Prime growing areas for Canada oysters contain alarmingly high concentrations of plastic microbeads

23 May 2018 (SFU) – British Columbia’s premier shellfish farming region is heavily contaminated with microplastics, according to a new SFU study.New research from SFU’s Ecotoxicology Research Group shows Lambert Channel and Baynes Sound off Denman Island are awash with microbeads and other microplastics including fragments and fibres.The area is also home to approximately 130 […]

Global warming broadens threat of emerald ash borer – “This should be a wake-up call for how we think about invasive species”

17 May 2018 (University of Waterloo) – More Canadian cities will experience damage from the emerald ash borer than previously thought. As a result of climate change and fewer days of extreme cold, the beetle may eat its way further north than originally estimated. Kim Cuddington, a professor of biology at the University of Waterloo, […]

Press freedom continues global decline in 2018 – U.S. falls to 45th due to Trump hostility to reporters – “The unleashing of hatred toward journalists is one of the worst threats to democracies”

25 April 2018 (RSF) – The 2018 World Press Freedom Index, compiled by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), reflects growing animosity towards journalists. Hostility towards the media, openly encouraged by political leaders, and the efforts of authoritarian regimes to export their vision of journalism pose a threat to democracies. [Читать на русском / Read in Russian] […]

Researchers measure record concentration of microplastic in Arctic sea ice – “No one can say for certain how harmful these tiny plastic particles are for marine life, or ultimately also for human beings”

24 April 2018 (AWI) – Experts at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), have recently found higher amounts of microplastic in arctic sea ice than ever before. However, the majority of particles were microscopically small. The ice samples from five regions throughout the Arctic Ocean contained up to 12,000 […]

Murders of Peru indigenous leader and Canadian under investigation

22 April 2018 (CBC News) – Authorities in Peru are investigating after an Indigenous spiritual leader was shot to death, a case that local media reports say resulted in the killing of a Canadian citizen in reprisal for the murder. Olivia Arevalo Lomas, who was 81 and from the Shipibo-Conibo ethnic group, was shot twice […]

Mountain pine beetle has jumped the Rockies, is spreading across Alberta to Saskatchewan – “In the past, it was too cold for the beetle to survive there, but now it’s warm enough”

By Daisy Simmons 22 January 2018 (Yale Climate Connections) – Canada’s vast conifer forests are being destroyed by tiny beetles that are on the move. Mountain pine beetles are native to western North America, but as the climate warms, the beetle’s range is expanding.Six: “It’s actually jumped the Rockies and has spread across Alberta to […]

2017 was second-worst year for U.S. wildfires – Top ten years are all after 2000

11 February 2018 (Desdemona Despair) –  The year 2017 was the second-worst year for wildfires in the U.S., according to data published by the National Interagency Fire Center. Nationwide, wildfires burned a total 10,026,086 acres, just 99,063 acres shy of the record, 10,125,149 acres, set in 2015. In December, 2017 was on track to be […]

Declining trust in government is driving declines in democracy globally – U.S. is now a “flawed democracy”

25 January 2017 (The Economist) – America, which has long defined itself as a standard-bearer of democracy for the world, has become a “flawed democracy” according to the taxonomy used in the annual Democracy Index from the Economist Intelligence Unit, our sister company. Although its score did not fall by much—from 8.05 in 2015 to […]

A response for people using record cold U.S. weather to refute global warming – “Even as climate warms, we will always have winter”

By Marshall Shepherd 28 December 2017 (Forbes) – If you are reading or watching the news, winter weather is the current headline. Negative wind chills, feet of lake effect snow in the Great Lakes region, and possibly the coldest New Year’s Eve ball drop in almost a half century are on tap. Forecasts are suggesting […]

As migrants flee for Canada, fears are rising over the perils of frigid illegal crossings – “They’re nice-dressed families — like they could be your neighbor — but they are scared and don’t know what else to do”

By Tim Craig 15 December 2017 NOYES, Minnesota (The Washington Post) – Chad Cosley tracks them as if they were deer. He looks for footprints and frequently checks his network of trail cameras, which had been documenting wildlife along the U.S.-Canada border but now also capture would-be refugees fleeing the United States under President Trump. […]

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