Company president charged in Indigenous activist's murder, plant guzzling grasshoppers emerge, heat wave cooks coastal animals in their shells...

[View in your browser]( [ecowatch]( Top Posts [ ​In Today's Eco Update - Company president charged with activist's murder. - Climate omen behind grasshopper plague. - Mass death after heat wave. Here's what you need to know about GMOs and the Trees & Seas Festival. – summaries below written by [Angely Mercado]( [post_image]( [Former Hydroelectric Dam Company President Charged With Activist's Murder]( Former top executive of a Honduran construction firm Desarrollos Energéticos (DESA) was the latest of eight people charged with the 2016 murder of environmental activist [Berta Cáceres](. Roberto David Castillo Mejía awaits sentencing in early August and is expected to be sentenced for 24 to 30 years. Cáceres was a well-known award winning grassroots activist and a Lenca, which is a group of Indigenous people of Honduras. She was shot dead in her home after spearheading a campaign that blocked the construction firm from building a dam on Indigenous land. The project did not comply with national and international environmental regulations, but was still sanctioned. Castillo Mejía was overseeing the project. He and others orchestrated Cáceres' murder after she led a campaign against the dam which delayed the project and caused financial losses for the company. To this day Castillo Mejía denies being involved in the murder and his lawyers plan to appeal his sentencing. [Read More Button]( [9630b8e6-45a3-4648-9335-a47935d7d092.png](  [twitter](  [linkedin](  [email](mailto:?subject=Former Hydroelectric Dam Company President Charged With Activist's Murder&body= [ Grasshopper Plague is Latest Sign of Climate Crisis in U.S. West As the U.S. bakes under hot, dry weather, the region must now weather another issue— a plague of grasshoppers. The plant guzzling [insects]( are native to the U.S. and their population is not usually large enough to cause any alarm. But the dry and hot weather has caused warmer winters which created the ideal conditions for more of the critters to survive into adulthood. And now, the grasshoppers are ready to descend upon nearby ranchers who fear that the surplus of insects will eat up the plants needed to feed cattle. There are 13 states out West experiencing the grasshopper outbreak, according to the [U.S. Department of Agriculture](. Read [more here](. [post_image]( [Heat Wave Killed Over 1 Billion Tidal Creatures in British Columbia]( The record breaking heat waves that left regions of North America including British Columbia in Canada may have led to the deaths of more than a billion intertidal animals like mussels that inhabit the Salish Sea coastline. Researchers found that many animals essentially "cooked" in their own shells due to the heat as temperatures reached 50°C (122°F), more than the 100°F that the mussels can withstand. The heat wave killed humans too. British Columbia's chief coroner, [announced]( last Friday that from June 25 to July 1 the region's death toll was three times higher than normal due to the extreme temperatures. More than 700 people died. It also lead to dozens deaths across the Pacific Northwest in the U.S. as well. More shellfish died in that region as well. [Read More Button]( [9630b8e6-45a3-4648-9335-a47935d7d092.png](  [twitter](  [linkedin](  [email](mailto:?subject=Heat Wave Killed Over 1 Billion Tidal Creatures in British Columbia&body= [post_image]( [GMOs: Everything You Need to Know]( Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are organisms that have been modified in a laboratory in order to produce a specific result. For example, many types of food sources, especially corn and soybean crops, are genetically modified in order to withstand herbicides and insects. This method stems from the concept of selective breeding and dates back to at least [8000 BCE]( although genetically altering DNA didn't happen until 1973. Austrian monk Gregor Mendel is credited with identifying the founding principles of genetics when he crossbred two pea breeds in 1866. In 1922, hybrid corn made its commercial debut, while plant breeders discovered how to alter DNA with radiation and chemicals in 1940. After 1973, the FDA approved insulin in 1982 as the first genetically engineered product for human use. However, genetically modified food didn't get FDA approval until 1994, when a GMO tomato became the first to go commercial. While on the surface it appears that GMOs are 100 percent positive, they have been surrounded by controversy for decades. [Read More Button]( [9630b8e6-45a3-4648-9335-a47935d7d092.png](  [twitter](  [linkedin](  [email](mailto:?subject=GMOs: Everything You Need to Know&body= [post_image]( [Trees & Seas Event Adds New Sponsor and Location as Launch Approaches]( The first-ever [Trees & Seas event]( is one month away, and momentum continues to build for this unique celebration of the connection between [forest]( and [ocean]( [conservation](. The event, a collaboration between lifestyle brand [ÜÑÜ]( and [Plastic Oceans Internationa]( for which EcoWatch is serving as Global Media Partner, has gained both a new sponsor and a new location as its launch approaches. "We are pleased that the Trees & Seas footprint continues to expand. It's been a very organic process," Plastic Oceans International Chief Operating Officer Tod Hardin told EcoWatch in an email. "Word of mouth is spreading and the message is connecting with like-minded organizations around the world, as it is with individuals who want to participate within their communities. We'll soon announce details, but we just added an event location in Japan, which now means we have nearly 30 event locations on five continents." [Read More Button]( [9630b8e6-45a3-4648-9335-a47935d7d092.png](  [twitter](  [linkedin](  [email](mailto:?subject=Trees & Seas Event Adds New Sponsor and Location as Launch Approaches&body= All rights reserved. [facebook](  [twitter](  [instagram]( [Unsubscribe]( {EMAIL} [Update Profile]( [about our service provider]( Sent by contact@ecowatch.com