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Historic Floods in Japan Kill More Than 100, Force Millions to Flee

ECOWATCH At least 109 people have died in Japan following historic  flooding  and mudslides over the weekend that prompted evacuation orders covering about five million people,  The Guardian reported Monday .

New research confirms the common house fly spreads serious hog diseases. Is Manitoba's factory hog industry dragging its heels?

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by Larry Powell The house fly. Photo by  USDA A veterinarian at the Walcott Veterinary Clinic in Iowa, Grant Allison, captured flies at swine operations which had tested positive for both diseases in Iowa and Minnesota. In his words, "Flies replicate in moist conditions that could involve manure. So there's an intimate relationship between manure and viruses and flies. The idea that flies might be a possible vector was immediately obvious. We came up with a plan and started by finding an outbreak and trapping flies to see if the flies were positive." They were. Not only were they carrying live viruses for both diseases, they were spreading them to healthy pigs and making them sick. What's more, the flies were even found to be infectious in January, usually considered the off-season for such harmful vectors. Dr. Allison recommends putting a larvicide in the hog feed as one tool in a program to achieve effective fly-control. He believes an extensive progra

Nights Are Warming Faster Than Days. Here’s Why That’s Dangerous.

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The New York Times A Canadian prairie sunset. PinP photo. July kicked off with searingly hot temperatures for most  Americans (& many Canadians) this year. More here.

More bad news for the world’s oceans - out of Canada!

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by Larry Powell Pacific oysters - with salt and lime.  By Guido - Flickr . A team of Canadian researchers has found that BC’s premier oyster-growing region off the east coast of Vancouver Island, is “highly contaminated” with micro plastics. The team, from Simon Fraser University, says it is now important to find out if the oysters themselves are ingesting the plastics. If they are, it could have implications for the health and quality of the product itself, Canada’s oyster-farmers, in general and the entire industry, worldwide. The scientists found micro-plastics at all 16 sites sampled within Lambert Channel and Baynes Sound, indicating "widespread contamination of these regions with these particles." That is Canada's prime growing area for the Pacific oyster ( Crassostrea gigas ). It is also feared the microplastics could accumulate trace metals which, in turn, could harm the oysters and other organisms on the sea-bottom.  Dynabeads, a mag

Link between river outflow and coastal sea level

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Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Sea levels in coastal areas can be affected by a number of factors: tides, winds, waves, and even barometric pressure all play a role in the ebb and flow of the ocean. For the first time, however, a new study has shown that river outflow could play a role in sea level change as well. More here. Vietnam's Mekong Delta. The Mekong, the world's 12th longest river, fans out into tributaries and empties into the South China Sea in Southeast Asia. European Space Agency

Manitoba beekeepers fight to come back after extreme honeybee die-offs

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CBCnews Long, cold winter could be to blame for some  beekeepers losing more than half of their bees.   More here. A Manitoba beekeeper tends to his hives. A PinP photo.

Costco takes stand on insecticides

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THE WESTERN  PRODUCER Costco is saying no to neonics.  More here. A corn-harvester in Manitoba.  Planting of neonicotinoid-coated corn raises honey bee mortality and sets back colony development -  Nat'l. Institutes of Health.