VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: Crowsnest Community Market

We are looking for volunteers to man a table at the Community Market in Gazebo Park, Blairmore on Thursdays, August 4, August 18, September 8 and September 22. Shifts are 3-5pm or 5-7pm. Set-up (1:00-2:30pm) and take-down (7:00-7:30pm) help is also welcomed. We want two people for each shift. Crowsnest Conservation Society information and pamphlets will be provided. 

If you have any time to assist CCS, please contact Herald Kane at 403-564-4103 or heraldkane1@mac.com.

Events by other organizations in the region

No events scheduled at this time.

Crowsnest Pass News

Coal company seeks more than $3.4B in damages over government policy change
Cabin Ridge Holdings announced it would also accept $56M in restitution after provincial ‘interference’ on project. In a release, the companies argue that the province "substantially and unreasonably" interfered with the private company's development rights and deprived it of "any reasonable use" of its mineral rights.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/coal-calgary-cabin-ridge-coleman-sonya-savage-1.6509727

Provincial News

Alberta invests $86M into rural water, transportation infrastructure projects

The province says the 78 projects will create more than 1,000 jobs in rural or smaller urban communities.

https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/alberta-invests-86m-into-rural-water-transportation-infrastructure-projects

MINING

Company electrifies steel manufacturing using electrolysis

Boston Metal separates oxygen from iron using electricity: Molten Oxide Electrolysis (MOE), where you melt the iron ore, add an electrolyte, and apply a serious amount of electricity.

https://www.treehugger.com/boston-metal-electrifies-steel-manufacturing-5703606?utm_campaign=treehugger&utm_medium=email&utm_source=cn_nl&utm_content=28478344&utm_term=

B.C. has a growing mine waste problem. The risks could be catastrophic

As the province permits mines to hold more tailings slurry behind ever-growing dams, a new report finds the consequences of a failure grow in step.

https://thenarwhal.ca/bc-mining-waste-skeenawild-2022/

First Nations take Yukon government to court over ‘fundamentally-flawed consultations’

A Yukon First Nation is in court this week, arguing that the territorial government "utterly, utterly" ignored its duty to consult the First Nation's citizens before approving a mineral exploration project last year.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/nnd-yukon-metallic-minerals-court-petition-1.6504801

LOGGING & FORESTS

Those lights aren’t just messing with your sleep. They’re bothering the trees.

Like humans, trees have circadian clocks. A new study finds urban light pollution changes those clocks, causing trees to leaf out earlier and change colour later.

https://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2022/07/those-lights-arent-just-messing-with-your-sleep-theyre-bothering-the-trees/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=those-lights-arent-just-messing-with-your-sleep-theyre-bothering-the-trees&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=those-lights-arent-just-messing-with-your-sleep-theyre-bothering-the-trees

ENERGY

The Arctic community that chose conservation over Big Oil

In the Northwest Territories, Canada’s first indigenous protected reserve is bringing together scientific methods and traditional knowledge.

https://www.climatechangenews.com/2022/07/01/the-arctic-community-that-chose-conservation-over-big-oil/

The material footprint of nuclear energy, far smaller than fossil fuel power, is on par with renewables

In the first study of its kind, researchers conducted a rigorous analysis of entire life cycle of nuclear power - not just greenhouse gases.

https://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2022/07/the-material-footprint-of-nuclear-energy-far-smaller-than-fossil-fuel-power-is-on-par-with-renewables/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-environmental-footprint-of-nuclear-energy-is-much-lower-than-fossil-fuel-power-and-on-par-with-renewables&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-environmental-footprint-of-nuclear-energy-is-much-lower-than-fossil-fuel-power-and-on-par-with-renewables

PARKS & PROTECTED AREAS

NDP would scrap Kananaskis Conservation Pass for donation system

The proposed initiative would mimic B.C.s parks licence plate program.

https://calgarysun.com/news/local-news/ndp-would-replace-kananaskis-conservation-pass-with-optional-fees/wcm/3bb74223-917a-4ed0-b2a7-0bd8f4288b94

CONSERVATION

Federal government announces nine new living labs

The federal government will fund nine new living labs across the country. Living labs are a concept introduced as a “novel way to accelerate the development of sustainable agricultural practices and technologies around the world.”

https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/federal-government-announces-funding-for-three-alberta-living-labs-1.5988183

Beloved monarch butterflies now listed as endangered

The monarch butterfly fluttered a step closer to extinction, as scientists put the iconic orange-and-black insect on the endangered list because of its fast dwindling numbers.

https://cochranenow.com/articles/beloved-monarch-butterflies-now-listed-as-endangered

CLIMATE CHANGE

Beavers are heat wave heroes

During an intense heat wave, humans have a number of tools to stay cool. Wild animals, meanwhile, have beavers.

https://www.vox.com/down-to-earth/23273240/heat-wave-beavers-climate-change

Winnipeg has a shiny new plan to get to net-zero emissions

In order to decarbonize by 2050, Manitoba’s capital needs to make big changes. A brand new roadmap lays out the path - now it’s up to the city to see it through.

