Ralph Martin
@ralphmartin.bsky.social
Ally of First Nations, Inuit and Metis and committed to organic agriculture, ecology, reducing waste and minimimizing consumption
“Bonaire is particularly vulnerable to sea-level rise, extreme heat and other climate-related impacts; not enough people, resources or specialist knowledge. These risks had been clear for decades, court ruled, but there was still no coherent plan to address them” www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Dutch government discriminated against Bonaire islanders over climate adaptation, court rules
Judgment in The Hague orders Netherlands to do more to protect Caribbean people in its territory from impacts of climate crisis
www.theguardian.com
January 29, 2026 at 2:38 AM
“Bonaire is particularly vulnerable to sea-level rise, extreme heat and other climate-related impacts; not enough people, resources or specialist knowledge. These risks had been clear for decades, court ruled, but there was still no coherent plan to address them” www.theguardian.com/environment/...
“It all boils down to the fact that we are nature ourselves. We are a part of it, not apart from it.” www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
‘I wasn’t going to be diverted,’ says King Charles about campaign on the environment
Monarch says he has remained focused despite early criticisms of his beliefs, in new film Finding Harmony: A King’s Vision
www.theguardian.com
January 29, 2026 at 2:31 AM
“It all boils down to the fact that we are nature ourselves. We are a part of it, not apart from it.” www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
“Residential flood damages in Ontario average $805 million/yr. Nationally, annual residential flood damages average $2.97 billion and are expected to increase by 5-6%/yr … upstream wetlands reduce flood damage by 29% in rural areas and 38% in urban areas” www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/28/o...
Wetlands are a natural solution to basement flooding
The destruction of these natural environments is unfortunate because, as climate change causes more frequent and intense rainfall, flooding has become the costliest natural hazard in Ontario.
www.nationalobserver.com
January 28, 2026 at 2:25 PM
“Residential flood damages in Ontario average $805 million/yr. Nationally, annual residential flood damages average $2.97 billion and are expected to increase by 5-6%/yr … upstream wetlands reduce flood damage by 29% in rural areas and 38% in urban areas” www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/28/o...
"Protecting Porcupine caribou herd’s health and their migratory route. We've been fighting for 40 years for this. [Right now] we are trying to slow them down in every area, we're trying to stop it … there's way more at stake than anyone ever knows.” www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/28/n...
Canadian, US First Nations defend caribou habitat from Trump's Arctic oil plans
Gwich’in leaders are renewing their legal challenge to protect the Arctic Refuge and the Porcupine caribou herd that has sustained northern communities for generations after US plans reopened the door...
www.nationalobserver.com
January 28, 2026 at 1:41 PM
"Protecting Porcupine caribou herd’s health and their migratory route. We've been fighting for 40 years for this. [Right now] we are trying to slow them down in every area, we're trying to stop it … there's way more at stake than anyone ever knows.” www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/28/n...
Ontario is heading back to court to try again to remove bike lanes from Bloor, Yonge and University — after a judge ruled the plan would violate Charter rights. Cycling advocates say the stakes go far beyond Toronto. www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/28/n...
Ford’s war on bike lanes heads back to court
This week, the province will return to court to challenge a decision that ruled that taking out bike lanes on Bloor Street, Yonge Street and University Avenue in an effort to reduce traffic congestion...
www.nationalobserver.com
January 28, 2026 at 1:35 PM
Ontario is heading back to court to try again to remove bike lanes from Bloor, Yonge and University — after a judge ruled the plan would violate Charter rights. Cycling advocates say the stakes go far beyond Toronto. www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/28/n...
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board keeps investing in fossil fuels and backsliding on climate at the same time as its Quebec-based peer La Caisse is proving its both possible and worthwhile to divest from coal and oil. www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/28/n...
Canada's largest pension fund retreats from climate but other funds show leadership
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board invested at least $7.1 billion in new fossil fuel and pipeline assets between October 2024 and October 2025, pension watchdog Shift Action estimated in its ann...
www.nationalobserver.com
January 28, 2026 at 1:33 PM
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board keeps investing in fossil fuels and backsliding on climate at the same time as its Quebec-based peer La Caisse is proving its both possible and worthwhile to divest from coal and oil. www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/28/n...
