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Greener northern landscapes under climate change no help to endangered caribou

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Proceedings of the Royal Society The Woodland Caribou. Photo by Steve Forrest.   Globally, climate change and habitat loss are increasing “global greening.” While these changes benefit some species, animals such as woodland caribou may suffer in a greener world. We studied links between habitat alteration (e.g. forest cutting), primary productivity, moose, wolves and caribou across part of the Canadian Boreal forest. By studying all these components simultaneously, we found that habitat alteration led to more productivity, which in turn produced more moose and wolves, and precipitated caribou declines. Species like caribou, which are adapted to low productivity environments, however, are not expected to do well in a greener world. Find the full study here.
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Climate change will alter the position of the Earth's tropical rain belt. Researchers.

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PHYS ORG Pixabay Public Domain Future climate change will cause a regionally uneven shifting of the tropical rain belt—a narrow band of heavy precipitation near the equator. This development may threaten food security for billions of people.  Story here.
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Part of the Solution? Or part of the Problem? The Government of Manitoba fails in its sacred duty to protect our precious waterways

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  by John Fefchak - PinP guest-writer.          Lake Winnipeg, clogged with toxic algae. Nutrients from human and animal waste (including large commercial hog operations) pollute the tenth largest freshwater lake in the world. More than twenty years ago, I, along with many others, became aware of how Lake Winnipeg and other Manitoba waters were becoming polluted. Our government was ignoring the dire situation; and pressing on with the expansion of Intensive livestock (hog) Operations (ILO's).  Our concerns over the massive amounts of manure being created, were ignored. Despite evidence being presented in the media, including a major TV documentary, "Choking Lake Winnipeg," we were called fear-mongers.  Still, we didn't give up. Eventually, there was a glimmer of hope. In 2007, Manitoba's Clean Environment Commission released a ground-breaking report, recognizing a problem with the environmental sustainability of hog production.   The Lake Winnipeg Act was establis
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The number of people suffering extreme droughts will double. Study.

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Phys Org Drought leaves dead and dying livestock in northern Kenya. Photo by Oxfam Intl. By the late 21st century, global land area and population facing extreme droughts could more than double—increasing from 3% during 1976-2005 to 7%-8%.  Story here.
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Is lightning striking the Arctic more than ever before?

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Nature A PublicDomainPictures.com photo Team detects a huge increase and says it could be due to climate change, but others can’t confirm the findings. Story here.
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Ice arches holding back Arctic's ‘Last Ice Area’ might soon let go, research shows.

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University of Toronto  The vast Milne Ice Shelf, a small part of the Last Ice Area, broke up this summer. Photo credit: Joseph Mascaro, Planet Labs Inc. The Last Ice Area may be in more peril than people thought. In a recent paper published in the journal Nature Communications, a Canadian research team describes how this multi-year ice is at risk not just of melting in place, but of floating southward into warmer regions. This would create an “ice deficit” and hasten the disappearance of the Last Ice Area. Details here.
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Alaska oil bid alarms scientists

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Science Magazine Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge - Canning River/ by Jan Reurink.  View map here. Mapping plan for Arctic refuge ignores risks, critics say. Story here.
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