"A humble lake in a Canadian suburb may soon become the symbolic starting point for a radical new chapter in Earth’s official history: the Anthropocene, or the age of humans."
"Environmental concerns are raised anew about potential contamination from Canadian open-pit mines flowing through the waterways into Montana’s lakes, harming fish."
The U.S. air quality alert scale is showing a lot of unhealthy colors this season, from oranges up to unhealthy reds and purples or worse, as smoke from wildfires in Canada periodically drifts across various U.S. regions. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox explores a key database and other resources to help journalists report on the spread of smoky air.
A new book takes readers around the planet to better understand the world’s eight bear species and our relationships with them, including not just how we’ve popularized some but also the many ways we’ve mistreated or pushed others to the brink of extinction. In the new BookShelf, Frances Backhouse reviews Gloria Dickie’s just-published volume, “Eight Bears.” Plus, Freelance Files interviews Dickie.
"The only break much of America can hope for anytime soon from eye-watering dangerous smoke from fire-struck Canada is brief bouts of shirt-soaking sweltering heat and humidity from a southern heat wave that has already proven deadly, forecasters say."
"Wildfires burning through large swathes of eastern and western Canada have released a record 160 million tonnes of carbon, the EU's Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service said on Tuesday."
"As thick smoke from Canadian wildfires coated Chicago and the surrounding areas Tuesday, weather officials warned more bad air is expected Wednesday."
"Canada is offering incentives to mining companies to dig in its northern regions for the critical minerals needed for EVs and solar panels. But based on past abuses, critics fear carbon-rich peatlands will be lost, wild rivers polluted, and enormous cleanup projects left behind."
The harms of air pollutants created by wildfires are clear. What’s lost in the haze, though, is that wildfire smoke can carry those pollutants vast distances, threatening communities that are unfamiliar with the risks. The latest TipSheet explains the dangers and how far-flung wildfire smoke travels, then offers a dozen story ideas plus reporting resources.
"Young readers can become archaeologists, seaweed harvesters, and Arctic explorers, all through the pages of books."
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