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Irish Examiner
5 days ago
- Science
- Irish Examiner
Dead elephants and feral sea lions: how poisonous algal blooms harm the planet
Before the elephants collapsed, they walked in aimless circles. Some fell head first, dying where they stood moments earlier; their carcasses scattered near watering holes across the Okavango delta. The unexplained deaths in May 2020 alarmed conservationists. By July, at least 350 elephants had died and nobody knew why. 'The animals all had their tusks, so poaching was unlikely. A lot of them had obviously died relatively suddenly: they had dropped on to their sternums, which was indicating a sudden loss of muscle function or neural capacity,' says Niall McCann, director of the conservation group National Park Rescue. Nearly five years later, in November 2024, scientists finally published a paper indicating what they believe to be the reason behind the deaths: toxic water caused by an algal bloom. A sudden shift between dry and wet conditions in 2019 and 2020 created perfect conditions for cyanobacteria that release toxins lethal to the elephants, although the researchers could not make definitive conclusions as samples were not taken quickly enough in 2020 due to the pandemic. Foul-smelling algae along the St Lucie River in Stuart, Florida, in 2016. The algae spoiled coastal waterways and closed beaches. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty 'Blooms' are a rapid increase in the amount of algae, often occurring in shallow, slow-moving warm water. They can transform a sea, lake or river into a mass of green, yellow, brown or even red, sometimes for several weeks. Not all blooms are harmful – many sustain important fisheries. But sometimes algae forms such a thick layer that it blocks out sunlight in critical habitats; others can release harmful toxins. When the algae die, they rapidly deplete oxygen in water – often creating 'dead zones' where few fish can survive. As the Earth warms, harmful algal blooms are on the rise – even creeping into polar waters. They are driven by a mixture of pollution from agriculture, run-off from human waste and, increasingly, global heating – sometimes with dramatic consequences for wildlife and humans. As they spread, they are changing the colour of the world's lakes, rivers and oceans. Nearly two-thirds of all lakes have changed colour in the past 40 years, according to a recent study. A third are blue – but as temperatures warm, they are likely to turn a murky green or brown, other research has found. The planet's oceans are turning green as they warm, a result of absorbing more than 90% of excess heat from global warming. A satellite image of algal blooms in Lake Saint Clair on the US-Canadian border in 2015, showing the run-off from farms compared with the clear Detroit shoreline to the west. Photo: Nasa At sea, the size and frequency of blooms in coastal areas has risen by 13.2% and 59.2% respectively between 2003 and 2020, according to a 2024 study. In freshwater systems, blooms became 44% more frequent globally in the 2010s, according to a 2022 global assessment of 248,000 lakes. The rise was largely driven by places in Asia and Africa that remain reliant on agricultural fertiliser. While progress has been made in North America, Europe and Oceania to stabilise blooms, the climate crisis has driven their resurgence in some freshwater systems. The fertilisers that people use to grow plants – including reactive nitrogen and phosphates – also supercharge algal growth. As they are washed off fields and pour into water bodies around the world, they significantly alter how ecosystems function. 'Humans are today loading more reactive nitrogen into the biosphere than the natural cycle [is],' said Johan Rockström, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. He was co-author of a 2023 assessment that found that humanity had now gone far beyond the planet's natural limits for nitrogen and phosphorus. 'We need to reduce the supply of reactive human nitrogen by over 75%. It's a dramatic change and there's a lot of scientific debate about this,' he says. 'Most agricultural scientists say that it is not possible because we cannot feed humanity. We have a contradiction here: is our first objective to keep the planet's freshwater systems, coastal zones, ecosystems and climate stable – or is it to feed humanity? Others warn that it is not a simple choice between food and the environment. In northern Norway, repeated algal blooms have wiped out millions of farmed salmon and cod in recent years. A single bloom killed more than seven million salmon in 2019. This year, another has wiped out up to a million more fish. In March, a teenager was attacked by a 'feral' sea lion off the coast of southern California, where there has been an increase in aggressive behaviour from the animals linked to a large algal bloom, which can poison and induce seizures in the mammals due to the domoic acid neurotoxin it produces. A dead fish is floating in the foul-smelling algae in Florida's St Lucie River in July 2016. Low levels