Tag: climate change

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Cottage Life

Gravenhurst to adopt No Mow May campaign this spring

Photo by kavcicm/Shutterstock

If you’re busy with spring cleaning and opening the cottage, why not lighten your workload this spring by not mowing the lawn? The town of Gravenhurst is adopting No Mow May this year in an effort to help local biodiversity and pollinators at this crucial time of year. 

No Mow May encourages property owners to stop mowing their lawns during the month of May, which is an important time for bees and other pollinators who depend on early-blooming plants and flowers for food after hibernation. Mowing your lawn only once a month has been shown to increase local bee populations and leads to 10 times more pollination in your area, which can lead to a better summer garden with more flowers and bountiful crops and support biodiversity throughout the year. 

“I think this is very much an educational exercise,” says Gravenhurst mayor Heidi Lorenz about why the town chose to adopt the campaign. “While lawns have a place for sports use, they really aren’t environmentally friendly. Grass generally requires chemicals and lots of water to thrive, and ideally, native plants are a more suitable solution.” Native plants thrive on lawns when not mowed or cut down. They are particularly important for proper pollination because native flowers, like dandelions and crocuses, not only provide nectar and pollen for pollinating insects but shelter and a suitable habitat too.

Insect populations are declining globally due to climate change, pesticide use, and habitat destruction. “Muskoka relies on clean lakes, beautiful scenery, and fresh air—it’s what draws people here,” says Mayor Lorenz. “Every little thing counts for climate mitigation, so if we can move the needle just a little bit in Mother Nature’s favour, I think we should give it a try.” 

Introduced by the Nature Conservancy of Canada in 2021, No Mow May is based on a U.K. campaign that is gaining international popularity. According to Lorenz, Gravenhurst is the first town in Muskoka to test-run the project, but other Ontario towns, such as Kingston and Sudbury, are participating as well. You don’t need to be a resident of these areas to participate; everyone is encouraged to partake in No Mow May to help their local ecosystems. 

During the campaign, Gravenhurst will suspend certain by-laws regarding maximum grass height and maintenance. Town Council will meet at the end of the month to discuss whether or not Gravenhurst should adopt this policy annually. The campaign is purely voluntary, and people may continue to mow their lawns if they wish. All sports fields, parks, playgrounds, and municipal properties will continue to be mowed. 

Can’t participate in No Mow May this spring? No worries. Not raking your leaves in the fall supports biodiversity by helping bees and butterflies hibernate over the winter, cultivating healthy roots in trees, and providing a source of food and shelter for burrowing insects. Raking and mowing your lawn are “chores I personally would be glad to leave in the past,” says Mayor Lorenz. 

You can learn about more conservation efforts in Muskoka here.

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Mobile Syrup

Telus celebrates planting 1 million trees in bid to fight climate change

Canadian mobile carrier Telus is celebrating a new milestone – the planting of its 1 millionth tree. This number of trees is equivalent to 20,000 acres of forest, according to the company.

“Planting trees and restoring kelp forests is critically important because trees and underwater habitats are essential nature-based climate solutions,” says Geoff Pegg, head of sustainability at Telus.

Telus outlines a number of environmental goals and initiatives it’s taking part in, which can be read in its 2022 Sustainability and ESG Report. This includes the goal of using 100 percent renewable or low-emitting energy by 2025.

The telecom giant is currently partnered with environmental restoration companies such as Veritree and Flash Forest. Its efforts on reforestation and seaforestation projects are ongoing.

The news comes at a time when climate change concerns are top-of-mind for many. A number of other tech companies are pledging support towards environmental initiatives, including becoming carbon neutral in the coming years.

Source: Telus

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Cottage Life

Biodiversity loss is threatening Canada’s wetlands; here’s why it matters

Photo by Elena Berd/Shutterstock

The swamps of the Minesing Wetlands, a 15,000-acre area about 15 kilometres west of Barrie, Ont., are not the most immediately welcoming of places. Convincing someone to spend a day exploring the thick, forested marshes—with clouds of mosquitoes in the air and bloodsucking leeches in the water—isn’t easy. I should know. I’ve been trying to convince friends to join me on a trip there for years. Again and again, my attempts are met with two questions: why would I visit, and why should I care?

Answering the first question is easy. Despite seeming unappealing, the Minesing Wetlands (sometimes called the “Everglades of the North”), are one of our country’s most significant wetland systems. As a conservation biologist helping to map out some of Canada’s most important places for nature, I’m excited to see some of the dozens of rare and endangered species that still call the Minesing Wetlands home. One species here has piqued my interest above all others—a jewel in this swampy rough. It’s called Hine’s emerald, a large dragonfly with a metallic green body and brilliant emerald eyes.

