Environment – Winnipeg Free Press

Bishop Miguel Ángel Cadenas attends an Amazon Water Summit in Iquitos, Peru, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Junior Raborg)

Gold demand puts Peru’s Amazon at greater risk from mercury poisoning, bishop warns

Steven Grattan, The Associated Press 5 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 9:21 AM CDT

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — As gold prices hover at record highs, a leading Catholic leader in Peru’s Amazon is urging countries that are destinations for the precious metal to help stem illegal mining that is poisoning rivers with mercury.

Miguel Ángel Cadenas, an Augustinian from Spain who has lived in Peru’s Amazon for three decades, said illegal mining has surged since the COVID-19 pandemic, citing the Tigre, Nanay, Napo and Putumayo rivers as some areas where communities are at risk.

Tests have found mercury levels in some fish above World Health Organization limits, and hair samples from local residents analyzed by scientists and doctors also showed elevated concentrations.

“We are in a delicate situation,” Cadenas told The Associated Press. “Given that the Amazonian diet is rich in fish, we are talking about food insecurity.”

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Calgary researchers collecting toenail clippings for cancer research

Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

Calgary researchers collecting toenail clippings for cancer research

Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press 2 minute read Updated: 4:01 PM CDT

CALGARY - Calgary researchers want your toenail clippings.

The pesky, razor-sharp slices that end up in a dusty corner, or stuck to the bottom of your feet, are needed for a lung cancer pilot study.

Dr. Aaron Goodarzi from the University of Calgary says measuring radioactive lead in toenails can help estimate long-term exposure to radon.

The colourless, odourless, radioactive gas forms naturally when certain metals break down in rocks, soil and groundwater, and it goes through cracks and gaps in buildings and homes.

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Updated: 4:01 PM CDT

Researcher co-principal investigator Dr. Michael Wieser, PhD, physics professor in the Faculty of Science, right, and Dr. Kerri A. Miller are seen in this handout photo, in Calgary, on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025. The researchers are looking for toenail clippings to assist with a research study relating to lung cancer and radon levels. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - Colleen De Neve for University of Calgary UToday (Mandatory Credit)

Here’s a look at California’s five most destructive wildfires

The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Here’s a look at California’s five most destructive wildfires

The Associated Press 4 minute read 2:25 PM CDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Palisades Fire was the most destructive blaze in Los Angeles to date and among the five worst in California's history.

Federal authorities said Wednesday that they have charged Jonathan Rinderknecht, a 29-year-old man who had lived in the area, with starting the deadly fire that destroyed much of the wealthy Pacific Palisades neighborhood. The fire started on New Year’s Day and was initially extinguished by fire crews but continued to smolder underground before reigniting during high winds on Jan. 7.

Here’s a look at the state's five most destructive wildfires, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.

Camp Fire

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2:25 PM CDT

FILE - The remains of homes leveled by the Camp wildfire, appear in Paradise, Calif., on Nov. 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)

Metro Vancouver reports 16% drop in per-capita greenhouse gas emissions

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

Metro Vancouver reports 16% drop in per-capita greenhouse gas emissions

The Canadian Press 2 minute read 12:52 PM CDT

BURNABY - Metro Vancouver says its latest climate-action report shows per-capita greenhouse gas emissions have declined 16 per cent since 2010.

A statement from the regional district says the progress report for its Climate 2050 plan shows average emissions were 5.8 tonnes per person in 2023, down from nearly seven tonnes in 2010.

The report says overall greenhouse emissions grew by seven per cent over the same period, while the population of the region jumped by 27 per cent.

The district says the drop in per-capita emissions stems from local government regulations along with efforts by businesses and residents.

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12:52 PM CDT

A man watches as a cyclist passes by in Ladner, B.C., on Wednesday May 9, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Authorities charge man with sparking deadly January wildfire that leveled LA neighborhoods

Christopher Weber, Jaimie Ding And John Seewer, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

Authorities charge man with sparking deadly January wildfire that leveled LA neighborhoods

Christopher Weber, Jaimie Ding And John Seewer, The Associated Press 6 minute read Updated: 4:31 PM CDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A 29-year-old man has been charged with sparking California’s deadly Palisades Fire, one of the most destructive wildfires in its history, authorities said Wednesday.

Federal officials said Jonathan Rinderknecht, who lived in the area, started a small fire on New Year’s Day that smoldered underground before reigniting nearly a week later and roaring through Pacific Palisades, home to many of Los Angeles’ rich and famous.

The fire that left 12 dead in the hillside neighborhoods across Pacific Palisades and Malibu was one of two blazes that broke out on Jan. 7, killing more than 30 people in all and destroying over 17,000 homes and buildings while burning for days in Los Angeles County.