of oxygen, or hypoxia, suffocate fish. Photo:While there are signs that the bloom is waning, it was the fourth consecutive year that California had experienced a significant outbreak. However, not everything dies in a dead zone. Once the putrid expanse of algae has dispersed and those that can swim away have left, aquatic species better adapted to low levels of oxygen, or hypoxia, move in. This has led to a boom in jellyfish numbers in many parts of the world. Denise Breitburg, of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, has studied Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the US to experience algal blooms, for decades, says: 'The jellyfish we have here are way more tolerant of low oxygen in the water than species they would be competing with for food. They become more efficient predators and can utilise habitat that fin fish are excluded from.' PORT MAYACA, FL - JULY 13: A sign warns of Blue-Green algae in the water near the Port Mayaca Lock and Dam on Florida's Lake Okeechobee in July 2018. Photo:As the world heats, the disruptions that algal blooms cause to ecosystems will be hard to stop, experts warn. Prof. Donald Boesch, who helped first identify the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico, which last year reached 17,000 sq km, the 12th largest in 38 years of records, says the process will get worse if the world does not prevent rising temperatures. 'As the liquid heats up, its ability to dissolve gases is reduced, so it holds less oxygen. Warmer surface waters can increase the stratification of layers in the ocean. It means that the warmer waters at the surface are less dense than the bottom waters, so they don't get mixed up. 'It's going to get worse,' says Boesch. The Guardian
Toronto Sun
6 days ago
- Business
- Toronto Sun
Social media users freaking out over Lululemon's planned price increases
Lululemon enthusiasts are lashing out over the Canadian apparel company's plans to increase prices in response to tariffs. Photo by Joe Raedle / GETTY IMAGES Lululemon enthusiasts are lashing out over the Canadian apparel company's plans to spike prices in response to tariffs. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Late last week, the Vancouver-based, globally recognized company announced it would be increasing some prices. 'We are planning to take strategic price increases, looking item by item across our assortment as we typically do,' chief financial officer Meghan Frank told analysts on a call held as the company's share price tumbled 23% to US$255.32 in afterhours trading last Thursday. The price increases on products will be 'modest in nature' and only applied to a 'small' portion of Lululemon's products. Customers can thank U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war. 'We experienced lower store traffic in the Americas, partially reflective of economic uncertainty, inflationary pressures, lower consumer confidence, and changes in discretionary spending,' the company said in a recent statement. What it means is that brand's loyal cult-following of millennial and Gen-Z yoga types aren't splurging on the company's clothing as they perhaps once did. The clothing company said the hikes will roll out within weeks, but online reaction was instant. 'You better get it together. Lulu. Using tariffs as an excuse in your rest of the year outlook is not a smart move. Amazon/Walmart tried this it didn't go well. You're Down 65$ today. Our family was a big lulu fan not so much anymore,' one user posted to social-media site X. 'For what they charge for their products, you'd think it was made in America,' another post read. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. You better get it together. Lulu. Using tariffs as an excuse in your rest of the year outlook is not a smart move. Amazon/walmart tried this it didn't go well You're Down 65$ today. Our family was a big lulu fan not so much anymore. — #Liberationday (@StephenWil257) June 6, 2025 In 2024, 40% of Lululemon's products were made in Vietnam, and 28% of its fabrics came from mainland China. Both countries have been hit hard by Trump's trade crackdown. But some folks seem to have had enough. 'It can't be that yoga pants shouldn't cost $125 a pair. No. That's not it,' someone said, while another posted, 'Their stuff is ridiculously overpriced… total ripoff.' 'Lululemon's collapse isn't about tariffs — it's about betting on foreign manufacturing while ignoring American resilience,' yet another critic said. Sports Canada Sunshine Girls Columnists Sports
Toronto Sun
05-06-2025
- Business
- Toronto Sun
Canadians divided on whether U.S. is 'ally' or 'enemy' country: Poll
