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Surprising revelations about Canada's ice age past. What do they tell us about the present?

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SCIENCE MAGAZINE Western Canada shed its icy cover a thousand years earlier than previously thought, and the circumstances of the ancient glacial retreat can help understand present-day climate patterns. A new study provides the new glacial retreat timeline based on an analysis of moraine samples. Researchers collected samples of deposits that formed after the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, which covered large portions of western Canada, retreated. Using beryllium isotopes to date the samples, the authors found that the CIS may have in fact been largely melted by 14,000 years ago, while newer, smaller alpine glaciers sprung up in pockets between the newly-bared mountain peaks.  Researchers also used simulations to show how warm temperatures during the late Pleistocene era contributed to CIS's early retreat, which had, in turn, contributed to a significant rise in sea level at the time. According to the authors, CIS response to abrupt climate change could be a model for the

Ice Loss and the Polar Vortex: How a Warming Arctic Fuels Cold Snaps

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 inside climate  news The loss of sea ice may be weakening the polar vortex, allowing cold blasts to dip south from the Arctic, across North America, Europe and Russia, a new study says. Story here. A country road in Manitoba. PinP photo.

Alarming link between fungicides and bee declines revealed

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the guardian Fungicides are found to be the strongest factor linked to steep bumblebee  declines, surprising scientists and adding to the threats to vital pollinators.  Story here. Bumble bees forage on chives in  an organic garden in Manitoba, CA. PinP photo. RELATED: Tainted honey spells more trouble for bees. Are we losing the battle to save them?

Friends of the Earth Fights for Bees. PLEASE DONATE!.

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Friends of the Earth  Donald Trump’s EPA could soon allow bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides to be sprayed on 165 million acres of farmland. A honeybee hive in Manitoba, Canada.  PinP photo.    Chemical giant Syngenta requested permission to douse our crops with these toxic chemicals. If the EPA grants Syngenta’s wish, the impact on bees and other pollinators could be devastating. From your backyard to garden retailers to supermarkets, we’re cutting off the demand for bee-killing pesticides. And we’re pushing states and the federal government to ban them. But we need your help to keep this important work going in 2018. Bees are dying at alarming rates. Monarch butterflies are declining. And a new study found that 75 percent of insects in German nature preserves have disappeared over the past three decades. Scientists say this indicates that we are in the midst of an “Insect Apocalypse.” One of the key culprits is the massive increase in the use of pesticides.

Research finds flies carry bacteria — some harmful to people and animals

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The Western Producer They come every summer without fail, but flies are more than an aesthetic problem. Story here. Sarcophaga (Flesh Fly). Family.... Sarcohagidae. Larvae  feed  on dead animal flesh.   A Wickimedia photo by "Prog"

Scientists Put Trump in his Place Over his Claptrap About "Global Warming" (Video)

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ENCORE | 'This is not going to end well': Author Barbara Kingsolver on climate change

The Current - CBC Radio "Because climate change is really, really terrible, let's face it. This is not going to end well."  Listen here. 

$180 B investment in plastic factories feeds global packaging binge

the guardian Colossal funding in manufacturing plants by fossil fuel companies will increase plastic production by 40%, risking permanent pollution of the earth. Story here. RELATED:  Big oil invests $180B in plastics, merging two planet-killing industries

Fungus threatens Brazilian farms

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AgroNews Asian rust in soybeans. USDA. Brazil has become the world’s largest market for fungicides. Story here.

A deadly fungus is infecting snake species seemingly at random, new study shows.

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ScienceNews Any species in the eastern or midwestern United States could potentially be at risk. Story here. A mating ball of garter snakes. Oregon State University. Will they be next?

It will be months before Canada can restore a critical pollution monitoring site

|NATIONAL |OBSERVER Canada has chosen an alternate site for a critical air pollution research station that was shuttered in June, but almost a year will have passed before it's operational again. Story here.