Nicole Hancock
Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony ...

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.

Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony to heal Chedoke Creek

climate scientists

Why recent water temperatures in the North Atlantic have scientists buzzing

Why recent water temperatures in the North Atlantic have scientists buzzing

It's been well documented that ocean temperatures have been on the rise across the globe for the past few decades. However what's happening with the warming waters in the North Atlantic over the past few weeks has the science community buzzing.  Temperatures in the North Atlantic are warming at new record levels this spring, based on data compiled by NOAA satellites and produced by the University of Maine. In early June, sea surface temperatures in the North Atlantic were as warm as 0.5 degrees above the previous record and more than one degree above the 1982-2011 average. 

Watershed work aims to avoid ‘catastrophic’ wildfire, protect drinking water

Watershed work aims to avoid ‘catastrophic’ wildfire, protect drinking water

A collaboration between climate scientists and Salt Spring’s largest water utility is yielding data — and a plan to improve both forest health and drinking water security for the island. Trustees of the North Salt Spring Waterworks District (NSSWD) heard an update from Transition Salt Spring’s Climate Adaptation Research Lab (CARL) scientist Ruth Waldick at their monthly meeting Thursday, Feb. 23, covering information collected upon — and current plans for — the Maxwell Lake Watershed. 

What are El Niño and La Niña, and how do they change the weather?

What are El Niño and La Niña, and how do they change the weather?

Winds blowing along the Equator above the Pacific Ocean - from South America in the east towards Asia in the west - were stronger than normal. These "trade winds" piled warm water off the coast of Asia, raising the sea surface level. In the east, near the Americas, cold water flowed upwards to the surface. During El Niño the opposite happens - weaker trade winds mean the warm water spreads out back towards the Americas, and less cold water rises towards the surface.

Good news: Some climate change impacts are 'reversible.' Here's what that means

Good news: Some climate change impacts are 'reversible.' Here's what that means

The latest UN climate report this week raised the alarm over the "irreversible" impacts of climate change, such as rising seas and coastal flooding that we will continue to experience for centuries or longer — even if we stop emitting greenhouse gases and halt global warming now. "We are now committed to some aspects of climate change, some of which are irreversible for hundreds to thousands of years," said Tamsin Edwards, a climate scientist at King's College London and co-author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report released Monday. The good news is that some impacts, such the warming of the Earth's surface, can be reversed by removing carbon from the atmosphere — at least in theory.

Scientists warn of Gulf Stream collapse leading to ‘climate catastrophe’ in Canada, world

Scientists warn of Gulf Stream collapse leading to ‘climate catastrophe’ in Canada, world

As climate scientists release new evidence pointing to the possible “collapse” of the Gulf Stream, experts are warning that its disappearance would usher in a “calamitous climate catastrophe” not just for Canadians living on the east coast, but for hundreds of millions more people worldwide. The warning comes amid a new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change, which found evidence of the Gulf Stream losing “stability” over the course of the last century. Should the stream continue to lose strength and eventually collapse, the study’s author warned of “severe impacts on the global climate system.”

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