Latest news with #OntarioMinistry
CTV News
11 hours ago
- Science
- CTV News
Canada's first-ever beach cleaning robot just hit Lake Simcoe shores
Pollution Probe unveils Canada's very first beach cleaning robot at Sibbald Point Provincial Park as part of the Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup on Mon., June 23, 2025. (CTV NEWS) Canada's first-ever beach cleaning robot just hit the shores of Lake Simcoe. The new, roving waste collector called 'BeBot' is a sand-sifting robot capable of removing debris like plastic, glass, metal, and paper from sandy beaches. BeBot has a goal of eliminating debris before it ever has the chance of hitting our Great Lakes. This new machinery was unveiled on Monday by Pollution Probe at Sibbald Point Provincial Park in Georgina. This 'neat' initiative is part of the Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup project which currently operates at more than 225 locations across the Great Lakes. Picture a Roomba, but for the beach... the remote-operated technology will join more than 160 other plastic capture technologies around the province to help upkeep lakes throughout the summer and fall months. BeBot is in collaboration with the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Conservation and Parks. Now part of the largest initiative of its kind in North America, the Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup has reported the removal of close to 244,000 pieces of plastic debris to date. Unsmoke Canada has supported the piloting of this technology by making contributions that led to the deployment of the very first BeBot here in Canada.
CTV News
07-06-2025
- Climate
- CTV News
Waterloo Region sees some of the worst air quality in province: Air Quality Health Index
Waterloo Region saw some of the worst air quality in Ontario according to data from IQAir and Ontario's Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.
CBC
08-05-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Caution urged as northern Ontario enters prime time for grass fires
Only 26 fires have broken out in the first month of the season in Ontario, below the ten-year average A month into the 2025 Ontario forest fire season, the number of fires and area burned are below the 10-year average to this date, however it is a critical time in between snow melt and green-up when there is a greater risk for fires to start and spread quickly. Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources confirms there have been 26 fires in Ontario so far this year that have burned a total of 20 hectares. In comparison, last year on this date, there had been 32 confirmed wildfires affecting 108 hectares. The 10-year average is 43 fires burning 7,760 hectares. A map of the current wildfire activity can be found here. A spokesperson with the ministry says much of northern Ontario is still covered by dry grass and dead vegetation from last year, which on warmer days when exposed to sun and wind, can be more susceptible to fire. Because conditions are ideal for fire to spread at this time, people who wish to clean up their yards are encouraged to compost or use the local landfill rather than burning debris. As for predictions about fire activity during the coming season, a statement from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources says it's difficult to take a long-term look. "Each fire season is highly variable and is based on actual weather trends that develop throughout the fire season," the ministry said in an email. "Fire activity can change quickly within a given week, month with the changes in weather, or across the season, and can also vary significantly from the previous year's activity." A warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada, Geoff Coulson says he can't predict the forest fire season either, but does say May is looking to be warmer and drier than normal, with the higher temperatures lingering into June. In the longer term, a fire-weather specialist with Natural Resources Canada says climate models show a possible elevated risk of wildfire activity in western Canada this year, and maybe in parts of northern Ontario as well. "It looks like in August we have a possibility of getting above normal fire activity out close to border, you know, maybe around Timmins and up toward James Bay and west of that," said Richard Carr. Carr said the northwest tends to be drier with less precipitation generally leading to a higher risk of forests fires, with global warming as a contributing factor.
