EcoWest News, July 9, 2024
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
A Manitoba researcher hopes to control the mosquito population by releasing sterile males who will out-compete the fertile ones. [CTV News]
Wildlife rehabilitation centres in Saskatoon and Regina are struggling due to lack of Canada Summer Grants for hiring students for the past 4 years. [CKOM]
A battery-based energy storage system, designed to respond quickly to short-term power fluctuations, is now online in Regina. [CBC]
Alberta’s wetlands and peatlands promote biodiversity, store carbon, and conserve water. [Nature Alberta]
22 coastal BC First Nations have signed up for an online system to alert them without delay to oil or hazardous chemical spills on their lands and waters. [The Discourse]
Across Canada
Logging roads fundamentally alter forest ecosystems, but their accumulation and cumulative impact are missing or downplayed in public reporting. [David Suzuki Foundation]
Barred owls are more and more common in Western Canadian cities although their diet differs from one location to the next. The problem is, they’re usurping other native owls. [Hakai]
Around the World
Should society be prioritizing industrial-scale solar projects or a multitude of small rooftop systems? [Anthropocene]
Wildfires, polluted water, disrupted wildlife, lost pets, and burns – isn’t it time to replace fireworks with more environmentally friendly celebrations? [Reasons to be Cheerful]
360 cruise ships are projected to have carried a total of 30 million passengers in 2024, a 9.2% increase compared to 2019. Despite touting their green credentials, cruise ships emit more CO2 per passenger km than a passenger jet, dump toxic waste, and create underwater noise pollution. [BBC]
Industry is working to save energy and cut greenhouse gases by raising frozen food temperature standards from minus 18 to minus 15. [Move to Minus 15]
Housing
Like Canada, the UK faces a housing crisis. The Wildlife Trusts sets forth recommendations for how to build 1.5 million homes in a nature- and climate-friendly way. [Wildlife Trusts]
The focus on rapid housing development is resulting in a loss of green space. “Nature will find a way of getting back as wildfire, floods and heat domes intensify in a rapidly warming world.” [The Tyee]
Pollinators
Increasing wild pollinator habitat could boost crop yields and increase farmer income. The greatest gains would be in Saskatchewan where canola and pea crops rely on pollinators to reproduce. [North Shore News]
Trying to help the bees? Start a pollinator garden instead of setting up bee hives. [Rewilding]
DIY
10 tips for a stellar dark sky camping experience – from checking the weather forecast to downloading a star-finding app [Dark Sky International] See also: Looking for the Stars in Western Canada [EcoFriendly West]
Nature’s Wonders
Europe’s great tits are thriving in an urban environment, producing false alarms to scare other birds off feeders and knocking on kitchen windows to get seeds refilled. [Scientific American]
Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/apmckinlay/42290878241
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 Twitter or Mastodon, or subscribe by email.