Posts
Gulf of Mexico's Dead Zone Could be Largest Ever, Thanks to the Meat Industry
EcoWatch Photo of a dead zone with sediment from the Mississippi River carrying fertilizer to the Gulf of Mexico. Photo by NOAA. Scientists predict that so much pollution is pouring into the Gulf of Mexico this year that it is creating a larger-than-ever " dead zone " in which low to no oxygen can suffocate or kill fish and other marine life. Details here.
New Studies Show - Goals of Paris Climate Accord Unlikely to be Achieved. by Larry Powell
Wildfires in Portugal. Wikimedia Commons. Two new studies paint a sobering picture for the future of the Earth in a changing climate. One report by a team of American scientists estimates there’s only a five percent chance that global warming can be kept below 2 degrees celsius by 2100. On the other hand, there’s a 95 percent likelihood the increase will be more like 2 to 4.9 degrees! That upper range would generally be considered by many experts as catastrophic for life on earth. And it would clearly represent a failure of the Paris Climate Accord . That agreement, signed last year, commits almost 200 member countries, including Canada, to limit the increase to “well under 2 degrees” above pre-industrial levels. Achieving that goal, adds the study, “will require carbon intensity to decline much faster than in the recent past.” The second study (done jointly by a researcher with the Max Planck Institute in Germany and another from the University of Colorado), mak
Two Weeks with No New PED Cases in Manitoba Cause for Optimism
Farmscape for July 31, 2017 New tools being used in Manitoba appear to be helping bring the spread of PED in the province under control. Since the end of April almost 60 swine production sites in Manitoba have been confirmed infected with Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea. On Thursday Manitoba Pork hosted a PED information session in Steinbach to update producers on the situation. George Matheson, the Chair of Manitoba Pork, says there have been no new cases since July 14. Clip-George Matheson-Manitoba Pork: We're organizing a manure management group for the infected farms. Of course equipment can become infected and we don't want a positive farm infecting a negative farm just by the transfer of manure equipment and spreading must be done soon. Lagoons get full. That's one approach we're taking. Manitoba Pork has decided to employ a Swine Health Officer, a full time position, just to manage the situation with the help of the Manitoba CVO. We've had three staff members, M
A New and More Virulent Hog Infection Invades Manitoba
Dr. Blaine Tully - Canadian Association of Swine Veterinarians Farmscape for July 28, 2017 The President of the Canadian Association of Swine Veterinarians says swine veterinarian in Manitoba have stepped up their focus on addressing a new more virulent strain of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome. A new more virulent strain of PRRS, a viral infection that affects pigs of all ages and stages of growth, has been identified in Manitoba. Dr. Blaine Tully, the President of the Canadian Association of Swine Veterinarians and a partner with Swine Health Professionals in Steinbach, says genetic sequencing to determine whether it's related to strains experienced in Manitoba or other parts of the country have shown that its kind of a lone wolf. Clip-Dr. Blaine Tully-Canadian Association of Swine Veterinarians: We have about 12 or 15 farms, the majority of which are in southeast Manitoba but we do know there's farms in the Interlake and out into central Manitoba that h