Posts

Toxic Tides - The Tragedy of Fish Farming Everywhere

Image
One of the biggest challenges facing the aquaculture industry everywhere, is  Lepeophtheirus salmonis , the sea-louse (below). It's a parasite which attacks both farmed and wild salmon, causing lesions and infections which stunt their growth. But the costs of de-lousing are high. And so are the losses suffered by the industry in the marketplace. Many lice can actually kill many fish. Sea lice, Lepeophtheirus salmonis, on farmed Atlantic salmon, New Brunswick, CA.  Photo by 7Barrym0re   To fight back, the fish-farmers dump pesticides into the waters (below). But, because they’re released directly into the environment, they not only kill the lice, but place beneficial, “non-target” organisms at risk, too. And several of these live in the open ocean, beyond the confines of the farms. The latest (but not the only) cautionary tale about the wisdom of this practise, has just emerged from Norway.  A team of researchers there exposed (in the lab), an important food source for the

'Live animals are the largest source of infection': dangers of the export trade

Image
The Guardian Transporting more livestock will increase transmission of diseases, including some that could also threaten humans.   Story here. Pigs being trucked. Photo by Cayce from Malaysia.

Like Adding'Five to Six Hiroshima Bombs of Heat Each Second,' Study Shows Oceans Warming at Record Rate

Image
CommonDreams "If you want to understand global warming, you have to measure ocean warming." Story here.

2019 the second-hottest year (a NASA video)

Image

Peace River Frack-Up

Image
PolicyNote (CCPA - the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives) Part 1 of a report on how fracking poses risks to BC Hydro’s Peace River dams, British Columbia, Canada. Story here. The site c dam, BC in an early stage of construction - 2016. Photo by Jeffrey Wynne 

On thin ice. Why ice loss matters. A NASA video.

Image

Lethal algae blooms – an ecosystem out of balance

Image
--> The Guardian Toxic formations across the US and the Baltic are part of a worrying trend linked to the climate crisis and farming methods  Story here. Lk. Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, with Reindeer Is. in the lower right. Photo credit - European Space Agency. Mekong Turns from Brown to Blue-Green In late 2019, the river started to turn colours due  to a reduced sediment load and algae blooms. NASA Earth Observatory. RELATED: IN HOGS WE TRUST - Part 1V   "The environmental costs of intensive livestock operations.".

Australia's vulnerable species hit hard by fires

Image
Science The grim toll on many helpless wild creatures from that countries epic infernos is slowly coming to light.  Story here. Below are some of the species at risk, possibly trapped in the flames. The beautiful Regent Honeyeater, already in diminishing numbers, living in an area threatened by the flames. Photo by Derek Keats, South Africa. The  pouched frog  ( Assa darlingtoni ), a small, terrestrial frog  found in rainforests in mountain areas of south-eastern Queensland &  northern New South Wales. Photo credit - Wikipedia. The endangered Blue Mountains Water Skink.  Taken a month after a bushfire. Photo by Sarshag7

Onward, Christian Fascists

Image
truthdig - by Chris Hedges The greatest moral failing of the liberal Christian church was its refusal, justified in the name of tolerance and dialogue, to denounce the followers of the Christian right as heretics. By tolerating the intolerant it ceded religious legitimacy to an array of con artists, charlatans and demagogues and their cultish supporters. It stood by as the core Gospel message—concern for the poor and the oppressed—was perverted into a magical world where God and Jesus showered believers with material wealth and power. The white race, especially in the United States, became God’s chosen agent. Imperialism and war became divine instruments for purging the world of infidels and barbarians, evil itself.  Details here.

Canada’s reindeer ‘at risk of extinction’

Image
T he Narwhal As governments drag their feet on caribou habitat protections, the iconic species engraved on the Canadian quarter is winking out across the country. The year 2019 saw alarming declines and local extinctions of a species Indigenous peoples hold sacred. Story here. "Santa's reindeer" flee a logging truck, somewhere in the boreal forests of Canada.  Please read my own, related story and watch my video, below... Larry Powell. Even our national bird - the Canada jay - is not immune from the ravages of manmade climate change. Save the Wilderness. A music video by Eric Bogle and Larry Powell.

Downstream of Alberta's tar sands, death by cancer comes too often

Image
Canada's  National Observer Ft. Chipewyan from the air. Photo by Mark S. Elliott. It’s been more than a dozen years since the metaphorical alarm was first sounded, and yet the residents of Fort Chipewyan still don’t know what’s killing them. Story here.