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Good afternoon, and welcome to Globe Climate, a newsletter about climate change, environment and resources in Canada.
This month, scientists from Laval University and Britain spent several days in the depths of Quebec’s waterways, searching for data. They believe the small creatures burrowing in the sea floor mud of the Saguenay fjord play a crucial role in mitigating the effects of climate change.
The research is part of the Convex Seascape Survey, a partnership exploring how the sea floor regulates climate through the sequestration of carbon, and the role that small animals in the mud play in keeping the planet healthy, said Adam Porter, a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Exeter.
Unofficially, he said the study has another title: “Trying to make mud sexy.”
Now, let’s catch you up on other news.
Noteworthy reporting this week:
- Technology: Alberta’s Deep Sky Alpha facility is pulling carbon from the air in a risky political environment
- Greenwashing: Group files greenwashing complaint with Alberta’s securities watchdog against Enbridge, Cenovus
- Drought: Canada’s severe drought is a sign of future climate conditions and calls for action, experts say
- Travel: Sailing to Haida Gwaii taught me all about connections, both past and present
- Weather: In Alberta’s “Hailstorm Alley,” scientists-turned-storm-chasers look into the eye of the storm for answers
- Politics: Elizabeth May will step down as Green Party leader before next federal election
A deeper dive
Something has gone wrong with the jaw of this snapping turtle, but the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre is practiced in treating such injuries.Supplied
At the turtle hospital, slow and steady wins the race
For this week’s deeper dive, a closer look at a wildlife centre giving reptiles time and space to heal before returning to Ontario wetlands.
Tavia Grant is usually a reporter on The Globe and Mail’s investigative team, but she recently stepped outside her beat (and the office) to visit Sue Carstairs, executive and medical director at the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre, which operates the only accredited hospital for wildlife turtles in Canada.
The centre just opened in its new, expanded home in Peterborough, two hours northeast of Toronto, in April. Southern Ontario has the highest density of turtles, and greatest diversity of turtle species, in Canada. The centre receives animals from across Ontario, and sometimes other provinces as well. Last year, the centre says it released 5,011 turtles back to their home wetlands.
The Peterborough hospital's goal is to release as many healthy animals back into the wild as possible, ensuring their species will survive for generations to come.Supplied
Staff are busy. So far this year, as of July, the rehab centre has accepted 1,584 intakes, among them 492 snapping turtles, 924 painted turtles, three spotted turtles, eggs and two toads. Dr. Carstairs expects numbers to surpass last year’s turtle intake of 2,300, partly owing to more awareness of the centre.
The centre relies on “turtle taxi volunteers” – an army of more than 1,500 people – to bring in animals for treatment.
The centre, which is largely funded by donations and foundation grants, has an educational area, but the hospital and incubation areas are closed to viewing. Tavia was given a behind-the-scenes tour.
The Peterborough hospital, filled with tubs of recovering turtles, sometimes receives females that were hurt en route to nesting grounds. Some turtles stay here over the winter if they recover too late to be released.Tavia Grant/The Globe and Mail
Hundreds of turtles were in bins recovering after treatment. All told, the centre will incubate about 10,000 eggs, from different species of turtles, by the end of this season, releasing the babies into the wild either this year or next depending on when they hatch. Survival rates are just as high for those released as those hatched in the wild, the centre’s research shows.
Habitat loss and cars are key reasons for turtle injuries and deaths. Others swallow fish hooks and can’t eat, or are hit by boats. And there are wildlife traffickers, who poach turtles for the exotic pet trade or for consumption in other countries, Dr. Carstairs says.
Turtles are vital to the health of wetland ecosystems, dispersing seeds for new growth in their droppings and keeping water clean by consuming dead animals. They also help control insect populations and play a key part in the food chain.
What else you missed
- Vancouver Island wildfire no longer a fire of note
- Nova Scotia was battling an out-of-control wildfire, with one eye on Hurricane Erin
- Rising heat is a “public health crisis” for workers, WHO says
- Wildfires in Oregon and California grow, prompting thousands of evacuations
- China races to build the world’s largest solar farm to meet emissions goals
Opinion and analysis
David Lindenmayer and Charles Krebs: Oh, Canada – don’t make the same wildfire mistakes as Australia
Shyon Baumann and Josée Johnston: Happy meat won’t save the world. It may even distract from the real issues
First person: Suffering the wrath of my backyard grapes
Green Investing
Opinion: Environmental damage is hurting both our health and wealth
“In short, environmental damage is now eroding our economic prosperity,” writes Christina Caron, an independent economist who has advised two Canadian prime ministers and a cabinet minister.
“Several centuries of historically unprecedented economic growth have given way to economic stagnation. Labour productivity growth rates have been declining in advanced economies for several decades, and more recently in emerging economies as well. Multifactor productivity – a key source of improvements in standard of living – has flatlined for the past 15 years in both advanced and emerging economies. Evidence increasingly indicates that environmental deterioration has become a significant drag on economic and productivity growth worldwide.”
The Climate Exchange
We’ve launched the The Climate Exchange, an interactive digital hub where The Globe answers your most pressing questions about climate change. We have been collecting hundreds of queries and posing them to experts. The answers can be found with the help of a search tool developed by The Globe that makes use of artificial intelligence to match you with the closest answer drafted. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, you can submit a question using this form.
Photo of the week
Villagers stand outside their houses, partially submerged in floodwaters, after heavy rainfall in the Haqu Wala village of Pakistan's Kasur district Aug. 24.ARIF ALI/AFP/Getty Images
Guides and Explainers
- Want to learn to invest sustainably? We have a class for that: Green Investing 101 is a newsletter course for the climate-conscious investor. Not sure you need help? Take our quiz to challenge your knowledge.
- We’ve rounded up our reporting to help you learn about what a carbon tax is, what happened at COP29 and just generally how climate change will transform Canada.
- We have ways to make your trips more sustainable, and if you like to read, here are books to help the environmentalist in you grow, as well as a downloadable e-book of Micro Skills – Little Steps to Big Change.
Catch up on Globe Climate
- The rise of weather content on social media
- Grief, loss and uncertainty this wildfire season
- The North Atlantic right whale’s collision course
- Beauty is a thing of joy, a driver for change
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