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Chemistry - Environment - 28.03.2023

High levels of ’forever chemicals’ found in paper takeout containers: Study
From makeup to clothing and furniture, so-called "forever chemicals" are everywhere - including the paper bowls and containers used to package Canadian fast-food meals.

Environment - Social Sciences - 24.03.2023

Six Waterloo researchers lend their expertise to the UN IPCC climate report
New report defines our understanding of the climate crisis and shapes our sustainable future Waterloo Climate Institute and Faculty of Environment After a six-year process, the leading world body for the assessment of climate change, the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), has released their final Synthesis Report that summarizes what we know about climate change and how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Environment - Innovation - 24.03.2023

Making public transportation more equitable and sustainable
Pantonium's on-demand transit model is helping cities accelerate their energy transition By Stephanie Longeway University Relations Have you ever seen an empty bus drive by? It can be a common occurrence especially during off-peak hours or in less populated areas. Making transit equitable and convenient for everyone while balancing the needs to be efficient and sustainable can lead to difficult decisions for municipalities.

Environment - 22.03.2023

Towards reducing biodiversity loss in fragmented habitats
How well species can move among habitat -islands- in human transformed landscapes is key to their survival, study finds When natural habitats are cleared to make way for cities, roads and agriculture, this often leaves behind -islands- of fragmented habitat that can place species at risk of extinction.

Health - Environment - 22.03.2023

New UBC water treatment zaps ’forever chemicals’ for good
Science, Health & Technology Lou Corpuz-Bosshart Engineers at the University of British Columbia have developed a new water treatment that removes "forever chemicals" from drinking water safely, efficiently - and for good. "Think Brita filter, but a thousand times better," says UBC chemical and biological engineering Madjid Mohseni , who developed the technology.

Environment - Social Sciences - 20.03.2023

Forces that shape biodiversity
"If you pick a spot in, say, a rainforest, and count the number of different species of lizards within 15 metres and you come up with a number," says  Luke Mahler , "What determines that number?" Mahler is an assistant professor in the University of Toronto's department of ecology and evolutionary biology in the Faculty of Arts & Science.

Environment - Life Sciences - 17.03.2023

Historic logging contributes to water temperature increases for salmon
A collaborative study between researchers at Simon Fraser University and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) has found that high logging intensity in the Interior watersheds of British Columbia is associated with warmer stream temperatures in salmon-bearing streams, potentially contributing to increased heat stress in salmon.

Environment - 09.03.2023

Western prof finds backyard feeding could help chickadees survive
Decade-long research shows home feeders don't alter chickadee reproduction or behaviour By Megan Stacey , By Megan Stacey , March 09, 2023 Never throw bread to the neighbourhood ducks. Keep dogs and cats away from chocolate. There is a long list of rules for feeding animals. But when it comes to backyard songbirds, there is research to justify the bird feeder.

Environment - Paleontology - 06.03.2023

’Giant’ ant fossil raises questions about ancient Arctic migrations
Simon Fraser scientists say their research on the latest fossil find near Princeton, B.C. is raising questions about how the dispersal of animals and plants occurred across the Northern Hemisphere some 50 million years ago, including whether brief intervals of global warming were at play.

Environment - Architecture - 15.02.2023

Canada’s first zero-carbon, net-positive energy building is on track to propel Ontario’s energy transition
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.

Environment - 14.02.2023

Aquatic grasslands are in decline, but they can be saved
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.

Environment - Earth Sciences - 08.02.2023

A second chance to protect wetlands
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.

Environment - 07.02.2023

Shedding light on how plants function
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.

Environment - Earth Sciences - 06.02.2023

Sea urchins are on the move, and the ’Blob’ is partly to blame
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.

Environment - 02.02.2023

Small isolated wetlands are pollution-catching powerhouses
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.

Materials Science - Environment - 30.01.2023

Coating that prevents synthetic fabrics from shedding harmful microplastics in the wash
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.

Environment - History / Archeology - 25.01.2023

8 billion and counting: will the Earth survive?
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.

Environment - 25.01.2023

How salmon feed flowers & flourishing ecosystems: study
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.

Life Sciences - Environment - 25.01.2023

What crocodile DNA reveals about the Ice Age
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.

Environment - Health - 24.01.2023

Traffic pollution impairs brain function
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.