https://thenarwhal.ca/winnipeg-roadmap-net-zero/?utm_source=The+Narwhal&utm_campaign=5f7cde8f87-July+4+2022+—+Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f6a05fddb8-5f7cde8f87-108504207

Nature-based solutions: how they can work for climate, biodiversity & people

Experts gathered to discuss how “nature-based solutions” can be used to tackle the twin threats of climate change and biodiversity loss.

https://www.carbonbrief.org/nature-based-solutions-how-can-they-work-for-climate-biodiversity-and-people/

Living in a doomed paradise where the sea is winning

Quebec’s Magdalen islanders face a stark choice: resist, adapt, or give in to rising sea levels and increasing storm surges.

https://hakaimagazine.com/features/living-in-a-doomed-paradise-where-the-sea-consumes-cottages-cliffs-and-the-aw-drive-thru/?omhide=true&utm_source=Hakai+Magazine+Weekly&utm_campaign=b4ee53d5e5-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_09_06_COPY_03&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0fc1967411-b4ee53d5e5-121734666

TECHNOLOGY

Using less steel, cement, and copper in homes and cars could take a huge bite out of emissions

Material efficiency in home construction could save up to 50 billion metric tons of carbon emissions by 2050; for cars, the savings is up to 26 billion metric tons.

https://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2022/07/using-less-steel-cement-copper-in-homes-cars-could-take-huge-bite-out-of-emissions/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=using-less-stuff-could-slash-emissions-from-two-of-the-biggest-industrial-sectors-by-up-to-two-thirds&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=using-less-stuff-could-slash-emissions-from-two-of-the-biggest-industrial-sectors-by-up-to-two-thirds

Bacterial batteries connect like minuscule Legos to deliver power

Researchers cleverly combined three different bacteria to make 3-cm-square bio batteries that can run for weeks instead of hours, and can click together for more or less power.

https://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2022/06/bacterial-batteries-connect-like-legos/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=bacterial-batteries-connect-like-legos&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=bacterial-batteries-connect-like-legos

Wildlife team working hard to keep white grizzly bear safe

A rate white grizzly bear has returned to hang out by the Trans-Canada Highway in Banff and Yoho national parks.

https://www.albertaprimetimes.com/beyond-local/wildlife-team-working-hard-to-keep-white-grizzly-bear-safe-5579094

Polar bears scavenge on garbage to cope with climate change

Hungry polar bears are turning to garbage dumps to fill their stomaches as their icy habitat disappears.

https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/polar-bears-scavenge-garbage-cope-with-climate-change-2022-07-20/

Here’s how caribou matchmaking - and a stud book - could help save Alberta’s dwindling herds

Parks Canada hopes to restore dwindling caribou herds with captive breeding.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/caribou-captive-breeding-jasper-1.6525200

Beavers could be susceptible to chronic wasting disease

A new study out of the U of A is shedding light on how chronic wasting disease is spreading in Alberta and suggests beavers might be susceptible to the fatal illness.

https://globalnews.ca/video/8963604/beavers-could-be-susceptible-to-chronic-wasting-disease-research/

How to remove skunk scent (and no, it’s not tomato juice)

Here’s a recipe that works!

https://blog.nature.org/science/2022/06/21/how-to-remove-skunk-scent-from-dogs-and-no-its-not-tomato-juice/

Wildlife crossings are a lifeline for Canada’s grizzly bears

It took Lingenpolter, a young male grizzly bear, 46 attempts to safety cross the Interstate 90 highway in Montana.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/wildlife-crossings-are-a-lifeline-to-canadas-grizzly-bears/ar-AAZaNO3

Canadian researchers seek paths for animals to migrate in response to climate change

A warming climate is pushing many animals to migrate toward higher latitudes to remain within their preferred environments, but that comes with risks.

https://www.npr.org/2022/07/19/1111740540/canadian-researchers-seek-paths-for-animals-to-migrate-in-response-to-climate-ch

Calgary firm pleads guilty to acidic water release

Tidewater Midstream and Infrastructure charged with breaching environmental protection laws in 2019, fined $100,200.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/tidewater-pleads-guilty-acidic-water-release-1.6512366

Independent Alberta tailings monitoring data available soon

Keepers of the Water, an indigenous-led non-profit, recently launched an independent monitoring project to better understand the impact of industry - especially the Alberta tar sands tailings ponds - on waterways that reach up the Athabasca River and into NWT.

https://cabinradio.ca/99859/news/environment/independent-alberta-tailings-monitoring-data-available-soon/

What’s in a bird name?

More than 100 North American birds carry the names of people, some of whom were enslavers, supremacists, or grave robbers. A growing movement aims to do away with honorific all together and bestow monikers that reflect each species’ unique qualities.

https://www.audubon.org/magazine/summer-2022/whats-bird-name?ms=digital-eng-email-ea-newsletter-engagement_20220709_audubon-magazine_Summer-2022-issue&utm_source=ea&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=engagement_20220709_audubon-magazine&utm_content=Summer-2022-issue