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.
Using salt to clear icy roads may be an effective winter safety measure, but excess salty meltwater can wreak havoc on freshwater ecosystems and drinking water resources. In a new study, researchers show current water quality guidelines in North America and Europe are not enough to prevent dangerous levels of salinization. The findings were published last month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Amid another record warm year for the planet, one of the most dramatic and alarming changes occurred in our oceans, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). They are the warmest they've been in recorded history. In fact, the ocean heat has been topping its own record annually for the past seven years, with last year's record set despite the absence of El Niño — a warming in part of the Pacific Ocean that tends to drive up global temperatures.
