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China Wrestles with the Toxic Aftermath of Rare Earth Mining

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Yale Environment 360 A rare earth mine in Bayan Obo, China. Photo by NASA. China has been a major source of rare earth metals used in high-tech products, from smartphones to wind turbines. As cleanup of these mining sites begins, experts argue that global companies that have benefited from access to these metals should help foot the bill. Story here.

Human contribution to record-breaking June 2019 heatwave in France

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World Weather Attribution The darkest red areas are where temperatures have surpassed 40°C. Several European cities have experienced hottest conditions ever recorded. Map by NASA.  Every heatwave occurring in Europe today is made likely and more intense by human-induced climate change.  Story here.

Global agriculture: Impending threats to biodiversity

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SCIENCE NEWS Wine crops in Chile. A dreamstime phot o. A new study finds that expanding cropland to meet growing food demands,  poses a far greater threat to biodiverity in the tropics than intensification.  More here.

Climate change puts health at risk and economists have the right prescription

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PHYS ORG  by Christopher Ragan And Courtney Howard,  The Conversation Wildfire smoke from Alberta descends on central Manitoba, two provinces away. 2017. A PinP photo.  Doctors and economists may seem like strange partners.  We spend our days working on very different problems in very different settings. But climate change has injected a common and urgent vocabulary into our work. We find ourselves agreeing both about the nature of the problem and the best solution. It is essential that we put a price on carbon pollution.    Story here.

Is relentless industrial development threatening the beautiful Birdtail River? Lucrative highway contracts have brought an explosion of noise and congestion to a picturesque valley in western Manitoba. (Letter)

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Dear Editor, If ever there was an example of just how numb we've become to the planetary crisis we all face, it’s surely playing out in plain sight right here, right now, in Shoal Lake. As many of my neighbours will already know, big dump trucks have been lumbering by in front of our homes for about a week now. Beginning before dawn, they sometimes become a steady stream that lasts much of each day, coming and going, until about dusk.   These heavy diesel "twenty-two-wheelers" with long, steel boxes, have been moving gravel (or some similar material), from a big mine along the Yellowhead to the west, to a big maintenance project along Highway 21 to the south. One of the many trucks working on the project in question, ready to be loaded at the mine. Since the trucks pass right by our front window, I’ve been able to do a rough count. At about 150 round trips per day, they must be set to move hundreds of thousands of cubic yards of material before the ope

Canada's Permafrost Is Thawing 70 Years Earlier Than Expected, Study Shows. Scientists Are 'Quite Surprised'

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TIME Of course, "The Big Thaw" is not confined to Canada. This Alaskan permafrost has melted, causing one of this lake's banks to collapse.  As a result, its waters are draining into a river,  then into the sea,  perhaps leading to the lake's disappearance! NPS Climate Change Response  Photo (C.Ciancibelli) The Canadian Arctic permafrost is thawing 70 years earlier than expected, a rate shocking a group of scientists who released the findings of their long-term study this month. More here.

Canada becomes first G7 country to ban shark fin imports

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The Guardian Shark fins for sale in Canada. Photo by Hakai MAGAZINE  Measure which also bans sale of fins awaits royal assent. Story here.

"Artifishal." The fight to save wild salmon. (Video)

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Deadly gas: Cutting farm emissions in half could save 3,000 lives a year

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Bureau of Investigative Journalism Spreading manure on a harvested corn field. Photo by Chesapeake Bay Program. Thousands of deaths could be avoided each year if air pollution from UK farms were halved, new analysis has revealed. But the government's failure to act means the most damaging sectors are under no obligation to cut their emissions.  Story here.

More research on African swine fever is urgently needed: No cure, no vaccine and no treatment yet exists for this lethal pig disease

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ILRI The swelling around the kidneys & the muscle hemorrhages shown here are typical of pigs with African swine fever. Karen Apicelli - USDA. African swine fever is a highly contagious viral disease affecting domestic and wild pigs. It kills nearly 100% of the pigs it infects. The good news is that the African swine fever virus does not infect or harm humans. The bad news is that it devastates household and national economies. Particularly in Africa and now in China and Vietnam, it can destroy the livelihoods. More here.

An Alberta wildfire specialist links Fort Mac "megafire" and BC's 2017 fire season to climate change

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The Energy Mix On May, 2016, the Landsat 7 satellite (NASA) acquired this false-colour image of the wildfire that burned through Fort McMurray. Advanced technology allows it to penetrate clouds and smoke to reveal the hot spots associated with active fires. Smoke appears white & burned areas appear brown. More than two thousand wildfires hit British Columbia in 2017. Another massive one consumed much of Fort McMurray, Alberta a year earlier. Mike Flannigan, A University specialist in wildland fire, says both were connected to climate change.  Story here.