/oss/taxonomy/term/507/all en /oss/article/environment/heat-may-do-more-make-us-feel-miserable <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/the-right-chemistry-its-too-darned-hot">The Montreal Gazette.</a></em></p> Fri, 05 Jul 2024 15:41:21 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9996 at /oss /oss/article/medical-critical-thinking-environment/there-are-safe-sunscreens-no-safe-tans <p>When it comes to health matters, scientists rarely make statements that do not begin with “may.” But here is one. Excessive exposure to sunlight causes skin cancer! There’s no “may” about it. And here is another one. Chemical protection can effectively reduce exposure. Uncertainties do, however, emerge when it comes to deciding on which specific chemicals to use. Activists claim that some sunscreens are unsafe and blame regulatory agencies for not looking after the welfare of the public, while manufacturers profess that their products have been thoroughly tested for safety and efficacy.</p> Wed, 03 Jul 2024 02:33:48 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9993 at /oss /oss/article/critical-thinking-environment/trail-chemtrail-nonsense <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/the-right-chemistry-on-the-trail-of-chemtrail-nonsense">The Montreal Gazette.</a></em></p> Fri, 21 Jun 2024 16:14:34 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9984 at /oss /oss/article/critical-thinking-technology-environment-climate-change/folly-water-fuelled-vehicles <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/the-right-chemistry-the-folly-of-water-fuelled-vehicles">The Montreal Gazette.</a></em></p> Fri, 26 Apr 2024 16:00:00 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9930 at /oss /oss/article/environment-general-science/niagara-falls-and-nebulous-positive-effects-negative-ions <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/the-right-chemistry-niagara-falls-and-the-nebulous-positive-effects-of-negative-ions">The Montreal Gazette</a>.</em></p> Fri, 19 Apr 2024 19:19:33 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9920 at /oss /oss/article/history-environment-did-you-know/does-daylight-savings-time-actually-save-energy <p>The surefire signs that Spring is just around the corner have started to appear – trees are budding, flowers beginning to bloom and there’s more rain than snow. (Full disclosure – I live in the UK now, so if the snow is persisting in Canada, I apologize for the false hope.) Very soon it will be time to move our clocks forward one hour, pushing sunrise to post-7 am, but giving us light until nearly 8 pm.</p> Fri, 08 Mar 2024 21:36:07 +0000 Ada McVean M.Sc. 9861 at /oss /oss/article/medical-environment/hoping-breath-fresh-air <p>Twenty-five sextillion is an inconceivably large number. Think 25 followed by 21 zeros. Now take a deep breath! You have just inhaled roughly that many molecules! Quite mind-boggling, but if you want a statistic that may leave you breathless, the single breath you just took contained at least one molecule that had once been exhaled by Napoleon, Einstein, Genghis Khan, or anyone else in history you care, or don’t care to choose. Most of those molecules are either nitrogen or oxygen but there are plenty of others, many of which would be classified as pollutants.</p> Thu, 08 Feb 2024 01:50:58 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9825 at /oss /oss/article/contributors-technology-environment/dry-water-lets-whet-your-appetite-some-science <p>The poem, “My country”, by Dorothea MacKellar, is recited by every preschooler in Australia. One line is of particular relevance: </p> <p style="text-align:center"><em>“A land of droughts and flooding rains”. </em></p> Fri, 01 Dec 2023 19:00:10 +0000 Ben Selinger FRACI, CChem 9747 at /oss /oss/article/medical-environment/its-matter-altitude <hr /> <p><em>Cover Image: Patricia Brubaker and Stephen Poulin fly the flag of Cabbagetown, Toronto, at the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro.</em></p> Fri, 13 Oct 2023 10:00:00 +0000 Patricia Brubaker, Ph.D., F.R.S.C. 9689 at /oss /oss/article/environment-did-you-know/dark-side-black-plastics <p>I’m sitting here looking around my office for anything made of black plastic. The casing of my computer is in that category, so is my coffee machine, my printer, my cell phone stand, my stapler, a bunch of pens that clutter my desk, my electronic car key, an electric heater, a flower pot, the carbon atoms in my molecular models, the armrest on my chair and a garbage can as well as the garbage bag inside it. Even some of the ducks that adorn my shelves are made of black plastic! No, I am not bored or mentally disturbed.</p> Thu, 17 Aug 2023 20:17:21 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9603 at /oss /oss/article/environment-you-asked/does-weather-really-cause-headaches <p>When the weather forecast foretells a coming storm, some get out not only their umbrella and wellies but also the Advil. The weather has been blamed for ailments from arthritis flare-ups to coughs, but is it culpable when it comes to headaches?</p> Fri, 04 Aug 2023 16:59:27 +0000 Ada McVean M.Sc. 9595 at /oss /oss/article/environment-you-asked/do-not-open-window-during-hurricane <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in</em> <a href="https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/old-wives-tales-and-truths-2-0/"><em>The Skeptical Inquirer.</em></a></p> <hr /> <p>When a hurricane is bearing down on our homes with the potential to cause massive damage, it’s natural to be scared and feel quite helpless. You can do certain things in those moments to make your home, and yourself safer. Unfortunately, opening a window is not one of them.</p> Fri, 28 Jul 2023 17:48:16 +0000 Ada McVean M.Sc. 9589 at /oss /oss/article/student-contributors-health-and-nutrition-environment/where-there-smoke-there-are-air-quality-indices <p>I woke up from a nap to see a doomsday-esque picture outside the car window. My friends and I were driving back to Montreal during the <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/wildfire-smoke-montreal-has-worlds-worst-air-quality-today">poorest air quality day of the summer</a>, and the city looked near apocalyptic. The sky was orangey grey, the sun was invisible, and the air smelt strongly of smoke. As someone who lived in Ontario and Quebec most of my life, I’m unaccustomed to bad air quality caused by forest fire smoke.</p> Fri, 21 Jul 2023 14:37:26 +0000 Maya McKeown, B.Sc. 9571 at /oss /oss/article/environment/problematic-perceptions-probability-precipitation <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in <a href="https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/new-column/">The Skeptical Inquirer.</a></em></p> <hr /> <p>As Benjamin Franklin wrote in 1789, “In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” For everything else, there is an inherent degree of uncertainty. We don’t often come face to face with quantitative probabilities in our everyday life, save for one: probability of precipitation (PoP).</p> Fri, 24 Mar 2023 10:00:00 +0000 Ada McVean M.Sc. 9448 at /oss /oss/article/health-and-nutrition-environment/one-birds <p>Pet birds are very popular and loads of people have bird feeders in their back yards. That makes for birdseed being a huge business! Most people of course don’t give much thought to what it actually is, other than that it’s the stuff you put in your birdfeeder. And I would venture to say that the existence of a major crop called canary grass, grown on close to a third of a million acres in Saskatchewan, would be a surprise to almost everyone. Canary grass looks something like wheat and comes in two major varieties that are described as “itchy” and “itchless.” It isn’t hard to guess why.</p> Fri, 17 Mar 2023 16:43:48 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9437 at /oss