Environmental issues Archives - Page 15 of 30

Plant for the Planet Foundation members speak together during the World Climate Change Conference 2015 (COP21) in Le Bourget, near Paris, France, December 3, 2015.

Prepare for climate change, conference told

Warmer winters will increase the risk of diseases and pests farmers haven’t had to deal with before

By Alex Binkley December 15, 2015

While climate change might extend the growing season in Canada’s northern regions, it will also bring challenges that farmers need to prepare for, says Ron Bonnet, president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture. Weather patterns will be the most affected, he told the Food Security and Climate Change conference sponsored by the Canadian Climate Forum.

Crops, News

Farm groups reject anti-GM crop report claims

The Canadian Biotechnology Action Network questions whether yield gains are due to GM technology

By Alex Binkley December 14, 2015

A report that claims genetically modified crops are no more productive than conventional ones doesn’t match the reality of what Canadian farmers find in their fields every year, farm groups say. The Canadian Biotechnology Action Network, which opposes GM crops, says in a report that yields of GM and conventional crop varieties “have increased at

Local news, Weather

Manitoba to adopt cap and trade

The province is offering to work with farm organizations to reduce farm emissions

By Shannon VanRaes December 11, 2015

A cap-and-trade system for carbon emissions is a key pillar of a new plan to reduce the province’s greenhouse gas emissions. Premier Greg Selinger made the announcement last week, outlining a plan to cut greenhouse gases by one-third by the year 2030, while also promising to create 6,000 “new green jobs” in the next four

Crops, News

Researcher decries loss of PFRA

The rural west needs another PFRA to help farmers adapt to climate change

By Alex Binkley December 9, 2015

The elimination of the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Agency by the Harper government has stripped western farmers of their best tool for coping with droughts and other climate change challenges, says Dave Sauchyn, a researcher at the University of Regina. The folding of the PFRA into Agriculture Canada’s bureaucracy removed the extension workers from the field

Fall field work was still underway in many areas of the province under record-high temperatures last Sunday, including along Mountain Road just east of Erickson. Projections from the new Winnipeg-based Prairie Climate Centre suggest this could be a more common mid-November sight in future.

News, Weather

Atlas showing future climate change under development

An online resource of maps and data will help planners adapt to climate change

By Lorraine Stevenson November 20, 2015

Growing conditions on the Canadian Prairies will be very different if global warming trends continue — but how different? A new series of online maps offers a glimpse of the length of season, temperature changes and rainfall farmers in the not-so-distant future could face under various scenarios. The maps are part of a ‘climate atlas’

The size of the Gulf of Mexico dead zone in 2011. The coloured gradients indicate the oxygen levels that present in the water at that recorded time.

Comment, Crops

Fertilizer run-off is just one piece of the dead zone puzzle

More perennial crops and protecting wetlands would help reduce  the low-to-no-oxygen zone in the Gulf of Mexico

By Eileen Mclellan November 9, 2015

It’s true that fertilizer run-off, sewage, and other pollutants from the Corn Belt have significantly boosted dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico. That’s because up to half of the fertilizer applied isn’t absorbed by crops, and in order to grow more food we’re using 20 times more fertilizer in the Corn Belt today than

News, Weather

U.S. winter weather to see El Niño’s influence

Northern-tier states are expected to be warmer, drier than normal

By Reuters November 4, 2015

Much of the U.S. South can expect a cooler and wetter winter, while warmer-than-usual temperatures are likely across many northern and western states, as a strong El Niño weather pattern shaped a government weather outlook issued Oct. 15. More rain and snow are likely across the nation’s southern regions, extending from central California to Texas

Each 50-gram portion of processed meat eaten daily increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 18 per cent, according to a WHO study.

International news, News

Processed meat causes cancer; red meat suspected

Study says 34,000 cancer deaths per year worldwide are attributable to diets high in processed meat

By Gus Trompiz October 27, 2015

Paris / Reuters | Eating processed meat can lead to bowel cancer in humans while red meat is a likely cause of the disease, World Health Organization (WHO) experts said on Monday in findings that could sharpen debate over the merits of a meat-based diet. The France-based International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of

Comment, Crops

Selective use of science won’t sell GMOs

Transparency is key to gaining credibility with the public

By Daryll E. Ray, Harwood D. Schaffer October 13, 2015

When it comes to issues like GMOs, antibiotic residues on meat, global warming, water pollution, and pesticide use and its residuals, participants on one or both sides of the issue make an appeal to science to bolster their position. Witness the recent article in the New York Times titled, “Food Industry Enlisted Academics in GMO

Crops, Livestock, News

Agriculture research needs to focus on future challenges

The institute said rising population, climate change and the need to find  alternatives to fossil fuels are priorities

By Alex Binkley September 22, 2015

Canada needs a forward-looking agriculture research policy to help feed a burgeoning global population, cope with climate change and develop alternatives to fossil fuels, says the Agriculture Institute of Canada. It has released a proposal to create a strong scientific base that “will be the primary source of innovation and productivity enhancements needed to meet

Daily Network News

Huge crops in South America says analyst

U.S. livestock: ‘Cattle on feed’ report supports prices

U.S. grains: Wheat trades near contract lows under ample global supply

Tag Archives Environmental issues