Beat the winter blues by going green

Beat the winter blues by going green

Winter can feel endless sometimes, even if temperatures are mild and there is barely any snow to shovel. Daylight hours are shorter, the weather is often less pleasant and we generally spend more time indoors and being less active. For many people seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a very real issue during the cold months and if you’ve ever felt the pains associated with it, you’re certainly not alone.

Canada's Wetlands

Canada's Wetlands

Across the country, wetlands are being destroyed by industry and agriculture. They are drained and filled so people can construct buildings, farm the land, or install infrastructure. Wetlands also face threats from pollution and climate change. As droughts intensify, wetlands can dry up.

Worldwide, 60% of wetlands have been lost. Wetlands are disappearing faster than any other natural community.

Wetlands: Peat Bogs

Wetlands: Peat Bogs

Fog lingers in the cool dawn air. With each step I take, the boardwalk sinks and water rises through the slats. All around, there are plants – clumps of sedges, sphagnum moss, leatherleaf, and sweet gale shrubs. Spider webs that would normally be invisible in the branches shine with the dew they have collected overnight – tiny droplets like glass beads strung across complex architecture.

Canada's Forest Fires Part 2: Emissions and Deforestation

 Canada's Forest Fires Part 2: Emissions and Deforestation

Rather than reporting direct emissions, as is done for almost all other sectors, the emissions from logging are handled as a “net flux,” combining the effects of natural processes with industrial activity. Canada is giving itself credit for the carbon in forests it doesn’t cut, using that to mask emissions from logging.

The government doesn’t attribute wildfire emissions to the logging industry, but gives the industry credit for carbon stored when a forest regrows after a fire, even if human activity played no part in the forest’s recovery.