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Recycling Agricultural Plastics: Where we're at in Canada

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 08:00:00 EST

It may be illegal but burning agricultural waste plastics, like grain storage bags and twine, is still a common occurrence in Canada. In a lot of cases farmers just don't have a lot of other options.
Earlier this month an article published in the journal Science listed banning the burning of agricultural waste as one of 14 methods that could significantly reduce global warming by 2050.

The article suggests that by targeting greenhouse gases methane and black carbon, more commonly known as ...

Arctic family affair

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 08:00:00 EST

No ice here. Just a green, green, green, island and water from here to the pole. Yearly average temperature here ranges from just -5ºC to +9ºC. The sea never freezes.
Gyda Birnisdöttir and her family live right on the Arctic Circle — or "Heimskautsbaugur" — on Grimsey, a tiny (5 sq. km) island in the Greenland Sea and the only part of Iceland that touches 66º33' North.
Visitors come to Grimsey by ferry from the mainland and by air (if the planes can find a space amongst the circling Arctic ...

No mountain high enough

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:34:46 EST

In the not-so-distant future, mountaintops across the world may look a lot more like mountain bases.According to a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change last week, alpine plant communities may be changing more quickly than expected as a result of warming temperatures.
Researchers from across Europe catalogued 867 different plant species from 60 peaks across the continent, first in 2001 and again in 2008. They discovered that plants generally found in warmer areas of a mountain are ...

At home in the Arctic

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 11:32:59 EST

The world is looking at the far North in response to news reports about climate change, and more often than not the poster child for that reportage has been the polar bear.
The credit goes, of course, to the bear's natural charisma at the top of the Arctic food chain, but also to advertisers like the good folks at Coca-Cola whose "Northern Lights" spot introduced us to animated polar bears back in 1993.
A T-shirt produced by the Russian Geographical Society that asks people to "Think about it." ...

The lesson of Madurai

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 09:46:20 EST

Here's a video clip of a recent TEDx presentation by Bernhard Seefeld, product manager for Google Maps. Trained as a theoretical physicist (I'd like to map his career path), Seefield charts the history of mapping in under 15 minutes. Well, a very abbreviated history that mostly focuses on Google's efforts to be the epicentre of the world's most comprehensive user-created map.
Seefeld starts slowly with a history lesson about the early mapping of Australia; his point being that map users have always ...

Prairie dogs on camera

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 15:06:02 EST

Black-footed ferrets are back.
Well, almost.
They were once extirpated, or extinct in Canada. Thirty-five ferrets were released from captivity into Grasslands National Park in 2009, the first of a series of annual releases to try and reintroduce ferrets into the wild.
To check in on the lithe, weasel-like creatures, experts look to black-tailed prairie dogs. These creatures make up 90 percent of the ferrets' diet. Where there is food, there will likely be ferrets.
Researchers at the Calgary ...

Revisiting The Atlantic Neptune

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:13:55 EST

Publication of The Atlantic Neptune between 1777 and 1781 was a bolt-out-of-the-blue event in the history of map-making in North America and the British Empire. This four-volume atlas contained sea charts and artistic views of the east coast of North America, from the St. Lawrence River to the southern tip of Florida.
Largely the work of Swiss-born military engineer Joseph Frederick Wallet Des Barres, with crucial contributions from fellow surveyor Samuel Holland, the atlas was the first from ...

Help us choose the January/February Canadian Geographic cover!

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 11:56:01 EST

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From maps to virtual reality

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 18:28:42 EST

This video, now circulating online, brings Google Street View to life. In it, office equipment and toys come to life at night, watching wistfully as the computer screen takes them on a virtual journey.
People have studied the potential of virtual reality and interactive mapping for years (here's a paper on using the World Wide Web — back when they called it that — as a mapping tool). It would be used for urban planning, people speculated, or for design, for virtual travel. But with Google opening ...

Propaganda pieces

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 15:11:58 EST

In his recently published book, Selling Canada, historian Daniel Francis offers an engaging view of three propaganda campaigns by Canadian governments and railway companies, run between the 1880s and 1930s, that shaped the development of the country.
Francis looks at the selling of western Canada to immigrants, the Great War to Canadians and Canada to tourists. It was in the marketing of homestead lots to farmers in the British Isles that maps and atlases played a particularly key role.

