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
CPAWS-MB has developed a series of recommendations for reconciling mining critical minerals with a clean, safe, and healthy environment. These include rigorous environmental assessments and environmental monitoring and enforcement. [CPAWS-MB]
A group of Winnipeggers are pitching the idea of a new national urban park, reaching along the Red, Assiniboine, and Seine rivers to encompass 430 hectares in the heart of the city. [CBC]
Architecture schools in Alberta and Manitoba are preparing architects to respond to climate change with flexible, longer building life cycles, more durable materials, and adaptive reuse. [Daily Commercial News]
Wetlands for Tomorrow, a coalition of SK organizations and individuals, are asking citizens to speak out against the provincial government’s plans to drain an additional 2 million acres. [Wetlands for Tomorrow]
Vancouver is the first Canadian jurisdiction to enforce limits on building emissions. The technologies are available, but business owners are looking for financial assistance. [CBC]
Around the World
Right to repair is now the law in Colorado for all consumer electronic devices containing a chip. [The Verge]
Vermont has become the first state to enact a law requiring fossil fuel companies to pay a share of the damage caused by climate change after the state suffered catastrophic summer flooding and damage from other extreme weather. [Sask Today]
Some uses of the internet pollute very little: a Google search emits about 0.2 grams of CO2, a minute spent on TikTok 2.6 grams, 1 hour of video about 36 grams. It’s cryptocurrency and AI that have driven the recent upswing in internet emissions. [Heated]
Making a Difference
A 9-storey university residence is Canada’s largest Passive House Classic structure. It uses “internal thermal gains” (like heat from residents’ bodies and their electronics and appliances) to heat the building. [The Energy Mix]
Chocolate could become healthier and more sustainable. Replacing the sugar with the mashed pulp and husk of the cocoa pod would use less land and water. [The Guardian]
Will electric ‘Lego’ cars someday replace SUVs in urban centres? They’re easy to park, easy to maneuver, cause less pollution, and less pedestrian deaths. [The Guardian]
On the Bookshelf
Fact, fiction, poetry, and children’s books – recommended summer reading. [CPAWS-Northern Alberta]
Nature’s Wonders
A dentist has used his spare time to become an expert on narwhals, a remarkable animal that has substituted a tusk for teeth. [Knowable Magazine]
Some years trees produce lots of seeds; other years very few. Like farmers letting a field lie fallow, they may be breaking cycles of pests and disease. [Smithsonian]
Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/apmckinlay/41885385865/ (lichen close-up)
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.