Announcement Re 'Posts on Hold' Status Update, Semi-Hiatus

Hello everybody. I truly hope that all readers have been keeping well and safe, and have found ways to enjoy the turn of the season. 

Just wanted to post a little update as well as record of this announcement that has been up on Nature Nimbus these past several months:

Posts on Hold

Dear Reader:

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, regular posting has been temporarily put on hold to allow more efforts to be directed towards volunteer response.

Thank you for your support, and thank you very much to those working in essential services.

As evident in the archives, this is one of Nature Nimbus' quietest years, and [edit] as of April 2021 I've decided to extend this hiatus. However, at this time I would like to re-emphasize a sincere thank you to those who have given their hard work and support, including moral support, throughout the year. It makes a difference.

Continue taking care,

Melody

Perseid Meteor Shower Peak August 11-13, Moon-Free View August 17

For a bit of light in the darkness, look up until August 24th to see the Perseid meteor shower (pronounced "per-see-id"). The peak is August 11-13, where there will be an average of 75 meteors passing overhead each hour. 

Earthsky.org highlights that while the peak understandably gets a lot of attention, because of the moonlight the best time to skywatch for this event might be August 17th, when there won't be moonlight outshining the meteors.

Also, just as with any skywatching event it can be ideal to make the most of clear skies whenever they avail themselves.

More of Earthsky.org's tips can be found here.

Happy skywatching 🌠

Sources:

https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/everything-you-need-to-know-perseid-meteor-shower

https://www.rmg.co.uk/discover/explore/space-stargazing/meteors-comets-asteroids/Perseid-meteor-shower

Thanks to Reddit user mudgts for the head's up. 

Wear masks mindfully when it's hot and humid

A couple weeks ago the World Health Organization officially announced their recommendation to wear masks. That said, amoung other measures for safe mask use some experts have recommended that people carefully consider factors such as the weather.

It's expected to be extremely hot and humid locally in the Greater Toronto Area for the next few days.

If you are able, consider going out when the weather is less extreme, or consider bringing a paper bag along with you for safe storage of your mask when it is not in use.

Links to information on this and other practical measures are below.

Have a safe weekend everybody!

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EDIT: P.s. one of my favourite resources for information and unreviewed but systemically collected data has been the Smart Air Website. Check them out at https://smartairfilters.com/en/clean-air-blog/!

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University of Utah Health PDF:
https://healthcare.utah.edu/healthfeed/postings/2020/04/how-to-use-face-mask_v2_4-10-20_web.pdf

World Health Organization:
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/when-and-how-to-use-masks

Washing:
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-05-reusable-mask.html

On hot and humid weather:
https://www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/news/article/health-experts-advise-against-wearing-a-mask-outside-in-the-heat-and-humidity

Republished 2020-07-17, Edited 2020-07-20, 2020-10-25

50th Earth Day

Happy 50th Earth Day everyone.

People around the world are going through a lot right now, and something that has helped a lot of people is listing things that bring them joy, and I’d like to challenge everyone reading this to over the next week make a list of 50 -it could be anything.

Whether it is what you see or feel on a walk, or see or feel when you look at a photo of lichee yourself in your favourite place outside, there are many things provided in nature that I hope will bring you joy today.

Terms to Know Regarding the Wet'suwet'en Stand Against the Coastal GasLink Rout

There has been lots of news coverage on the Wet'suwet'en peoples' stand against the Coastal GasLink pipeline, and lots of information to get through. As is often the case I didn't understand what was going on just from the first article I saw about it (or second, or third...), but a member of a Facebook group with family in the middle of it all kindly shared lots of resources to help me out.

While I was going through articles, I came across a lot of different terms and names, and decided to scrap a summary of the news itself in favour of a vocab and people list instead:

TC Energy (formerly TransCanada) - The company making the pipeline.

LNG Canada - the people who selected TC Energy to fulfill the Coastal GasLink natural gas pipeline.

Royal Dutch Shell plc - the people who own LNG Canada

Wet’suwet’en Nation - the 22,000 square km of unceded traditional territory held by the Wet'suwet'en since pre-colonial times.

The Wet’suwet’en First Nation - the 700-member reserve band village (thanks Merv Ritchie who commented on the referenced thetyee.ca article)

Unist'ot'en - One of five Wet’suwet’en clans. Years ago they established a gated camp along the planned pipeline rout.

"The 22,000 square km of Wet’suwet’en Territory is divided into 5 clans and 13 house groups. Each clan within the Wet’suwet’en Nation has full jurisdiction under their law to control access to their territory" - http://unistoten.camp/about/governance-structure/.

