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

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Japan's discharge of radioactive water into Pacific Ocean unlikely to affect B.C., scientist says

Japan's discharge of radioactive water into Pacific Ocean unlikely to affect B.C., scientist says

On Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. PT, Japan initiated the release of radioactive water from a nuclear power plant managed by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), more than a decade after the facility sustained catastrophic damage. On March 11, 2011, the Fukushima Daiichi plant was devastated by a massive magnitude 9.0 earthquake that triggered powerful tsunami waves, resulting in the meltdowns of three of its reactors. This incident stands as one of the most severe nuclear catastrophes in world history.

Scientist drank water that is billions of years old and explained what it tastes like

Scientist drank water that is billions of years old and explained what it tastes like

Although most of us would gag at the thought of drinking water that’s been left sitting out for days on end unless we were desperate, the same can’t be said for the scientists involved in an incredible study. In 2013, scientists from the University of Toronto discovered the water over 1.5 miles beneath Earth’s surface, left isolated from the outside world for millennia in Timmins, Ontario, Canada. Most people would probably agree that this isn't a liquid for drinking, and is between 1.5 billion and 2.6 billion years old. But apparently professor Barbara Sherwood Lollar isn't most people. As lead researcher, Lollar tried the water and herself and judging by her reaction, it tasted just as nasty as it sounds.

Ocean temperatures soared to new 'pretty alarming' highs off Nova Scotia in 2022

Ocean temperatures soared to new 'pretty alarming' highs off Nova Scotia in 2022

Ocean temperatures off Nova Scotia hit record highs last summer, eclipsing the record-breaking temperatures set in the Atlantic a decade earlier. "It's pretty alarming," said Fisheries and Oceans Canada research scientist Chantelle Layton. Layton is part of the DFO team analyzing results from the annual Atlantic Ocean monitoring program in eastern Canada. Canadian scientists are discussing the 2022 data this week.

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. 

Disappearing glaciers in B.C. put tourism, watersheds at risk: scientist

Disappearing glaciers in B.C. put tourism, watersheds at risk: scientist

An estimated 80 per cent of B.C.’s glaciers are forecast to completely disappear and the impacts will trickle well beyond less beautiful vistas for British Columbians to look at. But any action to fight climate change can nonetheless help save glaciers in B.C.’s northern coastal mountains, one expert says. Brian Menounos, professor of geography at the University of Northern British Columbia and a Canada Research Chair in Glacier Change, recently co-authored a study in publication Science, with research suggesting implications for tourism, watersheds and public safety.

Jane Goodall returns to live events in effort to inspire hope, action on environment

Jane Goodall returns to live events in effort to inspire hope, action on environment

Jane Goodall says she's sharing a message of hope and a cry to action as she returns to the stage for live events. The scientist, who's best known for her work with wild chimpanzees in Africa, was in Calgary on Wednesday and was scheduled to give another talk in Victoria on Friday night. "It's my first trip to Canada in three years, because of the pandemic, and it's my third trip anywhere," Goodall said in an interview Wednesday before her Calgary event. Like many, she spent the past two-and-a-half years of the pandemic working from home and delivering her message online. "It was a grind," she said, "because we created virtual Jane and virtual Jane could do Zooms and Zoom interviews and attend conferences every day."

Wastewater shows coronavirus viral load down in Saskatoon and North Battleford, up in Prince Albert and Regina

Wastewater shows coronavirus viral load down in Saskatoon and North Battleford, up in Prince Albert and Regina

Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan have published the latest coronavirus wastewater data, showing a downward trend in Saskatoon and North Battleford, but also a jump of viral load in the Prince Albert wastewater. Scientists from the university's Global Institute for Water Security continue to monitor wastewater from Saskatoon, North Battleford and Prince Albert for the viral ribonucleic acid (RNA) load of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Rare trout pulled from city lake means cleanup efforts working, scientist says

Rare trout pulled from city lake means cleanup efforts working, scientist says

An angler's surprise catch may indicate a decades-long cleanup effort in Sudbury has been successful. On February 4, Andrew Shea pulled a 3.4 kilogram mature female trout from Nepahwin Lake. The 128-hectare body of water is wedged between Paris Street, a busy, four-lane thoroughfare, a private golf course, and a heavily-densified residential neighborhood– not prime habitat for the highly-sensitive lake trout.

Canadian scientist examines melting Antarctic glacier, potential sea level rise

Canadian scientist examines melting Antarctic glacier, potential sea level rise

As icebergs drifted by his Antarctica-bound ship, David Holland spoke this week of how the melting glacier he's cruising towards may contain warning signals for the coasts of far-off Canada. The atmospheric and ocean scientist from Newfoundland is part of an expedition to one of the world's most frigid and remote spots -- the Thwaites glacier in the western portion of the continent -- where he'll measure water temperatures in an undersea channel the size of Manhattan.

Scientist sounds water crisis alarm

Scientist sounds water crisis alarm

The megadrought affecting the western United States has prompted a scientist to warn that Canada’s prairie provinces need to better plan how water is used across the entire Saskatchewan river system. “A water expert from California we had up here a few years ago said that Alberta and Saskatchewan reminded him of California and Arizona around 1912,” said John Pomeroy, the Canada Research Chair in Water Resources and Climate Change at the University of Saskatchewan. “We’re still getting by OK, we have pretty loose agreements, everybody’s getting along, it’s fine – but we have trouble ahead.”

Sask. researchers see downward trend in COVID-19 wastewater testing, but delta sub-variants detected

Sask. researchers see downward trend in COVID-19 wastewater testing, but delta sub-variants detected

A drop in coronavirus particles in Saskatoon, Prince Albert and North Battleford wastewater might be a promising sign for the upcoming COVID-19 numbers, but a scientist from the University of Saskatchewan says he is still concerned about some of the recent findings. Researchers from the University of Saskatchewan continue to monitor the wastewater from the three cities for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

'Canada's leading ecologist': David Schindler dead at 80

'Canada's leading ecologist': David Schindler dead at 80

David Schindler, the trailblazing researcher widely regarded for his tireless defence of Canada's freshwater systems from industrial harm, has died. Schindler rose to prominence in the 1970s and early '80s with landmark experiments that sounded the alarm on acid rain and led the federal government to ban high-phosphorus laundry detergents. His 2010 research into Alberta's oilsands pushed the government to establish independent oversight of the industry, after he showed it was contributing contaminants to the region's watershed.

Sask.'s $4B irrigation plan must address changing climate, Indigenous rights: professor

Sask.'s $4B irrigation plan must address changing climate, Indigenous rights: professor

The Saskatchewan government has announced a $4-billion plan to expand irrigation out of the Lake Diefenbaker reservoir. Work is set to begin immediately, and will be completed in three phases over the next decade. CBC reporter Jason Warick spoke Friday with John Pomeroy, a Canada Research chair and director of the University of Saskatchewan's Global Water Futures program.

Young Innovators: New U of S app tracks causes of algae bloom

Young Innovators: New U of S app tracks causes of algae bloom

A new University of Saskatchewan smartphone app will help farmers and communities identify hotspots of nutrient contamination in freshwaters and possibly predict where algae blooms — slimy, plant-like green organisms that hinder water quality — are likely to grow. “Tracking how and where agricultural nutrients, which help crops grow, may be washed away with rainfalls and snowmelt is a major concern for both researchers and the public, and that’s where our app comes in,” said Environment and Climate Change Canada scientist Diogo Costa.

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