Month: November 2013

Source: Corpwatch

AquaBounty, a U.S. biotechnology company based in Maryland, has secured approval from the Canadian government to export 100,000 AquAdvantage salmon eggs from Prince Edward Island in eastern Canada to Chiriquí province in western Panama.

AquAdvantage salmon – AquaBounty’s lead product – was created by taking genetic material from Chinook salmon and a seal eel to modify an Atlantic salmon to enable it to grow twice as fast as conventional fish. The eggs exported from Canada will be allowed to hatch into fish in Panama but must ultimately be destroyed since the company does not yet have approval to sell AquAdvantage for human consumption. read more

Source: Adbusters

When, on May 10th, scientists at Mauna Loa Observatory on the big island of Hawaii announced that global CO2 emissions had crossed a threshold at 400 parts per million (ppm) for the first time in millions of years, a sense of dread spread around the world and not only among climate scientists. CO2 emissions have been relentlessly climbing since Charles David Keeling first set up his tracking station near the summit of Mauna Loa Observatory in 1958 to monitor average daily global CO2 levels. At that time, CO2 concentrations registered 315 ppm. CO2 emissions and atmospheric concentrations have been rising ever since and have recently passed a dangerous tipping point: 440ppm. read more

Source: Common Dreams

On the first day of the UN climate summit in Warsaw, Yeb Saño wept in his chair. Four days after Supertyphoon Haiyan had smashed into the Philippines—killing an estimated 4,000 people—the lead climate negotiator for the Philippines at the U.N. tearfully announced he would fast until meaningful agreements to deal with the climate crisis were reached. Specifically at issue are emission reductions and an international mechanism for losses and damages as a result of climate change. “We can fix this,” Saño pleaded, “We can stop this madness. Right now, right here.” The young Philippine delegate is circulating a petition (now with nearly three quarters of a million signatures) calling for meaningful agreements in Warsaw. He is still fasting. As we approach Thanksgiving, traditionally a time of feasting in the U.S., many have joined Yeb Saño in his fast. read more