The ...

Remembrance Day, Ottawa 2011

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 15:56:04 EST

Thousands of Canadians stood at the National War Memorial in Ottawa on Friday, November 11, 2011, mindful of more than 100,000 Canadian soldiers who have sacrificed their lives on behalf of our country, for freedom, for their comrades, for every Canadian.

The Ottawa Remembrance Day ceremony is the largest in the country, observed officially on November 11 since 1931. The crowd is joined by the Prime Minister, the Governor General and the Silver Cross Mother, a mother who has lost a child in action. ...

Looking for the future? Take the next left

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 10:50:45 EST

Here's my calling card for map geekdom: I collect old road maps. For one, they're cool artifacts, windows onto another time that's vaguely familiar. For another, they are seductive, playing a role in how our communities took shape.

Here are a couple of off-beat gems from my collection. A 1954 Ontario Department of Highways map sports a delightful picture on the front of a happy family having lunch at a picnic table a few metres next to the highway. It has exhortations sure to be familiar ...

Help us choose the December Canadian Geographic cover!

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 11:46:35 EST

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When map making was death defying

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 11:20:44 EST

Right there, up on the wall over my right shoulder, is a framed photograph showing two pages from the battered field book of Frank Swannell. Swannell was a surveyor with the British Columbia Department of Lands during the first three decades of the 20th century.
I came across his work while researching a book on maps, and was fascinated by his geometrical measurements and hand drawings of white water rapids and mountain ranges in the Rockies.

The Swannell field book is my reality check whenever ...

Caribou conservation is complex

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 08:07:39 EST

That much at least is clear in Environment Canada's recovery strategy for boreal caribou, a subpopulation of Woodland caribou that is listed as Threatened under the federal Species At Risk Act registry. The ministry released a draft recovery plan in late August for public review for a period of 60 days.

October 25 was to be the last day for members of the public to offer their input on the recovery strategy.

But last week, Environment Canada announced it would extend the period until Feb. ...

Mountain memories

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 09:12:05 EST

In May 1717, Hudson's Bay Company official James Knight made a note in his journal. It recorded an aboriginal account of the existence, far to the west, of mountains that rose almost to the sky. This was arguably the first European description of the Canadian Rockies, and the start of the written documentation of Canada's dominant range of peaks.
The majestic Rockies are not alone. From the Torngat Mountains in the east, through the Laurentians, the St. Elias, Cariboo, and Selkirk ranges, to the ...

Oil speak: Then and now

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST

Claudia Goodine takes a glance at the past, courtesy of the Canadian Geographical Journal archives.

In just over 60 years, the way we speak about oil has dramatically changed.

In E.M. Holbrook's 1949 feature article, Oil from the Earth, pages from a not so distant history capture the height of our love affair with petroleum.

"What substance in the world is most useful to man?" Holbrook writes.

"Which portion of Nature's generous bounty is of the greatest benefit to civilization's constant ...

Fun stats

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 10:24:36 EST

Treat of the day: Our Canada Year Book 2011 just arrived in the mail. It's a nearly 500-page volume of charts, articles and all manner of useful facts from Statistics Canada.

It's handy for fact-checking, which we do for every article in the magazine. It's also fun to flip through for facts. Since we're feeling generous, here's a smattering of stats we thought we'd share:

At 473 people per square kilometre, B.C.'s Lower Mainland is is Canada's most densely populated ecoregion in the country.Toronto ...

Help us choose the November Canadian Geographic Travel cover!

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 09:30:58 EST

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Ancient forests in B.C.

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST

--By Claudia Goodine and Shannon Dooling

On the southwest coast of Vancouver Island, just 15 minutes north of the historic logging town of Port Renfrew, an ancient old-growth forest named Avatar Grove gives visitors a glimpse of how the island's trees may have looked 1,000 years ago.

