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Unprecedented damage to oceans has Canada's marine life on the run
Canada's National Observer The world's foremost climate scientists have found oceans are getting intensely warmer, sea levels are rising and the Earth's waters are losing oxygen and becoming more acidic. S tory here. A Pacific ocean perch (top) and blackspotted rockfish (bottom). Photo by NOAA. RELATED: New research finds that “marine reserves” – tracts of ocean where fishing is banned – are protecting fish, the coral reefs where they live and vast undersea "gardens," a lot more than once thought. - by Larry Powell Do Marine Reserves Provide a Buffer Against the Ravages of Climate Change? Yes, say experts! - by Larry Powell
In Alberta, a shocking abuse of political power to protect the oil industry
NATIONAL OBSERVER This story is part of "Covering Climate Now," a global collaboration of more than 220 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story: --> The Government of Alberta has created the new “Energy War Room” (with an annual budget of $30 million) to combat environmental NGOs, specifically those who have been campaigning against the oil sector. This may come as a surprise to taxpayers wondering why a billion-dollar industry needs such government-subsidized assistance in the first place. Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage provided an answer of sorts, offering the following as the higher purpose of the Energy War Room: More here. An aerial photo believed to depict a dump site near the Muskeg River mine, Alberta tar sands. A "Beautiful Destruction" photo.
Manitoba taxpayers paid out almost $900 thousand to help counter a deadly hog disease in this province. A PinP exclusive.
by Larry Powell It cost the Manitoba treasury $871,847.26 to help hog producers battle “Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea,” (PED) since the killer virus invaded many barns in the southeast in the spring of 2017. But even with authorities warning that PED has now spread further west and north than ever before, and could return to the same high levels as it did in 2017, the provincial government claims it still doesn’t know how many piglets have died in the outbreak. (PED causes significant deaths only in animals in their first few days of life.) Photo credit - Manitoba Pork. *The Department of Agriculture tells PinP, "With respect to the number of piglet mortalities, this is personal business information and mortalities are not required to be reported for any livestock species.” Yet the government’s own “Livestock Manure and Mortalities Management Regulations” seem to suggest otherwise. They say, when a producer has more animals dying than he/she can routinely dispose of (as