Transit union head says city of Winnipeg uninterested in grants for electric buses

The Winnipeg Free Press

The union that represents Winnipeg Transit staff says city hall is missing out on an opportunity to access loans and grants to electrify the transit fleet. Story here.

Diseases spread by ticks, mosquitoes and fleas more than tripled in the U.S. since 2004

The Washington Post

A wood tic - Manitoba, CA. PinP photo.

The warmer weather of spring and summer means the start of tick and mosquito season and the diseases they transmit, including Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, West Nile and Zika. More here.

Pollution from Canadian refineries an ‘embarrassment’ compared to U.S.

NATIONAL

OBSERVER

The Irving Oil Refinery in St. John, New Brunswick, Canada. Photo by Cusack5239

Sarnia’s Imperial Oil refinery emitted 10 times more fine particulate matter, seven times more carbon monoxide and 49 times more sulphur dioxide than the Detroit plant. More here.

Melbourn's water supply at risk due to "collapse" of forests caused by logging.

The Guardian

Logging in Australia. Photo by Peter Campbell

Tree-felling helped trigger ‘hidden collapse’ of mountain ash forests, ecologists say. More here.

Even familiar birds at risk of extinction, new study finds

BirdLife

INTERNATIONAL

A White-crowned sparrow. Photo by Wolfgang Wander

The 2018 State of the World’s Birds report, which provides a comprehensive look at the health of bird populations globally, has found that the extinction crisis has spread so far that even some well-known species are now in danger. More here.

A British vessel leads £20m mission to melting Antarctic glacier

The Guardian

British and US scientists are to examine the risk of the Thwaites glacier collapsing, which is already responsible for a 4% sea-level rise. More here.

Thwaites Glacier. European Space Agency