Tag archives for Canada
Geography in the News: Keystone Pipeline and Canadian Tar Sands
Posted by Neal Lineback of Maps101.com and Maps.com on May 17, 2013 By Neal Lineback and Mandy Lineback Gritzner, Geography in the NewsTM and Maps.com KEYSTONE PIPELINE AND CANADIAN TAR SANDS CONTROVERSY Supporters and protesters continue to lobby both the White House and U.S. Congress for and against the 1,700-mile long (2,736-km) Keystone pipeline running from Alberta, Canada, to the U.S. Gulf Coast. The Keystone XL, as…
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Ancient water below Canadian gold mines may offer new clues about evolution—and new life forms here on Earth.
Climate Change Resurfaces in President’s Second Inaugural Address
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on January 24, 2013 In his remarks at the 57th presidential inauguration, President Barack Obama discussed a topic Americans hadn’t heard much about since his November victory speech—climate change. In the nationally televised speech following his oath of office, Obama elevated the issue of climate change into the top tier of his second-term priorities, alongside gun control and immigration reform. “We will respond to the…
In Decline, Caribou Face a Tough Winter in Canada
Posted by Jeff Wells on January 2, 2013 
It was once our largest caribou herd, and one of the biggest herds of large migratory mammals anywhere in the world. The George River caribou of northern Quebec and Labrador were surpassed in numbers perhaps only by Africa’s wildebeest. But now their population is perilously small—about 4 percent of its peak. Although migratory caribou, also…
Climate Change under the Microscope in Report, Leaked IPCC Draft
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on December 20, 2012 As lawmakers in Washington, D.C., debate the so-called fiscal cliff—when U.S. federal tax increases and spending cuts are due to take effect at the end of 2012—new research in the journal Nature Climate Change says we are already at the edge of a climate cliff. It explores the cost and risk associated with surpassing critical emissions thresholds by 2020, and what would need to…
Over 2011 and 2012, Paul Colangelo camped on Todagin Mountain with its large herd of endangered Stone’s Sheep for five months to tell the story of the herd and document its habitat use, using specialized camera equipment to record the movements of the sheep across the plateau. Learn more in his earlier posts: Surviving Todagin.…
Starting each day with a two-hour hike in the dark up a snow-covered mountain, Paul Colangelo is on a mission to record the frenzied activity of Stone’s sheep battling for the chance to mate.
Birds, Bison and Lions: Grasslands News from October 2012
Posted by American Prairie Reserve on November 12, 2012 
In an effort to increase awareness of grasslands issues and encourage you to fall in love with our world’s prairies, American Prairie Reserve compiles a news roundup each month. These stories will introduce you to the organizations working to restore this endangered ecosystem, demonstrate the diversity of the plains and showcase the many different approaches to…
Kite-skiing across Canada, sibling adventurers Sarah and Eric McNair-Landry get an unexpected wake-up call from a polar bear.
By Paul Colangelo, International League of Conservation Photographers Among the mountainous folds of remote northwestern British Columbia lies Todagin Mountain, a grassy plateau 15 miles long and five miles wide that is thought to have the highest density of Stone’s sheep in the world. The herd lives year-round on the plateau and slopes of Todagin,…
Ancient Knowledge, Modern Journey in Wild Canada
Posted by Andrew Howley of NG Staff on September 24, 2012 A new video reveals the stark and beautiful landscape of Canada’s Thelon River Game Sanctuary, and traces the interwoven stories of the land, its animals, and the First Nations people who have been there for millennia.
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We live in a beautiful world. For generations, tribal peoples have been the guardians of their diverse habitats - tundra, sea-ice, mountains, deserts, oceans and prairies; for most, land and life are inextricably linked. Earth is the bedrock of their lives, the provider of food and shelter, the sacred burial ground of their ancestors and…
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Canada’s vast network of rivers and streams is the latest battleground over endangered species. That’s because a 1,000-member group of scientists called the Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution (CSEE) sent a strongly worded letter to their national government this week, condemning Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s administration for supporting a bill that they say…
Posted by Didn’t get a chance to see any of the foreign-language movies nominated for an Academy Award this year? Better brush up before Sunday! We’ll make it easy: Here’s a synopsis of each of the five nominees, compiled by staff who attended the All Roads Film Project “Global Glimpses” screenings at National Geographic headquarters last weekend.…
After Tar Sands Pipeline Decision Delayed, Other Routes Sought
Posted by Mason Inman on November 17, 2011 The Obama administration delayed deciding whether to approve the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, which has been proposed to carry tar sands from Canada to Texas’s Gulf Coast. The administration said it should consider alternate routes and wait until early 2013 to decide. Industry officials in Canada thought the delay may derail the pipeline, and threaten the country’s…
The winning film by Trip Jennings and Andy Maser follows photographers as they search for the legendary “spirit bear”–a black bear with white fur–to draw attention to the beauty of the Great Bear Rainforest, which is endangered by plans to make this area the main Pacific port for oil from Canada’s tar sands.
Scientists Making Efforts to Track Mythical Narwhals
Posted by Alyson Foster on November 7, 2011 
The long and spiraling tusk that grows from the center of the narwhal’s forehead has helped make that animal the subject of sailors’ lore and earned it the nickname “unicorn of the sea.” That nickname may be even more fitting given the narwhal’s almost mythical elusiveness. For a long time, very little has been known about the medium-sized whale that calls the inhospitable waters of the Arctic home. Now efforts are underway to find out more.
As Population Tops 7 Billion, Time to Revisit Climate Approaches
Posted by Mason Inman on November 3, 2011 The world population reached seven billion people around October 31, according to United Nations estimates. The actual date is a bit fuzzy, but the milestone has nonetheless had great symbolic power, triggering a stream of articles on population issues. Nicholas Kristof, in the New York Times, argued family planning is the solution to many of the world’s ills,…
Science and Conservation Gets a Boost from Google
Posted by Jeff Wells on October 28, 2011 The latest technology from Google coupled with a partnership that blends science, technology and activism has resulted in a coast-to-coast virtual tour of Canada’s boreal forest.
Big Businesses’ Call for Climate Action: Strong Treaty, More Aid
Posted by Mason Inman on October 20, 2011 A group of 285 large investors, representing more than $20 trillion in assets, urged world governments to forge a binding treaty at upcoming climate negotiations in Durban, South Africa, and said global spending has not been nearly enough to keep warming below 2 degrees Celsius. The call came from a coalition of four green investment groups—representing the…
New Generation Returns to an Ancient Place
Posted by Andrew Howley of NG Staff on September 23, 2011 
The Nature Conservancy’s M. Sanjayan spearheads an expedition to one of the most remote places on Earth, paddling with a group of young members of the Dene First Nation as they travel for the first time to the Dene’s traditional caribou hunting grounds.
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Do eco-thrill attractions actually help people learn anything about ecology? Jonathan Tourtellot visits a nature theme park in Vancouver, B.C. and gets some surprise insights about the rain forest—and about long-term thinking.
Posted by Hear the views of three young people with the perspective of indigenous nations — their hopes and aspirations to make a contribution to a world changing by a warming climate and the consequent economic development of the northernmost part of the planet.
In this video interview, Martin Lougheed, of the Inuit Quajisarvingat Knowledge Center, Ottawa, Canada, makes the case for blending Inuit traditional knowledge with Western science to help understand and find solutions to sweeping changes in the Arctic.
Ten Years After 9/11 – Canada’s True Cost of Oil
Posted by International League of Conservation Photographers on August 17, 2011 
The unseen environmental costs of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001