It’s an incredibly rare species; it requires a very specific type of wetland environment, and—unlike most dragonflies, which go from egg to adult in less than a year—the aquatic larvae of this species take three to five years to grow into adulthood, relying on crawfish burrows for shelter during winter and through any dry spells in summer. The Minesing Wetlands are the only place in Canada where this dragonfly is found, so as a nature lover, the slimmest chance to see this beautiful and unique piece of Canadian biodiversity is more than enough reason to visit.

Answering the second question—why should I care—takes longer to answer. I get asked similar things quite often: why care about this one rare species, no matter how beautiful it is? Why should I care about these wetlands or any other seemingly random place? Ultimately, it comes down to understanding why conservation and nature are important at all. Sure, nature is a nice-to-have, but is it really a must-have?

Why does biodiversity matter?

Most people are aware that across Canada and the world, we’re losing more and more wild biodiversity every year. From looking at around 25,000 Canadian species that scientists have some basic understanding of (a fraction of the estimated 80,000 species in Canada), we know that about one in five species in Canada are imperilled to some degree.

These bits of Canadian biodiversity are significant internationally too. More than 300 species in Canada are found nowhere else in the world. From the adorable Vancouver Island marmot to Algonquin Provincial Park’s Eastern wolf, the planetary survival of these species depends entirely on our conservation decisions here in Canada. When it’s gone here, it’s gone everywhere.

But, sometimes when I talk to landowners and land-users—farmers, cottagers, hunters, and ATV-ers—who hear me say we need to protect species or habitat, they get on the defensive. They don’t want to be told how to use their land, or be limited in what they do on it because of some obscure plant or insect. They want to know what purpose these species serve, and if their function really outweighs the inconvenience, annoyance, or danger that these animals pose to us. They want to know, if it’s gone, does it really matter?

The answer is, yes. Many of the natural processes that humans rely on depend on biodiverse ecosystems. Consider pollination, where a huge variety of wild bees, flies, and other insects—including mosquitoes—play a crucial role in ensuring the growth and yields of the fruits, veggies, and nuts that our diets rely on. Or consider decomposition, where species of ants, termites, mushrooms, worms, and more work together to break down and recycle dead plant and animal matter, clearing the way for new life. Gardeners will be familiar with these decomposers and detritivores as some of the main players in creating compost, but without them in the wild, we would quickly be buried under piles of dead plant and animal material.

Species including rattlesnakes and black widow spiders and plants such as American ginseng might hold the cure to helping treat different diseases and conditions. Even those “annoying” species are fundamental pieces of biodiversity. Throughout their life cycle, mosquitoes help to move nutrients between aquatic and terrestrial systems. They also form a key link between phytoplankton and micro-organisms—favoured prey of filter-feeding aquatic mosquito larvae—and larger animals, from bats to frogs, fish to birds. Mosquitoes are a central component of the food web in wetlands. Losing these pesky critters could compromise the function of the wetland, an ecosystem that helps us by filtering water, acting as a buffer to hold water and prevent destructive flooding during storms and winter thaws, and fighting climate change by removing carbon from the atmosphere. These are ecosystem services that would be massively expensive to replace.

Having a variety of species participating in these functions matters as well. For example, pollination is more effective when done not just by a single species (such as honeybees), but instead by a diverse set of wild pollinators. And more biodiverse ecosystems may also be more resilient to change.

While many species might seem similar on the surface, we still lack so much understanding about the basic biology of most species and the complex interactions that they participate in within ecosystems. It’s rarely clear what effect losing a species might have. To paraphrase biologists Paul and Anne Ehrlich, early pioneers in the fields of conservation biology and environmental advocacy, losing species in an ecosystem is like blindly popping rivets off a plane while it’s flying. Some rivets might be redundant, and the plane can probably keep flying for a short while even with some structurally important rivets removed. But it’s silly to risk popping off any rivets when you don’t need to.

What can we do to help biodiversity?

We have a big (but not impossible) task ahead of us to make sure that we keep all of our rivets on the metaphorical plane (or threads in the tapestry of life, if you prefer a less utilitarian analogy). Preventing further loss and recovering biodiversity to what it was—think of it as restoring rivets that have been damaged on a plane—goes together with addressing the climate crisis. The good news is that nations are taking steps towards this.

Just this past December, 188 countries from across the world agreed to a new global framework for addressing biodiversity loss. While not perfect, the agreement contains some ambitious goals, including protecting 30 per cent of lands and waters by 2030, restoring and stopping the loss of areas important to biodiversity and of high ecological integrity, and addressing key drivers of biodiversity loss. Importantly, this agreement highlights the need for conservation to be led by (or at least happen in collaboration with) Indigenous peoples and local communities—something that is especially important here in Canada.

And it’s not just at the Minesing Wetland. Wherever you are—at the side of a lake, on the banks of a river, on the edge of a field, or deep in the woods—there are many things that you can do to help biodiversity around you. It can start as simple as creating a pollinator garden of native wildflowers (or encouraging the wildflowers that are already growing), setting aside parts of lawn or lands to stay “wild” (such as by leaving leaf litter or wetlands alone for the year), or building and properly maintaining nest boxes for species such as bats or bees.

