Air quality is a major challenge globally and is the single greatest environmental risk to human health. More than 90 per cent of the world’s population lives in areas that exceed the World Health Organization guideline for healthy air. In North America, Canada and the United States of America have …
Washington, June 6 (IANS) Using 29 years of data from satellite imageries, NASA scientists have found extensive greening in the Arctic region, thanks to rising temperatures. The northern reaches of North America are getting greener, said the study that provides the most detailed look yet at plant life across Alaska …
Worldwide heavy oil and bitumen deposits amount to 9 trillion barrels of oil distributed in over 280 basins around the world, with Canada home to oil sands deposits of 1.7 trillion barrels. The global development of this resource and the increase in oil production from oil sands has caused environmental …
Scientists may have significantly underestimated a dangerous source of pollution in the atmosphere, new research suggests. A satellite study, published Monday in the journal Nature Geoscience, has revealed nearly 40 previously unreported major sources of sulfur dioxide emissions - a pollutant that can cause multiple harmful health and environmental impacts …
Mexico, Canada and US collaborate on report that concludes the three nations will have to dramatically ramp up efforts to reach 10% protection goal North America is far from reaching national and international targets for protecting oceans, according to a first-of-its-kind report released on Wednesday. The Dare to Be Deep …
Researchers present a percentile-based calibration of the Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index (FWI) System for the United Kingdom (UK), developed from numerical weather prediction data, and evaluate it using historic wildfire records. The Fine Fuel Moisture Code, Initial Spread Index and final FWI component of the FWI system show the …
Seabirds exposed to even a dime-sized amount of oil can die of hypothermia in cold-water regions, but despite repeated requests by Environment Canada, offshore oil operators are failing when it comes to self-monitoring of small oil spills, says new research out of York University. Chronic pollution from many small oil …
The air quality around the entire Fort McMurray region remains very poor. The Alberta Health Services has issued warnings for the entire area with Health Quality Index of 10+ (very high risk of triggering health issues) reported in the area. As evidenced in these images from the morning and evening …
OTTAWA — The amount of pollution created by vapor from Canada’s oil sands, which contributes to climate change, ranks on par with most major cities in North America, according to a new study by the country’s environmental regulator that was published on Wednesday. While the connection between the oil sands’ …
A new analysis of global data related to wildfire, published by the Royal Society, reveals major misconceptions about wildfire and its social and economic impacts. Prof. Stefan Doerr and Dr Cristina Santin from Swansea University's College of Science carried out detailed analysis of global and regional data on fire occurrence, …
Fighting massive forest fires is dangerous and taxing enough, but those sent into Canada’s oil sands are not only wrestling with one of the worst wildfires in the country’s history. They are doing it surrounded by the volatile, explosive chemicals and compounds critical to pumping oil from some of the …
Although it has been previously reported that the transition of extremely low-birth-weight survivors (≤1000 g) in their mid-20s was similar to that of normal-birth-weight controls (>2500g), there was uncertainty as to whether this positive pattern would persist. The objective of the study was to compare the social functioning of low-birth-weight …
THE giant wildfire that raged recently through the Canadian province of Alberta, forcing more than 80,000 people to flee their homes, was caused in part by global warming producing drier conditions. Yet conservation efforts to prevent burning have not helped either, say some experts. Forests can regenerate after being burnt, …
Canada will have to set aside more money to deal with natural disasters like wildfires, storms and floods as climate change starts to bite, the head of the country's property insurance industry group said on Wednesday. A wildfire sweeping through the heavily forested oil sands region of Alberta near the …
Dedicated biomass crops are required for future bioenergy production. However, the effects of large-scale land use change (LUC) from traditional annual crops, such as corn-soybean rotations to the perennial grasses (PGs) switchgrass and miscanthus on soil microbial community functioning is largely unknown. Specifically, ecologically significant denitrifying communities, which regulate N2O …
International studies of the health of Indigenous and tribal peoples provide important public health insights. Reliable data are required for the development of policy and health services. Previous studies document poorer outcomes for Indigenous peoples compared with benchmark populations, but have been restricted in their coverage of countries or the …
The US and China are leading a push to bring the Paris climate accord into force much faster than even the most optimistic projections – aided by a typographical glitch in the text of the agreement. More than 150 governments, including 40 heads of state, are expected at a symbolic …
Cryptosporidium is a leading cause of childhood diarrhea in low-resource settings, and has been repeatedly associated with impaired physical and cognitive development. In May 2013, an outbreak of diarrhea caused by Cryptosporidium hominis was identified in the Arctic region of Nunavik, Quebec. Human cryptosporidiosis transmission was previously unknown in this …
Researchers investigated whether Neogobius melanostomus, an invader of biodiversity ‘hot-spots’ in the Laurentian Great Lakes region, facilitates or inhibits unionid mussel recruitment by serving as a host or sink for their parasitic larvae (glochidia). Infestation and metamorphosis rates of four mussel species with at-risk (conservation) status (Epioblasma torulosa rangiana, Epioblasma …
The current instability and unpredictability of the world water cycle is here to stay, making society's adaptation to new risks a vital necessity when formulating development policies, a UN water expert warns. Robert Sandford, the EPCOR Chair for Water and Climate Security at the United Nations University's Canadian-based Institute for …
A coalition of health and ecological support groups tried 192 cans randomly from numerous retailers in Canada and over 19 American states and found that almost 70 percent contained the Bisphenol-A (BPA). BPA is an industrial chemical and a toxic additive that is used to coat the inside of water …
