PLANET IN PERIL

PHYS ORG A soy field in Canada. A PinP photo. The world's top 10 crops— barley, cassava, maize, oil palm, rapeseed, rice, sorghum, soybean, sugarcane and wheat—supply a combined 83 percent of all calories produced on cropland. Yields have long been projected to decrease in future climate conditions. Now, new research shows climate change has already affected production of these key energy sources—and some regions and countries are faring far worse than others. Story here.

PHYS ORG The Northern Hemisphere Jet Stream can be seen crossing Cape Breton Island in Eastern Canada. A NASA photo. Atmospheric researchers have developed a climate model that can accurately depict the frequently observed winding course of the jet stream, a major air current over the Northern Hemisphere. It demonstrates that the jet stream's wavelike course and subsequent extreme weather conditions like cold air outbreaks in Central Europe and North America are the direct results of climate change.  Story here.

New Internationalist The dirty grey is smoke from Alberta wildfires this year. Photo by NASA. The billionaire class is preparing for doomsday. Only problem is, the rest of us aren't invited.  Story here.

The Smithsonian Photo by Tomas Castelazo Tree ring data from various parts of the world show that greenhouse gas increases have impacted soil moisture for over 100 years. Story here.

by Katharine Hayhoe CHATELAINE Railway tracks damaged by severe flooding in High River, Alberta, 2013. Photo by Resolute. As a climate scientist, I've been called everything from a charlatan to the handmaiden of the Antichrist.  Here's how I handle the tough conversations. 

ScienceNews A green Arctic meadow - Baffin Island, CA. Photo by Mike Beauregard. Warming trends bring more insects, extreme weather and wildfires that wipe out plants. More here.

CLIMATE&CAPITALISM Photo by Diego Delso. Warming of over 2 degrees Celsius is above the global average and well above the average of the rest of the Arctic region. More here.

Decades of Canadian research, just released , finds "strong evidence" that increasing "freeze-thaw" cycles are destroying food the birds store away in the fall. This, in turn is damaging their ability to reproduce and likely playing a role in a severe population decline in at least one region. by Larry Powell   The grey jay,  AKA as Canada jay or "Whiskey-Jack." Photo by Steve Phillips, via  Canadian Geographic  magazine. It's been known for some time that our changing climate is leading to reductions, even entire removal of many species from certain areas (a process called "extirpation"). This new research by the University of Guelph, sheds more light on just how that happens.  Using 40 years of breeding data, scientists studied grey jays  (scientific name p erisoreus canadensis )   at the southern edge of their range in Algonquin Park, Ontario. (The birds can be found in all Canadian provinces and territorie

National Observer Ponds in the Canadian Arctic, believed to be caused by melting of the permafrost. Photo by Steve Jurvetson Environmentalist and author Bill McKibben  calls climate change the most important issue facing the world today and likens the struggle against it to the Second World War. Story here.

PHYS ORG Trees downed in a fierce windstorm in Duck Mountain forest, Manitoba, Canada. A PinP photo. Canada is doing too little to combat climate change, a parliamentary report warned Tuesday, a day after government scientists warned the country was warming at twice the global rate. Story here.

UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA A collapsed block of ice-rich permafrost in Alaska. Benjamin Jones, U.S. Geological Surve y Extremes of summer climate trigger thousands of thermokarst landslides (ones triggered by melting permafrost) in a High Arctic environment. Details here. (Includes a must-see video.) RELATED: Canada warming at twice the global rate, climate report finds  

CBC News North shore of Lk. Superior. A Wikimedia photo. Report also predicts more severe algae blooms will increase water treatment costs. Story here.

George Monbiot   - The Guardian. Ashcroft Reserve wildfire - Look Lake, BC, 2017. Photo by  Shawn Cahill Businesses should be liable for the harm they do. Polly Higgins is pushing to make that happen. Story here.

The Guardian - opinion. Volunteers distribute donated goods to those in need. Photo by Columbus Mayhunga/VOA Vain promises and empty slogans have got us nowhere. Fossil-fuel extraction must end before more lives are lost.  Details here.

PHYS ORG A lake in northwestern Ontario. Photo by PinP. Warmer temperatures are having a ripple effect on food webs in Ontario lakes, according to a new University of Guelph study. Story here.

Canadian Science Publishing After PEI, Manitoba is Canada's largest potato-producing province.  Over 1200 million pounds are processed here each year on about 80 thousand acres.  A PinP photo. Desiccating summer heat, brought on by climate change, could have adverse effects on Canada's potato industry. In a recent study, researchers examined the heat stress response of 55 potato varieties to estimate how they might fare under changing climate conditions. The news is not good.    Details here.

PHYS ORG A coal-fired power plant in Poland. Photo by Petr Stefek . Modern coal-fired power stations produce more ultrafine dust particles than road traffic and can even modify and redistribute rainfall patterns, a new 15-year international study shows. Story here.

PHYS ORG A tiny sea creature at the California Academy of Sciences. Photo by Brian Skipworth Marine microorganisms in the Southern Ocean may find themselves in a deadly vise grip by century's end as ocean acidification creates a shallower horizon for life, new University of Colorado Boulder research finds.  More here.