Discovered in 2009 by photographer TJ Watt, cofounder of the Victoria-based environmental group the Ancient Forest Alliance, this 40-hectare old-growth forest is home to western red cedars and Douglas fir trees ...

Best Wildlife Pictures 2012

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST

Look for Canadian Geographic's Best Wildlife Pictures 2012 on newsstands starting October 13!

The Energy Diet Challenge is on!

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 08:49:16 EST

The Energy Diet Challenge is on!
Log on, follow the contestants and start an energy diet of your own at energydiet.canadiangeographic.ca

Help us choose the Best Wildlife Pictures 2012 cover

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 11:36:31 EST

Help us choose the cover for the upcoming Best Wildlife Photos 2012!

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Help us choose the September Canadian Geographic Travel cover!

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 13:19:38 EST

Help us choose the next Canadian Geographic Travel cover!

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Greening the cleaning routine

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 08:00:00 EST

The air inside a home can be up to 1000 times more polluted than the air outdoors according to Adria Vasil, author of Ecoholic Home.

Ironically, household cleaning products are to blame. Conventional cleaners—degreasers, disinfectants and even air fresheners—release chemicals that contaminate the air we breathe and affect our immune systems.

So how can we mop our floors and wipe our counters without destroying our germ-fighting capabilities?

One solution is to learn which ingredients to ...

Surround sound

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 12:20:46 EST

If you live in a city, you've probably had the unpleasant experience of waking up to the screeching, clanging, revving and drilling soundtrack of a construction site.

While the cacophony of construction is typical of most cities—and Canada's summers, as the saying goes—they're certainly not the only noisy places.

Max Stein knows this very well: he's spent the past three years listening to Montréal.

As a sound artist, Stein is particularly sensitive to the sounds in his environment. ...

Drop by Drop

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 15:59:39 EST

How long do you let the tap run every day?
Try keeping a list:

Shower — 20 minutes

Brush teeth — 5 minutes

Wash hands — 2 minutes

Dieticians often say the first step to cutting down is to make a note of everything you consume in one day.

The same might be true for water conservation. In some Canadian cities, wireless water metering is making it easier to track just how much water each household consumes.

The program delivers accurate water billing information electronically to ...

Laurels for CG

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 13:32:27 EST

Canadian Geographic struck gold at the National Magazine Awards in Toronto in June, taking the top honour in the Editorial Package category for its October 2010 issue, which examined the expected impacts of climate change in Canada.Photographer Peter Sibbald won a silver in the Photojournalism & Photo Essay category for "Rarin' to ride" (July/Aug 2010), a behind-the-scenes look at small-town rodeos in Ontario. His photo essay also garnered a Bronze Cube award from the Art Directors Club in New York ...

The Energy Diet Challenge

Mon, 13 Jun 2011 10:15:53 EST

Compete and show Canada how your smarter mobility and choices at home can significantly reduce energy use. You could win a Toyota Prius or a high performance bike package for each household member. Visit The Energy Diet Challenge website to apply. We're looking for for up to six households to compete.

Know your watershed

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 11:54:07 EST

What we do on land, in our cities and in our waterways affects Canada's watersheds. Canadians must act now to protect our water heritage for future generations.Learn more about your watershed and the issues affecting it, connect with watershed action groups in your area, submit photos and more in this interactive map.

Help us choose the July/August Canadian Geographic cover!

Tue, 07 Jun 2011 12:46:29 EST

Help us choose the July/August Canadian Geographic cover!

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Building a Birch-Bark Canoe (Part 3)

Wed, 25 May 2011 12:09:13 EST

But because they don't have the experience of these master craftsmen, they're hoping to make theirs in about 18 days.... If everything goes according to plan.

Join us for part three of their quest to build a birch-bark ...

CG Presents Two New Photo Contests!

Fri, 20 May 2011 10:51:22 EST

The CG Photo Club is proud to present the 4th Wildlife Photography of the Year Contest and the Great Canadian Railway Photo Contest.

Submit your shots today for a chance to win great cash prizes and more!

Whalesong Travels Globe like Latest U2 Tune

Fri, 20 May 2011 10:32:13 EST

Songs can be used to woo lovers, to change the world or just to entertain. In these pursuits, musicians often write tunes that are similar to other successful songs.

