Migrant Voices

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

Migrant Workers in Manitoba. Details here.

Monsanto Court Victory Could Have Big Impact on Biotech

Washington (CNN) -- The Supreme Court ruled for agribusiness giant Monsanto on Monday in a patent case that could have an enormous impact on a variety of biotech fields.

The justices unanimously found the world's largest seed producer has intellectual property control over its best-selling "Roundup Ready" soybeans. That means the product cannot be reproduced without paying the company a fee. Details here.

Common Plants, Animals Threatened by Climate Change, Study Says

Los Angeles Times

Richardson's Ground Squirrel. PLT photo.

WASHINGTON -- Climate change could lead to the widespread loss of common plants and animals around the world, according to a new study released Sunday in the journal Nature Climate Change. Details here.

We Just Passed the Climate's "Grim Milestone"

Mother Jones

Over the last couple weeks, scientists and environmentalists have been keeping a particularly close eye on the Hawaii-based monitoring station that tracks how much carbon dioxide is in the atmosphere, as the count tiptoed closer to a record-smashing 400 parts per million. Yesterday, we finally got there: The daily mean concentration was higher than at any time in human history, NOAA reported today. Details here. 

Poster designed by PLT.

PLT: Authorities did a "double-check" of the number and announced it was a fraction of a ppm below 400. But I think we all get the idea!

On World Migratory Bird Day, UN Calls for Greater Protection of Habitats

United Nations News Centre

Yellow-headed blackbird. PinP photo.

As an estimated 50 billion birds commence their annual migrations, the critical staging areas they need to complete these journeys continue to be degraded or are disappearing completely, the United Nations today warned on this year's World Migratory Bird Day. Details here.

Brush-clearing on a Manitoba farm. PinP photos.

'It's Great News' for Experimental Lakes Area

Winnipeg Free Press

The International Institute for Sustainable Development (a Winnipeg-based think tank) will step in to operate experimental lakes. Full story here.

Related: Experimental Lakes Closure a Financial Blunder - Greens.

The Cicadas are Coming!

The Xerces Society

Everybody has his or her own treasured experience of insects -- a nighttime lit by  fireflies, the sight of monarchs clustered for the winter…full story here. PLT: below - Definitely not cicadas, but an unidentified swarm of rather hard-backed,  flying insects which gathered on a vehicle in my yard on a warm day in April, then died.  Recognize them? Let me know if you know what they are! Thanks!

Below is a response I got when I posted the last photo on an online bug i.d. website.

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"I do believe these are Water Boatmen. As adults these occasionally come flying out of the ponds in which they've spent all their juvenile lives in search of new ponds to colonize. If your vehicle has a smooth reflection to it (or better yet--is some shade of blue or black or green) they could easily have mistaken the sheen of your vehicle for that of a pond. These poor guys probably then proceeded to bake to death very quickly on the hot surface of your car..."

Seven Killed in Bangladesh Garment Factory Fire

Dhaka, Bangladesh (CNN) -- At least seven people died in a fire in a clothing factory in Bangladesh's capital late Wednesday, police and the factory's general manager said. Details here.

Policy and Poverty in Manitoba - Budget 2013

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

It was a welcome change to hear politicians of all stripes talking about poverty in the lead up to the 2013 provincial budget and in the analysis that followed. Unfortunately much of the chatter will serve the interests of politicians more than those most affected by government decisions. Details here.

Ban the Use of Neonicotinoids in Canada

Elizabeth May, Leader, Green Party of Canada

Pollinators, including honeybees, are a central element of our food system and a critical pillar of our ecology. Details here.

• Related: Pollinator Protection - Europe Shows Us How It's Done (Letter)
• Lots of Buzz About Disappearing Honeybees.

Lots of Buzz About Plight of Disappearing Honeybees

Laura Rance - Winnipeg Free Press

The expression "canary in the coal mine" comes to mind when reading a newly-released U.S. government report on the sorry plight of honeybees. Details here.

Related:

• "Pollinator Protection - Europe Shows Us How It's Done"(Letter)
• Ban the Use of Neonicotinoids in Canada