Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming

Alternatives Journal

Having an awareness of the worst possible climate change scenarios can be motivating rather than paralyzing, argues David Wallace-Wells. The climate crisis has the potential to bring people together in the massive efforts required to mitigate the disaster. Story here.

CO2 emissions are on track to take us beyond 1.5 degrees of global warming

Science News

A fertilizer plant in Brandon, Manitoba, Can. A PinP photo.

Current and planned energy infrastructure could emit around 850 gigatons of the greenhouse gas. Story here.

Could our changing lifestyles and a changing climate spell a return of deadly diseases like malaria to Canada? A recent scientific study warns - it's possible!

by Larry Powell

A malaria mosquito, Anopheles albimanus.
Photo by CDC.

Mosquito-born diseases (MBDs) like dengue fever and malaria aren't currently established in Canada, partly due to our harsh climate. But global warming combined with increasing international travel, could change all that. 

New research by a Canadian team from the National Microbiology Lab, the Public Health Agency  of Canada (PHA) and two universities finds, given "an evolving situation" due to climate change, mosquitoes native to Canada "may become infected with new pathogens and move into new regions within Canada." But exotic species may move in, too, bringing diseases like malaria and dengue fever along with them, from afar, as well. 

And, "With high levels of international travel, including to locations where the diseases are present," states the report, "there will be more travel-acquired cases of MBDs."

As a result, the team stresses a need for active surveillance, a high level of awareness and mosquito-bite prevention to guard against a worst-case scenario.

Victoria Ng, PhD

Senior Scientific Evaluator, 

Infectious Disease Prevention & Control Branch

Public Health Agency of Canada / 

Government of Canada

A spokesperson for the study, Dr. Victoria Ng of the PHA (r), tells PinP in an e-mail, "I think one of the biggest impacts of climate change for exotic MBDs in Canada will be the increase in travel-acquired cases as well as the potential for limited autochthonous (local) transmission of diseases where there is climatic suitability for mosquito vectors and reservoirs." 

But these latest findings are not universally-accepted.  An expert who has contributed to other studies of malaria in Canada, Lea Berrang Ford (formerly with McGill University - now with the University of Leeds), is not too concerned. In an e-mail to PinP, Prof. Berrang Ford concedes, climate change could create more favourable conditions for the disease. But he beleieves there are factors other than temperature, such as a strong health care system that'll make a resurgence unlikely.

Dr. Ng agrees, other factors may make exotic diseases born by mosquitoes unlikely in Canada. But, she adds, "There's always the chance that, given a combination of suitable conditions occurring concurrently over time and space, that establishment could occur." She cites the introduction of West Nile virus in Canada some 20 years ago as a case in point. 

While Canada is considered, for all intents and purposes, malaria-free, readers might be surprised to learn, this has not always been the case. It ravaged the early European settlements of Niagara-on-the-Lake and Kingston. While rarely fatal, it also affected those working on the Rideau Canal in the 1830s to such a degree, construction was seriously impacted. Known then as "fever and ague," it was so widespread from 1780 to 1840,  few were spared.

Malaria - a grim reaper

Malaria is one of the deadliest diseases in human history. But, in the past couple of decades, gains in the fight against it have been so significant that. Collectively, they've been called "one of the biggest public health successes of the 21st century."   

However, the most recent figures from an international partnership, "The Global Fund (TGF)," suggest, there's still a long way to go. In 2017, malaria still sickened more than 200 million and claimed the lives of almost half-a-million more, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa. 

And TGF, which allocates public and private funds to combat the disease, believes it's still not certain what the future holds. In some of the almost 100 countries currently reporting the disease, "progress is being made towards its elimination." Others with a higher burden, are still "suffering setbacks in their response." And even more money, beyond the substantial amounts already spent, will be needed, just to make sure the gains stay ahead of the setbacks.

Secrets of malaria exposed. New research peels back the layers which mask our understanding of one of the deadliest diseases known to man. 

