Some weeks, working in environmental journalism feels like living in a sci-fi movie. This is one of those weeks. That’s because we have two stories about companies with big ideas they say could engineer us out of some of the impacts of climate change.
Just outside of Cambridge Bay, Nvt., researchers from the U.K. company Real Ice have been trying to make sea ice thicker — you may have caught that story when we published it a few weeks ago. Today, freelance journalist Chloe Williams and photographer Gavin John follow up on that report with a series of portraits of residents, who explain how they depend on the sea ice, what it’s like to watch it disappear — and their hopes for the Real Ice experiment.
“I worry about melting sea ice for the younger people,” said Henry Ohoilak, an Elder in the community. “If the youth can learn about ice, it could be good for the future.”
The hope is to eventually refreeze one million square kilometres of the Arctic using underwater drones and hydrogen-powered pumps. The goal? Prevent — and potentially reverse — the loss of sea ice that helps keep the planet cool.
Meanwhile in B.C., a company is claiming it can stop lightning from striking and, in turn, prevent wildfires. This would be a big deal because about half of all wildfires in Canada are caused by lightning, and they’re worsening across the country.
Skyward Wildfire’s website says it uses “government-approved methods” to neutralize the potential electric charge in storm clouds during periods of high fire weather risk. And it doesn’t just say it can reduce lightning strikes — rather, that it can prevent “up to 100 per cent” of them. But it wouldn’t share any details with freelance journalist Jesse Winter. Skyward CEO Sam Goldman declined an interview and didn’t answer questions about the company’s technology or its potential environmental impacts.
Both Real Ice and Skyward Wildfire are trying to engineer the planet out of a problem humans caused — climate change. The ideas are tempting, but what happens next? What ripple effects might they have on ecosystems, weather or people? And who gets to decide they’re okay?
No matter what happens next, The Narwhal will be keeping a close eye on the ice and the skies.
Take care and keep a cool head,
Lindsay Sample
B.C. bureau lead
P.S. The Narwhal has been dreaming up a trip to northeast B.C. (think: Dawson Creek, Fort St. John, Fort Nelson and communities beyond). The hope is to hear from as many people as possible about the kinds of stories that need to be told about the natural world in that region. Do you live there, or have connections in the area? Get in touch! We’d love to know what you think about where we should go and who we should talk to.
Who says summer camp is only for little kids? Pride Month may have wrapped up, but it’s not too late to read a beautiful story by freelancer Kierstin Williams about her warm weather ritual: spending a week at Niizh Manidook Hide Camp, where Two-Spirit and LGBTQ+ Indigenous teens and adults learn how to tan hides using animal brains, among other things.
In the Anishinaabe worldview, Kierstin explains, it’s important to honour the life of an animal. This includes using all its parts to leave minimal waste. Kierstin’s photos take readers through the whole process of turning a hide into leather, from scraping off flesh, fat and fur before stretching it, then softening it in a mixture of brains and mild soap. Once it’s dry, a final curing over smoky coals imparts water resistance and a gorgeous colour.
“Brain hide tanning isn’t exactly for the faint of heart — it’s messy, smelly and labour intensive,” Kierstin writes. It’s also non-toxic, unlike chemical tanning, and a way to revitalize Indigenous cultures threatened by colonialism.
“We share stories, speak our languages, put in our blood, sweat and the occasional tear, accidentally cut holes, sew up those holes and celebrate the small victories of each step,” she writes. “Hide tanning teaches us to slow down, listen and be in relation — reminding us that to return to the land, is to return to ourselves.”
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Do something that sparks joy this week — and then remind your friends to subscribe to The Narwhal’s newsletter for stories about the natural world you won’t find anywhere else.
Erin Zimmerman, a 46-year-old mother, wife, artist, public servant and veteran, has called the small city of Moose Jaw, Sask., population 35,000, home for the...
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