Or you can participate in community science through apps such as iNaturalist or eBird. Local land trusts, conservation authorities, and nature groups can give you advice on the best actions to protect and steward lands you own and connect you to like-minded networks of people. Conservation doesn’t need to be hard, and doesn’t always need to be opposed to other ways of enjoying lands. By engaging with the conservation network and community around you, you can find new creative ways to take care of the land and appreciate nature.

Ultimately, stopping biodiversity loss requires action at both the local level and globally. As important as it is to protect and steward biodiversity near you, it’s also important to vote for leaders who will take conservation seriously and work to meet global commitments.

I’m looking forward to my trip to the Minesing Wetlands in search of the Hine’s emerald. I’ll keep asking people to risk the marshes and mosquitoes to join me, and along the way, start down the path of appreciating biodiversity in all its forms. Like the gears in a watch, every bit of biodiversity—whether it’s an emerald-eyed dragonfly, or a bloodsucking leech—plays some sort of role in the bigger picture and has intrinsic value of its very own. With hope and hard work—and an appreciation for the importance of all the pieces of our planet—I’m optimistic that creatures like Hine’s emerald and other rare species will be a little less rare by the time I get a chance to see them.

Peter Soroye is the Key Biodiversity Areas assessment and outreach coordinator with Wildlife Conservation Society Canada. As you read this, he’s likely on a hike that’s taking 200 per cent longer than necessary as he stops to photograph every bug, bird, and flower he sees along the way.

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Cottage Life

What is dead pool? A water expert explains

Journalists reporting on the status and future of the Colorado River are increasingly using the phrase “dead pool.” It sounds ominous. And it is.

Dead pool occurs when water in a reservoir drops so low that it can’t flow downstream from the dam. The biggest concerns are Lake Powell, behind Glen Canyon Dam on the Utah-Arizona border, and Lake Mead, behind Hoover Dam on the Nevada-Arizona border [shown above]. These two reservoirs, the largest in the U.S., provide water for drinking and irrigation and hydroelectricity to millions of people in Nevada, Arizona and California.

Some media reports incorrectly define dead pool as the point at which a dam no longer has enough water to generate hydroelectricity. The more accurate term for that situation is the minimum power pool elevation.

As a 22-year drought in the Colorado River basin lingers, reaching minimum power pool elevation is the first problem. Lakes Powell and Mead have turbines at the bases of their dams, well below the surface of the reservoirs. Water flows through valves in intake towers in the reservoirs and is channeled through the turbines, making them spin to generate electricity.

Water levels in the Colorado River’s major reservoirs are falling to levels not seen since the reservoirs were created.

This system relies on what hydrologists call hydraulic head—the amount of liquid pressure above a given point. The higher the level of water above the turbines in Lake Powell and Lake Mead, the more hydraulic head they have and the more power they will generate.

IJC recommends government action for Lake Huron-Michigan water levels

When the level in a reservoir approaches minimum power pool elevation, the turbines lose capacity to produce power as they start to take in air along with water and must be shut down before they are damaged. A reservoir that reaches this point usually has quite a bit of water left before it drops to dead pool and water stops flowing from the dam.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation recently announced unprecedented changes in its regulation of the water in Lake Mead and Lake Powell. First, the bureau will retain in Lake Powell 480,000 acre-feet of water that was scheduled to flow down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon and into Lake Mead for use by California, Nevada, and Arizona. One acre-foot is about 325,000 gallons.

Second, the bureau will release an additional 500,000 acre-feet from Flaming Gorge Dam on the Wyoming-Utah border. Water from Flaming Gorge flows into the Green River and eventually into Lake Powell. The water level in Lake Powell was 3,522 feet on April 30, 2022—just 32 feet above the minimum power pool elevation of 3,490 feet. Dead pool is 120 feet lower, at 3,370 feet.

The bureau acted suddenly because the levels in both lakes have dropped far faster than anyone forecast. In the last year, Lake Mead dropped 22 feet; Lake Powell, 40 feet.

Extreme drought and climate change partly explain this rapid decline. Another factor is that Glen and Boulder Canyons are V-shaped, like martini glasses—wide at the rim and narrow at the bottom. As levels in the lakes decline, each foot of elevation holds less water.

Signs that your lake might have elevated levels of bacteria

For now, finding enough water to keep generating electricity is the focus. But unless California, Nevada and Arizona make big cuts in the amount of water they use, dead pool in Lake Powell and Lake Mead can’t be ruled out.

