Archives
Future energy sources
A lot of attention in Canada has been focused recently on the Kyoto Agreement to limit the emission of greenhouse gases. But scientifically, the goal for preventing possibly catastrophic global warming has been set far higher than Kyoto's modest reductions. An article in the November 1 issue of Science sets out the challenges. Entitled "Advanced Technology Paths to Global Climate Stability: Energy for a Greenhouse Planet," it was written by a team of 18 scientists and engineers from major universities (including McGill), U.S. government laboratories and agencies, and even Exxon Mobil. The U.S. Department of Energy funded the project. The level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased from 275 to 370 parts per million ...Paleoclimatology
This week an international expedition set out for Mt. Logan, Canada's highest mountain (and yes, it's still Mt. Logan, not Mt. Trudeau) to attempt to travel through time: to look back 10,000 years to see how climate has changed over the millennia--and how human activities are affecting climate now. Two Canadian scientists will climb to very Mt. Logan's 5,959-metre peak and extract a 225-metre cylinder of ice from its glaciers. A core was taken in 1980, but the technology didn't exist then to take one as long as will be taken this time--and the longer the ice core, the farther into the past you can look. ...Global warming update
What with all the talk about the greenhouse effect recently, I decided it's time for a quick review... The term "greenhouse effect" is usually used today in reference to a predicted gradual warming of the Earth caused by an increase in various gases in the atmosphere, primarily due to human activity. Really, however, the greenhouse effect has been at work for eons, which is a good thing, because it's what keeps Earth's mean surface temperature high enough (17 degrees Celsius) for life to thrive. About 40 percent of the energy we receive from the sun arrives at such short wavelengths that it zips through the atmosphere unimpeded. ...Melting ice in Antarctica
Considering how cold it's been around here recently, global warming sounds not so much like an environmental problem as it does something devoutly to be wished for--but as someone once said, "Be careful what you wish for--you may get it." While it's true that science has yet to come flat out and say that global warming, the anticipated result of mankind's pumping of billions of tonnes of heat-trapping carbon dioxide and other gases into the atmosphere every year, has unequivocally begun, the evidence is mounting--and one place where the evidence may soon become crystal clear is Antarctica. As far back as 1978, a paper in the science journal Nature suggested ...Ice ages
I like ice. When I order a drink at the movie theatre, I always ask for "more ice than you think anyone can possibly want." At home, I drink iced tea. When I finish my drink, I eat the ice. But I prefer that ice keep to its proper place--which is not on the roads, on the sidewalks, or especially on my car. Still, if you think chipping half a centimetre of ice off your driveway is a chore, just imagine trying to clear away three kilometres of the stuff. Twenty thousand years ago, that's the task you would have faced. Scientists believe the Earth is about ...The greenhouse effect
Presumably, by now, you've heard of something called the "greenhouse effect." (If you haven't, we'll pause briefly while your next-of-kin checks to see if you're still breathing.) The term "greenhouse effect," as usually used today, refers to the predicted gradual warming of the Earth due to an increase in various gases in the atmosphere, primarily due to man's activities. There is considerable debate as to just how serious this warming is going to be--and whether it has begun yet. (Despite the warmth of the '80s in our part of the world, the most recent and most accurate study of the Earth's temperature, carried out by satellites over the last decade, shows no evidence ...
Edward Willett is a The Shards of Excalibur, Book 1: Song of the Sword
My new YA fantasy novel, coming in October from Lobster Press
Before the Lady called her, Ariane’s life was a mess. Two years ago, her mother disappeared. She bounced around different foster homes until her aunt finally took her in. The meanest clique at her new high school has decided to make Ariane their prime target. And to top it all off, she is having frightening premonitions, and they are becoming more intense. The moment water touches her skin, she sees visions of a lake, a lady, and a sword. When a staircase opens up in the middle of Wascana Lake and the water begins singing to her, she has no choice but to answer the call….
Marseguro
Winner of the 2009 Prix Aurora Award for Best Long-Form Work in English
Water world Marseguro is home to the Selkies, a water-dwelling race created from human DNA. When an unmodified human seeks revenge on a Selkie by activating a distress beacon taken from the remains of the original colony ship, a strikeforce is sent from Earth to eradicate the genetic abomination. Yet Marseguro will not prove as easy to conquer as the Earth force anticipates…
Terra Insegura
Finalist for the 2010 Prix Aurora Award for Best Novel in English
Marseguro, a water world far from Earth, is home to a colony of humans and the Selkies, a water-dwelling race created from modified human DNA. For seventy years the colony has lived in peace. Then Earth discovers Marseguro, and a strike force is sent to eradicate this “abomination.” But Marseguro has created a genetically tailored plague to use against Earth’s Holy Warriors. With the enemy defeated, the people of Marseguro feel they are safe. But Chris Keating, the traitor who signaled Marseguro’s location to the Holy Warriors, has fled to Earth, unknowingly carrying the deadly plague within him. The people of Marseguro feel they must send a ship to Earth with a life-saving vaccine. Only time will tell what awaits them when they reach their destination.
Lost in Translation
Kathryn was a human empath whose world and life had been destroyed when the alien S’sinn slaughtered her parents before her very eyes. Jarrikk was a young S’sinn, an unproven warrior who’d seen his flight mates slaughtered by the humans who’d sought to colonize his world.
As humans and S’sinn found themselves on the brink of war, these two Translators had to work together to find a common ground and avert catastrophe. But whether their Translators’ oath and training could overcome the enemies leagued against them was very much in doubt…
Archives
Historic Walks of Regina and Moose Jaw
Ten walks to points of historic and architectural interest in the cities of Regina and Moose Jaw (eight walks for Regina, two for Moose Jaw).
Disease-Hunting Scientist
The true stories of six real disease hunters. Epidemiologists travel the world trying to keep us safe from deadly diseases—from high-tech labs in Canada to remote villages in Africa. Learn how these “disease detectives” are coming up with new ways to fight disease, and find out if you have what it takes to become an epidemiologist, too!
The Bounty Mutiny
The Bounty was a British ship visiting Tahiti in 1789 when some of the crew overthrew the captain, William Bligh, and set him adrift in a tiny boat with sailors loyal to him. The mutiny resulted in a number of trials–both of the men who mutinied and of Bligh for losing command of his ship. These fascinating events have been the source for numerous Hollywood movies, most recently The Bounty. The Bounty Mutiny: From the Court Case to the Movie explores the famous case and the movies it inspired.
