B.C

Scientists have mused for centuries over questions about the origins of life on Earth. As it turns out, the answer may lie in a small, unassuming lake in British Columbia's Interior. Last Chance Lake, located about 150 kilometres northwest of Kamloops, B.C., is shallow and filled with murky water.A recent study from the University of Washington found it has just the right conditions to be what scientists call a "cradle of life" — a place where life could have spontaneously emerged billions of years ago. "We're trying to…

At Vancouver Coastal Health, a unique canine care team helps detect diseases. Our science and climate specialist Darius Mahdavi spent the day with some of the dogs to learn how they do what they do. At Vancouver Coastal Health, a unique canine care team helps detect diseases. Our science and climate specialist Darius Mahdavi spent the day with some of the dogs to learn how they do what they do. FOLLOW US ON GOOGLE NEWS Read original article here Denial of responsibility! Techno Blender is an automatic…

When B.C. marine scientist Anna Hall encountered a very lost loggerhead turtle in waters near Victoria over the weekend, she knew it faced a grim fate at sea."The turtle would not have survived," said Hall, principal scientist at consulting group Sea View Marine Sciences."Had the turtle stayed in the ocean, either it would have died due to hypothermia, or it would have been hit by a boat. It was just moving so, so slowly."Hall was the first marine biologist to respond Sunday after a resident near Pedder Bay between…

A new report by the U.S. branch of the non-profit Environmental Investigation Agency says that investment interest and government tax incentives are fuelling intense mining exploration in remote northern B.C. — raising concerns about the environmental impacts of the work and its financial implications.The report focuses on the transboundary region, which falls along the border between the Alaska panhandle and the province of B.C. Much of this exploration is focused on the so-called Golden Triangle, which in many areas is…

Small wooden tree-mounted boxes for bats are an increasingly common sight in B.C.'s urban parks, often resembling birdhouses except with entrances underneath.After a string of tragedies near bat boxes, B.C. scientists teamed up to investigate.What they learned over four years, they say, has changed how we should be building summertime homes for mother bats and their pups, with the species' survival at stake."For them to to raise that young they need just-right temperatures to do so," explained study co-author Cori Lausen.…

Social media video of a black bear being pestered by people while feasting on fish on the shores of the Campbell River has sparked outrage online and among locals.The video was posted seven weeks ago but has now caught the attention of residents in the Vancouver Island city of the same name, located about 225 kilometres north of Victoria.The video, taken and posted online by Blake Pedersson, shows a group of people with fishing gear fixated on a black bear eating at the river's edge. Members of the group get within inches…

Communities in B.C. are playing host to a canoe expedition that plans, over the next four years, to circumnavigate the Pacific Ocean. The expedition is being operated by the Polynesian Voyaging Society (PVS). The society says the traditional Polynesian canoe — which has been named Hōkūleʻa, after the guiding star also known as Arcturus — will travel an estimated 43,000 miles around the Pacific Ocean and stop at more than 300 ports, 36 countries and archipelagoes and nearly 100 Indigenous territories along the way.The idea…

Prince George has topped the list of the most dangerous places for black bears in British Columbia in 2022, according to a wildlife advocacy group.The Association for the Protection of Fur-Bearing Animals, also known as Fur-Bearers, announced Tuesday that the northern B.C. city is among the eight "deadliest communities" for black bears in the province, based on data obtained through freedom of information requests from the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change.In 2022, conservation officers in Prince George put down …

After dealing with bouts of severe weather, a farmer in B.C.'s Fraser Valley says he and his family are looking at vertical farming to grow strawberries. Recent years have seen a heat dome and flooding, says Amir Maan of Maan Farms in Abbotsford, B.C. That's had an impact on crops."We're growing 25, almost 30 acres of strawberries outdoors, but we're only harvesting 10 acres' worth because of all the loss," he said. Those losses led to discussions with his father about the future of the family farm.Last year, Maan's…

When biologist Aimee Mitchell began her tally of endangered coastal western painted turtles 15 years ago, she says it was impossible to ignore the number of discarded pet turtles thriving in the wild.The invasive red-eared sliders, which grow larger than the coastal western painted turtles — B.C.'s only native turtle — were crowding sunbathing spots.Her team's most recent study was the first to confirm that the freed red-eared sliders are successfully reproducing in the same territory as the West Coast population of…