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.
Findings from a study describing the arsenic legacy left in lake-bottom sediments near an abandoned Halifax gold mine are setting off alarm bells for a senior cancer researcher. A paper published Monday in the journal Science of the Total Environment says a dated core sample taken from the bottom of Lake Charles discovered arsenic at 4,960 milligrams per kilogram, more than 280 times higher than levels "where biological harm is expected."
The COVID-19 pandemic appears to have changed air quality in Canada for the better. In our most populated cities, research shows stay-at-home orders and travel restrictions have resulted in significantly lower levels of fossil fuel consumption, vehicle emissions and greenhouse gases than were seen in recent years before the pandemic. The decrease in travel across Canada and worldwide has also reduced pressure on sensitive tourist sites. In our lakes, rivers, ponds and streams, though, a different story is unfolding.
