protected areas in that region will be part of the next Protected Areas Audit. Assessment will be based on action, surveys, regulations, and full steps for protected lands status.

The Washow Peninsula into Lake Winnipeg is the location of the two peat mine leases and licences. Cottage communities, and a provincial park are nearby. Numerous appeals of the 2011 SunGro and Berger peat mine licences came from First Nations, cottage associations, and environmental organizations.

Despite 'stringent new standards' for the licences, and new requirements for both SunGro and Berger to set up before any development activity, road building by Berger Peat Moss started immediately.

Peguis First Nation Councillor Mike Sutherland, who participated in all stages of the community consultation last summer, commented: "We told the government this peninsula is our pharmacy, and a primary source of medicinal plants. We told them drying out this peninsula, which filters wetlands for Lake Winnipeg, is a high risk activity. We told them they did not include our subsistence economy and hunting in their decisions.".

Mike Sutherland, Councillor for Peguis First Nation voiced his concerns: "We don't think cabinet knows what is going on. Even the minister did not expect the road building to start right away. This road is not required now, and the intent of the environment licence is being lost. We are right, draining this peninsula for peat mines is wrong."

Carbon dioxide levels jumped by 2.67 parts per million since 2011 to total just under 395 parts per million, says Pieter Tans, who leads the greenhouse gas measurement team for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

"The science is sobering-the global temperature in 2012 was among the hottest since records began in 1880. Make no mistake: without concerted action, the very future of our planet is in peril." Said Christine Lagarde, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Scientists track carbon pollution both by monitoring what comes out of factories and what winds up in the atmosphere. Both are rising at rates faster than worst-case scenarios that climate scientists used in their most recent international projections, according to Pennsylvania State University climate scientist Michael Mann.

They are Fossil Fools, and on March 27th we're declaring Fossil Fools Day. A national day of student action across Canada, we're going to take aim at the Fossil Fools on our campuses. We'll follow it up on April 1st with a special April Fools online action to send a message to the Fossil Fools!

Already nearly a dozen fossil fuels divestment campaigns have started up on campuses across the country, with more ready to launch in the coming weeks. March 27th will be a chance for us all to stand together as one and show Canada and the world the rising student power to take on climate injustice. This has the chance to be the largest student day of action on climate in Canada's history! For some campuses this will be the launch of their divestment campaigns, for others a chance to escalate, and educate their fellow students about the Fossil Fools they are investing in and supporting.

Fossil Fools is a partnership between 350.org and the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition.

Global changes, including climate change, increased population pressure, declining ecosystems, and unplanned urbanization are drastically increasing the risks of water-related disasters. Green growth will not materialize without adequately addressing water-related disasters. As highlighted during the current Rio+20 process, integrated approaches to water resource management are critical for building the social, economic, and environmental pillars of sustainable development.

In December 2010, following the proposal initiated by Tajikistan and submitted by a group of countries, the United Nations General Assembly declared 2013 as the United Nations International Year of Water Cooperation (Resolution A/RES/65/154).

Sunterra Horticulture is also seeking an environmental licence for a significant expansion of its operations nearby. The Sunterra expansion would contribute to drying out the Washow Peninsula where two other new peat mine licences were approved last week.

When the Sunterra expansion proposal was filed under Manitoba's Environment Act hundreds of citizens filed objections.

"Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship, and the Crown are simply disregarding Peguis First Nation, despite being provided with our technical analysis, and knowing our Section 35, Treaty and TLE rights in this matter," said Chief Glenn Hudson.

See full press release and previous Manitoba Wildlands coverage below.