Latest news with #UniversityOfWaterloo
CBC
2 days ago
- Climate
- CBC
Air conditioned labs and ice cream: How local university students are keeping cool
The heat wave continues in Waterloo region and Guelph this week and students on local university and college campuses will continue their studies, whether they have air conditioning or not. For University of Waterloo PhD student Megan Byres, her solution is to stay on campus and indoors while the sun is up. "Mostly I just stay in the lab all day, everyday," she said. "We have good air conditioning in there." Student Jeevan Parmar has a sweet solution. "I've been eating a lot of ice cream, to be honest," he said. Concerns have been raised by some students and faculty at both University of Waterloo and Conestoga College this summer due to the heat. So far in July, there have been four days over 30 C with more expected this week. At the University of Waterloo, some students have raised concerns that UW Place student residence doesn't have any air conditioning. A petition says going into the hallways of the building "will leave you more soaked with sweat than standing outside in the blazing sun." The petition has just 16 signatures, but the University of Waterloo says they take student safety seriously and are doing what they can to help students. The university says they are providing portable AC units or even relocating students with medical and disability-related issues. As well, those students who reach out regarding heat concerns will get support from Waterloo's housing team, the school said. Another residence available to students is Claudette Millar Hall, which students can move to, but it does cost more to live there. "Waterloo's long-term residence plan includes improved temperature control and air conditioning as we build new residences and revitalize existing spaces, including in UW Place," the university's statement said. "However, these updates will require significant financial investment." HVAC updates at Conestoga At Conestoga College, two unions representing staff said the air conditioning hasn't been working well enough to keep people cool. There were allegations the school was trying to save money by reducing the use of air conditioning, but the college said in a statement to CBC News that they have "not implemented cutbacks to AC usage for cost-saving purposes." "This is an isolated issue and not related to the college's sustainability commitments," the email response continued. Conestoga said that the changes this summer to the air conditioning is because the HVAC system in some buildings is undergoing repairs, which has affected the ability of the system to cool buildings. The college also said they have made "the strategic move to reduce hours of operation in lower-traffic buildings during non-peak times" and said this is consistent with the college's "sustainability commitments and [is] guided by occupancy data." Fewer students are on the University of Guelph and Wilfrid Laurier University campuses this summer and the schools say they haven't heard of any issues. "Because of those smaller numbers, most students on campus have access to air conditioning," the University of Guelph said in an email.. Laurier said classes, events and conferences "are held in buildings with air conditioning and residences are currently vacant." Some like it hot Steven Flisfeder, a meteorologist for Environment and Climate Change Canada, says even if the current heat alert is lifted, people can expect it to be hot and humid all week. People should be "making sure you're drinking lots of water, especially before you start to feel thirsty, just so you're continuously hydrated through the heat," he said. Flisfeder added people can stay cool by limiting time outdoors, taking part in strenuous activity, and seek out a cool, shaded area for relief during the hottest parts of the day. Back on the University of Waterloo campus, not all students are melting in the sweltering temperatures. Math student Azzahra Yeasmin said 35 C is normal heat for her. "I'm from somewhere where the weather is like 35 C, 36 C," said Yeasmin, who is from Bangladesh. "This is nothing." Some other students are even enjoying the heat. Patrick Bennett said that while he does try to stay hydrated as much as possible and not go out unless necessary, he still enjoys going out and soaking up the sun. "I'd rather it be 35 C than 20 C," Bennett said, noting he goes out for runs regularly and participates in sports as much as he can regardless of the heat. Levent Eren, Bennett's friend and fellow student, said wearing light-coloured shirts and shorts is another solution.
CBC
08-07-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Is Canada prepared for floods like the one that happened in Texas?