Rinderknecht was arrested Tuesday in Florida and made his first court appearance Wednesday in Orlando on charges including malicious destruction by means of a fire, which carries a minimum sentence of five years in prison. Wearing shorts and a T-shirt while shackled at the ankles, he told a federal magistrate in a soft-spoken voice that he was not under the influence and did not have mental issues.

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Updated: 4:31 PM CDT

FILE - An aerial view shows the devastation left by the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades section of Los Angeles, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, file)

The world’s driest desert blooms into a rare, fleeting flower show

Mauro Medel, The Associated Press 3 minute read 9:24 AM CDT

LLANOS DE CHALLE NATIONAL PARK, Chile (AP) — A rare bloom in Chile’s Atacama Desert has briefly transformed one of the world’s driest places into a dazzling carpet of fuchsia-colored wildflowers.

The arid region — considered the driest nonpolar desert on Earth, averaging around 2 millimeters (0.08 inches) of rainfall a year — was a riot of color this week after unusual downpours throughout the Southern Hemisphere’s winter months soaked the desert foothills and highlands.

Experts describe 2025 as among the Atacama’s wettest in recent years, with some high-elevation borderlands receiving up to 60 millimeters of rain (2.3 inches) in July and August.

Seeds from more than 200 flower species sit in the red and rocky soil of the Atacama Desert all year, awaiting the winter rains, said Víctor Ardiles, chief curator of botany at Chile’s National Museum of Natural History.

Women in Mexico step up to protect ancient Aztec farms and save a vanishing ecosystem

Teresa De Miguel, The Associated Press 8 minute read Preview

Women in Mexico step up to protect ancient Aztec farms and save a vanishing ecosystem

Teresa De Miguel, The Associated Press 8 minute read Updated: 10:13 AM CDT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Jasmín Ordóñez looks out from a wooden boat at the water as she crosses a narrow channel that connects a labyrinth of chinampas, island farms that were built by the Aztecs thousands of years ago.

“Let’s close our eyes and ask our Mother Water for permission to sail in peace,” she said as the boat moves slowly, in contrast to the frenetic traffic of Mexico City just a few miles away.

Ordóñez owns one of these island farms, first created with mud from the bottom of the lakes that once covered this area. When the boat arrives at her island, she proudly shows the corn and leafy greens she grows. Her ancestors owned chinampas, but she had to buy this one because women traditionally haven't inherited them.

“My grandmother didn't get any land. Back then, most was left in the hands of men,” she said. At her side, Cassandra Garduño listens attentively. She also didn't inherit the family chinampa.

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Updated: 10:13 AM CDT

Cassandra Garduño cleans a canal in her chinampa, an island farm built by the Aztecs thousands of years ago, in San Gregorio Atlapulco, a borough of Mexico City, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)

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Biking to Brazil, activists urge greener transport at UN climate talks

Steven Grattan, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Biking to Brazil, activists urge greener transport at UN climate talks

Steven Grattan, The Associated Press 4 minute read 8:02 AM CDT

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — A group of climate activists is cycling to the world’s biggest climate summit — and doing it without stepping onto a plane.

Hundreds of riders pedaled across Europe in recent weeks, converging in Portugal, where a group boarded a sailboat bound for Brazil. Their destination: Belem, the Amazonian city hosting the U.N. COP30 climate talks in November. The summit is expected to draw tens of thousands of negotiators, scientists and activists, with governments under pressure to agree on stronger measures to protect the Amazon and phase out fossil fuels.

The COP30 Bike Ride began in Azerbaijan, host of last year’s COP29 summit, and has traveled nearly 8,000 kilometers (almost 5,000 miles) across Eurasia in 20 weeks. More than 600 cyclists have taken part in different stretches of the journey. A second branch of the initiative covered an additional 1,800 kilometers (1,100 miles) across northern Europe with another 200 riders, and others cycled across parts of eastern and southern Africa.

“The main message we want to bring to world leaders and ordinary people is that cycling should be considered a serious option to reduce transport-related carbon emissions,” said Dutch organizer and participant Jolein Schorel. “It’s also healthier, cheaper, fun — and one of the most feasible options to implement if cities invest in infrastructure.”