This article has been updated to clarify that Hoover Dam holds back Lake Mead.The Conversation

This article, by Robert Glennon, Regents Professor and Morris K. Udall Professor of Law & Public Policy, University of Arizona, is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

 

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Last year’s top 10 Canadian weather events

By Petri Volanen/Shutterstock

Late in 2022, Environment and Climate Change Canada released its annual list of the top 10 weather events of the year. Sure, weather stats show that 2021 was more destructive, disruptive, and expensive than 2022. But last year was no weather picnic. Remember Fiona? Remember the billion-dollar derecho? “In 2022, Mother Nature either froze, buried, soaked, smothered, blew at, or frightened us at various times throughout the year,” the ECCC announced in its official roundup press release. Here’s which events made the top 10. Drum roll, please!

 

No. 1 Hurricane Fiona

No surprise here: Fiona topped the destruct-o list. She pummelled Atlantic Canada with rain, wind, storm surges, and waves; rainfall amounts topped 150 mm in parts of the Maritimes and eastern Quebec, and rainfall rates, at times, exceeded 30 mm per hour. Winds exceeded 100 km/h in five provinces, blowing, in some cases, for 12 hours straight, knocking down power poles and 100-year-old trees. It was “likely the most damaging hurricane in Canadian history,” says the ECCC. No kidding.

Insurance and government overlook cottagers affected by Hurricane Fiona

No. 2 The Ontario and Quebec derecho

If you didn’t know what a derecho was at the beginning of 2022, you do now. The group of thunderstorms that hit Ontario and Quebec over the May long weekend was the first time in the history of the ECCC’s weather service that the government issued a severe weather phone alert through the National Public Alerting System. According to the ECCC, the service only issues such an alert if winds reach 130 km/h or if the storm produces hail that measures more than seven centimetres (picture spheres the size of baseballs falling from the sky).

Experts weigh in on how damaging the May long weekend storm was

No.3 A wet, wet spring in Manitoba

Record amounts of melting snow combined with record amounts of rain—more than three times the 30-year normal—meant that the province experienced some of its most extensive and longest-lasting flooding in years. The heavy rainfalls happened intensely and quickly, faster than the still-frozen ground could absorb the excess water. Multiple rivers were at risk of overflowing; 45 municipalities and nine First Nation communities across the province declared local states of emergency.

Cottagers told to evacuate as severe flooding persists in southeast Manitoba

No. 4 Hot and dry all over

Summer 2022 was the third-warmest on record for Canada (2012 and 1998 were hotter); temperatures were, across the country, nearly 1.6°C “above normal.” A huge and persistent heat dome engulfed much of Western North America. It wasn’t as intense as the 2021 heat dome, but it lasted longer, and many weather-recording sites broke century-long records for August through October.

No.5 The double-coast wildfires

Even though the B.C. wildfire season started slowly thanks to a wet spring (see No.6), by July it was in full force. The first major blaze (the Nohomin Creek Fire) broke out on July 14 just west of Lytton, B.C. By the end of July, another major blaze, the Keremeos Creek wildfire, had broken out near Penticton. By the beginning of August, the provincial government had issued 1,000 property evacuations. On the other side of the country, meanwhile, parts of central Newfoundland were experiencing the worst wildfires in more than 60 years. Why? Summer temperatures were warmer by 2 to 3°C and rainfall was, across the province, up to 70 per cent below normal.

Over 300 properties, mountain resort, ordered to evacuate wildfire zone in B.C.

No. 6 Spring is winter in B.C.

In B.C., winter 2022 lasted until nearly the first day of summer. Multiple communities across the province had record-breaking lows over the Easter weekend. In fact, twenty-seven record-low temperatures were set on April 16; Vancouver registered its coldest day for that month since observations began in 1896. Nanaimo, meanwhile, experienced its wettest April since 1892. And in Victoria, between May 20 and June 18—a.k.a. the dry season—23 out of 30 days were wet. Ugh.

No. 7 Super-storms in the Prairies

July in the Prairies was stormy. Super stormy. At least four powerful and dangerous July thunderstorms barrelled from the Alberta foothills to eastern Manitoba, bringing rain, huge hail, gusty winds, and tornadoes. The first one hit the afternoon of July 7, developing over central and southern Alberta. The town of Bergen recorded an EF-2 tornado—wind speeds between 180 and 190 km/h. The next day brought golf-ball size hail and four more tornadoes in parts of Saskatchewan (near Paynton and Blaine Lake). Then, on July 9, yet another tornado touched down near Argyle. Unfortunately, that tornado-tastic storm was just the first in the month-long series of storms. Take a break, Mother Nature!

No.8 The “humongous” amount of rain in Montreal

September brought urban flooding—a phenomenon “that is becoming more frequent and more impactful”—to the Quebec city. Downtown, along with the eastern suburbs, received a month’s worth of rain in just two hours. The downpour swamped intersections and underpasses with up to a metre of water. Highways and streets had to close, and water poured into Montreal Metro stations. Flooded pipes and sewers shot manhole covers into the air, and cars were stranded. According to the ECCC, insurance losses totalled $166 million. This makes the Montreal rain event the third most expensive extreme weather disaster in 2022 after the Ontario-Quebec derecho and Hurricane Fiona.

