Stunning satellite photos reveal - often harmful blooms of phytoplankton have not only been expanding - but intensifying significantly in the world’s coastal waters this century.

Canada is not immune.

by Larry Powell

Intensifying phytoplankton blooms off 

the coasts of BC and Washington State, 2006.

Credit: Lian Feng

After pouring over almost 800 thousand NASA satellite images taken over almost two decades, a team of Chinese researchers has generated a map which paints perhaps the clearest picture yet of the extent of these blooms - organisms that can be agents of either good or ill. 

Their findings have just been published in the journal, Nature.

Dr. Lian Feng of the Southern University of Science in Shenzhen, China and colleagues discovered, phytoplankton were affecting 8.6% of the entire global ocean area in 2020 -  a stunning expanse of 31.47 million km2. That was an increase of 13.2%, or 3.97 million km2 from 2003.

They found algal blooms in 126 out of the 153 coastal countries examined. Globally, both the size and frequency of blooms increased significantly over the study period,

Phytoplankton are families of microscopic algae. Their blooms heave been accumulating in the surface layers of both marine and freshwater ecosystems of the planet for a long time. They include (but are not limited to) the well-known cyanobacteria, often called “blue-green algae” which have also severely clogged freshwater systems such as Lake Erie and Lake Winnipeg for years.

To quote the report, “Many algal blooms are beneficial, fixing carbon at the base of the food chain and supporting fisheries and ecosystems worldwide. However, proliferations of algae that cause harm have become a major environmental problem worldwide. For instance, the toxins produced by some algal species can accumulate in the food web, causing closures of fisheries as well as illness or mortality of marine species and humans. In other cases, the decay of a dense algal bloom can deplete oxygen in bottom waters, forming anoxic ‘dead zones’ that can cause fish and invertebrate die-offs…with serious consequences for the well-being of coastal communities." 

Unfortunately, algal bloom frequency and distribution are projected to increase with future climate change…causing adverse effects on aquatic ecosystems, fisheries and coastal resources.

The team also found that increases in sea surface temperature - due to manmade climate change - can “significantly and positively stimulate bloom occurrence.”

Intensifying phytoplankton blooms off 

the Alaskan coast.

Credit: Lian Feng

In an email, Dr. Feng tells PinP,“Blooms were also found in the Alaska Current system, stimulated by the increase in sea surface temperature over the past two decades.” That system includes the waters around Haida Gwaii, also in BC coastal waters, to the north of Vancouver Island. 

The researchers hope their findings “can aid the development of strategies to minimize the occurrence or consequences of harmful blooms.”

THE EARTHSHOT PRIZE

 The Earthshot Prize was designed to find and grow the solutions that will repair our planet this decade. We face our greatest challenge; to regenerate the place we all call home in the next ten years.

We believe in the power of human ingenuity to prove to us all that the seemingly impossible is possible.

Details here.

U.N. blueprint on climate emergencies reminds us of man's legacy of deadly pollution and destruction of wildlife.

EcoWatch

Ducks swim through an "algal soup" - a stream in Manitoba Canada probably 

over-fertilized by livestock and human waste. A PinP photo.

The head of the world body sounds the alarm on what he calls humanity's "senseless and suicidal war on nature." Details here.

Humanity is waging war on nature, says UN secretary general

António Guterres lists human-inflicted wounds on natural world in stark message

World is ‘doubling down’ on fossil fuels despite climate crisis – UN report

Pumpjacks dot the landscape in southwestern Manitoba. A PinP image.

A Major Oil Pipeline Project Strikes Deep at the Heart of Africa

YaleEnvironment360

In the line of fire? Giraffe in a Ugandan National
Park destined for major oil development.
Photo by DrexRockman.
Despite the global plunge in oil prices, a major pipeline that would carry oil 900 miles across East Africa is moving ahead. International experts warn that the $20 billion project will displace thousands of small farmers and put key wildlife habitat and coastal waters at risk.
Story here.

