PLANET IN PERIL

News release - Gov't. of Manitoba Cattle graze on parched pasture. A PinP photo. Livestock producers will temporarily be allowed to cut hay and allow animals to graze on Crown land not normally designated for agricultural use due to dry conditions across parts of the province, Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler announced today. More here.

PHYS.ORG A parched crop in the Netherlands. Photo by  Rasbak "Our cows hav been living off hay cut in June, there isn't any grass," says a French farmer who, like his counterparts across much of northern Europe, is wondering how he will feed his animals this winter.    More here.

Science News - University of British Columbia Fishing boats docked in Canada's Bay of Fundy.    Dillon Kereluk from White Rock, Canada. Effective fisheries management plans, coupled with actions to limit greenhouse gas emissions, both separately, but especially in tandem, would have an immediate effect on the number of marine species that face extinction. More here.

Phys.Org East Village in Calgary during epic flooding in Alberta in 2013.  Ryan L. C. Quan Global warning is expected to unleash more rain, exposing millions more people to river flooding particularly in the US and parts of Asia, Africa and Central Europe.   Read more  here.

THE CONVERSATION A Manitoba animal factory. Photo credit - Mercy for Animals, Canada. As U.S. livestock farming becomes more industrial, it is changing rural life.  More here. RELATED: "In Hogs We Trust."   A critique of Manitoba’s runaway hog industry. Part 1 - Antibiotic Overuse. Part 11 - The price we pay for corporate pig$.   Part 111 - The magnitude of animal diseases, worldwide. Part 1V - The health and environmental costs of an expanded hog industry. Part V - Who’s behind Manitoba’s drive to expand? Find the answers here!

  The Guardian Image Credit: NASA/Operation IceBridge Usually frozen waters open up twice this year in phenomenon scientists described as scary. More here.

International Livestock Research Institute A piglet, one of countless who died of Porcine Epidemic  Diarrhea in Manitoba over the past 18 months. (A Manitoba Pork photo.)  Diseases deadly to hogs, some of which can also spread to humans, are legion. Long feared, it's now finally happened. African Swine Fever (ASF), an infectious and highly-lethal viral disease of pigs has, for the first time, reared its head in China.  Story here. RELATED; "In Hogs We Trust - Part 111"

Canada's National Observer A honeybee forages on a flower. A PinP photo. The federal government will begin phasing out the outdoor use of nicotine-based pesticides beginning in 2021, part of an effort to stop the mysterious decline of honey bee colonies around the world.  More here.

Science Magazine By Heather Dine. - NOAA Photo Library Seagrass meadows - one of the most widespread coastal habitats on Earth - are in decline. Human coastal development and poor water quality are threatening the meadows - home to a wide array of marine plants and animals. More here.

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism Babies are dying in their thousands in Malawi because drugs to treat common infections no longer work. We went to investigate.  Related: In Hogs We Trust - Part 1 - Antibiotic Overuse. 

EcoWatch Glyphosate , the main ingredient in Monsanto 's Roundup herbicide, is recognized as the world's most widely used weed killer. What is not so well known is that farmers also use glyphosate on crops such as wheat, oats, edible beans and other crops right before harvest, raising concerns that the herbicide could get into food products. Story here.