Summer is a season of sunshine, play, and unfortunately, excessive water use. As temperatures climb, our reliance on water increases, from watering lawns and filling pools to cooling off with long showers. While these are natural parts of summer life, they also offer an excellent opportunity to teach the next generation about one of the planet’s most precious resources: water.
As World Ocean Day approaches (Sunday, June 8, 2025), Canadians have a unique opportunity to reflect on the incredible role oceans play in our daily lives and the health of the planet. For Canada, whose geography is defined by its extensive marine borders, this day holds exceptional significance. Bordered by the Pacific, Arctic, and Atlantic Oceans, and with over 243,000 kilometres of coastline, the longest of any country, Canada's environment, economy, and cultural identity are deeply entwined with the health of its marine ecosystems.
Every March 22, the world celebrates water in all its myriad forms. This year’s World Water Day theme is Glacier Preservation and protecting our frozen water resources for future use. While this theme is important to life all over the world, here in Canada it is vital, as our country is home to the Canadian Arctic and the Rocky Mountains, both landscapes that rely heavily on the conservation of this frozen resource.
For the 2024/2025 academic year, the Cinema Studies department at the University of Toronto launched a new experiential learning course called Sensory Ecologies: Theory and Praxis in Environmental Studies. Led by Professor Nadine Chan, our class has explored how media helps us construct and understand the concept of environmental degradation. Through scholarly research, various forms of media, and even experimenting with making our own media projects, we have seen firsthand how important storytelling is in conceptualizing the environment, and stoking passion for climate justice.
Every time I enter the ocean, it shows me something beautiful and unexpected. I’m looking for sharks, and a fin whale surfaces, breath bursting into fine mist. Sea lion pups encourage me to play, spinning in the water, swimming fast then turning on a dime and blowing bubbles. Floating at the surface, a comb jelly mesmerises me with rainbow bands of bioluminescence.
We currently live in a world where the survival of everything we truly care about is at stake. This is true because every system in the world, that is every nation, every organization, every corporation, every family, every person, plant and animal, every house, and every car must have a source of inputs and a sink for the outputs it generates. Without these sources and sinks, with the capacity to fuel us and accept our output, we do not exist.
By now, GTA residents have most assuredly heard of the new 400 series highways that are being proposed for construction by the current provincial government. The roadways would connect Vaughn to Halton in a bid to improve transportation infrastructure for drivers as the city expands.
One of the biggest problems with this project is that much of the proposed 59 kilometre roadway would cut right through the Holland Marsh.
2020 has been nothing short of an opportunity for relearning. It has been an incredibly impactful year – and it hasn’t come to an end just yet. A year of changes, challenges, and extreme hardship for many, it has also given us time for a pause, an opportunity to breathe and reflect and to deepen our understandings… a chance for the world to rethink many - if not all - of our so-called normals.
The power of social media is without a doubt ever-increasing, and the way we use it is quite literally in our hands to shape. Information and entertainment are readily available and increases the impact with every like, share and follow.
Social media has created a sense of community for many of its users and has become a highly creative platform for people, brands and networks to reach niche audiences. I've come to love using my social media presence to share messages I care about with my community, and with many incredible resources popping up across channels, it's easy to stay informed and engaged - if you're looking in the right places.
The process used to extract natural gas hidden beneath our planet’s surface is highly controversial – and for good reason.
Hydraulic fracturing or fracking is the process in which industries use water, sand, and chemicals to penetrate solidified rock. This frees trapped oil and gas inside, to be used for various purposes.