Massive Canadian mines pose transboundary risks

Science Magazine

In 2019, Canada approved an extension of the deadline to start one of the world’s largest copper and gold mines in the headwaters of the transboundary Unuk River (1). The plan for the Kerr-Sulphurets -Mitchell (KSM) mine is to dig one of the largest human-made holes on earth, erect one of the highest dams in North America, and operate water treatment for 200 years after the mine closes (2). Mines such as KSM pose long-term risks to downstream water quality, fish, and people (3). Given that mine contamination is not constrained by political boundaries, U.S., Canadian, and Indigenous governments must urgently engage in collaborative evaluation and regulation of mines in internationally shared rivers. Shortfalls in mine assessments and permitting policies should be addressed.

Mine assessments underestimate risk at high environmental cost. Contributing factors include the ecological complexity of rivers, policy shortcomings in weighing environmental risk (4), and profound engineering challenges posed by mountain mining. For example, insufficient evaluation of soil stability enabled the 2014 catastrophic failure of the Mount Polley tailings dam (5).

Furthermore, the issuance of mine permits relies on the promise of mitigations that lack field validation. Canadian industrial projects typically underdeliver on their mitigations, such as restoring fish habitat (6). Unverified technologies can fail, as evidenced by the 2014 fish kill downstream of Teck Resources’ wastewater treatment plant (7).

Finally, mine assessment and permitting do not require incorporation of transparent, independent, and peer-reviewed science (8). For example, Teck’s Elk Valley permit allows contaminant discharges up to 65 times above scientifically established protective thresholds for fish (9). Political borders do not block the downstream flow of this contaminated water into Montana and Idaho (10).

Stakes are high. Upstream Canadian mines threaten downstream economies, waters, and ways of life, even as the United States is currently weakening its own federal environmental regulations (11). Rather than a race to the bottom, we urge our governments to honor their mutual obligations to protect our shared transboundary waters as codified in the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 (12) and immediately collaborate on binational environmental reviews that are founded upon independent, transparent, and peer-reviewed science.

Manitoba's Decker Hutterite Colony says, several dead hogs spotted recently on a public roadway, nearby, died of natural causes.

by Larry Powell

Hog carcasses in two dumpsters on a side road near the
Decker Colony, northwest of Brandon, Apr. 24th.

I spotted these carcasses on April 24th.

My initial attempts to phone the colony about this (then accessible by appointment only due to Covid-19), failed. Today, the Colony's Barn Manager, David Waldner, called me back (May 6th). He says the hogs died of natural causes, not disease. In his words, "Hogs die." Sometimes one gets a broken leg, for example, and has to be put down. But most of the animals in the dumpsters, were what he calls "standard mortalities," not the result of disease.

He says the company which picks up the carcasses, usually comes about once a week. But, due to mechanical issues, it was delayed. As a result, they sat there for longer than normal. Because of that, he explains, the bodies were bloated. And this likely makes it appear as if there are more than the 20 which he estimates were in the dumpsters.

Waldner says he "absolutely shares concerns" others have for the welfare of animals. He adds, the Colony had a veterinarian visit their facilities in the past month or two. 

The Decker Colony. (All photos by PinP.)

He says the Colony houses from eight to nine thousand hogs at the moment.

Waldner rejects speculation from critics that the crowded conditions used in "intensive livestock operations," like his, may have contributed to the mortalities.

And he doesn't believe other ways of raising animals, would be feasible. He says letting animals run loose, "free-range" comes with its own set of problems, including the weather and the risk of them catching disease from other sources.

Waldner says Decker Colony ships its live hogs to the Maple Leaf slaughterhouse in Brandon. The dead-stock, such as the ones shown here, goes to a rendering plant in Winnipeg.

Meanwhile, a long-time critic of the industry in Manitoba, John Fefchak, brought this story to the attention of the Government of Manitoba. The Auditor-General has responded, saying, it will be looked into. 

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What could our post-pandemic world look like? It depends on you and me!

by Larry Powell

Like everyone else, I’m worried. But not just about the Covid-19 pandemic. 

