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

solutions

Watershed groups express concern over water levels as Alberta looks for solutions

Watershed groups express concern over water levels as Alberta looks for solutions

As Alberta grapples with low rivers, dry fields and minimal snowpack, the provincial government is asking for help with its drought modelling for next year. Concerns about water levels are being echoed by watershed groups in the province, as a sustained period of drier-than-average conditions have taken a toll on reserves. The Alberta government recently issued a request for proposals to help conduct modelling throughout the winter, and to work with municipalities, farmers, water users and others to find ways to maximize the province's water supply in the South Saskatchewan River Basin. 

This new tech is said to filter 99% of ‘forever chemicals’ from water

This new tech is said to filter 99% of ‘forever chemicals’ from water

The treatment was designed by researchers at the University of British Columbia, and it utilizes a silica-based material that can absorb up to 99 percent of the forever chemicals found in water. The PFAS are then removed from the material, which can be used again to remove even more toxins. The potential here is exceptional, allowing us to remove these dangerous chemicals from water completely.

From freak weather to our water supply to optimism and action. Here are answers to your climate questions

From freak weather to our water supply to optimism and action. Here are answers to your climate questions

Over the last four months, you've sent us over 300 climate questions as part of the Great Lakes Climate Change Project. We've researched the most commonly asked questions and given you answers about extreme weather, our water supply, and how you can both take action and stay optimistic in the face of the climate crisis. Before we jump in, some general takeaways from your questions. Most readers did want to hear about the many ways climate change impacts our lives, but also wanted a focus on solutions. A lot of questions were concerned less with what's new and more on breaking down the long-term processes that have brought us to this point. That's what we'll be focusing on here. 

Canadore College launches Water Teaching Lodge

Canadore College launches Water Teaching Lodge

Shawn Chorney offered to be the first to take a drink of water from the pond at the Education Centre this summer. The vice president of Canadore College’s Enrolment Management, Indigenous and Student Services, helped launch and open its new Water Teaching Lodge. The lodge is located in the First Peoples’ Centre in the main campus off College Drive. The lodge and the construction of an operational water treatment facility on campus will provide a new approach to clean water and technology that prioritizes Indigenous teachings about water.

How one Alberta teacher helps kids manage their climate anxiety

How one Alberta teacher helps kids manage their climate anxiety

When 10-year-old Kade Steiger grows up, he wants to have a family. But climate change worries him a little. "What's their daily lives going to be, what's their children's daily lives going to be like for generations to come?" he said during an interview with What On Earth host Laura Lynch. Kade (above photo, right) is a Grade 5 student at Dr. Ken Sauer School in Medicine Hat, Alta., and his worries aren't unusual. Recent research shows that nearly 80 per cent of Canadians between the ages of 16 and 25 say climate change impacts their overall mental health. 

Youth welcomed with ‘open arms’ to UN water conference

Youth welcomed with ‘open arms’ to UN water conference

The conference, set to take place in New York from March 22 to 24, is the first in almost 50 years solely devoted to creating a water action agenda. It aims to address the “alarmingly off-track” progress on water-related goals and targets that are “jeopardizing the entire sustainable development agenda,” the United Nations wrote on its website. The conference is a unique opportunity to solve the world’s water problems, said Dousse, 36. “The 21st century will be blue or there won't be any other centuries for the generations to come,” Dousse said.

Why London's IT staff say $1M is needed to protect the city from cyber attacks

Why London's IT staff say $1M is needed to protect the city from cyber attacks

"Medium and larger municipalities are starting to realize how important cybersecurity is to protecting the data of citizens, critical infrastructure, political systems, and so on," said Kush Sharma, MISA's director of municipal modernization and partnerships. He says a cyber attack can compromise everything from water and waste distribution systems to transportation technology. 

Why do oceans matter for climate change?

Why do oceans matter for climate change?

As the climate crisis gets worse, oceans — the planet’s greatest carbon sink — can no longer be overlooked. Spanning 70 per cent of the globe, oceans have absorbed nearly a third of the planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions caused by humans and 90 per cent of the excess heat those gases create. The heat stored in the Earth’s entire atmosphere is equal to what’s stored in the top few metres of our oceans. If that wasn’t enough, oceans produce more than 50 per cent of the planet’s oxygen and regulate our climate and weather patterns.

Beavers expanding north bring damming consequences for Inuit and wildlife

Beavers expanding north bring damming consequences for Inuit and wildlife

Some communities, such as Umiujaq, are particularly at risk to be impacted by beaver expansion because of the geography, says Mikhaela Neelin, director of the Nunavik Hunting Fishing Trapping Association. Umiujaq is one of the communities located just north of the treeline — the edge of the habitat where trees are capable of growing. "In the tundra and a lot of regions, they're seeing beavers appear there for the first time," said Neelin, adding that the consequences are a mixed bag.

