The Canadian Press, Published on Sun Aug 23 2015
VANCOUVER—Smoke from wildfires raging in Washington state has drifted north, blanketing much of southern British Columbia in a thick haze. fire crews, including 33 fire personnel, three officers and two pieces of heavy machinery, crossed into Washington state on Sunday to help American crews fight the blaze. “There’s no significant growth towards the north.” Still, the Washington fires have created problems in B.C.
Provincial Fire Information Officer Kevin Skrepnek said the smoke makes it more difficult for crews to battle the 184 fires currently burning across the province.
VANCOUVER—Smoke from wildfires raging in Washington state has drifted north, blanketing much of southern British Columbia in a thick haze. fire crews, including 33 fire personnel, three officers and two pieces of heavy machinery, crossed into Washington state on Sunday to help American crews fight the blaze. “There’s no significant growth towards the north.” Still, the Washington fires have created problems in B.C.
Provincial Fire Information Officer Kevin Skrepnek said the smoke makes it more difficult for crews to battle the 184 fires currently burning across the province.
Verity Stevenson Staff Reporter, Sarah-Joyce Battersby Staff Reporter, Published on Fri Jan 15 2016
MOUNT FOREST, ONT.
When fire ripped through their Mount Forest barn Thursday night, they tried desperately to save the 13 horses they owned and boarded. But only one got away as “the building was just fully involved,” Mount Forest fire chief Dave Guilbault said. “The memories — my daughter’s 34 and … she recalls her aunt has always had horses, that’s how long, and they’ve always been Arabian stallions.”
Ten-year-old Alysa Gauthier, the Woolners’ great niece, said “I’ve been riding horses since I was born,” as she tearfully tucked her head against her grandmother’s chest.
MOUNT FOREST, ONT.
When fire ripped through their Mount Forest barn Thursday night, they tried desperately to save the 13 horses they owned and boarded. But only one got away as “the building was just fully involved,” Mount Forest fire chief Dave Guilbault said. “The memories — my daughter’s 34 and … she recalls her aunt has always had horses, that’s how long, and they’ve always been Arabian stallions.”
Ten-year-old Alysa Gauthier, the Woolners’ great niece, said “I’ve been riding horses since I was born,” as she tearfully tucked her head against her grandmother’s chest.
David Volodzko Global Post, Published on Wed Aug 05 2015
CHENGDU, CHINA—While China clamps down on logging within its borders, illegal Chinese loggers are felling the world’s forests for the sake of teak floors and fancy chairs. 85 per cent of its timber exports also go to China. 90 per cent of its logging is illegal and last year 65 per cent of its timber exports also went to China. It consumes between 80 per cent and 90 per cent of Papua New Guinea’s timber, over 90 per cent of Mozambique’s, and in Equatorial Guinea, its log purchases have consistently exceeded the legal limit. In fact, Beijing wants to cut commercial logging of state forests by 20 per cent before 2020.
To keep its huge timber-processing industry alive, she said, and to develop its exports to prosperous nations that ban illegal imports, China “needs to be able to ensure that the materials which are being imported to supply the industry are legal.”
“China has been exploring ways to tackle the trade in illegal timber,” she added, citing work to create a verification system for legal wood.
CHENGDU, CHINA—While China clamps down on logging within its borders, illegal Chinese loggers are felling the world’s forests for the sake of teak floors and fancy chairs. 85 per cent of its timber exports also go to China. 90 per cent of its logging is illegal and last year 65 per cent of its timber exports also went to China. It consumes between 80 per cent and 90 per cent of Papua New Guinea’s timber, over 90 per cent of Mozambique’s, and in Equatorial Guinea, its log purchases have consistently exceeded the legal limit. In fact, Beijing wants to cut commercial logging of state forests by 20 per cent before 2020.
To keep its huge timber-processing industry alive, she said, and to develop its exports to prosperous nations that ban illegal imports, China “needs to be able to ensure that the materials which are being imported to supply the industry are legal.”
“China has been exploring ways to tackle the trade in illegal timber,” she added, citing work to create a verification system for legal wood.
May Warren Staff Reporter, Published on Tue Jan 05 2016
Growing up in the diverse Scarborough neighbourhood of Malvern, Alex Dow was surprised by how many people left it for places such as Orangeville or Peterborough, abandoning the urban environment to “reconnect with the land.”
That’s something he hopes will change in a few years as about 1.6 hectares in the Finch hydro corridor are harnessed for use as a unique community garden — one that will allow people to grow food not only for themselves but also to sell.
Toronto also recently signed the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact along with nearly 120 other world cities, committing to develop sustainable food systems that provide healthy and affordable food to all people. “Nobody’s talking about it.”
Rhonda Teitel-Payne of Toronto Urban Growers, a group also involved with the CEED garden project, said tweaking the city’s green-roof bylaw to allow food gardens is one example of small changes that could have a big impact on urban agriculture.
Growing up in the diverse Scarborough neighbourhood of Malvern, Alex Dow was surprised by how many people left it for places such as Orangeville or Peterborough, abandoning the urban environment to “reconnect with the land.”