How will climate change affect your property? A new tool shows you

No.9 Record-breaking cold to ring in the new year

In December 2021, an extremely cold air mass from Siberia descended across most of Northern and Western Canada. On Christmas Eve, the N.W.T’s Deadmen Valley recorded a low of -45°C. (The only place on earth colder was Yakutsk, Russia, at -48°C.) Elsewhere, at times, everywhere from B.C. to Northern Ontario was under an extreme cold weather warning, with wind chills ranging between -40 and -55. On December 26, Key Lake, Sask., plunged to -42.1°C (-50 wind chill); two days later, Edmonton, Alta., followed suit, breaking a record set in 1880. The new year was worse, especially for those in the Northwest Territories. Between January 5 and 7, the temperature in Whitehorse plummeted to -44.8°C and at Watson Lake it bottomed out at -52.2°C. (A record-low, of course.)

Do you dress for the cold weather the right way?

No. 10 Three weekends of January storms in Atlantic Canada

Atlantic Canada couldn’t catch a break in January 2022. During the first week of the year, a storm intensified into a bomb cyclone along the Eastern seaboard before arriving in the Maritimes. Cape Breton got the worst of the storm’s snow: up to 50 cm. Then, on January 15, Cape Breton got another smackdown as a similar storm from the mid-Atlantic directly hit it. Poor Cape Breton. Finally, at the end of the month, a third weekend storm formed in the south before walloping New England and getting stronger as it closed in on Canada. In New Brunswick, the added snow, dumped onto already huge snow drifts, lead to zero visibility conditions, and northern parts of Nova Scotia were hit with more than 40 cm. Snow-maggedon!

And…that’s a wrap on 2022. Let’s see what 2023 brings. Get ready.

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How will climate change impact your property? New real estate tool shows you

Photo by Shutterstock/2M media

Climate change is a reality that is overwhelming to tackle. But two tech companies aren’t shying away from the issue. Instead, they’ve created a tool that allows real estate buyers to see how the climate is expected to shift around their prospective property.

Montreal-based Local Logic has partnered with San Fransico-based ClimateCheck to bring Canadian buyers a climate risk assessment.

“Climate change is transforming the real estate landscape, introducing new and costly levels of physical risk to property,” said Vincent-Charles Hodder, co-founder and CEO of Local Logic, in a statement. “Home seekers can now assess an area’s risk for climate-related disasters and, using our suite of location insights, make more informed decisions about where to buy and how to mitigate risks from climate change.”

The new tool is currently being used by Sotheby’s International Realty Canada, Royal LePage, and REW.ca for listings across Canada.

“It’s looking at 2050, and it’s saying within the next 30 years, what is the forecasted climate impact on this area for heat and for storms,” said Pierre Calzadilla, Local Logic’s EVP of growth.

The tool covers a five-kilometre radius around the property and will tell you how many hot days to expect in 2050, what the average temperature of those days will be, how many severe storms will occur, and how much precipitation to expect.

For example, a home for sale in North Vancouver currently experiences seven hot days per year at an average of 27 degrees Celsius. That number’s expected to increase to 24 days in 2050, averaging 31 degrees Celsius. As for storms, the area’s expected to see a jump from 12 significant two-day storms to 14, with the precipitation per storm rising from 885 mm to 1020 mm.

As the climate changes, Calzadilla pointed out that many insurance companies are pulling back from high-risk areas, such as floodplains, and buyers aren’t always aware. “It just helps people understand that this is a real thing. People have to take into account that there’s nowhere to hide with climate change.”

Local Logic and ClimateCheck have been providing free climate risk assessments in the U.S. for several years, presenting data on heat, storm, fire, drought, and flood. Calzadilla said that the two companies are currently working on introducing flood-risk data in Canada.

On top of climate risk assessments, Local Logic also provides information about a property’s surrounding area. For example, suppose a young family was looking to buy a new home. Local Logic could tell them the average noise levels in the neighbourhood, how close schools are, accessibility to transit, and the ease of getting groceries.

The company’s ability to provide location intelligence makes it the perfect partner for ClimateCheck, which was founded to bring climate change information to real estate owners and buyers.

“Combining ClimateCheck’s granular climate risk data with Local Logic’s location intelligence insights helps real estate brokers, investors, and consumers alike understand how intensifying hazards like flood and fire might affect their properties in the future,” said Cal Inman, CEO of ClimateCheck, in a statement. “This knowledge empowers them to make smarter decisions about where they buy property and how they maintain or improve property to guard against mounting risks.”

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Cottage Life

What you need to know for your next hybrid or electric vehicle purchase

Photo by Smile Fight/Shutterstock

As part of its goal to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, Canada has introduced new regulations to mandate one-fifth of all vehicles sold in Canada be electric by 2026.

