‘Powerful Evidence’ of Global Warming’s Effect on Seasons Found in Troposphere

EcoWatch

Scientists studying the troposphere—the lowest level of the atmosphere—have found "powerful evidence" that climate change is altering seasonal temperatures. More here.

Sahara dust may make you cough, but it's a storm killer

Texas A&M University

The bad news: Dust from the Sahara Desert in Africa -- totaling a staggering 2 to 9 trillion pounds worldwide -- has been almost a biblical plague on Texas and much of the Southern United States in recent weeks. The good news: the same dust appears to be a severe storm killer. More here.

Wildfires rage in Arctic Circle as Sweden calls for help

The Guardian

Sweden worst hit as hot, dry summer sparks unusual number of fires, with at least 11 in the far north. More here.

Is B.C. headed for another devastating summer of wildfires?

Canada’s

National

Observer

Ashcroft Reserve wildfire as seen across Loon Lake, BC. July 2017 Photo by Shawn Cahill.

With warm weather, a high snowpack and floodwaters rising throughout the province, it may seem like B.C. is set to repeat last year’s weather patterns, which led to a catastrophic summer of fires. But it’s still too early to reliably predict…. More here.

Mercury linked to dramatic decline of migratory songbirds: study

RCI Radio Canada International

The Cape May warbler, while not named in this story, also migrates from the 

West Indies to the Boreal forests of Canada. A PinP photo.

Examination of tail feathers suggests that mercury is one of the determining factors for the steep declines of many songbird populations that migrate long distances to and from North America. More here.

Historic Floods in Japan Kill More Than 100, Force Millions to Flee

ECOWATCH

At least 109 people have died in Japan following historic flooding and mudslides over the weekend that prompted evacuation orders covering about five million people, The Guardian reported Monday.

New research confirms the common house fly spreads serious hog diseases. Is Manitoba's factory hog industry dragging its heels?

by Larry Powell

The house fly. Photo by USDA

A veterinarian at the Walcott Veterinary Clinic in Iowa, Grant Allison, captured flies at swine operations which had tested positive for both diseases in Iowa and Minnesota. In his words, "Flies replicate in moist conditions that could involve manure. So there's an intimate relationship between manure and viruses and flies. The idea that flies might be a possible vector was immediately obvious. We came up with a plan and started by finding an outbreak and trapping flies to see if the flies were positive."

They were.

Not only were they carrying live viruses for both diseases, they were spreading them to healthy pigs and making them sick. What's more, the flies were even found to be infectious in January, usually considered the off-season for such harmful vectors.

Dr. Allison recommends putting a larvicide in the hog feed as one tool in a program to achieve effective fly-control. He believes an extensive program of spraying or fogging would pose too many dangers to the health and safety of workers.

What he does not mention is using anaerobic digesters (ADs) as a possible means of tackling this very problem. These complex pollution control devices use microbes in the absence of oxygen to break down pathogens in slurry, the liquid waste of hogs. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency confirms that, not only do ADs drastically reduce offensive slurry odour (making slurry less of an attractant), they "lower pesticide expenses because of reduced fly hatching."

Trouble is, at the behest of the hog industry that ADs are too expensive, the Manitoba Government last year removed a requirement that they be built along with any new barns. As a result, there is said to be not a single AD in operation anywhere in the province. And it's not believed there are any plans for any in the future, either.

Meanwhile, PEDv has ravaged Manitoba's hog population since a serious outbreak began over a year ago. While mortalities, especially among piglets, were obviously high, the industry won't give numbers. And the province says it doesn't know, because it doesn't keep track. 

The U.S. study was published in "Farm Journal's Pork" earlier this year.

Please also read: "In Hogs We Trust, Part 111"

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