Findings just published by a research team from the US and UK reveal, parasites that carry malaria, can mature inside their mosquito hosts way faster, at lower temperatures, than earlier thought. 

Lab tests showed (at between 17 and 20 degrees C), it can take as little as 26 days from the time mosquitoes have had an infectious blood meal, to the time the parasites grow and becomes capable of transmitting the disease. For decades, it’s been assumed it would take about twice that long…some 56 days.

A malaria mosquito, the Anopheles stephensi. Source: CDC.

For more than 50 years, medical experts have been relying on a guide known as the Detinova model to try to map the future course of the disease.  But that model did not fully take into account just what implications those cooler temperatures could have. Neither did it fully explore the impacts of routine fluctuations in daytime temperatures, which can also play a role. "Ring" stage (in blue & pink) of the malaria parasite,  Plasmodium falciparum in human red blood cells.  Microscopic image by Eric Hempelmann. Unlike previous studies, described in this new paper as “poorly-controlled,” two major malaria mosquito species were tested this time (including Anopheles_stephensi, above).

“These novel results challenge one of the longest-standing models in malaria biology," states the study, "and have potentially important implications for understanding the impacts of future climate change."

Study co-author Jessica Waite, Ph.D. 
Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics
The Pennsylvania State University.

The study's co-author, Dr. Jessica Waite, tells PinP, "What we hope is that our work will help make better predictions about where, when and possibly how much malaria to expect. We believe our work provides a much-improved estimate for models of malaria." She also believes it'll help governments better direct their financial resources to aid areas that  need it most.

Her team consisted of experts from the Universities of Pennsylvania State in the US and Exeter in England. It acknowledges, there's still a need for further lab and field tests.

The findings have just been published in the journal, Biology Letters by The Royal Society.

RELATED:

Research Suggests Our Past, Prolific Use of the Insecticide DDT May Still be Contributing to a Scourge Of Modern-Day Diseases Related To Obesity.

Due to extremely dry conditions, Manitoba livestock producers are being temporarily allowed to cut hay and graze animals on crown land.

  

Government of Manitoba

Cattle graze on a Manitoba pasture. A PinP photo.

Manitoba Agriculture advises that, due to dry conditions in parts of the province, livestock producers will temporarily be allowed to cut hay and allow animals to graze on Crown land not normally designated for agricultural use.

Under certain circumstances, Crown land can be made available for agricultural use.  The Agricultural Crown Lands Leasing program will administer the use of available land and provide necessary permits.  Livestock must be removed when the naturally existing forage is exhausted or by Oct. 31.  Baled hay must be removed by Nov. 15.

Producers with AgriInsurance contracts who intend to put their crop to alternate use are required to contact the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation office to arrange for a field appraisal prior to harvesting the crop.  Crop producers should also consider making crop residue available to livestock producers.

For more information, contact the Agricultural Crown Lands Leasing program at 1-204-867-6550 or a local Agricultural Crown Lands representative.

It’s feared that a disease deadly to hogs, “PEDv,” will return to the rampant stage it reached in Manitoba in 2017.

FARMSCAPE

"Manitoba Pork" reports 50 cases in the province already this year, and calls for stepped up efforts to combat it. Story here.

Piglets with PEDv develop severe diarrhea and vomiting.
Almost all die within a few days of birth.
A Manitoba Pork photo.

RELATED: 

Another 2017 for PEDv?

“IN HOGS WE TRUST” 

Part 111 - From Malaysia to Manitoba - the global magnitude of livestock diseases.

China Wrestles with the Toxic Aftermath of Rare Earth Mining

Yale Environment 360

A rare earth mine in Bayan Obo, China. Photo by NASA.

China has been a major source of rare earth metals used in high-tech products, from smartphones to wind turbines. As cleanup of these mining sites begins, experts argue that global companies that have benefited from access to these metals should help foot the bill. Story here.

Human contribution to record-breaking June 2019 heatwave in France

World Weather Attribution

The darkest red areas are where temperatures have surpassed 40°C.
Several European cities have experienced hottest conditions ever recorded.
Map by NASA. 
Every heatwave occurring in Europe today is made likely and more intense by human-induced climate change. Story here.

