Renowned biologist Edward O. Wilson says to protect nature, people must regain their innate love for it. That means spending time in nature. While the concepts in Wilson’s book Biophilia have gained widespread acceptance since its publication more than 30 years ago, we’re still facing serious problems based on a lack of understanding of and […]
David Suzuki
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SCIENCE MATTERS: A butterfly-friendly balm for turbulent times
In these turbulent political times, inspirational stories are more important than ever. Here’s one about how people power is fuelling a surprising comeback. It starts with a quiet disappearance that gradually builds to a historic wave of orange. And it may offer a balm for the seemingly endless barrage of negative news. Folks in Eastern […]
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SCIENCE MATTERS: We must heed storm warnings to build a brighter future
In 2012, North Carolina’s Coastal Resources Commission warned that sea levels there could rise by a metre over the next century. The warning was based in part on U.S. Geological Survey findings that “sea level rise along the portion of the East Coast between North Carolina and Massachusetts is accelerating at three to four times […]
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SCIENCE MATTERS: One of the worst words in the dictionary
My parents married during the Great Depression. After the 1929 market collapse, people had to learn to make do, help each other out and live on meagre incomes. Those times were seared into my parents’ attitudes and values. Although we were all born and raised in Canada, my family was seen as the enemy during […]
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SCIENCE MATTERS: Trans Mountain decision is good, but we still have far to go
Saved by the whales! The federal Appeal Court decision on August 30 to quash the government’s approval of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project was largely based on the National Energy Board’s failure to consider the environmental impacts of a sevenfold tanker traffic increase off the B.C. coast, including how it would affect endangered southern […]
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SCIENCE MATTERS: Climate change combines with other factors to fuel wildfires
Scientists, journalists, environmentalists and others who draw the connection between increasing wildfires and global warming often face a backlash. It’s not climate change; it’s lightning, careless smokers or campers, poor forestry management, industrial activity or sparks from vehicles, bad government… One doesn’t negate the other. Wildfires have many causes, and more than one factor is […]
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SCIENCE MATTERS: Hot enough for you?
If you follow climate news (and you should), you’ve likely heard of the global warming “hiatus.” In attempts to keep the world hooked on diminishing reserves of polluting fossil fuels, climate science deniers seized on that phenomenon to claim the warming they once argued didn’t exist stopped. Others took up the false claim out of […]
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SCIENCE MATTERS: Cool solutions mean a hothouse planet isn’t inevitable
In the midst of worldwide record heat, devastating wildfires, droughts, refugee crises, and torrential rains and flooding, some particular disturbing headlines have hit the news. “Planet at risk of heading towards irreversible ‘hothouse’ conditions” the CBC announced. Similar headlines appeared in other media outlets. As CBC explained, “Scientists from the Stockholm Resilience Centre, the University […]
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SCIENCE MATTERS: Will energy efficiency stall climate disruption?
In the race against the increasingly widespread and devastating consequences of climate change, solutions tend to focus on products and technologies. Renewable energy, electric vehicles, biofuels, carbon capture and storage and geoengineering get much of the attention, in part because they lead us to believe we can continue acting as usual. Those technologies must be […]
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SCIENCE MATTERS: The future isn’t in plastics
People in Canada discard about 57 million plastic drinking straws every day. In my hometown of Vancouver, we toss out 2.6 million disposable cups every week. It’s a global problem. Plastic products are choking landfills and waterways and causing devastation in the oceans. In 2014, scientists even found a new kind of stone in Hawaii, […]
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SCIENCE MATTERS: We can’t hide from global warming’s consequences
Over the past few months, heat records have broken worldwide. In early July, the temperature in Ouargla, Algeria, reached 51.3 C, the highest ever recorded in Africa! Temperatures in the eastern and southwestern United States and southeastern Canada have also hit record highs. In Montreal, people sweltered under temperatures of 36.6 C, the highest ever […]
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SCIENCE MATTERS: Fake grassroots campaigns deserve uprooting
AstroTurf looks and feels like grass—in an all-too-perfect way. But it’s not grass. Now the well-known artificial turf’s brand name has taken on a new meaning, referring to purported “grassroots” efforts that are actually funded and supported by industry and political entities. Some people, organizations and campaigns around everything from forestry to fossil fuels look […]