Canadian Geographic articles from May 1999

Canadian Geographic archives from May 1999

Tracking a waterfowl toxin.(Annual Environment Issue)(avian botulism)
May 1, 1999... The number one waterfowl killer across the Prairies - avian botulism - will be tracked by conservationists this summer using radio transmitters. Produced by the neurotoxic bacterium Clostridium botulinum, avian botulism spreads when birds...

Harnessing a powerful breeze.(Annual Environment Issue)(wind power)
May 1, 1999... The answer to pollution-free electricity in the Gaspe region of Quebec may be blowin' in the wind. Canada's largest wind-driven electrical power project, Le Nordais, has begun generating power from 76 turbines at Cap-Chat, on the south...

Saving moose by feeding the bears.(Annual Environment Issue)
May 1, 1999... In east-central Alaska, near the Yukon border, it rained moose for two months, on and off, in the spring of 1985. Train-killed moose - twelve tonnes in all. The last the animals knew, they had been ambling down the railroad tracks, unaware of...

Canadian Environment Week: celebrating community action into the new millennium.(Annual Environment Issue)
May 1, 1999... OUR NATURAL LEGACY A MESSAGE FROM CHRISTINE STEWART, MINISTER OF THE ENVIRONMENT As we enter the next millennium, many of us will want to mark the transition in a meaningful and lasting way. Community action is critical in preserving...

Sea change.(Annual Environment Issue)(collapse of fisheries in the North Pacific)
May 1, 1999... As West Coast fisheries collapse, human activity is blamed. But there are larger forces at work in the North Pacific The telephone call came in from a logging company at Beaver Cove, a dot on the map of northern Vancouver Island. A handyman...

Against the grain.(Annual Environment Issue)(death of birds due to pesticides)
May 1, 1999... For 16 years, Pierre Mineau has fought for a ban on an insecticide that has killed hundreds of thousands of birds across Canada When biologist Pierre Mineau began evaluating the effects of pesticides on Canada's migratory birds in 1982,...

Tuktut Nogait.(Annual Environment Issue)(Canada's newest national park)
May 1, 1999... IN CANADA'S NEWEST NATIONAL PARK, CARIBOU HERDS GRAZE ON THE MARGIN OF A RICH MINERAL DEPOSIT As 120,000 Caribou migrate northward this month from the boreal forest into their traditional calving grounds on the sweeping tundra of Canada's...

Fuel deficiency.(Annual Environment Issue)(effect of methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl on human health)
May 1, 1999... As big business debates the financial costs of a gasoline additive, a Montreal scientist raises concerns about MMT's effects on human health It was not one of those "Eureka!" moments. Rather, as with many scientific endeavours, the...

Storm Warning: Gambling with the Climate of Our Planet.(Review)(Brief Article)
May 1, 1999... In late 1997 the world community gathered in Japan to deal with climate change. For veteran science writer Lydia Dotto the resulting accord was another in a series of "half-hearted promises to take half-hearted measures" to alleviate global...

Water.(Review)(Brief Article)
May 1, 1999... Last winter, the day after Gold River's pulp mill dosed on the rainy west coast of Vancouver Island, a California company made inquiries about purchasing the defunct mill's water licence. British Columbia bans bulk water exports but the...

Light on the Water: Early Photography of Coastal British Columbia.(Review)(Brief Article)
May 1, 1999... During the first half of the 20th century, the coast of British Columbia experienced what some have called its "Golden Age." The commercial fishery, salmon canneries, sawmills and logging outfits fuelled a thriving coastal economy that...

The 'war' in Canada's national parks.(Annual Environment Issue)
May 1, 1999... Writer investigates threats to our 'protected lands' Rick Searle encounters a common reaction when he tells people he is writing a book on Canada's national parks: delight. Unfortunately, it does not last. "I have to explain that this is...

A sublime stillness on Fish Camp Row.(Annual Environment Issue)(abandoned fish camp in Vancouver Island)
May 1, 1999... I live in an abandoned fish camp at the end of a pier in the lonely harbour of Ucluelet on the west coast of Vancouver Island. In the early mornings, seagulls drop clams on my roof, trying to break open the shells. Harbour seals bark like...