A call for seagrass protection

Science Magazine

By Heather Dine. - NOAA Photo Library

Seagrass meadows - one of the most widespread coastal habitats on Earth - are in decline. Human coastal development and poor water quality are threatening the meadows - home to a wide array of marine plants and animals. More here.

Scourge of superbugs killing Malawi’s babies

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism

Babies are dying in their thousands in Malawi because drugs to treat common infections no longer work. We went to investigate. 

Related: In Hogs We Trust - Part 1 - Antibiotic Overuse. 

Why Is Glyphosate Sprayed on Crops Right Before Harvest?

EcoWatch

Glyphosate, the main ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup herbicide, is recognized as the world's most widely used weed killer. What is not so well known is that farmers also use glyphosate on crops such as wheat, oats, edible beans and other crops right before harvest, raising concerns that the herbicide could get into food products. Story here.

EPA ordered to ban pesticide linked to learning disabilities

The Guardian

A "crop-duster" sprays a pesticide on a canola crop in Manitoba. 

A PinP photo.

A federal court said the US agency must prohibit the use of chlorpyrifos after seven states and DC backed the case against it. Story here.

In 2,006, I told the story of  a farmer in the Swan Valley of Manitoba. He said he and his family were sickened when the same chemical, chlorpyrifos (brand name, Lorsban) drifted onto his property from a field across the road. Read the terrifying tale of the Burqharts here. And listen to my report on CBC Radio (with images), below.

A Third Smithfield Lawsuit Verdict Creates Alarm Among Producers

FarmJournal’s PORK

A Smithfield operation in Missouri. A Wikimedia photo. 

A third lawsuit against Smithfield Foods had found the company guilty for “unreasonable nuisances they suffered from odors, flies and rumbling trucks.” A federal jury placed the fine at $473.5 million to six neighbors of pig farms. STORY HERE.

Related: 

•                                                                            "In Hogs We Trust"  

                                           A critique of hog industry expansion in Manitoba.

Part 1 - Antibiotic Overuse.

Part 11 - Government subsidies. 

Part 111 - The consequences of animal diseases, worldwide.

Part 1V - The environmental costs of an expanded hog industry in Manitoba.

Part V - Who’s behind Manitoba’s drive to expand? Click here and find out!

• Is Manitoba's factory hog industry becoming its own worst enemy?

Earth's Carbon Concentrations Have Soared to Levels Not Seen in 800,000 Years

ComonDreams

Sunset on the Canadian prairies. A PinP photo.

One NOAA oceanographer warns that even if humanity "stopped the greenhouse gases at their current concentrations today, the atmosphere would still continue to warm for next couple decades to maybe a century." Story here.

University of Saskatchewan (USK) is taken to Court

The Battles - DISCUSSIONS BY SANDRA FINLEY

USK refuses to disclose Right to Know symposium proceedings. More here.

With one island’s losses, the king penguin species shrinks by a third

ScienceNews

King penguin chicks, South Georgia. by Butterly austral.

It’s unclear what has happened to what was the largest of king penguin colonies in the 1980s. Story here.

When the EPA sided with factory farms, she quit. (Video)

Back in 2001, Michele Merkel worked for the EPA.

One of her first cases was with farmers who were suing mega-hog factory farms for polluting the community's air and water. When the EPA sided with the giant corporations, she quit.

Now Michele works at Food & Water Watch, fighting for laws and legislation that force our government and the EPA to protect your water, air and food from factory farms — as they are mandated to do.

Check out Michele's TEDx Talk to hear her story and how you can fight with Michele against factory farms.

State of the Climate Report Confirms Planet Has Entered 'New Neighborhood' of Global Temperatures

EcoWatch

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released the results of what it calls the "annual checkup for the planet" Wednesday, and the patient is not doing well. More here.

Canada, U.S. governments watching, but not intervening, in coal mine pollution controversy

The Narwhal

U.S. officials accused Canada of omitting information on selenium pollution flowing from B.C.’s Elk Valley into Montana waters. Story here.