Humpback whales, it has been discovered, take a similar tact.

According to a study reported online last month in the journal Current Biology , at any given time within a population, male humpbacks all sing the same mating tune.

"Our findings reveal cultural change on a vast scale," says Ellen Garland, a graduate student at ...

Northern Roots, Urban Playground

Thu, 19 May 2011 10:51:59 EST

Ottawa is home to the largest urban Inuit population in Canada. Giving community members a place to come together, The Ottawa Inuit Children's Centre shares and celebrates their heritage while fostering cultural values in a new generation.

Watch as children learn how to clean an arctic char, throat sing and carve soapstone sculptures.

Video by Stephanie Foden

Plastic Cash is No Funny Money

Tue, 10 May 2011 08:00:00 EST

Paying with plastic will take on new meaning this year. The Bank of Canada has plans to change the material bills are made of from the traditional paper and cotton blend to a new polymer-based plastic.

The plastic bills have more security features and are resistant to water, oil, sweat and dust (so yes, you can launder your money - washing machines won't destroy your bills like they used to). They also give new meaning to that old chestnut about "throwing your money away". The new notes are ...

Running Tour Jogs Through 350 Years of History in Old Montréal

Fri, 06 May 2011 14:44:34 EST

Stop motion by Stephanie Foden. Music by Milosh

French President Charles de Gaulle was coaxed from a visit with Mayor Jean Drapeau on July 24, 1967, by a crowd of thousands chanting his name outside Montréal's City Hall.

As he stepped onto the balcony over the building's main entrance, a great cheer rose up. With confidence, de Gaulle gave a brief speech, punctuating his final words with the unforgettable cry "Vive le Québec libre!"

Below the balcony, where throngs gathered to glimpse de ...

Building a Birch-Bark Canoe (Part 2)

Fri, 06 May 2011 10:25:46 EST

Historically, when birch-bark canoes were built for the fur trade at the North West Company's outpost at Fort William in Thunder Bay, Ont., it took only a week to build a 24-footer. These were much larger vessels than the 12-foot craft that I intend to make. But because I don't have the experience of these master craftsmen, I'm hoping to make mine in about 18 days if everything goes according to plan.

Read Part 1 of the canoe making process

CG: How is construction going this week?

A: It's ...

Once Used to Map Conflicts, Software Charts Destructive Canadian Floods

Wed, 04 May 2011 08:00:00 EST

Build it and they will come was Laura Madison's hope when she created an online mapping tool to display real-time data about this year's destructive spring floods in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Originally created to map post-electoral violence in Kenya, Ushahidi — Swahili for "testimony" — is an online crisis mapping platform that was also used to map the protests in Egypt and the ongoing battle in Libya.

Madison discovered the tool before becoming a member of the Crisis Mappers' Stand-By Task ...

Building a Birch-Bark Canoe (Part 1)

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 16:20:28 EST

You can't just go to the local hardware store and order up some huge piece of birch-bark, so ...

Help us choose the June Canadian Geographic cover!

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 12:45:55 EST

Help us choose the June Canadian Geographic cover!
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Artificial Leaf Touts Promise of Energy Independence

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 08:00:00 EST

Our present energy habits have become increasingly destructive to our planet and ourselves. However, a recent technological advance provides a ray of hope for renewable energy solutions.

On March 27, 2011, scientists announced the development of the first practical artificial leaf, an advanced solar cell the size of a poker card that converts sunlight and water into energy via a process imitating photosynthesis.

"The key to our energy future may be found in the cells of plants," Daniel G. ...

Colourful Clans Mark National Tartan Day on Parliament Hill

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 11:38:34 EST

The Scottish clans of Canada filled Parliament Hill to show their colours in celebration of National Tartan Day on April 10, 2011.

Among some of the first Voyageurs in Canada, the Scots have played an important role in shaping our nation. And with approximately 4.7 million Canadians claiming Scottish heritage, they continue to to this day. Immerse yourself in the celebration.

