Around 30 people trekked around the Spit into Mansons Lagoon, during the July 12 ‘Gumbooting the Lagoon.’ While Jane Newman, from the Cortes Island Museum, explained the site’s human history, marine biologist Deb Cowper and FOCI’s Autumn Barrett-Morgan introduced everyone to intertidal life forms. One of the many topics that arose was the loss of marine life.
Continue reading Perceived Biodiversity loss in Mansons Lagoon
It has been twelve months since billions of marine animals along the West Coast of British Columbia perished during a record breaking heat wave. Temperatures of between 35°C and 40°C were recorded at the Cortes Island School during the last five days of June.
Continue reading One year after the marine die-offNational Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Whenever scientist Iria Giménez wants to contemplate her work, she settles on a wobbly driftwood bench perched on a mossy rock bluff and stares over the waters of Hyacinthe Bay on Quadra Island.
But despite the remoteness of her thinking spot on the small ferry-dependent island, Giménez is just steps away from the Hakai Institute’s cutting-edge Marna Lab, a key research hub on the biological impacts of ocean acidification (OA) and climate change on the B.C. coast.
Continue reading State-of-the-art lab on Quadra Island untangling the effects of ocean acidificationNational Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Canada must exploit the advantages its three coasts provide and stop sidelining oceans and the critical role they can play in tackling the climate crisis, marine ecologist Julia Baum says.
“We need to quit treating the ocean as a niche issue,” said Baum, President’s Chair at the University of Victoria, whose research examines the impacts of global warming on oceans and what they can contribute to climate change solutions.
Continue reading Canada must deeply invest in oceans to combat climate change
Dr Simon Donner is an interdisciplinary climate scientist at the University of British Columbia. He studies some of the areas where the rise in global temperatures is most evident: ocean warming, sea-level rise; climate change adaptation in the developing world and coral reefs. Given that work, Donner admits he is “probably a weird person to sound optimistic,” but he is encouraged about the good news from COP 26.
Continue reading A Climate Scientist talks about the good news that came out of COP 26