"Our food system has been consistently seen as one of the safest in the world," said Lawrence Goodridge. "With these cuts, we are going to start to see more illnesses, more hospitalizations [and] more deaths due to contaminated food in Canada." www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/28/n...
Food safety agency cuts hundreds of jobs despite fears it can't protect Canadians' food
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is firing 587 people, according to the union representing agency employees. The move comes as the agency worries it can't respond adequately to concurrent em...
www.nationalobserver.com
January 28, 2026 at 1:32 PM
"Our food system has been consistently seen as one of the safest in the world," said Lawrence Goodridge. "With these cuts, we are going to start to see more illnesses, more hospitalizations [and] more deaths due to contaminated food in Canada." www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/28/n...
“Even Native Amer targeted by ICE – cruel irony that original inhabitants of North America targeted by federal agents for not being “American” enough” In Minneapolis, Native Americans show how community care is done - The Globe and Mail
January 28, 2026 at 1:00 PM
“Even Native Amer targeted by ICE – cruel irony that original inhabitants of North America targeted by federal agents for not being “American” enough” In Minneapolis, Native Americans show how community care is done - The Globe and Mail
“This year has not had enough snowfall; there are low humidity levels and a high accumulation of combustible elements in the forest” – a reference to monoculture pine plantations, which act as “powder kegs” www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
‘The land will be left as ashes’: why Patagonia’s wildfires are almost impossible to stop
Funding cuts, conspiracy theories and ‘powder keg’ pine plantations have seen January’s forest fires tear through Chubut in southern Argentina
www.theguardian.com
January 28, 2026 at 1:44 AM
“This year has not had enough snowfall; there are low humidity levels and a high accumulation of combustible elements in the forest” – a reference to monoculture pine plantations, which act as “powder kegs” www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
“Warning that shrinkage of glaciers in Himalayas, causing declining river flow; “almost certainly escalate tensions” between China, India and Pakistan, leading to possibility of nuclear war. Some been trying to persuade governments to focus on this threat” www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The UK government didn't want you to see this report on ecosystem collapse. I'm not surprised | George Monbiot
It took an FOI request to bring this national security assessment to light. For ‘doomsayers’ like us, it is the ultimate vindication, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
www.theguardian.com
January 28, 2026 at 1:38 AM
“Warning that shrinkage of glaciers in Himalayas, causing declining river flow; “almost certainly escalate tensions” between China, India and Pakistan, leading to possibility of nuclear war. Some been trying to persuade governments to focus on this threat” www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
“Insurance co. w increasing risks & costs of climate-driven natural disasters – including fires, hurricanes and tornadoes – lobbied state regulators for steep premium increases, squeezing all but wealthiest homeowners; many under-insured, if find insurance at all” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
‘Delays, lowballs, outright denials’: how the LA wildfires have exposed the US’s broken insurance industry
Insurance practices in an age of climate volatility raise troubling questions about home ownership and housing affordability – the bedrock of the American middle class
www.theguardian.com
January 28, 2026 at 1:20 AM
“Insurance co. w increasing risks & costs of climate-driven natural disasters – including fires, hurricanes and tornadoes – lobbied state regulators for steep premium increases, squeezing all but wealthiest homeowners; many under-insured, if find insurance at all” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Signs of aging accelerated when fish were exposed to the chemicals, according to the study, published in Science, which could have implications for other organisms. www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/27/n...
Pesticides may drastically shorten fish lifespans, study finds
Even low levels of widely used agricultural chemicals were linked to accelerated ageing, research suggests.
www.nationalobserver.com
January 28, 2026 at 12:19 AM
Signs of aging accelerated when fish were exposed to the chemicals, according to the study, published in Science, which could have implications for other organisms. www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/27/n...
"[ICE's] atrocities have forced the attention of people who are otherwise quite politically neutral," said BC Greens leader Emily Lowan. "They're being activated by this issue." www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/27/n...
BC billionaire urged not to sell building to ICE
Activists are urging BC billionaire Jim Pattison — Canada's fifth-richest person — not to sell a warehouse his company owns in Virginia to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for use as a det...
www.nationalobserver.com
January 28, 2026 at 12:14 AM
"[ICE's] atrocities have forced the attention of people who are otherwise quite politically neutral," said BC Greens leader Emily Lowan. "They're being activated by this issue." www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/27/n...