It’s what the future holds once it ends that scares me, too. Man’s assault on our planet simply cannot pick up where it left off when the virus hit. It’s true that our economy cannot remain at this level of lockdown forever. But, if we just come “roaring back, full tilt” when it’s over, we’ve learned nothing. And civilization as we know it will resume its relentless slide, once again. 

So what have we learned?

Lives can be saved just by slowing the frantic pace of human activity. Pollutants spewing from industrial plants, ground vehicles, jet planes and ocean vessels have dipped dramatically due to the slowdown forced by Covid. And they’re not just greenhouse gases which are dangerously heating up the Earth, spawning violent storms, rising sea levels and devastating floods (think Fort Mac.) that have gone down, significantly. They’re also the kind that get into your lungs and kill perhaps a million or more of us each year -  with asthma, stroke, heart disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory diseases (source - WHO).  

Some are even saying that this “great cessation” may be saving more lives than Covid is claiming! 

Meanwhile, many wild creatures, historically under full frontal assault from humans who’ve either been hunting them or destroying their homes, are beginning to tentatively reclaim some spaces once overrun by us.

What else should we be learning? Well, it's been shown now - we can actually hold virtual meetings "in place," online, instead of boarding climate-destroying jets to the other side of the Earth for a meeting or convention. And, if we have to (and we are), we can actually survive without the Olympic Games, the World Cup, the NHL, NBA or the CFL for a bit! Perhaps when the smoke clears, we can actually "get by" with an Olympics every four years, instead of two and a World Cup once in four. 

Maybe minor hockey associations can even find ways of reducing the number of kids we load on buses, sending them on lonely and dangerous trips to tournaments far away. Maybe more games, closer to home might be in order? 

And maybe we don’t need to travel to a “sunspot” once or twice a year to bask on the beach or attend another “destination wedding.” Maybe a “staycation” or backyard event might prove just as enjoyable.

And only the dimmest among us will not know by now, how effective and deadly a role passenger jets and cruise ships play in spreading pandemics like this. The cruise line industry is probably one that could "go under" forever with no loss to our quality of life. These morbidly obese "tin cans" have been floating petrie dishes for way too long.

And here’s the most ironic lesson of all - one we should have learned long ago. You can’t force people to work in crowded conditions like meat-packing plants -  the very conditions livestock themselves are raised in - without consequences. Thousands of such workers in North America are getting sick - and scores are dying, of Covid. If this isn’t proof-positive that long-standing warnings about intensive livestock operations (factory barns) are valid, then what is? The WHO and the CDC (and many other health authorities) have been trying to tell us that, cramming large numbers of animals into big buildings where they can scarcely turn around, is an invitation to disease. 

Why should people be any different?

One needn’t look further than Manitoba to explain what I mean. It's been a terribly cruel and wasteful chapter in this province's history. *Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PED), a highly infectious virus, invaded many crowded, intensive, confined, factory hog barns a few years ago, claiming the lives of many helpless piglets. I say “many” because the industry refuses to give a number and the provincial government says, it doesn’t know! This is in keeping with its “hands-off” attitude toward an industry that runs largely free of any rule that might protect you and me from serious harm. To Premier Pallister and his team, such rules amount to nothing more than “pesky red tape” that need, with Trump-like enthusiasm, to be done away with quickly.

A plethora of animal diseases kill millions of animals, worldwide, yearly - some directly - others through deliberate culling of healthy animals to prevent spreading. Sometimes, they spread to humans, too, with lethal results.

So we can’t be too smug about far away places that sell tame, wild and "farmed" animals, alive or dead - high-risk places for the spreading of disease. Surely we have our own form of “wet-markets” here in the west - where we do much the same with hogs, cattle, chickens and even wild “farmed” fish - cram them together for maximum profit. 

Finally, is it now as far-fetched to envision a future in which we all consume less (or no) meat, given the long environmental shadow that livestock casts over our world? Maybe now is the time for just such a momentous decision!

