World's food supply under 'severe threat' from loss of biodiversity

The Guardian

Plants, insects and organisms crucial to food production in steep decline, says UN. Story here.

A display of harvesting "might" in Canada. 

African swine fever (ASF) would be a disaster

There is a ‘clear risk’ the swiftly spreading disease could come here, says leading swine health vet

By Alexis Kienlen FOLLOW

Reporter Alberta farmer - February 11, 2019

These red spots are typical of African swine fever.  
A Wikimedia photo.

There is a real risk that the African swine fever virus could enter Canada — and if it did, it would be catastrophic, says one of the country’s leading swine health experts.

Mexico’s monarch population booms

Science Magazine

IN SECTION: NEWS IN BRIEF

Edited by Jeffrey Brainard

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Monarch butterflies clustered at a reserve in

 Mexico.PHOTO: BIOSPHOTO/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

Viewable Image - mexicos monarch population booms

Image Caption

Monarch butterflies clustered at a reserve in Angangueo, Mexico. PHOTO: BIOSPHOTO/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

Every winter, monarch butterflies in Canada and the northeastern and midwestern United States flock to the pine and fir forests of central Mexico to hibernate, covering trees and turning hectares of forest orange and black. This year, the butterfly population overwintering in Mexico more than doubled, according to World Wildlife Fund Mexico, which helps lead the annual count. The butterflies covered 6.05 hectares of forest, up from 2.48 last year. It’s the largest wintering area since the winter of 2006–07. This famous group of migrating monarchs has been struggling in recent years, with an all-time low arriving in 2013–14, when they covered a mere 0.67 hectares. This year’s uptick reflects a boost from mild climatic conditions in the United States last year, which allowed more monarch larvae to survive and mature there and eventually make the 4000-kilometre journey to Mexico. Another possible cause: Increasing numbers of Americans have planted milkweed, monarch caterpillars’ food source, which has been threatened by the widespread use of herbicides in U.S. agriculture. Meanwhile, the population of monarch butterflies that lives west of the Rocky Mountains and overwinters on the California coast continues to decline, with an 86% drop reported this year.

Human Hunting Is Driving the World’s Biggest Animals Toward Extinction

Smithsonian.com

"Moose may soon disappear completely from some parts of Manitoba, Canada,
where the population has dropped by as much as 57 percent."
Source CPAWS MB. A PinP photo.

A new analysis found that 70 percent of Earth’s largest creatures are decreasing in number, while 59 percent are at risk of extinction. Story here.

The Hidden Environmental Toll of Mining the World’s Sand

YaleEnvironment360
By far the largest mining endeavour globally is digging up sand, mainly for the concrete that goes into buildings. But this little-noticed and largely unregulated activity has serious costs — damaging rivers, wreaking havoc on coastal ecosystems, and even wiping away entire islands. Story here.

Sand mining in the Netherlands. Photo by GeraldM at Dutch Wikipedia
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Guess what folks? This already questionable practise is set to start up, big-time, here in my home province of Manitoba, too! And this one is for the even more disreputable purpose of FRACKING! You didn't know? Not surprising. Read on and weep. l.p.

RELATED: 
Frack Sand Mining Coming to Manitoba and Soon.
Consultation or Coercion – You Tell Me

Is a controversial “frac sand mine”about to go ahead on the east side of Manitoba's Lake Winnipeg without proper consent?
by Don Sullivan.

Ramped up efforts needed to protect the world's inland waters

ScienceDaily

The Birdtail River meanders past a big gravel-mine in western Manitoba,
Canada. A PinP photo.

Surface water protection is well below global targets in over half of the world's countries, according to a new study. Story here. 

‘The devastation of human life is in view’: what a burning world tells us about climate change

The Guardian

Houses burn in the monster "Fort Mac" fire in Alberta, CA.
IMAGE CREDITS: TWITTER, INDIATODAY.

I was wilfully deluded until I began covering global warming, says David Wallace-Wells. But extreme heat could transform the planet by 2100. Story here.