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.
A very small percentage of water mains carrying drinking water to residents of Sault Ste. Marie have asbestos in them, PUC has confirmed. Although there is some debate on the subject, Health Canada has concluded that there is no evidence ingesting the substance is harmful to your health. Recently, an episode of the CTV television program W5 reported that asbestos-cement pipes are used in many municipalities across the country to deliver drinking water to residents.
Water licences are required for most mining operations and typically come with a number of conditions, which may include a requirement to provide a security cash deposit so funds are available for clean-up and remediation efforts should anything go wrong. Every two years, mining companies are required to submit reclamation and closure plans, to ensure sufficient security. Buchan said Victoria Gold hasn't been in compliance with that process, pointing to a lack of information on adjustments to its heap leach pad involving certain recontouring work, and apparent snow removal obligations from that site.
A team of researchers affiliated with multiple institutions in China and one each from Canada and Germany, has found data from the Chinese Mars rover Zhurong over its first 60 sols, showing evidence of wind erosion and possibly impacts from water erosion, as well. In their paper published in the journal Nature Geoscience, they discuss what they have found thus far.
Across the Old Crow Flats in the northern Yukon, lakes are telling a story of climate-driven change. The traditional territory of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation (VGFN), the Old Crow Flats is recognized as a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance thanks to its more than 8,000 thermokarst lakes (up to 15 square kilometres) and ponds. Thermokarst lakes are formed by thawed permafrost and can be prone to drainage if they expand into low-lying areas. Kevin Turner, an Associate Professor in Brock’s Department of Geography and Tourism Studies and Fulbright Canada Research Chair in Arctic Studies at the University of Washington, has studied the area since 2007, and he says that warmer temperatures, longer summers and more rain are “priming this important landscape for continued climate-driven landscape change.”
