European rivers are at their lowest levels in over 500 years. Find out why this is a problem for the global economy and for ecosystems throughout Europe. I live in a part of Canada called The Headwaters. It’s the high country roughly in the centre of the Great Lakes Basin in Southern Ontario. This region is the source of four major Ontario rivers. These are the Credit, the Grand, the Humber and the Nottawasaga.

Spiraling stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud are the subject of a recent study in ‘The Astrophysical Journal.’ Find out how their spiral motions help explain the “baby boom” of star formation shortly after the Big Bang. At this time of the year, I enjoy looking up at the sky toward the constellations Andromeda and Cassiopeia. It’s the ideal time for me to try to spot the Andromeda Galaxy, also known as M31.

A UN report holds China accountable for “serious human rights violations” in its Xinjiang province. Find out what the allegations entail and how China is responding to the findings. I’ve taken some flak about a certain issue over the past few years. I’ve learned not to let barbs from readers bother me, but put-downs are still a good way to take the temperature of a particular topic. In this case, the feverish subject is human rights in China. There…

A beaver fossil found in western Montana is the oldest such specimen ever discovered. Find out how this 30-million-year-old missing link is helping to explain the astonishing diversity in mammal species on our planet. Like all Canadians, I think of the beaver as an important symbol. It’s our national mascot, and the fur trade involving the beaver is a vital turning point in our country’s history. Sadly, that fur trade eventually hunted Canadian beavers almost to extinction. …

Lunar meteorites are very rare rocks that scientists sometimes discover in Antarctica or deserts. Find out how a new study of the trace gases they contain has shed light on the origins of the moon and the Earth. Ever since Galileo used one of the first telescopes to see the craters on the moon, scientists have sought to understand how we came by our huge natural satellite. Growing up during the Space Race, I remember television documentaries explaining that the moon formed from a big chunk of the…

James Lovelock passed away recently at the age of 103. Find out how his Gaia hypothesis led a generation to a new understanding of the world and our place in it. James Lovelock was about the age I am now when I first heard about him. In college, I read publications from the Whole Earth Catalog that often mentioned his Gaia hypothesis. That’s the idea that all of Earth’s living things interconnect in a complex web along with their physical habitats…

Dwarf galaxies contain less than ten percent of the stars in the Milky Way. Find out how their behaviour in a region called the Fomax Cluster challenges dark matter’s existence. Here in the Northern Hemisphere, now is the perfect time of year to view the Milky Way. I’m looking forward to enjoying this spectacular, translucent band of stars in the southern sky over the next month or two. When we gaze at what we think of as the Milky Way…

A healthy environment is a human right and vital to the enjoyment of other rights, according to a new UN General Assembly resolution. Find out why this is both a cause for celebration and a call to action. For a while now, I’ve been volunteering with Amnesty International. They’re a…

Monarch Butterfly populations have been devastated over the last past few decades. Find out why the IUCN has added these iconic pollinators to the endangered species list and how scientists are working to save them from extinction. I haven’t seen a monarch butterfly at the cottage for many years. …