If we look upon our present, pandemic troubles only as something to put behind us, so we can take up business at the same, reckless pace as before, we are missing the point. This is, or can be, a golden opportunity to build a cleaner, greener, safer and kinder home - one we can share in tolerance and respect with both our fellow humans, our natural surroundings and all other living things. 

* Like Covid-19, PED, too, is a coronavirus. 

Please also read:

Beyond Covid 19 - Defeating the virus is just the beginning!

Urgent changes needed to reduce environmental costs of ‘fast fashion’

Nature Reviews Earth & Environment.

Stefan Müller (climate stuff)
from Germany

Fundamental changes to the fashion business model, including an urgent transition away from ‘fast fashion’, are needed to improve the long-term sustainability of the fashion supply chain, argue Kirsi Niinimäki and colleagues in a Review published in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment. The fashion industry is the second largest industrial polluter after aviation, and accounts for up to 10% of global pollution. However, the industry continues to grow, despite rising awareness of the environmental impacts, in part owing to the rise of fast fashion, which relies on cheap manufacturing, frequent consumption, and short-lived garment use. The authors identify the environmental impacts of the fashion supply chain, from production to consumption, focusing on water use, chemical pollution, CO2 emissions and textile waste. For example, the industry produces over 92 million tonnes of waste and consumes 1.5 trillion tonnes of water per year, with developing countries often bearing the burden for developed countries. These impacts highlight the need for substantial changes in the industry, including deceleration of manufacturing and introduction of sustainable practices throughout the supply chain, the authors say.  “Slow fashion is the future”, Niinimäki and co-authors conclude, but “we need a new system-wide understanding of how to transition towards this model, requiring creativity and collaboration between designers and manufacturers, various stakeholders, and end consumers.” A joined-up approach is required with the textile industry investing in cleaner technologies, the fashion industry developing new sustainable business models, and policy-makers modifying legislation. Consumers also have a crucial role and must change their consumption habits and be ready to pay higher prices that account for the environmental impact of fashion.

Peace River Frack-Up

PolicyNote (CCPA - the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives)

Part 1 of a report on how fracking poses risks to BC Hydro’s Peace River dams,
British Columbia, Canada. Story here.

The site c dam, BC in an early stage of construction - 2016.
Photo by Jeffrey Wynne 

Grassland biodiversity is blowing in the wind

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.

The day of the salamander. How a big highway project in southwestern Manitoba is having to "make way" for a little amphibian, or face legal consequences. Larry Powell prepared this video report.

by Larry Powell

TEXT VERSION - "The day of the salamander."

The summer of the salamander. How the little amphibian forced a big highway project in southwestern Manitoba to work around it, or face legal consequences. 

by Larry Powell.

Just as a multi-million dollar road improvement project was about to begin - between Shoal Lake and Hamiota in July - salamanders were found in the wetlands along the right-of-way. 

Tiger salamanders in captivity. A Wikipedia photo.

And not just any salamanders. These were the prairie population of tiger salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum), considered a “species of concern” under the Federal Species at Risk Act. 

"Turbidity curtains." A PinP photo.

As a result, so-called “turbidity curtains” (above) were strung along the area affected. They prevent sediment created in this “hot zone” of construction, from spreading throughout the entire slough. That meant, salamanders trapped within the curtains, had to be caught and moved.

Luke Roffey. AAE Tech Services. A PinP photo.

Luke Roffey (above), a biology student at the University of Winnipeg, works for a company hired by the main highway contractor to make sure provisions of the Act are upheld. 

He tells PinP the salvage operation is going well, with more than 11 hundred salamanders trapped and relocated. At this writing, that operation was continuing.

Minnow trap with glow-stick. Photo by Luke Roffey.

Minnow traps baited with “glow-sticks” proved an effective method of capture. But that took longer than expected, delaying the construction project somewhat, but, says Roffey, “not by much.”

He says he got the distinct impression that construction crews would not have “made way” for the salamanders if the federal legislation had not required them to do so. And, he believes, “Many of the 11 hundred would not have survived,” proving the value of the law.

