Archives for December 1, 2019

‘Around 10,000 people are dying prematurely from air pollution,’ says author

Researchers at the University of British Columbia have discovered that even low levels of air pollution — below national air quality guidelines — are associated with an increased risk of death in Canada.

According to a study published this week in a Health Effects Institute report, there is no safe level of air pollution when it comes to Canadians’ health outcomes.

“Somewhere around 10,000 people are dying prematurely from air pollution every year in Canada,” said Michael Brauer, the study’s lead author and a professor at the university’s School of Population and Public Health. “It’s bigger than the impacts of motor vehicle collisions. It’s bigger than the impact from alcohol abuse.”

Brauer says researchers found at least a five per cent increase in the risk of death when comparing high- and low-pollution areas in Canada.

Even though Canada is one of the few countries that meets World Health Organization air quality guidelines, he says the results are concerning because most Canadians live in more polluted areas, such as large urban centres.

Brauer refers to air pollution as a “silent killer” — even though its effects aren’t obvious, when combined with other factors and health risks, they have a big impact.

“Air pollution affects many of the main causes of death already,” he said. “If somebody dies of a heart attack we actually never know exactly what the cause of that heart attack is, or even of the heart disease that developed that led them to be susceptible to that heart attack.”

Life expectancy lowered by half a year

The study analyzed weather data and pollution-monitoring stations across the country to get an estimate of air pollution for every square kilometre in Canada going back to 1981.

With census results from Statistics Canada, the researchers were able to determine the level of air pollution Canadians were exposed to over time. They then looked at death records and ruled out other factors that affect the risk of dying to establish the correlation between pollution and increased death risk.

Brauer says, on average, Canadians’ life expectancy is about half a year lower because of air pollution.

“It’s kind of like if you removed air pollution, it’s like snapping your finger and giving everybody with a magic wand an extra half year of your life,” he said. “But obviously for some people it may be more and some people may be less.”

He explains that many larger sources of pollution in Canada have been reduced over the last 40 or 50 years, but cities can still improve air quality by becoming “low-emission zones.” Cities could achieve this in several ways, including charging vehicles a tax for driving into city centres, using congestion charges, or even prohibiting more polluting vehicles from entering cities in the first place.

Sorcerer Lodge can only be reached by helicopter and is in ideal spot for trees to grow

The owners of an alpine backcountry lodge near Golden, B.C., are trying to save the endangered whitebark pine trees that surround their remote mountaintop home. 

The Sorcerer Lodge, which sits at an elevation of 2,050 metres in the Selkirk Mountains and can only be reached by helicopter, is in an ideal spot for the trees to grow. The whitebark pine favours high elevations with lots of sunlight.

“Our trees … are some giant trees. They twist and turn in the branches and don’t grow like you’d expect most trees,” said Tannis Dakin, co-owner of the lodge.

“Every one is completely different. Some of the branches go straight out from the trunk and then dip back down to the ground and back up again. They’re quite the characters and they’re really beautiful.”

The trees are considered an important source of food for birds, grizzlies and other wildlife, and they also help hold the snowpack at higher elevations.

Dakin and the team at the lodge have been recognized by the Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation for the work they’ve done to protect the trees.

The foundation has named the ski lodge as the first Whitebark Pine Friendly Ski Area in Canada. This means they are considered leaders in preserving these trees and in educating skiers who come to the area.

“In Canada I think they’re just trying desperately to get the word out about these trees and it helps to have people who live and work within them,” said Dakin. 

The species of tree is considered so at risk that in 2018, Lake Louise Ski Resort in Banff National Park was fined $2.1 million by a provincial judge for cutting down 38 whitebark pine trees five years earlier. 

The resort has since appealed the fine and requested it be reduced to $200,000, arguing the trees they cut down didn’t have a significant impact on the overall whitebark pine population in Canada. A decision in that case has yet to be made.

Protecting the trees

Dakin told Daybreak South host Chris Walker that she first got involved with protecting the trees 12 years ago, when she noticed they weren’t looking very healthy.

She began researching blister rust infection, a fungal infection that has killed a lot of whitebark pine trees, but there were inconsistencies with what she was seeing.

