Parisitic birds use oil and gas infrastructures to prey on prairie songbirds - Study.

Royal Society Open Science 

We're only beginning to find out all the ways in which industrial activity disrupts the ecosystem, and a new bird study gives yet another example of the unexpected ways in which human activity affects the local fauna. Researchers at the University of Manitoba have found that the presence of oil and natural gas infrastructure—such as fences, power lines, and transmitters around oil wells—in Canada's Northern Great Plains helped boost the number of brown-headed cowbirds by four times. Cowbirds are a parasitic species who lay their eggs in other birds' nests, forcing others to raise their brood. The parasitic species uses oil and gas infrastructures as perches, and the availability of perches makes it easier for these birds to find their brood hosts. 

Savannah sparrow. Photo by D. Gordon E. Robertson

Cowbirds' abundance in the area could hurt another grassland bird species, the Savannah sparrow, which often falls victim to the parasitic birds. Researchers have observed a four-fold increase in brood parasitism of sparrows by cowbirds near the oil and gas infrastructure sites.

Melting ice may be making mountains collapse in Greenland

New

Scientist

Greenland. Túrelio

Earthquakes in Greenland are rare. At least, they’re supposed to be. But a few weeks ago, a 4.1 “quake” struck a tiny island off Greenland’s west coast, triggering a massive tsunami that smashed homes, leaving at least four people dead. But what residents – and seismic equipment – initially labelled a quake may be nothing of the sort. Story here.

A rare look at the potentially harmful effects of climate change on terrestrial species in Antarctica

Nature

Much research has been dedicated to studying the effects of climate change and global warming on the Antarctic ice sheet and sea levels; but the same can't be said about the ice-free parts of the region, which cover less than 1% of the continent. 

Australian researchers modelled the potential effect of climate change under two Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change climate-forcing scenarios. Their findings suggest that under the more radical of the two scenarios, the ice-free areas in the Antarctic can expand by as much as 25% by the end of the 21st century. 

Such a drastic increase in surface area can bring about a homogenization of the biome, the extinction of less-competitive species and the spread of invasive species. Though the 

expansion of habitat space can be viewed as a positive outcome, researchers say that sticking to the protocol that aims to reduce global temperature increases will help maintain the current biodiversity in the terrestrial Antarctic regions.
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Editor's summary

Permanently ice-free areas are home to almost all of Antarctica's biodiversity. Jasmine Lee and colleagues model the potential effect of climate change on the extent of ice-free areas in Antarctica over the coming century, under moderate and severe forcing scenarios. Ice-free areas are projected to expand by over 17,000 km² under the strongest forcing scenario. The greatest change can be expected in the Antarctic Peninsula, where a threefold increase in ice-free area is projected. The authors suggest that the expansion and eventual merging of ice-free areas could have harmful consequences for the biodiversity of the continent by facilitating the homogenization of biodiversity across regions.

Make Suncor Clean up Half-a-Billion Litres of Poisonous Tailings Sludge. PLEASE SIGN PETITION!

There are 1.2 TRILLION litres of toxic tailings pond sludge in Alberta. And one tar sands corporation is trying to postpone its share of the clean-up until 2085. We are going to stop this.  Tell Suncor its tailings mess can't wait 70 more years. Clean it up now. SIGN THE PETITION Larry, Right now, the biggest company in the Alberta tar sands is trying to rewrite the rules of how big oil is going to have to deal with toxic tailings waste. Suncor is trying to get the Alberta government to allow it to wait to clean up its tailings until 2085. But it gets worse. Suncor's strategy to "clean up" literally 525 billion litres of poisonous tailings sludge involves dumping it into a hole and capping it with water. That's it.This half-baked plan is nothing more than Suncor’s thinly veiled excuse to avoid cleaning up the after-party of a 50-year fossil fuel extraction binge fest. We have zero guarantees that corporations like Suncor will even be around in three-quarters of a century -- let alone have the resources or motivation to clean their messes up.

The Uninhabitable Earth

New York Magazine

Famine, economic collapse, a sun that cooks us: What climate change could wreak — sooner than you think. Story here.

PinP photo

Study warns about the impact of the carp in shallow lakes with high ecological value for the preservation of waterbirds

ScienceDaily

The presence of the carp, a freshwater invasive species spread worldwide, is alarmingly reducing the populations of diving ducks and waterbirds, according to a study. Story here.