Social Sharing Last Friday's major flooding event in Texas, which killed 89 people including numerous children, has shattered local communities. Questions abound about whether adequate warnings were provided to the residents and campgoers, and if more could have been done to prevent such a tragic loss of lives. And now, some may be turning an eye closer to home, asking whether Canada is prepared for such an extreme weather event. The answer is yes … and no, according to some experts. "Canada's in a very good position, in the sense that we have actually done a lot of research to understand what we need to be doing at the level of homes and communities to reduce extreme weather risk, such as flooding," said Kathryn Bakos, managing director of finance and resilience at the University of Waterloo's Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation. "The problem — and where Canada falls short — is actually the implementation of those actions. And so there's a lot that we know we should be doing, and yet, for various reasons, we are not." WATCH | Time-lapse footage shows waters rising over Texas causeway: Time-lapse footage shows waters rising over Texas causeway 20 hours ago Duration 0:30 Time-lapse video provided to Reuters by a witness shows floodwaters rising on July 4 in Kingsland, Texas, as part of the state endured devastating flash flooding. Flood-risk maps One of the ways in which Canada isn't prepared is that most flood-risk maps are out of date, with some being decades old. And Canada is no stranger to flood events. In June 2013, a major flood in Calgary from the Bow River overflowing its banks caused an estimated $6 billion in financial and property losses. Five people died. It was one of the costliest weather events in Canadian history. Weeks later, Toronto experienced a major rainfall event that prompted flooding throughout the city. In just 90 minutes, it received 126 millimetres of rain — more than a month's worth — causing the Don River to overflow onto the Don Valley Parkway, the main north-south thoroughfare into the city. On the other side of the river, a commuter train was trapped with hundreds of people on board for roughly seven hours. The incident cost the city $1 billion in damages. With climate change, there's also more evidence that much of Canada will experience an increase of heavy precipitation. "We need to be taking into consideration the the changing and evolving nature of our environment due to climate change," Bakos said. "There are going to be escalating extreme weather risks as we go forward, due to flooding, wildfire risk [and] extreme heat risk in the system." The good news is that last month the federal government announced that it will be investing in flood mapping and adaptation projects. Outdated maps Walter Regan, former president of the Sackville Rivers Association in Nova Scotia, had advocated for 37 years for an updated flood plain map from the town. These maps show areas that are at risk of flooding. It finally happened last year. This is the third version of the map, Regan said. But there is one downside. "Unfortunately, it does not do the entire Sackville River. It just says a portion of it. But that's major progress, and also this time around … they use climate change models to reflect the potential flooding." In 2023, Halifax experienced one of the worst flooding events in its history. On July 21, more than 250 millimetres of rain fell in just 24 hours. While no one died in the city, four people were killed in nearby West Hants and a state of emergency was declared. Regan said that the flood maps were roughly 95 per cent accurate. WATCH | Emergency alerts delayed by almost 2 hours in N.S. fatal 2023 floods, report finds: Emergency alerts delayed by almost 2 hours in N.S. fatal 2023 floods, report finds 1 year ago Duration 2:08 A new report on last year's fatal flash flooding in Nova Scotia finds that the emergency public alert system was delayed by nearly two hours. The parents of one child who died say this tragedy could have been avoided if better systems were in place. Why was he so adamant that the maps be updated? "We have car seats for children. We have hard hats for workers.... The flood plain zoning is a public protection measure that's cost-effective and long overdue," he said. "The province should take the lead and protect the citizenry. That's good governance." Bakos said it's important to bring flood-risk maps up to date across the entire country. "On average, across Canada, flood-risk maps are 20 to 25 years out of date. Those flood-risk maps are going to be able to help us identify where there is the greatest risk in the system," she said. And once we've identified the risks, she said, we need to implement flood control systems such as dams, diversion channels and holding ponds. When it comes to urban environments, she says we need to complement grey infrastructure — like sidewalks — with green infrastructure like grasslands and forested areas. No flash flood warning system While Environment and Climate Change Canada issues weather watches and warnings for things like tornadoes, severe thunderstorms and rainfall, it doesn't for floods — that's under provincial jurisdiction, says Dave Sills. "So the federal government isn't allowed to issue a flash flood watch or warning. They issue a heavy rain warning instead," says Sills, who is the deputy director of the new Canadian Severe Storms Laboratory at Western University in London, Ont. Should there be a national flood alert system? "It's hard to say, because it's something that's needed and ... possible, but it would take someone to really push hard for it to happen," he said. "You know, like in Ontario, we have air quality warnings that are issued jointly by Environment Canada and the province. And that's the same kind of thing that's needed.
