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Rising global shipping traffic could lead to surge in invasive species

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Science Daily Ship traffic in the Suez Canal - 1957. Photo by  Buonasera Maritime trade is likely to far outweigh climate change as the driver of bio-invasions over the next 30 years,  study finds.

Even Canada's beloved grey jay is not immune from the ravages of manmade climate change.

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Decades of Canadian research, just released , finds "strong evidence" that increasing "freeze-thaw" cycles are destroying food the birds store away in the fall. This, in turn is damaging their ability to reproduce and likely playing a role in a severe population decline in at least one region. by Larry Powell   The grey jay,  AKA as Canada jay or "Whiskey-Jack." Photo by Steve Phillips, via  Canadian Geographic  magazine. It's been known for some time that our changing climate is leading to reductions, even entire removal of many species from certain areas (a process called "extirpation"). This new research by the University of Guelph, sheds more light on just how that happens.  Using 40 years of breeding data, scientists studied grey jays  (scientific name p erisoreus canadensis )   at the southern edge of their range in Algonquin Park, Ontario. (The birds can be found in all Canadian provinces and territorie

The Insect Apocalypse Is Coming: Here are Five Lessons we Must Learn

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truthout A PinP photo. In a new report, scientists warn of a precipitous drop in the world’s insect population. We need to pay close attention, as over time, this could be just as catastrophic to humans as it is to insects. Special attention must be paid to the principal drivers of this insect decline, because while climate change is adding to the problem, food production is a much larger contributor. Story here.

While NestlƩ extracts millions of litres from their land in Ontario, Canada, residents have no drinking water

The Guardian Just 90 minutes from Toronto, residents of a First Nations community try to improve the water situation as the beverage company extracts from their land. Story here .

From Canadian Coal Mines, Toxic Pollution That Knows No Borders

Yale Environment 360 Massive open-pit coal mines in British Columbia are leaching high concentrations of selenium into the Elk River watershed, damaging fish populations and contaminating drinking water. Now this pollution is flowing across the Canadian-U.S. border, threatening the quality of U.S. waters. Story here.

Bill McKibben likens climate change to Second World War

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National Observer Ponds in the Canadian Arctic, believed to be caused by melting of the permafrost. Photo by Steve Jurvetson Environmentalist and author Bill McKibben  calls climate change the most important issue facing the world today and likens the struggle against it to the Second World War. Story here.

Canada failing in climate change fight: watchdog

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PHYS ORG Trees downed in a fierce windstorm in Duck Mountain forest, Manitoba, Canada. A PinP photo. Canada is doing too little to combat climate change, a parliamentary report warned Tuesday, a day after government scientists warned the country was warming at twice the global rate. Story here.