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On World Migratory Bird Day, UN Calls for Greater Protection of Habitats

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United Nations News Centre Yellow-headed blackbird. PinP photo. As an estimated 50 billion birds commence their annual migrations, the critical staging areas they need to complete these journeys continue to be degraded or are disappearing completely, the United Nations today warned on this year's World Migratory Bird Day.  Details here. Brush-clearing on a Manitoba farm. PinP photos.

'It's Great News' for Experimental Lakes Area

Winnipeg Free Press The International Institute for Sustainable Development (a Winnipeg-based think tank) will step in to operate experimental lakes. Full story here. Related: Experimental Lakes Closure a Financial Blunder - Greens.

The Cicadas are Coming!

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The Xerces Society Everybody has his or her own treasured experience of insects -- a nighttime lit by  fireflies,  the sight of monarchs clustered for the winter… full story here. PLT: below - Definitely not cicadas, but an unidentified swarm of rather hard-backed,  flying insects which  gathered  on a vehicle in my yard on a warm day in April, then died.  Recognize them? Let me know if you know  what they are! Thanks! Below is a response I got when I posted the last photo on an online bug i.d. website. ==== "I do believe these are Water Boatmen.  As adults these occasionally come flying out of the ponds in which they've spent all their juvenile lives in search of new ponds to colonize. If your vehicle has a smooth reflection to it (or better yet--is some shade of blue or black or green) they could easily have mistaken the sheen of your vehicle for that of a pond. These poor guys probably then proceeded to bake to death very quickl

Seven Killed in Bangladesh Garment Factory Fire

Dhaka, Bangladesh (CNN) -- At least seven people died in a fire in a clothing factory in Bangladesh's capital late Wednesday, police and the factory's general manager said. Details here.

Policy and Poverty in Manitoba - Budget 2013

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives It was a welcome change to hear politicians of all stripes talking about poverty in the lead up to the 2013 provincial budget and in the analysis that followed. Unfortunately much of the chatter will serve the interests of politicians more than those most affected by government decisions. Details here.

Ban the Use of Neonicotinoids in Canada

Elizabeth May, Leader, Green Party of Canada Pollinators, including honeybees, are a central element of our food system and a critical pillar of our ecology. Details here. Related:  Pollinator Protection - Europe Shows Us How It's Done (Letter) Lots of Buzz About Disappearing Honeybees.