Medscape
26-06-2025
- Health
- Medscape
Loneliness Not Tied to Mortality in Older Adult Home Care
Loneliness is not associated with an increased risk for death among older adults receiving home care in three countries, researchers reported. Bonaventure A. Egbujie, MD, PhD In fact, after adjustment for multiple possible confounders, the survival analysis showed that loneliness was associated with reductions in the 1-year risk for mortality of 18% in Canada, 15% in Finland, and 23% in New Zealand. Nevertheless, 'Loneliness doesn't have to kill you to be a major public health issue,' study author Bonaventure A. Egbujie, MD, PhD, adjunct professor of public health sciences at the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario, told Medscape Medical News. 'We would like to see policymakers begin to take the issue of loneliness seriously, consider it a quality-of-life issue, and not treat it as a mortality issue, because when you make it a mortality issue, it becomes less likely to be something that you can intervene on.' The findings were published in the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association . Pervasive but Not Deadly The investigators used population-based home care data on 178,611 home care recipients from Canada, 35,073 home care recipients from Finland, and 85,065 home care recipients from New Zealand. Participants were between 65 and over 85 years old, and about 38% were men. Of the Canadian cohort, 15.9% reported being lonely; 20.5% of the Finnish cohort reported being lonely, and 24.2% of the New Zealand cohort reported being lonely. The prevalence of loneliness generally increased with age across the three countries. Loneliness was higher among recipients who had better baseline physical function and worse pain and cognitive performance across the three countries. After adjusting for confounding factors, including age, sex, Alzheimer's disease or dementia, marital status, and living alone or not living alone, the researchers calculated the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of loneliness and mortality risk as 0.82 in the Canadian cohort, 0.85 in the Finnish cohort, and 0.77 in New Zealand. The findings contrast with existing evidence in the literature suggesting a link between loneliness and death, Egbujie acknowledged. He suggested that the difference may result from the fact that this study was done in a specific group of individuals, whereas other meta-analyses examined the general population. 'One of the reasons we studied the effect of loneliness on older home care recipients is because this group has not been specifically studied,' he said. 'There has been a focus on people in other places, including those in the community, those in hospital, and in nursing homes, but not on this group.' The team also found that the two strongest independent predictors of mortality across the three countries were cancer (Canada, HR, 2.88; Finland, HR, 2.57; and New Zealand, HR, 2.07) and Changes in Health and End-Stage Disease and Symptoms and Signs scores of 3 or more (Canada, HR, 2.66; Finland, HR, 2.61; and New Zealand, HR, 2.65). A limitation of the study was the 1-year follow-up, as health consequences of loneliness may take more time to manifest themselves, the authors noted. In addition, they relied on a single-item measure of loneliness rather than a multi-item summary scale. Egbujie would like to see longer-term studies to better understand whether there is a causal relationship between loneliness and adverse health outcomes and mortality. A shortcoming of the current study, he said, 'is that we don't know the sequence of events. Which appeared first? Was it loneliness that appeared first and led to the health condition, or was it the health condition that appeared first and led to individuals being lonely?' Regardless, 'for clinicians and policymakers, this finding highlights the need to examine home care more carefully,' the authors wrote. 'Loneliness should be addressed as a quality-of-life concern for home care clients in its own right without the need to justify intervention based on mortality risks.' 'Important Public Health Issue' Rachel Savage, PhD, a scientist at Women's College Hospital, an assistant professor at the University of Toronto, Toronto, and a public health researcher who investigates the impact of loneliness on health system use and mortality, commented on the study for Medscape Medical News . She noted that the study is 'methodologically sound, led by a highly respected researcher who is an expert in home care,' and has the key strength of having been replicated across three countries. Savage did not participate in the study. Rachel Savage, PhD She agreed with the authors that the absence of evidence of an increased risk for death from loneliness does not make loneliness unimportant. 'It's not an either/or quality-of-life issue or a mortality risk; it's potentially both,' said Savage. 'We know that loneliness is an important predictor of quality of life and mental health, so even if we do find that it does not increase mortality risk among certain populations, it's still a very important public health issue.' 'There is something unique about the home care population,' she added. 'It's wonderful that these authors have started to build some of the evidence in this group, because, as they state, most of the large meta-analyses that have shown a link between loneliness and an increased risk for premature death are set in the general population.' She noted that females consistently report higher rates of loneliness than males. There could be a few different reasons for this, she said. 'The most obvious one, especially for older adults, is that females on average have a longer life expectancy and so are more likely to experience widowhood and living alone, which are big risk factors for loneliness. Women are also more likely to be caregivers and to have lower incomes, both of which are associated with loneliness. And the last thing is women are more likely to admit their feelings than are men because of social norms.'
