Forever chemicals are everywhere. These burnt wood chips could help change that

Forever chemicals are everywhere. These burnt wood chips could help change that

Forever chemicals are everywhere, from cookware to cosmetics to clothes to carpets. For decades, they’ve been building up in the environment and our water – and in our bodies.  Now Canadian researchers say they have developed a practical way to remove the toxic compounds from our drinking water.  “There’s no natural way for this thing … Read more

Why an Alaska island is using peanut butter and black lights to find a rat that might not exist

Why an Alaska island is using peanut butter and black lights to find a rat that might not exist

On an island of windswept tundra in the Bering Sea, hundreds of miles from mainland Alaska, a resident sitting outside their home saw — well, did they see it? They were pretty sure they saw it.  A rat. The purported sighting would not have gotten attention in many places around the world, but it caused a … Read more

Invasive zombie plant takes hold in St. John River

Invasive zombie plant takes hold in St. John River

When aquatic botanist Meghann Bruce found an invasive species nicknamed zombie plant in the St. John River in 2015, she only found it in one spot.  She actually stumbled upon Eurasian watermilfoil while doing a botanical survey of the river for another project.  As part of that study, she explored 171 sites between the Mactaquac Dam … Read more

What you need to know about mosquito-borne diseases

What you need to know about mosquito-borne diseases

The Dose20:22Why should I be concerned about mosquitoes? Belle River, Ont., teacher Melanie Klimkowski never worried much about mosquitoes, since they never seemed interested in biting her.  After learning more about the bugs at a special workshop with her eighth grade class, she says she now carries small amounts of mosquito repellant at all times … Read more

As temperatures rise, so will the cost of an AC unit

As temperatures rise, so will the cost of an AC unit

Cost of Living5:07The hot, sweaty irony of it all Star Vickery never used to need an air conditioning unit to stay cool in her home in Halifax. But summers are getting warmer, she says, and since she now works from home, it’s become a must.  But cooling your home can be costly. The unit cost … Read more

Brazil is on fire, and both crime and climate change are to blame

Brazil is on fire, and both crime and climate change are to blame

As It Happens6:32Brazil is on fire, and both crime and climate change are to blame As Cristiane Mazzetti flew over the Brazilian Amazon this month surveying wildfire damage, she couldn’t help but feel frustrated. Mazzetti is a forest campaigner for Greenpeace in Brazil. For years, the environmental group has been trying to curb the deforestation … Read more

Tesla asked Canada to reduce tariffs on its EVs made in China, Reuters source says

Tesla asked Canada to reduce tariffs on its EVs made in China, Reuters source says

Before Canada said this week it was imposing a 100 per cent duty on Chinese-made electric vehicles, Tesla approached Ottawa and asked for a lower tariff on its autos, a Canadian government source told Reuters on Wednesday. Canada, following the lead of the United States, said on Monday it was setting the tariff for all … Read more

Giant scorpions once ruled seas — and may have traversed entire oceans 

Giant scorpions once ruled seas — and may have traversed entire oceans 

As It Happens6:21Giant scorpions once ruled seas — and may have traversed entire oceans Asked to rank giant sea scorpions on a scale of one to terrifying, Russell Bicknell puts them at about an eight. “I suppose it depends how you define terrifying,” Bicknell, a paleobiologist at the American Museum of Natural History, told As … Read more

Scientists warn of ‘Mercury bomb’ in Arctic: Melting permafrost poses severe environmental risk

Scientists warn of ‘Mercury bomb’ in Arctic: Melting permafrost poses severe environmental risk

Scientists have discovered that the melting permafrost in the Arctic is releasing toxic mercury into the water system, which could have severe consequences for the food chain and the communities that rely on it. Researchers from the University of Southern California studied the transport of sediment in the Yukon River in Alaska and found that … Read more

Sturgeon endure in Alberta, but the future of these river ‘monsters’ is now uncertain

Sturgeon endure in Alberta, but the future of these river ‘monsters’ is now uncertain

They lurk in the murky depths of some of Alberta’s biggest rivers, living fossils from when giant lizards strode the earth. But a prominent fisheries biologist fears the province’s lake sturgeon may finally share the fate of the dinosaurs because of growing pressure on water resources. “The more you shrink the area in which a … Read more