news
12
metronews.ca Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Project. Cracking the climate-change question Time trek. Western University professor aims to trek through history to look into future
Halifax
Striking transit workers accept new deal
Money awarded
Striking transit workers in Halifax have voted to accept a new five-year collective agreement nearly six weeks after walking off the job, bringing buses and ferries to a halt in Atlantic Canada’s largest city. Ken Wilson, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 508, said 88 per cent of the 644 members who voted Tuesday approved the deal, which also requires city council’s approval. “(We) explained to the membership that as far as we’re concerned, this is the best offer we see in the very near future,” Wilson said. THE CANADIAN PRESS
• Program. $1.4 million is the amount of money awarded through Canada Research Chairs program for the climate research project at Western University.
What’s up with this weather? Western University Prof. Fred Longstaffe has, in a way, been curious about that for nearly two decades. Now, he’s putting that curiosity to the test through a seven-year research project aimed at tracking climate change back to a time when mastodons roamed the Earth. “You do wonder whether (unseasonable temperatures) is one of those regular weather anomalies or whether we’re starting to see a larger manifestation of climate change,” said Longstaffe, who works in the university’s earth sciences and anthropology departments. “It’s hard to tell with these singular events. The research work we’re trying to do is taking a longer view, what I call taking a look back to the future.” Longstaffe will do his work by studying oxygen isotopes
in water throughout history. Isotopes act as a sort of tape recorder for the climatic conditions present when they were formed, and water leaves a lasting mark when it comes into contact with living things, Longstaffe said. That means researchers can figure out what the weather was like in certain time periods by examining the water “signatures” in fossils and plant remains. From that, Longstaffe hopes to piece together a history of climate change in the Great Lakes basin and, of course, predict the future. “The history … gives you some kind of idea about the fluctuations of climate,” he said. “We can then look to see if … the variations we’re seeing are more rapid or severe than we’ve seen before.”
Activists protest use of cluster bombs
A South Korean activist wears a mask depicting a cluster bomb as police officers stand guard during a campaign on Tuesday to ban landmines and cluster bombs in Cambodia, near the foreign ministry in Seoul. Lee Jin-man/The Associated Press
Ecological gem
Forest will keep its protected status Ontario has scrapped plans to expand mining in an ecological gem that is home to North America’s largest stand of old-growth red
pine trees near Temagami. A Toronto Star story in December detailed the Ministry of Natural Resources proposal to change the “forest reserve” designation for 340 hectares around Wolf Lake, 50 kilometres from Temagami, to “general use” which puts a greater focus on mining instead of forests and recreation.
Motorists
Drivers to face a hike in fees Ontario motorists will help eliminate the province’s deficit by paying more in driving and licence fees with the cost going to $80 from $75 next year. THE CANADIAN PRESS
Old-growth red pine trees from Wolf Lake near Temagami.
torstar news service
TORSTAR News Service
Angela Mullins/Metro in London
†
Africa Tours 50% off
Airfares
Adventure Tours
Peru Tours 2 for 1
Panama
Cambodia
115
$
Travel Mar 24 - Mar 31/wg
Travel Apr 15 - May 28/ts
taxes & fees included
+ taxes & fees $537
429
$
Tokyo
Travel Apr 3 - Apr 17/ua
+ taxes & fees $725
729
Kenya
Inca Trail Express
HIGHLIGHTS Nairobi, Kisii, Lake Victoria, Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, Meserani. Roundtrip Nairobi. Travel Apr 14, 28/itp.
HIGHLIGHTS Cuzco, Sacred Valley, Ollantaytambo, Inca Trail and Machu Picchu. Roundtrip Cuzco. Travel Jun 20/itp.
8-Day Tour
$
Delhi
Travel Apr 10 - Apr 25/kl/af
+ taxes & fees $611
743
$
Auckland
Travel Apr 3 - Apr 17/qf
+ taxes & fees $784
Rio de Janeiro
Travel Apr 11 - Apr 23/ua
HIGHLIGHTS Bangkok, Siem Reap, Kompong Cham, Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville and Ho Chi Minh City. Travel Bangkok to Ho Chi Minh City. Travel Mar 28/itp.
+ taxes & fees $513
429
Travel Apr 10 - Apr 23/jl
Travel Apr 2 - Apr 19/kl
was $770 now
169
$
Beijing
780
$
+ taxes & fees $464
899
$
+ taxes & fees $467
578
$
+ taxes & fees $315
$
Athens
Nairobi
12-Day Tour
7-Day Tour
was $990 now
$
495
2nd Person FREE
+ local payment USD $375
Vic Falls to Cape Town 22-Day Tour
HIGHLIGHTS Victoria Falls, Chobe National Park, Okavango Delta, Etosha National Park, Swakopmund, Fish River Canyon and Cape Town. Travel Victoria Falls to Cape Town. Travel May 15/itp. was $1730 now
$
865
+ trip kitty USD $725
1210
$
taxes & fees included
India
15-Day Tour HIGHLIGHTS Kochi, Ootacamund, Mudumalai National Park, Pondicherry, Madurai, and Periyar National Park. Travel roundtrip Kochi. Travel Apr 6/itp.
Sacred Land of the Incas 15-Day Tour
HIGHLIGHTS Lima, Amazon Jungle, Cuzco, Sacred Valley, Ollantaytambo, Inca Trail, Machu Picchu, Puno, Lake Titicaca, and La Paz. Travel Lima to La Paz. Travel Apr 8, 9, 11/itp. 2nd Person FREE
3160
$
taxes & fees included
was $1460 now
1095
$
taxes & fees included
Argentina 15-Day Tour
HIGHLIGHTS Buenos Aires, El Chalten, El Calafate, Perito Moreno Glacier, Punta Arenas, Ushuaia and the Beagle Channel. Roundtrip Buenos Aires. Travel Mar 26/gad. was $3249 now
2600
$
taxes & fees included
1 855 783 6308 | myadventurestore.ca | 523 Bloor St. West, Toronto Conditions apply. Airfares ex. Toronto. Air only prices are per person for return travel unless otherwise stated. Tour prices do not include airfare. Tour prices are per person, based on double occupancy for total length of stay unless otherwise stated. All Prices are for select departure dates and are accurate and subject to availability at advertising deadline, errors and omissions excepted, and subject to change. Taxes & fees include transportation related fees, GST/HST and fuel supplements and are approximate and subject to change. ts=transat, la=lan, lo=lot, itp=intrepid, kl=klm, nz=air new zealand, ua=united, dl=delta, qf=qantas, gad=g adventures. Discount can be applied to land only bookings, and cannot be applied to airfares, trip kitties, travel insurance, extra accommodation, single supplements or visas etc. †A $100 voucher for future travel with Intrepid My Adventure Store will be provided to customers who experience an unwanted deviation from their itinerary. For full terms and conditions visit http://www.myadventurestore.ca/guarantee.