Canada's Ruling Conservatives Take Another Swipe at Environmental Protections

Canada's ruling federal conservatives are once again taking the ax to the nation's environmental protections. In a bid to virtually eliminate government agencies that could stand in the way of fossil fuel extraction, The federal government is reducing the number of departments and agencies that can do environmental reviews from 40 to just three. The only federal bodies to carry out reviews will be the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, the National Energy Board and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.

"We need to tap into the tremendous appetite for resources in the world’s dynamic emerging economies — resources we have in abundance," said Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver in defense of the move.

Climate Denying Republicans Delay their Convention Due to Extreme Weather

The GOP may be dismissive of global warming but they cannot avoid the reality of extreme weather. Republicans were forced to delay their National Convention due to a hurricane that is expected to make landfall in Florida on August 27th, 2012. What makes this ironic is the fact that there is a clear link between climate change and extreme weather borne out in the research. This idea was evinced in the 2011 report, known as the "Current Extreme Weather and Climate Change" as well as many others studies (see "Related Posts" below).