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8:02 AM CDT

Antoine Polliand, from France, who cycled from Azerbaijan to Portugal with the COP30 Bike Ride, poses with his bicycle in the cargo hold of the Avontuur ship moored in Cascais, outside Lisbon, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025. He is part of a group heading to Belem, Brazil, the Amazonian city hosting the U.N. COP30 climate talks in November. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)

Weakened Priscilla nears Mexico’s Baja peninsula as Tropical Storm Jerry churns in the Atlantic

The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Weakened Priscilla nears Mexico’s Baja peninsula as Tropical Storm Jerry churns in the Atlantic

The Associated Press 3 minute read Updated: 4:12 PM CDT

MIAMI (AP) — Priscilla lost its hurricane status Wednesday as it churned up Mexico's western Pacific coast while Tropical Storm Jerry was expected to strengthen in the Atlantic on its approach to the Leeward Islands, forecasters said.

Priscilla approached major hurricane status Tuesday before weakening to a tropical storm a day later with maximum sustained winds of about 70 mph (110 kph), the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

The storm was bringing high surf and gusty winds to Baja California Sur, which was under a tropical storm watch from Cabo San Lucas to Cabo San Lazaro. Heavy rainfall and flash flooding were possible as the storm moves along Mexico’s Pacific coast and through the weekend in the Southwestern United States, forecasters said.

The storm was moving northwest at 8 mph (13 kph). It was centered about 205 miles (335 kilometers) west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California, forecasters said. The hurricane center said the flood risk was increasing from all the rain Priscilla was dropping as it headed further north.

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Updated: 4:12 PM CDT

This NOAA satellite image taken at 1:00 p.m. EST on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025, shows Hurricane Priscilla in the East Pacific Ocean off the coast of Mexico. (NOAA via AP)

Experts say Ottawa’s new AI task force is skewed towards industry

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press 7 minute read Preview

Experts say Ottawa’s new AI task force is skewed towards industry

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press 7 minute read Updated: 4:18 PM CDT

OTTAWA - The Liberal government has given its new AI "task force" until the end of the month to fast-track changes to the national artificial intelligence strategy — a plan that critics say leans too much on the perspective of industry and the tech sector.

Teresa Scassa, a law professor at the University of Ottawa and Canada research chair in information law and policy, said the makeup of the 27-member task force is "skewed towards industry voices and the adoption of AI technologies."

The risks posed by artificial intelligence to Canada's culture, environment and workforce "deserve more attention in a national strategy," Scassa said in an email.

Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon announced the task force last month and tasked it with a 30-day "national sprint" to draft recommendations for a "refreshed" AI strategy. Solomon said that new strategy will land later this year, nearly two years earlier than planned.

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Updated: 4:18 PM CDT

Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation Evan Solomon, left, shakes hands with Aidan Gomez of Cohere after participating in a talk at the All In AI conference in Montreal on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov

He lives alongside lions in Nairobi. The human-wildlife collision is dazzling – and dangerous

Khaled Kazziha, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

He lives alongside lions in Nairobi. The human-wildlife collision is dazzling – and dangerous

Khaled Kazziha, The Associated Press 6 minute read Yesterday at 11:52 PM CDT

KAJIADO, Kenya (AP) — This year, less than a kilometer from where I live, a girl named Peace Mwende was killed by a lion. The news hit me hard: She was 14, the same age as my youngest daughter, and the lioness responsible may have been one of the animals we see in our neighborhood almost weekly.

Our children are growing up in a part of Nairobi where lions roam free. We see them while taking our kids to school. We’ve lost pets and livestock. Neighborhood WhatsApp groups share warnings when big cats come close — and feature CCTV footage of lions hunting family pets.

It’s a conservation headache for the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), which is tasked with keeping people who share space with wildlife safe, while protecting the wildlife as well — especially endangered species. KWS estimates that “just over 2,000” lions remain in Kenya.

“During the rainy season, tall grass and shifting herbivore patterns make it difficult for carnivores to hunt,” KWS wrote on a reel of a Nairobi lion cub rescue posted to its social media in July. The cub in the video had been seen starving in the park, causing a public outcry. KWS added it was “conducting a feeding intervention, providing meat daily to the pride residing in the park to help them regain their strength and resume natural hunting.”

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Yesterday at 11:52 PM CDT

Tourists drive inside Nairobi National Park on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya, on June 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Khaled Kazziha)

Florida county battered by 2024 hurricanes spends $125M on beach restoration

Curt Anderson, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Florida county battered by 2024 hurricanes spends $125M on beach restoration

Curt Anderson, The Associated Press 4 minute read Yesterday at 11:08 PM CDT

INDIAN ROCKS BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The white sandy beaches along a swath of Florida's Gulf Coast were battered by three hurricanes last year, leading to a multimillion-dollar effort to repair a coastline that is the region's economic engine.

Crews are working with dredges, trucks and pipelines along the 35-mile (56-kilometer) stretch of beach in Pinellas County that includes cities such as Clearwater Beach, Indian Rocks Beach, Belleair Beach and Redington Beach. It's a prime tourist destination that is still recovering from hurricanes Helene, Milton and Debby.

