The last time the earth was this hot — here's what the ocean did
Sea levels will rise — by metres, not centimetres — and the time to prepare is now. Drawing on ancient clues and the latest science, Johanna Wagstaffe explains what Earth's past reveals about our coastal future — and why smart planning today could protect millions in the decades and centuries to come.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Globe and Mail
6 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
When the water breaks in the Amazon, call the midwife
In photos Midwives in rural Brazil are more vital than ever in places where depleted rivers – a hazard of climate change – put hospitals out of reach Photography by Pilar Olivares Reporting by Pilar Olivares and Manuela Andreoni Reuters Tabita dos Santos Moraes, with Priscilla the dog, rests on a journey down Brazil's Tefé River in a boat steered by her husband, Nonato Lima de Moraes. Tabita, 51, has been practising midwifery since her teens. to view this content.
Geek Dad
9 hours ago
- Geek Dad
‘Bee Speaker by Adrian Tchaikovsky:' A Book Review
Another month, another book by Adrian Tchaikovsky. This time, returning to his irregular but excellent Dogs of War series. Each book nominally stands on its own. Indeed, I read book 2, Bear Head , before reading book 1, Dogs of War, with little detriment. Having said that, to fully understand the world Tchaikovsky has created, I would recommend reading at least Dogs of War before commencing Bee Speaker. If you haven't read the Dogs of War trilogy, I wholeheartedly recommend that you do. They remain my favorite of Tchaikovsky's books, and some of the best science fiction I have read. The main premise of the Dogs of War universe is that humans have invented bioengineering and used it to create 'Bioforms.' Engineered dogs, bears, and even snakes and reptiles, to be used in the theatre of battle. Both Bear Head and Dogs of War explore the ethics of using non-human sentient creatures to do one's dirty work. Both books are utterly compelling and hooked me from the very first page. Another key component of the books is distributed intelligence systems. Essentially, in the series, hive minds were distributed across Earth and later, Mars. Bees are one such system, and they play a pivotal role in Dogs of War. Unsurprisingly, they take center stage in Bee Speaker. Bee Speaker takes place some time after the previous two books. Civilization has collapsed on Earth, leaving them with some pre-collapse technology, but few ways of recreating it. Mars, meanwhile, is beginning to thrive. The citizens of Mars receive a distress signal from Earth – from bees – and decide they need to investigate. The novel opens with that investigation underway. The Martian explorers have arrived on Earth, and things are about to go very, very wrong. Tchaikovsky delivers again. If a little more slowly. Unlike the other two novels, it took me a while to work my way into Bee Speaker, and I can't quite put my finger on why. It might be because there are several different competing factions (Earth's citizens, as depicted here, have a feel of the Fallout factions to them). The story contains humans and bioforms from both Earth and Mars, and I initially struggled to identify fully with any of them. I think there was some deliberate vagueness for plot reasons, too and I could only appreciate this once I was deeply immersed in the book. And deeply immersed I became! Bee Speaker is a sparkling construct that examines the power and limitations of distributed intelligence (and therefore, by extension, in a more real-world context, AI). Once again, (as he did with Alien Clay as well as the other Dogs of War novels), Tchaikovsky makes us rethink how we see ourselves. Makes us consider the nature of life and the definition of sentience. There is also, as there often is in his novels, a subtle examination of power structures and, in this case, the absurdity of doomsday-prepared billionaires. After reading Bee Speaker , I am happy to maintain that the Dogs of War series are my favorite of Tchaikovsky's books (though his output is so large, I have barely scratched the surface). If you haven't read them, I thoroughly recommend you do. I've yet to encounter anybody who doesn't like them. Will there be more? Who knows? Each story mostly drives down its own cul-de-sac, yet Adrain Tchaikovsky keeps revealing pathways to new roads. May the exploration long continue. If you would like to pick up a copy of Bee Speaker, you can do so here in the US and here, in the UK. (Affiliate Links) If you enjoyed this review, check out my other book reviews, here. I received a copy of this book in order to write this review. Liked it? Take a second to support GeekDad and GeekMom on Patreon!
