Wednesday, May 30, 2018

International organizations slam Trudeau for pipeline support


ricochet 

One of the many protests against the Kinder Morgan pipeline in Vancouver. Photo by William Chen.
Groups say prime minister’s stance on tar sands negates attempt to position Canada as a global climate leader. Story here.

Friday, May 25, 2018

Special Investigation: How the common agricultural policy promotes pollution - the View From Europe.


The Ecologist.
Almost a trillion Euros in taxpayers' money is handed to EU farmers as part of the Common Agricultural Policy. The money is supposed to leverage environmental practices. But an international team of investigative journalists, today publishing with THE ECOLOGIST, has found the cash actually feeds significant pollution. More here.

Nipah virus outbreak in India 'definitely a concern,' Canadian scientist says


CBC news
Much is unknown about the virus that is spread by bats, but here are some answers. More here.

RELATED: "In Hogs We Trust. Part 3 - the magnitude of disease in the livestock industry."

'It’s wrong to stink up other people’s lives': fighting the manure lagoons of North Carolina


The Guardian
Pigs outstripped people in Duplin county long ago - but now the residents are fighting back. More here.

Monday, May 21, 2018

Canada should ban bee-killing neonics in 2018!


DAVID SUZUKI FOUNDATION
A PinP photo.
Europe will ban neonics by the end of the year. We need parallel action to protect bees in Canada! More here.



Human race just 0.01% of all life but has eradicated most other living things



The Guardian

A clearcut at Bugaboo Creek, B.C.
Groundbreaking assessment of all life on Earth reveals humanity’s surprisingly tiny part in it as well as our disproportionate impact. More here.

RELATED: "The Sixth Extinction - an Unnatural History," a book review.

Sunday, May 20, 2018

Climate change on track to cause major insect wipeout, scientists warn


TheGuardian
A PinP photo.
Insects are vital to ecosystems but will lose almost half their habitat under current climate projections. Story here.


Saturday, May 19, 2018

Climate change puts city's ash trees at greater risk from killer insect, researchers say


Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg's ash tree canopy may be in more imminent danger than anticipated from an invasion of destructive insects because of significant changes to the city's climate. More here.

Trees in Pennsylvania killed by the emerald ash borer. Steven Katovich, USDA Forest Service

One-Third of Protected Areas 'Highly Degraded' By Humans, Study Finds


EcoWatch
A traffic jam on the road to the famed Lake Louise in Jasper National Park, Canada. PinP photo.
A study published in Science Friday presents what authors call a sobering "reality check" on global efforts to protect biodiversity—one third of all conservation areas set aside as wildlife sanctuaries or national parks are "highly degraded" by human activities. More here.


Friday, May 18, 2018

Salmon with side effects: Aquacultures are polluting Chile's rivers with a cocktail of dissolved organic substances



ScienceNews

Salmon farming in Reloncavi Estuary, Chile. Photo by Pablo RodrĆ­guez
Tasty, versatile, and rich in essential omega-3 fatty acids: salmon is one of the most popular edible fish of all. Shops sell fish caught in the wild, but their main produce is salmon from breeding farms which can pollute rivers, lakes and oceans. Just how big is the problem? Scientists are working to answer this question by examining the dissolved organic compounds which enter Chile’s rivers from salmon farms. They warn that these substances are placing huge strain on ecosystems and are changing entire biological communities. More here.

Wednesday, May 16, 2018

Scientists struggle to explain a worrying rise in atmospheric methane


The Economist
A PinP photo.

In the past decade methane levels have shot up, to the extent that the atmosphere contains two-and-a-half times as much of the gas as it did before the Industrial Revolution. More here.

A Beloved Canadian Chocolate Bar Disappears From the Market. By Ian Austen

The New York Times The rush to buy Canadian products that was set off by President Trump’s  trade war  shows little sign of abating. But sho...