With the price of gasoline being projected to rise again, and consumers worrying about the legacy of fossil fuel emissions, now is the perfect time for Canadians to shift toward hybrid and battery-powered electric vehicles.

But making an informed choice can be daunting. There are many different new forms of propulsion systems and energy-storage methods among hybrid and battery-powered electric vehicles—all of them different from conventional gas-burning cars.

The sheer number of hybrid and electric vehicle options can make the idea of switching to a hybrid or electric vehicle daunting for many. Here’s a guide to understanding hybrid and electric vehicles and deciding which is most suitable for your lifestyle.

What makes hybrid and electric cars different?

Traditional gas-powered cars use a type of engine called internal combustion engines that use fuel to propel themselves. However, even high-performance gasoline engines are only 20 to 35 per cent efficient.

In other words, a gas-powered car loses two-thirds of its energy in the form of heat, rather than useful work. Electric and hybrid vehicles, on the other hand, are much more efficient.

This is because in hybrid and electric vehicles, unlike gas-powered cars, only part of—or none of—the propelling force is generated by engines. They use electric machines, featuring a high-efficiency energy conversion process at around 90 per cent to propel the vehicle. Electric machines improve fuel economy and drivability.

Hybrid electric vehicles

Before deciding which type of electric vehicle to purchase, it’s important for buyers to know whether electric vehicle chargers are available in areas where they live and drive. If charging stations are difficult to access and buyers do a lot of long-distance driving, the hybrid electric vehicle is a good option to invest in.

Hybrid electric vehicles straddle the line between fully electric vehicles and conventional cars by pairing an internal combustion engine with an electric machine. Hybrid vehicles store energy in both the fuel tank and battery pack.

One distinct difference among hybrid vehicles is how the vehicle turns the engine’s power into movement, known as the powertrain. Powertrains are important because they affect a vehicle’s fuel economy, drivability and purchasing price. There are three main types of hybrid vehicle classifications based on this.

Series hybrid system

Series hybrid vehicles, like the BMW i3 extended range and Fisker Karma, only use the motor to provide the driving force. The power flows from the engine to the generator to the battery, then to the motor, the axle and finally the wheels.

The engine works at its narrow optimal region with high efficiency and delivers mechanical energy to the coupled generator, which later converts the mechanical energy to electric power and charges the battery.

Because the generator and motor normally have an efficiency around 90 per cent, the conversion process delivers improved fuel economy.

In addition, part of the mechanical energy is converted back to electric power during the braking process and stored in the battery pack, resulting in better fuel economy. This makes it a good choice for stop-and-go driving caused by heavy traffic or traffic signals.

Parallel hybrid vehicles

Parallel hybrid vehicles couple both the engine and electric machine to the transmission. Compared to the series hybrid architecture of using one generator and one propulsion motor, the parallel hybrid system uses one electric machine, but the engine does not always work optimally.

This configuration is less suitable for the stop-and-go scenario, but has better performance at high-speed driving since both propulsion sources operate with high efficiency. Examples of parallel hybrid vehicles include the Honda Insight, Land Rover Range Rover P400e, Hyundai Tucson Hybrid, Hyundai Ioniq and BMW X5 530e.

Series-parallel hybrid vehicles

Series-parallel hybrids combine the advantages of the series and parallel configurations. The drawback of these hybrids is the price—because these vehicles consist of both series and parallel systems, they are more complex, resulting in a higher price.

Examples of series-parallel hybrid vehicles are the Toyota Prius, Lexus CT 200h, Ford Fusion Hybrid and Toyota RAV4.

Fully electric vehicles

If charging stations are easily accessible and long-distance driving is not a concern, battery-powered electric vehicles are a good option for buyers to consider. Fully electric vehicles rely solely on an electric machine and have no combustion engine. They obtain energy from the electric grid and store it in its battery pack.

Electric vehicles are very efficient because of the energy conversion process of electric machines. Apart from the size and type of the battery pack, different electric vehicles use electric machines in different ways.

Most electric vehicles use one electric machine as the propulsion source—either front-wheel-drive or rear-wheel-drive. One drawback of this configuration is the electric machine does not always operate at its optimal efficiency. This affects how far the vehicle can be driven between charges.

Why an electric car is a viable cottage vehicle

To improve their efficiency and drivability, some electric vehicles use multiple electric machines. Some vehicles split vehicle power between two motors, which results in higher efficiency and a broader speed range. The Model 3, Model Y and Model S Tesla cars have this configuration, allowing all-wheel-drive and better traction control.

Another way electric vehicles improve drivability is by using three electric machines. This allows vehicles to control the torque in rear wheels separately in a process known as torque vectoring control. Typical examples of this configuration are the Model S Plaid and Model X Plaid.