One of the carps' victims, the white-Headed Duck. Photo by Ken Billington.

Manitoba getting a carbon tax, amount uncertain

Manitoba Co-Operator

Manitobans will pay a carbon tax, but how much may depend on the courts. Details here.

Global Warming Poses Pros and Cons for the Port of Churchill, Manitoba.

CBCnews

Warming climate opens up opportunities for the port but could pose problems for the railway. Details here.

One of many washed out sections of the rail line to Churchill. (Omnitrax)

'Talk Is Cheap': G20 Told to End Public Subsidy of All Dirty Fuels by 2020

Common Dreams

New report reveals that public financing by wealthiest governments belies stated commitments to Paris climate goals. Story here.

Canada Geese fly over the Suncor Millennium Mine, 
Alberta tar sands. Photo credit - Beautiful Destruction.

Prep school teens were accused of massacring protected birds. Did they get off too easy?

The Washington Post

Albatross. Photo by JJ Harrison

KAPA‘A, Hawaii — The first of the bodies was discovered by a hiker who snapped a photo of the suspicious scene with his cellphone. Buried in a nest on the westernmost spit of the Hawaiian island of Oahu was a dead bird the size of a human child. On the ground next to it was a large stick. More Here.

Will New Research From Europe Nudge Canada Toward a "Neonic" Ban?

by Larry Powell

Most Canadian fields  of canola ("oilseed rape" 

in Europe) grow from seed treated with neonics. PinP photo.

Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA), which tests and registers pesticides in this country, says it will take recent European research into account in deciding the future of neonicotinoids. They're the world's most widely used, and controversial family of insecticides. A major field study, published in the journal Nature last week,  found that neonics did not seem to harm honey bees and two wild bee species scientists studied in Germany. However, it was a different story in Hungary and the U.K. There, the same species located near oil rapeseed (canola) crops treated with the neonic, clothianidin, produced 24% fewer workers the following spring! 

While the European Union clamped a moratorium on neonics in 2013, Canada chose a different path. The PMRA has continued to approve their use, even tho it acknowledges that they were linked to the deaths of millions of  honeybees in corn and soybean fields in Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba in 2012 and '13.  The agency further notes, the neonics appear to have had no impact on bees which forage on canola, a crop grown widely, notably on the western Canadian prairies. 

But it admits that "over 89%"of the thousands of Canadians who responded in a consultation process, "supported taking further action, including a ban or moratorium on the use of neonicotinoid insecticides generally."

It adds, however, that such action has not been necessary, since other measures like closer monitoring and better warning labels have since resulted in a reduction of "70 to 80% in incidents relating to honey bees.”

The Agency goes on, “A preliminary pollinator risk assessment for imidacloprid, did not point to unacceptable risks to managed honeybees (or to humans), provided strict precautions to limit exposure were followed.” 

But, in an e-mail to Planet in Peril,  the PMRA hints, it hasn't slammed the door on some kind of possible restrictions in future. “Relevant scientific studies, such as the one recently published in Science, will be considered as part of (an ongoing) Health Canada’s review. Studies conducted in other countries will also be considered if they are found to be relevant to Canadian conditions.” 

Surprisingly enough, it may not be pollinators that seal the fate of neonics, after all. No less than three kinds of neonics are frequently being found in Canadian waterways!

 

The orange wheat blossom midge. Gilles San Martin                        The mayfly. Ryan Hodnett

The PMRA reports, Imadacloprid is being detected “at levels that are harmful to aquatic insects such as midges and mayflies, important food sources for fish, birds and other animals.”

Some time ago it hinted that, because of this, it might actually "phase out the use of imadacloprid in farming and most other outdoor uses over three to five years." But, for some reason which is not immediately clear, it has now postponed that decision.

This has enraged environmental groups like Friends of the Earth. They believe there's already enough evidence of adverse impacts on pollinators to have pulled the plug on neonics long ago. A year ago, they launched a lawsuit, alleging the PMRA was unlawfully abandoning its duties as a regulator and calling it "an arrogant government agency more dedicated to helping pesticide manufacturers to profit than doing its job to protect human health and the environment."

Due to opposition from both the industry and government, the suit is still tied up in legal proceedings.

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RELATED: "New Studies Show Farm Chemicals Are Affecting More Than Bees. Bird Populations are Declining, Too. Is modern agriculture's hold on nature becoming a death grip?"

Will New Research From Europe Nudge Canada Toward a "Neonic" Ban?