That’s something he hopes will change in a few years as about 1.6 hectares in the Finch hydro corridor are harnessed for use as a unique community garden — one that will allow people to grow food not only for themselves but also to sell.
Toronto also recently signed the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact along with nearly 120 other world cities, committing to develop sustainable food systems that provide healthy and affordable food to all people. “Nobody’s talking about it.”
Rhonda Teitel-Payne of Toronto Urban Growers, a group also involved with the CEED garden project, said tweaking the city’s green-roof bylaw to allow food gardens is one example of small changes that could have a big impact on urban agriculture.
Raveena Aulakh Environment, Tyler Hamilton Climate and Economy Reporter, Published on Sun Dec 06 2015
How is a warming planet going to shape the life of a baby born in Toronto in December 2015? The Star asked 10 scientists from Canada and the U.S. to describe the ways climate change will redefine life in the 21st century. Average global temperatures are 1-degree C higher than pre-industrial times for the first time in 2015. Scientists warn at least 2 degrees C of warming is unavoidable. The baby was born in December 2015 on a 7-degree C day. The mother started worrying after the Toronto flood of 2013 left a foot of water in their basement and friends lost their home in Calgary’s record-breaking flood. They have been following the Paris climate summit and learn that 2015 is expected to be the hottest year ever recorded and that average global temperatures are now for the first time 1-degree C higher compared with pre-industrial times. Yet they are optimistic even though they know that at least 2 degrees C of warming can’t be avoided.
How is a warming planet going to shape the life of a baby born in Toronto in December 2015? The Star asked 10 scientists from Canada and the U.S. to describe the ways climate change will redefine life in the 21st century. Average global temperatures are 1-degree C higher than pre-industrial times for the first time in 2015. Scientists warn at least 2 degrees C of warming is unavoidable. The baby was born in December 2015 on a 7-degree C day. The mother started worrying after the Toronto flood of 2013 left a foot of water in their basement and friends lost their home in Calgary’s record-breaking flood. They have been following the Paris climate summit and learn that 2015 is expected to be the hottest year ever recorded and that average global temperatures are now for the first time 1-degree C higher compared with pre-industrial times. Yet they are optimistic even though they know that at least 2 degrees C of warming can’t be avoided.
IVAN SEMENIUK - SCIENCE REPORTER The Globe and Mail Published Wednesday, Jan. 06, 2016 1:23PM EST
Global food production is increasingly likely to be disrupted by extreme weather driven by climate change, say researchers behind a new analysis published on Wednesday in the journal Nature. “If you get a drought and the yield doesn’t go down, that essentially means you’re not managing the productivity of your cropping system very well.” But the results may suggest that the single-crop farming practices that prevail in North America would leave the food supply of countries in the developing world more vulnerable if they were adopted there.
Global food production is increasingly likely to be disrupted by extreme weather driven by climate change, say researchers behind a new analysis published on Wednesday in the journal Nature. “If you get a drought and the yield doesn’t go down, that essentially means you’re not managing the productivity of your cropping system very well.” But the results may suggest that the single-crop farming practices that prevail in North America would leave the food supply of countries in the developing world more vulnerable if they were adopted there.
Raveena Aulakh Environment, Published on Mon Aug 03 2015
More tropical rainforests and peatlands in Southeast Asia are likely to be cleared for palm oil plantations, causing rhinos and the other animals lose their habitats.Palm oil, an edible vegetable oil derived from the fruit of the West African oil palm tree, grows in tropical regions worldwide. The demand has skyrocketed over the past decade, especially since 2006 when the FDA told manufacturers to label trans fat — made when liquid vegetable oil is changed into a solid fat — on food products. Marginal lands (that have no other use) can be used for palm oil.” Brooks sees the ban as an opportunity to reinforce the importance of sustainable palm oil. The problem is that the supply chain for palm oil is complex and lacks transparency: supplies can be from different sources at multiple stages in the chain and it often becomes tough to trace it back to a single source.
More tropical rainforests and peatlands in Southeast Asia are likely to be cleared for palm oil plantations, causing rhinos and the other animals lose their habitats.Palm oil, an edible vegetable oil derived from the fruit of the West African oil palm tree, grows in tropical regions worldwide. The demand has skyrocketed over the past decade, especially since 2006 when the FDA told manufacturers to label trans fat — made when liquid vegetable oil is changed into a solid fat — on food products. Marginal lands (that have no other use) can be used for palm oil.” Brooks sees the ban as an opportunity to reinforce the importance of sustainable palm oil. The problem is that the supply chain for palm oil is complex and lacks transparency: supplies can be from different sources at multiple stages in the chain and it often becomes tough to trace it back to a single source.
By Bob McDonald, Quirks & Quarks
The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) sends out another warning of the dramatic changes taking place in the global environment, but there are parts of Canada that stand to gain from a warmer world.
The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) sends out another warning of the dramatic changes taking place in the global environment, but there are parts of Canada that stand to gain from a warmer world.