There has never been a better time to switch to an electric vehicle. To help Canadians transition to this greener vehicle option, the Canadian government has financial supports available. The Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles program provides cash rebates for battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. Some provinces, like British Columbia and Québec, also offer their own provincial rebates.The Conversation

Gaoliang Fang is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the McMaster Automotive Resource Centre, McMaster University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

6 electric boats and PWCs on the market

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How many moose are hiding in the woods?

2022 photo contest entry by Larry Dance.

Ever wonder how biologists count moose? These massive but elusive animals don’t make it easy. But it turns out the key to good population surveys starts with a good snowfall. Snowy days are essential to conducting annual moose surveys across northern and central Ontario, as far south as Haliburton and the Kawarthas. 

The inventories—done by low-flying aircraft—help the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) estimate populations for long-term management—an increasingly important task as climate change and host of other factors have imperilled moose in southern portions of their range.

The aerial counts are done using a standard protocol that’s used across North America: between 10 AM and 2 PM from December through mid-February, within 72 hours of a fresh snowfall of at least 30 cm (to make tracks more visible) and temperatures less than minus 5ºC (since moose are more active in the cold). 

Watch a moose gallop through waist-deep snow like it’s thin air

“The Ontario moose population has decreased 20 percent since 2004,” says Amanda Rantala, the administrative assistant to the regional director with the Northeast Region MNRF in Timmins. “Exact causes of population declines are not always clear, but multiple factors likely play a role including habitat, parasites, hunting, climate and predators. The ministry is exploring the potential for further science efforts to examine the impacts of some of these factors more closely.”

Rantala says the most significant declines have occurred in parts of northeastern and central parts of the province, including most of Ontario cottage country. But it’s not just here; similar patterns are occurring elsewhere along the southern fringes of moose habitat. Minnesota’s moose population has decreased by more than 50 per cent since 2006, in part because of increasing numbers of white-tailed deer, which carry a brainworm parasite that’s lethal to moose. In Maine, warmer winters are being blamed for eruptions of winter ticks, which threaten the survivorship of young moose by causing hair loss.   

Aerial surveys are conducted on a rotational basis in Ontario Wildlife Management Units (WMU) known to support moose. Based on aerial observation of moose signs in the surveys, biologists make population estimates for low-, medium- and high-moose density habitat, which can then be extrapolated across the entire WMU. Aerial surveys also allow biologists to estimate the number of bulls, cows, and calves within an area.

Ultimately, moose aerial estimates are plotted against management goals to allow biologists to assign hunting quotas for various parts of the province. Rantala says moose in Ontario’s cottage country are within population objective ranges, with about 1,300 moose in the Parry Sound area, 339 in Muskoka and 458 in Haliburton. The moose population for the entire province is around 91,000—about the same as the number of moose hunters. 

Meet the mighty moose

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Cottage Life

Federal government offers grant to upgrade from oil to electric heat pumps

Photo by Shutterstock/charnsitr

The federal government is offering a $5,000 grant to eligible Canadian homeowners willing to make the switch from oil to electric heat pumps.

During a press conference last week, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser unveiled the $250 million Oil to Heat Pump Affordability (OHPA) grant, a new program designed to transition thousands of Canadians from heating their households with oil to electric heat pumps.

“By transitioning away from oil heating, homeowners can save thousands of dollars in their annual heating bills, putting more money back in peoples’ pockets while also reducing pollution and creating new jobs across the country,” Fraser said.

The OHPA grant builds on the government’s Low Carbon Economy Fund (LCEF), another $250 million grant announced in September, primarily aimed at converting Atlantic Canada households from oil to electric heat pumps.

The OHPA grant is targeting low to middle-income households, providing $5,000 to be used towards purchasing and installing an electric heat pump, safely removing a household’s oil tank, and electrical upgrades required for the new electric heat pump.

To help homeowners carry the costs, the $5,000 will be provided up front, rather than after the installation. The government estimates that switching from oil to an electric heat pump could save a household between $1,500 and $4,700 per year on home energy bills.

To be eligible for the OHPA grant, a household’s after-tax income must be at or below the median household after-tax income defined in Statistics Canada’s Low Income Measure Threshold—approximately $53,140 for a family of four. The household must be oil heated as of January 2023, demonstrated through copies of oil fuel bills from the preceding 12 months. And it must be the owner’s primary residence. This mean secondary properties, such as cottages, are not eligible for the grant.

The Ministry of Natural Resources said that it will be thoroughly vetting each applicant to ensure the grant money is being used as prescribed. The homeowner will have to submit required documents to the ministry, including oil fuel bills and tax forms, to prove they’re eligible. The government will then provide the homeowner with the funding. After the installation is complete, the homeowner will have to submit receipts and invoices to the government.

The reason the government is pushing greener home initiatives, such as the OHPA grant, is its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40 to 45 per cent by 2030. Heating a home with oil produces more greenhouse gas emissions than gas or electricity. The widespread installation of electric heat pumps is predicted to significantly lower harmful emissions.