Published Jun 05, 2025 • 3 minute read A Canadian flag flies next to the American one at the Lewiston-Queenston border crossing bridge on Feb. 4, 2025 in Niagara Falls, Canada. Photo by Joe Raedle / Getty Images OTTAWA — Faced with a trade war they didn't start, Canadians are divided on whether they see the United States as an 'enemy' or an 'ally,' a new poll suggests. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The Leger poll, which was conducted online and can't be assigned a margin of error, surveyed more than 1,500 people between May 30 and June 1. Almost a third of respondents said they view the U.S. as a 'neutral country,' while 27 per cent said they consider it an 'ally' and 26 per cent see it as an 'enemy country.' Just over a third of men said they consider the U.S. an ally, compared with one in five women. Almost 30 per cent of women said they view the U.S. as an enemy, compared with 22 per cent of men. Older Canadians, those at least 55 years of age, were more likely to consider the U.S. an enemy than younger Canadians. Regionally Albertans were most likely to consider the U.S. an ally while Ontarians and British Columbians were most likely to see it as an enemy. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The difference is starkest between political party supporters, with 44 per cent of Conservative supporters saying they view the U.S. as an ally, compared with 17 per cent of Liberal supporters and 12 per cent of NDP supporters said the same. Comparatively 16 per cent of Conservative supporters said they view the U.S. as an enemy country, while 36 per cent of Liberal supporters and 41 per cent of NDP supporters said the same. U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday to double his levies on steel and aluminum to 50 per cent. He claimed the measure will protect the country's national security and domestic industries. Prime Minister Mark Carney has said his government will need to take 'some time' to craft a response to the increased U.S. tariffs. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The number of Canadians that report seeing the U.S. as an enemy country has dropped by six points since mid-March. At that time, 32 per cent of survey respondents told Leger they viewed the country as an enemy. The number of Canadians that view the U.S. as an ally also decreased by two percentage points since March, from 29 to 27 per cent, while the number that view it as a neutral country increased by six percentage points, from 24 to 30 per cent. Andrew Enns, Leger's executive vice-president for Central Canada, said that, broadly speaking, the patterns haven't changed much since the organization asked the question in February — when 27 per cent of respondents said they viewed the U.S. as an enemy and 30 per cent said they viewed it as an ally. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Enns said the decline in the number of people saying the U.S. is an enemy likely reflects the overall sentiment on tariffs. 'It's still obviously there and, you know, clearly now we're dealing with higher steel tariffs, but the commentary coming from the White House and the Trump administration seems to have dissipated a bit and that's probably helping just tone things down,' he said. Enns said Canada also has a new prime minister with a mandate that might 'take the edge off things.' 'I think that just keeps things more at a moderate level, and I think that reflects in people maybe feeling a little less threatened by the U.S.,' Enns said. Enns said political and business leaders have also sent a consistent message that the U.S. remains an important trading partner. He said that may encourage Canadians to believe there's a way to 'work things out.' The polling industry's professional body, the Canadian Research Insights Council, says online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population. Sunshine Girls Sunshine Girls Celebrity Columnists Toronto & GTA
Toronto Sun
07-05-2025
- Health
- Toronto Sun
PARKER: Turning the focus to nutrition for America's food stamp program
Boxes of sugary cereal, including those from General Mills, fill a store's shelves on April 16, 2025, in Miami, Fla. Photo by Joe Raedle / Getty Images The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known as food stamps, is one of the United States' largest welfare programs. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Like all welfare programs, it is massive, having grown prodigiously over the years, and inefficient. One glaring issue, which is gaining attention as a result of new Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s 'Make America Healthy Again' campaign, is the kinds of foods that recipients of SNAP funds can purchase. And here we have a convergence of bodily health and fiscal health. The 'N' in SNAP stands for nutrition. The point of the whole program is to help poor Americans eat and not forgo nutrition as a result of insufficient funds to buy food. So, why should government funds be used to purchase foods that are not fundamental to meeting the requirements of basic nutrition? The program is funded by the federal government but administered by the states. Now, three Republican governors — from Arkansas, Idaho and Indiana — are joining the governor of West Virginia in seeking waivers from the federal government to permit them to remove soda, candy and other sweets from the foods that can be purchased with SNAP funds. