Countdown to an ice-free Arctic: New research warns of accelerated timelines

UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO AT BOULDER

 

Credit: Céline Heuzé/University of Gothenburg

Arctic sea ice is melting at an unprecedented rate. 

The first summer on record that melts practically all of the Arctic’s sea ice, an ominous milestone for 

the planet, could occur as early as 2027. Story here.

Manitoba is getting a new ‘belt of greenspace’

THE NARWHAL

Federal funds will kickstart work on an ecological corridor along the Little Saskatchewan River, aimed at protecting wildlife habitat and keeping the watershed healthy. Story here.

'Twas the night before Christmas

'Twas the night before Christmas                                                    

and all through the land

corporate farming was here.

It was grand! It was grand!

Hogs were raised.

Waste was spread.

The future looked bright.

The salvation of farming

now seemed in sight.

More factories were built.

The money rolled in.

If you were an investor

you wore a big grin.

But clouds started gathering

on this happy scene.

Neighbors were calling

the big barns - obscene!

The air in the country 

which had been so pure,

was now permeated

with the stench of manure.

The rivers and streams

that had been pristine

were now choked with algae

just like a latrine.

But the good folk of the country 

fought back.

Instead of retreating

they launched an attack.

"Bigger is not better"

they cried!

And together they worked 

to turn back the tide.

So into the future

when Christmas rolls 'round,

will the powers that be

move to limit the harm?

Or will they stand idly by

and not give a darn

as the lifeblood is drained from 

the family farm?

Larry Powell - 

SHOAL LK MB

Meet the groups spending the most on social media ads attacking the carbon tax

The Investigative Journalism Foundation

Despite its claims of being grassroots, Energy United has links to the largest fossil fuel industry advocacy group in the country. It's spending big on social media ads denouncing federal carbon pricing. Story here.

Drugs, hormones and excrement: the polluting pig mega-farms supplying pork to the world

THE GUARDIAN

The stink of excrement was the first thing the residents of Sitilpech noticed when the farm opened in 2017. It hung over the colourful one-storey homes and kitchen gardens in the Maya town in Yucatán, and has never left. Next, the trees stopped bearing fruit, their leaves instead covered with black spots. Then, the water from the vast, porous aquifer emerged from the well with a horrible, overwhelming stench. Story here.

Pierre Poilievre regularly met with directors of oil industry association he deemed a ‘money-sucking lobby group’

The Investigative Journalism Foundation                                                                    Poilievre has met with such groups at multiple fundraising events in the past two years. Story here.

Canadian activist Tzeporah Berman named among TIME's top climate leaders

CANADA’S NATIONAL OBSERVER

One of Canada’s most prominent environmental crusaders is being named among TIME’s Top 100 most influential climate leaders worldwide. Story here.  

Mazier’s fact-free attacks miss mark

THE BRANDON SUN 

 It’s the role of opposition members of Parliament to oppose the actions of the 

government, ask questions about issues and suggest solutions. Story here.

ANOTHER TESTAMENT TO THE IGNORANCE OF OUR LEADERS

 

THE COMMANDER-IN-THIEF RETURNS

How sad it must be - believing that scientists, scholars, historians, 

economists and journalists have devoted their entire lives to 

deceiving you - while a lying, racist, misogynistic, perverted 

traitor is your only beacon of truth and honesty. 

(Neil deGrasse Tyson, paraphrased.)

Climate Change. It’s never been about data. It’s about anger, and anger sells.

 

Good morning,    There was a moment, as I entered adulthood in the early 2000s, when the zeitgeist among people concerned over the climate crisis went something like this: the world may not support drastic action on climate change yet because we don’t understand the danger we’re facing — but when disasters start rolling in, we’ll unite under a common cause and fix this thing.  Well, the disasters keep rolling in. Since the start of the century, the 10 deadliest climate-related disasters alone have killed more than half a million people worldwide. Climate change has cost us $2.8 trillion over that same period. As Natasha Bulowski reported this week, climate disaster survivors are trying to raise the alarm and show us — physically show us — what happens when extreme weather comes for our homes and communities. But, at least among the most powerful, the response is often the opposite of unity. Instead, we get blame, division, paranoia and lies.  Take for instance the bickering between Alberta and Ottawa. Danielle Smith, the premier of Alberta — a place that lost one of its most iconic parks to fire over the summer and half the province is still grappling with drought — is facing a leadership review this week. So, Smith went back to the metaphorical well (which isn't running dry) and picked yet another fight with Ottawa over the carbon tax. It’s a tried-and-tested technique for firing up the base. In this case, Smith’s base are the rural Albertans whose fields are dry and homes vulnerable to fire; Canadians most in need of immediate climate action. Instead, they get tossed some red meat. In Ontario, Doug Ford is pandering to suburban commuters by pledging to rip out bike lanes, throwing out a modest yet effective climate solution in the hopes of riling up the drivers of Etobicoke and Brampton enough that they’ll reward him with his third majority government. Forget that bike lanes have been shown to benefit drivers as well as cyclists — not to mention boosting business traffic and sales — it’s never been about data. It’s about anger, and anger sells. The climate-skeptic games extend outside the public realm and into industry spaces, too. John Woodside reported this week that the head of the Canadian Gas Association (CGA) called the energy transition “cult-like” in a rage-baiting eight-minute speech to a far-right think tank audience. The association and its members, it appears, would rather people direct their skepticism to the bare possibility of averting climate disaster by transitioning off their products, than have them think too hard about how, for instance, exporting LNG has recently been found to be even worse for the climate than burning coal. It’s a smart strategy, especially when you consider that CGA member FortisBC is working hard behind the scenes to reverse Vancouver’s gas ban for new builds —  there’s no reason FortisBC shouldn’t lose out on any of its customer base when the energy transition is just a cult, right?   South of the border, this kind of rhetorical whataboutism, finger-pointing, misdirection, pandering and rage could be about to get so much worse. Another Trump victory, following a campaign fuelled in part by climate conspiracy theories, would effectively kill American involvement in the green transition. Worse, a second administration led by a famously climate-denying Trump would double down on oil and gas, throw out environmental regulations, and kneecap the growth of the green energy industry. I’m reflecting on all of this, not because it’s therapeutic (although maybe it is a little bit), but because based on what we’re seeing today, it doesn’t look like humanity is going to organically coalesce around solutions anytime soon. If that’s the case, we must find a way to demand those solutions from our leaders, no matter how deeply flawed and cynical the leadership class may be. We’ll have to fight disinformation with all the tools we have at our disposal, from inoculation to counter-messaging. First, let’s hold liars accountable.  If you’re reading this newsletter, you understand the position we’re in. That’s a start.  — Jimmy, managing editor