Video by Stephanie Foden

Why so Sugary, Why so Sweet? - Unlocking the Secret of Sweet Tastes

Fri, 15 Apr 2011 08:00:00 EST

It's not really a sweet tooth that makes us want to buy up every cake in the bakery. It's that squishier organ - our tongue.

Scientists have now dramatically increased our knowledge of how taste cells detect sugars, unlocking some of the tongue's mystique.

Researchers from the Monell Chemical Senses Center have learned that the way we taste sweets isn't fully explained by our current knowledge of how sugar receptors work. "The taste system continues to amaze me at how smart it is and how it ...

Organic Maple Syrup Could Bring on Buyers Remorse

Wed, 13 Apr 2011 09:58:02 EST

An iconic product, maple syrup is touted as "all natural" and "purely Canadian." The technology used to produce it has advanced, but the product still tastes the way it did hundreds of years ago. Nevertheless, there's a new trend on the rise - organic maple syrup.

"It's my opinion that there's not much of a difference between organic and regular maple syrup," says Simon Trepanier, director of the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers.

"Most of the maple syrup producers are organic, but ...

Rapid Glacier Melt Linked to Ocean Waters

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 09:21:48 EST

Rapid glacial retreat happening all over the world is known to have been brought on by climate change, but the melting patterns of many glaciers have now been linked to the circulation of ocean water.

A recent study by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) reveals that heat transported through Greenland's ice sheet has caused glaciers there to lose mass, increasing flow speeds. Melting occurs as a result of warm water reaching the fjords, circulating and interacting with the glacier ...

Canadians Among Worst Water Wasters

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 11:25:20 EST

Forget green, going blue is the new trend. Early last week Burnaby B.C. was dubbed Canada's first 'blue community' for promoting public water and waste water services, recognizing water as a human right and banning or phasing out bottled water at municipal events.

While this award is a pat on the back from the Council of Canadians, it fails to mention a major concern - water consumption.

"While we encourage water conservation and reduced consumption, really our minds the major threat to water ...

Global War for Wildlife Spills Over into Canada

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 08:00:00 EST

"The battle for the establishment of National Parks is long since over but the battle to keep them inviolate is never won," warned J.B. Harkin, one of the founders of Canada's national park system.

Fortunately for us, that battle has only ever been a political one. But elsewhere in the world, the fight to keep national parks, wildlife, and wild places safe is increasingly violent.

In South Africa, poachers use helicopters, automatic weapons, and night vision scopes on high-powered rifles to ...

Longer Ragweed Season in the Works

Wed, 23 Mar 2011 15:10:44 EST

After reading this you may want to buy stock in - or stock up on - Kleenex. Ragweed pollen is lingering in the air for more than a month than it did in 1995, says a study published last month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The increase is accredited to rising temperatures and delayed fall frosts in northern regions. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), this means that the allergy season will also end much later in the year.

"One of the biggest challenges ...

Canada's Worst Natural Disasters of All Time

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 08:00:00 EST

Fierce storms on the Great Lakes that claimed hundreds of lives, tsunamis, earthquakes, a landslide that wiped out an entire town, devastating forest fires, huge floods and paralyzing blizzards and ice storms; Canada has seen its share of deadly natural disasters.

As it turns out, however, the two deadliest natural disasters in Canadian history were also rarities here: a volcanic eruption and a massive hurricane.

Both these tragedies claimed several thousand lives, and curiously, took place ...

Secrets of Spider Silk Untangled

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 08:00:00 EST

Spider-Man's ability to swing from webs isn't a far cry from reality - at least in terms of the strength of spider silk.

Recently, scientists from the Heidelberg Institute in Theoretical Studies uncovered the mystery behind the molecular structure of the versatile fibre. Published this month in the Biophysical Journal, the secret to its strength, they say, lies in its atomic arrangement of soft amorphous and strong crystalline sections.

Spider silk is superior in strength and durability to ...

New on Discovery World HD - Canada's National Parks

Mon, 14 Mar 2011 13:47:42 EST

From the peaks of Banff to the historically saturated Fort of Louisbourg, Canadian parks and historical sites easily stoke inspiration.