“I was struggling with trying to understand what I was seeing on the ground and what I was hearing and reading because it wasn’t matching,” she said.

Dakin was finding live trees among large patches of dead ones that were still producing cone crops. 

Parks Canada and a team of researchers have been studying the trees to try to find out if some of them are resistant to blister rust. Dakin has been hosting PhD students at the lodge who have been coming to collect samples, and supporting researchers with volunteer labour, helicopter costs and accommodation.

“The research is adding little bits and pieces of the puzzle and I think there might be some hope,” she said.

They are now planting seedlings that appear to be resistant to the infection in an attempt to spread some genetic diversity and increase the population of whitebark pines. 

“I’m hopeful and I think we have to try. There’s really no alternative.”

Up to 40 centimetres of snow expected in some regions

Some parts of Nova Scotia could see up to 40 centimetres of snow by Sunday.

Snow squalls are expected in Victoria County, Pictou County, Inverness County and Antigonish County overnight into Sunday morning, according to Environment Canada’s website.

Snow squall warnings are issued when bands of snow produce intense accumulations and near zero visibility.

There is also a wind warning for Mabou and northern Inverness County with northwesterly winds gusting to 100 km/h expected until late Saturday night.

Environment Canada has also issued snow squall watches for northern Colchester and Cumberland counties and the Cobequid Pass. Up to 10 cm can be expected overnight.

Travel advisories in effect
Some travel advisories have been issued in anticipation of the weather conditions.

Northumberland Ferries is cancelling the 8 a.m. crossing from Prince Edward Island and the 9:30 a.m. crossing from Nova Scotia on Sunday.

Sailings are expected to resume for the 11:15 am. crossing from Prince Edward Island and the 1 p.m. crossing from Nova Scotia.

Marine Atlantic is rescheduling its Saturday evening ferries.

The crossings connecting Port aux Basques and North Sydney scheduled for Saturday at 11:45 p.m. will now depart Sunday at 11:45 a.m., weather permitting.

Ottawa call for input on slide response, salmon species

Ottawa is seeking help to avoid what it says could be the extinction of some British Columbian salmon species because of a massive landslide on the Fraser River that sparked a co-ordinated emergency response this year.

Public Services and Procurement Canada, on behalf of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, issued a request for information this week seeking input from the private sector and other experts to re-establish natural fish passage at the site of the slide.

The Big Bar landslide north of Lillooet, B.C., was discovered in June and initial estimates show 75,000 cubic metres of material was deposited in the river.

The government documents say the request will only be open until Dec. 6, given the “urgency” of the situation, and Ottawa is prepared to spend between $10 million and $30 million on the project.

It’s seeking construction and environmental remediation work to support the break up and removal of rock from the site of the slide during the first available low-water window between December and March.

The documents say the extinction of upper Fraser salmon species could result in economic losses throughout British Columbia and pose risks to the food security and culture of many Indigenous communities along the river.

The slide occurred in the traditional territory of the High Bar and Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nations but the government says an additional 140 First Nations may feel the effects.

“Without immediate environmental remediation, many salmon stocks native to the upper Fraser River (a large geographic region of BC) may become extinct,” the document says.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans says in a statement that it’s still crunching numbers around the fish migration, spawning and mortality data due to the slide.

It could take years of work to reduce the impact of the slide on salmon stocks, it says.

Following the slide, the federal, provincial and local governments worked with local First Nations through a joint command centre to move the fish beyond the barrier, including transporting thousands of fish toward spawning grounds by helicopter.

While some of the slide material has eroded or moved downstream by freshet flows, the largest slide fragments remain in the area “critical” to fish passage, the request for information says.

Work on the project depends on low water levels and the work must be complete before levels rise, which historically happens around March 15, it says.

“Given the unique and specialized nature of this work, remote location, low water window and less than favourable weather conditions, Canada is seeking input for the industry regarding timely and effective solutions, associated procurement strategies as well as any other meaningful feedback it may have to offer in relation to this requirement,” it says.

Interested bidders are encouraged to engage with local First Nations and the government is specifically seeking input form Indigenous businesses.