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Insecticide found in same B.C. hummingbirds that are in decline

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CBC news A rufus hummingbird, one of the kinds in decline. Dean E. Biggins 'No one has ever measured pesticides in hummingbirds before. So we decided to try it,' says scientist. Story here. RELATED:  "Will New Research Nudge Canada Toward a 'Neonic" Ban?" " Environmental groups back in court over pollinator-killing pesticides "

Most effective individual steps to tackle climate change aren't being discussed

Science Daily Governments and schools are not communicating the most effective ways for individuals to reduce their carbon footprints, according to new research. Story here.

Insecticides damage bee socialization and learning skills, study reports

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ScienceDaily Wikimedia Commons Researchers find that bees fed with thiacloprid  (a neonic) significantly reduces their social interactions,  suggesting that foraging bees that encounter  high  doses of insecticide in the field may be less likely  to recruit others to nectar sources.  Story here. RELATED:  Will New Research From Europe Nudge Canada Toward a "Neonic" Ban? New research suggests “Neonics,” the world’s most widely-used family of insecticides, can decimate bee populations.

2.1 billion people lack safe drinking water at home, more than twice as many lack safe sanitation

World Health Organization Some 3 in 10 people worldwide, or 2.1 billion, lack access to safe, readily available water at home, and 6 in 10, or 4.5 billion, lack safely managed sanitation, according to a new report by WHO and UNICEF.  Story here.

'When Rising Seas Hit Home': Hundreds of Towns Threatened by 2100

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Common Dreams Daunting new report shows coastal communities are at-risk and unprepared for flooding caused by climate change. Story here. RELATED: "Angry Oceans - Pt. #1" and "Pt. #2."

The cycle of mercury pollution in the Arctic tundra

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Nature Human activity has been a major source of mercury pollution in  the Arctic, and a new  study   has identified the form most often  taken by the pollutant: gaseous elemental  mercury  (GEM). The  present  News & Views  article discusses how the Arctic tundra  acts as a major sink for mercury, as the local plants uptake GEM  from  the atmosphere; and  what this means for the global mercury  cycle as  global temperatures warm. Isotopic data  collected in the  original study  by Obrist  et al.  reveal that GEM accounts for 90% of  the  mercury in plants,  and the uptake of GEM by plants is  especially  high in the summer. Since  plant matter decomposes  into the soil,  the Arctic soil may soon become  a substantial  mercury sink. ======== Editor's summary Anthropogenic activities have led to large-scale mercury pollution in the Arctic, but it remains uncertain whether wet deposition of oxidized mercury via precipitation and sea-salt-induced ch