Salamanders are considered a key part of nature’s food web. Before they emerge from the water, they eat lots of harmful larvae like mosquitoes. And, after they move to their “on-land” (terrestrial) stage, they, themselves become important food for cranes, foxes, pelicans and many other animals. 

The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, a government advisory body, says the pressures placed on the habitats of this prairie population by farming, oil development and other human activity, are “immense.”

-30-

RELATED:

Chinese Giant Salamander: millions farmed, nearly extinct in the wild

New species of giant salamander is the world's largest amphibian

Climate change water variability hurts salamander populations

Salamanders, headwater streams critical in food chain.

Additional info.

So the salamander larvae eat aquatic invertebrates, such as mosquito larvae, midge larvae, small crustaceans, beetles, and worms. They will also eat the tadpoles of frogs and toads if they occur in the same wetland. And large larvae will even cannibalize smaller ones in overcrowded ponds. When the water is drying up fast, cannibalism helps the larger larvae grow fast enough to be able to become terrestrial before their pond evaporates completely. 

Adults eat mainly beetles, crickets, and earthworms. But any creature small enough to fit in their mouth is potentially on the menu. 

The aquatic larvae are eaten by garter snakes, herons, cormorants, pelicans, cranes, and mink. On land they are eaten by all these same predators but also badgers, skunks, foxes and owls. 

They don't tend to breed in ponds with fish because pike, bass and perch are such effective predators of the larvae.

Luke Roffey.

The more we carve up natural landscapes with roads and fields, the closer we’re pushing large predators like lions and wolves, toward extinction. by Larry Powell

While the consequences of habitat loss have been known for some time, new research just published, underlines just how grave the situation has become. 

While this latest research is German, animals like the grey wolf faces similar disruption in North America.

While this latest research is German, animals like the grey wolf
faces similar disruption in North America. 

It’s called “habitat fragmentation.” And, it’s been happening on such a large scale, it’s been hard to tell what aspects are the most destructive. That's because ecologists - at least 'til now - haven't been able to properly keep track of all wildlife within an entire eco-system when human developments confine them to smaller and more isolated patches of livable space. 

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"Artifishal." The fight to save wild salmon. (Video)

Deadly gas: Cutting farm emissions in half could save 3,000 lives a year

Bureau of Investigative Journalism

Spreading manure on a harvested corn field.
Photo by Chesapeake Bay Program.

Thousands of deaths could be avoided each year if air pollution from UK farms were halved, new analysis has revealed. But the government's failure to act means the most damaging sectors are under no obligation to cut their emissions. Story here.

Plant Species Have Been Disappearing 500 Times Faster Than Normal, Thanks to Humans

Smithsonian.com

Omar Monsgur exhibits endangered plants in Puerto Rico.
US Fish & Wildlife photo.

Researchers call the results “frightening” because it’s likely “gross underestimate” and the problem is probably much worse. Story here.

Conservationists find protected areas worldwide are shrinking

PHYS ORG

Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan, Canada.
A PinP photo.

A large international team of researchers reports that the amount of land designated as protected around the globe is shrinking. Story here.

Two-thirds of world's longest rivers throttled by mankind: study

PHYS ORG

The design of the "site c" dam in B.C.

Almost two in three of Earth's longest rivers have been severed by dams, reservoirs or other manmade constructions, severely damaging some of the most important ecosystems on the planet, researchers said Wednesday. Story here.

A Federal Judge Just Nixed Trump’s Attempt to Drill the Arctic and Atlantic

EARTHJUSTICE

The Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska. Photo by Diego Delso.

In a ruling issued from Alaska, a U.S. District Court has determined that President Trump overstepped his constitutional authority and violated federal law. More here.

Rapid apple decline has researchers stumped

Science Magazine

An apple orchard in Quebec, Canada. 
Photo by "Daniel Fafard (Dreamdan)"

Young apple trees have been inexplicably dying across the US and Canada. Story here.