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. SNAP funds flow from the department of agriculture and new Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins showed her support for this move by appearing alongside Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders when she announced that her state would seek a waiver to eliminate soda and candy. According to the Foundation for Government Accountability, 'Soda is the number one commodity purchased with food stamps. More food stamp money is spent on soda, candy, snacks, ice cream and cakes than on fruit, vegetables, eggs, pasta, beans and rice. Purchases of sweetened beverages, desserts, salty snacks and candy exceed the program's combined sales of fruits and vegetables by $9.4 billion a year.' The FGA points out that the incidence of obesity is higher among food stamp recipients than among those not on food stamps at similar income levels and that food stamp participants are 'more likely to be at very high or extremely high risk' of the many health problems that result from obesity. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Per the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, in 1975, federal funding to the SNAP program was $4.6 billion. By 2000, it was $14.6 billion. In 2023, it was up to $111.2 billion. Per Pew Research, in 1974, 12.9 million Americans were receiving SNAP funds. In 2023, it was up to 42.4 million. Most recipients are adults — 63% are over the age of 18 — and of adults receiving food stamps, 62% had not been employed at all during the year, 24% were employed over the year and 14% were employed part of the year. Among children receiving food stamp payments, 56% were in homes with one or no parents. Much discussion about the reform of SNAP involves a more rigorous application of work requirements to receive funding. This points back to the importance of health. If SNAP funds permit the purchase of foods that are unhealthy or damage health, so it seems SNAP funds contribute to undermining the ability of recipients to work. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Needless to say, as this initiative gains momentum, as it should, and as more states seek waivers to streamline their SNAP funding to foods that aim to meet fundamental nutritional needs, the beverage and candy industry can be expected to be all over Congress to block the change. The Wall Street Journal reported last December about ramped-up lobbying by Coke, Pepsi and the American Beverage Association to leave their soft drinks in the purview of SNAP funding. Some concerns have been expressed by grocers that increased specificity regarding what can be purchased can make administration and monitoring difficult. Surely technology can deal with this. Removing non-nutritious foods and beverages from SNAP won't balance our federal budget. But it is a no-brainer for our fiscal and physical health. Television MLB Toronto Maple Leafs Canada Editorial Cartoons
Toronto Sun
06-05-2025
- Toronto Sun
Feds reportedly hiring publicists to attract American tourists to Canada
A Canadian flag flies next to the American one at the Lewiston-Queenston border crossing bridge on Feb. 4, 2025 in Niagara Falls, Canada. Photo by Joe Raedle / Getty Images No Justin Trudeau, no mention of U.S. travel boycotts. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The Canadian Tourism Commission announced Tuesday it's hiring U.S. publicists to encourage Americans to vacation in Canada, while making no mention of the former prime minister's Feb. 1 appeal to Canadians to boycott travel to the U.S. following President Donald Trump's repeated tariff and sovereignty threats, according to Blacklock's Reporter. 'Tourism is the heartbeat of our communities,' said the notice. 'The United States is Canada's largest source of international tourism. In 2024, the U.S. represented 63% of the commission's attributable leisure tourism marketing revenue, the majority of which comes from our target states of California, New York, New Jersey and Texas.' RECOMMENDED VIDEO While not detailing it's budget to attract Americans, the commission expected publicists to charge an hourly rate and invoice an expected 150 hours per month. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'While Americans make up the largest number of total international arrivals to Canada, the commission is not looking to increase the volume of visitors,' said the notice. 'Our goal is to continue to increase revenue by attracting high-yield guests.' The commission said U.S. visitors 'generate wealth and well-being for all of Canada,' and that publicity was needed in U.S. markets 'to achieve our sector's full economic potential and generate as much as $160 billion in annual revenue by 2030.' Trudeau previously described a travel boycott to the U.S. as patriotic. 'Canadians are hurt, Canadians are angry,' he said on Feb. 1. 'Now is the time to choose Canada. There are many ways for you to do your part. It might mean changing your summer vacation plans to stay here in Canada and explore the many national and provincial parks, historic sites and tourist destinations our great country has to offer.' Read More Toronto & GTA Canada News Toronto Blue Jays Editorial Cartoons
