By David A Gabel, ENN It started with a few deaths in Germany from what were thought to be Spanish cucumbers. Then more people in Germany and around the continent got infected. Trade tensions mounted and vegetable producers from various other countries became affected by the new outbreak. Now there have been cases reported in […]

By Gaia Vince, guardian.co.uk These are epoch-making times. Literally. There is now “compelling evidence”, according to an influential group of geologists, that humans have had such an impact on the planet that we are entering a new phase of geological time: the Anthropocene. Millions of years from now, they say, alien geologists would be able […]

By Michael Jessen English speaking humans communicate using at least 250,000 distinct words. By contrast there are only 10 individual numbers – larger numbers being combinations of zero to nine. To put our thoughts into words, we have an unlimited capacity to produce vocabulary.  We will coin no new numbers.  Language is a highly elaborate […]

By Fiona Harvey, guardian.co.uk The fastest-ever rise in greenhouse gas emissions is an “inconvenient truth” the world must face, the UN’s climate change chief has said. But she added that the data should not lead to fatalism that the problem is impossible to tackle. The figures showing that efforts to control greenhouse gases have had […]

On April 4, 2011 in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Justice D. J. Taliano in the case of Regina versus Mernagh handed down a decision supporting on individual’s rights to access medical marijuana.  Although the medical use of marijuana has been legal in Canada since 2001, the Marihuana Medical Access Regulations (MMAR) program has […]

First of all, the Israelis created Hamas.  But before we explore that issue, let’s start with a more important one.  Let’s be honest with ourselves.  If we can look at the situation from beyond the confines of current political discourse, and look at the emperor without his “new” clothes, we all know that Israel does […]

By Timothy Gardner, Reuters Higher temperatures have already led to lower summer sea ice levels in the Arctic and the melting has the potential to increase access for fishermen, tourists and oil and natural gas developers to coastal regions in coming decades. The melting has also led to hopes that shorter Arctic shipping routes between […]

By Andy Soos, ENN As our love affair with coffee grows, findings have historically been contradictory as to whether coffee has any specific health benefits, and results are similarly conflicting regarding the potentially harmful effects of coffee consumption. Men who regularly drink coffee appear to have a lower risk of developing a lethal form of […]

Bart King, Sustainable Life Media A new survey from Accenture finds that the majority of consumers are interested in buying plug-in electric vehicles (PEV). But how consumers charge those vehicles is a complicated issue, with charging infrastructure and cost being top concerns. Accenture surveyed 7,000 consumers in 13 countries and found that consumer preferences for […]

Canadians have spoken and they have something to say about homelessness in Canada.  A report released Wednesday provides a unique look into how Canadians feel about the more than 150,000 homeless living on the streets in cities across the country. The report, Canada Speaks, is a part of The Salvation Army’s ongoing Dignity Project — […]