Brian Menounos, University of Northern British Columbia https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/2021-was-a-bad-year-for-glaciers-in-western-north-america-%E2%80%94-and-it-s-about-to-get-much-worse The year 2021 will likely be one of the worst for glaciers in southern British Columbia, Alberta, Washington and Montana. It started out OK. A weak La Niña arrived in the fall of 2020 and continued through the winter. La Niñas tend to favour cool conditions and ample snowfall, so the winter of 2020-21 wasn’t bad for … Continue reading 2021 was a bad year for glaciers in western North America — and it’s about to get much worse

Mary Anne White, Dalhousie University https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/milk-jugs–cartons-or-plastic-bags-%E2%80%94-which-one-is-best-for-the-environment If you are a typical Canadian milk consumer, you probably drink more than 60 litres of milk a year. It adds up to about two billion milk containers purchased in Canada annually. How that milk is packaged depends on where you are, and new research shows that one type of milk container is best for the environment. Milk comes … Continue reading Milk jugs, cartons or plastic bags — which one is best for the environment?

The author, left, with her husband and son.PHOTO FROM SHOSHANA MEIRA FRIEDMAN One evening in May 2020, my husband and I sat on the kitchen floor, exhausted from another day of working from home and caring for our 2-year-old in the pandemic. A week earlier, Yotam had been laid off. We were able to collect unemployment, and he would now begin to start his own … Continue reading Why I Gave Away My Salary During the Pandemic

Lauren Lawson, University of Toronto Every fall, Canadians patiently wait for the turning of the trees and the crunch of leaves. In winter, we hear a different sort of crunch — the crunch of road salts. Road salts are used to remove ice from surfaces like roads, sidewalks and parking lots. When people talk about road salts, they are often concerned with what salt may … Continue reading Winter road salting has year-round consequences

Sapna Sharma, York University, Canada; David Richardson, State University of New York at New Paltz, and Iestyn Woolway, University of Reading https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/our-lakes-are-losing-their-ice-cover-faster-than-ever–%E2%80%94-here-s-what-that-means-for-us Every winter when Lake Suwa in Japan freezes, locals believe that the Shinto male god Takeminakata crosses the frozen lake with his dragon to visit the female god Yasakatome. He leaves only his footsteps on the ice in the form of a sinusoidal … Continue reading Our lakes are losing their ice cover faster than ever — here’s what that means for us