CBC
16 hours ago
- CBC
Research funding not keeping up with demand in Nunavut
Social Sharing Joël Bêty has been studying various bird species on Bylot Island, north of Pond Inlet, Nunavut, for more than 25 years — but this year is looking different from most. Usually, he and his team set up five camps stretched across about 500 square kilometres on Bylot Island. But increased logistical costs associated with the project will limit Bêty's work to two camps this season. His is one of several research projects in the territory to be affected by rising costs while funding remains stagnant. Bêty, a professor in the department of biology, chemistry and geography at the University of Quebec's Rimouski campus, relies on helicopters to access the remote sites, but he said higher fares have forced him to cut his travel in half. "I'll be covering a much smaller area for sampling, so that'll give me data that's not quite as good ... and it'll also cut into the longer-term tracking we're trying to do over a large area," he said. "When we're trying to understand the impacts of climate change … it's really important to do that long-term tracking." Vital logistical support Dominique Berteaux is another professor in the same department who also carries out research on Bylot Island. His work focuses on various predator species, including lemmings. Like Bêty and Berteaux, many researchers who carry out their work in Nunavut rely on Natural Resources Canada's Polar Continental Shelf Program for support. Its Arctic logistics hub, set up in Resolute Bay, helps pair researchers with specialized equipment, helicopters and twin-engine aircraft. Berteaux said the program's funding to cover the costs of helicopter flying hours is about $50,000 less than it was in 2024. While he was able to cover the gap through other funding sources, he said he's concerned that those kinds of budget restraints will affect Arctic research overall. "There's lots of research in the North that can't happen without the support from the Polar Continental Shelf Program," he said. Both researchers agree that the program's funding hasn't kept up with inflation in recent years. In an email, Maria Ladouceur, a communications adviser with Natural Resources Canada, said the federal government allocated $49 million over five years to the program in its 2024 budget, and then "$10 million of ongoing funding after 2029-2030." "Despite consistent funding, demand for the services of [the Polar Continental Shelf Program] often exceeds available resources, particularly considering the reality that operating in the North is more costly than elsewhere," reads Ladouceur's email. "The [program] remains committed to delivering safe, effective and equitable services, while also addressing essentially operational requirements to ensure the long-term sustainability of its services." More projects, less funding A 2023 report by Canada's chief science adviser, Mona Nemer, says "northern research alone could increase eightfold by 2040, requiring significant growth in logistical capacity." Bêty is concerned that will result in less funds allocated to each project. "If you increase the competition between researchers, obviously there's going to be a smaller amount for each one," Bêty said. Philippe Archambault, science director for ArcticNet, said his organization already can't fund as many projects as it used to. Of the 72 proposals it received this year, only 22 received funding, about 31 per cent. According to Archambault, 10 years ago that number would have been closer to 43 per cent. In an effort to try and spread the funding to more projects, the organization is also more stringent on what it'll put money behind, he explained. The trend, he said, is due to stagnant funding over the past few years that doesn't take into account increased costs of carrying out the research. "The fuel, any airfare — so when you take the plane, it's more expensive," he said. "When you go and stay in a community … all these prices have increased. So all the equipment, everything increased." In 2019, ArcticNet received $32.5 million over five years from the federal government through its Networks of Centres of Excellence initiative. The organization will receive that same amount — this time from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada — over 2024-29. Negative effects on relations with Inuit communities Stagnant funding is also affecting how researchers engage Inuit communities, said Archambault. "Some projects decrease the number of days in the Arctic. They also sometimes decide not to do any type of consultation, or not as long as usual," he said. "So they go to the North, do the consultation and try to do the field work right away, which is not the right way of doing it with our Indigenous partners. "The lack of funding will definitely bring us back to some extent," he added.