"We're just being racially profiled because we have darker skin, darker hair, so it's easier to pick us up from crowd and say, 'I think they're an illegal immigrant,'" Diabo said when asked about ICE actions against Indigenous individuals” www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/23/n...
First Nations warn members to be careful when entering US following ICE actions
Several First Nations are warning their members to be wary of crossing the border into the United States in response to immigration enforcement raids and the detention of some US tribal citizens.
www.nationalobserver.com
January 27, 2026 at 1:21 AM
"We're just being racially profiled because we have darker skin, darker hair, so it's easier to pick us up from crowd and say, 'I think they're an illegal immigrant,'" Diabo said when asked about ICE actions against Indigenous individuals” www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/23/n...
“Children in Uummannaq, Greenland, carve words into thinning sea ice to describe climate changes. Isippoq: Falling through sea ice. Imarorpoq: Sea ice disappears.Sikujumaataarpoq: Sea ice delays forming. Sequmissimavoq: Fast ice is broken. Quppac: Crack,fracture” www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Life with and without water: from riding waves to disappearing lakes – in pictures
The variety and scope of entries to the global Walk of Water photography contest reflect the intimate connection between water and humanity
www.theguardian.com
January 27, 2026 at 1:06 AM
“Children in Uummannaq, Greenland, carve words into thinning sea ice to describe climate changes. Isippoq: Falling through sea ice. Imarorpoq: Sea ice disappears.Sikujumaataarpoq: Sea ice delays forming. Sequmissimavoq: Fast ice is broken. Quppac: Crack,fracture” www.theguardian.com/environment/...
“> 1,400 citizens from 36 African countries were fighting for Russia in Ukraine … Russia’s military in war in Ukraine has history of deliberately sending soldiers to their deaths. Russian troops have described being dispatched on what amounted to suicide missions” www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
‘I didn’t know how to shoot’: how African men have been tricked into fighting for Russia
Exclusive: Lured by false job adverts, they are unknowingly enlisted on arrival and put in mortal danger
www.theguardian.com
January 27, 2026 at 12:52 AM
“> 1,400 citizens from 36 African countries were fighting for Russia in Ukraine … Russia’s military in war in Ukraine has history of deliberately sending soldiers to their deaths. Russian troops have described being dispatched on what amounted to suicide missions” www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
“In surprise to authors, computer models found the greatest shift will occur early in the warming trajectory – near the 1.5C phase, which is where the world is now. This adds urgency to the need to adapt areas such as healthcare, the economy and the energy system” www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Number of people living in extreme heat to double by 2050 if 2C rise occurs, study finds
Scientists expect 41% of the projected global population to face the extremes, with ‘no part of the world’ immune
www.theguardian.com
January 27, 2026 at 12:19 AM
“In surprise to authors, computer models found the greatest shift will occur early in the warming trajectory – near the 1.5C phase, which is where the world is now. This adds urgency to the need to adapt areas such as healthcare, the economy and the energy system” www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Hundreds of workers responsible for pollution prevention, weather forecasting, conservation and environmental disaster response are set to be cut from ECCC as Prime Minister Mark Carney's government takes a chainsaw to the public service. www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/23/n...
Feds target hundreds of Environment and Climate Change Canada workers putting 'public safety and the environment at risk'
Hundreds of workers responsible for pollution prevention, weather forecasting, conservation and environmental disaster response are being at Environment and Climate Change Canada received workforce ad...
www.nationalobserver.com
January 26, 2026 at 7:47 PM
Hundreds of workers responsible for pollution prevention, weather forecasting, conservation and environmental disaster response are set to be cut from ECCC as Prime Minister Mark Carney's government takes a chainsaw to the public service. www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/23/n...
This month, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority shared its findings from the Don River in 2025, which included documenting over 20 fish species. For the first time since 2012, an Atlantic Salmon was found in the area. www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/26/n...
Fish are flooding back into Toronto’s Don River
This month, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority shared its findings from the Don River in 2025, which included documenting over 20 fish species. For the first time since 2012, an Atlantic Salmon...
www.nationalobserver.com
January 26, 2026 at 12:57 PM
This month, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority shared its findings from the Don River in 2025, which included documenting over 20 fish species. For the first time since 2012, an Atlantic Salmon was found in the area. www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/26/n...