Elected chiefs - Elected chiefs also serve the community in an authoritative role, however their powers only extend as set out in the Indian Act (1876) by colonial federal government, including jurisdiction over reserves.

Band councils - Like elected chiefs, the role of elected band council was created under the Indian Act (enacted in 1876) by colonial federal government.

Hereditary chiefs (sometimes called house chiefs) -  the responsibility of hereditary chief is a position held according to traditional Wet'suwet'en governance. The jurisdiction of hereditary chiefs vary between groups, however hereditary chiefs are the Title Holders of the Wet'suwet'en land. (For more details: affirmation in 1997 by the Supreme Court of Canada, in the decision of Delgamuukw v. British Columbia).

unceded land - land where powers over it has not been legally handed over to colonial government.

Reconciliation - “. . . Reconciliation is about establishing and maintaining a mutually respectful relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples in this country. In order for that to happen, there has to be awareness of the past, an acknowledgement of the harm that has been inflicted, atonement for the causes, and action to change behaviour.” - The Truth and Reconciliation Committee (https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/what-reconciliation-is-and-what-it-is-not)

United Nations Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) - passed into British Columbia provincial law in November 2019. "UNDRIP clarifies the rights of Indigenous Peoples to Free, Prior, and Informed Consent regarding projects that impact their lands and livelihoods. It also clarifies that Indigenous Peoples will not be forcefully removed from their lands." - https://canadians.org/analysis/five-things-you-should-know-about-wetsuwetens-fight-their-rights

     While there was a lot of "what's happenings" to read about, it took a while to sift through to understand why or just how this conflict came about.
      A key point that I did not initially understand is that consultation with 20 First Nations did actually take place, and representatives from all 20 signed in agreement with the rout. However, the actual title holders to the Wet'suwet'en land did not sign. All five hereditary Wet'suwet'en chiefs -the title holders of part of the land that they are planning to put the pipeline on- are unanimously opposed.

References
https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2019/01/08/LNG-Pipeline-Unistoten-Blockade/
http://unistoten.com/
https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/open-letter-to-wetsuweten-hereditary-chiefs-after-tsayu-clan-meeting
https://www.coastalgaslink.com/about/approved-route/
https://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/story/28856/what-you-might-not-know-about-indigenous-law-and-the-raids-on-wetsuweten/
https://www.jwnenergy.com/article/2019/12/correction-coastal-gaslink-pipeline-series/
https://www.tcenergy.com/Static/images/pipeline/pdf/TransCanada-protecting-the-land.pdf

Written 2020-02-29

What's a Watershed?

King City, Ontario

Depending on where you live, "watershed" may be a term you hear often. However, many people do not know what a watershed is, or how it is relevant to them.

Not long ago I had the opportunity to learn all about watersheds, but from the start found myself asking what constitutes as a watershed.

What is a watershed?

"the area of land that catches precipitation and drains into a larger body of water such as a marsh, stream, river, or lake" (SEAWA, 2014).

"A watershed is a topographically bounded area... that possesses a measurable drainage area (eg. 100 hectares), where all runoff from a precipitation event will be conveyed downstream, ultimately reaching the outlet of the area" (Introduction to Watersheds, 2020).

Imagine you are sculpting a shallow bowl with gently sloped sides. Now, if you were to add little peaks and indents on the inside of the bowl, you have just modified the topography of your bowl. After the bowl is finished, if you were to leave it out in the rain any rain that fell along the sloped edges would be funneled through the indents down to the lowest point in the bowl, maybe leaving other little pockets of water here and there.

topography: the physical appearance of the natural features of an area of land, especially the shape of its surface. - Cambridge Dictionary

In this analogy, not only middle pool of water but the entire inner surface of bowl is the the "watershed". It is an entire area of land that collects precipitation such as rain and drains it to a common place.

Watersheds exist in many different shapes, and can drain into many different types of water bodies. They are not limited to inland water bodies either; amoung water bodies such as lakes and large rivers, precipitation may also drain towards an ocean (Missouri Botanical Garden, 2002).

References:

Cambridge. (n.d.). TOPOGRAPHY: meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary. Retrieved from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/topography

Missouri Botanical Garden. (2002). Retrieved from http://www.mbgnet.net/fresh/rivers/shed.htm

SEAWA. (2014). What is a Watershed? Retrieved from http://seawa.ca/our-watershed/what-is-a-watershed/

Introduction to Watersheds. (2020). Introduction to Watersheds. Slide 3.

American Psychological Association 6th edition formatting by BibMe.org.

edited 2020-02-11