Despite the name, electric heat pumps can both heat and cool a home, and have been used for decades in Canada.  Depending on the size of the electric heat pump, installation costs could range from $3,000 to $15,000.

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Cottage Life

Canadian results from the 2022 State of the World’s Birds report

By Danita Delimont/Shutterstock

BirdLife International recently released its “State of the World’s Birds” report and it doesn’t look good for our feathered friends. Although conservation efforts have been attributed to the rebound of waterfowl and wetland birds like geese and ducks to the tune of about 150 per cent since the 1970s, overall, half of the world’s bird species are in decline, with one in eight facing extinction.

Birds Canada has been contributing vital data to the report, published every four years, and the information could ultimately save our birds.

“People feel like they can’t make a difference… and they can,” says Andrew Couturier, the senior director for landscape science and conservation with Birds Canada.

Canada also publishes our own “State of Canada’s Birds” report, most recently in 2019, which dials down our domestic bird issues, taking into consideration Canada can’t claim exclusive title to many birds, given their migration to other areas to winter or breed. An amazing 66 per cent of the trends concluded in the report came from volunteer citizen scientists, who populated data for breeding bird atlases, the Christmas Bird Count and eBird Canada checklists. In a world where information is power, it’s the monitoring of the numbers that informs the identification of threats, and where action would be most beneficial. Specifically, the establishment of Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs), key spots where birds may breed, feed, winter or gather while migrating, are designated with this species and location specific information.

8 ways to help birds during the fall migration

Those IBAs consider the needs of, and risks to, bird species, according to their specific habits. For instance, birds reliant on Canada’s native grasslands have declined a dramatic 87 per cent since 1970. The biggest reason? The increase in crop agriculture. But what volunteer led data showed was that cattle farmers may provide a solution, at least for some species. “Due to the conversion to agriculture in their breeding grounds, there’s hardly any habitat left. But now we have budding relationships with cattle ranchers, whose pastures mimic grassland habitat,” says Couturier. “When ranching is done properly, there’s a high diversity of other creatures as well.”

Hurricane Fiona’s devastation to Nova Scotia, P.E.I., and Newfoundland, whose intensity may be attributed to climate change, could be an example of what Canada’s shorebirds and seabirds are facing. Canada’s bird report states our shorebirds have declined by 40 per cent, but seabirds have been devastated with 55 of 58 species now of conservation concern. Couturier worries that Fiona may have destroyed vital habitat. “Our shorebirds aren’t there now, but when they come back, they may have no beach to breed on.” Monitoring birds that historically bred in these areas will be especially vital in the next few years.

Excepting species like the evening grosbeak that depend on the seeds and fruit of Canada’s mature forests (forest crop specialists have declined by 39 per cent), the rest of the 20 per cent of forest birds that stay in Canada during the winter have increased by 34 per cent. Unfortunately, those that migrate to South America have declined by 31 per cent. One of the actions Couturier recommends for those that migrate is buying bird friendly coffee. “Most coffee is from clear-cuts.” For birds who winter here, Canadians can advocate to save our mature trees and forests, limit pesticide use, and help to establish IBAs and networks of protected areas.

Help winter wildlife with tips from Hope for Wildlife

Pesticide use is also a big factor in the world’s reduction of insects, including pollinators. Birds like nighthawks, barn swallows, and bluebirds that feed by catching insects while flying, all once so plentiful their names included the words “common”, have decreased in numbers in Canada by 59 per cent since the 1980s. The signal this depletion sends is as relevant to humans as when coal miners used canaries.

But Couturier still believes that since we’ve turned the tide for endangered birds before, we can again, especially since data informs us now of where best to focus are efforts via the IBA’s. “If we make the case to landowners that have been doing something right or special…we’ll be helping landowners to steward. There are so many people that practice bird feeding, that are clearly interested in birds, but only a small proportion join in the programs.”

The IBAs have been so successful, they inspired KBAs, or Key Biodiversity Areas that encompass all forms of biodiversity. “We always knew that IBAs were bigger than birds,” says Couturier.

It’s hard to argue with the facts. According to the “State of the World’s Birds” report, between 21 and 32 bird species would have gone extinct sometime between 1993 and now, if it hadn’t been for conservation efforts.

The rebound of waterfowl and wetland birds, and the increase of about 110 per cent of birds of prey such as bald eagles and ospreys, are also greatly accredited to data led investment in conservation and cooperative stewardship of their habitats.

Why bald eagle populations have bounced back

Canada’s federal government is among many that has set a goal to protect 30 per cent of land and seas by 2030, and are increasingly using Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas and the newer KBA designation to target the areas that will get the best results. According to Couturier, as of now about 17 per cent of that target has been met.

If we put the same amount of effort into saving our shore, grassland, and aerial insectivore birds, as we did with waterfowl, wetland, and birds of prey, what could we accomplish?