News

Climate change is threatening the viability of both the Olympic Winter Games and the Paralympic Winter Games, according to a study by a multinational team of researchers led by the University of Waterloo. The Paralympics, co-located with the Olympic Winter Games since 1992, but traditionally held closer to spring, is particularly vulnerable to a warming climate.  

On February 8, Water Institute member Blair Feltmate, head of the Intact Centre for Climate Adaptation, was a witness to the Standing Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources discussion of a study on the effects of transitioning to a low carbon economy. The study looks at five key sectors responsible for 80 per cent of our emissions: electricity, oil and gas, transportation, buildings and trade-exposed industries, and how they can contribute to meeting Canada's emission goals.

Friday, February 2, marked the Ecohydrology Research Group’s sixth annual World Wetlands Day (WWD) celebration at the University of Waterloo. This year’s program featured research presentations, three-minute student presentations, a student poster competition, and an evening public lecture. The symposium had over 90 registrants and was attended by researchers from various universities across southwestern Ontario as well as members of the general public. The MP of Waterloo, Bardish Chagger, even Tweeted about the event:

A fear of dying plays a role in people buying bottled water, even though they know it may not be good for them or the planet, a study from the University of Waterloo has found.

The study suggests that most bottled-water advertising campaigns target a deep psychological vulnerability in humans, compelling them to buy and consume particular products. Bottled water ads specifically trigger our most subconscious fear — driving Canadians to buy billions of litres of water annually. 

A study released today in Nature Geoscience describes how climate change played a major role in the massive catastrophic collapse of two glaciers in the Tibetan Plateau in July and September 2016.

The vaccines used by commercial fish farmers are not protecting fish from disease, according to a new study.

On Thursday, January 18, the Water Institute welcomed members, students, and friends from across campus to tour the Institute’s new space, and to hear remarks from the executive director, Roy Brouwer. 

The University of Waterloo’s Water Institute has awarded a combined total of $72,692 to four research teams as a result of its 2017 fall term seed grant competition. The goal of this program is to catalyze interdisciplinary collaboration, facilitate interaction with international authorities, and to encourage the development of research proposals.

The program awards a total of $150,000 annually, with competitions generally held during the fall and winter terms.