Monday, April 21, 2014

Round-Up

Manitoba chiefs say province doesn't have right to know about reserve children
"Manitoba's top aboriginal leaders say the province doesn't have the right to know about or track children seized by child welfare agencies on reserves.

Creating a centralized system that tracks all children receiving protection services was a key recommendation from a recent inquiry into the death of Phoenix Sinclair, a five-year-old who fell through the cracks of the child welfare system and was murdered by her mother and mother's boyfriend.

But Grand Chief Derek Nepinak, head of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, said the provincial government is continuing the legacy of the residential school system by unilaterally taking charge of aboriginal children."
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TransCanada CEO expresses frustration over latest Keystone delay
"The initial deadline was early May. The department didn't provide a new deadline.

"Canadian oil will make its way to market with or without Keystone XL," Girling said. "We are extremely disappointed and frustrated with yet another delay. American men and women will miss out on another construction season where they could have worked to build Keystone XL and provided for their families.""
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My view: Anti-science ruins the climate debate
"We have become accustomed to politicians, environmentalists and alternative energy companies telling us that the science of climate change is "settled." Scientists supposedly know with certainty that our carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are causing a climate crisis. There is no need to further investigate the validity of the theory or to consider alternative evidence. We need not even consider whether adaption to climate change is more effective than trying to prevent it. We are told that we must take action to stop the unfolding human-caused climate catastrophe, no matter the cost.

Professors Chris Essex (University of Western Ontario) and Ross McKitrick (University of Guelph) call this the Doctrine of Certainty. In their award-winning book “Taken by Storm,” they explain, “The Doctrine is a collection of now-familiar assertions made about climate, all of which must be accepted without question.

If one dares question the Doctrine, the reaction from true believers is immediate — you are a denier, an enemy of nature, a pawn of big oil and you must be silenced. As demonstrated last month when activists protested in front of Washington Post headquarters brandishing an open letter signed by 110,000 people demanding that the paper not publish Charles Krauthammer’s skeptical opinion piece, censorship is fair play if you are on the side of the angels. The possibility that, as Essex and McKitrick say, “The Doctrine is not true. Each assertion is either manifestly false or the claim to know is false,” is not even considered.”"
I must get that book: Taken by Storm

Earth’s extinction rate highly exaggerated
"“---human-altered landscapes can foster more biological diversity than we anticipated,” Hadly said.

The researchers now point to an alternative framework that promises a more effective way of accounting for human-altered landscapes and assessing ecological risks."



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