Explainer - COP27: How climate change impacts countries around the world

Explainer - COP27: How climate change impacts countries around the world

While delegates at the COP27 climate conference discuss the shared problem of climate change, each country will face its own challenges and threats. In February, the U.N. climate science agency released a major report on adapting to a warmer world - and detailed how that effort would differ from place to place. While some countries see glaciers melt or coastlines rise, others will contend mostly with raging wildfires and extreme heat, the report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said.

NSCC Shelburne community well project offers solutions on several fronts

NSCC Shelburne community well project offers solutions on several fronts

The discovery of an unused drilled well at the NSCC Shelburne Campus on the Lake John Road could possibly serve as a water resource for the community. “The Shelburne Campus well water has the potential to serve as a community water supply," reads an NSCC Shelburne Campus Community Well Project proposal presented to Shelburne Municipal Council on May 11 by SEED (South End Environmental Injustice Society) volunteers Louise Lindsay and Louise Delilse.

Engineering Panel Explores Solutions for Indigenous Communities Struggling to Access Clean Water

Engineering Panel Explores Solutions for Indigenous Communities Struggling to Access Clean Water

Clean, safe water is critical to human health, food production and more, yet access to this cherished resource remains a challenge for many Indigenous communities in Canada. Water advisories continue to be a common occurrence for these communities and an all-too-regular reminder of the different standards that exist in the country for public infrastructure. “More often than not, boil-water advisories are put on due to a lack of confidence in the system. Frequently, short-term ones are because there was a break in the line, the line depressurized and some contaminates may have been introduced into the distribution system,” explains Ryan Dunbar, president of SOAR Professional Services, a consulting firm focused on Indigenous employment and community development. The company was launched as a limited partnership with Dillon Consulting Limited.

Saving Sutton's water supply a key election issue for the Quebec town

Saving Sutton's water supply a key election issue for the Quebec town

Access to water is on voters' mind in Sutton, Que., this municipal election. The town, which is about 110 kilometres southeast of Montreal, has had many issues with its water supply over the years. Residents are hoping their next mayor will find solutions to the problem. "There is really not enough water right now," said resident Johanna Ryffel. "You walk by every stream, and the stream beds are almost dry."

Cornwall Council hears of serious vulnerability to city’s water supply

Cornwall Council hears of serious vulnerability to city’s water supply

Cornwall City Council received a report from EVB Engineering at a special meeting on Monday, Nov. 1 about a potential vulnerability to the city’s water supply and solutions on how to address the problem. The water received at the City of Cornwall’s Water Purification Plant (WPP), located on Second St. W., is taken from the St. Lawrence River through an intake pipe located west of the R.H. Saunders Dam in the city’s west end. That pipe is roughly 65-years-old and is reaching the end of its service life. Even if it were not so old, the fact that the water plant has only one intake pipe was identified as a vulnerability in the system.

Opinion: Water crisis solutions must involve traditional water law

Opinion: Water crisis solutions must involve traditional water law

The question posted across the screen during both the French and English federal leader’s debates asked: “Water for all Indigenous Peoples?” The question sounds absurd because it is. Yes, we are still trying to ensure Indigenous Peoples have safe, reliable access to clean drinking water. The leaders took turns tossing blame, calling the Indigenous water crisis a national shame and promising to do better. Two election cycles ago, the governing party promised to eliminate all boil water advisories in Indigenous communities. The government lifted 108 boil water advisories, but today hundreds of Indigenous communities still do not have reliable access to safe drinking water.

Saving wetlands a resolution Canada needs to keep

Saving wetlands a resolution Canada needs to keep

Amid all the heartening and hope-filled ways Canadians have resolved to make 2021 a year of positive change, one in particular holds water: the commitment to saving our wetlands. Leading up to 2021, the Government of Canada promised to make significant investments in our environment-and in the wetlands that underpin its health. Today, this commitment must be among our greatest convictions. Our ability to address the colliding crises of biodiversity loss and climate change depend on it. So does our economic recovery.

Raising awareness of Indigenous water rights in B.C.

Raising awareness of Indigenous water rights in B.C.

Now, he works as a lecturer at UBCO, where his work is focused on Indigenous water rights and customary laws. On Jan. 26, Sam was one of the keynote speakers at a workshop designed “to bring together diverse stakeholders to discuss and improve understanding of Aboriginal water rights in British Columbia,” according to the event page. The objective of the three-hour workshop was to raise awareness around the implications of Aboriginal title and rights as they relate to water in B.C., within the Syilx People’s unceded territory.

Indigenous teen to advocate for clean water in Canada at UN

Indigenous teen to advocate for clean water in Canada at UN

The first time Autumn Peltier noticed a boil-water advisory in a First Nations community, she was just eight years old. “I asked my mom what that meant,” Peltier, who is turning 15 this week, told CTVNews.ca by phone. “When she explained to me that our water is not safe to drink, it all hit me.” The Indigenous teen from northeastern Ontario has since been advocating for clean water in First Nations communities across the country. Peltier is in New York City this week to speak about the importance of clean water at the Global Landscape Forum at the UN.

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