Water Stress is Driving Conflict and Migration. How Should the Global Community Respond?

World

Resources

Institute

Lake Erie

We are running up against the limits of our freshwater resources. We are mismanaging our water resources too, through waste and pollution. Story here.

Monarch Butterfly Migration Could Collapse, Scientists Warn

EcoWatch

PinP photo.

The yearly count of monarch butterflies overwintering in Mexico, released Monday, shows a decrease from last year's count and confirms the iconic orange and black butterfly is still very much at risk.  Story here.

Wetter summers in warming climate bring disease and crop-failure risks

THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

Warmer, wetter summers could produce unexpected impacts, such as disease outbreaks and crop failures. More here.

Thawing permafrost causing the 'browning' of northern lakes

Science Daily

As the ice melts, the organic carbon found in permafrost is being released once again after ages of confinement in the soil. It is making its way into Arctic and subarctic lakes and ponds, and modifying their composition. More here.

Arctic Lake. A US Fish & Wildlife photo.

Asia’s hunger for sand takes a toll on endangered species

Science

Across Asia, rampant extraction of sand for construction is eroding coastlines and scouring waterways. More here.

The terrifying phenomenon that is pushing species towards extinction

The Guardian

Scientists are alarmed by a rise in mass mortality events – when species die in their thousands. Is it all down to climate change? More here.

Scientists Haven't Seen a Single North Atlantic Right Whale Calf This Season

EcoWatch

The North Atlantic right whale is already one of the most endangered whales, with fewer than 450 of the iconic marine mammals left on the planet. More here.

A right whale with calf.
Photo by NOAA.

Pesticides put bees at risk, European watchdog confirms

BBC News

Most uses of insecticides known as neonicotinoids represent a risk to wild bees and honeybees, the European Food Safety Authority has confirmed. More here.

PinP photo.

The exceptional value of intact forest ecosystems

Nature Ecology & Evolution

Riding Mountain National Park, Manitoba. PinP photo.

As the terrestrial human footprint continues to expand, the amount of native forest that is free from significant damaging human activities is in precipitous decline. There is emerging evidence that the remaining intact forest supports an exceptional confluence of globally significant environmental values relative to degraded forests, including imperilled biodiversity, carbon sequestration and storage, water provision, indigenous culture and the maintenance of human health. Here we argue that maintaining and, where possible, restoring the integrity of dwindling intact forests is an urgent priority for current global efforts to halt the ongoing biodiversity crisis, slow rapid climate change and achieve sustainability goals. Retaining the integrity of intact forest ecosystems should be a central component of proactive global and national environmental strategies, alongside current efforts aimed at halting deforestation and promoting reforestation.

'Dirty meat':Shocking hygiene failings discovered in US pig and chicken plants

   The

Guardian

Previously unseen government records detail 'deeply worrying' incidents in pork and poultry plants, raising fears of 'dirty meat' entering the UK under a post-Brexit trade deal. Story here.

Photo-Erdei Catalin
RELATED: "In Hogs We Trust"  The Manitoba Story.

Part #1  Antibiotics.

Part #2 Government subsidies.

Part#3 Animal diseases.

  

The global footprint of fisheries

ScienceDaily

Fishing activity now covers at least 55 percent of the world's oceans -- four times the land area covered by agriculture -- and can now be monitored, in near real time, to the level of individual vessels. More here.