In them, Canadian art heavyweights Emily Carr and the Group of Seven sought to capture the Canadian wilderness in the early 1900s. Now, the National Parks Project is aiming to put a modern-day twist on creativity in the wild by inviting musicians and filmmakers to capture the spirit of parks across the country.

Starting this Saturday on Discovery World HD, ...

How Fast are we Pushing Animals from the Planet?

Wed, 09 Mar 2011 11:42:11 EST

Seventy-three years ago, in the woods of northern Maine, the last confirmed eastern cougar was killed. Early last week, the United States Fish and Wildlife Services formally announced that this subspecies of puma is being added to the growing fold of officially extinct species.

Although the Canadian Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife disputes the claim, the fact remains that the demise of this cat which once prowled over 21 states is part of a growing trend in the animal kingdom. ...

Reverse Colonialism - How the Inuit Conquered the Vikings

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 09:17:47 EST

One of the strangest and least known chapters in North American history is surely the story of Greenland's Norse (Vikings) and the Thule people (Inuit).

The standard narrative of North American history is turned on its head here, where centuries ago a Native American group displaced then colonized land inhabited by the Vikings.

Indeed, many of us don't know that Greenland is part of North America. Yet it's connected to Canada by a underwater ridge less than 180 metres deep, and at its nearest ...

Haida Tradition Lost for 150 Years Recaptured by Artist

Thu, 03 Mar 2011 11:13:25 EST

Many Haida artists work to not only recapture old traditions but to take those traditions in new directions. Recently, a talented raven's tail weaver named Lisa Hageman spent two years completing a chief's robe using a technique that hadn't been tried in more than 150 years. We spoke to her about Haida art and what it took to complete this stunning project.

CG: Are you trying to recapture lost traditions in your work?

LH: My personal and professional focus is to learn as much as I can about ...

Considering the Costs of Canada's Diamonds

Fri, 25 Feb 2011 15:40:41 EST

"Diamonds are a girl's best friend," Marilyn Monroe famously sang in the 1953 classic Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. But are they friends to Canadians too?

Last week a Canadian diamond named the Ekati Spirit sold at auction for a record $6 million. The cherry-sized, 78-carat rock's exceptional clarity, carats and colour surpassed that of the previous record holder which sold for $1.2 million just a few years ago. It wasn't disclosed whether the Spirit's buyer was male or female, but somewhere in ...

Can Canada Help Save the Amazon?

Wed, 23 Feb 2011 11:13:43 EST

Like the mists that hang around its towering trees, the vast Amazon rainforest remains shrouded in mystery. Scientists believe that its unexplored reaches contain literally thousands of unknown species. Just last year a new subspecies of monkey was confirmed in Columbia, and on average new species are discovered every few days. While there are no longer any blanks on the map, the rainforest's impenetrable canopy and dense cloud cover limits satellite imagery's effectiveness as a mapping tool over ...

What 's the Point of Black History Month in Canada?

Thu, 17 Feb 2011 08:00:00 EST

Black history month doesn't get a lot of attention in Canada. A quick search pulls up a few small news stories here and there - one about Canada Post's new stamp commemorating MLB Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins, another about how local artists, musicians and writers are meeting up in Calgary to jam.

Our country was never gripped by a difficult civil rights movement, nor the L.A. riots, nor headline stealing photos of oppression at the end of a stick. And, as with most events in our nation, we don't ...

Living Small Gets Big

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 08:00:00 EST

I've been living green without even knowing it. As a student, I'm used to cramped, tiny apartments. But it turns out that living in small is actually significantly reducing my carbon footprint.

"Small living" is a new trend rebelling against the excesses of wasteful space. Since the 1950's, the average size of homes has ballooned from 983 square feet to 2,349 square feet in 2004. Yet at the same time, the average size of a North American family has shrunk.

The bottom line is that we're taking ...

