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Road salt is taking its toll on insects in Toronto area, U of T researchers find
It may help keep your car on the road in the winter, but research from the University of Toronto suggests that road salt is creating problems for wildlife.
Researchers from the lab of Shannon McCauley, an associate professor of biology at U of T Mississauga,investigated the impact of road salt exposure on larvae of Anax junius dragonflies. The results, published in the journal Frontiers of Ecology and Evolution, show that long-term exposure to high levels of salinity suppress the immune response of aquatic insects, negatively impacting their ability to fight infections and recover from injuries.
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U of T researchers develop early warning system for water pollution using tiny water fleas
Researchers at the University of Toronto are developing an early warning system for water quality and pollution that combines tiny water fleas and an instrument so sensitive it’s able to detect changes at the molecular level.
The technique being developed by Myrna Simpson, a professor inU of T Scarborough’s department of physical and environmental sciences, and post-doctoral researcherTae-Yong Jeong uses something called metabolomics to study the health of common water fleas (Daphnia). It uses a powerful instrument called a tandem mass spectrometer to offer a window into biochemical processes taking place inside Daphnia when they’re exposed to different water conditions.
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U of T and Caltech collaborate on pathway to carbon-neutral plastics
Researchers from the University of Toronto and the California Institute of Technology have designed a new system for efficiently converting CO2, water and renewable energy into ethylene – the precursor to a wide range of plastic products, from medical devices to synthetic fabrics – under neutral conditions. The device has the potential to offer a carbon-neutral pathway to a commonly used chemical while enhancing storage of waste carbon and excess renewable energy.
“CO2 has low economic value, which reduces the incentive to capture it before it enters the atmosphere,” says University Professor and project lead Ted Sargent of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. “Converting it into ethylene, one of the most widely-used industrial chemicals in the world, transforms the economics.
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Cities need to innovate to improve transportation and reduce emissions: U of T expert
Mobility is essential to urban life. It contributes to people’s ability to access work, food, education, leisure and more. It also contributes to climate change.
According to C40 Cities, cities are both a significant contributor to the climate crisis, responsible for 70 per cent of the world’s CO2 emissions, and the place where actions can make the greatest difference.
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More plastic than fish? Business leader and philanthropist Wendy Schmidt talks ocean health at U of T event
By 2050, there could be more plastic in the world’s oceans by weight than fish.
This was just one of many shocking statistics philanthropist Wendy Schmidt presented at a recent University of Toronto School of the Environment lecture titled “What We Don’t Know About the Oceans Can Kill Us.”
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U of T’s Centre for Sustainable Health Systems to focus on reducing health-care sector’s environmental impact
Nearly five per cent of Canada’s carbon footprint is generated by the health-care system. For Fiona Miller the irony of being part of the business of promoting health while producing harm has become the catalyst for the launch of the Centre for Sustainable Health Systems at the University of Toronto.
“Once you see sustainability as a dimension of quality it shifts thinking among health system professionals and encourages mobilization,” said Miller, a professor at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME) at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.
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