A shifting magnetic north pole may see Alaska and parts of Canada lose the ability to see the spectacular Northern Lights because the Earth's north magnetic pole is drifting away from North America and toward Siberia at an alarming speed.
Hantavirus is spread by breathing in mice droppings, urine or nesting materials. The only mice involved are deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus). People living in areas where the virus is present may be at risk of catching it from close contact with wild mice, so cabin owners should beware as they clean and prepare their cabins for the summer season.
Black bears are found throughout the Okanagan and the rest of BC, but while black bears keep to the most inaccessible parts of our forests most of the time, during the Spring and early Summer travellers are most likely to see them in open areas.
Bears are solitary except for the mating season from mid-May to early-July. In late January or February, one to five cubs are born; they will stay with their mother until a year and half old.
On Wednesday October 10, 2007, the first of a swarm of small earthquakes was recorded by seismic monitoring equipment in place in the upper Baezaeko River region, about 100 km west of Quesnel. Eight microearthquakes of magnitude 2-3 occurred on October 10 and 11, and more than 100 tremors of less than magnitude 2 had occurred between October 10 and October 18th. This steady rumble is believed to be volcanic activity.
Don Elzer tells a story of what the ancient landscape of the Okanagan and the Monashee may have been like as the last great ice age began to retreat. This is a speculative account however there is new scientific evidence surfacing that sheds new light on the fantastic changes that occurred here 15,000 years ago.
The Rendezvous Chronicles - Episode 1
A Mystery Unfolds in the Monashee and Okanagan:
An Ancient Inland Sea Exposes a New World
The southcentral interior of British Columbia is rich in natural history, in particular the Okanagan Valley as it links north to the interior plateau and east to the Monashee Mountain range. In this region geological history unfolds beginning with a torrent of molten lava caused by eons of volcanic activity.
Climate change costing billions – just for starters
The Mountain Pine Beetle presents a tremendous challenge to British Columbia and the planet right now. Recently, I toured the Blackwater River area west of Quesnel where I drove through decaying forest for hours; the BC Interior including the Okanagan sits within the largest dead forest ever recorded on the planet which is also poised to be one of the largest contributors of carbon emissions on Earth.
Douglas Fir’s struggle for water in the BC Interior
Amphibians, reigning survivors of past mass extinctions, are sending a clear, unequivocal signal that something is wrong, as their extinction rates rise to unprecedented levels, according to a paper published this past month by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Humans are exacerbating two key natural threats – climate change and a deadly disease that is jumping from one species to another.
Tiny waves or particles of energy studied within the realm of quantum physics has helped create a revolutionary leap that could transform solar power from a marginal, boutique alternative into a mainstream energy source. This past month MIT researchers have overcome a major barrier to large-scale solar power: storing energy for use when the sun doesn't shine.
Recently the U.N. Environment Programme reported that data from close to 30 reference glaciers in nine mountain ranges indicated that between the years 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 the average rate of melting and thinning more than doubled.
In the BC interior these findings have real consequences.
The BC government has ideas on how it wants to react to climate change. It also has an idea about how it wants to spend it's carbon offset investment. All of these ideas are linked in some way to the new carbon tax. This little known document, should you decide to open it, will give you some idea about those ideas.
a Changing Planet