Shark Attacks on the Rise Worldwide

Fri, 11 Feb 2011 12:12:07 EST

It seemed like the plot of a horror movie. In a singe day last December, four tourists were attacked by a shark in the warm waters off Egypt's Red Sea coast, a popular tourist getaway. Three of the four victims were severely injured. The attacks terrorized the coast, drove tourists away, and made authorities desperate to kill the offending shark and declare the waters safe. In short order, two different sharks, one an oceanic whitetip and the other a mako, were hunted down and killed. But then, ...

From Breadbasket to Barren Land - Could Global Food Shortages Affect Canada?

Fri, 04 Feb 2011 11:05:06 EST

Though it may seem hard to believe, in ancient times Egypt was known as a land of seemingly limitless agricultural bounty. "The gift of the Nile" made Egypt the ancient Mediterranean's largest exporter of grain, supplying nearby civilizations, the Greeks and Romans, with food.

Historians call it the "breadbasket of antiquity." But looking at Egypt today, a more astonishing reversal of fortune could scarcely be imagined. The "breadbasket" has become the world's largest importer of grain. A massive ...

Return of the Prairie Bandit - The Nature of Things Profiles the Black-footed Ferret

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 12:13:19 EST

I have a confession: I've always disliked ferrets. A childhood friend had one and I always felt like playing with it was like trying to hold a wriggling furry slinky. Which, needless to say, turned me off of the species pretty quickly.

Despite my aversion, I watched Return of the Prairie Bandit - a documentary that will be airing on The Nature of Things next week. It follows the efforts to re-introduce the black-footed ferret into Grasslands National Park in Saskatchewan.

Until late 2009, ...

First the Buffalo, then the Bluefin Tuna: The Mismanagement of our Natural Resources

Wed, 02 Feb 2011 08:00:00 EST

The prairies were littered with the skulls of bison during the waning days of the Buffalo hunt. There had been, at a time, some 50 to 60 million of the woolly beasts roaming the plains of North America. Even in the 1870s there were reports of herds that would take days to pass. Yet by the early 1880s the prairie bison were on the brink of extinction.Sketch by John Mix Stanley showing buffalo on the plains

In Canada, roughly 1,000 buffalo were left, most held in small herds on private land. There ...

A Sword from Bhutan - The Adventures of Sir Francis Younghusband

Fri, 28 Jan 2011 11:22:36 EST

On my first day at Canadian Geographic I attended an editorial meeting. Sitting around a large conference table, I did my best to listen attentively. But truth be told, I found it difficult. On the opposite wall from where I sat was a glorious collection of old charters for the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, and to make matters worse, beside them hung an exotic Asian-looking sword and scabbard.

With this antique weapon directly in my line of sight, it wasn't long before I lost the thread ...

Powerful Earthquakes in Canada: Is the 'Big One' About to Hit B.C.?

Fri, 28 Jan 2011 09:43:57 EST

It was like a scene from a 1950's educational film. Earlier this week about 450,000 British Columbians dropped and huddled under their desks and coffee tables as an alarm was broadcast over the radio. This wasn't one of those infamous nuclear drills of the 50's, but for a much more incalculable threat: earthquake.

The drill was dubbed the Great British Columbia Shake Out and was modeled on a similar dry run Californians took part in late last year. It's purpose was prepare the province for when ...

River Runners - Training Canada's Olympic Kayakers in Downtown Ottawa

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 08:00:00 EST

On the edge of downtown Ottawa, just steps from the National Archives of Canada and Parliament, is a gully that leads to one of the city's hidden treasures. Traveling down its grassy slope you can hear the rush of white water and soon see a short stretch of river that kayakers from all over the world come to paddle.

It's on these waters that many of Canada's former and future Olympic kayakers have honed their skills. Every summer this man-made and natural boulder-strewn watercourse becomes a ...

The History Behind Canada's National Parks

Thu, 20 Jan 2011 14:37:18 EST

Last year marked the 125th anniversary of Banff, Canada's first national park, and 2011 happens to be the centennial of Canada's National Park service. These anniversaries have occasioned some celebrations, including a new book showcasing Canada's national parks in all their majesty. However, we ought not to forget to take a critical look at parks too.

To start, we might ask ourselves why these anniversaries are taking place now: why was 2010 the 125th anniversary of our first national park and ...

