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Three billion birds in the US and Canada have vanished since 1970, surveys show

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Science magazine North America's birds are disappearing from the skies at a rate that's shocking even to ornithologists. Story here. Birds ranging from the iconic meadowlark (l.) to the common house sparrow (below) are being hit. PinP photos.

Manitoba taxpayers paid out almost $900 thousand to help counter a deadly hog disease in this province. A PinP exclusive.

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by Larry Powell It cost the Manitoba treasury  $871,847.26   to help hog producers battle “Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea,” (PED) since the killer virus invaded many barns in the southeast in the spring of 2017. But even with authorities warning that PED has now spread further west and north than ever before, and could return to the same high levels as it did in 2017, the provincial government claims it still doesn’t know how many piglets have died in the outbreak. (PED causes significant deaths only in animals in their first few days of life.) Photo credit - Manitoba Pork. *The Department of Agriculture tells PinP, "With respect to the number of piglet mortalities, this is personal business information and mortalities are not required to be reported for any livestock species.” Yet the government’s own “Livestock Manure and Mortalities Management Regulations” seem to suggest otherwise. They say, when a producer has more animals dying than he/she can routinely dispose of (as

Boreal Forest Fires Could Release Deep Soil Carbon

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NASA Courtesy Environment & Climate Change, Canada. Increasingly frequent and severe forest fires could burn generations-old carbon stored in the soils of boreal forests .  Releasing this previously buried carbon into the atmosphere could change these forests’ balance of carbon gain and loss, potentially accelerating warming. Story here.

Healthy foods are expensive in poor countries, unhealthy foods cheap in rich countries. Study.

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International Livestock Research Institute Eggs and other nutrient-dense foods are expensive in poor countries, leading to child stunting,  Photo by OXFAM. while sugar and other nutrient-poor food are cheap in rich countries.  Photo by Bennysaunders Story here.

Environmentally-Caused Disease Crisis? Pesticide Damage to DNA Found 'Programmed' Into Future Generations

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EcoWatch Researchers have found that concentrations of atrazine in drinking water were highest in May and June when farmers sprayed with the herbicide. They also found that birth defects peaked during the same months.  Story here. A US Geological Survey map. RELATED: Overwhelming evidence supports need for Canadian atrazine ban . Research Suggests Our Past, Prolific Use of the Insecticide DDT May Still Be Contributing To A Scourge Of Modern-Day Diseases Related To Obesity  -   by Larry Powell

Grassland biodiversity is blowing in the wind

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Science Daily Temperate grasslands are the most endangered but least protected ecosystems on Earth. A new study found that milkweeds and other plants that have seeds carried by the wind are an important source for enriching the diversity of plants in these valuable ecosystems. Story here. Grasslands Nat'l. Park, Canada. Milkweed in a roadside ditch in Manitoba. Photos by PinP.