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Will New Research From Europe Nudge Canada Toward a "Neonic" Ban?

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by Larry Powell Most Canadian fields  of canola ("oilseed rape"  in  Europe)  grow from seed treated with neonics . PinP photo. Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA), which tests and registers pesticides in this country, says it will take recent European research into account in deciding the future of neonicotinoids. They're the world's most widely used, and controversial family of insecticides.  A major field study, published in the journal Nature last week,  found that  neonics  did not seem to harm  honey bees and two wild bee species scientists studied in Germany.  However, it was a different story in Hungary and the U.K. There, the same species located near oil rapeseed (canola) crops treated with the neonic, clothianidin, produced 24% fewer workers the following spring!  While the European Union clamped a moratorium on neonics in 2013, Canada chose a different path. The PMRA has continued to approve their use, even tho it

If you want to save a whale, first save its food

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|NATIONAL                            |OBSERVER - David Suzuki Orcas breaching - photo credit - Robert Pittman - NOAA Two of British Columbia’s most iconic species, chinook salmon and southern resident killer whales, are in trouble. The whale depends on the salmon for survival. Is it time to manage chinook fisheries with killer whales in mind? Story here.

Stephen Hawking's Message for Donald Trump

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New research warns, the world’s most widely-used family of insecticides, can decimate bee populations.

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 Chemical companies, who helped fund the study, believe it provides a loophole they can use to support their case for their continued use. by Larry Powell Bumblebees forage on chives in a Canadian garden.  A PinP  photo. It was the first, large-scale field trial of its kind in Europe. It looked at ways that two kinds of “neonics," (clothianidin and thiamethoxam) may affect tame honeybees and two wild bee species in the UK, Hungary and Germany.   Its findings were published yesterday in the journal, Science. In the UK and Hungary, honeybee colonies located near crops of “oilseed rape” (also called “Canola”) treated with clothianidin and planted the previous year, had almost one quarter (24%) fewer workers in the spring. ( Thiamethoxam didn’t hurt them.) As Richard Pywell, an ecologist at the UK-based Centre for Ecology & Hydrology,  puts it, “We’re showing significant negative effects at critical life-cycle stages, which is a cause for concern

Planet in Peril. Famine in Africa. Sea-Level Rise in Atlantic Canada. (Video)

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Deadline 2020: Just Three Years, Say Experts, Before Global Tipping Point

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Common Dreams "Should emissions continue to rise beyond 2020, or even remain level, the temperature goals set in Paris become almost unattainable," they write. Story here. A wildfire in Alberta. 2016. Wikimedia Commons.

These NASA Images Show Siberia Burning Up

CLIMATE CENTRAL Siberian wildfire season is off and running with multiple blazes searing the boreal forest and tundra. It’s the latest example of the vast shifts happening to the forests that cover Siberia and the rest of the northern tier of the world as climate change alters the landscape. Details here. RELATED Arctic’s Boreal Forests Burning At ‘Unprecedented’ Rate Alaska Entering New Era for Wildfires Alberta Wildfires Costliest Disaster in Canadian History

Ten million tons of fish wasted every year despite declining fish stocks

ScienceDaily Industrial fishing fleets dump nearly 10 million tonnes of good fish back into the ocean every year, according to new research. Story here.

A Plant in Government

George Monbiot Another deadly tree disease threatens these islands, but the government will do nothing to keep it out. Details here.

Almost all of the 29 coral reefs on U.N. World Heritage list damaged by bleaching

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Science There was good news and bad news for the world's coral reefs last week. Story here. A bleached reef off Hawaii. Photo by NOAA.

Record high temperatures grip much of the globe, more hot weather to come – UN agency (Story & video)

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UN News Centre Extremely high May and June temperatures have broken records in parts of Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and the United States, the United Nations weather agency reported today, warning of more heatwaves to come. Story here.