Living on the Borderline - Canda Meets the U.S. in Towns on the Border

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 11:22:02 EST

In this short documentary from 1955, filmmaker Jean Palardy visits the three Quebec border towns of Rock Island, Stanstead and Beebe, and the Vermont town of Derby Line to see how residents and officials cope with a civic life that is cut down the middle by an international boundary.

And for a portrait of what life is like in Stanstead today, following security increases after 9/11, check out our feature on the bad case of insecurity that has been brought to this famously laid-back border town.

Photo: ...

Mummified Forest Shows Effect of Changing Climate

Mon, 17 Jan 2011 12:04:27 EST

It all started with a log. Joel Barker, an earth scientist from Ohio State University, was researching carbon dioxide emissions on Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, when he was told about an odd log sticking out of the snow. Since trees only grow sparsely and to a few feet high on the tundra, it was definitely out of place.

"I knew that was a rare thing and I was interested in seeing it," Barker tells CG, "I knew there was a possibility of forests up there in the past. When they told me they found ...

Is this the Fall of the Legion Hall? - A New Exhibit Profiles These Changing Communities

Thu, 13 Jan 2011 10:30:58 EST

Name practically any town in Canada, and chances are, it has at least one Royal Canadian Legion hall. More than 400,000 Canadians belong to the Legion's 1,575 branches, including 21 in the U.S. and a handful in Europe. For more than 80 years, the Legion has served as a local pub, pool hall or community centre.

Today Legion halls exist as a connection to the past and represent an important part of the Canadian social fabric. But their role is changing along with Canada's demographics.

In the ...

Building Canada with a TV - Exploring the Heritage Minutes (Part 2)

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 14:51:50 EST

Well known to most Canadians, the Heritage Minutes television spots have run alongside the commercials during our favourite shows for years to teach us about our nation's history. But are they merely fun, mini-documentaries?

While pursuing her master's in politics and communication at the London School of Economics, political scientist Cait Hurcomb began examining the Heritage Minute project and how it works to unify the identity of a nation often cast as a mosaic of cultures and ideas. What ...

Building Canada with a TV - Exploring the Heritage Minutes (Part 1)

Fri, 07 Jan 2011 08:00:00 EST

"Burnt toast! Dr. Penfield I can smell burnt toast!" is a line seared into my mind and the minds of many Canadians thanks to the well known Canadian Heritage Minutes. The fact that those words have stuck with us through the years speaks to the power of the television spots, which ran alongside the commercials during our favourite shows, to teach us about our nation's history. But is that the only impact they had?

First aired in the early 1990s and then into the new millennium, the 66 Heritage ...

The Mighty Ti-Jean

Tue, 21 Dec 2010 15:26:54 EST

Ten-year-old Ti-Jean's feats dwarf those of even the strongest lumberjack as he fells timber, cuts, carries and piles heavy logs, and comes out the victor in every contest. This short French-Canadian folk tale portrays typical life and work in a winter logging camp.

To see more of Ti-Jean's exploits, visit the NFB.

Ti-Jean Goes Lumbering

Degrees of Change: Climate Warming and the Stakes for Canada

Fri, 17 Dec 2010 14:59:01 EST

"Climate change is real and happening now," says the arms-length federal organization the National Round Table on the Environment (NRTEE). "Looking ahead, we can expect more pervasive and pernicious climate impacts on Canada and Canadians."

To combat these changes, the organization is releasing Degrees of Change: Climate Warming and the Stakes for Canada, a document to help Canadians visualize exactly how climate change will impact them and their communities.

Q&A with author Allan Casey about his Governor General's Literary Award winning book Lakeland

Thu, 16 Dec 2010 11:57:59 EST

Canada is home to around 3 million of the world's 5 million lakes. For years writer Allan Casey has been pouring them into his writing, culminating in his first book, 2009's Governor General's Literary Award winning Lakeland: Journeys into the Soul of Canada. Two articles Casey penned for Canadian Geographic became the backbone for chapters in the book: one on the algae problem on Lake Winnipeg (Nov/Dec 2006) and the other about over development on the Okanagan Lake (July/August 2008). Yet its core ...