Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.
The city is considering putting in drinking fountains for humans and pooches in parks, according to a report that went to the planning and environment committee Monday. Thirty-six parks could be potentially suitable for the water servicing, the report states. Right now, 24 city parks have water fountains, but none of the five off-leash dog parks do.
In Saskatchewan, people can also opt for aquamation. It's been touted as a greener, more environmentally-friendly way to deal with a corpse. Aquamation, also known as alkaline hydrolysis, uses water flow, temperature and alkalinity to speed up the decomposition of the body while it is in an airtight, stainless steel container. "All it does is accelerate nature's process," said Jan Porten, managing director for Eirene Funeral Services in Saskatchewan.
Sailors in Newfoundland and Labrador may say that winter isn't the best time to be on the water. But for two avid sailors from Manitoba, it's the perfect opportunity to try something new. Judith Graile and Wes Hyde drove from Manitoba to Lewisporte, living in a school bus while they refurbished their environmentally friendly sailboat, the Hakluyt. The couple have swapped out the boat's diesel motors for electric motors and have equipped the boat with wind generators and an eco-friendly woodstove. The couple are on a mission to promote healthy eating and draw attention to the changing climate by sailing to the Bahamas, returning to Newfoundland and finishing their journey with a trip to the Arctic next year.
Last week, Bieber and business partner Micah Cravalho visited Quatar in the midst of the FIFA World Cup festivities, where they introduced their new water technology company, Generosity. An offshoot of their Generosity bottled water brand, reports CNN, the new project aims to offer premium alkaline water in refillable fountains located worldwide. During their visit to the World Cup, the duo showcased 150 fountains in order to provide an example of how Generosity works.
In the spirit of maintaining a sense of control and purpose in a time of ever-increasing climate anxiety, you might be embracing subtle lifestyle changes to reduce your carbon footprint. Perhaps you've incorporated flexitarian eating, cut down on single-use plastics and are relying less on cars for transportation. Some people, however, are making more of a splash. Bidets — specialized bathroom fixtures that rinse your rear — are making a comeback, and new affordable attachments mean they're more accessible than ever. Beyond the thorough cleaning perks, bidets are often marketed as being more environmentally friendly than using toilet paper, with manufacturing companies claiming bidets can save trees, water and reduce your carbon footprint.
Researchers from three Maritime universities are hoping microbes collected from the bottom of a lake near an abandoned gold mine in Dartmouth, N.S., will provide a model for how to clean up contaminated sites across the province in a quicker and less-intrusive way. Last May, a research team took a boat to the middle of Lake Charles, not far from the former Montague gold mine, where extensive mining took place from 1860 to about 1940.