CTV News
21-06-2025
- General
- CTV News
New mural from Indigenous artist unveiled at University of Waterloo
A new mural by an Indigenous artist has been unveiled at the University of Waterloo. Here's why. An Indigenous artist hopes a new mural will inspire curiosity and a sense of belonging. The artwork by Tsista Kennedy was unveiled at the University of Waterloo on Friday. Kennedy is known for his digital Anishinaabe Onyota'a:ka woodland-style art, which is now proudly on display at the Dana Porter Library. 'On the other side [of the mural] you have an Indigenous family, you have a cradleboard with a little baby in there,' he explained. 'If you take a look at the lefthand side of the mural there's all these different lines going through the animals and the people and then going back to that family. All of that embodies us as Indigenous people and our connection to the land and how our culture is deeply rooted into that.' School officials said the artwork is part of the library's decolonization efforts. 'I think that Indigenous representation really matters,' Kennedy said. 'Whether that's non-Indigenous people coming through here and just wondering what its all about or Indigenous people who find it really meaningful to be represented in spaces like this. I think it's great to have it up.' This is not the first time Kennedy's artwork has been showcased in Waterloo Region. He also designed 'Every Child Matters' artwork that appeared on a Grand River Transit bus in 2023. Saturday is Indigenous Peoples Day.
CTV News
20-06-2025
- Science
- CTV News
Montreal teen tops global chemistry competition
Rama Jamal Alhashemi placed first in the world at the international Avogadro Chemistry Competition. Solutions and gases are no match for 17-year-old Rama Jamal Alhashemi, who placed first in the world in the international Avogadro Chemistry Competition. 'Today we're going to be doing a neutralization reaction with 0.1 molar of NaOH sodium hydroxide and one molar of hydrochloric acid, which is HCL.,' she explained. From the moment she set foot in the laboratory, the recent high school graduate was enamoured with periodic elements. She also took a liking to titration experiments - the process of determining the concentration of solutions. 'To know when our titration is over, we're going to put in some indicator phenolphthalein. So this indicator will make the solution turn pink,' Alhashemi said while demonstrating. Last month, her skills were put to the test in the international Avogadro Chemistry Competition. The exam consists of 40 multiple-choice questions on the structure of matter and chemical reactions. 'It's put on by the University of Waterloo and in the past 37 years, there's been about 174,000 students across the world who have written the competition,' said Sarah Howard, a senior school science teacher at The Study. Only '0.2 per cent of those people have achieved what Rama achieved,' Howard added. Alhashemi placed first in Quebec, first in Canada, first in North America and first in the world. Her ranking earned her a certificate of distinction and an elemental tile for outstanding achievement. 'It's an amazing shock,' Alhashemi said. It's a reminder that 'females can be strong in STEM topics and it's something that we should be encouraging more,' Howard told CTV. According to Statistics Canada, women make up less than 30 per cent of those employed in a STEM field. However, as the soon-to-be CEGEP student gears up for Honours Health Science studies at Marianopolis College, she also plans to explore other interests. 'I've been playing the alto saxophone [...] ever since grade six. So I want to continue not only the sciences in the future but keep music on the side as well.'