Global agriculture: Impending threats to biodiversity

SCIENCE NEWS

Wine crops in Chile. A dreamstime photo.

A new study finds that expanding cropland to meet growing food demands, 
poses a far greater threat to biodiverity in the tropics than intensification. More here.

Climate change puts health at risk and economists have the right prescription

PHYS ORG by Christopher Ragan And Courtney Howard, The Conversation

Wildfire smoke from Alberta descends on central

Manitoba, two provinces away. 2017. A PinP photo. 

Doctors and economists may seem like strange partners.  We spend our days working on very different problems in very different settings. But climate change has injected a common and urgent vocabulary into our work. We find ourselves agreeing both about the nature of the problem and the best solution. It is essential that we put a price on carbon pollution.  Story here.

Is relentless industrial development threatening the beautiful Birdtail River? Lucrative highway contracts have brought an explosion of noise and congestion to a picturesque valley in western Manitoba. (Letter)

Dear Editor,

If ever there was an example of just how numb we've become to the planetary crisis we all face, it’s surely playing out in plain sight right here, right now, in Shoal Lake. As many of my neighbours will already know, big dump trucks have been lumbering by in front of our homes for about a week now. Beginning before dawn, they sometimes become a steady stream that lasts much of each day, coming and going, until about dusk. 

These heavy diesel "twenty-two-wheelers" with long, steel boxes, have been moving gravel (or some similar material), from a big mine along the Yellowhead to the west, to a big maintenance project along Highway 21 to the south.

One of the many trucks working on the project
in question, ready to be loaded at the mine.

Since the trucks pass right by our front window, I’ve been able to do a rough count. At about 150 round trips per day, they must be set to move hundreds of thousands of cubic yards of material before the operation ends. Make no mistake, folks. This is one big job. 

The mine in full operational mode, fall, 2018. PinP photos.

The mine supplying the raw product has been expanding for years along the banks of the Birdtail River. I’ve been out there a few times over the past few years. I’ve captured shots of the copious dust it kicks up when in full operational mode (above). You can also hear the din of the machines echoing up and down an otherwise fairly peaceful valley. Prevailing westerlies carry the dust from the mine right over (and no doubt into) the river. Such sediment has long been proven to be bad news for fish and other aquatic life. 

This seems to matter not, however. Neither does the fact that internal combustion engines are significant contributors of greenhouse gases and climate change which the experts are warning will be in “runaway mode,” or beyond our ability to turn around, in about a decade. 

Apparently, we are also supposed to ignore the fact that being exposed to diesel fumes, even for a short time, can cause coughing and irritation of the eye, nose or throat. Long-term exposure can lead to even more serious health effects, including cancer. So just how long will this highway “improvement” project last? I have no idea, do you? 

And, by the way, did you take part in the vote that gave them our permission to do this? Oh, that’s right! There wasn’t one!

So how do we maintain our roads and standard of living to the degree to which we've become accustomed without producing these downsides?  I personally believe - while it's not something many will want to hear - maybe we cannot! Surely at least part of the solution must include actually lowering our expectations - travelling less and driving more energy-efficient vehicles. 

One thing I do know. The way we are doing things now, is taking us all down a dangerous, and very congested road.

Larry Powell

Shoal Lake, Manitoba.

Canada's Permafrost Is Thawing 70 Years Earlier Than Expected, Study Shows. Scientists Are 'Quite Surprised'

TIME

Of course, "The Big Thaw" is not confined to Canada. This Alaskan
permafrost has melted, causing one of this lake's banks to collapse. 
As a result, its waters are draining into a river, then into the sea, 
perhaps leading to the lake's disappearance!
NPS Climate Change Response Photo (C.Ciancibelli)

The Canadian Arctic permafrost is thawing 70 years earlier than expected, a rate shocking a group of scientists who released the findings of their long-term study this month. More here.