Helene was the most destructive for the beach towns, even though it made landfall far to the north. Twelve people died in Pinellas County because of strong storm surge that reached 8 feet (2.4 meters) high in some places.

In past years, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers played a major role in beach restoration, but not this time. The Corps wants private landowners to sign up for permanent easements that would allow government access in perpetuity — a change that has met with stiff resistance.

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Yesterday at 11:08 PM CDT

Workers replace the sand washed away by recent hurricanes along the gulf Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025, in Indian Rocks Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Hydro spying trial delayed as court weights utility’s motion to shield information

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

Hydro spying trial delayed as court weights utility’s motion to shield information

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 4:14 PM CDT

LONGUEUIL - The trial of a former Hydro-Québec employee facing economic espionage charges remains on hold over arguments about the utility's commercial secrets.

Hydro-Québec prompted the delay after introducing a motion to prevent some information in the case from being revealed in open court.

The court arguments about the utility's motion are subject to a publication ban and cannot be reported.

Yuesheng Wang, 38, is the man on trial in the case.

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Updated: Yesterday at 4:14 PM CDT

Yuesheng Wang arrives for his espionage trial at the Longueuil courthouse in Longueuil, Que., on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

Marineland says its belugas shouldn’t go to Nova Scotia’s Whale Sanctuary Project

Michael MacDonald, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

Marineland says its belugas shouldn’t go to Nova Scotia’s Whale Sanctuary Project

Michael MacDonald, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 5:16 PM CDT

HALIFAX - Marineland says it has more than a dozen reasons why none of its remaining 30 belugas should be sent to a proposed whale sanctuary in Nova Scotia.

The shuttered Ontario theme park, which is trying to sell the whales to avoid bankruptcy, made headlines last week when Federal Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson denied Marineland's request for a permit to ship Canada’s last captive whales to buyers at an aquarium in China.

Marineland responded by saying it doesn't have the money to continue feeding the whales and asked for emergency funding from Ottawa, warning that it might otherwise have no choice but to euthanize the snow-white mammals.

Thompson has said she "would love to see the whales in a sanctuary," but Marineland has argued that no such sanctuary is currently available for 30 belugas, including the Whale Sanctuary Project’s proposed coastal refuge near Wine Harbour, N.S.

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Updated: Yesterday at 5:16 PM CDT

Beluga whales swim in a tank at Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ont., Friday, June 9, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

Nova Scotia offers up to $3,000 to wildfire evacuees in Kings County

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

Nova Scotia offers up to $3,000 to wildfire evacuees in Kings County

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 2:20 PM CDT

AYLESFORD - The Nova Scotia government is offering financial support to Kings County residents who have been forced to evacuate their homes because of the wildfire near Lake George.

Officials say more than 350 properties have been evacuated in the area near Aylesford, N.S., in the Annapolis Valley. On Tuesday, the province said it would give up to $3,000 per person forced from their primary residence.

“This has been an incredibly challenging wildfire season, and the last thing we wanted was to have Nova Scotians face another evacuation,” Minister of Emergency Management Kim Masland said in a statement. A separate fire burned for almost four weeks this summer around West Dalhousie, N.S., destroying 20 homes and forcing the evacuation of about 1,000 people.

The Lake George blaze, fuelled by unseasonably warm and dry conditions, covers about 2.9 square kilometres of land. Officials say crews are working hard to protect structures in the area, and none had been destroyed as of noon Tuesday.

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Updated: Yesterday at 2:20 PM CDT

The Lake George wildfire burns near Aylesford, N.S., in this Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - Province of Nova Scotia (Mandatory Credit)

Ottawa, Ontario urge each other to help Marineland’s belugas amid euthanasia threat

Liam Casey, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

Ottawa, Ontario urge each other to help Marineland’s belugas amid euthanasia threat

Liam Casey, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 5:38 PM CDT

TORONTO - The federal and Ontario governments are urging each other to help 30 belugas at Marineland, which has threatened to euthanize the whales if the park does not receive emergency funds from Ottawa.

The federal government should reconsider its position after denying Marineland permits to move the belugas to an aquarium in China, Premier Doug Ford said Tuesday.

Federal Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson said last week that she denied the permits to move the whales to Chimelong Ocean Kingdom because she did not want to subject them to a future of performing in captivity, which is consistent with a law passed in 2019.

Marineland said it is quickly running out of money and asked the federal government for an infusion of emergency cash to help it feed and care for the whales — otherwise the belugas would be euthanized.

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Updated: Yesterday at 5:38 PM CDT

October 8, 2025

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