Conservation

Monthly Archive: December Cons

The Rules of Taxonomy: How Species Are Named

Posted: March 15, 2018 - 12:44 , by David McKay
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Phylogenetic Tree of Life

Why should ROM curators care about a proposal to create an organization that would make rules for how species of living things are named?

In Hot Water – the Ongoing Debate on Bottled Water Extraction in Ontario

Posted: March 9, 2018 - 15:20 , by Hellen Fu
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Large sign in snowy field reads: Nestlé Waters Canada bottling plant and head office 101 Brock Rd.S., Township of Puslinch

In the quiet countryside of the county of Wellington, echoes from a clash between the local community and mega-corporation Nestlé still linger in the air. Starting in 2015, the debate over Nestlé’s water extraction in Aberfoyle and Elora sparked outcry from community members and organizations that got the attention of the province (and indeed the international community). It is time to take a look at what has happened since, and what both Nestlé and anti-water bottling organizations have to say about it, for the battle is far from over.

When Things Go Wrong for Right Whales

Posted: March 8, 2018 - 10:44 , by Hellen Fu
Carcass of right whale floating in ocean, researchers on large dinghy

Guest blog written by Environmental Visual Communication student Viridiana Jimenez

The death of seventeen right whales in 2017 represents a loss of over 3% of the population. The significance of this loss has sent the scientific community into a panic. Their deaths were primarily caused by ship collisions or entanglements with fishing gear. As frequent visitors to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, we must now work together to save this species from extinction.

Trees for Life in Lakefield

Posted: February 8, 2018 - 10:46 , by Hellen Fu
Children playing in a large tree

Guest blog written by Environmental Visual Communication student Fenella Hood

When Rebecca Rose left her home in Leslieville and moved her three young children to the quaint village of Lakefield, she felt secure in the belief that she was improving their lot in life. Then one day a notice was slipped through her door from the Township of Selwyn announcing her next-door neighbour's severance application to build a second house and increase his selling power. His small corner lot boasts a stand of seven mature trees that will need to be cut down to make room for the build. “It felt like being kicked in the stomach. I don't want those trees to die, and I don't want to tell my kids.”

Make Plastic Reduction Part of Your 2018 New Year's Resolutions

Posted: December 29, 2017 - 12:55 , by ROM
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Plastic pollution found at Turkey Point on Lake Erie. Photo credit: Cristina Bergman

Guest blog written by 2017 Environmental Visual Communication student Cristina Bergman

Every year, 10,000 tonnes of plastic enters the Great Lakes. Imagine 55 jumbo jets of plastic crash landing in the lakes each year. In this province alone, 3 billion plastic bottles are sold annually, but only half are recycled. The other 1.5 billion bottles end up in landfills or littering the environment. As the only province that borders the Great Lakes, Ontario has an obligation to protect this vast, irreplaceable resource. But is the province stepping up?

The Captivity Debate: Should We Keep Marine Mammals in Tanks?

Posted: December 15, 2017 - 11:10 , by ROM
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Chester - a false killer whale at the Vancouver Aquarium. (Credit: Vancouver Aquarium)

Guest blog written by Environmental Visual Communication student Adil Darvesh

In November 2016, Qila and Aurora, two Beluga whales at Vancouver Aquarium, died due to an unknown toxin in their tanks. News of their deaths added to an ongoing debate: Should humans keep marine mammals in captivity for the sake of education and entertainment? Read this blog to learn more about the heated discussion.

Singing the Blues: The Mystery of B105

Posted: August 9, 2017 - 14:23 , by ROM
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A blue whale diving into the Gulf of St Lawrence off the coast of Gaspé. Photo by René Roy

Guest blog written by 2017 Environmental Visual Communication student Viridiana Jimenez

The ocean’s largest and most iconic animal, the blue whale, can produce sounds that cross entire oceans and can be heard from one end of the planet to the other. With humans’ increased presence in the oceans, how are these charismatic giants affected by—and adapting to—our noisy activities? In this blog we follow the story of a single whale, B105 “Invasor”, and muse on how it may have changed its ways to contend with our cacophony.

The Journey of the Lost Water Bottle

Posted: July 18, 2017 - 19:03 , by ROM
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A photo of the skyline where a plastic water bottle stands next to Toronto’s CN Tower. Photo credit: Cristina Bergman

Guest blog written by 2017 Environmental Visual Communication student Cristina Bergman

I will travel the ocean for hundreds of years. I will see more wildlife and more extinction in my lifetime than any human that has ever walked the earth. I fit in your hand, but can be more powerful than a blue whale. I am a plastic water bottle and this is my story.

Who sings for blues? How Blue Whales became ingredients in everyday products

Posted: June 2, 2017 - 16:38 , by ROM
A photo of a canister of Canadian Blue Whale Brand Fertilizer - made from blue whale products in the 1950s. Photo by Katherine Ing

Living in Ontario, the Blue Whale in the vast ocean may seem a distant thought from our daily lives. But our history with these animals is more intertwined than we realize - for example, would you ever use fertilizer in your garden made from blue whales? Canadians used to! Read this guest blog post by ROM Biodiversity / Blue Whale team member Katherine Ing to find out a bit more about the other ways whale products became a part of everyday life during the peak of industrial whaling, and what that means for modern global whale conservation.

The TRCA Calls Upon Batman for Help

Posted: August 18, 2016 - 14:33 , by ROM
Dr. Burton Lim (left) and ROM Biodiversity's Nicole Richards (right) walk along the Scarborough Bluffs waterfront en route to one of the three bat detectors. Photo by Filip Szafirowski

It’s been a hot summer, the sun is shining and the Scarborough Bluffs are standing tall above the Lake Ontario shoreline. But they might not be for long. The Scarborough Bluffs in Toronto’s east end are eroding at a rapid rate, increasing the likelihood of slope failure and damage to local species’ habitats. Although the cliffs have been eroding since the 1940s, the view from atop the Bluffs was too enticing to prevent people from further settling there. As houses were feverishly built along the Bluffs, the rate of erosion further accelerated.