Health Canada probes claim that government officials helped pesticide company overturn a ban

CANADA'S                                                                                                         NATIONAL                                                                                                     OBSERVER

A bee forages on a cosmos flower.
A PinP photo.

Health Canada is investigating after Canada's National Observer revealed that government officials supported efforts by the pesticide industry to discredit a researcher's findings and overturn a proposed ban on a class of pesticides harmful to bees, the environment and human health. Story  here.

Alberta UCP to vote on celebrating CO2 - not recognizing it as pollutant

CANADA’S NATIONAL OBSERVER

A proposal to stop labelling carbon dioxide as a pollutant and instead celebrate it as a "foundational nutrient for all life on Earth” will be up for debate at the United Conservative Party’s annual general meeting in November. Story here.

Court sides with youth in historic climate case against Ontario

ecojustice

Seven Ontario youth are celebrating a landmark victory handed 

down by the province’s top court. The Court of Appeal ruled in 

favour of their youth-led climate lawsuit against the Ontario 

government. The ruling confirms that Ontario’s weak target is 

risking the lives and well-being of Ontarians. Story here.

Pathogens from salmon aquaculture in relation to conservation of wild Pacific salmon in Canada

 SCIENCE ADVANCE

The spread of pathogens from farmed salmon is a conservation concern for wild Pacific salmon in British Columbia (BC), Canada. Story here.

Changes in Hog Farming are long overdue.

Winnipeg Free Press

When Manitobans dig into their Sunday pork roast, pepperoni 

pizza or ham sandwich, how many spare a thought for the animal farmed and slaughtered for 

their momentary meal? 

Story here.

Manmade climate change worsened the heavy rainfall and winds in Hurricane Milton, according to new rapid analysis by World Weather Attribution.

WORLD WEATHER ATTRIBUTION

The findings for Hurricane Milton are similar to those for Hurricane Helene and in line with previous attribution studies in the area. Based on that, the researchers conclude that such changes in heavy rainfall are attributable to human-caused climate change, caused by burning coal, oil and natural gas, and deforestation.

The rapid analysis found:Climate change increased rainfall from Hurricane Milton about 20-30%.

Rainfall storms similar to Milton are today about twice as likely as they were without human-induced warming.

Climate change made wind speeds from Milton around 10% stronger.

Addressing social vulnerabilities and implementing nature-based solutions, such as restoring wetlands, can help reduce future impacts from these storms

As the team recently conducted a detailed attribution study on Hurricane Helene the rainfall data for this new analysis is based only on weather observations data, rather than also using climate models.

You can find the full analysis on the WWA website.

Thanks,
Ignacio Amigo

Later is too late’: seniors show up for climate across Canada

Canada's National Observer

Seniors across Canada attended “rocking chair rallies,” marches, movie nights, town halls and other protests Monday to stress the importance of fighting climate change. Details here.

Animal Advocates Call on Manitoba's Hog Industry to Stop Using Gestation Crates

Are CBC’s science reporters violating Mother Corp’s own Journalistic Standards and Practices? (Opinion)

According to the JSP, “We do not promote any particular point of

view.” Yet if you heard our Senior Science Reporter talk about the

first private space walk the other day, you’ll know what I’m

getting at. She was positively besotted, using superlatives like

“historic,” and “amazing” often. If that’s not promoting a point of

view, I don’t know what is. (And she’s not the only one.)

Apparently piles of people see the space race as a noble

venture, fulfilling our need to “go where no man has gone before.”

Lots don’t, including myself. With Planet Earth struggling to

shrug off war, famine, poverty, disease and climate catastrophe, I

see countless dollars and rocket fuel being wasted in a quest to go

to a place where there’s no food, no water, no atmosphere, little life

of any kind.

News flash, folks!

We have all of those things right here under our feet

around us! I’m not suggesting our science reporters embark on

quest tomorrow to discredit the space race. Just grow some

skepticism and ask “why” for a change. It should be what we do.

A DISGRACEFUL BETRAYAL OF OUR PRECIOUS ECOSPHERE - A LETTER

       Photo depicts hog manure spread on a Manitoba
field after a rainstorm. Photo by Dr. Eva Pip.