news 2023

Research shows how data and staff expertise play a vital role in ensuring sustainable buildings deliver on their promise to put clean energy back into the grid Office buildings are typically not energy efficient, and globally they contribute to nearly a third of greenhouse gas emissions from construction to end of life.

Lake wetlands are suffering worldwide, but a study by two biologists at UdeM shows that restoration is possible. CONTENU Little-known habitats, very high value Since aquatic grasslands lie below the surface, they have been less studied: they are hard to measure and detect using aerial or satellite imagery.

Wetlands are among the most threatened ecosystems in the world. A new study, published in Nature , has found that the loss of wetland areas around the globe since 1700 has likely been overestimated. This is good news overall, however, the global picture hides significant variations, with several regions and distinct wetland types under significant levels of pressure.

UdeM biologists come up with new statistical models to speed up the process of estimating leaf traits across many plants from a broad range of landscapes, making it easier to monitor changes in biodiv CONTENU - To understand how plants respond to and influence their environments, ecologists often use a series of standardized measurements called functional traits.

New research has uncovered a change in behaviour of deep-sea fragile pink sea urchins off the south coast of Vancouver Island that is linked to climate change impacts including the " Blob ," a marine heatwave that persisted in the Pacific Ocean off North America between 2013 to 2016. Researchers from the Memorial University, Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) and the University of Victoria (UVic) found pink sea urchins  ( Strongylocentrotus fragilis ) have been moving up into shallower waters as food sources and oxygen levels at lower depths decline due to a warming ocean.

Study finds they outperform connected wetlands in filtering pollutants Small, isolated wetlands that are full for only part of the year are often the first to be removed for development or agriculture, but a new study shows that they can be twice as effective in protecting downstream lake or river ecosystems than if they were connected to them.

A team of researchers at the University of Toronto have designed a solution to reduce the amount of microplastic fibres shed when washing synthetic fabrics. In a world swamped by fast fashion - an industry that produces a high-volume of cheaply made clothing at an  immense cost to the environment  - more than two thirds of clothes are now made of synthetic fabrics, such as nylon, polyester, acrylic and rayon.

The good news is that global population growth has slowed and won't in itself cause climate change, says UdeM demographics professor Alain Gagnon. CONTENU - Credit: Photo de courtoisie In November, the United Nations announced that the Earth is now home to eight billion people, or seven billion more than there were just 200 years ago.

Nutrients from salmon carcasses can substantively alter the growth and reproduction of plant species in the surrounding habitat, and even cause some flowers to grow bigger and more plentiful, SFU researchers have found. Their study, published today in the journal Royal Society Open Science , is the first to demonstrate a connection between salmon and coastal plant growth and reproduction.

Environmental drivers such as sea level affect genetic evolution and point to where conservation efforts may be focused What drives crocodile evolution? Is climate a major factor or changes in sea levels? Determined to find answers to these questions, researchers from McGill University discovered that while changing temperatures and rainfall had little impact on the crocodiles- gene flow over the past three million years, changes to sea levels during the Ice Age had a different effect.

Science, Health & Technology Brett Goldhawk First-in-the-world study suggests that even brief exposure to air pollution has rapid impacts on the brain A new study by researchers at the University of British Columbia and the University of Victoria has shown that common levels of traffic pollution can impair human brain function in only a matter of hours.

A new grading system for waste could benefit the environment and economy  Canadians trash about a billion pounds-nearly 500 million kilograms-of fashion and home items made of fabric each year, but a new grading system could help divert most of it from landfills. In the first study of its kind to determine the quantity and quality of textile waste in Canada, researchers from the University of Waterloo and Seneca College developed the new method to evaluate an item's quality from A to F and whether it can be resold, recycled or tossed.

A new catalyst design created by researchers at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering could significantly improve the practicality of an electrochemical process that converts captured carbon dioxide into multi-carbon molecules - some of the key building blocks of the chemical industry.

Nearly two-thirds of all shark and ray species that live among coral reefs are threatened with extinction, according to a new study from Simon Fraser researchers. They found sharks and rays are the most threatened groups found in coral reefs. The study, published this week in Nature Communications, found that 59 per cent of the 134 coral-reef associated shark and ray species are threatened with extinction - mainly due to overfishing, but compounded by climate change and habitat loss.

The newest research centre at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering will develop innovative ways to meet the urgent and growing need for infrastructure - without further exacerbating the climate crisis. The Centre for the Sustainable Built Environment brings together seven researchers from across University of Toronto, as well as a dozen companies in construction and related industries.

An international research team including UdeM professor James King has shown that dust from southern Africa made its way to Antarctica within the last few thousand years. CONTENU - Until recently, the southern part of South America was believed to be the main source of the dust that lands in Antarctica.

New research from SFU-s Jeremy Venditti dives into the science of going with the flow predicting the evolution of the Earth's surface. Researchers at Simon Fraser University (SFU) and The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have devised a better way to measure how fast sediment flows in rivers.

About a quarter of the world's electricity currently comes from power plants fired by natural gas. These contribute significantly to global greenhouse gas emissions (amounting to 10% of energy-related emissions according to the most recent figures from 2017) and climate change.

Managing public parks can be a balancing act - the more people enjoy them, the more wildlife is naturally damaged. But researchers at the University of Toronto say anonymous cellphone data could help urban planners strike a better balance between the needs of people and wildlife. Their study,  published in the journal  PLOS Computational Biology , is among the first to use anonymous GPS data from smartphones to track how people interact with green spaces, potentially impacting biodiversity.

Creating smart sensors to embed in our everyday objects and environments for the Internet of Things (IoT) would vastly improve daily life-but requires trillions of such small devices. Simon Fraser University professor Vincenzo Pecunia believes that emerging alternative semiconductors that are printable, low-cost and eco-friendly could lead the way to a cheaper and more sustainable IoT.