Welcome to EcoWest News, a weekly round-up of news and resources that you can put to use in addressing environmental issues and protecting the wild in your community.
Across the West
Manitoba’s Affordable Home Energy Program covers the cost of ground-source heat pumps for eligible residents of both single-family homes and multi-unit residential buildings with no upfront costs in some cases. [Winnipeg Sun]
CPAWS Manitoba celebrated Ocean Week with art, music, and a Water Walk. [CPAWS-MB]
The Regina Humane Society is partnering with Prairie Clean Energy to produce a biodegradable cat litter from flax straw, a waste product left over when flax is harvested. [CBC]
A new study shows that methane emissions from Canada’s inactive oil and gas wells are up to 7 times higher than government estimates, with a relatively small number of high emitters responsible for most of the pollution. [The Energy Mix]
Albertans are invited to provide feedback by July 26 on a draft provincial Plan for Parks. [Rocky Mountain Outlook, Alberta]
Edmontonians are invited to let City Council know they don’t support 1) a bike park and 2) residential and commercial towers in a wildlife corridor in the river valley. [Edmonton River Valley Conservation Coalition]
BC Nature and the Native Bee Society of BC have received the BC Conservation and Biodiversity Award for their work on the BC Bee Atlas, a citizen-science based program that documents the diversity, distribution, and floral partners of BC’s more than 500 native bee species. [Native Bee Society of British Columbia]
Across Canada
A concise explanation of Canada’s Bill C-5 and its implications. [The Narwhal]
Around the World
New studies indicate reforestation’s potential to combat climate change is much more limited than previously anticipated with insufficient land and money available and the increasing threat of wildfires limiting tree planting’s ability to sequester carbon. [The Energy Mix]
Energy
“The global transition to clean energy is accelerating. Becoming an ‘energy superpower’ means equipping ourselves to lead in that world” by building a clean, modern electricity grid and implementing a regulatory system that favours sustainable development. [Pembina Institute]
Jurisdictions accelerating toward clean energy can learn from South Australia where a rooftop solar boom reshaped the grid and pushed regulators to redefine their role as one of orchestrating energy flows. [The Energy Mix]
How does geothermal energy work, and why don’t we use it more often – a handy guide to how it works, which countries are using it, and some of the reasons why its potential is largely untapped. [Sustainability by Numbers]
Urban Nature
A four-step plan with examples for protecting and retaining urban trees during their most productive, mature years. [Biophilic Cities]
Streetlights and other illumination are turning urban areas into giant well-lit greenhouses and artificially extending the growing season. [Anthropocene]
From planters to former landfills, New York City is growing native plants to support bees and other pollinators. [Inside Climate News]
Nature’s Wonders
Orca whales are very intelligent and highly social. They turn kelp into a grooming tool with two orcas working together to rub the kelp against their bodies. [The Conversation]
Microscopic in size and hidden from public view in aquatic environments, plankton play a critical role in maintaining a healthy food web and decomposition and have even inspired architects and engineers. [The Conversation]
“Wherever we live, whether in the city suburbs or country, darkness conjures a hidden world of wildlife that most of us rarely glimpse … Night is not just a time, but a diverse habitat we know little about.” [The Nature of Cities]
Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/apmckinlay/54613449757
EcoFriendly West informs and encourages initiatives that support Western Canada’s natural environment through its online publication and the Nature Companion website/app. Like us on Facebook, follow us on BlueSky, X, and Mastodon, or subscribe by email.