Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.
Another important milestone in the project permitting process was the recent site visit to the project area with representatives from the Ministry of Mines of San Juan to confirm project conditions before activity restart. The visit complimented the latest water quality work carried out by the Institute of Hydraulic Investigation of the National University of San Juan for the water baseline study.
Chile, Argentina and the American West are in the midst of a decade-long, megadrought – the driest conditions those regions have seen in a century. And many areas in Western Canada and the United States are experiencing extreme drought – a once in 20-year event. Drought makes agriculture less productive, reduces crop yields and increases heat-related deaths. It adds to conflict and migration, as marginalized people are dispossessed of their land. In short, it leaves people more vulnerable.
A group of researchers at a Nova Scotia university, in partnership with international colleagues, have developed a test to rapidly detect bacteria contamination in drinking water by using gold nanoparticles, antibiotics and light. The technology devised by St. Francis Xavier University researchers is simpler and faster than other laboratory methods of finding bacteria in water, some of which take up to 18 hours and involve many more steps.