“Nnot enough surgeons, not enough nurses, not enough anaesthesiologists, not enough operating rooms, not enough blood products. Not enough time. Patients arriving faster than could be treated … far beyond anything public told. And most of it happened in the dark” www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
Iran protest doctor: ‘In one street, I saw blood pooled in a gutter with a trail stretching several metres’ | Anonymous
I’ve worked as a surgeon in disaster zones. Nothing compares to the nightmare I saw in Iran’s hospitals when the state started shooting protesters
www.theguardian.com
January 25, 2026 at 11:02 PM
“Nnot enough surgeons, not enough nurses, not enough anaesthesiologists, not enough operating rooms, not enough blood products. Not enough time. Patients arriving faster than could be treated … far beyond anything public told. And most of it happened in the dark” www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
“Droughts increasing in duration, frequency and intensity as global temp. rise. 1.8 billion people, ~ 1 in 4, dealt with drought from 2022 to 23. Real problems: high food prices, hydroelectricity shortages, health risks, unemployment, migration, unrest, conflicts” www.therecord.com/opinion/cont...
The world is in water bankruptcy — here’s what that means
We’ve gone beyond temporary water crises. These systems are in a state of failure.
www.therecord.com
January 24, 2026 at 12:47 PM
“Droughts increasing in duration, frequency and intensity as global temp. rise. 1.8 billion people, ~ 1 in 4, dealt with drought from 2022 to 23. Real problems: high food prices, hydroelectricity shortages, health risks, unemployment, migration, unrest, conflicts” www.therecord.com/opinion/cont...
“The weakening of the soy moratorium also threatens Indigenous lands in the Amazon, as agricultural producers seek new areas in which to expand. “There is a risk,” said Alencar, especially if Indigenous lands are not properly demarcated” www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/20/n...
A major agreement to protect the Amazon is falling apart after 20 years
Amid changing political headwinds, the moratorium on soy-driven deforestation is in danger. What now?
www.nationalobserver.com
January 23, 2026 at 2:34 PM
“The weakening of the soy moratorium also threatens Indigenous lands in the Amazon, as agricultural producers seek new areas in which to expand. “There is a risk,” said Alencar, especially if Indigenous lands are not properly demarcated” www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/20/n...
"It raises the question: what is the Canada Pension Plan ready to invest in? Pornhub? ICE? Illegal detention centres? Maybe the Canada Pension Plan could team up and invest in Russian bot farms," said Charlie Angus, a former NDP MP turned advocate. www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/20/n...
Canada's pension plan invested $416 million in Musk's deepfake porn-generating AI
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) ploughed about $416 million last year into xAI, Elon Musk's AI company. The money helped fund the billionaire's push to build three of the world's larg...
www.nationalobserver.com
January 23, 2026 at 2:28 PM
"It raises the question: what is the Canada Pension Plan ready to invest in? Pornhub? ICE? Illegal detention centres? Maybe the Canada Pension Plan could team up and invest in Russian bot farms," said Charlie Angus, a former NDP MP turned advocate. www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/20/n...
“The most effective thing they can do is ban the replacement of existing gas equipment and new gas hook-ups, but that approach is not on the menu.” www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/23/o...
Toronto is sleepwalking its way through climate change
To fight climate change, half of Toronto's buildings must switch from gas to electricity in the next 10 years.
www.nationalobserver.com
January 23, 2026 at 2:21 PM
“The most effective thing they can do is ban the replacement of existing gas equipment and new gas hook-ups, but that approach is not on the menu.” www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/23/o...
Efforts to deal with climate change aren't a luxury: they're"absolutely critical to everything we do," said Shauna Sylvester, founder of Urban Climate Leadership. "It's about how do we [build] healthier, safer and more resilient homes." www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/23/n...
Halifax plans to put climate action on the chopping block
Halifax is poised to slash municipal funding for reducing planet-warming emissions by a third, slowing a suite of programs like electrifying city buses and retrofitting buildings to make them more ene...
www.nationalobserver.com
January 23, 2026 at 2:10 PM
Efforts to deal with climate change aren't a luxury: they're"absolutely critical to everything we do," said Shauna Sylvester, founder of Urban Climate Leadership. "It's about how do we [build] healthier, safer and more resilient homes." www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/23/n...