PLANET IN PERIL

by Larry Powell I feel I must respond to a column now appearing in some weeklies in Manitoba, (See bottom)  “Agriculture, environment and animal care.” Cam Dahl, Apologist-in-Chief for Manitoba Pork. What a masterful piece of propaganda from Cam Dahl, GM of Manitoba Pork, the official mouthpiece of an industry that’s become a runaway train in this province!  He commits so many sins of omission, trying to convince us of the industry's environmental virtues, Lucifer himself must be blushing! For example; Recent tests done for the global c harity, World Animal Protection, have found “superbug” genes developing in waterways around large pig barns in this province.  This is huge. Why?  Because, while we already know people can ingest superbugs either by coming in close contact with infected animals or eating the meat, this surely reveals a previously unknown pathway these harmful organisms can follow to invade our lives.  It surely makes those who eat fish from the contaminated water

Nature Aggressive efforts to limit global warming will sharply reduce future sea-level rise,  suggests a paper published in Nature.  Icebergs in Sermilik Fjord, SE Greenland Credit: Donald Slater A second paper, also published in Nature, indicates that warming of 3 °C could cause sea level to increase by 0.5 cm every year by 2100 as a result of melting Antarctic land ice. The findings provide further insight into the impact of melting land ice on global sea-level rises. This animation shows the rate at which the ice thickness is changing in meters per year (more red/yellow means faster thinning and thus faster ice loss) as the Antarctic Ice Sheet responds to changes in the atmosphere and ocean due to one potential climate scenario. This simulation, using the BISICLES ice sheet model, represents one of hundreds of such simulations used for this work to characterize ice sheet response to changes in the climate. Credit: Daniel Martin and Courtney Shafer. Since 1993, land ice has contribu

PRODUCED  BY HOG WATCH MANITOBA Learn about the impending disaster of antibiotic resistance.  The heartbreak of having a factory barn as a neighbour.  And the explosion of toxic algae in our lakes.   JUST CLICK HERE AND FOLLOW THE LINKS.

Letter - Manitoba Co-Operator  Letters to the Editor Manitoba Cooperator Dear Mr. Gilmour: Re: The carbon credit reality Feb.25 Almost four years ago I saw a full colour, half page ad placed by the Manitoba Pork Council with the Winnipeg Free Press. It claimed that Big Pig, as I know the MPC, had the strictest environmental protection of any jurisdiction in North America. So I wrote the former CEO to ask who had the second strictest. Obligingly, he wrote back to say that he didn't know. Yes, he didn't know. Meaning that the published claim was specious. (I exposed that lie before a legislative committee with the CEO in the room and the ad never again appeared in the Free Press.)  So, excuse me if David McInnes' gushing about Canada's record in food sustainability appears to be similarly suspect. I duly note that he is under contract to 22 various and sundry special interest groups seeking some sort of Good Agribusiness Seal of Approval for food sustainability. You repor

Since Covid-19 cases are going in the wrong direction, I decided to repost "My Hero is You." It's a 15 minute video which I narrate. It's designed to help kids navigate through these tough times. It was made available via a United Nations committee about a year ago. It's illustrated with colourful, original images. While it's designed for older kids, you parents can decide if it's right for them. I call it a "Grampa Lar" production. Larry. 

 

by Larry Powell I spotted these carcasses while going for a walk along the causeway across the northern section of the lake today. These were north of the causeway. I did not spot any to the south. They also appeared smaller and younger than the victims of the major kill which occurred on the same lake two years ago. 

Science Daily The calving front of Thwaites Ice Shelf looking at the ice below the water's surface as seen from the NASA DC-8 on Oct. 16, 2012.  Data from underneath Thwaites Glacier, also known as the Doomsday Glacier. Story here.

by Larry Powell Prairie producers were feeding more antibiotics to their pigs in 2018 than 2017.  Antibiotics have been bestowing a world of good on the human condition ever since - and even before - Alexander Fleming discovered the most famous one - penicillin - almost a century ago. Thanks to their ability to counter deadly infections - life expectancies have increased dramatically - and millions of lives have been saved - truly a turning point in the history of mankind.  But storm clouds have been gathering over this “age of enlightenment” for some time now. It’s called “Antimicrobial resistance.” AMR happens when antibiotics are used too much, or for the wrong reasons. This does happen when treating people. However, as our own Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) makes clear, the real story lies elsewhere. “There’s increasing evidence,” PHAC warns on its website, “that the use of antimicrobial agents in veterinary medicine and livestock production is an important contributing fact